WRITER'S VIEW

After the series ended, and during the swirling opinions about the ending, an anonymous person posted a piece that claimed to be an insider's view of the LOST's creative team's vision of the series. This unnamed person may have been a production assistant, writer or staff person. He or she claims this is the writer's perspective into the show. But no one on the series has acknowledged the statements as canon. But more likely, this may be one fan's final perspective.

His or her points:

1. "It was real." 

Everything that happened on the island that we saw throughout the 6 seasons was real. They really crashed. They really survived. They really discovered Dharma and the Others.

 2. The Island's role was to balance good and evil.

The Island keeps the balance of good and evil in the world. It always has and always will perform that role. And the Island will always need a “Protector."  Jacob wasn’t the first, Hurley won’t be the last.

3. The problem that had to be solved was the Man in Black.

Jacob had to deal with a malevolent force (MIB) that he had created (the devil)  and Jacob had to find a way to kill him — even though the rules prevented him from actually doing so.

Thus began Jacob’s plan to bring candidates to the Island to do the one thing he couldn’t do. Kill the MIB. He had a huge list of candidates that spanned generations. Yet every time he brought people there, the MIB corrupted them and caused them to kill one another. That was until Richard came along and helped Jacob understand that if he didn’t take a more active role, then his plan would never work.

4. Dharma was brought to the Island to kill MIB

Dharma, like the countless scores of people that were brought to the island before, were brought there by Jacob as part of his plan to kill the MIB. Dharma was originally brought in to be good. But was turned bad by MIB’s corruption and eventually destroyed by his pawn Ben. Now, was Dharma only brought there to help Jack and the other Candidates on their overall quest to kill Smokey? Or did Jacob have another list of Candidates from the Dharma group that we were never aware of? That’s a question that is purposely not answered because whatever answer the writers came up with would be worse than the one you come up with for yourself. Still … Dharma’s purpose is not “pointless” or even vague.

5. Ben was a pawn of MIB and not a servant of Jacob.

MIB was aware of the Dharma plan and it interfered by “corrupting” Ben. By making Ben believe he was doing the work of Jacob, MIB conned Ben to do the work of the MIB, which was to kill Jacob. This carried over into all of Ben’s “off-island” activities. He was the leader. He spoke for Jacob as far as they were concerned. So the “Others” killed Dharma and later were actively trying to kill Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley and all the candidates because that’s what the MIB wanted. And what he couldn’t do for himself.

6. The one variable was free will.

Jacob wanted to give his “candidates” the one thing he, nor his brother, were ever afforded: free will. By bringing a host of “candidates” through the decades and letting them “choose” which side they would be on in the end. Maybe Jacob knew Jack would be the one to kill Flocke and that Hurley would be the protector in the end. Maybe he didn’t. But that was always the key question of the show: Fate vs Free-will. Science vs Faith. The writers believed that  Jacob knew from the beginning Jack was the one to finish MIB, but TPTB won't acknowledge that because that was part of the show's mystery and secrets.

7. Jack's role and destiny was defined by the first episode.

In the end, Jack got to do what he always wanted to do from the very first episode of the show: Save his fellow Lostaways. He got Kate and Sawyer off the island and he gave Hurley the purpose in life he’d always been missing. And, in Sideways world,  he in fact saved everyone by helping them all move on.

8. The sideways world represents a humanistic religious philosophy.

The sideways world is a mix in of theology and metaphysics. The show's creators were proposing is that we’re all linked to certain people during our lives. Call them soul mates (though it’s not exactly the best word). But these people we’re linked to are with us during “the most important moments of our lives” as Christian said. These are the people we move through the universe with from lifetime to lifetime. It’s loosely based in Hinduism with large doses of western religion thrown into the mix.
The conceit that the writers created, basing it off these religious philosophies, was that as a group, the Lostaways subconsciously created this “sideways” world where they exist in purgatory until they are “awakened” and find one another. Once they all find one another, they can then move on and move forward. In essence, this is the show’s concept of the afterlife. According to the show, everyone creates their own “Sideways” purgatory with their “soul mates” throughout their lives and exist there until they all move on together.  Even if you aren’t religious or even spiritual, the idea that we live AND die together is deeply profound and moving.

9. The spiritual premise of the show was throughout the series.

The spiritual concept of the show set the whole tone and subtext of the plots from the beginning. The characters  were SUPPOSED to be together on that plane. They were supposed to live through these events — not JUST because of Jacob. But because that’s what the universe or God (depending on how religious you wish to get) wanted it to happen. The show was always about science vs faith — and it ultimately came down on the side of faith. It answered THE core question of the series. The one question that has been at the root of every island mystery, every character back story, every plot twist.

10. Each new island mystery was a piece of a larger plot mosiac for each viewer.

How much viewers wanted to extrapolate from that the spiritual premise of the show was up to you as the viewer. In  season 1 when we first found the Hatch. Everyone thought that’s THE answer! Whatever is down there is the answer! Then, as we discovered it was just one station of many. One link in a very long chain that kept revealing more, and more of a larger mosaic.

11. Season 6 sideways world was to contrast the island events.

The writer’s took it even further in Season 6 by contrasting the Sideways “purgatory” with the Island itself. For example, when Michael appeared to Hurley, he said he was not allowed to leave the Island. Just like the MIB. He wasn’t allowed into the sideways world and thus, was not afforded the opportunity to move on. Why? Because he had proven himself to be unworthy with his actions on the Island. He failed the test. The others, passed.

 12. Those who made it to the sideways world were linked by mutual destiny.

Those who made it into the Sideways world when they died — some before Jack, some years later. In Hurley’s case, maybe centuries later. They exist in this sideways world until they are “awakened” and they can only move on TOGETHER because they are linked. They are destined to be together for eternity. That was their destiny.

They were NOT linked to Anna Lucia, Daniel, Rousseau, Alex, Miles, Frank, (and all the rest who weren’t in the church — basically everyone who wasn’t in Season 1). Yet those people exist in Sideways world. Why? Well again, the writers left it up to you to decide. Those people who were left behind in Sideways world have to find their own soul mates before they can wake up. It’s possible that those links aren’t people from the island but from their other life (Anna’s partner, the guy she shot,  Rousseau’s husband, etc.)

13. Ben could not move on with the Flight 815 survivors.

A lot of people have been wondering why Ben did not go into the Church. Ben can’t move on yet because he hasn’t connected with the people he needs to. It’s going to be his job to awaken Rousseau, Alex, Anna Lucia (maybe), Ethan, Goodspeed, his father and the rest. He has to atone for his sins more than he did by being Hurley’s number two. He has to do what Hurley and Desmond did for our Lostaways with his own people. He has to help them connect. And he can only move on when all the links in his chain are ready to. Same can be said for Faraday, Charlotte, Widmore, Hawkins etc. I

14. The reason Ben was excluded from the Church scene was because it was written with the pilot episode.

The poster claims  the reason Ben’s not in the church, and the reason no one is in the church but for Season 1 people is because the creators wrote the ending to the show after writing the pilot. And they never changed it. The writers always said (and many didn’t believe them) that they knew their ending from the very first episode. Originally Ben was supposed to have a 3 episode arc and be done. But he became a big part of the show. They could have easily changed their ending and put him in the church — but instead they problem solved it. Gave him a BRILLIANT moment with Locke outside the church … and then that was it. The original ending started the moment Jack walked into the church and touches the casket to Jack closing his eyes as the other plane flies away. That was always J.J. Abrams ending. And they kept it in tact.

15. LOST was an important show that dealt with big themes.

LOST dealt with serious issues.  It dealt with faith, the afterlife, and all these big, spiritual questions that most television shows don’t touch. The writers never once wavered from their core story — even with all the sci-fi elements they mixed in. The show took huge risks (like writing a show about faith for network TV) and stuck to their own core principles. They ended the show the way they wanted to.