Michael CROSS and other significances of name

So, the Lenten season has put it on my mind, but I'm worried that Michael is going to have to die. Not soon, by any means, but I'm just trying to prepare myself. The oldest (and best) story ever told, of course: the man of sorrows dying to save the people he loves, but the more I grow to love Michael, the more I have to, like I said, prepare myself for the worst. This might be too soon to discuss, but what do y'all think?

Any other ideas on names? Saul? Angel? Are they just picked out of nowhere or do they mean something more?

The awesome thing that Kc did was he made every character seem vulnerable to death and none of the main cast is super disposable. They all have something going on. Kalani was disposable until we heard he was a pilot, for exemple.

Though, Michael dying does echo my thought of Lost. We're Alive is really focused on these people rather than the zombies. I don't know if I'm ready for such a major death so soon though... =P

Well I assumed Micheal was dead from the very beginning cause why else would these journals be read? Most of the time it's all read from Michaels perspective and sometimes other characters.

I'm assuming that he's been dead for a long time and someone is reading these journals to find out what happened. MAYBE MICHAEL SWAN IS THE ONLY ONE LEFT!

I wonder about the name thing with Angel. I mean, is it just 'cause he's blond and preppy? Or is it ironic, because perhaps he is the traitor and he is not an honest person, like a fallen angel? Or is something going to happen that makes him a martyr with him ultimately saving Michael? Everyone is attached to Michael and the idea of him being killed off would be a possible tragedy. But Angel is slowly growing into a stronger and more likable character. Makes me wonder...

Stronger more likable character WHO CAN TAKE OVER! After Michael's death. As for the name I just think it's the blonde and preppy part but who knows...

As for why Angel can't be the traitor; front page there's an article called Towergate: Traitor to Tower

Ooh, good thoughts, RD. I hadn't thought of Angel being a fallen angel, but I like it!

Hmm, interesting thought fraggot. I went back & listened to 1:1, cause when I first listened to it I thought it was Michael re-reading his journals after this whole mess is over. But, then I thought that it was just his exact words when he started keeping the journal when they got to the tower. But, I didn't think about the idea that someone else is reading these journals. I just thought it was a radio-storytelling technique (since we can't see anything). But, yeah, after everybody's dead would be interesting kind of like Cloverfield.

I think that Michael was begining to writein the journals like around prior to the Arena arc and that storywise, we already caught up to that point where he was writing. I see it as one of those flashback moments where the movie begins at a point after the story first begins and it takes the time to go back to explain things. Where as i don't think Michael is dead and maybe the time frame point where it is present time to where Michael is writing at chapter 1-1, I do think we did reach that point already and we were just not informed of it.

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Originally Posted by fraggot

MAYBE MICHAEL SWAN IS THE ONLY ONE LEFT!

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Thank you, Fraggot, for my first good laugh of the day! :)

Could be random, but I suspect it's a minor easter egg. Did anyone else notice that Carley Simon died in chapter 15? lol. Apparently Kc is not a fan.

There are disposable characters, they just don't have voiced lines.

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Originally Posted by wooly

Could be random, but I suspect it's a minor easter egg. Did anyone else notice that Carley Simon died in chapter 15? lol. Apparently Kc is not a fan.

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You're so vain wooly....

Huh, interesting theory. I guess this could apply to all the soldiers: Michael CROSS, Saul TINK, ANGEL TUNUDO. I'm not sure if Tink or Tunudo mean anything significant, but the Cross theory seems like it could very well pan out, perhaps Micheal will give his life for the others in the end, though I agree with AdrianHD, I don't think we're due for the death of a major character anytime soon.

Oooo, good idea. Research time! Me likely. I found lots of religious references here. Allow me to get analytical and biblical for a sec.

"Michael" in the Bible is an archangel and field commander of the Army of God against Satanic forces. So basically, a leader. Last name is Cross. Go figure.
"Angel" (or angels) are followers that carry out tasks and deliver messages, etc. Someone mentioned "Fallen Angel" = fortelling???? (shrug, who knows). "Tunudo" - didn't find anything.
"Saul" (I actually had to look this one up) means "prayed for" in Hebrew. "Tink" - most definitions I found involved something along the lines of constant traveling and "tinkering" with metal or machinery.

Strange how their names seem to describe them so well.

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Originally Posted by Zombiehead

"Angel" (or angels) are followers that carry out tasks and deliver messages, etc. Someone mentioned "Fallen Angel" = fortelling???? (shrug, who knows). "Tunudo" - didn't find anything.

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goddamnit...

That MEANS VICTOR is MADE!!

I like this analysis of the names. I had thought about Michael Cross as being a significant and purposely chosen name, but for some reason a very obvious one, Angel, never clicked in my head. Zombiehead, great research. Those all make perfect sense. Though it does make me wonder about Michaels fate now. Will he be like the archangel Michael who drove Satan from heaven (Michael drives the dead out of the realm of the living) or will the name Cross have a more important significance and foretell of Michaels sacrifice? Oooh, and if he does sacrifice himself, will he rise from the dead? Zombie Michael!

I just learned that Kalani means "the heavens". He is a pilot. Dude spends a lot of his time up there.

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Originally Posted by Adventureless_Hero

I just learned that Kalani means "the heavens". He is a pilot. Dude spends a lot of his time up there.

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So you're saying he's going to die? :)

Saul was also the name of the apostle Paul (before he was the apostle). Smitten by god on the way to Damascus. Clearly Saul has been on the side of Michael and the tower survivors the whole time. If anything Tanya may have been religious and named him after the bible character (awful one to name him after though, Saul in the bible was bad, Paul good). Michael is, in my opinion, a common name and can be overlooked as having any significance.

The last name Cross could be significant to the listener (I figure it is just a name or vague symbolism rather than foreshadowing) in as much as Michael is the one in charge and has a heavy (figurative/metaphorical) cross to carry.

Kalani I agree with the pilot reference. I have heard of a lot of people named Angel but it seems to obvious to be symbolism.

EDIT: I just realized Saul Tink sounds an awful lot like Saltine. If you say it out loud.

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Originally Posted by Zombiehead

So you're saying he's going to die? :)

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Oh, no. I just thought it was an interesting little easter egg that Kalani means "the heavens" and that he's a pilot. Kind of reminds me of comic book characters like Dr. Otto Octavius who ended up being a dude with 8 mechanical arms, and Edward Nigma who became the Riddler. It's like thier names sealed thier fate.

It seems the name Durai is of Indian origin, and it means "leader" or "chief".
Befitting because he's the boss-man of the mallers.

You know what this thread has told me?

That Kc/Shane and co. really know their stuff.

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Originally Posted by Icarus

I just realized Saul Tink sounds an awful lot like Saltine. If you say it out loud.

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Love it!

Lots of good theories. But... you can make anything about religion if you try hard enough. The names could just have been a quick way to convey something about the characters. Angel - the pretty boy. Cross - the grump. I have to agree though, that a name like Durai seems to shout deeper meaning.

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Originally Posted by Wicked Sid

You know what this thread has told me?

That Kc/Shane and co. really know their stuff.

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Indeed. Never had a doubt.

Ok, I was going to save this for my "Fun Facts" release, but I guess I'll toss this out now. Not so much a name thing, and it could be an amazing coincidence, buuuuut:

The combo to Burt's safe is 56-22-1.
The 56th book of the bible is The Book of Titus.
22 breaks down to 2:2 because Titus isn't a very long book. 2:2 is a list of qualities for "aged men".
The 1st quality on that list is "sober".

Crazy coincidence? Maybe. Interesting either way? I think so.

Here's a link to Titus 2:2.

It just keeps getting better and better. Great find Shananala8!

Pippin
1. A person or thing that is admired.
2. Foreigner, Stranger.
3. Apple or fruit.

While I was looking up a German rock band I veered off and found this. Quite interesting I might add...

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Lizzy \l(iz)-zy\ as a girl's name is a variant of Elizabeth (Hebrew), and the meaning of Lizzy is "God's promise; God is my oath".

According to the Gospel of Luke, Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah were "righteous before God, living blamelessly" (1:6), but childless. Zechariah was visited by the angel Gabriel, who told him his wife would have a son who "will be great in the sight of the Lord"

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FORETELLING???

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Originally Posted by Zombiehead

Pippin
1. A person or thing that is admired.
2. Foreigner, Stranger.
3. Apple or fruit.

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Discovery! Must share...

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Apple tree. Eve sinned with an apple. It’s universally known that apples don’t fall from trees. We also know that one bad apple spoils the bunch. (If you have anything else I’m open to hearing it!) So is this hinting that Pippin has some connection to sin aka evildoings? Long live double meanings!

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so i have been in a research mood as of late. and while i know their has been some debate over the usage of names before...id like to put out a slightly more in depth look at them. perhaps there is something to be learned for future direction of the story based on simple things we've been looking at this whole time. all my information has come from either surnamedb.com or googling...so without any further chatter...

"pegs" MITCHUM
mitchum is an english surname originated around 675 ad. its meaning is equated to "old house" mitchum was also an alterative to the name....michael


michael cross
obviously, we have made the connection to michael and the biblical implications of the name...but the name cross derives from the pre 7th century norse word "kross", which offset the olde english word "cruc". as a surname, it was often given to people who lived at a crossroads..and as the variation of the name spread it came to denote one who carried the cross in processions of the christian church.

angel tunudo
this is a funny one....as through all my research i found literally no examples of the name tunudo....well, with exception to yu-gi-oh.....so i left this search confused...?

saul TINK
tink comes from the olde french word "tenche" a nickname metanymic for freshwater fisherman. or could possibly be the nickname for a "sleek, well rounded person"..also as it has been said before, tink is a shortened version of "tinker"....the earliest found siting of the name is around 1193...but as the surname tenche.. tink appeared later in 1599

riley LEFEVRE
lefevre is an olde french surname meaning ironworker or smith, it is also the french equivilant to the english surname "smith"
lizzie fabre
strangely enough, fabre has the same definition as lefevre both mean ironworker or smith.....

burt SCOTT
scott comes from the olde english pre 7th century word "scotti". in former and acient times this denoted not a scottsman but an irishman...specifically a gael. one who had taken part in the conquering of the wetern coast of scotland...

kelly MAYNARD
maynard comes from the old french surname "mainard" and loosely means strength-strong willed. originallly found in the domesday book of norfolk, 1086
tommy PICK
i included tommy because of the names relation to that of maynard, its nothing major but the orgin of the name pick was found in the same domesday book of norfolk 1086

and lastly....
DATU MATA datu means "chief".. mata has a few meanings...kill and massacre being two of them...
DURAI....also means chief
KALANI....while yes kalani does have the meaning "heavens or sky"..it also has the meaning "royal one" which also equates to chief (at least in my book)

could there be something to all this....... thoughts?

If you Wiki Durai, there is a film where Durai is accused of Murder but evades prison time long enough to prove he is inocent. Interestingly, the other major character working with Durai is a cook.

oh....THATS where you were getting the chef reference...i was curious....

'Cross' is used as another word to mean 'angry' over here, so the name makes me think of Michael as a bit cranky.

There is this theory that Michael is dead and that someone else is re-reading the journals. Also, there is a theory that Lizzy is pregnant. MAYBE Lizzy's child is the one reading the journal and he/she is just one of many who have continued to survive in the future.

It seems to me that all of the Mallers have are going by nicknames. Angel mentioned this in "Over the Air-Waves" Part 3 (3:15) and Kalani compares it to their use of bird related call signs.

It they all choose their nicknames, there indeed should be some significance to why those names were chosen.

A few of the maller names could have some significance, mainly durai,scratch, and latch...the rest don't seem to follow the traditional pattern,that being names that find their origins in the late 1800's and earlier...

I've often wondered if tardust is a Saul Williams reference, as I have yet to find any other place where it exists...

When I did a search for "Tardust", I found an article saying it is slang for a certain illegal substance. Perhaps Tardust was a former drug dealer, or involved in a drug related crime that got him sent to Eastern Bay.

That might explain his bomb making knowledge...lots of "makers" of synthetic drugs are actually quite bright people...and a sure fire way to figure out what goes •boom•

Also "Pippin" is the name of a popular musical by Stephen Schwartz.

It was my impression that Pippin might have formally been an actor who ended up working with the Mallers. This would make him ideal for the role of undercover mole. He may not necessarily be a good actor, but he wasn't a good "salesman" either.

In "Purgatory" Part 1 (10:13), Datu introduces Kalani and says his name did not match his face. I think this might be because it was not his real name, but the nickname he used when he started working with the Mallers. The meaning behind this name has already been discussed in this thread and seems a fitting nickname for a pilot from Hawaii.

This section is quite interesting