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"Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by TeamJoisey on 03-30-06 at 10:34 PM
Why would Henry Gale spin a story that is demonstrably false?

He chose a false name connected to a corpse on the island.

There are very few things these Losties can verify, but one of them is the identity of Henry Gale. Wouldn't it make more sense to claim to be Harry Smith, adventurist, who crashed on the island with balloon partner Henry Gale, who died and is buried under a pile of rocks. For that matter, why not use your real name? It's not like he's Gary Hogeboom or anything.

And why the story about the wife? Was that to make him seem credible? The whole thing was weak from the beginning because anyone ballooning 1,000 miles out in the ocean would be surrounded by support aircraft.

A good con man requires spinning the info you have, not fabricating foolishness. So what is the purpose of the elaborate and dumb lie?


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Messages in this discussion
"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by AugustGirl on 03-31-06 at 09:04 AM
Right on TJ! I find it hard to believe that he didn't think they would dig up the "wife's" grave to confirm his story. He had to have known they would examine the contents of the grave. They may do stupid things, but the Losties are not dumb or naive.

If he was sent by the Others as a plant to infiltrate the Losties he would have had to have a plausible story in order to gain and retain their trust. A story that couldn't easily have been disclaimed.

I'm with you, TJ...his story is dumb and he was bound to get caught. So, for me the question becomes why did he want to get caught because it sure seems he wanted to be found out.


a J Slice original. bounce by Icey.

"I disagree"
Posted by trigirl on 03-31-06 at 01:50 PM
If you are going to tell a tall tale, then better it one based on fact.

I think that fake Henry knows the story because he heard it from Mrs. Gale who is now with the Others. He just changed the who is burried part. He'd have no idea that the body would have ID on it.

The question is how did real Henry die. Did he die at the hands of hiw wife? His injuries? The Others?

"RE: I disagree"
Posted by skyisbluu on 03-31-06 at 03:57 PM
From his first appearance on the show, I was not convinced that Henry Gale was one of the Others. I still am not convinced. Yes, he has made a big mistake by lying to everyone about who he is, but there is one key factor that still has me thinking he is someone else -

Both Ethan and Goodwin (?), the others we have seen, had one thing in common, that they both said they came from Canada. Now, I could be totally wrong on this one, but it seems to me that it is just too much of a coincidence that they both say they are from Canada.

Also, we have not been introduced to any other characters, regular or not, that said they were from Canada. (Yes, Kate say she was at one point, but I seem to remember it being part of one of her cons.)I'm getting a feeling that Canada is taboo, or possibly the generic cover-up for the Others.

skyisbluu
"One morning, I shot an elephant in my pyjamas. How he got into my pyjamas, I'll never know."

PS: I am also Canadian, and I kinda like the fact that our country could be taboo.

"RE: I disagree"
Posted by Devious Weasel on 03-31-06 at 04:30 PM
Trying to find verification, but I believe it was Nathan, not Goodwin, who was from Canada.


"RE: I disagree"
Posted by AugustGirl on 03-31-06 at 07:53 PM
You are correct, Dweeze. It was Nathan who was from Canada.


a J Slice original. bounce by Icey.

"RE: I disagree"
Posted by Fishercat on 03-31-06 at 10:36 PM
Assuming you saw the Canadian preview, unless it is huge misdirection, he almost has to know the others pretty well...

Link to CAN Preview, but Youtube has been taking a lot off for Copyright Infringement, may not be there for long:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SooKRj86vfY

Certainly different than the U.S. Preview

Bob Factoid: The fishercat is the only creature known to have gone completely insane chasing its own tail

"RE: I disagree"
Posted by AugustGirl on 04-01-06 at 07:39 AM
Interesting that Henry tells Sayid "I am not a bad person". Leads me to believe Henry is a reject (not the perfect "good person" they are looking for), or at least very low on the Other's totem pole, therefore expendable.


a J Slice original. bounce by Icey.

"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by Devious Weasel on 03-31-06 at 03:44 PM
Because he never dreamed they would find it? Because the scenario he outlined at the end of “The Whole Truth” was what was supposed to happen? (They get to the place on the map and his colleagues take them down.) Because he didn’t know?

I’m thinking he wasn’t sent to infiltrate – he just got caught by accident. I can’t believe they would try to infiltrate the Losties at this point – they would be too suspicious. But a spy might have been provided with what he thought was a true cover story in the event of capture.

It would be interesting to know if he was trapped near the place where the food was placed. If that were the case, then perhaps he was sent to wait for the food drop and to take it afterwards. If Danielle knew about the food drops, and it would seem like she would have to know, then perhaps she would have set a trap near one.



"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by TeamJoisey on 03-31-06 at 09:29 PM
If he was captured by accident, why not leave when Locke was unable to chase him? He came back to The Hatch. Why?


"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by 1derfool on 03-31-06 at 10:16 PM
I'd posted the same thought in the East Coast Spoiler Thread "Possible clues from Henry's actions" --- why didn't he escape when he had the chance? As a matter of fact, I was shocked to see him standing there, I'd expected him to be gone. He must have had a really good reason to stay, but what?
"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by AugustGirl on 04-01-06 at 07:43 AM
Perhaps Henry didn't leave when he could because he was escaping from the Others? Maybe he wants to stay with the Losties because the Others either don't want him (he's not "good" enough) or he's scared of them.

ACK! So many questions.


a J Slice original. bounce by Icey.

"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by brvnkrz on 04-02-06 at 09:07 AM
Ahhh, I never thought of that. I thought that maybe he stayed to help with his cover story. Maybe he really didn't think that Sayid would dig up the body. That they would come back, tell John that they had found the balloon and the grave and then he could say "See? my story is true. You found what I told you that you would find and on top of that, I didn't try and escape"


An awesome Arkie siggie

"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by Devious Weasel on 04-03-06 at 04:13 PM
Again, if he didn't know the cover story wasn't true, why would he run?

Was he blindfolded or unconscious when brought into the hatch? He might not know how to get out. He might not know the hatch is unguarded on the outside.


"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by pinksparkleguitar on 03-31-06 at 05:20 PM
It's hard for me to beleive that at this point the Losties could actually be one up on the others, you know? They've always been one step ahead, unreachable, and mean heck, we don't even really know what they are supposed to be doing or who they are. So they fact that the Losties actually caught him and now have Henry, an other, at a disadvantage, strike me as not the whole truth.


"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by 1derfool on 04-02-06 at 00:34 AM
>It's hard for me to beleive that at this point the
>Losties could actually be one up on the others, you
>know?



Maybe there is a way for Henry not to be one of the Others. Could he have been a "small time worker-bee" in one of the abandoned hatches? I get the feeling there's a difference between the Others and the hatch attendants (such as Desmond.was). The Others are running the Dharma Initiative experiment from the looks of it (bad guys), the attendants are just the guinea pigs or lab workers (aka computer attendees) in the experiment making them neutral or not-so-bad guys. To me, they seem to be on two different sides. If Henry was only the hatch attendant or worker-bee, he wouldn't really be one of the Others the way he sees himself.

Whoever drew the map on the hatch door obviously had time to explore the island. Didn't Desmond say there were 2 people in the Losties' hatch originally (Desmond and somebody else)? One could have stayed to do the numbers, one explored. Assume that Henry was assigned to another hatch, he and his hatchmate took turns doing number duty and exploring. If the hatchmate stumbled on the balloon, found the real Henry dead, he could have buried him and told our fake Henry about it. Hatchmate would have had a chance to find the ID but probably didn't bother mentioning the race (or our fake Henry knew but didn't think the Losties would have what it takes to dig up a body and find out the truth). He wasn't planning on getting caught, so on short notice he decided to use the balloon crash story, knowing there was some evidence there to back him up if need be.

For all we know, Desmond is still on the island. Danielle probably hasn't seen him, might not even know he exists. If she were to catch him, she'd assume he's one of the Others. She caught our fake Henry instead and assumed he's one of the Others since she hadn't seen him with the Losties.

Again, assuming the fake Henry has experience in a hatch, he'd know how important it is to enter the numbers on time. It could explain why he didn't try to escape and why he remembered the numbers correctly. Either the sequence was the same as what he had to enter, or he made darn sure he got them right because there'd be no time for a second try at it.

In the preview he's being interrogated about what he knows about the Others. He might not know much, but he would certainly have picked up some info that he could reveal under duress. He probably also knows enough about the Others to not want to be turned loose and get picked off by them.

Right now he's between a rock and a hard place. Either reveal he was working in a hatch, possibly spilling secrets that he knows the Dharma Initiative doesn't want revealed, or he claims to be an Other and suffer the wrath of the Losties (specially Sayid who's itching to get even about Shannon's death).

Maybe somebody will think of asking Henry the Snowman question, see if he answers it? If he really is an outsider who crashed on the island, he wouldn't know the answer or wouldn't react suspiciously.

"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by brvnkrz on 04-02-06 at 09:11 AM
But if Henry had been a hatch attendant, would Locke have had to explain inputting the numbers into the computer to him?


An awesome Arkie siggie

"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by 1derfool on 04-02-06 at 12:29 PM
Locke thinks Henry is either an Other or somebody who crashed on the island, neither of whom would nor should know anything about the number sequence. Henry is trying to pretend he is just somebody who crash landed on the island. If he looks the least bit like he knows about the numbers, he's blown his cover. He has to look like he's just following instructions no matter how strange or stupid they might seem. If he does know about the numbers, it's even more important to play dumb and do what he's told to gain Locke's confidence.

"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by Fishercat on 04-01-06 at 00:02 AM
There are a few possibilities that have and haven't been mentioned.

This seems too weak to be planned, unless it was meant that way. From what we see on the Canadian preview and prior shows

Zeke, Ethan, and Henry (I'll call him that for now) all have superiors. On the preview, Henry says the bearded guy is "nothing". I can only assume Zeke as the bearded guy. Ethan reported to other people in the medical hatch. Henry says that they will kill him in the previews.

Focusing on Henry, he is not an imposing person and doesn't seem like an incredibly intelligent man. Zeke led both the kidnapping of Walt and the trade of arms for Kate, so we can assume he has some field prowess. Ethan made mincemeat of everyone until Charlie shot him. But Henry? He doesn't have many redeeming qualities outside of being sneaky, and I doubt that would be of much good to the Others.

So, could Henry simply be a pawn? Danielle has been there for over a decade, and is this the first other she's caught? We don't know, but logically, they would know about the traps by now if they are so smart.

Henry seems to be a bottom of the food chain guy, we never saw him before. I'm willing to believe that they would use him as a pawn possibly. Maybe to infiltrate the camp. He has many uses no matter what and minimal loss is made

A. He is shot as soon as he gets close by Danielle: Nothing
B. He is taken into the camp, interrogated, then killed: The Losties gain some nerves about these people again, a reminder
C. He is taken into the camp, interrogated, and he is there long enough to cause disruptions. Say, between Jack and Locke? That may be worth it, to cause a disrpution
D. He is taken in, interrogated, there for a while, and then his cover story is blown. He does A-C, but he also is able to tell them about how bad the Others are, instill doubt and scare them
E. Suppose Sayid isn't suspicious, and they let him stay. He is the new Ethan without the problem of the manifest. He is their scout, and he could cause a lot of havoc.

Of course, he could have simply been trapped by mistake, but I doubt it, too simple for a group that seems to have an upperhand strategically.

I agree, there is no reason to make up a story that can be disproven. He could have said that "I am (name), my partner Henry Gale died in a balloon accident when we crashed to the island". They find Gale, they find the balloon, nothing to disprove the story.

Also, if he were caught and kept for days, and he has a backup story given by the Others meant to keep him alive, why would they keep the ID on the body?

Something doesn't ring right here...

Bob Factoid: The fishercat is the only creature known to have gone completely insane chasing its own tail.

"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by TeamJoisey on 04-02-06 at 01:54 AM
>I agree, there is no reason
>to make up a story
>that can be disproven. He
>could have said that "I
>am (name), my partner Henry
>Gale died in a balloon
>accident when we crashed to
>the island". They find Gale,
>they find the balloon, nothing
>to disprove the story.
>
And in that scenario, it gives his tale credibility. If he told them a guy named Henry Gale is under that pile of rocks, they Losties are more likely to believe whatever unverifiable fantasy he was spinning.


"I think"
Posted by moonbaby on 04-02-06 at 10:26 AM
he might have been instructed by the Others to get captured intentionally and he is supposed to disrupt things. He was working on pitting Locke vs. Jack pretty diligently.

The condition he gave for helping Locke in the locke-down (heehee) episode was that Locke would stick up for him no matter what. I can see Locke holding up his end of the bargain and now that Fake Gale's story has been proven false the rift between Jack and Locke may grow greater.

"RE: I think"
Posted by WickedOne on 04-03-06 at 07:45 AM
Could be as simple as he & the buried guy actually crashed on the island & he assumed his dead partners ID because he is hiding due to something he's done wrong OFF the isle.(murder,stole $$ from a corporation or any number of reasons to change his name).I'm not getting the Others vibe from him.Crooked yes,spooky...no.

Beyond This Place There Be Dragons!

"RE: I think"
Posted by Snidget on 04-03-06 at 09:07 AM
Well, on the what if it is a cover story by the others thought process. They could have found the balloon and the grave and the name in the papers in the balloon. They may have never checked the grave, but came up with something that sounds sympathetic and that on the surface is verifyable. They could have also found the balloon with one dead guy and buried him. Maybe it even worked on someone else before, since people seem to crash into this island on a fairly regular basis.

Who knew they'd be paranoid enough to dig up a grave. A lot of people won't do that as it just pushes too many taboo buttons.


Lost with PhoenixMons

"RE: Henry Gale's story makes no sense"
Posted by sisyphus on 04-04-06 at 11:25 AM
Although I agree with alot of what has been said here, I am still not sure that Henry(as we may call him) is really one of the others....if we believe that desmond was separate from the others then it is quite possible that henry was to be desmonds replacement but since desmond hightailed it out of there so fast when the losties broke into the hatch they really did not have any time to question him....so is desmond a part of the others.....and if so why are the other hatches so far been abandoned while desmond was still inside his......

Also, henry did extract a promise from locke to save his life no matter what happens....so I think that he knew that maybe he would be found out or that something else would have have happened that would put his life in danger.