Saturday, May 22, 2010

Lost Finale Question: What Answers Do You Want?

Well, it all comes down to tomorrow. (TOMORROW!!! OMG, now I'm hyperventilating at the thought... BRB...)

OK, I'm back. Whew. Sorry about that. OK, anyway, on Sunday we're going to get a lot of answers, but a lot of things will remain unanswered. And that's the way I like it, to be honest. Not so it gives me something to discuss until the end of time (well, OK, that's a huge part of it) but more because they simply won't be able to make everyone happy. The answers that they'll give will make a lot of people go, "Really? THAT was the answer? Oh my GOD I thought it would be this... I liked my way better," and they know that, so they're going to leave a lot of things for people to resolve "their way."

In my Finding Lost: Season 5 book, I included a chapter at the end that listed off the main questions I thought needed to be answered or even addressed in Season 6. I'm going to reprint that short chapter here, and maybe we can use that as a jumping-off point for what still needs to be answered. Of course, what I DON'T have here is now one of the most pressing questions: What is the sideways world? And how will it blend/clash with the world we know?

What surprised me while going through these was seeing just how many questions HAVE been answered! I've marked in green the ones that have been answered, and in red the ones that haven't, and blue are the neutral questions that haven't been answered, but I'm OK with that.

I haven't added the new questions from S6... So, what do YOU want to see answered the most?

The Survivors
• Was Flight 815 predestined to crash on the island? Were the people on it chosen to be on it and if so, why? Did their paths cross by happenstance, or is there a puppet master of sorts?
VERDICT: Mostly answered.
• Why was Libby in the mental hospital with Hurley? Is there something more to her than we’ve been told?
VERDICT: I wondered during "Everybody Loves Hugo" if maybe Libby actually saw the sideways world in the original timeline and that's why people thought she was crazy. Or maybe she was just overwhelmed with grief for her husband. But the significance is to put her in the hospital in the other world, and to show the connection with Hurley. So I'm OK with nothing more on this.
• Did Richard Malkin (Claire’s psychic) really see something happening to Aaron, and if so, what was it? Was he right when he said that only she should raise him?
VERDICT: Well, Darlton seem to think they've actually debunked this one. I don't.
• What is the significance of Aaron?
See above
• What is the deal with Christian?
VERDICT: This remains a burning question and it MUST be answered.
• What happened to Claire? Is she alive or dead?
VERDICT: Answered.
• What is the source of Walt’s specialness? Why did the Others take him?
VERDICT: I think the Others took him because they wanted a new leader, and were testing him the same way they did Locke when he was a boy. I think this will be covered in the finale but not in detail.
• Is there something supernatural about Vincent? Why does he always seem to be present when bad things happen? Why did Christian tell him to go get Jack?
VERDICT: I think we'll find this out.
• Was Locke ever special, or did he create his own specialness by informing Richard of it in 1954? Is he really dead?
VERDICT: He's dead. But we don't have more details.
• Why don’t the normal rules of time travel apply to Desmond? What makes him different?
VERDICT: Not sure we'll find out why, just that he is, and that he survived the electromagnetism.
• Can Hurley really see dead people or is he just crazy? If the former, how are they appearing to him?
VERDICT: He can see them.

The Island
• What is the significance of the island? Why is it so important? How does the island heal people? Is it a supernatural force?
VERDICT: Still a BIG one for the finale.
• Where did the electromagnetic energy come from?
VERDICT: Not sure they'll answer this; just that it's there.
• Why was the hatch quarantined? Was that word just written on the hatch to scare anyone inside? Was the vaccination required or was it just a placebo? Is there really a “sickness” on the island, as Rousseau suggests?
VERDICT: Hm... not sure if they'll cover this because it's not something covered this season. Wouldn't you love to see Kelvin Inman again??
• What is the smoke monster? How did it form in the first place?
VERDICT: Answered!! Though I'd STILL like to see a wee bit more.
• When Locke saw the monster at the beginning of season 1 and said what he saw was beautiful, what did he really see?
VERDICT: Not sure yet... but I wonder if it's a version of the glowing cave? Can Smokey appear as white light, just like the cave does?
• How are dead people appearing on the island? Is Smokey behind it?
VERDICT: Yep. At least, he says so.
• What are the whispers?
VERDICT: Answered!
• Who were the original inhabitants of the island? How long ago were they there? Who built the ancient sites on the island, like the Temple or the statue? Why were they built? How was the statue destroyed?
VERDICT: Statue was destroyed by the Black Rock, but we don't know about the buildings on the island, and we don't know much about Mother or where the Others originated.
• Who created the Frozen Donkey Wheel, and how does it send people off the island through time?
VERDICT: Jacob's brother built it, and it works with the light somehow, but it's not clear how (and I'm not sure they really need to answer it beyond that).
• Who are the Adam and Eve skeletons that Jack and Kate found in the caves in season 1?
VERDICT: Mother and Jacob's brother.
• How did The Black Rock end up in the middle of the island? Why did Jacob bring it there?
VERDICT: Answered!
• Why can’t pregnancies come to full term on the island?
VERDICT: Not sure yet. But it might have to do with Jughead.

The Others
• Who is Jacob? Where did he come from? How old is he? How did he get to the island?
VERDICT: We don't know exactly how old he is, but the rest has been answered!
• What is the meaning of Jacob’s touch? Why did he touch those six particular people?
VERDICT: Richard says the touch is a gift, and that it's why he's immortal, but we don't know exactly what it means. That might be all we get on this, though. We know why he touched those six.
• Who is the Man in Black? Why does he hate Jacob?
VERDICT: Answered!
• How old is Richard Alpert? Why did Jacob make him immortal? What is his affiliation with Jacob?
VERDICT: Answered!
• Who are the Others? Why were they wearing raggedy costumes in season 2? Why do they have superhuman strength? Why were they kidnapping children? What is their end game?
VERDICT: This is still one of the burning questions.
• Are there Others who are in the group against their will? Cindy, one of the kidnapped survivors, told Jack they were there to “watch.” Watch what?
VERDICT: Still not answered.
• Why was Jacob choosing specific people for his lists? Were those lists really coming from Jacob? VERDICT: Pretty much answered!
• Is Ben special in any way? What is true about what he’s said? What happened to him when Richard took him to the Temple? Will he retain any memories of the time travelers being in Dharmaville in 1977 and what they did to/for him?
VERDICT: Still not answered.
• Why was Ben coming and going from the island?
VERDICT: Still not answered. Might be as simple as, "Because he could."
• What is the real story behind Eloise Hawking and Charles Widmore? How did they come to the island? Why was their relationship “complicated”? Why does Widmore want to get back to the island so badly? Why doesn’t Eloise?
VERDICT: Don't know exactly, but we might find out more about them in the finale.
• What happened to Annie, Ben’s childhood sweetheart?
VERDICT: I'm not sure this will ever be answered, and maybe it was only introduced to show that Ben WAS capable of making connections.
• How wide a reach do the Others have, and how many Others are off the island (like Jill in the butcher shop, for example).
VERDICT: Not answered yet.

Dharma
• Why was the Dharma Initiative really formed? Did the DeGroots have a more sinister reason for starting it up?
• Will we hear anything more about Alvar Hanso and his connection to the island?
• Does the Dharma Initiative have any affiliation with the Others?
• How did the Dharma Initiative find the island? Why were they looking for a place with its “unique properties”?
• Eloise says that a clever man created the pendulum and the way to find the island. Will we find out who this person is?
• What happened to the Dharma Initiative between 1977 and the Purge?
• If all of the Dharma people on the island died in the Purge, why did the off-island Dharma people continue to send the food pallets?
VERDICT: We haven't heard much of anything about Dharma, and now it seems like it was so long ago I'm wondering if we'll ever hear anything beyond, "They were there, and they affected what's happening now, the end." But it would be nice to know a little bit more about this organization that has taken up so much of the story.

The Rest
• What is the significance of the numbers? Why have they penetrated every element of the characters’ lives? Who made the original recording of them on the island?
VERDICT: Don't know who made the original recording (Jacob?) but the significance seems to be that they were the numbers on Jacob's list. Will they be anything more?
• Who are the Shadow Seekers? Why did Ilana and Bram come to the island? How do they know about the island?
VERDICT: Mostly answered, although we don't know how or why Jacob chose them to come to protect the candidates.
• Who was Matthew Abaddon, and why was he associated with both Locke and Widmore?
VERDICT: Not answered.

38 comments:

Lynn Allen said...

You truly have been procrastinating, haven't you Nikki? LOL!

Susan said...

Nikki, re the DI "But it would be nice to know a little bit more about this organization that has taken up so much of the story."

You have nailed it! When you think about it, the DI has been part of the story since Locke and Boone found the hatch. We saw our first DI member early in season 2, the DI played a big part in season 2 and 5, and the Losties kept stumbling across DI hatches and such throughout the first four seasons. And the DI has been mostly abandoned this season. I've always been interested in the DI and would have liked more of them and less of the FS and Jacob/MIB.

The Question Mark said...

You nailed the one about Christian Shephard! he's been nothing but an enigma from the get-go. I have a feeling his actual death may have more behind it than mere alcohol poisoning.

I would love to hear more about Christian, Walt, Smokey's powers/limitations, the rules, the sideways-world, the Hurley bird, and (if it's important) the pellet drop.

Nikki Stafford said...

Lynn: LOL!! How can you tell?!

Anonymous said...

I want to know if Ben is Glory.

Anonymous said...

Since we've seen magic (the ritual over the water) is it possible that repeating the numbers that represent certain people continuously could call them to the source?

tsinmama said...

One more thing, what's about the statue?

TM Lawrence said...

Nikki:
I started to answer several of your questions with my own satisfied mind, then determined that my answers were informed by so many extra-textual and tangentially referenced sources, that it would take a lifetime to respond to just this list...and without authority. So I quit.

Maybe for my PhD dissertation in a few years...

tsinmama said...

Thanks for this post, it's really helpful. I almsot forgot all the questions I had in mind and now you sum it all up in this post. Terrific!

Anonymous said...

When you say "must be answered", what do you mean?

After Across the Sea, I sort of came to the conclusion that answers are beside the point. I think we all agree that "science vs faith" is one of the key themes of the show, and one that the show does not believe there is a clear answer to. In my mind, the more answers the show provides, the more it explicitly comes down on the side of science (in the sense that everything has an answer, even if it's not a strictly scientific answer). But the converse---that not providing answers puts it on the side of faith---doesn't hold. The answers may be there, the show is just choosing not to provide them.

In fact, by not providing answers, the show asks us to have faith that there is a science to the show, which I think is the best possible resolution to that theme.

I'm not sure if I'm making sense here, but I've really come around to the idea that having answers to everything goes against one of the biggest themes of the show.

Nic said...

Nikki! that was great lol. But we do know why babies don't come full term. The statue is Taweret or however you spell it. She controlled pregnancies and now that she got destroyed the women cant give birth to their children because that statue is down in the ocean. They didn't actually answer that but I kinda figured it out myself.

Anonymous said...

But then, Nik, why could women have babies after the statue was destroyed?

The radiation makes more sense to me.

JS said...

Thanks, Nikki - we've been having this discussion in 6.16 and in the NY Times Talks entries, but it would be good to get it all in here.

I do not have a lot I am wondering about, but the ones I am wondering about are kind of big:

Questions I’d like to see answered
1. Pregnancies
2. Eloise Hawking
3. Christian Shephard
4. What did Locke see that he thought was beautiful?

Nikki Stafford said...

Nic: Yes, I was just going to say what redeem said... the statue was destroyed in 1867, but Ethan was born on the island in 1977, so that couldn't have been it.

Anonymous: I think they have to answer some of the big questions... yes, I think many of the questions SHOULD remain unanswered, and have almost lost my voice saying that to dozens of reporters all week, but they have to answer some of the questions. Otherwise, that's just bad storytelling. If you put EVERYTHING onto the viewers, then it's a cop-out. And Darlton are better than that. So expect some answers, but not all, and have been saying that all along.

Sagacious Penguin said...

My thoughts on a few things I'd love more reveals on, but wouldn't be surprised if there aren't any:

Christian: Hmm -- even though I've been a proponent for two versions of Christian, etc. -- if he really was just the MIB on-island the whole time (inexplicable water-crossing and all), then I don't see what else there is to answer about him. Would LOVE there to be something that comes up suddenly, but I'm not so sure it's a neccesity. I can't think of anything that MUST be answered...

The Others: They're followers of Jacob who've been gathering together through Richard's efforts ever since he took the job of Jacob's intermiediary. They're "endgame" is simply to protect the Island. They're a patchwork of ideas and cultures b/c they've been amassed from different arrivals over the years. They have an obsession with labeling people as "good" or "evil" and folding the "good" people into their group (in actuality "good" seems to more-accurately mean ammenable for becoming followers -- children being the best of these). Judging by the temple crowd, raggedy costumes seems almost like their default. Post-Dharma, many moved into the Barracks under Ben's leadership and became more modern. In Season 2 they were concerned with hiding their true nature from the survivors so as to hide the Island's technology from them and scare the suvivors away from their side of the Island. It doesn't seem like they all have superhuman strength, but certain people like Ethan and Mikhail were very strong. Perhaps from being more in-tune with the Island's energy than other people or because of their own innocence-shedding dunks in the Temple spring, but I doubt these two's superior strength is a mystery worth spending too much time on. Cindi and the rest of the "civilian" Others glimpsed in 3.09 were there to watch Juliet's trial.

Dharma: Formed for scientific research to better humanity, just as indicated. They're just a bit more ruthless in their experimenting than such a sugar-coated description would indicate. Magnus and Alvar Hanso served as a way to connect the Black Rock to Dharma. Dharma found the Island through a combination of sci-fi science and knowing the histories of the Black Rock and the 1950s US Military group who came to the Island (photo glimpsed in Lamppost in 5.06). The Island's electromagnetic energy stores (unique properties) just lent themselves to scientific discovery/experimentation. Dharma continued their usual hijinx/experiments until the Others finally decided they'd had enough - probably Ben's idea. Dharma's not affiliated with the Others beyond some members (Ethan, Ben, maybe Mikhail) probably being drafted just as Cindi and Co. were from the 815ers. Pallet delivery could have been automated or the result of a delivery plane time-jumping after coming into the Island on the wrong heading/bearings.

Abbadon: Was he not just an employee of Widmore's used to "get people where they need to be" just like he said? What more is there to wonder?

So as I said at the start, don't get me wrong -- I'd LOVE more info on any/all of these things -- but there's enough presented in the show to answer most of your questions about them even if not in full detail, so it won't surprise me if we don't get overly much more info on them in the finale. But... not much time left until we'll know for sure! Cheers!

QAIS said...

• Why can’t pregnancies come to full term on the island?
VERDICT: Not sure yet. But it might have to do with Jughead.

I have a theory on that one. We already saw how Mother chose HER next "jacob". She waited for the perfect oppertunity for a baby to arrive on the island so that she can raise him purely the way she wants to and in the end recruit him the next jacob because she trusts that he has no choice and that he will do the job exactly how she trained him as a perosn.

Jacob could have done the same thing to recruit his next "jacob" but because smokey is trying to stop that same purpose he is forced to kill any women who is about to give birth EXCEPT for babies conceived off island, those who are like him from accross the sea. This is why jacob was steered into his "candidates" plan. Trying to lure and test those corrupt human beings and trying to find the perfect candidate and entrust one of them to protect the island.

Sagacious Penguin said...

A few more thoughts:

Pregnancies: In an interview somehwere, I believe Darlton implied they were indeed the result of the Incident, which is what I'd been thinking already -- since Juliet said when Ethan was Born "I guess whatever caused it hasn't happened yet" and then the Incident happens like right after.

Eloise: Agreed, we definitely need more on her. I think it'd be great if a lot of her knowledge came from having Original Timeline Daniel's journal since 1977 IN BOTH TIMELINES, but knowing when Red-shoes was going to die is pretty nutty. Unless he was a friend of Daniel's who Danile eulogized in the journal ;)

Locke's Beautiful Sight: He probably saw what Eko and Ben saw - flashes of bright light and bits of his past in it. He just took a different point of view than Eko in calling it beautiful, making him the far more "ammenable for coersion" candidate for Smokey's trickery. I'll be surprised if we get more on this.

QAIS said...

I fully agree with Segacious Penguin. I think your post made my head a bit clearer from all these unanswered questions.

It's just like Dartlon have announced before. They'd rather end the show with what happens to the characters. i.e kate ends up with jack and claire is reunited with aaron yada yada.

Can't wait for the Finale!!!!!

Fred said...

On a previous thread, Teebore and Benny were raising the question of audience satisfaction with the show. They raised a lot of interesting questions, but in the end, no matter what the writers do, we will have to live with it.

Below is a more thought out response to their responses, especially how we will deal with the show in the finale if it does not quite live to expectations:

We have come a long ways over six years in watching LOST, and now with one day to go the end is in sight, and, despite some trepidation, we are hoping CC and DL will deliver in the finale in a way comparable to their best previous episodes. Of course, there have been best episodes and even good episodes captivating audience attention, but the effectiveness of the series comes down to the finale, The End. This final episode has been promoted as satisfying and, however fans may interpret such promotional value, Jorge Garcia came out on stage to assure fans the ending would leave them disappointed. The audience has embraced the assurances of the writers from past experience, and LOST is set to become tomorrow one of the most successful cult classics on television, alongside X-Files and Buffy. If we are to argue for its greatness, then part of the answer must lie in the retention of a loyal fan base for a show that has metamorphosed from island survivor classic to science fiction to philosophical debate to fantasy mixed with action drama, while not absolving itself of its obligation to answer those unsolved mysteries.

While the mysteries have remained at the heart of the show, the question of their resolution may split viewers. In the finale season, a lot has taken place in which those mysteries not only played a leading role, but through various episodes those mysteries have been answered, often with some linkage to one or more of the major characters (the destruction of Tarewet is not a stand alone event, but one tied tightly to the redemption and island story of Richard and Isabella). The capital CC and DL gain from linking their answers of mysteries with the unfolding narrative is in contextualizing those answers that they seamlessly blend into the folds of the story. This strategy succeeds in strengthening the effect of the story being told, but conveys intertextual messages between episodes from earlier seasons.

Fred said...

contuined ...

An observation of LOST is that it resonates with melodramatic moments meant to heighten emotional responses by the audience towards individual characters. While the flashbacks for the various characters underscore the emotional meanings in characters’ island actions, the flashback extends the unfolding mysteries by drawing our attention to the unexpected (the twists in plot executed by unknown agents readily appear in the frequency of car crashes). Without the melodramatic nature of the show, the mysteries (undoubtly the entire mythology of the show) would come across as clever but pale and would suffer from a lack of engagement, leaving LOST to be no more than just a program about puzzle solving. Melodramatic engagement is what pays in LOST, and the mysteries merely add an additional element to the mix.

Regardless of the strengths of the show, we must ask whether after the finale we will be satisfied with the answers given concerning the remaining mysteries, or whether we will accept the drama of the show as its lasting legacy? With any cult story there is always the potential to reimagine the mythology in yet another form which would spur the writing of additional storylines. By simply dismissing what various characters have told us as false or incomplete, the fan can construct a ‘deeper” truth behind the representations given by the shows’ writers. We may credit such reimaginings as fan fiction or pastiche, whose imprint has been observed across time in numerous novels. But the impetuous for founding a new storyline resides in part in the dissatisfaction in resolutions and answers given by CC and DL by the audience, as consumers of television and as naïve storytellers. (Is the success of a television show’s finale that it brings to a halt the possibility of further storytelling? I leave this enigmatic question to the narrative theorists).

We must then face the prospect the finale may not answer every outstanding mystery, and our satisfaction with the episode may have to reside in the storytelling, as in previous episodes in the melodramatic. Some of our assumptions have been proven either way, and a great deal of forensic research by fans has gone into resolving mysteries and connections across gaps between storylines (the analogy of LOST as a puzzle is not inaccurate) that were left unfilled by the writers. Nevertheless, the satisfaction audiences may take from the finale lies less with answers than with the conclusion in a melodrama, as moments of joy and conflict wend their way to a final meeting at a concert in a museum in Los Angeles. Can we live not having all the answers? Only if what we love about LOST is what drew us to this show in the first place.

Fred said...

Made a mistake concerning Jorge Garcia's claim to how fans would find the finale episode. It should read:

This final episode has been promoted as satisfying and, however fans may interpret such promotional value, Jorge Garcia came out on stage to assure fans the ending would NOT leave them disappointed.

Gracie said...

Lynn Allen said..."You truly have been procrastinating, haven't you Nikki? LOL!"

Really Nikki! I would have thought you might be busy this weekend. Have you even checked your day planner lately? You DO know Lost is finishing up tomorrow, don't you? You remember The End, don't you?

Geez! What a dead bum!

You really ought to be doing something, Nikki!

(Is there anyplace this weekend that you haven't been, besides bed?)

Nikki Stafford said...

Gracie: Hmm... and what exactly is this "bed" of which you speak??

Gracie said...

Nikki Stafford said...
"Gracie: Hmm... and what exactly is this "bed" of which you speak?"


Good God Nik!

Did you get those roller skates yet that I said you should buy for your a$$?

If I had your schedule, I'd be under the bed!

(I hope sometime tonight you find one for purposes of resting, if not sleeping. Can you interview from bed?)

Gracie said...

1. So far I agree with everything JS said, so no point in repeating.....
2. What is in the light?
3. What is in the island water?
4. What does it mean to everyone if they are both underwater? (Is the island underwater?)
5. Eloise, Widmore, and Desmond: I want more on all three just to confirm they were as nasty as I thought they were.
6. Is Love going to figure prominently? (Desmond & Penny, Hurley & Libby, Charlie & Claire, etc.)
7. Will "Hope" endure? Dare I hold out "hope" for "hope"?
8. Can Lost fans live with the answers without therapeutic help?
9. My most important question came courtesy of either Rainier or Joan who said: "Hey, imagine for a minute that behind closed doors John Locke was a sexy beast? Very creative, and energetic, sexy and like a wild beast? What in the name of God would the Smoke Monster think as it sees into Locke's memories??"

So, my Number Nine, Nikki, is that one way or the other, we are leaving it up to you to find out if John Locke/Terry O'Quinn is a wild and sexy beast in the bedroom, ok?

Gracie said...

I SAID: "5. Eloise, Widmore, and Desmond: I want more on all three just to confirm they were as nasty as I thought they were."

Sorry, not Desmond. We already know he is as pure as the driven snow, and is as good as gold. Good looking to boot too!!

But I would like more good information about him, please.

Austin Gorton said...

Well, as Fred mentioned, I've been talking about this kind of stuff for awhile now.

Rather than get into it all again, let me just say a few brief things.

1. Great list Nikki, very thorough and well thought out (as though anything you did would be anything but...).

2. For me, the two big things which I feel need answers for the sake of narrative integrity are more about Smokey and Jacob's conflict (why Smoking leaving is so bad, why Jacob was bringing people to the island to prove him wrong about humanity when that seems counterintuitive to keeping him on the island, etc.) and the Others (their origins, purposes, the extent of their relationship with Jacob or lack thereof, why they kidnapped people, etc.) simply because the Others have been so deeply connected to all the events of the past six seasons.

I'd also really like to know how Eloise knows what she knows, why she helped the Oceanic Six get back to the island, why, if the ruins predate Smokey, there are pictures of Smokey on the ruins, and how Christian and Claire appeared to Jack and Kate off the island when Smokey can't leave the island nor appear as living people, and why, if the whispers are just dead people, do they always seem to be working with the Others (preceding their appearances)?

But those are pipe dreams I have no expectations of getting answered...

3. I think the beautiful eye of the island Locke saw was the golden light.

4. I don't think the issue of Jacob's lists has been resolved that well. We know the Others (well, Richard, so presumably all of them) didn't know about the candidates, and we know, according to Pickett, that "Shephard wasn't on Jacob's list" so the lists (or that one, at least) must be something other than just a list of candidates.

5. The mysteries (and their answers) that matter most to me are the ones necessary to making the overall plot of the show fit together as close to seamlessly as possible. For example, knowing who was on the other outrigger, or who dropped the pallet of Dharma food, (while annoying that they didn't get answered) don't undermine the show's narrative by remaining unanswered.

Information relating to Smokey, his plan, his conflict with Jacob, and the role of the Others in the story, however, are important to making the "detective novel" of Lost stand as a complete and satisfying story.

variabull said...

Kelvin, Sayid, Mikhail, Jughead, Widmore/Paik Heavy Industries, Dharma Initiative and Hanso, Ann Arbor, submarines, seismic events, Eloise Hawking and the Lamp Post... it was hinted that the U.S. military industrial complex might have(or should have had) some knowledge of the "Island". How much did they know?

Was the print in the Swan of the Joshua Tree National Park (Old Woman formation) a hint in reference to the fertility problems on the "Island" or to the Othermother of "Across the Sea"?

Will it turn out that any of our Lost characters are outside of time and can see all history at once. So if you can see all time at once does the future exist? Can our choices be truly free? Is the ultimate question Lost asks (but cannot answer) "Can omniscience exist?"

Gracie said...

Spouse wishes to know (actually so would I):

1. Was MIB and Jacob's Mom at any time a Smoke Monster? Does anybody who enters "The Golden Cave" leave as a Smoke Monster? Was MIB the first and only?
2. If not, how did she fill in the well and destroy the camp by herself? (Spouse is not buying the whole witch thing, nor am I.)
3. Where did the statue come from?
4. What is the significance of the hieroglyphics?
5. There is some significance to the water and the light, I believe, regarding the healing properties of the island. How then was John Locke able to walk immediately upon crashing on the island prior to drinking anything. How was John healed?
6. All along we (?) have been led to believed that Desmond's failure to return to the timer/button on time resulted in the plane crashing, and that Desmond's failure was purely accidental. (I haven't seen anyone mention this, but pardon me if you have!) Now, we are being told that Jacob not only sought out these particular people, but also had knowledge/involvement beforehand in the crashing of this plane. Are we now to believe that Desmond's failure to return in time was NOT just simple happenstance, but was a preplanned event by Jacob to deliver his Candidates to the island? Spouse and I would like for somebody to make sure Desmond knows that it wouldn't have mattered where he was, and he should feel no blame whatsoever. IF this is, in fact, the case. IF not, please explain?
7. WHO is Penny Milton/Widmore's mother? She is not also Desmond's mother, is she?
8. Does Richard still have immortality, and are the remaining Candidates still safe from harm now that Jacob is dead? Does protection have to be reissued by Jack/Candidate?
9. It has been inferred several times that THE knife and silence (?) are required to kill Smokey. Is this the only way? Is the knife still at the bottom of the pool from when Sayid killed Dogen and Lennon?
10. If there is anyone alive when MIB dies, would they be able to just go home on the Elizabeth? Could everyone just leave at that point?

variabull said...

What is going on with Hanso Foundation, Widmore Industries, Paik Industries, Mittelos Bioscience, Herarat Aviation Mittlework and his virus, organ harvesting, quarantine, vaccination, and the origin of the Others.

Who or what is responsible for the "dreams" of Locke, Eko, Charlie, Claire, Boone (wacky paste) etc.?

Why was Desmond in military prison?

So how did the 1954 vintage "Be all you can be" band of 18 arrive on an uncharted invisible "Island" that you couldn't find without an exact heading with a 20 ton leaking H-bomb in tow.

Jacob seems very big on making up rules for a mass murderer. Isn't he ultimately responsible for what happened to the Black Rock, the Dharma initiative, the Others, the Kahane, and Flight 815? How did he hold on to his view of humanity with that much blood on his hands.

Did Othermother (CJ) accidently come to the Island or with the Island. How does she know about the "Light" and the fate worse than death. She seems to be sick and tired and self-medicating. Does she have cancer or is this a ruse? How can anyone trust what she says? Faith? Richard at one time talks about what Jacob wants and "the Island wants what the Island wants" in the same sentence. Locke also speaks about the Island as a person. So are Jacob, MiB and the Island differenty entities?

With his engineering background does MiB have a job waiting at BP?

Blam said...


Gracie: I sent this via E-mail, but you said your inbox hasn't been working and requested that the info be posted here as well:

If you go to the bottom of the front page of Nikki's blog, you'll see a line that reads "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)".

When you click on the highlighted words, well, I'm not sure exactly what will happen on your computer, but on mine the Mail application sets up a subscription to the feed from the blog. Some blogs are set to deliver entire posts via the feed and others, like Nikki's, only excerpt the opening lines of a post, but for your purposes that doesn't matter because all you really want to know is when a new post has been published.

It might not be the equivalent of fireworks or the phone ringing or even someone waving their arms wildly in front of your face, but it's something, assuming it's less trouble for you to keep an eye on your inbox than to keep refreshing the window in your browser to see if Nikki's posted anything new yet, and assuming you can get a feed with your inbox not working properly.

Blam said...


Very thorough, Nik... I'd expect nothing less, of course. 8^)

The following was posted on my own blog, but it would be churlish not to reprint it:

[Oh... I didn't include the so-called sideways timeline because addressing that seems a given.]

Here are eleven of the subjects that to my mind need to be covered for the narrative to wrap up in satisfying fashion. Not all of them require long-winded explanations; a few might, but in other cases a simple acknowledgement that Lost's world just works this way or even an indication that yes, that is an obvious mystery would suffice. Some are obviously related and others might be more related than we realize, but of course we have little beyond our own suppositions to go on.

2005-2007: We saw glimpses of the Oceanic Six's lives off the Island during this time, and know that the rest of the main characters lived a relatively normal life in the past during the equivalent 30 years ago. Did Jacob, Smokey and Claire, or Richard and the Others do anything significant in this period, and if not why the heck not?

The Numbers: I know we had them explained in "Lighthouse" as corresponding to the Candidates. But it's still unexplained as to why 4 8 15 16 23 42 were on the Hatch door and in the radio transmission, how they ended up as Hurley's winning lottery numbers if that was anything other than coincidence, and why, say, Kate's 51 wasn't among them.

Connectivity: How did these characters' paths cross so astoundingly in the original and altered timelines? Is their tangled web meant to be an indication of fate, an example of how everyone is connected, or an example of Jacob and/or the Island at work?

Blam said...

cont'd

"Specialness": Walt has powers that seem to include willing things into happening. Desmond can not only survive bombardment by electromagnetic radiation but when doing so have his consciousness travel through time or perhaps across parallel dimensions. Miles and Hurley can communicate with the dead in different ways. Are there people with similar abilities all around the world? Is that just a fact of life in the universe in which Lost takes place? Are these abilities tied to the light that is within us all and if so tied to the Island?

Pallet Drops: Yeah... How did those work, exactly?

Eloise Hawking: When and how did she acquire the awareness she has, which clearly is not just limited to "book smarts" gleaned from Daniel's journal? How many spacetime cops like her are there?

Apparitions: Souls get trapped on the Island when they can't move on for some reason. Hurley sees dead people on and off the Island. Smokey can take the form of those who've died but has never been off the Island. There are still apparitions that took place on and certainly off the Island that aren't explained by any of these facts.

The Cabin: Was it ever one of Jacob's haunts? Did it serve a prison for Smokey, and if so, for how long? How does it move around, why does it appear when and where it does, what was up with Horace building it if that was indeed Horace, whose eye did Hurley see, and most importantly who or what was in there when Ben first brought John Locke to it, since we've actually never seen Smokey be invisible?

Weird Stuff: Even given time travel, healing powers, immortality, telekinesis, and necrotelepathy, wet backwards-talking Walt and comatose Sawyer's channeling of Wayne in front of Kate is some danged weird stuff.

Blam said...

cont'd

The Island: How exactly does it travel through time and space? How does it stay hidden? How can anybody get to it? I'm not looking for mathematical equations but for clarification on the bits of apparently contradictory information that we've gotten on whether it exists fully in the same dimension as the rest of the world, how often it moves outside of turns of the Frozen Donkey Wheel, and what hides it from outside observers if a spike in the very energy that's apparently responsible for most of its unique properties it is what revealed it to Penny's research team.

The Dharma Initiative: Its organizational history, fascinating though it must be, doesn't concern me as much as its presence on the Island as that ties into the previous questions. Why did Jacob let the Dharma folks flourish for as long as they did, and what led him to eliminate them if indeed the Purge was undertaken at his orders? Why would he let anyone come to the Island, beyond the need for a potential replacement, which wouldn't seem necessary if there were never anyone on the Island but him and his brother? Why did the Oceanic Six and friends need to recreate the conditions of their original crash if Jacob can bring people to the Island? Right now I'm not sure if Jacob summons particular vessels or just makes the Island accessible to those in the vicinity when he's ready for another batch of people to observe, and whether his actions, usage of an appropriate bearing, and outright accidents are the defined ways of ending up there. Apparently people have made it off the Island to talk about its funkitude, because the military and the Dharma Initiative, among others, made it a specific destination.

VW: hoservic — Canadian version of cult-fave restaurant chain based in San Francisco.

Austin Gorton said...

Nice rundown, Blam.

Rachel said...

How does the island heal people? Is it a supernatural force?

Actually, I think this was answered in the popups of the enhanced pilot episode last night. The popups said that "... the island holds electromagnetic forces. These forces have the power to heal such conditions as paralysis and cancer..."

The popups continued, "The island also functions as a metaphorical 'cork' keeping evil and darkness contained. The island prevents 'hell' from getting out and spreading, as revealed in the season 6 episode 'Ab Aeterno'".

And a little more from the popups: "When people are brought to the island, their past doesn't matter. The island gives them a second chance."

So there ya go. All of LOST explained in a few popups. ;-)

Unknown said...

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Lost Season Finale Made Simple: Answered.

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