The following is an original essay I am currently editing and adding to for future publication. I began writing this piece as a research project for a composition class I was taking under Dr. Christian Carey at Westminster.
WARNING: This article contains integral plot points, explanation, and spoilers for LOST seasons 1-6. Please do not read if you do not wish to be spoiled.
“The Rest is Just Progress”:
An exploration into the thematic ideals of Lost through Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu in c-sharp minor, Op. 66
Originally
a mini-series
under
the working title of “The Circle”, ABC’s
Lost
has developed into one of the most complex and popular dramas in the past
decade. The show is infamous for its innumerable plots and subplots, extensive
cast of characters, mythological and scientific subtexts, relevant social
themes, and innovative narrating devices.
From
the very first episode, viewers were introduced to the theme of antagonism
through the recurring symbol
of black and white. As main character John Locke explains, “There are two
players, two sides; one white, and one black” (Abrams). From the pieces of
Locke’s backgammon games, to the black and white doomsday clock in the hatch
and the stones balanced and passed between Lost mythological figures Jacob and
his adversary, the unnamed “man in black”, white and black play a prominent
role in reminding the viewers of both the show’s plot-driven antagonisms (Jacob
vs. Man in Black, for example) and the thematic antagonism (including fate vs.
free will and faith vs. science).
It is no surprise
then, to see the piano, with its alternating black and white keys, as
a recurringsymbol.
Throughout the six seasons of Lost, the viewer sees several characters play the
piano during scenes of introspection. Before the thrilling season four finale,
masterful manipulator Benjamin Linus is shown playing Rachmaninoff Prelude in C# minor. Hero Jack Shephard
and musician Charlie Pace are seen playing the piano multiple times in all of
the shows various timelines. However, out of the various piano pieces used
throughout the show, there are none that are more appropriate nor used as often
as Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu in C-sharp
Minor. Chopin’s piece goes beyond the simple metaphor of the black and
white keys of the piano. Throughout the first and last sections of the piece,
Chopin juxtaposes the rhythmic contrast of triplets and sixteenth notes in each
hand. This rhythmic antagonism is a direct reflection of the previously
mentioned antagonisms in the show.
The piece made its
first appearance in season five’s “The Variable”, as the young Daniel Faraday is
seen practicing it in a flashback.
In this scene, the young Faraday cannot play the piece well
at all, as he can not master the antagonistic rhythms or keep consistent with
the metronome, which he attempts to follow despite the improvisational flexibility
the piece implies. As we see throughout this season, Faraday has the same
technical issues with the island.
Faraday
acts as the source of scientific explanation on
Lost,
including
the explanations of the shows notorious narrative techniques, which include
sudden shifts in time and even continuous narration of simultaneous alternate
timelines. In the fifth season, Faraday, who to this point has had indirect
experience with time travel on the island, only has a partial explanation for
the issue of time travel, claiming that, “Time--it's like a street, all right?
We can move forward on that street, we can move in reverse, but we cannot ever
create a new street. If we try to do anything different, we will fail every time.
Whatever happened, happened” (Cuse).
Faraday
uses this theory to hypothesize that if the characters unleash the
electromagnetic properties of the island, the entire timeline of the show will
cease to exist in space-time, and therefore be reset to the beginning. However,
much like his initial interpretation of the Chopin, Faraday has the right
themes and notes, but the wrong technical application, and when the characters
do attempt to blow up the island, they actual create two parallel timelines.
The parallel
“alternate” timeline is once again introduced to us with the
Fantasie Impromptu Op. 66, as we see
Jack Shephard’s son David (who only exists in this reality) perform the piece.
It is essential to note that in this episode, the directors ensure to have the
audience listen and watch as David plays the middle section of the piece. The
Chopin is divided into three main ideas.
The first section is in c-sharp minor,
while the second section, is in the enharmonic parallel major key, D-flat
major. The sudden shift in tonality through parallel keys correlates with the
sudden shift of narrative and reality in the sixth and final season of Lost.
The tonal organization of the Chopin also
has other similarities with the qualities of the alternate timeline.
The D-flat major
section, besides its more optimistic sounding key, also has a much more easily
recognized melody line from the previous c-sharp minor section. Although there
is still the presence of the rhythmic antagonism from the previous section, it
is much more subtle than before and is completely overruled by the melody. In
the alternate reality of the show, all of our characters have everything they
seemed to strive for in their flashbacks presented to the viewer throughout the
previous seasons. Jack is still a skilled surgeon and caring father, John Locke
comes to grips with his wheelchair-bound state and is ready to be happily married, and
Hurley is a successful and influential owner of a fast food restaurant chain.
However, when the characters begin to have flashes of their memory from the
events of the other timeline, their seemingly perfect existence in this reality
is questioned and begins to grow trite. The melody in the Chopin exemplifies
this decomposition, as the melody is gradually overtaken by the rhythmic
antagonism of the initial section (and
in some edited scores returns to the initial c-sharp minor section). The melody
has also, fittingly enough, been adapted by Henry Carroll in his pop song “I’m
Always Chasing Rainbows”. The lyrics, written by Joseph McCarthy, read, “I'm
always chasing rainbows / Watching clouds drifting by / My dreams are just like
all my schemes / Ending in the sky” (McCarthy).
Even through the indirect means of Carroll’s adaptation of
Chopin’s melody, we can see the common notion of the superficial existence that
appears in the parallel timeline in Lost.
It is once again,
Daniel Faraday who awakens the characters to the existence of the original
timeline. Like several of the other characters at this point in the show’s
history, Faraday is dead in the original timeline, but alive in this alternate
reality. In this reality, Faraday is fulfilled – his mother does not force him
to become a physicist, and he is instead, a musician. We watch as Faraday plays
a flawless performance of the Fantasie
Impromptu Op. 66, much improved from the original event. Faraday is one of
the first characters to remember events from the original timeline, and his
knowledge is represented in his performance. Now, Faraday understands the
parallels and structure of the two timelines as well as the good vs. evil
antagonism within himself, and therefore, is able to perform the corresponding
sections of the Chopin without the technical problems exhibited before. This
mastery allows Faraday to truly play the piece as an impromptu, as he flexes
the tempo (or bends time, to fit more within the Lost context) within the
contextual guidelines. To play along with one of the major
antagonistic themes of Lost, Faraday exhibits the ability to use free will
within a destined context.
The Chopin
concludes with the return of the antagonistic rhythms. However, the rhythms
gradually dissipate until the last chord of the piece, a C-sharp major chord.
This concluding gesture to the tonic chord of the D-flat major section in the
surrounding context of “A” section material may suggest the creation and
execution of a distinct ending which is culminated from both sections. In
relation to Lost, this foreshadows the end of the series, the end to which Lost
mythological figure Jacob will happen when he stated simply, “It only ends once
– the rest is just progress” (Cuse).
In the series
finale, we once again see Faraday perform in the alternate reality. However,
Faraday has now ditched the Chopin for his newfound experiment, a
“classical-rock fusion” with fellow deceased character Charlie Pace’s band,
Driveshaft. The sudden alteration in the only piece we have ever witnessed
Faraday play, from his youth in the original timeline to his virtuosic
rendition in the initial unveiling of the alternate reality, and even
indirectly through the scribbled instructions in Faraday’s handwriting on David
Shephard’s sheet music, is striking and purposeful. It is only in the last
scenes of the series finale when the audience is finally told the nature of the
alternate reality; that this reality is one fashioned by the characters
themselves after each of them have died, until each of them has remembered
their previous lives and deaths and can move on together. This fabricated
reality not only explains the characters mirrored fortunes form their previous
lives (including Faraday’s musicianship), but also connects back to the middle
section of the Chopin and the implied levels of understanding,
conscientization, and fabricated idealism presented in the narration of this
alternate timeline. The series
concludes in a similar fashion to the Chopin, on its own C-sharp major chord,
the creation of something new (whatever the characters may “move on to) through
the culmination of its two parts.
Abrams, J.J. (Writer/Director), & Lindelof, D. (2004). Pilot: Part 2
[Television series episode]. In J.J. Abrams (Executive Producer), Lost. ABC Broadcasting.
Cuse, C. (Writer), Lindelof, D. (Writer) & Bender, J. (Director).
(2009). The Incident [Television series episode]. In J.J. Abrams (Executive Producer),
Lost. ABC Broadcasting.
Cuse, C. (Writer), Lindelof, D. (Writer) & Bender, J. (Director).
(2010). Lighthouse. [Television series episode]. In J.J. Abrams (Executive
Producer), Lost. ABC Broadcasting.
Cuse, C. (Writer), Lindelof, D. (Writer) & Bender, J. (Director).
(2010). Happily Ever After [Television series episode]. In J.J. Abrams
(Executive Producer), Lost. ABC Broadcasting.
Horowitz, A. (Writer), Kitsis, E. (Writer) & Lieber, J. (Director).
(2004). The Variable [Television series episode]. In J.J. Abrams (Executive
Producer), Lost. ABC Broadcasting.
Jonson, G.C.A. (1905). A handbook
of Chopin’s work. New York, New York: Doubleday, Page & Co.
McCarthy, J. I’m Always Chasing
Rainbows.
