S6E17 HUMANITY LESSON

What were the series creators trying to tell us in their story? What were the lessons we were supposed to glean from their tale?

Throughout the series, viewers were aghast at the total lack of communication between characters. Their ability not to ask basic questions of their colleagues after harrowing missions. It was quite frustrating to have no character demand answers.

Maybe everyone was dumb, dumber and dumber still.

People marched across the island multiple times with no clue on what they were doing. Putting a total plan together was quite the hard mental labor for most. And even if you had some one with a spark of a master mind (example, Ben), his plans normally blew up in ways he did not expect himself.

The real test of human intelligence came at the end. Flocke wants to find Desmond to use his "special properties" to destroy the island. How Desmond would actually be used to destroy the island is totally unknown. At the same time, Jack wants to take Desmond to the same place to "save" the island. One what basis of information? Jack does not have a clue. He does not even have a hunch. The problem solving of the characters lacked any common sense. It is arrogant assumption that is presented as intelligent fact by the characters.

So Flocke and Jack both work together to lower Desmond down the cave, not knowing what, if anything, was going to happen or why. It is not as bad as giving a teenager $1000, keys to a superfast sports car, and an errand to go pick up a six-pack of beer and some smokes at the local convenience store.

And when Desmond gets to the cave chamber, he has no clue what to do. So he uncorks the island. The light source goes away, and the evil heat and earthquakes start to tear the island a part. It took a while for them to realize that Desmond's action was a push. It did not save or destroy the island. The magic that was Flocke turned into human form. By releasing the evil contained in under the island, it allowed the evil smoke monster to take on human form so Flocke could be killed. (It is illogical that a release of more evil energy on an evil being would cause it change into a tame human being; unless the lesson is that all humans are evil.)

When Jack returns to the cave, he does not know what Desmond did, but has to go back to fix things. Everyone assumes electromagnetic man (Dez) is dead. Jack saves him and puts back the cork in the chamber. The light returns, the water returns, and in the end Jack is expelled from the cave like Jacob's brother (who was dead). But Jack is not quite dead, and he stumbles to the place of beginning to pass on, not knowing whether anything he did worked. The theme of shooting off the hip first and asking questions learning answers later came full cycle.

The characters never asked enough questions to make intelligent choices. Irrational behavior controlled logic. It is an indictment of sorts on the state of modern man. When modern man is stripped away of his tools, he does not revert back to alpha predator with keen instincts, but a bumbling yokel whose only saving grace is luck. The series did not show educated, modern, men and women in intellectually sound decision making moments. Rash decisions were the norm. Failure was always the first option.