Flashing Forward: September 2009

Hello, and welcome to both my Lost and new FlashForward friends! Before I get started with episode analysis, I want to provide a brief outline of my plans and policy for this blog, which are very similar to how I operate my Lost site:

I will not only avoid spoilers at all costs for FlashForward, I will never post any here.
The primary focus of this blog will be purely speculative analysis of each episode. I will also post related news about the series.
I will not be analyzing the differences and similarities between FF and Lost week after week; I have a feeling that many other sites will, and that is their prerogative.
I never visit message boards/forums or other FlashForward sites before compiling and then sharing thoughts of my own here every week; I aim to post my theories as soon as possible following new episodes.
All comments will be moderated; I completely encourage and appreciate feedback, but merely ask that it is constructive when you disagree with a theory, etc.

So let's stretch out some red string and try to map out what on earth we saw in the first ever hour of FlashForward, "No More Good Days."

I imagine that like many of you, I find myself with far more questions than answers after only one episode...

NOT Lost

Let's get this right out of the way - I have seen every single episode of Lost at least 3 times, and have studied and written about that series extensively for five years now. I do not think FlashForward is anything like Lost, nor was it intended to be.

The obvious nods to its predecessor in the FlashForward pilot (an Oceanic billboard being the most blatant) are acknowledgements; gestures of appreciation for paving the road, for creating a television environment where a show of this magnitude can be made and thrive with rabid fan and network support. FlashForward is staffed by an entirely different creative and production team, with no Lost crossover. My hope is that fans of both series' will eventually stop comparing Dom Monaghan and Sonya Walger from their former Lost roles and embrace their new FlashForward characters with an open mind and fresh slate.

Mark Benford's Bulletin Board

There are many items on the board in Benford's flash; here is what I was able to catch, and initial thoughts about some of them:

case file: photo of Nhadra Udaya, a Middle Eastern woman
evidence sheet: Joel Act Cough or Gough, dated 11/2/08
map: Baltimore noted on post-it
note: 137 Sekunden (German for 137 seconds; 2:17, the duration of the blackout)
note: Blue Hand
note: D. Gibbons (nod to Watchmen author Dave Gibbons)
note: Owners Markings
note: three star tattoo (matching the ink on the assassin's arm during Benford's vision)
painting/postcard: nude man posing, thinking
photo: burned baby doll with bullet nearby (taken by Salt Lake City CSI)
photo: older white male
Red Panda Resources sticker
red string connecting various items
textbook illustration: nude women
UK passport (belonging to Simcoe or Simon, perhaps?)
wooden chess piece

Benford's FlashForward

One of the more intriguing elements of Benford's vision was a very quick flash of the masks that the assassins with laser weapons are wearing...before they were put on. Benford briefly remembers seeing the masks hanging up somewhere, but not on his bulletin board.

Given that April 29, 2010 is very clearly marked as D-Day on Benford's calendar in his office, and that the rest of the FBI building seemed vacated during his vision, I look forward to finding out where his team and family are at that exact moment.

Oranges

Blame it on film class. I automatically link the appearance of oranges on the small and big screen with pending death, thanks to the Godfather trilogy. Vito perused the citrus and they shot him down. Sonny passed an OJ billboard right before getting murdered at the tollbooth. Michael had an orange in his hand when he was killed.

Thus...I was not surprised to see that there was an orange stand on the side of the road where Benford and Noh awoke from the blackout to mass destruction and death.

Original Suspects

Two of the three original suspects that Benford and Noh were pursuing in the black SUV right before the blackout are now dead, but we have to ponder whether their possible involvement as well. It seems they are domestic terrorists and that a suitcase was involved, and so of course I want to know what it contained and if it is a significant clue.

Animals

By my count, we witnessed two animals alive and well after the blackout occurred, a dog in a car and a kangaroo in the street. On the other hand, a bird crashed into a window in London and died. I am curious to discover what, if anything, the animals of the world experienced during those two minutes besides disorientation. The kangaroo's incongruous presence in the streets of Los Angeles is obviously quite significant, and I expect it will be addressed before season's end.

Charlie Benford

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to find out what Olivia and Mark's daughter saw during those two minutes.

She is the one who dreamt about "no more good days," and perhaps the key to Mark's future is embedded in his daughters flashforward rather than on his bulletin board...

Demetri Noh

So far, Demetri is the only person we've met who did not experience a flashforward during the blackout. My gut reaction is that he was chosen or saved, and serves a very important purpose as the world attempts to unravel what they collectively saw and experienced. Noh is assuming that his lack of vision results from the fact that he is not alive in six months time, but perhaps he plays a role that has yet to be revealed to even him.

Another possible hint that his circumstances may differ from others is that he was not where he was supposed to be upon waking up from the blackout; he should have been upside down in the car with Benford, but was inexplicably standing across the freeway instead.

Aaron Stark

I love the possibilities introduced with Stark's flashforward; that his previously deceased daughter is still alive. A simple answer would be mistaken DNA identity...but I seriously doubt that any answers on this show will be easy or simple. That she was in the military and he is a recovering addict are necessary and complicated layers to what may become the most touching storyline in season one.

Dr. Bryce Varley

We are introduced to this character during his darkest hour, and I would hope that we find out exactly why this successful, good looking young doctor was about to kill himself. Given that we do not know anything about him, my first thought was that perhaps he knew about or was involved with what caused the blackout.

After he awoke from the blackout, Bryce went to rescue a surfer but seemingly left his gun sitting on the pier...which was rather populated, including small children. Irrelevant?

Suspect Zero

I do not believe that he was the only person on earth who was awake during the blackout, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he triggered that last step to make it happen. If I had to guess, there were other Suspects worldwide who were in locations outside of security camera perimeters during the blackout, all somehow immune to the experience they created and caused.
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I loved the pilot episode of FlashForward; it was incredibly shot and well crafted from start to finish. This is a stellar cast working with a very strong creative team, and the potential for the series is both exciting and wide open. From a story standpoint, more than anything, I look forward to finding out IF they can change the future and how they go about doing so.

Thank you so much for joining me, and apologies for the delay with this first round. Although I will not be posting theories and thoughts immediately following each episode, I aim to do so within a few days of when they air every week. As the season progresses, I hope to delve deeper with regard to theorizing, and provide more photos to accompany the posts as well.

I would love to hear from YOU; let me know what you thought about the premiere, Easter Eggs I may have missed, theories about characters, etc. Feel free to leave comments below!

-Jo

Better late than never?

Here are a few photos from the FlashForward panel at Comic-Con 2009 in San Diego from July, as well as my videos from the press room following the panel. I was very excited to have had the opportunity to ask John Cho, Joseph Fiennes, Dominic Monaghan and Courtney B. Vance each a question during the press roundtables.

Below that are photos of the Mosaic Collective Booth on the exhibition floor.