Maybe Mickhail really was a Member of the Dharma Initiative

[JDUB X]

When Mickhail told Sayid that he was the last surviving member of the Dharma Initiative, maybe he was not lying. maybe he went with Ben when he Switched sides and helped with The Purge.

[shollia]

Then why would Ben claim that he was the last survivor? Well.. other than Ben being a big fat liar... :P heh

[JDUB X]

Then why would Ben claim that he was the last survivor? Well.. other than Ben being a big fat liar... :P heh

Yeah, nothing Ben says has any ounce of merit any more.
Not that it ever did, but now especially LOL

[Deadfall]

I think it likely that Mikhail told the truth... especially about how much he loves his solitude. He probably ran the communications for Dharma in the Flame and therefore was outside of the "purge." Maybe it's just as he said and the Hostiles made a deal with him to continue what he's doing and simply be left alone in return.

[vampagan]

I think it likely that Mikhail told the truth... especially about how much he loves his solitude. He probably ran the communications for Dharma in the Flame and therefore was outside of the "purge." Maybe it's just as he said and the Hostiles made a deal with him to continue what he's doing and simply be left alone in return.

Well, we have to consider how adamant he was about getting to Naomi
and how he's invested with the Others. He seems to be a prime player with them rather than a mere recluse.

[Jinjur]

I think this is definetly true and I wouldn't be surprised if Clue was part of Dharma too considering they seemed to have some sort of bond.

[Daan]

I think the hostiles had no knowledge about Mikael. Neither had Ben.

[CLUCK]

I think the hostiles had no knowledge about Mikael. Neither had Ben.


that is a good point and at some point they befriended him.

but hes still a liar and up to no good.


i thought it was interesting though that mickhail had no part in the flashbacks with dharma showing how he was involved. but then again im sure there was alot they wanted to show us but you can only fit so much in an hour. ben soooo should have gotten the finale.

it also seems there may have been alot that the hostiles overlooked during the purge, and thats the fact that there were dharma workers all over the place... swan, pearl (that would explain the tubes that werent collected for a long time)

[volney]

Mikhail told Ben he was sorry the fence didn't kill him. That would lead me to believe that he is a prisoner of the Others. Kept alive to continue conning DHARMA and keep the food coming. If he wants to eat he needs to be part of the con.

I would suspect he had something against DHARMA but has since grown to hate the Others also, which is why he has been hoping to die. Both sides repel him now.

-- volney

[eckert]

Mikhail told Ben he was sorry the fence didn't kill him. That would lead me to believe that he is a prisoner of the Others. Kept alive to continue conning DHARMA and keep the food coming. If he wants to eat he needs to be part of the con.

I would suspect he had something against DHARMA but has since grown to hate the Others also, which is why he has been hoping to die. Both sides repel him now.

-- volney

i didnt like the mikhail theory, till you said the food thing. thats definately a good call.

[jaf]

Why did it take 4 days for Mikhail to get to the camp?
Naomi say "three days ago..." before Locke came to get Sawyer.

John

[marsichs]

I'm a little cnncerned about the writing surrounding Mikhail. Seems a bit weak. It seems as if he really was supposed to die at the fence, but the writers wanted to bring him back, so they just said it wasn't "lethal".

I can accept that, I guess, but Locke beating up Mikhail was slightly strained. I mean, at least he could have got up in Locke's face for a screen time cost of 2 seconds maybe? Locke just walking over with no provocation seemed strained to me.

[HelpImLost]

Eh, I liked the beating. Ben was trying to worm out of the deal with Locke, Locke put an end to it.

With Mikhail, Ben did turn a dial to turn off the fence, which had levels of power. Seems to me though, if you wanted to keep locals out, you keep it full power or you keep it off. No need for middle ground.

[Deadfall]

Well, we have to consider how adamant he was about getting to Naomi
and how he's invested with the Others. He seems to be a prime player with them rather than a mere recluse.

True, but it's probably to Mikhail's personal benefit to cooperate with the Others. If Naomi poses a threat to the precious existence that he has become accustomed to, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he ran to Ben for help.

[HellsChicken]

I don't think ben has ever said he was the only surviving member. He has always made comments that do not make him exclusive. He told Locke that he was "one of the few that was smart enough to avoid landing in that ditch", just like when he told locke that few of his people can say they've been on their island their whole lives, and that "most" of his people he brought to the island. I think there's a good chance that there are some surviving Dharma personnel.

[WGM]

I think Tom is original Dharma ... and Mikhail probably is too ...

[HelpImLost]

If they're original, then they know Ben wasnt born on the island, as he likes to tell people.

[Hodgepodge]

Moving to the Redshirts and Other Characters forum for continued discussion.

[sgtdraino]

I think Tom is original Dharma ... and Mikhail probably is too ...

Tom and Mikhail aren't much older than Ben. In fact, Michael Emerson (Ben) is one year older than Andrew Divoff (Mikhail). Of course, Mikhail could have always been recruited into the DHARMA Initiative much later than Ben, much like Kelvin Inman was.

TPTB have said that:

Everything Mikhail told Sayid about himself was true, except for the bit about being DHARMA.

But I'm not sure if it's ever been expressly stated that Mikhail was never with DHARMA. Especially now that TPTB have hinted that:

Ben was not the only DHARMA person to survive The Purge and join the Hostiles.

It would make sense to me that Mikhail was originally with the Initiative, and that is why he maintained The Flame in uniform; so DHARMA off-island would see a familiar face, and think that life on-island was proceeding normally. DHARMA off-island is probably unaware of The Purge.

[Lost In A Vortex]

I always thought that Mikhail was telling the truth about being with Dharma. He seemed uncomfortable later on when he said that he was NOT Dharma.

[sgtdraino]

It is worth noting that, according to the timeline, Mikhail apparently came to the island several years after The Purge happened. On the other hand, Kelvin Inman also came to the island several years after The Purge, and he seems to believe that he is actually DHARMA. The advertisements that both Kelvin and Mikhail answered, that recruited them and brought them to the island, were nearly identical. Perhaps there was still a residual DHARMA presence in various places on the island for some considerable time after The Purge occured. In the outside world, DHARMA could be completely unaware of what has transpired, and could be recruiting as normal. Kelvin and Mikhail could have both been recruited by DHARMA prior to their arrival on the island. Mikhail could have been immediately intercepted and turned as soon as he arrived, whereas Kelvin may have made contact with genuine DHARMA when he arrived.

The timeline, which is confusing, runs thusly:

1987 - The Purge. Many DHARMA personnel on the island are killed.
1988 - Danielle's team arrives. They may be DHARMA, investigating a loss in communications since The Purge.
1991 - Kelvin arrives, recruited by an invitation to "save the world." He is apparently genuine DHARMA, and mans The Swan with Radzinsky.
1993 - Mikhail arrives, recruited by an invitation to "save the world." He apparently joins the Others almost immediately.

[Lost In A Vortex]

It is worth noting that, according to the timeline, Mikhail apparently came to the island several years after The Purge happened. ....
1993 - Mikhail arrives, recruited by an invitation to "save the world." He apparently joins the Others almost immediately.

Is it possible that Mikhail is not telling the whole truth about when he came to the island? He says he has been on the island 11 years. Somehow he seems to have been there a lot longer.

One possibility is that he is like Richard. He could have been on the island, then off, then back, etc. He could be very well telling the truth about being recruited by Dharma to save the world, but that could have been more than 11 years ago. And if indeed there is a time/space continuity thing going on, then anything is possible.

I don't know, this is all very confusing. There's so much about Mikhail, Ben and the whole history of the Others, Dharma and The Purge that we just don't know yet. I hope we find out more this season - maybe even in a "Patchback!" :)

[sgtdraino]

Is it possible that Mikhail is not telling the whole truth about when he came to the island?

I suppose anything is possible, although TPTB have stated that everything Mikhail said was true, except for what he said about being DHARMA.