Theories and Speculation

It's confirmed: "Dead is Dead." Locke was, but now he is not. Ben Linus is scared of what that means, but Locke is not. It is truly a new chapter in the history of the island. Our spring cleaning project might just be at its most difficult point. We might be tempted to look away and just let things be. But we saw what happened to Jack Shephard in LA when he tried to not think about the island. Matthew Fox said, ''I've always believed part of what was destroying him was his lack of physical proximity to the Island.'' So let's put ourselves in the thick of it and pack up our cleaning box marked "Island." We are asking the three main questions that have to be answered in order for the story of Lost to resolve: Who are the powers vying for the island? What role will the island play in the struggle? And what will the struggle mean for our Protagonists. My first two articles attempted to sort out the Protagonists, alive, dead or otherwise. Locke got his own treatment as the new man. Now we have to ask what is the island?

Spring Cleaning continues here at SWLS. We're still trying to pack up our "Protagonists" box. I need a whole box just for Locke. He's always been his own unique man, and he's always been dealing with boxes physical or metaphysical, so I think he'd be happy with his own. The fact of the matter is that no category correctly holds Locke. We talked about seven groups of people in the story of Lost. Locke has never been fully a part of any of them, and it appears that even in death he is an anomaly. I contend that not only does he not fit into any of the groups of people but he actually supersedes them all. He is the New Man, greater than the ones before him.

It's time for some spring cleaning. I have all this information, all this conjecturing and theorizing about Lost crammed into my head. I have a serious need to open the door, let the dust mites go scattering, and lay all this stuff out on the floor and organize it!

There are several huge questions that for the narrative have to be addressed in order for the story to resolve. Who are the powers vying for the island? How will the island relate to the struggle? What will the struggle mean for our protagonists? We'll call these three questions our three cleaning boxes. I've heard it said that the best way to sort clutter is to have three boxes marked Throw, Move, Give. It must be very smart to use that system - I wouldn't know! But I can mark our Lost spring cleaning boxes Power, Island and Protagonists. Knowing how us Lost-phytes love to parce words I better clear up what I mean by each of these.

Time travel sure is messy, isn't it? Last week, and again today, Jugdish wrote articles talking about his frustration, as a non-sci-fi geek (unlike myself) in understanding it all. I'm a huge sci-fi fan, and always have been, but I too was hoping they wouldn't go down this road. Not because I don't like it, because this is some of the most fantastic and fun television I have ever watched. But I totally understand how people unfamiliar with time travel, or sci-fi could be frustrated. Hell, even people who DO love sci-fi and time travel can get flustered in all of this mess, myself included. So, at the suggestion of Jugdish, I'm going to dish out some of my thoughts on time travel in the Lost world. I'm going to mostly focus on those darned old rules, because that seems to be the root of everyone's issues. Just remember, time travel isn't really possible (as far as we know) and therefore everything I say, and everything everyone else says on this site is purely their own understanding and conjecture. This of course amplifies our problem of understanding it, but we are truly at the mercy of the writers on this.

"Because You Left" blew away any doubt that time travel is going to play a big part during season 5.The Losties plus Julite (she will be included in the Losties for this article) are skipping through time due to Ben turning the frozen donkey wheel (or is it because the Oceanic 6 left?). I have been against the idea of time travel throughout the series. Even with the "Constant", I was satisfied that it was just Desmond's conscience traveling through time. The Losties are time traveling and I have come to accept this plot line. I am at least satisfied that it appears to be a linear form of time travel, not parallel universes.

Lost is barreling down the tracks right now. In the way that Ben and Widmore have been set up as the two main power-brokers, Jack and Kate have been set up as the two main lovers. The series is past the "marketing test" stage regarding who should hook up with whom or who has the better chemistry. The story is at the crux of the matters that will have to be solved in order for the heroes to be victorious and the nemeses to be vanquished. The island is clearly calling its troops to battle, and it's calling Jack and Kate. Whether or not they are able to answer this call might very well seal the fate of "every living person" in the story.

The end of the first episode of Lost ("Tabula Rasa") was a montage of the characters to the song "Washed Away" by Joe Purdy. In it every character was resolved, in relationship and at rights. Watching over the characters was the vigilant eye of John Locke who has been asked for help by the island, the Others and Jacob himself. Together on the beach sat Jack and Kate. To her he had just declared, "Everyone gets a chance to start again." And since then many characters have quite literally begun their lives over: Locke as a hunter, Sawyer as a hero, Jin as a loving husband, Sun as a trusting wife, Sayid as a repentant torturer, and Hurley as a man who can beat his own luck. Kate has changed quite dramatically and we've seen her in the future as a responsible mother and forgiven fugitive. One man has not changed: Jack Shephard. To him his dead father has appeared both on and off the island. To him Locke has declared that he is a man of science without faith or trust. To him Achara cursed his fate as a great man and leader. He has tried to be that great leader, but he has failed because of his neurotic need to be the savior. By the time he is settled with Kate in "Something Nice Back Home" 4x10 he has not changed. By the later action at the end of "Through the Looking Glass" 3x22 he has not changed. But by that point he recognizes his destiny - to go back to the island with Kate, and very likely the other Oceanic Six.

For anyone who is not familiar with the word "Jate" it stands for the relationship between Jack and Kate. A "Jater" is a reference to someone who feels Jack and Kate should be together. A "Skater" would be a fan of the Sawyer/Kate relationship. I am neither a Skater nor a Jater, just for the record. I don't even find the triangle itself to be an interesting storyline. But since "Jate" appears so prominently in "Something Nice Back Home," I gave it some more thought. I have come to the conclusion that Jack and Kate should not be together. At all.

Recently the Washington Post had an article stating that Lost is the subject of a stimulating online discussion among its fans and that Ben Sledge's Lost.cubit.net is one of its notable gathering places - which we of course knew already! Critics have noted this cyber conversation about Lost since the show's inception back in 2004. The reasons for the public's fascination run the gamut from the show's host of beguiling characters, cinematic production and brainteaser plotlines.

I contend that Lost is a modern myth, and the function of myth is to tell society what it is concerned with and how to do deal with it. I won't suggest that we know the full treatment the writers are going to give these issues, but I say with certainty that they are dealing with them effectively. The way that Lost handles three main human concerns is why the story has become such an integral part of our imaginations and interest. The concerns hinge on our experiences with time, sex and death.

While some games reveal pieces of the characters to us, others reveal pieces of the mythology of the story arc. Some games just have to do with numbers, like Connect Four, and others deal directly with the story. Look at the crosswords. Locke is working on one in "Collision" and some of the answers seem out of place. As others working harder than me have figured out, Locke's "Gilgamesh" answer in context with the crossword is incorrect. However, if one put in the correct answers, the word would change to "scripture," a word that ends up having a much higher meaning for him. Jack's crossword in "A Tale of Two Cities" is completed with several answers tying directly into the story line of LOST. Raft, prenatal, heroes, heavy drinker, essential facts. I'm sure if I read the back of my Cheerios box I could find ways to tie it into LOST, but either way the crosswords are nice little hints.

At last we come to the games that reoccur in the show, games that really make us sit down and think. These are the ones that tie directly into the plot of the episodes and themes of the show. One is Mousetrap. We have seen the game twice; one in the toy store John was working in, and again in the barracks where Kate was held. This particular game represents how those intending to do good can end up falling into traps that they couldn't even see coming. As Locke puts it, "well, you start with all these parts off the board. And then, one by one, you build the trap - shoe, bucket, tub - piece by piece it all comes together. And then you wait 'til your opponent lands here on the old cheese wheel. And then if you set it up just right, you spring the trap." This is the same episode where Locke's kidney is taken. Cooper's version of the shoe, bucket, and tub became setting up Locke's mother, drinks, and duck hunting. The theme of setting up others goes beyond that episode and even that season. Ben based his entire relationship with the Losties off of manipulation and false leads only to end up ensnaring them in the end. It seems that Locke is starting to catch up with Ben, as Locke is well versed in other games as well.

Hello everyone. Today we start a series of articles that some of you may have seen on Lostaholics.com, but I thought that they were so good that I got permission to re-post them here so more folks could read them. Here begins the first in the series of "What's Next?" articles and many thanks to the author Nancy Drew. Enjoy.

The dedicated Lost viewer in all of us is no stranger to the reference of "TIME" in an episode. In fact, when re-watching earlier episodes from Seasons 1 and 2, one can see many mentions or displays of time that, otherwise, would go unnoticed. The true question is: What counts as a reference to this theme and what doesn't?

If we go back to Season 1, we'll see that it doesn't take a "Timeologist" to see the references, but some are so subtle that they are easily overlooked, as well. Some examples of the TIME theme in Season 1 are:

Locke tells Walt: "Backgammon's the oldest game in the world. Archeologists found sets when they excavated the ancient ruins of Mesopotamia -- 5,000 years old. That's older than Jesus Christ." ("Pilot, Part 2")

Sayid tells the group that the distress signal has been repeating for "16 years and 5 months, that's the count." ("Pilot, Part 2")

Charlie says, "Really, last I heard we were positively made of time." ("Walkabout")

Charlie tells Locke that he hasn't played his guitar in "Uh, 8 days, 11 hours, give or take." ("House of the Rising Sun")

Jack remarks about Adam and Eve's tattered clothing: "It takes 40 or 50 years for clothing to degrade like this." ("House of the Rising Sun")

Have you ever met a group of unluckier people than those that inhabit Lost Island? It's bad enough that you crash your plane on a seemingly deserted island, but to make matters worse, that island turns out to be inhabited by polar bears, a crazy French chick, kidnap crazy natives, and a killer smoke monster. To top it all off, we learn that this isn't the worst thing that has happened to most of these folks. Each and everyone one of the main Lost kids have one major trauma or other in their past, but no one has had it worse than Mr. Hugo Hurley Reyes. It's a good thing that fat people are jolly, because if that wasn't the case, then Hurley would have eaten a bullet a long long time ago.

If there is one person who has suffered more than any other (on or off the island) it has to be Hurley. Think about it. Sure, Locke, Sawyer and Kate have daddy issues, but so does Hurley. Locke lost a kidney and was thrown from a building, but he got better didn't he? Sawyer's daddy killed himself, but Sawyer got to grow up and be the sexy con man. Kate? Well Kate gets to be Kate. Nuff said. But poor Hurley was so depressed when his dad left he apparently ate a small city block. How about Jack? Jack also has daddy issues (where have I heard that one before?), but he is still a doctor and he gets the romantic attentions of Kate and Juliet (Jell-O wrestling anyone?). Honestly, could you imagine how much Jack would girly weep if he had to go through everything that Hurley has gone through up to this point?

From the beginning, one of the recurring themes in Lost has been that of the struggle between science and faith. This is a common struggle that we all see and experience in our lives everyday, and Lost has done a fantastic job of bringing this theme out for us to face. I find it interesting, that even in our own forums here at SW, and other sites like it across the web, the majority of our discussions hinge around those of us who believe that what we are seeing on the island can be explained by the logical, and those of us who believe the answers are more mystical in nature. I have always thought that my ideas about the show lie somewhere in between that of science and faith.

It is for these very reasons that I typically refrain from posting theories that try to explain away what we are seeing unfold to us each week. Sure, I have my ideas about what will happen next, and who or what is behind certain things, but call it a theory and you're opening yourself up to untold amounts of back and forth about who's right and who's wrong. I've also found that once someone posts a "theory" on a website, we tend to nurture and protect that theory, never wanting to fully let it go and believe that we are wrong. It is for that reason that I refuse to call any of this a theory. I prefer to think of it as more of an idea, or a possible solution to some of the mysteries that we've been seeing turn up from week to week. Obviously I don't claim any ownership on most of these ideas, because many of you have been talking about them for weeks, or even years in some cases. These are nothing more than the "ideas" that I choose to prescribe to at the moment. In 5 weeks, when the show returns, I reserve the right at any moment to let go of these thoughts.

One of the most intriguing things Lost has brought to us in Season 4 is the addition of a few new cast members, The Freighter People.  The objectives of Naomi's team of experts and the reasons that they were chosen were important enough to be the subject of the first flashback of the season.  For me, the most interesting of these new arrivals is Daniel Faraday.  After the confirmation of the time "issue", for lack of a better word, as a result of the rocket firing test, and his realization that there is only a very narrow beam to follow in and out of the island, it is obvious that Mr. Faraday is going to play a major role in this series.  However, it is equally apparent that Mr. Faraday has issues of his own to deal with.