Near Death Experience

[Thomas]

Didn't notice any comments on this, so forgive me if it's been covered.

Did anyone make a connection between Charlie's near death experience on the plane and seeing across to the "true" time line and Juliet's actual death experience...where she was in and out....telling Saywer "it worked"... It seems like in death they are getting the big picture.   

If we go with that as a working idea, then Juliet comforts Sawyer with the information that maybe they did the right thing...she didn't say....we screwed up....she said..it worked.     Then you add Charlie and Desmond seeing that they are in the wrong place, maybe they want to get over to Jack's current timeline and end the ALT. 

The piece that doesn't fit with this line of thinking is Daniel saying that the bomb caused the ALT, since he seems to agree that the ALT is a bad outcome.    This could be a case of Daniel not understanding the big picture, or it could be that the ALT is the result of something else, but Daniel is attributing it to the bomb.   

Just some random thoughts.

[thebeann]

I can't remember, but not sure Dan was stating that this life isn't good (or better), only that it might not be the life they were supposed to lead. Perhaps these visions will compel the characters to seek out those things that are indeed missing from Alt-timeline - Des finding Penny, Dan finding Charlotte, etc.

One thing with the visions - I found it interesting that Des saw things that would be "future" in the alternative timeline (Charlie dying didn't happen until several months after flight 815, Penny giving birth would have been even later, etc). Not sure if it is just a Desmond thing (he was able to see the future on the island) or if it indicates that the timelines are not necessarily parallel.

[BobBX542]

I can't remember, but not sure Dan was stating that this life isn't good (or better), only that it might not be the life they were supposed to lead. Perhaps these visions will compel the characters to seek out those things that are indeed missing from Alt-timeline - Des finding Penny, Dan finding Charlotte, etc.

One thing with the visions - I found it interesting that Des saw things that would be "future" in the alternative timeline (Charlie dying didn't happen until several months after flight 815, Penny giving birth would have been even later, etc). Not sure if it is just a Desmond thing (he was able to see the future on the island) or if it indicates that the timelines are not necessarily parallel.

It probably is just a Desmond thing because he is uniquely different and special, and the time lines are not parallel, or rather, they are parallel, but the on-island time line is in 2007, and off-island is 2004.

I'm thinking that Desmond will be able to "talk to him self" through the time lines somehow, like the way that Dan was able to talk to Des at the Swan and plant that memory.

[MachThree]

This is sort of just me posting some random thoughts, but I can't help but take a step back and point out that in the "original" timeline, pretty much everyone on the Island (all the 815'ers, Desmond, etc.) had at least one near death experience - the plane crash, or in Desmond's case the shipwreck.  IIRC, desmond passed out before he washed up on shore.  Jack specifically told Kate he passed out way back in S1 when he was recounting the crash.  So for them in particular, they had near death experiences I'd say in terms of being knocked unconcious and nearly dying.  I just wonder if somehow it takes a near death experience to move between timelines, or to move to / from the island - perhaps that is why Dharma drugged people on the sub - in that perhaps coming and going from the Island is in itself a near death experience and its better and less unpleasent to experience that while unconcious. 

[Hurley rocks dudes]

well the alternate timeline wasn't in place until they blew up the bomb, so they didn't have to worry about flashing sideways before the bomb went off

[ericd543]

I think facing death is a major issue for our Losties. The plane crash was an interesting experience that they all survived. No doubt it changed their lives. Jacob has a way of doing that. I also think any time you have a loaded gun pointed at you it should give you pause to consider your fate. They sure do that a lot in this show and really don't practice very good gun safety at all. I'm still waiting for the moment when someone racks the slide on their gun and ejects a perfectly good cartridge on the ground.   

Richard had several NDE's in Ab Aeterno - the reprieve from the gallows once he realized he knew English (from reading the English Bible?) and then again in the hold of the Black Rock, the sword, Smokey attack, the dehydration, the boar attack, and finally having his head held underwater until Jacob asked "Why should I stop?" and he replied "because I want to live". I imagine a good near death experience, the kind you survive, would do that to ya.

Also interesting how Ben's brush with a tumor went down. When cancer happens I imagine one does a lot of soul searching but in Ben's case a spinal surgeon showed up out of the blue. I don't think Ben learned much from his brush with death.

Who else? Hurley almost went over the edge of a cliff, and so did Sawyer. Hurley was saved by Libby and Sawyer probably felt he owed Locke/MiB a little something after his help in getting a grip on the cliff ladder. Locke of course with his fall from the building that broke his back, but even with Jacob there giving him his patented Touch he didn't seem to "get it" until he got to the island.

Kelvin, Minkowski, Libby, Anna Lucia, Boone, Shanon, should remind us that sometimes a near death experience ends with death.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." - Soren Kierkegaard