MEMORY GARDEN

There is a common tread throughout the vast history of human cultures: burial customs.

Despite different beliefs, the common thread is that humans hope that their life will continue on after their Earthly demise.

In modern times, people are buried in cemeteries that contain neatly mowed grass, flowers and trees. It is a garden setting. Relatives and friends can return to recall fond memories of the departed in these memory gardens.

If we take this concept and apply it to the other side of the equation, LOST's island could also be considered a memory garden for the departed souls.

Not to label it heaven, purgatory or hell, but just a place where memories are revisited and replayed in order to release any final regrets before a second life begins.

It is a logical to tie the island to the sideways world if in fact both exist on the same level of existence. They can co-exist since time does not exist in the after life, but that realm is eternal.

As a memory garden, the island serves to spotlight the characters first and foremost, which is what the writers claimed was their purpose to have a character driven show.

This concept does negate traditional story telling because the setting is not real, but surreal. The events do not have true consequences. It seems when a soul has worked his or her memories clear and accepted their fate, they can move on without strings attached to their next life.