COMPUTER ERROR

The BBC recently reported that computers have a problem with a number, a large number, specifically the number 2,147,483,647 – which is the maximum positive value of a 32-bit signed register. A computer calculating a value higher than that number crashes. The resulting disaster could shut down a guidance system, a launch sequence or orbital probe or in the case of the European Space Administration, the loss of a rocket.

LOST was keen on hyping the Numbers as a key component to unlocking the series mysteries.

4-8-15-16-23-42.

Hmmmmmm.

If you multiply the Numbers you get 7,418,880, which is within the range of the highest maximum value in computer science.

But as one number it would be 4,815,162,342,  which is OUTSIDE the range of the highest maximum value in computer science.

But if you did not input the Numbers every 108 minutes, the Hatch containment field would fail and the island would experience the purple flash (time-space disruption).

There was never a clear connection between the Numbers and the main characters since the Numbers were used as the countdown timer  "prior" to the assignment by Jacob of the Candidates.

But in a circular view, that is not true. When Desmond used the fail safe key, the island purple flashed sending several of the Candidates back to 1970s. Those Candidates, already being on the island, would have been assigned their Number.

But not all the Candidates were in 1974 Dharma. Jack and Kate were thrown back in time to meet up with  Sawyer, who was a security officer living with Juliet, with his crew of Hurley, Miles and Jin. Daniel Faraday then arrived at the island from the Dharma HQ in Michigan.  Sawyer tried to recruit Jack to operate on young Ben, who had been shot by Sayid. So in the 1970s, before "the Incident" at the Hatch which would later require the countdown timer, Hurley (4), Sawyer (15), Sayid (16), Jack (23) and Jin (42). Locke (8) was the only missing "Number" prior to the Incident.

But Locke himself had bounced around as far back as 1954, and met with Richard Alpert. So his memory could be considered a presence in the 1970s Dharma.

So the Numbers, as a representation of Jacob's Candidates, were used as a "fail safe" device to hold back the electromagnetic energy. As such the Candidates, through their Numbers, were used as part of a "shield" mechanism to hold back the energy. For what purpose? We can only assume that if the energy was not contained, MIB could be "released" or "escape" the island which would lead to the destruction of the universe.

But with the Incident happening essentially AFTER Desmond used the fail safe key which set in motion the Candidates going into the past which would later create the Hatch protocols BEFORE the Incident,  we have a serious time travel paradox.

But if the spiritual spell casting background of ancient Egypt is a guide, the Numbers could cast a spell on the smoke monster to keep it at bay. MIB's adoption of Locke's physical form and memories must have been its attempt to break "the code" or barrier of the island so it could leave.

But then the fatal blow to MIB's plans was caused not by the Numbers or the Candidates represented by them (even though Jack (23) fought MIB in the end), it was Kate (51) who delivered the final death blow by shooting Flocke on the cliff.

So what were the Numbers/Candidates symbolic of? A fatal computer error in the universe? A pathway to parallel time travel universes to avoid a paradox? The gateway code to time-space? Or a spiritual spell to keep demons at bay?

TODAY IS "LOST" DAY

Variety reports that today is LOST DAY, because April 8, 2015 lines up with the Numbers on LOST.

Wednesday is being dubbed “Lost” Day by fans, as it’s the day that Hurley’s infamous lotto numbers — 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 — finally align on the calendar (April 8, 2015). The numbers really line up perfectly at 4:23:42 p.m., for those keeping track
.
The series of numbers first appeared in the show on Hurley’s (Jorge Garcia) winning lotto ticket, though he was convinced that the numbers were cursed and brought him bad luck wherever he went. They would go on to become forever intertwined in “Lost’s” vast mythology, taking on a deeper meaning as the show went on.

Viewers later found out that the numbers were the ones that Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) punched into the computer in his hatch on the island every 108 minutes for three years. And as any avid “Lost” viewer knows, there are few simple coincidences in the show.

Each number actually represents one of Jacob’s candidates for becoming protector of the island, which he determined via degrees on a lighthouse mirror. For many Losties, however, the numbers simply represent hours spent obsessing over trying to figure out what they meant.

While the meaning of the numbers did disappoint some fans, there’s no doubt the once-in-a-decade day will be filled with “Lost” binge-watching, reminiscing, speculation and, of course, venting about the mysteries that still plague viewers today.

19

The Numbers were a constant throughout the series. Fans want the Numbers to mean more than the explanation given by TPTB.

In typical in-series episode clue hunting, scratch math of the Numbers:

If we look at the "progression" of the Numbers, we find an interesting pattern. The number "19" is produced by the first four number sets and by the final number set.

How does the Number 19 apply to LOST?

In the lighthouse, candidate 19 was Nguyen, and that name was crossed out. Lostpedia references the trivia of brutal Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Mihn was born Nguyen.

In the chart of elements, Number 19 is for potassium. It's symbol is K. 

K is the eleventh letter of the alphabet.It's abbreviation denotes things like 
• kelvin(s).
• Computing kilobyte(s).
• kilometer(s).
• kindergarten.
• king (used esp. in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess):
• knit (as an instruction in knitting patterns):
• (also k ) informal thousand
• Baseball strikeout.
• karat.
• a constant in a formula or equation.
• Chemistry Boltzmann's constant,  the ratio of the gas constant to Avogadro's number, equal to 1.381 × 10−23 joules per kelvin. (Symbol: k ).

It is interesting to note so many things pop up from K. Kelvin was the character in the Hatch who lied to Desmond to keep him imputing the Numbers into the computer. He was also a military officer Many people think the characters interactions with each other was like kindergarten children. Everyone wanted to be king of the island. The turning point for Jack, in captivity, learned  the Red Sox won the World Series, reversing a fan curse. We were also told about "constants" by Daniel as the means of surviving the island's unique properties, including time travel.

Potassium is a metal and is the seventh most abundant and makes up about 1.5 % by weight of the earth's crust. Potassium is an essential constituent for plant growth and it is found in most soils. It is also a vital element in the human diet.

Potassium is never found free in nature, but is obtained by electrolysis of the chloride or hydroxide. It is one of the most reactive and electropositive of metals and, apart from lithium, it is the least dense known metal. It is soft and easily cut with a knife. It is silvery in appearance immediately after a fresh surface is exposed.

So the Number 19 is a number derived from LOST's series of numbers. Is it a clue that the key to understanding LOST can be learned through Kelvin? Probably not. He was a minor character who conveniently shows up on two different characters' background stories. The themes attached to him include military, duty, manipulation, lies, and wanting to escape. Potassium is never found "free" in nature; it must be manipulated to be obtained. Again, the clue could be that the characters had to be manipulated by the island in order to escape the traps and lies of their human existence.

COMPASS POINTS

A compass is a tool to guide someone to a destination.

A candidate is a person who wants to be a leader to guide others.

A guardian is a person who is a leader who protects others.

A light is symbolic of knowledge, direction, energy and life.

A person who has both the compass and the light is truly powerful.

When we review which LOST characters had the most traits of a compass and a light (which apparently were the embodiment of the heart of the island), the top four people are Locke, Jack, Sawyer and Kate.

Locke had the compass. He knew how to use it. He was aware of the island's special powers. He wanted it to guide him to his destination (destiny). Just as magnetic north is a constant direction, the island pushed Locke towards his fateful demise.

Kate was a natural runaway, a wanderer with a keen sense of direction and tracking skills. She was a survivor throughout her troubled life. She used her internal compass not to find a destination but to flee from one. Just as our forefathers took chances and headed west into the wild unknown, Kate embraced that wild west spirit.

Sawyer also had a focal bearing in his life: to find the person who killed his family. His life's direction was formed by his own promise for revenge. He honed his own tracking skills with the southern charm of a con artist to find the man who ruined his life.

Jack was following a trail for most of his life. The trail that his father had made through the jungles of childhood. Jack was always trying to find a way to get ahead of his father's accomplishments so his father would respect his achievements. He would symbolically look to the East, where the dawn would rise on each new day, to find some hope that the light would empower him to reach his goal.

Locke's direction was north, toward the magnetism of the island's mysterious power to give his life meaning.
Kate's direction was west, to the open opportunities and freedom to run away her past.
Sawyer's direction was south, toward the slow, simmering pace of the long, cruel road of honor and revenge to release his personal demon.
Jack's direction was east, toward the dawn of a new day where he could release himself from the shadow of his own father.

Each character had their own direction. They were set to their own paths. As a result, they did not work well together because their compass points would never align. And perhaps, that was the governor that protected the light cave - - - the candidates needed each other in order to obtain both the full compass points and the light. For in the end, none of these four candidates took the place of Jacob, the island guardian, to put their own rules upon the universe.

ISLAND BACKGAMMON

If one believes that the entire series was a symbolic representation of the ancient game of backgammon between Jacob and MIB, then this is how the board must have looked at the beginning of the game. Jacob's candidates would have been white pieces and MIB and his evil converts the black pieces.

But if we go to the End Game, how did the pieces finally land on the board?

Everyone who died on the island would have been put on the center board (death). Only Sawyer and Kate would have traversed the island sections to leave the board at their finish. Hurley would have remained on the island as the new guardian, along side Ben.  In this representation, Widmore and Eloise would remain in their former heavenly positions of manipulating the candidates around the board.

This final position leads to three separate conclusions. It could represent that Hurley would be the new Jacob and Ben the new MIB, the actual players controlling new pieces that would have to be brought to the island. Or it could represent that the original immortals, Jacob and MIB, would merely re-set their board for another game. Or it could represent an actual end, as two white pieces actually escaped the confines of the board, with no other white pieces (other than Hurley who assumed a new role) left on the island. In the centuries of contests, this result may have been the first time that any candidates were able to escape the island, making Jacob the ultimate victor. What that victory meant is unknown. It could mean that Jacob finally got to die and move on to internal peace. Or it could mean that Jacob had to start all over again (on the island or someplace else) if he was the jailor of the evil spirit, MIB, who was finally defeated in this game.

COMPASS BEARING

The fixation with The Numbers came down to names attached to bearing points on Jacob's light house compass. It was within the light house where Jacob used the looking glass to spy upon his candidates throughout their lives, especially their childhoods.

One could imagine that Jacob as a magician would give sad children one last adventure before going on to the after life; a Willy Wonka of the Spiritual World.

But we never got a charitable sense from Jacob or how he operated. He seemed very detached and solemn.

A compass is an instrument containing a magnetized pointer that shows the direction of magnetic north and bearings from it. The use of the compass for navigation at sea was reported from China c. 1100, western Europe 1187, Arabia c. 1220, and Scandinavia c. 1300, although it probably dates from much earlier. Since the early 20th century the magnetic compass has been superseded by the gyrocompass as primary equipment for ships and aircraft.

A bearing  has several different meanings:

1 [ in sing. ] a person's way of standing or moving or the way one behaves or conducts oneself;
2 relation or relevance;
3 the level to which something bad can be tolerated;
4 a part of a machine that bears friction, esp. between a rotating part and its housing;
5 Architecture a structural part that supports weight, such as a wall that supports a beam;
6 the direction or position of something, or the direction of movement, relative to a fixed point. It is typically measured in degrees, usually with magnetic north as zero: the Point is on a bearing of 015°.

There are 360 bearing points on the compass which means that there could be only 360 maximum candidates. From lostpedia's records, there appear to be 220 empty bearing points (with no names). 360 minus 220 equals 140 candidates on the island after Flight 815 crash landed.

Under what iteration were the 815 candidates?

We know that Jacob allegedly brought numerous candidates to the island. We assume centuries past based upon the relics and architectural features of a temple and hieroglyphs. Jacob himself was a shipwrecked Roman from at least 400 AD (based upon his travelers' dress). So, under Jacob's reign, he lasted approximately 1600 years as island guardian.

If the Numbers influence the way humans were captured for the island rituals of Jacob, let us suppose it followed the pattern:

1st group was 4
2nd group was 8
3rd group was 15
4th group was 16
5th group was 23
6th group 42.

At the end of the 6th group, a total of 108 candidates would have arrived on the island.
Which means the 815 manifest list came ashore in either the 9th (135 candidates) or 10th visitor group (151).

We can go back in time to try to figure out who the groups were:
Last group: 815ers
Next to last: Danielle's science boat
Prior to that: Dharma
Prior to that: U.S. Military
Prior to that: The Others
Prior to that: Jacob's boat
Prior to that: Crazy Mom's arrival (?)

So we have been shown at least 7 of the 9/10 groups who came to the island. One group that made an impression was the ancient Egyptians and another group could have been the ancient Greeks (based on Jacob's tapestry).

So throughout time, there were many candidates summoned to the island. Many more creative, scientifically inclined, stronger or spiritual than Jack. So why did Jack become the key to unlock the cycle of island visitors from the greatest civilizations known to mankind? Despite all the attention to detail, lists, candidate names, etc., was Jack's emergence just a random event that changed the course of island history?

In the story, there were three bearing references. Ben told Michael to use bearing 325 to leave the island waters to salvation. Daniel told Frank to use the bearing of 305 to find the island. And finally, Jacob told Hurley to move the lighthouse mirrors to 108 degrees (which was the sum of the 815 candidates). The rescue or salvation number would then appear to be the sum of the current candidate group. It would also imply that in order to reach salvation, the new leader must draw strength or the will from his other candidates in order to succeed.

If that is the formula Jack had to complete, then did it work? What strength did Jack gain from Locke, Sayid, Sawyer, Hurley, or Jin? In his depressed mountain man state, Jack admitted to himself that Locke was right; he had to return to the island - - - but we don't know if it was the drugs or a true revelation inside Jack (since once Jack returned he turned into a complacent worker bee). Jack may have admired Sayid's cold blooded skills to make life and death decisions without hesitation. Jack may have admired how easily Hurley made friends with his fellow castaways.  Jack had a true rival in Sawyer, but Jack never seemed to inherit any of Sawyer's good or bad traits. And Jack was never close to Jin to have a strong relationship. So the concept that all the candidates had to empower one candidate to victory seems to have slim to no evidence of support. By the time Jack took command of the island, Sayid and Jin were dead, Hurley was a scared wreck, and Sawyer was fleeing the island as fast as he could. The "live together or die alone" mantra seems to be a nullity.

Jack, as Number 23, would point almost due north. North is the direction where all bearings come from. It is the natural point in the sky for astronomy and observation of the heavens. The brightest star is called The North Star. Was Jack's death the focal point to show the other candidates and 815 passengers the way not off the island, but the way to the sideways after life world?

CANDIDATE WORDPLAY

Shark.
Hark.
Rash.
Ark.
Ash.
Ask.
Far.
Jar.

Those words come from an anagram for the initials of the final candidates at Jacob's fireside chat: Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sawyer.

All those words are clues to the saga that was about to conclude.
Shark was the unemotional predator, Flocke.
Hark was the call to arms of Widmore's men coming to the island to stop Flocke.
Rash were the decisions the 815 survivors were making on the fly.
Ark is the vessel of salvation, in this case Frank's plane.
Ask was the request by Jacob for a volunteer to become the guardian.
Far is the next meeting place for their reunion.
Jar was Jack's final scenes in the bamboo grove after Flocke was pushed over the cliff.

There is no way TPTB knew these words would fall out of the candidate circle of initials to explain the end of Season 6. It is just another coincidence. An interesting coincidence, no doubt.

Fans searched for clues hidden in background images, hidden in words, hidden in names or hidden in plain sight. The search was monumental because fans sought answers to their questions. And since answers were not forthcoming from the scripts, fans had to make due with their own theories and rationalizations. So we keep pondering the Big Questions by throwing old, rusty darts on the Blast Door map hoping to spark some new insight into the mysteries of the series.

A VICIOUS CIRCLE

It was one of those recent random thoughts that got my attention.

What if LOST never ended?

Ben consoled Hurley when he became the new island guardian with the concept that Hurley could do the right thing and allow an injured Desmond to leave the island and go home. (Besides the philosophic connotation of what "home" could be - - - reality or heaven - - - will be left for another post.)

But we observed that the island had a continual cycle of people coming to the island to be "candidates" in Jacob and MIB's game of human Senet. As stated in previous posts, there is no clear, direct evidence that Jacob or MIB actually ceased to exist when they were allegedly "killed."

At the end of the island story arc, we have only nine main survivors:

Ben, Hurley and Desmond, who are left by the light cave to mourn the demise of their friend.

Frank, Miles, and Alpert are ready to take off on the Ajira plane when they are interrupted by the presence of Kate, Sawyer and Claire running toward them.

Claire told Kate that she won't come with them to the plane because the Island has made her crazy. Kate offered to help her, which convinced her to go with them. The plane is seen flying overhead a dying Jack.

But what are the survivors looking forward to?

Frank has nothing to back to since no one would believe his story about "losing" his plane and passengers on a mysterious island. He is only second person able to escape the island twice (Kate is the other). One would think the island would cause Frank mental problems for the rest of his life.

Claire already acknowledges her crazy state of mind caused by the island. Upon her return, we would assume she would remain crazy. This puts her in the mode of Locke's mother, who was institutionalized when he was a small boy. Perhaps Locke's childhood drawings of the smoke monster and island events were stories past down to him by his mother, who had escaped the island. This would be down the basis of a new theory that the candidates were not randomly chosen by Jacob, but bred or conditioned to come to the island.

Kate returns to nothing. Even if Claire takes back Aaron, she would be in Australia. Kate would be alone, without purpose, stuck in LA pining away for dead Jack? How long would that fact led to Kate being depressed to suicidal like Locke's life prior to meeting his con artist father?

If Kate returns to nothing, Alpert would be transported to an alien world. He has no family, no friends and no place to call home back in the United States. He was an unemployed island minion. We think that his immortality ended with a single gray hair. But what if he is still tethered to the island, like Mr. Abaddon?

Sawyer's life long quest for revenge is over. The whole purpose of his life was completed by the death of Cooper on the island. Sawyer's return has one pending murder investigation in Australia, but it is not likely that case would be solved unless his buddy who gave him the hit confessed that he sent Sawyer to kill that man he thought killed his parents. So Sawyer returns to the states as a "dead man" in more than one way: no job, no family and no future except a return to his criminal ways. If Juliet was the love of his life, would he get over her quickly?

Miles is in a similar situation of Sawyer. He returns to the states the son of island scientist, one of the few people conceived on the island who survived. His ability to listen to the final echo thoughts of the dead may be that native connection to the island itself. One would think that after being on the island, Miles would be haunted by it in future years.

The people on the Ajira flight we saw leave the island all had the seeds of doubt and misery that could have drawn them back into the clutches of the island destiny as it did Locke.

Which may have been the plan all along. Jacob and MIB's human game of Senet spanned thousands of years and countless number of people. It was a chess match with real people and real weapons. A life and death amusement for immortal beings bored with their island existence.

When Hurley, Ben and Desmond presumably left the island, it is possible that Jacob and MIB would wait for the other survivors to "return" to the island to re-populate their game.  As you recall, the game of Senet is "won" when the player removes his last piece off the board (island). Both Jacob and MIB never left the island - - - both "died" on it. That may be the only way the island ceases to exist: when either Jacob or MIB physically leaves the island as the last piece standing. That did not happen. Until that point, when Hurley leaves the island for good, the vicious Jacob-MIB game restarts again.

Claire is the new Locke's crazy mother (to Aaron). Aaron may grow up to believe that he has an island destiny. The same could be true of Walt, who was "special" and of extreme interest to the Others until he escaped with his father. It is possible that Walt's intense father issues would make him the next Jack.

MEANS OF DESTRUCTION

“ We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction. ”
— Aesop 

If a hero is to die, there should be a valiant purpose.

When we analyze the island candidates, the picture is not clear.

Jack died on the island. He was injured during his fight with Flocke (MIB/Smokey in Locke's form).
Why did Jack fight Flocke? We were told that it was to save the island and/or the world. Or it could be to save his friends. Or, as Jacob stated, to make Jack's friends deaths meaningful.

One has to believe that Jack was delusional to think he could defeat Flocke. He would have known that Flocke was indestructible (Sayid failed to kill him). Jack knew he was a supernatural monster. Jack possessed no knowledge on how to defeat him. The conclusion to the alleged demise of Flocke is purely blind luck with no island mythology or science fiction context. We observed that the replacement of the stone cork in the light cave "reboots" the island. In that process, one argues that the immortals become mortal  (except Jacob was already "killed" before the re-set). The dramatic conclusion never caught up with the continuity of the prior scripts.

Jack was MIB's enemy solely because he was a candidate? Everyone brought to the island was a potential candidate. MIB did not kill them all. MIB did not seem to be a creature of "fair play," to allow itself to be destroyed by corrupt, weak and inferior human beings. We know now that the "island rules" are really no rules at all. So what means did MIB give Jack that allowed him to destroy Flocke?

When Jack accepted his role of guardian, he basically accepted a suicide mission. Jack saving Desmond inside the cave should have killed Jack because of the high level of EM energy. So, at that point, did Jack actually become "equal" to MIB (both had been throw into the cave and emerged alive). If somehow Jack because a smoke monster during the reboot, that could explain why he could possibly defeat Flocke. But Jack's power and fighting skills did not defeat MIB - - - it was a bullet from Kate's gun. Besides, if Jack became a smokey, then why should his human wounds kill him?

The same goes for the Ben killing immortal Jacob. There is a claimed "loophole" that MIB found - - - which allowed Ben, a follower, to stab Jacob to death. Then MIB burned Jacob's body. But we saw ghost Jacob afterward interacting and physically touching other islanders. The means of Jacob's destruction is as puzzling as Jack's own demise. Then events we saw do not fully support the conclusion we see.

IN CHARGE

One of the themes was the acquisition and control of "power." Power motivated men like Widmore and Ben to attempt to seize the island and its unique properties. Power was the means to control and manipulate people. Power kept those in charge in control of their own destiny.

It would seem that anyone brought to the island to be a "candidate" needed an inherit quality of wanting "power."  The island guardian was all-powerful. A weak candidate would mean a weak guardian - - - the island would be in jeopardy. That is true if the island was a fragile object that needed human protection.

The final candidates did not have the same power traits. They may have had common personalty features like free will and primordial need for survival. We can group the final candidates in a simple chart:

The one person of this group who really wanted to be The Leader was Locke. But he had to leave the island in order to follow his destiny as told to him by Christian (or MIB). Locke was manipulated into thinking he was a final choice for guardian because he thought he had a spiritual connection with it. Locke was manipulated into leaving the island instead of guarding it. Locke could never have succeeded Jacob because Locke was too naive and lacked judgment. Locke's purpose was to die so that more worthy candidates could return to the island.

Sayid and Jin never expressed any desire to rule the island. Both were focused in on leaving the island; rescue. Sayid left the island, Jin did not. Sayid's post-island life was also a manipulation (by Ben). But Sayid's return was not one of leadership but one of revenge. He was to be a tool or weapon in the final fight against MIB.

Sawyer never wanted responsibility. All he wanted to do was get off the island. Anything that stood in the way of his goal was pushed aside. Sawyer was selfish. He was never comfortable in any leadership role, even when Hurley pressed him to be the "de facto" leader of the beach camp. He never wanted to attain a higher calling in life. Like Sayid, his life's motivation was consumed by revenge.

So in all of the convoluted story arcs and twists, there were only two viable final candidates from the very beginning of the series: Jack and Hurley. Jack accepted the notion of leadership because the survivors immediately valued his medical skills as a means to their rescue and survival. Hurley never accepted a leadership role. He was comfortable at the end of the mission line. He hardly made his opinions known until the last story arc. He did not have the ego to want to seize power over other people's lives (because of his feelings of what other people in a similar position did to him).

In the end, both Jack and Hurley become the island guardians. One volunteers and one assumes the job involuntarily. Jack's reign as guardian is short lived; Hurley's reign is one of janitor, cleaning up the leftover strings, to close the island down (whatever that meant). We can assume that Hurley sealed away the island from future "crashes," but that is one of the final mysteries: what ever happened to the island after Hurley?

Nothing. Hurley and Ben briefly discuss their time on the island in the sideways church courtyard. There is no great revelation that the island needed protection, that it had a new guardian or that it even survived at all.

The island either continued on its life force mission without a guardian or it faded away from reality when none of the characters remained on (or in) it. In either event, the world did not end. The only thing that ended were the lives of the main characters who gathered in the after life church to move on.

LIFE OF THE PARTY OF FIVE

Let us presume that all the LOST characters from Flight 815 survived the plane crash and were "alive" on the island. They were all "saved" because a mysterious supernatural being named Jacob needed one of them to man-up and become the island successor guardian - - - to "kill" the MIB (smoke monster) because for no apparent reason, Jacob could not kill it because it was against the rules.

Rules, mind you, that Jacob broke by actually killing his brother after he killed their Crazy Mother. Jacob's action of beating his brother and throwing his body into the light cave apparently killed him and turned whatever spirit or soul into a violent smoke monster. Jacob took his dead brother and Crazy Mother and buried them in the water cave (Jack found them and we knew the bodies as Adam and Eve).

So the whole plot line reasoning about Jacob needing a successor was totally flawed. He was an immortal being, so how could he actually die? And when he did die by being stabbed by Ben in the Tawaret statue, he apparently "lived on" like a smoke monster creating images of himself as a young boy to torment MIB/Flocke, steal back his ashes from Hurley, and making his big pep rally speech to his remaining candidates around his last campfire.

Near the end, Sawyer asks jack why Locke didn't just kill Desmond. Jack suggests maybe it was one of his 'rules'. Sawyer suggests that he himself was responsible for the deaths on the submarine, because he attempted to defuse the bomb against Jack's advice. Jack insists that Flocke killed them. Behind them,  Hurley is confronted by young Jacob who asks for the ashes, then snatches them and runs off. Hurley chases him and comes across adult Jacob seated by a fire. Jacob tells Hurley that the ashes are in the fire and that when the fire goes out, he will not be seen again, adding "We are very close to the end."

Why Jacob needs to be a boy to get his ashes back is strange, since Hurley knows of the adult Jacob from the lighthouse. So there is no need for another level of confusion. 

As night falls, Hurley leads Kate, Sawyer and Jack to Jacob's fire. Jacob greets them by their first names. Hurley is surprised that they can all see Jacob. Kate asks Jacob whether he is the one who wrote the names on the wall, and whether it is their candidacy that ultimately led to their deaths. She also demands to know that Sun, Jin, and Sayid didn't die for nothing. Jacob says he will tell the group what they died for and why he chose them. He adds that by the time the fire is out one of them will have to take his place as protector of the Island.

Jacob explains that a very long time ago he made a mistake, and as a result there is a good chance that everyone is going to die. He acknowledges that he is responsible for the current state of the Man in Black. The Monster has been trying to kill him and that when it succeeded, someone would have to replace him: that is why he brought them all to the Island. Challenged by Sawyer, Jacob explains that he didn't drag anyone out of a happy existence but that they were all flawed. He says that he chose them because they were all like him - all alone, all looking for something that they couldn't find. He says he chose them because they needed the Island as much as the Island needed them. Jacob tells Kate her name was crossed off because she became a mother, but that she is not disqualified. He explains that the task for the candidate is to protect the light at the center of the Island.

In essence, there were five candidates left on the island: Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, Kate and Ben. Austin and Linus had their names crossed off in the cave. Why Ben was no longer a candidate is never explained; he seemed to be the most prepared and most willing to take charge. But could a guardian killer become the guardian of the island? It would appear that is how Crazy Mother operated when she murdered Claudia to take her children. Ben did the same thing by kidnapping Alex from her natural mother. We must remember that the guardians are not high moral beings. In fact, they are really self-centered, narcissistic demi-gods. From that perspective, Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, Kate and Ben each in their own way "qualified" for the guardianship job.

Jacob never explains why the light source needs to be protected, or be protected from Flocke. His statements that the candidates friends deaths were in furtherance of a plan to find a new guardian ring hollow. If MIB wanted to kill Jacob, he could just kill him (since Crazy Mom's rule was that the brothers could not harm each other, which was false). Jacob could avoided being killed by NOT bringing anyone to the island who could be corrupted into killing him (as what happened with Ben). So in reality, Jacob continued to lie to his final candidates. He wanted to bring people to the island so he would "die."

Jacob then says that they must do what he couldn't do: kill MIB (Flocke). Jack asks whether that is even possible and Jacob says that he hopes so because "he" is certainly going to try to kill them. Jacob offers the remaining candidates a choice of who will take his place - Jack accepts, acknowledging that he is on the island for this very purpose. Jacob asks Jack to affirm this decision, and is pleased when he does.

Again, if Jacob is a supernatural being with full knowledge of all the island's properties, he is lying to Jack on whether MIB/Flocke is a being capable of being killed. Jacob would know. And this elaborate ritual is merely a mask to get these lost souls to buy into the dirty deed: MIB/Flocke must die.

So why would Jacob hijack human beings to come to an island that contains the entire life spirit of the universe? If one looks closely at the dark side of these proceedings, it is because it was Jacob, not MIB, who was trapped on the island. MIB was a spiritual security system that kept Jacob was leaving the island realm; he was the jailor and Jacob was imprisoned (for killing his brother perhaps?) But we saw that Jacob left the island to "touch" his candidates. But perhaps that was an illusion (or the candidates were dead but hijacked on their way to the after life).

So it came down to five people. Jacob only needed to convince, con or manipulate one person to kill Flocke. The motivation was simple: Flocke killed you friends and he will kill you. If he kills you, he will destroy the world. Heavy stuff. But if you recall, people have tried to kill Flocke but nothing harmed it. There is no magic switch to turn MIB into a mortal human. The campfire going out to end Jacob's time was a ruse because when Ilana found the ash pit, it was already extinguished so by common sense, Jacob's life was extinguished as well. But that is not the case as he continued to appear to the candidates.

It seems almost absurdly stupid. It is the make-believe aspect of the explanation that makes one recall two little kids playing pretend WAR in their back yard. Both shoot each other with toy guns, and one has their dramatic "you got me" dying moment. Then they get up and do it all over again. We have no proof that either Jacob or MIB "died" as a result any event on the island.  We were just swept away into the sideways vortex.

But then again, in the context of the end, was the island conflict all that important? There appears to be faulty logic to try to bridge the island events to the fantasy of the sideways world. For if the island was the "most important" part of each of the church members lives, why not did they not all "reunited" on the island and live FOREVER together? It would seem that the island was no longer important (even though we were told that it was the source of life, death and rebirth). The island was merely closed like a bad diner going out of business.

THE GUARDIAN

In an attempt to flow chart the complex relationships to formulate a set of rules, the above graphic is a representation of the white, black and gray character elements. Crazy Mother is both good and bad (gray). She brought the island visitors much like Jacob did, but her purpose is clouded but may be the same as Jacobs; she was tired of being the guardian.  The red lines show the pattern of killing done by the god-like immortals. For all the "rules," it is apparent that Crazy Mother could kill directly (Claudia and the other island villagers). MIB directly killed Crazy Mother (it is debatable whether there was some rule broken in MIB's rage). Jacob then killed MIB by throwing his body into the light cave (whether one calls it direct or indirect the result is the same).  But in the next centuries, it is apparent that MIB continued to kill visitors as the smoke monster. However, one slight change occurred that altered the cycle of killing: it appears that island followers and candidates killed off each other at times. But in the final cycle, a "candidate" killed both Jacob (Linus) and MIB (Kate). Had that ever happened before?

Was the key to MIB's loophole the fact that if he got a candidate to "kill" Jacob, he would regain his humanity (mortality)? And was Jacob's ultimate demise conditioned upon a candidate killing MIB? It would seem so. Crazy Mom's demise was at the hands of one of her "candidates" to replace her.

So what is the significance of both Jacob and MIB being killed by candidates on the island? One could consider that just like the stone cork in the light cave, Jacob and MIB were the symbolic cork that closed the nexus or portal to the character's sideways world.

It would seem to be a simpleton "eye for an eye" loophole. But it had to be difficult to organize and pull off. For Jacob kept himself secreted in the statue or the mystery cabin. He had intermediaries who would keep "candidates" at bay until MIB manipulated them to "follow" him. And once chaos reigned in the island hierarchy, Jacob had to make himself seen among the followers. That left him open to attack.

For what is the portal to our original 815 characters. For those in "everybody was dead" camp, an explanation. Jack's eye was closed at the beginning of the series. What does not truly mean? Why did he land far away from his plane section (Rose was right next to him)? If we look internally for symmetry, when Jack closed his eye in the finale it meant that the was dead. The loop had come back around. If a closed eye represents death, then Jack was dead in the crash. If an eye opening represents "awakening" or "rebirth" then Jack's eye opening in the pilot meant that part of him was reborn on the island (his body) while his soul went on to help create the sideways world. The sideways world had to have been created when everyone was together - - - possibly during the electromagnetic blast that took down the plane. It would explain why there are parallels between the two places. But there was a barrier between the reincarnated on the island and the souls in the sideways plane of existence. That barrier was the island and its guardian, who had the power to manipulate time and space, in order to release himself from the eternal prison of the island.

In one respect, the island also served as a prison for the 815 characters. Part of them were trapped in the island drama for no apparent reason except to free Jacob and MIB from their servitude to some unknown higher deity. Perhaps, with Jacob and MIB's island deaths, they would be awakened in their own parallel sideways world that their real mother created for them.

S6E16 BRAIN DEAD

There was much to dislike about "What They Died For." First, and foremost, the question was not answered: everyone who died on the island, from Claudia, her group, through the Others, 815ers, to Widmore's people, died for no specific purpose. "The island" is not an answer, it still remains a vague question.

Second, the brain dead intelligence of the characters continues to frustrate. Example, Widmore's show down with Flocke. Widmore is threatened by Flocke, and knowing his end is near, he goes ahead and tells Flocke what he wants to know, that Desmond is a "fail safe." Ben blows Widmore away, but we all assume Widmore was not leaving that house alive. Ben, himself, turned illogical slug around Flocke. He was told that he would inherit the island once Flocke was done, but at the well, Ben knew Flocke's plan was to destroy the island (which means Ben would also die). Ben's reaction is to help Flocke finish his plan, including hunting down the survivors. Jack volunteering for a job with no description or purpose was also dumb. The idea of accepting a drink from the guardian suddenly opens you mind to vast knowledge has no basis in fact. Jacob gave Richard immortality; but that was false as Smokey Capt' Frank'd him in Dharmaville.

Third, in that vein, there are no rules. What people say is never the truth. Ben and Widmore stated in the past they could not kill each other; it was against the Rules; but Ben did so. CrazyMom said Jacob could not harm MIB, but Jacob killed his brother.

Fourth, the Jacob camp has come to the conclusion they have to "kill" the monster. But they have no idea how to do it. Widmore claims Desmond's special property to withstand EM energy is a "fail safe," except from a continuity standpoint MIB is made of EM energy. What is Desmond supposed to do? Bear hug Flocke and attempt to drown him in the pool? We know Flocke can withstand a dip in the lake from the dock scene (so he does not melt like a wicked witch). I continue to dislike the sideways story arc, but I think the writers may use it for one purpose: sideways Jack will screw up and kill Locke in surgery, and that death will transpose itself onto Flocke. It mirrors Jack's father's surgical screw up. How or why that would work on the island probably would never be explained.

Fifth, there has been a growing debate on whether one world is real and the other is not real. Is the sideways world the "real one" with the island as some subconscious testing ground? Is Smokey the real Boogie Man in people's nightmares? But it hard to fathom either world being all that real as the sideways fact errors continue to mount (example, Ana Lucia as a patrol officer would not be in charge of transporting prisoners to county jail, sheriffs would be; when Ben is beat up no call to the police? That school would have been in lock down with SWAT teams patrolling the hallways.) David Letterman joked that he felt the only viable ending in his mind is Jack being told to "wake up! The plane is landing in Cincinnati."

S6E14 SUICIDE IS PAINLESS

Suicide is painless,

It brings on many changes,

And I can take or leave it if I please . . .

Such is the refrain from M*A*S*H, and last night's episode. It further brings into story continuity questions about island death - - - specifically suicides.

We were shown that candidates could not die. Richard and Jack sat in the Black Rock. Richard could not die by suicide but someone else could kill him. Jack agreed to do so, then sat down knowing that the volatile explosives would not go off. We saw various characters, like Mrs. Kluge, beg to be killed by a comrade. Patchy lived more lives than an alley cat. Michael could not commit suicide in NYC. The standard rule was an island person could not commit suicide.

Then we got into a possible exception: you could kill yourself if you were sacrificing yourself to help others. Charlie drowning in the Looking Glass was the prime example. What happened to him was that he turned into a ghost to haunt Hurley at Santa Rosa (including physically slapping him on the side of the head after he admitted he was dead.) Juliet banging on the bomb (which may or may not have gone off) would have been a sacrifice to save the castaways. Even Jacob being stabbed by Ben in the statue was like suicide, because Jacob made no attempt to defend himself.

Which leads us to the red shirt parade. The lack of any value to human life is becoming appalling in the plot. I once remarked that if all the candidates got together with MIB, the Numbers would act like a combination lock and seal him away forever. Now, it appears, that the candidates are merely a combination lock in death to release MIB into the wild. With the caveat that MIB cannot directly kill any candidate. Except, he put the bomb in Jack's back pack so that is murder, plain and simple.

I also caught grief a few weeks back remarking that the plot appeared to be headed towards all the characters getting killed off . . . which led to remarks like "then what's the point?" Exactly. We still do not know what The Point of the story is . . . . and the constant reshuffling of character groups into nonsensical situations continues to mask it.

The multiple demise of characters in The Candidate was anti-climatic. First, poor Frank had nothing more than four word throw-away phrases for the entire season. He was kept around because he was the pilot (of a terribly broken airplane) who could fly the castaways home. In the end, his sole purpose was to be a red shirt (a gruesome death prop). Second, poor Sayid, the zombie who had nothing to live for, tries to turn into hero by taking the bomb away from the castaways. Boom goes the Iraqi! A sacrificial suicide mission to end his character or as a candidate an nullified suicide attempt a la Michael in NYC?

The whole Jin-Sun reunion was blah cottage cheese last week. The whole set up for their Looking Glass moment really took away from any shred of common sense parental instincts. First, submarine fixtures like cabinets are anchored to the hull and not free standing projectiles. Second, Sun getting "trapped" behind some twisted pipes meant she squeezed behind them before the explosion. It was too soap opera gimmickry as they said their final goodbyes, without mentioning once, their baby daughter or the need for one parent to survive to raise her. Unless this is a lesson that modern parents are self-absorbed narcissistic shells, the scene had no power over me. It does not answer if one or both were the lighthouse candidate. It would mean Sun died at the hands of another person (MIB) while Jin's death was not a sacrifice but a suicide (which is against the rules).

It may come down to that the only rule on the show is that there were no rules. So what would be the Point then?

We then have the problem with Kate's bullet wound. It clearly appeared to be a direct hit in the area where her left subdavian artery is located. If the bullet hit or nicked that artery, medical science says she would be unconscious in 2 seconds, and be dead in 3.5 seconds. So we must conclude that this was another magic bullet, more show than go.

Then we have the problem of Hurley, Kate, Jack and Sawyer miraculously escaping a sinking submarine faster than it surfacing to get rid of the bomb. If they got out, what about the experienced sub crew? Pretty unbelievable. The whole ticking time bombs have been a real thorn in the sides of many viewers because of the unbelievability of the situations. In this dud, the castaways get below and find the bomb in less than a minute because Jack asks for his back pack to treat Kate's injury. Now, a submarine in open seas can dive at a rate of approximately 50 feet per minute. If the command was given to Frank to have the captain surface immediately, the submarine would have been no more than 50-60 feet below the surface. Plenty of time to surface in three minutes to throw away the bomb. Further, the submarine was docked inside a cove-harbor. It did not have the time to get into "open water" to submerge deep into the ocean. These simple but important facts really make the scene go sour quickly. It was another poorly crafted script that tried to lead us to an emotional parlay, four character death sequence.

Another insanely dumb, suicidal move was Widmore moving his beach sonic fences to the station buildings/bear cages. It shows incompetence or an alliance with Flocke because it shows a lack of common sense. And the remaining Widmore red shirts went down like penned cattle at a slaughterhouse. Affirming, once again, that human life is treated like candy being dispensed from a PEZ container.

A census of the remaining red meat reveals:

Beach rats: Jack, Hurley, bleeding Kate and head trauma Sawyer. Another case of head injury, which probably will become the "portal" for Sawyer to reunite with Alt-World Juliet. At least, the conscious group had their first community "cry."

Widmore's mercenaries: Widmore, Zoe and 0-? red shirts, and a well Desmond. I don't think Widmore has any one left except Desmond and Zoe. Desmond is the only one on the main island.

Flocke's group: Flocke (MIB), Claire. Or zombie Claire as we like to call her.

The Others: Cindy, Emma and Zach. I also think that the three are the only ones left from the Temple Others who joined Flocke.

The Jungle: 3 mysterious boys who stalk and taunt Flocke. The children's relationship to the island and Flocke remain unknown, except for the comments regarding the Rules.

The Whispers and Ghosts: Ghost Jacob and Ghost Michael have appeared, but whether they are truly trapped souls who cannot move on, or manifestations of Jacob, MIB or some one else, is unclear.

Richard's Group: murderous immortal Richard, murderous former leader Ben, and death talking con man island native Miles. It almost has a duck-duck-goose ring to it. Murderer-murderer-psychic!

So we have five 815ers left: Hurley, Kate, Jack, Sawyer and zombie Claire.
We have Richard, Ben and Miles running around on their own.
We have five other people left: Widmore, Zoe, Cindy, Emma and Zach.
That is an unlucky 13 red shirts remaining on the island.

Is there any heroic suicide sacrificing people left? I suspect Cindy would continue to protect the two children to the end, as she has shown some maternal instincts totally lacking with Claire or the other women confined to the island. I suspect that if Sawyer believes he has nothing else to live for, he might dive on a grenade to save some one. Jack's idea of staying behind was a form of self-sacrifice so that really does not count. I don't think Kate would do anything because of crazy Claire's mental state and her cross-eyed mission to reunite mother and child. Richard has suicidal tendencies but knows he cannot kill himself. All the candidates are supposedly in the same situation as Richard. That leaves Ben or Miles, which deep down, are similar creatures: they view the world and their place as what is in their own best interest . . . which is living to fight another day.

One other observation which may or may not play out. There are very few "natives" left. We know Miles was born on the island in 1977. We don't know if Widmore, Cindy, or Zoe were born on the island or was brought to it by Jacob. My "guess" is that Miles is the only native islander left. As such, does he "inherit" the island from Jacob?

THE QUEST OF THE CANDIDATES

A hero is a character who is admired for his/her courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities. A hero in fiction normally has a long and arduous search for something; the quest.

Do any of the candidates show noble qualities of high moral standards?
Do any of the candidates show courage, summoning personal strength in the face of pain, grief or frightening circumstances?
Do any of the candidates show island achievements, a thing done successfully, usually with effort, courage or skill?

With all the episodes, events, missions, and tangents that the candidates have been involved in, it is hard to identify a single noble quest.

Jack's original real world quest was to find his father and return his body home. He failed.
Sawyer's original real world quest was to find the con man who drove his father to murder and seek revenge. He did so by strangling Cooper. But was that a noble act?
Kate's sole mission in life was to run away from her problems or responsibilities. She has not been able to settle down or face the music concerning her past.
Hurley really had no mission or direction in his life. His non-existence was changed by winning the lottery, which he learned was a curse. His return to the island was not noble, but more like guilt and peer pressure. Since returning to the island, he has become a speaking pawn for Jacob.
Jin's mission in life was to be successful, to get away from his poverty. He found himself as his father-in-law's lapdog in an unhappy marriage. Since, his goal was to reunited with Sun, but he has not been able to do so.
Locke's original real world quest was his personal acceptance by anyone (his father, Helen, his boss). But once he was "cured" on the island, he never achieved any of his new goals. He never was a good leader. He did sacrifice himself in the FDW to reset the island time skips, as in the end he was murdered by Ben and returned to become the new form of Flocke, who has killed many people.

What is the great, noble cause the candidates are supposed to embody and fulfill?
We don't know. The mere message of stopping Flocke seems like a hollow instruction without meaning.

PURPOSE

In the mish-mash of people reconstituting new groups like a single cell organism ready to divide into two, a basic question of purpose needs to be addressed:

What purpose does/did Jacob provide the Island? "Protection," is the answer, but from what?

What purpose does/did MIB provide the Island? "A rival," is the answer, but why?

What purpose does/did the Others provide the Island? We really don't know why there is a "native" band of Hostiles living on an uncharted, supernatural island in the middle of the Pacific.

What purpose does/did the Others "leader" provide? "To speak to/through Jacob," is the answer, but why is there the need to follow Jacob's instructions?

What purpose does/did outsiders like 815 survivors provide the Island? "Candidates," appears to be the answer, but why does forcing people to the island to succeed Jacob serve the interests of the Island, the Candidates, or the Others?

What purpose did the Dharma Initiative provide the Island when Jacob was supposed to "protect it" from outsiders? "More candidates?"

Why does Jacob want "candidates" to replace him? What is his purpose or motivation to leave?

Why does MIB want to "kill" Jacob? Why can't MIB just transform and leave? Why must he destroy Jacob first?

Are both "trapped" on the Island for eternity? Is there whole purpose, or existence, a way to break the bonds that the Island (realm) has upon them?
Is the solution that Jacob or MIB cannot "leave" or be free unless they are replaced by a qualified "candidate?" After hundreds of years, you would think if they really wanted off the Island, a candidate(s) would be appointed and case closed. That begs the point that the concept of a "candidate" is a ruse, a red herring. Candidates must serve a different purpose than being courted as replacements for the Island's apparent supernatural entities.

THE SCHOOL JAIL

"Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It's like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won't fatten the dog."--Mark Twain

I found this quote and thought it could have some application here. Recall, when we were introduced to the Others, we were led to believe that they were members of the Dharma Initiative, which brought scientists to the Island to study its abnormal properties. Dharma was a research and educational community. All seemed to be going well, except for the occasional Smoke monster attack and the native Hostiles causing a stink. But Dharma had existed for at least twenty years and created numerous high tech (bunkers) stations.

But things began to turn as time passed; the arrival of Roger and Benjamin Linus was like an infection for the island. They were not happy people. They were not believers. In essence, that attitude seeped into other Dharma zealots, like Radinsky, who side stepped the pursuit of knowledge for the capture of power. The decline of Dharma was led by an outsider, Benjamin Linus, who helped lead the Purge, a mass execution of all outsiders except Rousseau, Alex, Ethan, Radinsky, Kelvin and Linus. Brain snap: could these people have been the Original Candidates?

So a place of knowledge turned into a place of jail. Under Ben's leadership, recruits to the island were not allowed to leave, like Juliet and the 815 survivors. Without a counterbalanced truce with Dharma, the Others grew into a shoot first, ask questions later mentality of a prison yard.

With a trained acceptance of solutions through educational examination, people tend to revert more to a primordial, instinctive behavior set. At some time, it begins to feed upon itself. And that point of no return apparently could be MIB's game to kill Jacob in a vicious cell block turf war for control of the prison.