EARLY AND LATE

This is an early promotional picture for LOST. It is interesting to reflect on how the early LOST vision as set forth in the photograph panned out in the actual series.

Front and center are Jack and Kate. In the original scripts, Kate was going to be the main focal character of the series. She did not have the criminal back story of the pilot. She was a little older, wiser, married (and may be widowed after the crash). Jack was supposed to be one of the first initial characters to be killed off (purely for dramatic purposes; to show how the island was a dangerous place). But viewers were quickly drawn to Jack, so the network made him the focal character of the series. In many respects, Kate remained the main female lead, but with a more secondary role.

Just behind Jack and Kate, literally having Jack's back is Charlie. Charlie's original character development was going to be Jack's right hand man - - - his loyal friend who would be in the center of most of the action (in some ways Kate morphs into this buddy role for Jack). Charlie's character went from possible loyal companion to lone-sick, drug addicted puppy.

Sawyer stood in the fourth lead role in the photograph. His character had the built-in elements for conflict: cockiness, rudeness, humor, criminal intent, and ballsy personality. He was a primary character who really did not affect the main plot lines. His decisions did not affect the final ending of the series. He was more representative of "leave me alone" survivor than a community builder.

Interestingly, the next group represents the "family element" of the show. ABC billed itself as the family network. Sun and Jin were the allegedly happy newly weds who we would learn were escaping from her demanding father. Whether the language barrier and stereotypical discrimination elements were initially cast for the Korean couple is unknown. But their story seemed to be more filler episodes than an overwhelming key to the solving of any of the island's mysteries.

Now, Walt and Michael could have been huge factors in the island story development. Walt was in fact touted early that he had "special powers." The danger and cruelty of the Others was established when they kidnapped children like Walt. The dynamic of a child reunited with a father he never knew was probably the most complete and compelling story foundation in the series. But that story arc got the short shaft based upon Walt's actor literally growing out his part. Then the writers began to use Michael as some all-knowing McGuyver on construction, boating, etc. to make him an unbelievable character.  The families never made it to the end as a complete unit. Sun and Jin's back story was better than their island story. Walt and Michael's story just fell off the face of the Earth with the muddy main story supernatural elements taking over the plot.

The first of the background characters were Locke and Hurley.  This makes sense in one regard: both were loners. Hurley was supposed to be a successful businessman and Locke a knock-about bachelor who never could get his act together. But once the show began to be filmed, Locke turned into a miracle survivor on his own quest for acceptance and recognition from his peers. Hurley turned into a meek soldier who lent himself for comic relief. Both men were originally not supposed to play big roles in the series. But the viewers were quickly drawn to the excellent acting skills and personality traits to become fan favorites.

Ironically, the next background pair actually wound up together in the end even though their characters were polar opposites. Shannon was the typical rich bitch, spoiled brat persona which would have had a hard time adjusting to the primitive island life. She had little skills (except French) to contribute to any plot. She was cast for eye candy. Sayid was supposed to be another diversity character, with the background that would cast an evil eye toward him. As someone who fought against the Americans in Iraq, he would naturally be considered by the other survivors as suspicious and untrustworthy. The camp needed his skills but the camp leaders could not deal with the politics of accepting an outsider as an equal. Sayid's role grew to be that "go-to" mission specialist in electronics, weapons, rescues, tracking, etc.

Off by himself, which really happened as the series went on, was Boone. Boone initially had a greater role in the series, but with an ensemble cast he was not paired with a dynamic focal character. In the pilot he was put into the role of potential go-getter leader, but was quickly shot down by Jack. Boone was left to gravitate towards Locke's stronger outback character as the Gilligan to the Skipper relationship. In many respects, Boone had the target of being a red shirt in the writer's room.

The last character in the photo was Claire. She was developed as a main character in the original treatments. As a pregnant young woman, her story was a simple tale of an unwanted pregnancy, bad decision making, and a horrible end crash landing on the island. One would have suspected that she could have died in child birth, got the island infection or had mad PPD to become an outcast in the group. But for Charlie's diminished role to Jack's leadership squad, Claire would have been quicklly written out of the series. Still, her motherhood role did not have any bearing in helping the main island themes pan out into interesting reveals. In fact, the Others intense interest in her, her baby, her birth, the infection shots, the kidnapping and her rescue had no impact on the Season 6 story elements.

What is interesting to note from this photograph is Bernard and Rose are missing from it. They were a "family" element more stable than any other pairing on the show. They were the "adults" in the room. In many respects, they were the base line for common sense on the show. But clearly, they were never intended to have any major role in the series.

THE GOLD NUGGET

In just about every endeavor, there is a certain amount of "gold rush" fever.  People are passionate about what they are really interested in . . . so much so that it can become all consuming endeavor to find deeper meaning. In historical context, people left their families, jobs, home to rush to areas far away on the prospect of finding gold or silver or a better opportunity.  For the vast majority of those, these journeys were fool's errands, for the only people who got rich in these fevers were the suppliers of mining equipment, food and shelter.

So was LOST's main characters involved in a fool's errand of their own?

A sense of survival, to rescue, to friendship, to protection, to redemption - - -  all seem to be worthy of all consuming passion and intense enlightenment.

Did the characters actually have to "survive" on the island?

Did the characters really need to be "rescued?"

Did the characters have real friendships or merely truce by convenience?

Did the characters have to protect each other from the unknown?

And did any of the characters actually redeem themselves?

It is really a harsh analysis because in the final season, the story line changed so dramatically to put everything before it in question.  The Jacob-MIB backstory put a supernatural god like control over everything that happened on the island. Though Jacob said he gave any visitor "free will" to make their own decisions, but at the same time Jacob and MIB were constantly manipulating the characters - - - attacking their fears, personality flaws, emotional states and desires. Some could say that the island was training human circus animals to perform surreal plays for the gods amusement.

If the characters were trying to find their own souls, to reform and redeem their past sins, did they actually find that gold? Not really. The island ordeal was a harsh existence with many deaths, psychological breakdowns and inconsistent alliances. The real miners for the golden ticket was Jacob and his smoke monster buddy (who we learn is not actually his real brother but some supernatural shape shifting spirit being).

It seems that only Jacob and the smoke monster could "survive" on the island. They were both trapped on the island for reasons not really understood. They get bored with each other, and bring inferior humans to play a game of survival without rules. And when they don't play to the violent nature expected, the captors send their wrath upon them.

It also seems that Jacob and the smoke monster were the only ones who really, truly needed to be rescued from their immortal prison. The survivors really had no lives to go back to, as Jacob told them bluntly. They were picked to come to the island because of their various deep rooted faults. They were castaways from society before they even crash landed on the island. It was MIB who desperately wanted to find a "loophole" to get off the island - - - which probably was as simple as getting some stupid fool to accept the responsibility of becoming the next imprisoned guardian (which mirrors Desmond leaving the Hatch confines when Locke found him).

Whether Jacob and MIB were actual "friends" is debatable; but at least they were held as equals in their own minds, which is the foundation for any friendship. Though presented as being immortal foes, one does not get the sense of real anger between them - - - more a resigned sigh that their confinement is never going to end. It was only when Ben killed his mentor, Jacob, did MIB's fake blood boil as he burned Jacob's body. But we still don't know if that was a real death, or part of the loophole catch to make the other candidates believe someone had to step up and take Jacob's place (thus opening the lock of their island cage). MIB's performance convinced Ben that Flocke was truly evil and had to be stopped . . . . but from what? It was all an elaborate con on the humans to get them to act a certain way - - - to kill each of the immortals by sacrificing themselves in dangerous situations. What right minded individual would do such a thing? In the past, no one did (which frustrated MIB to no end).

Jacob and MIB did not need protection from each other because they were island equals. The only rule was that each could be killed (released from bondage) only at certain times and in certain places at the hands of an inferior human being. There was no redemption in Jack, Kate, Ben or anyone else killing off Jacob or MIB. It really did not solve any of their personal problems. It did not make their world a better place. All the finale did was release Jacob and MIB from their island hell. (Some could say that the island experience kept the characters spirits linked as one to be reunited in the after life, but others would say that is just a Hollywood trope happy ending with no logical connection to the show's own mythology).

No, the only true "winners" in the series were the two characters with the least scene time.

A KEY

How immortal beings such as Jacob or the smoke monster (MIB/Flocke) could have become moral (an apparent requirement in order to "leave" the island existence) is unknown.

But here is a new theory I thought may explain it. It merges a couple of given facts such as the Numbers and Jacob's authority over the island.

MIB was locked on the island's time and space. It could not escape. Jacob was the island guardian, which also could be called a jailor. Jailor's have the keys to the prisoner's cells. Jacob could be considered a jailor to MIB.

The importance of Jacob's numbering system should not be underestimated. It went through the entire series. It was the ultimate clue. Yes, it represented the candidates, but it had to represent more than that because there were more than one hundred prior candidates who did not achieve what either Jacob or MIB desired: escape. One would hope that the candidate numbers would have more meaning than just being numbers.

The numbered candidates could symbolically represent parts of a lock's tumblers, the pieces of metal that move when the proper key is inserted to open the mechanism. Now, if Jacob numbers his candidates, it is either Jacob or the island automatically sets the island's "locking mechanism." The island itself was described as a Magic Box. Magic Boxes would need to be secured from devious people. When the candidates arrive at the island, it is their destiny to "open" the lock in order for Jacob and/or MIB to escape.

The random order of the candidates selection to become island keys came from Jacob scouting them as children, then coming to them with his touch (marking them as elements of the island key). Once they arrived on the island, the game was to determine the order of the candidates in order to unlock the island. It would seem neither Jacob or MIB could control the order of the key, because they were frustrated by the lack of results over the centuries of people being brought to the island.

The only logical progression for the key cuts would be the order of when each candidate died. We know the order from the beginning: Locke (which could be considered a clue for this theory), then Sayid (even after reanimation), Jin, Jack, then most likely Sawyer (if the Ajira plane did not have enough fuel to get home) and then Hurley (who would have become immortal when he accepted the island guardianship).

One might realize a flaw in the theory which is that Jacob and MIB "died" (i.e. escaped) before Hurley would have died. But they could have been trapped like Michael as a whisper, a spirit attached to the island, until Hurley died which would release all the lost and trapped souls into the after life.

A KEY TO A LOCK

John Locke was one of the most compelling characters early in the LOST saga. However, after he turned the frozen donkey wheel and teleported off the island, Locke became a throwaway character.

As such, were all the Locke story lines and subtext rendered meaningless?

Much has been written about Locke's name being tied to a English sociologist-writer.

John Locke (b. 1632, d. 1704) was a British philosopher, Oxford academic and medical researcher. Locke's monumental An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689) is one of the first great defenses of empiricism and concerns itself with determining the limits of human understanding in respect to a wide spectrum of topics. It thus tells us in some detail what one can legitimately claim to know and what one cannot.

Locke's association with Anthony Ashley Cooper (later the First Earl of Shaftesbury) led him to become successively a government official charged with collecting information about trade and colonies, economic writer, opposition political activist, and finally a revolutionary whose cause ultimately triumphed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Among Locke's political works he is most famous for The Second Treatise of Government in which he argues that sovereignty resides in the people and explains the nature of legitimate government in terms of natural rights and the social contract.

He is also famous for calling for the separation of Church and State in his Letter Concerning Toleration. Much of Locke's work is characterized by opposition to authoritarianism. This is apparent both on the level of the individual person and on the level of institutions such as government and church. For the individual, Locke wants each of us to use reason to search after truth rather than simply accept the opinion of authorities or be subject to superstition. He wants us to proportion assent to propositions to the evidence for them. On the level of institutions it becomes important to distinguish the legitimate from the illegitimate functions of institutions and to make the corresponding distinction for the uses of force by these institutions. Locke believes that using reason to try to grasp the truth, and determine the legitimate functions of institutions will optimize human flourishing for the individual and society both in respect to its material and spiritual welfare. This in turn, amounts to following natural law and the fulfillment of the divine purpose for humanity.

Locke, from a historical aspect, represented the following qualities:

1. Man is limited to understanding a wide range of topics or subject matter.
2. He believes in the Social Contract theory of government, where the nation's power resides with its people and not in its rulers. Legitimate governments need to adhere to principles of natural rights of the individual.
3. The Church must be separately from the State to avoid oppression by authoritarianism.
4. One must be aware of legitimate and illegitimate institutions.
5. One must look to reason rather than opinion or superstition to find the truth.

The writers may have started off with those qualities in mind for LOST's Locke, but it quickly got inverted into a less aware character. We saw a beaten down Locke who miraculously was able to walk after a plane crash. He tried to create a new persona on the island. He wanted to be respected, he wanted to be admired, he wanted to be a leader. The more he tried, the more he failed.

He spouted off on a wide range of topics, but he was not very good at any of them. If one looks back, Locke's first boar catch may have been the only tangible thing he did for the survivors. He also did not believe in the beach camp "electing" Jack to be the de facto leader. He wanted to lead with the iron fist of a warrior. But since the island "healed" him, his mind wandered toward becoming a enlightened spiritual crusader - - - abandoning logic, reason or common sense, for a answer of destiny. He tried to convince Jack of this philosophy, but he was rejected as being a fool.

And Locke played the fool for many people in the series, none more than Jacob and Ben. Locke had been the perfect mark from the day he was born. He was naive but angry. He wanted to change but could never be happy with any situation. He tried to find family but those close to him would eventually turn on him. He would begin to blame others for his miserable life. His self-pity became paramount when he failed to get one person to go back to the island. He was a miserable failure, a rejected pawn who died an undignified and basically meaningless death.

He was not resurrected as an avenging angel when his body returned to the island. There was no rule or need for MIB to have dead body on the island to mimic. (When Locke was buried by Ilana and Ben, that dissolved the theory that MIB could only take the shape of non-buried bodies). Locke's body never had to come back to the island, since MIB merely took his form after the Ajira plane landing to mingle with those survivors.

So what was Locke's purpose in the main story line? To be a counter-foil to Jack? In reality, they never had a lot of critical scenes together; each was off on their own missions, trying to find the answers to their own demons. Was Locke meant to represent part of the fan base who consider themselves lonely, abused by the system, and entitled to a better life? There were many other characters that could have substituted for those characteristics.

And finally, Locke's character had no bearing on the final resolution of the island's alleged conflicts. And Locke's sideways story line was tedious and unbelievable, which makes sense now because it was all a fantasy purgatory wait station. Locke was never the key to solve the island story lines. He just played the fool to enhance the evil elements of other characters.

KEYWORDS

LOST was about fan exploration and finding hidden meanings in each episode.

In that regard, here are keywords associated with various characters:

CHARACTER 1: smile, mainline, asinine, lineman, seminal, alumni, insane, jumble, menial, nebula, nimble, simile, usable, abuse, alibi, alien, amuse, annul, blame.

CHARACTER 2: geyser, heresy, heroes, gorse, horse, house, rogue, rough, rouse, shore, shrug, sough, surge, usher, goer, gory, gush, hero, huge, rosy.

CHARACTER 3: choke, clone, colon, coke, cone, cool, echo, neck, nock, hole, hone, hook, jock, joke, lone, loon, one.

CHARACTER 4: serfdom, deform, adore, arose, dream, frame, major, smear, arse, dame, dare, deaf, deja, dose, fade, fame, fear, foam, jade, more, read, roam.

CHARACTER 5: nauseate, astute, attune, estate, nausea, statue, eaten, satan, snake, stake, state, stunt, taken, tease, tense, ante, east, keen, sane.

CHARACTER 6: Apache, arcade, phrase, preach, sacred, scrape, search, spread, ahead, cadre, caper, chase, crash, parse, reach, share, space, spare, spark.

Can you match those characteristic words to a specific LOST character?

It came to me that the character names may contain hidden meaning because words matter to writers. So I decided to run an experiment by putting main character names into an anagram generator to find keywords to see if those results matched the characters personality traits on the show.

Those were some of the results for six main characters on LOST.

The characters associated with each result:

1. Ben
2. Hugo
3. John
4. James
5. Kate
6. Jack

REAL = REAL

When Christian remarked that everything his son experienced was "real," including the sideways world experience (created by everyone as an afterlife holding tank), the debate still centers on what is "real."

A simple breakdown of key elements of the Island would help.
Real, unreal or science fiction.

1. Passengers surviving a mid-air mid-ocean plane separation and crash.
Not real. There are many real world examples with the same conclusion: no survivors.

2. Passengers believing they survived a mid air mid-ocean plane separation and crash.
Science fiction. There would have to be some story mythology explanation of how the
passengers could survive a 20,000 foot plunge. TPTB never gave an explanation of how
the characters survived the crash. A sci-fi explanation could include that the characters
"re-materialized" due to the unique EM properties of the Island, like spirits being reincarnated.

3. The Smoke Monster.
Science fiction. There is no basis in current science, technology or nature for an intelligent mass of black smoke that can shape shift into various forms, including dead people.

4. Time Travel.
Science fiction. The turning of the Frozen Donkey Wheel displacing certain characters into different time periods throughout history cannot occur on Earth. The inference is that the wheel was somehow attached to the life force pool, which somehow controlled time and space for the island and its residents, and when turned, major changes would occur. However, these time-space jumps did not create any paradoxes for the time travelers.

5. Electromagnetic Energy.
Real and unreal. EM is a real physical property on Earth. EM can be manipulated to create forces which can be used in working machines, such as bullet train propulsion systems. But the use of massive electromagnetic energy assaulting Desmond in the hatch "implosion" and Desmond's being thrown into the massive electro-arc by Widmore would have killed a normal human being.

For those who accept the sideways world explanation, but somehow grasp to the "real" comment for the Island explanation - - - as being a "real island" on Earth with "live" characters who survived the plane crash, one must review the key elements to accept the objective reasoning that the Island is purely a science fiction realm and not a real island.

If one starts with the premise that the Island is not real, but a magical science fiction realm, then the unreal events on the Island itself become more palatable from a story construction stand point.

UNLOCKING THE KEY TO LOST

The following is not a theory, but more like a thesis. An analysis of the elements presented by the creators of LOST in order to establish an unknown, unexpressed or clouded explanation for the premise of the show and its disjointed parts. To unlock the mysteries of LOST, which I believe have even escaped the minds of TPTB, one needs to find the Key. In the search for the Key, we have backtracked from the End to find a coherent explanation of the duality plot lines of the Island and Sideways realms.

As the previous posts have concluded, the pivot point character was Desmond. He was the character that began to bridge the two realms and bring the other Lost Souls to the church. But it took him a great deal of time and events for him to come to the realization that he was dead and further, accepting his death in order to reconnect with his past in order to move on.

The critical points in the End can be summarized as follows:

At the Sideways benefit concert, Eloise Widmore joins Desmond, saying that she thought she made it clear that Desmond should stop what he's been doing. Desmond says she did, but that he ignored her. She asks, "And once they know, what then?" and Desmond answers, "Then, we're leaving." With concern she asks if they are going to take her son. Desmond assures her, "Not with me, no."

Jack arrives at the concert after it has ended. Kate is there and he says he is looking for his son. He recognizes Kate and asks where he remembers her from. She tells him that she stole his pen on Oceanic 815. Jack is confused, he says "and that's how I know you?" Kate says that is not how he knows her. She goes up to him and takes his face in her hands telling him how much she has missed him. Jack flashes, seeing images of himself and Kate on the Island, but still resists. She tells him that if he comes with her he will understand.

She takes him to the church, the place Jack was going to have his father’s funeral. She says they are waiting for him “once he is ready.” Jack asks, “ready for what?” Kate responds, “to leave.”

At the reunion with his dead father, Jack comes to the realization that he is dead. Everyone is dead. Christian explains to Jack that they aren't leaving; they're moving on. Jack asks where to, and his father tells him, "Let's go find out."

If one objectively looks at the dynamic of the End as the solution of Six Seasons of LOST mysteries, only one key plot point was revealed and resolved: Eloise's demands to Desmond to stop what he was doing so Daniel would not be taken away from her.

Eloise Hawking Widmore is the Key to LOST.

Eloise Hawking is the only character that had "full knowledge" of the Island events and the Sideways world consequences. It is quite the simple but straight forward explanation lacking in the convoluted plot twists of the series that everything could truly be explained through the actions, manipulations and motivations of Eloise. The only issue truly resolved in the End was that Eloise did not "lose" her son, Daniel, to the 815ers who were "moving on" into the light at the conclusion of church meeting.

Now some may complain that the show was really all about Jack. But did Jack finally resolve his father issues in the End? No. Did other characters resolve their issues? Sayid and Nadia: the opposite happened. Locke, who was abused in the island world, left without anyone. Michael did not get over his issues with Walt, so he is apparently left with the guilt of an island ghost. The island events were themed by significant "daddy issue" subplots. But in the mirror realm of the sideways world, there is only one clear "mommy issue" plot: Eloise and Daniel.

The simple bridge between the Island and the Sideways world was a simple, personal, introspective "awakening." In the End, the only thing the 815ers did was realize that they were dead and accepting their deaths. Knowing that someone would attempt to "awaken" Daniel (most likely Desmond since Daniel considered him his metaphysical "constant"), Eloise attempted to keep that knowledge from all the characters in the Island realm.

As previously posted, the story premise has to be the Island and Sideways worlds are spiritual planes of existence. After death, one has a reincarnated new life. And in this new life, you may not realize that your human existence is gone because everything seems so "real." Using the concepts of the split between the ba and ka from ancient Egyptian mythology, Eloise could craft or control two separate spiritual planes to stop the characters' ba and ka from reuniting ("awakening") and moving on to a different plane of existence in the after life.

Eloise's role in both realms could be considered the puppet master, a gatekeeper of souls, the wizard behind the curtain, the high priestess of death. Only she knew knew the awakening rule. She confused the lost souls into believing that they were still alive. They were told that their survival depended upon running through a maze of dangerous missions. The Island was really a place that Eloise created to contain any person who could lead Daniel to his awakening in the Sideways realm. Eloise was motivated by the fear that she would lose her son forever.

Eloise was close to Brother Campbell. She used that relationship to get Desmond into a monastery so he could be locked away from Penny, a connection to Daniel. But that plan was ruined when Penny came to pick up wine at the same time Desmond was being kicked out for ill behavior. Eloise used Widmore to continually throw a wrench into Desmond's relationship with Penny. She used Libby to get Desmond the boat that he thought he could use to win a sailing race to "prove" to Widmore he was worthy of Penny.

After Sarah's surgery, and after promising her a "miracle," Jack takes a jog in a stadium. He notices Desmond who is jogging up the staircase next to him. Jack races to catch up to him but rolls his ankle and falls. Desmond comes to Jack's aid. After Desmond asks why Jack was "running like the devil was chasing him," he discusses Sarah's procedure and how he made a promise he couldn't keep. Desmond wonders out loud whether he actually did save her, but Jack tells him it would be a miracle. Desmond also leaves with the foreshadowing quip, "See you in another life."

Desmond takes Libby's boat, but then becomes shipwrecked on the Island. He is put to work pressing the Numbers in order "to save the world." Eloise tells him that his fate is to press the Numbers. That his sole destiny is to stay in the Hatch and forget any notion of being with Penny. For three years, Desmond accepts that role. It is only after he begins to be aware that he is "being conned" by Kelvin, that he fails in pressing the buttons. In that moment, he is aware that he can leave the island and return to Penny. But what stops him? The sudden arrival of new characters, the Others and the 815 survivors, who again, occupy Desmond with obstacles on leaving the Island (and returning to Penny).

It is an elaborate "con" that Eloise attempts to maintain; the only problem is that Desmond and the other characters retain their personalities and "free will" to make choices. The critical choice for Desmond was to use the fail safe key to "die." Even with that sacrifice in his mind, Desmond really did not want to "die," but get back to Penny. The island realm does not "kill" spirits such as Desmond. They continue to live until they accept their death in the real world.

The events then lead Desmond to Penny in the Island world. In order to stop the bridge from forming, Desmond is still "pursued" by Widmore in an alleged attempt to keep Desmond and Penny a part. But Eloise knows where Dez is. She allows him the fantasy of a life with Penny and his "son" in order for him to keep the illusion of living forefront in his mind. By doing so, she risks flashes of the other realm and concepts of death to overwhelm Desmond so that he could awaken and spoil the critical balance Eloise is trying to maintain in the Sideways world.

In the Sideways world, Eloise is queen of the land. She has a doting son, totally under her control. She has got the wealth, status and privilege of society. Charles Widmore is a corralled provider of all her needs, including keeping SW Desmond in check as Widmore's respected, trusted number two man (which is the mirror opposite of Island Desmond whose focus was trying to get the respect and trust of evil Widmore.) She has to keep Penny away from Desmond in the Sideways world. It is too dangerous if they have a relationship in both planes. That is why Widmore has Desmond putting out corporate fires all over the world. It is unintended consequences that lead to Desmond to be in LA at the same time Charlie meets Daniel for the benefit concert.

The Sideways and Island realms are mirror images of each other: they are not exactly the same, but mere reflections upon each other. But if one holds up a right hand looking in the mirror, it appears that the reflection is holding up its left hand. If one looks to try to formulate this distinction in fundamentals between the worlds, this sums up each existence:

Island world: live together or die alone.

Sideways world: die together or live alone.

Since there had to a balance between the two partial realms, one could write a formula:

Sideways = Island

or

DT/LA = LT/DA

Eloise did not want to live alone without her son, Daniel.
That is the key motivational force weaved throughout the End.

So Eloise knew what the final formula was in order to manipulate its components.

Using math to move the components, a new formula emerges:

T = DT x DA/LA

or

T = 2D/L

or finally,

"Live Together = 2 Die Together" (LT = 2DT)

Here may be the underlying principle: One needs to die twice in order to live together.

This was the one clear Truth from the End.

Eloise "lost" her one chance to be close to Daniel in the Island plane or in their real life; and she knew she would lose him if he awakened in the Sideways plane. That is why she attempted to imprison Desmond in the Island realm, along with any other person he had contact with, in order to stop their spirits or knowledge from crossing over into her fantasy life in the Sideways existence.

So one could conclude that the core of LOST was one twisted, manipulative, selfish mother (Eloise) attempting to keep her son (Daniel) with her forever.

THE PIVOT POINT

The following is not a theory, but more like a thesis. An analysis of the elements presented by the creators of LOST in order to establish an unknown, unexpressed or clouded explanation for the premise of the show and its disjointed parts. To unlock the mysteries of LOST, which I believe have even escaped the minds of TPTB, one needs to find the Key. In the search for the Key, we find the most probable explanation for the show mythology in ancient Egyptian death concepts, including the role of duality.

A favorite symbolic thematic feature of LOST was the mirror. A mirror gives a person a reflection of one's true self. It is not an exact duplication, but a mirror image. When we try to piece together the fabric of the sideways realm and the Island realm, it is best to view them as mirror images, similar but not quite the same.

In each, characters lived apparent long, complex "lives." Similar, but not exact. One more idyllic than the other. The show's core appears to take the concept of Egyptian death rituals, including the division of a person's soul, as the stage to set up a dual character system: one part of the old individual residing in the Island realm and one part of the old individual residing in the Sideways realm. "Residency" in a metaphysical sense because each of these worlds is not "real" from our human perspective. For the island's mysteries and story lines to make total sense, those facts are not absolute truth from our laws or science; it is a spiritual world that resembles the look and feel of the Earth bound existence.

The Sideways world confirmed that the characters were spirits. They were all dead. For the mirror image duality to be in balance, the Island existence as a reflection for the SW cross-over would mean that part of the dead souls were lost in the Island realm. Only the reunification of both spirits would be total enlightenment and the ability to move on as a new whole (into the white light) to the next plane of existence. One has to accept the premise that once a person dies, they live on in the after life, in lost pieces searching for a new whole existence.

One can lift the dense fog of debate on whether the characters lived or died by simply deducing that the show was all about spirits. For if Desmond's consciousness from the Sideways (known dead) realm was interacting with Desmond consciousness in the Island realm, this realm would have to be a mirror image in order to make the connection. For how can a dead self interact with one's prior live self? It is too confusing. It is too disjointed. It does not adequately explain the connection.

Throughout the series, I picked up on the formula that "knowledge is power." Knowledge in the sense that a character finds out and believes that they are dead is when they can begin to direct their lost soul to connect with their counterpart in the sideways realm. On the island, characters had "perceived" power to manipulate others. Ben was a prime example. But if you recall, there were many messengers who told the characters that they were "dead:" Naomi and Cooper. Even Hurley mentioned at one point that he thought they were all dead, but he repressed the realization (but he could talk to dead people). When did Jack come to his own realization? After fighting Flocke, and lying down in the jungle and letting go in the End.

So each character is represented by mirror images of one's body and one's soul. There is a barrier between the realms that can only be crossed by the enlightenment or realization of one's own demise. But the tricky part is the Island characters were thrown to the primal underworld of missions, mysteries, conflict and danger that distracted them from asking basic questions or demanding detailed answers.

There was a nexus point between the two realms. And that pivot point was shown in one character, Desmond. If we trace Desmond's character backward from the End, we do not find him mentioned in Season One. He was not a major character in the series until the fail safe key incident and his "special" flashes of alleged time traveling consciousness episodes. (They may not be actual time travel consciousness but a static connection of memories from the sideways realm bleeding over into the island spirit.)

It was Desmond whose Island and Sideways souls combined first, creating one mind over matter, that led to events which brought the other characters home, together in the Sideways Church. With that knowledge, the fearful, cowardly, runner in Desmond's Island persona vanished; it did not matter if he was put on a large EM generator, thrown down a well, or shot through the heart. He knew he had his mirror image waiting in the Sideways world.

And to fully understand and appreciate the Ending as it was written, you have to accept that Desmond's transformation was the center the prime conflict for the entire series. Yes, it appears unbelievable that the Dharma-Others purge, the rage between Jacob and MIB, or the Widmore-Linus feud were not the basis for the story engine and ultimate climax for the show. But look at the final church scene: none of those Island conflicts were relevant, material or resolved in the End. There was no moral conclusion on who was good, who was evil, who was right or who was wrong. It really can be distilled into a very simple analogy: the characters split souls were lost on the story game board (a maze) needing to find each half in order to win rebirth in the after life. For the 815 survivors, the game board was constantly changing with different challenges, villains, inconsistent sciences, an inconsistent concept of Time and manipulations. Many story arcs led directly into unexplained dead ends, just like in a maze. Which is exactly what the puppet master behind the real conflict wanted to maintain forever.

But the puppet master could not keep Desmond, the pivot point between the two realms, from reaching his soul reunion. Once that first domino fell, Desmond set in motion other actions to bring the lost souls from the Island world through to the Sideways realm. The flood of island memories to the souls in the Sideways realm would have adverse consequences for the puppet master, who tried to stop the reborn characters from disrupting the Sideways world.

So if Desmond was the pivot point, his character's realization of the duality existence broke the barrier between after life realms, who was trying to stop him and why? Who was the Wizard behind the Curtain in this Oz? Who was the Key to explain the motivations, stories and ultimate conclusion of the End?

FINDING A MYTH CORE

The following is not a theory, but more like a thesis. An analysis of the elements presented by the creators of LOST in order to establish an unknown, unexpressed or clouded explanation for the premise of the show and its disjointed parts. To unlock the mysteries of LOST, which I believe have even escaped the minds of TPTB, one needs to find the Key. In the search for the Key, one has to first try to determine the core of the show's mythology.

If you have the same character in two different places, seemingly at the same time, how does one reconcile this issue?

We were shown characters in action simultaneously on the island and in the sideways world. Example, Jack: in the sideways world he is a divorcee (from Juliet) with a son. In the island world, Jack is a divorcee (from Sarah) without a son. In the sideways world, Jack is a doctor. In the island world, he is a doctor trapped on a crazy island. In the sideways world, his friends "are waiting for him." (Which many have assumed means Jack needs to "die" on the island to go to the sideways world.)

Except, this is not a clear rule. Charlie died on the island. Yet, his ghost physically interacted with Hurley at the mental institution. Yet, Charlie was one of the last to "awaken" in the sideways world, with the birth of Aaron. Which also leads to a problem: how can an alive Aaron in the island universe not be alive in the sideways world?

Likewise, why are certain principal elements different in the island world versus the sideways world? Sawyer was a police officer in the sideways world, not a con-man. Daniel was a musician in the sideways world, not a theoretical scientist. Widmore was a mean spirited murderous businessman in the island world, but a great affable boss in the sideways world. It appears that each character has two sides to their personal coin.

In the wake of the show's conclusion, no critic, show commentator, or show writer has tried to fully explain this fundamental story structural problem. By not explaining the conclusion relative to the prior seasons' settings, there remains a huge disconnect in the fan base. Some don't care because a happy ending is all that matters; others found it a cheap cop out. There has to be a solution to this dogma.

For the show to stand up to reasonable scrutiny, the core or story foundation must be able to explain the apparent inconsistent duality of the island and the sideways worlds.

FIRST, let us look at the title.
LOST. As an adjective, it is defined as follows:
1. unable to find one's way; not knowing one's whereabouts;
2. unable to be found;
3. very confused or insecure or in great difficulty;
4. denoting something that has been taken away or cannot be recovered;
5. "having perished."

SECOND, "perished" means: "death, typically in a violent, sudden and untimely way."

LOST opened with a sudden, untimely and violent beginning: a plane crash. A mid-air catastrophic break up at 30,000 feet. Chance of survival: nil. But viewers saw survivors on the beach. But how does that mesh with the Flight 815 sideways world time line? It does not. The sideways world is not a "reset" of a time line from the island world perspective. It is its own independent world.

THIRD, then reconciliation assumption is that the game board (story foundation) contains two independent worlds with some bridge (means to transverse) between the two.

So what "known" concept can explain the inherit difficulties of this duality?

Ancient Egyptian mythology.

The ancient Egyptians view on the human soul has been lost to the average person. As an early belief system to explain the role of man in the universe, the human soul was described in five elements to explain life. Egyptians had a philosophy of duality; that there was light and darkness, which worked in conjunction against each other to balance the world. The philosophy was filled with symbols, traditions, rituals, judgments and magical spells which can be found peppered throughout the LOST stories.

The ancient concept of a person was that he or she was made up or exist because of five elements present in that person:

1. Name (ren): every person has one; it was stated that "if spoken you'd continue to live." (LOST cue: MIB, a dead person whose name was never spoken).

2. Shadow: part of the duality of the universe; always within a person; it also protects individuals but also needs protection. (LOST cue: the Smoke Monster)

3. Ba: attached to the physical body, it is a person's personality; it needs nourishment.

4. Ka: described as the "life force" in all things; intellectual and spiritual power; needs a body after death in order to survive. (LOST cue: the light cave)

5. Akh: the unification of the soul elements; if ba and ka don't unite after death, a person "will die a second time."

When a person dies, their ba and ka separate. In the underworld, a duplicate body must journey through dangerous tests in order to find enlightenment, redemption and final judgment. If successful, the ba and ka will come together and reunite to create a new "body" in the after life.

Was not Jack's ending, with his friends and father waiting at the church for Jack to "awaken," or join his memories of the island time with his sideways being (a temporary construct) to create a "new" Jack? Jack's "Ka" was waiting in the sideways realm for his "Ba" to complete its journey in the island realm. With the unification, Jack was then ready "to move on" in the after life.

The best explanation for the apparent inconsistent duality of the island and the sideways worlds is that the basic building block for the LOST mythology is ancient Egyptian religious concepts of a person's spirit being divided at death to journey through tests in the underworld in order to reunite to live on in the after life.

SEARCH FOR THE KEY

The following is not a theory, but more like a thesis. An analysis of the elements presented by the creators of LOST in order to establish an unknown, unexpressed or clouded explanation for the premise of the show and its disjointed parts. To unlock the mysteries of LOST, which I believe have even escaped the minds of TPTB, one needs to find the Key.

What has been missing from LOST is the foundation from which the elements of the conflicting story arcs can consistently cohabited in one story universe. The explanation of LOST has been masked in smoke and mirrors; it was merely "a character driven" show. But somehow, whether by accident or stroke of luck, the series wound up with two disjointed universes or settings: the island framework and the sideways (Purgatory) reunion. No one has fashioned a comprehensive and cohesive explanation for these two disjointed story lines.

Now, was the island world and the sideways world "real" or mere illusion? Or does it really matter? I guess it depends on whether fundamentally you believe in life or death. Or whether one can postulate that there is neither a life or a death but a complex existence.

One of the most frustrating, in-you-face elements to the show was the massive amount of resources devoted to the unexplained Egyptian mythology. A highly advanced, rich in symbolic ritual, ancient culture which has been "lost" to most modern Anglo-Saxon communities, Egyptology could be considered an important clue to finding the Key.

A mystery can be facts lost in the present collective memory of society. LOST was a show that promulgated numerous "facts" about the characters and their events without a detailed understanding of the background components like Dharma or the Temple complex. There have been religious connotations throughout the series; the morality juxtaposition of science versus faith. There has been the secular survivalist motivations of the Others or the Widmores who sought power for personal goals. But these groups (and individuals as "pawns" in their elaborate power plays) have to be placed on a single game board (the story universe).

Just as Ben told John Locke that the island contained a Magic Box, where anything you wished for would come true (including the teleportation of Locke's con-man father to the brig for his son's final confrontation with his past demon), the game board has to set forth the fundamental four corners framework for all the stories.

In reviewing the last episode, then going backward through the series (as time itself was a misnomer throughout), it came to pass that the game board would most likely be the mythic concepts of ancient Egypt. Fundamentally, the disjointed time lines of the island and the sideways world can only be relatively explained by borrowing from Egyptian religious beliefs. (And this is where the die-hard LOST fan would challenge the notion that the church in the End has anything to do with ancient Egyptian practices. Precisely, as many critics found the writers had boxed themselves into tangent stories and character flaws to have a satisfactory explanation of the End.) A footnote in the End that the characters are "all dead" is not a satisfactory explanation of how or why the characters wound up in the church in a sideways world. There has to be a better explanation.

The characters are pieces on the story game board. Are the characters "real" human beings or illusions? We saw people "survive" an unreal plane crash in the pilot episode. Yet, we also saw known "dead" people interact with the survivors. How can points like this be reconciled into the big premise of the show?

Was the show about faith, science, religion, science fiction and/or fantasy? There are elements of each in every modern religion. And if one traces modern religious concepts, the root of many concepts is the mythology of ancient Egypt. Egypt was one of the first cultures to hand down a detailed account of its complex belief system of how human beings fit into the colossus universe.

This thesis will attempt to explain the ancient beliefs as the system for the LOST construct.

REVERSE ENGINEERING

Let us talk about Reverse Engineering.

It is a concept that takes an existing Thing, and tears it a part to figure out how it works.

In the crooked path of tangent dead ends, LOST as a "Thing" needs to be de-constructed in order to find any salvageable, redeeming cohesion to the Ending.

To preface the following, I have no doubt that TPTB had any clear road map to the Ending. All the creators had was the final image, of a plan leaving the island. How the show found its way to that point was a twisting path of "character development," strange events and odd back stories. Some may imagine that all the character filler was compressed so tightly that the end created a seam of coal. Or in the bedrock of the story lines, there may be a glint of some untapped jewel; a theory that not only unifies all of the LOST world views, but turns the Ending upside down from the stand point of a secondary character.

As previously posted, in order to get a full picture of the debris field of the 815ers story lines, one has to examine the wreckage from a different perspective.

When a writer sets down to create his master works, he knows the basic elements of a story: a beginning, a middle and an end. Character, action and resolution. How those pieces are interwoven are the key to the reader's understanding and appreciation of the whole work.

Now, some writers know of the general plot line before writing their story. Some may pencil an outline of characters, actions, events, issues to be resolved. Some writers may just start with a title and forge forward with their chapters, with the twists coming from their creative minds free style. "Making it up as it goes" has some advantages and some disadvantages. It allows one's mind to roam free to make connections not already penciled into a steady outline. It does allow one's free form approach to veer off course. The danger is losing track of the pieces that comprise a satisfying resolution.

But for many mystery writers, the key to their stories ending properly is that they write the ending first. There is a common sense notion to knowing how something will end before you begin the journey. And that approach is what I used to try to find greater meaning to the End of LOST, by reverse engineering the finale. To answer the question posed: who was the wizard behind the curtain?

PREAMBLE TO THE KEY

As television critics and entertainment magazines begin to rev up their "Top TV" lists for 2010, one suspects that LOST will make the copy, probably both in the Best drama category and the Worst (ending) category.

In the sweeping bait and switch ending for most viewers, with the sideways purgatory being the Deus Ex Machina, a contrived plot twist to save the show from its written painted corner containing all the prior story lines, clues, sci-fi arcs and illusions, LOST continues to sit in the pit of collective stomach of die-hard viewers like undercooked Thanksgiving feast.

Many people felt that the show centered around Jack, as he was the focal point of the pilot episode. But it is well documented that Jack's character was not even supposed to be a main character; that he was supposed to "die" shortly after the pilot episode to impart "shock value."

Then a few people felt that Hurley was the center piece of the show framework. Hurley was the first character cast by TPTB. Hurley was always lurking in the background as events unfolded around him. He was special. Connections seem to link to him and his mental institution. For a time, some theorized that the whole show concept was a figment of Hurley's mind, evidenced by the physical contact with known ghosts.

The show actually had an episode entitled "Deus Ex Machina." Shortly after the series was renewed, the island plot lines took off in back story tangents, the most important centering around the awkward life of John Locke, including the pivotal story of Locke losing a kidney after being conned by his own father. Some fans thought they were "conned" by the Ending in the sideways church, while others found a calming inner peace like Locke did in his last discussion with Ben.

So, who was the focal character that binds all the interwoven plot devices and story lines together?

It was not Locke, whose character morphed into a dark villain supernatural creature called Flocke. LOST was not about Flocke or Jacob, whose subtext was merely a call to the supernatural elements of the story.

It was also not Hurley, who wound up as the second in command then the island's new "leader."
His island story was left to the ether of speculation as he returned to the church to remain mostly in the background.

So most people think the focal character was Jack, since everyone in the church was "waiting" for him to arrive and awaken to the afterlife. Except for the metaphysical inconsistencies of Jack "dying" on the island while simultaneously living a sideways existence, only to merge moments later at the church with complete knowledge of his past, Jack served only as the football (the symbol for the viewers journey through the characters' white wash rapids) being carried and punted through the end zone when the white light engulfed the church pews.

Despite the construction of the ending, Jack was not the key character from which the foundation of LOST was built upon.

S6E12 ANOTHER BOY

There is another mysterious child roaming the island. He is carrying a stick or a spear (like the one Flocke was carving in his stalled camp). The new boy is dressed like the other mystery boys: in old, 1880s clothes of the Others.

When the first blond boy came across Flocke with Sawyer, Flocke was told he could not kill him. Flocke was surprised that Sawyer could see the boy. Flocke ran after him. Initial impression was that this could be a young Jacob.

The second child was a dark skinned, dark haired boy in the temple before Flocke came to destroy it. This boy did not have any speaking parts; and was never seen before or after. It was like no one really noticed him. Initial impression was that it was the soul of a young Sayid or young MIB.

The new child appears older, taller and leaner than the prior two. Again, no speaking parts. Flocke was surprised that Desmond could see this boy.

The pattern of new characters without any explanation can be aggravating or the key to the solution of the island mysteries. These children are not normally "seen" by island residents as Flocke has been surprised that Desmond and Sawyer's reactions. Are they ghosts like Michael? Why would a smoke monster be afraid of ghosts? No, there is something more to these children. They are more important than the Others, and probably more powerful than trapped dead souls (Whispers).

THE NUMBERS: THE KEY AND THE BOX

References to LOST's mythical Numbers and the tie to a forgotten metaphor:

The Numbers were stamped on the Hatch door. The Hatch was created in the 1970s before the Purge (around 1979). When Hurley saw the numbers on the Hatch door, he tried to stop Locke from opening it because the Numbers were cursed.

Sam Toomey was a Pacific naval officer who heard the Numbers during his time at a listening post, some 16 years before Flight 815 crashed on the island (around 1988). His widow said that Sam used the Numbers, which brought him bad luck. Eventually, Sam committed suicide.

Around the same time, Rousseau and her crew her the Numbers on a radio transmission. When they were shipwrecked on the island, they traced the transmission to a radio tower near the Black Rock. Soon, Rousseau said her crew got "sick" and died. She went to the tower to change the message from the Numbers to her distress call. She also believed that the Numbers caused bad luck and her pain.

Leonard, a patient at the Santa Rosa Mental Hospital, heard the Numbers from Sam. Hurley met Leonard at the SRMH. Leonard would constantly repeat the Numbers over and over and over again. When Hurley goes to the hospital to tell Leonard that he used the Numbers to win the lottery in 2004, Leonard becomes hysterical, screaming Hurley had "opened the box" and he must get away from those Numbers or it "won't stop."

So, Leonard basically told Hurley that the Numbers were a KEY that unlocked a BOX that would cause a string of BAD events.

The only other major reference to a BOX was when the term was used by Ben to explain one of the secrets of the island to Locke in "The Man from Tallahassee:"

Benjamin Linus: Let me put it so you'll understand. Picture a box. You know something about boxes, don't you John? What if I told you that, somewhere on this island, there is a very large box and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in it when you opened that box, there it would be? What would you say about that, John?

The man Ben claimed to have delivered from the Magic Box was Anthony Cooper, Locke's father. Cooper said that he was driving along, was hit in a car accident, and then suddenly found himself bound and gagged in the room. Cooper believed he had died, and that they were all dead.

When Locke pressed Ben for more about the Magic Box in "The Brig," Ben snapped back that "the Box is a metaphor, John." Despite this, Ben continued to maintain that by some agency things that people on the island wanted or needed would show up.

Tracing back the Numbers as referenced in the show, the Numbers appear earlier than Rousseau or Hurley's knowledge of them. In the Hatch, the Numbers were used as code to ward off a disastrous event. In ancient cultures, numbers, chants, and spells were keys used to ward off evil spirits.