I recently finished the current Animal Cove storyline. As I was playing through it, some of the events really reminded me of a fantastic TV show I used to watch years and years ago called LOST. If you haven’t heard of it, well, you’re really missing out. LOST is an iconic modern TV show that has always had a very passionate fanbase. It aired from 2004 to 2010 and still manages to creep into today’s pop culture. Anyway, the more I thought about Animal Cove, the more I discovered how much it had in common with LOST. Whether KingsIsle intended all this or not, I found the parallels incredibly interesting. So buckle in everyone … we’re flying into the many connections between Animal Cove and LOST.

Please note that while I’m going to try to keep LOST spoilers to a minimum (just in case people get interested and want to watch it), some will be necessary to talk about the connections. Oh, and Animal Cove spoilers are a given.

The Basics

Let’s start with the basics. LOST centers around a group of people who struggle to survive after their plane crash lands on a mysterious island. This island isn’t just any ordinary island either. The survivors constantly have to deal with unexplainable threats such as a black smoke monster and vicious polar bears (which you know, aren’t typically found on tropical islands). You know what else isn’t typically found on an island? Talking animals like in Animal Cove. Or a mysterious gas that has magical properties. And these similarities are just the beginning …

Watch out for the deadly polar bears.

Old Disasters

In both LOST and Animal Cove, the islands have a rich history that ends in a disaster. In 1915, Animal Cove’s island was set to be an amusement park … until the magician seemingly opened the door to magic and left the place in ruins. In 1970, LOST’s island was inhabited by a research group called the Dharma Initiative. The Dharma Initiative built a compound and various stations on the island when they arrived. Though they encountered hostiles at times, for the most part, things went off without a hitch. That is, until something that would become known as “The Incident” occurred. In 1977, the Dharma Initiative drilled into a huge electromagnetic pocket which released a very dangerous amount of energy. The event left many Dharma Initiative facilities in disrepair. As a result, most of the stations were either abandoned or destroyed. As for the Dharma Initiative workers, well, the last of them were dead by the time “The Purge” ended.

Unhappy Natives

In Animal Cove’s latest update, we discover that there is a group of talking animals who have been living on the island for who knows how long. They seem to be incredibly interested in what you and your crew are doing. In LOST, the group of island natives are called “The Others.” They frequently clashed with the Dharma Initiative and the survivors of Oceanic flight 815. In addition to being very territorial, The Others used questionable methods to get what they wanted (more on this below!).

Sending Spies

It was revealed that Dez is actually a member of the island’s natives in Animal Cove’s latest update. He was sent to spy on you and Winston’s operation … to blend in, gather intel, and report back. Guess who also sent spies in hopes of gaining knowledge about their new neighbors? The Others. The Others sent two different spies to two different areas of the island where the plane crashed. These spies were told to make “lists” of the survivors and also helped orchestrate kidnappings.

Stealing

In Animal Cove, Zora was responsible for stealing your crew’s food and bringing it back to the other natives. In LOST, The Others also steal, but they don’t steal items. The Others had a tendency to kidnap children from the plane survivors’ camps. They’d come creeping, take action, and slip away almost as quickly as they came. The stealth involved is similar to how Zora kept getting away with stealing your food right from under your nose.

Communication with the Dead

Alma the Llama, the island’s newest inhabitant in Animal Cove, is able to speak with spirits. While a LOST character didn’t have this exact power, there was one who could do something similar. Miles Straume, introduced in season 4, has an ability to see into the thoughts people had right before they died. The catch is, he needs to be near their body to do so. Is it different than Animal Cove? Yes. But, I think it’s pretty interesting that both stories have someone who can see and hear beyond this world. You can see Miles’ ability in action in THIS clip, but beware, there’s a MAJOR spoiler.

 

Accidental Time-Travel

Although time-travel hasn’t been officially confirmed in Animal Cove’s storyline, it’s really looking like it’s an element. Between Bunny constantly talking about time-travel, Bunny listing that she IS a time-traveler in her bio, and the magician being alive and well both in 1915 and 2018 … all signs point to time-travel. Well, wouldn’t you believe it, but LOST has also incorporated time-travel into its storyline. When one character moves the island (yeah, that’s a long story) … the rest of the survivors still on the island get accidentally sent back in time to the Dharma Initiative days. Oops.

Spy Turned Ally

At the very end of Animal Cove’s latest update, we find a note written by Dez that reads: Don’t trust them. It almost seems like Dez is unhappy with the natives and wants to side with your group on the beach. This is similar to a situation that happened in LOST involving a character named Juliet. Juliet was sent to infiltrate the plane survivors’ camp and gather intel for The Others (completely separate from the other two spies mentioned previously), but she betrayed them. Juliet told the survivors all about the plot and became an ally of theirs. I think something similar will happen to Dez. At some point in the future, Dez will have to make a choice – side with Zora, or you, and he’ll choose you. But that’s just my guess!

Bonus: Hidden Messages

Before Juliet officially turned “good,” she tried warning Jack (one of the main characters) about how dangerous the leader of The Others was. She wasn’t able to verbally tell Jack, so she showed him a video which consisted of her holding up cards with her warnings. I thought this closely resembled how Dez left a clue for us, but is probably too afraid to speak up in fear of retaliation from the island’s natives. Here’s an example of one of Juliet’s cards shown in Jack’s video:

“And he is very dangerous.”

Dialogue Nods

Outside of big concepts like time-travel, hostiles, and disasters, Animal Cove’s dialogue also has some LOST seeds in it. Well, at least it can be interpreted that way.

When Alma is trying to recall the name of a spirit she spoke to, she lists Jack and John as two options. Sure, those might be common names, but Jack Shepard and John Locke are also two of LOST’s main characters.

When Alma is describing the magician, she calls him the “Man in Shadows.” LOST’S main antagonist? He was called the Man in Black. 

When Zora is explaining that there are native talking animals on the island, she asserts her dominance on behalf of the group saying, “This is our island.” As soon as I read this, I immediately remembered one of LOST’s iconic quotes: “This is not your island. This is our island. And the only reason you’re living on it … is because we LET you live on it.” Very similar, right? It’s crazy that years after I watched this show I still remember that quote.

The LOST scene below is between an “Other” and a few crash survivors. It’s only 2 minutes long and has mentions of the kidnappings, spying, and of course, the “This is our island” quote. Enjoy!

Phew. So yeah … there are a lot of LOST parallels that KingsIsle intentionally or unintentionally included, lol. As a big LOST fan myself, I think it’s really cool to think about. What are your thoughts?