THE MISSING

The BBC featured a story on the past history of a nice tropical island with a dark past.

Panama's Isla Coiba bears all the hallmarks of a perfect desert island: gin-clear water, powdery white sand, a fringe of palm trees against a backdrop of dense, unexplored rain forest. When I arrived on the island, the peaceful beach was scattered with a handful of travelers bobbing in the bath-warm water or taking lazy afternoon naps on the salt-encrusted hammocks.

Yet this island paradise harbors a dark past.

For almost a century, Isla Coiba was home to a notorious island prison, rumored to be where the country's most dangerous criminals were sent and where political prisoners disappeared. With the island home to various poisonous snakes and insects and surrounded by shark-infested waters, there was no hope of escape for the thousands of prisoners, known as Los Desaparecidos (The Missing).

There were many elements of a prison on LOST. The island was protected from outsiders such as modern prisons. The island had "security systems" like the smoke monster to keep people on the island and in their place. The island had a warden, which was later revealed as "the guardian." MIB only wanted to "escape" the island like an inmate wants to escape prison. The island's harsh existence and danger was the punishment for those broken souls who happened to find themselves on the island.

A few of the characters really deserved to be institutionalized in a prison. But most had no outward signs of being criminals. For example, Rose and Bernard seemed to be a happy, older couple. The only problem they had was Rose's terminal cancer. One could argue that terminal cancer is a form of medical prison that a patient has to endure. Shannon was a spoiled brat who pawned an existence off her boyfriends and family members. Not necessarily the type of activities that would lead to a potential island prison death sentence. The same goes for Boone, who apparently did nothing wrong in his life except help out his half-sister, Shannon.

The concept of a country or culture sending away its "misfits" to an inaccessible island is not a foreign one. Lepers were shipped off to a specific island in the Hawaiian chain. Even political/war prisoners have been kept at Gitmo, outside of the U.S. federal prison system. The entire country of Australia started out as a British penal colony.  "Out of sight, out of mind" is one way leaders deal with pesky social or political problems. But the LOST survivors don't seem to be a rambo-like group of rebels who threaten the very existence of the democratic, free world.

They were just missing persons. And there is a growing number of people who go missing every day. Some, by choice - - - running away from their debts, family, job, mental depression. Some, by force through human kidnapping and human trafficking. Some, the victims of violent criminal behavior. The latter can be a forced imprisonment, almost slavery, in an abusive situation. 

LOST does not fit one mold in the prison context. It had elements of capture, imprisonment, and forced labor against one's free will. But there was no moral equivalent driving any personal behavior. 
But the context of being a prison is still the mortar that fused together several plot lines.

THE ONE

Kate was The One.

Kate was the first character with a complex back story.
She was the first character guys immediately attached to: the cute, girl next door.
Kate was the most troubled character.
She had done horrific things in her past; she was a classic woman on the run.

And Kate was the One who really got everything she wanted, on her own terms.

For those looking for an alternative solution to the many tangled plots, Kate may be your answer.

She was in the center of most of the action, but she never got hurt.
If she wanted something, men jumped to her aid (no matter the consequences, which ran the gambit to sex to death). She was never accountable for her desperate actions. Other people took the brunt of the punishment that should have been directed toward her way.

Women envied her freedom. Men adored her spunky tomboy appeal.

If there was a series puppet master, it would be Kate.

We were told that Jacob was the island guardian, whose "touch" brought the candidates to the island. Jacob was manipulating people to replace him. Kate was a candidate, but somehow conveniently taken out of the equation because she became "a mother." But that was not true. She took Aaron off the island, and "pretended" to be his mother, but gave him back to his grandmother to return to the island. Jacob should have known that - - - but maybe he was also being manipulated by Kate.

Since it is best to be hidden in plain sight, Kate walked among all the interests and conflict groups. She got the adrenaline rush of the missions, but none of the dire consequences of being killed by the Others or the smoke monster. Everything seemed to fall her way. She was the luckiest person ever, or her thoughts and dreams manipulated and controlled island events.

The dream is the only way to explain the laughable, implausible and totally wrong legal resolution of her murder case. The whole O6 story arc was fraught with childish story lines and illogical conclusions. Why would Sun abandon her daughter to go back to find Jin, who everyone believed is already dead? Why would Jack turn into a madman after leaving Kate alone with Aaron? Why did not her Florida husband come to her side when her trial-of-the-century was being broadcast to the nation?  None of those items makes any common sense. They are more the delusional thoughts of a classic spoiled adult who turns away responsibility for personal adventure.

LOST was an adventure story, but it was Kate's adventure. She was used to gathering "red shirts" like the bank robbery gang who would die for her. She gathered up enough "red shirt" survivors to keep the blood pumping and tension high. She was an adrenaline junkie. That is why she volunteered for all the dangerous missions, knowing that she would get the rush but not bad consequences. The island was her own haunted house, a dirty trick she made for her new friends to experience.

Who is not to say Kate was not a supernatural being like Jacob or MIB? If past island history was true, then the real guardian of supernatural world would have been a woman. The gods who ruled life and the bounty of life were women, like Taweret, the goddess of Birth, Rebirth and the Sky. Sound familiar? That was close to the definition of the "life force." The island was the creation and re-creation of a woman-god. Kate is the only character who meets the criteria of being able to rule the island in plain sight. She is the one who gets off the island, but returns to re-connect her bonds to Jack - - - her only hope is that they can overcome the greatest obstacle, together, which would be defeating MIB. Once that happens, Kate does not stay - - - she leaves the island and Jack dies alone. A normal caring person in love with Jack would have stayed by his side to the bitter end. But this moment was a trap, set by Kate, to capture Jack's soul in the after life. For what is a few more moments on Earth compared to an eternity together in the stars.

A highly charged, highly complex series of events that one can consider one long blind date?

If a smoke monster can manipulate both matter and energy, why can it manipulate human emotions such as love?

When Christian states that everyone in the afterlife church is there because the island was the most important thing in their collective lives, one still has to question that viewpoint. Under normal circumstances, the most important things in one's life is family (parents) and loved ones (children and spouse). Is this the lonely losers club?

Kate was the most estranged from her loved ones: she killed her father, dismissed her mother, abandoned her Florida husband (and as a runaway committed various acts of adultery). Her character would have been the most likely to have been "alone" at the pearly gates (or the opening of hell's fire pit).

For example, Hurley was extremely close to his mother. As a momma's boy, don't you think she'd be in the final scene to comfort Hurley in the afterlife? Jack had his estranged father, but not his mother. He got along with her fine, so there is another disconnect to the church ending.

To alone Kate, Jack needed to see, speak and reconcile with his father in order to be with her. So one could argue that the church reunion was only stage dressing for Kate's spirit to get what she wanted: Jack, so you would not be alone forever. In some respects, the island was Kate's best life moment, not anyone else's. She needed friends and lovers in order to create some self-esteem, some self-worth. But at the same time, she was an unaccountable spoiled brat in how she dealt with people and problems. The church ending was her solution to her eternity problems. How interesting that she could have choreographed the events on the island (remember we never got the full beach deal conversation between Ben and Kate) in order to increase her status and control of her own immortality. If she was the puppetmaster, she put herself into the action, in a secondary role, to help guide the character developments and affection for her. She needed friends in order to survive the pit of damnation. The island could have been her cosmic con. She had the most to gain by the final union. Perhaps, this explanation will help smooth out the bitterness of why Kate wound up with Jack.

A DIFFERENT VIEW OF HELL

Many religious people believe in the damnation of Hell. It has been depicted throughout history and various cultures as being a place of fire, brimstone and eternal pain and punishment for moral sins.

Fro Gospel passages, followers overly have a literalistic view about hell.  Jesus Christ speaks about "eternal punishment" for sinners in the afterlife, so believers conjure visions of a cosmic torture chamber in which those who reject God or commit grave sins without repentance are subjected to endless torment as punishment for their transgressions. It is a ghastly analogue to equally crude and comical visions of heaven as a place where the righteous are rewarded with angels' wings and happiness forever.

For if sins are the moral failing of an individual, then it is the individual who must punish himself once he realizes he has missed out on the moral good.

Plato's Socrates stated that most people assume that when a person does something bad, he deserves retributive punishment in the form of inflicted suffering. "Hell" as it is depicted in the popular imagination is modeled on this view: It is where evildoers are sent to suffer punishment, deservedly, for their sins.

But Socrates implies that this view makes no sense. Doing the morally right thing must be good, intrinsically, for the moral person himself. (Otherwise, in what sense would it be good?) But that means that the opposite must be true as well: The person who fails to do the morally right thing suffers intrinsically by virtue of missing out on the good that comes from doing the right thing.

The implications of this position for how we think of punishment are quite radical. It implies, first, that people undergo punishment for their moral transgressions all on their own, without any additional infliction of suffering. The immoral person foolishly thinks she will benefit from her immoral deed. But she is mistaken and suffers from having cut herself off from the good.

As for those immoral people who don't sense any suffering or loss from having committed an immoral, sinful act, their proper punishment should be education in the error of their ways. They must be made to see their mistake. Once they do, they will begin to experience the pain that follows from the realization that they have denied themselves what is truly good.

All of this follows of necessity from the logic of morality itself. What makes no moral sense at all is the popular view of punishment embodied in the vision of hell as a place for the infliction of external torments. To say that an immoral person deserves to suffer for his sins is like insisting that a man with cancer deserves to have his legs broken. It's a prescription of additional suffering for someone who's already suffering.

Why is it nonetheless so common for people to think about punishment in this way? The Socratic view is that it flows from our own doubts about the goodness of morality. Part of us worries or suspects that the perpetrator of an immoral deed who isn't caught and made to suffer won't actually suffer anything at all. We fear she will have gotten away with her deed, as we say, scot-free. Which means that part of us doubts the intrinsic goodness of morality.

It is this viewpoint that begs the moral lapses (and lack of punishment) in LOST. The characters did heinous and criminal actions, but rarely if at all did those characters actually receive any punishment. In fact, several (including Kate) were given their freedom without serving any justice.

If the island was the education center where people who made immoral choices were to learn about their misdeed - - - and that self-awareness would cause them their own emotional pain and suffering - - - LOST does not fill that lesson learned either. If the sideways church was the "class reunion" of the morally deficient, only one person realized that he still had work to do (Ben). The rest of the churchgoers had no moral revelations that made them better souls.

DOWN UNDER

If one looks to a nexus point of the series, it is Australia.

Australia was a British penal colony. It was founded in order for the British to send the dregs of their society as far away as possible from their aristocratic society. Out of sight, out of mind. At the time, most of the prisoners would have died from the harsh voyage, disease or hunger. But that was the plan, to rid the criminals and their costs from the general, law abiding population.

Australia has been called The Land Down Under. It is a reference to its continental position on the planet in the Southern Hemisphere. It is also a clue to the harsh climate for most of the land mass and the tough conditions for the original settlers who thought they were sent to Hell.

 The LOST characters all converged in Australia.

Ana Lucia came with Christian Shephard as his bodyguard after she murdered Jason McCormick and quit the LAPD. She had a grave sinful secret that she kept with her. She was told by her mother to return home and own up to what she did, but in the series she never came home because of the crash.

Arzt was meeting with his internet "girlfriend" but after his alleged girlfriend ditched him in a restaurant, he was returning home, depressed by the entire situation.

Bernard brought his terminally ill wife Rose to see Isaac, a faith healer near Uluru (Ayer's Rock), on their honeymoon. Bernard was looking for a miracle cure. This trick upset Rose greatly, for she had accepted her fate and she wanted Bernard to do the same. Bernard's plan put a uncomfortable wedge in their marital relationship.

Boone went to Sydney to "rescue" Shannon from her boyfriend. Boone and Shannon had an inferred sinful past coupled with the fact that Shannon was an indifferent spoiled brat who was suddenly left on her own. Boone went to help heal their strained relationship, but never had a chance to work it out.

Charlie was visiting his brother, Liam, in hopes of reuniting their band, Drive Shaft.However, he found his brother content, happy and sober with his new family; a family that Charlie dreamed about but never could have because of his addiction.

Cindy, as a flight attendant for Oceanic Airlines, worked in LA and Sydney as part of her route assignment. Viewers thought that she may have been an Other planted on the Flight since she quickly assimilated into the Other culture.

Claire lived in Sydney. She was going to travel to Los Angeles to give birth and supposedly deliver her baby to adoptive parents connected with Richard Malkin. She was giving up her child because her boyfriend dumped her because he could not handle the responsibility of fatherhood, that she caused her mother's coma state from an auto accident, and that she could not stand her biological father, Christian, who showed up in her life after the car accident.

Eko was investigating the miracle of Charlotte Malkin as a fake priest. He finished investigation and he returning with fake passport as the start of a new wave of criminal dealings.

Edward Mars working as a U.S. marshal, looking for fugitive Kate (which makes no sense since he has no jurisdiction in Australia). But he arrested Kate and he was traveling back with her.

Emma and Zack were two children on the flight who were traveling back to LA to meet their mother. We can only speculate that they may have been children of divorced parents and this was a custody transfer, not unlike Walt to Michael.

Gary Troup was an author on a promotional tour for his novel, Bad Twin; It was believed that he was traveling home with his fiancee, Cindy (the flight attendant) according to the non-canon Lost Experience.

Hurley was following a lead her got from Leonard Simms about The Numbers. He went looking for Sam Toomey, the man Lenny heard the Numbers from. Hurley found out from Sam;s widow that Sam was dead and that confirmed that the Numbers were a curse. Hurley was returning home for his mother's birthday.

Jack, after  his mother, Margo begged him, went to Sydney to find for his father, Christian, and to bring him back home. Jack found his father dead from presumed alcohol poisoning which put Jack's mental state into an unstable mode as he had issues bringing his body home.

Jin was on an errand for Sun's father, delivering  Rolex watches to the criminal bosses, Keamy, in Sydney and LA.

Kate fled the U.S. to avoid criminal prosecution to work on a rural farm owned by Ray Mullen, who would later turn her in for the reward. She was on the flight bound to LA to face justice for her crimes.

Libby is another great unknown. We do no know why she was in Australia, or why she was on Flight 815. She just appeared as a survivor from the Tail Section, even though we would later learn that she was a former mental patient with Hurley at Santa Rosa.

Locke, who was confined to a wheelchair, tried to force his way on a vacation "Walkabout" in the Outback. When he was refused passage by the agent, due to his disability, an angry and frustrated Locke had to return to LA.

Michael, on request from Brian Porter, his ex-wife's widower and adoptive father of Walt, went to pick up Walt, after his mother's death, so he could live with him. Porter was freaked out by Walt's special abilities. Walt had strong abandonment issues from all his so-called parents.

Nikki was an actress who had a role in a TV show. Paulo was her lover, aiding her in the con of her director paramour. They stole the director's cache of diamonds and were fleeing to the U.S. to start a new life together.

Rose thought she was on her belated honeymoon with Bernard, but became upset when she found out that it was a trick for her to see a faith healer.


Sawyer was tracking down a lead on Anthony Cooper, the man who "killed" his family. Using the information from a fellow con man, Hibbs, he found the man he thought was Sawyer and killed him. But that was a mistake, a con; it was hit job for Hibbs. Distraught and drunk, Sawyer got into a bar fight which led to his expulsion.

Sayid was recruited by CIA agents Alyssa Cole and Robbie Hewitt to infiltrate a terrorist cell in Sydney by turn his old friend turned terrorist, Essam Tasir, in exchange for information on his love, Nadia. Sayid could not go through with the plan, but his friend died anyway. He stayed an extra day in Sydney to bury his friend, then he was going to LA to search for Nadia.

Scott had won a sales prize at work: two week Australian vacation, all expenses paid.He was returning home on Flight 815.

Shannon was living in Sydney with her abusive boyfriend. Having lost her meal ticket, she was going to con Boone into giving her money and a new place back in the U.S.

Sun was going to ditch Jin in the airport in order to runaway from her marriage and her father to start a new life, but at the last moment she  changed her mind and accompanying Jin to L.A. on Flight 815.

Vincent was Brian Porter's dog. He was given to Walt; they traveling to U.S. to live with him and Michael.

Walt lived in Sydney with his mother, Susan Lloyd, and adoptive father, Brian Porter. When his mother passed away, Brian freaked out with the responsibility of raising Walt so he got Michael to take him (which legally made no sense.)

Most every character in the series converged in Sydney with deep, dark, haunting secrets, sins and personal issues that could overcome the collective psyche of an entire plane of passengers on their long voyage home. There is a thought that there is a power of positive thinking. If so, then there would also be a power of negative thinking. So many characters on the plane had negative thoughts, fears, and mental issues  - - - could that psychic power brought down Flight 815 into a spiritual dream world of the Island? Or were these negative thoughts and sins the mere sorting device that teleported the "survivors" into the bowels of Hell for punishment or purification or redemption to find a path to the sideways church after life?

PUNISHMENT

One of the most glossed over but irritating topics of LOST was punishment.

The series moral compass was pretty much lost and malfunctioning if you look at the character's crimes and their resolutions.

Sayid was a torturer and murderer. If one believes that he would have got out of Iraq alive after the war, he received no punishment for any of his war crimes. Further, Sayid was never punished for any of the crimes he did when he was Ben's off-island assassin. And the island pain, torture or killings had no effect on Sayid allegedly going on in the after life in a happy state.

Kate was a murderer, thief and insurance fraudster. If one believes that she had a "trial" for her crimes (which was legally impossible and incorrect), Kate received less than a slap on the wrist: probation without major restrictions for cold blooded murder, insurance fraud, robbing a bank and stealing cars?

Ben was a mass murderer. He killed dozens of Dharma people during his purge. He killed his own father with poison gas. On the island he kidnapped people (Juliet, Walt, Zach, Emma). He tortured people (Jack, Sawyer). But in the end, Ben is not punished for any of his transgressions.

Even good guy Jack was never punished for his role in his father's drunken malpractice death. If Jack was part of the cover-up of his father's mistake, changing medical records, etc., Jack should have lost his medical license and faced criminal and civil penalties. But nothing happened to Jack (except for his own self-abuse of guilt).

So why was LOST so devoid of punishment for the characters blatant crimes? Some believe that the LOST saga was a series of personal redemptions, but it is hard to say any character could be redeemed without some moral punishment for their gruesome sins against their fellow man.

The lack of a moral barometer is a support for those who believe that the island was not a purgatory. There was no need for punishment of the characters because they were all victims of Jacob and MIB. But that does not absolve the off-island issues.

The only suffering the characters had was the "fear" of the unknown, the smoke monster, the Others and their own self-worth. But fear is an introspective, mental condition.

One could argue that the lack of any punishment for anyone's crimes is because a sociopath, in their own mind, does not punish himself for his actions. If the series was contained in the imagination of a sociopath, that would partially explain why the "punishment" factor is lacking throughout the series.  A sociopath does not believe he has done anything wrong.  In some respects, such a person lives in a fantasy world.

So it is an odd hole in the series that punishment was not a bigger event.

REFLECTIONS

It was once believed that if one stared into a reflective surface, like a mirror or polished volcanic glass, the person would be transported to other worlds. More than 400 years ago, the Aztecs used mirrors to see the future.  Even during the 18th century era of enlightenment, many people would mediate in their reflection in order to "hear" angels give them prophecies about the future.

So what does this have to do with Lost? There was a theme around mirrors. Mirrors as a reflection or introspection of a character's soul. And throughout the series, we saw characters stare blankly out into the ocean (a reflective surface). Is this the portal to the off-island events and alternative realities?

It may be considered a sub-set of mental themes of the series. Are the characters crazy, or are they really crazy. Can someone really have a conversation with a dead person? Can a dead person actually physically assault a live person? Can disembodied souls remain as whispers? If the characters were all surrounded by a mirror surface (the ocean), is this an inner trace for each character to find what he or she lost in their real lives?

One would have hoped that all the characters would have some some profound meaning during their island stays. But in the end, there was no Great Plan revealed; there was no great understanding; there was no great bond between the characters. It was like they all got off the boat in the same port of call.

Which gets us back to the island itself. If the journey to and through the island was one to test the soul, to find redemption, then none of the characters really surged past the finish line. In fact, the best one could say is that most of the characters were "punished" mentally for their past transgressions, but the island did not change their base personalities (Sayid continued to be a torturer; Sawyer continued to be a con-artist, etc.). The only people "rewarded" by the island appeared to be Rose and Bernard, since her cancer was "cured" and they spent their time alone and happy. The only mental anguish they suffered as a couple was the separation when the plane crashed on the island.

Even if the island was a passage of punishment, that would mean that the reunion in the church was not the happy time most people believed what happened to the characters. What if the next leg of the after life journey was not to heaven (the white light) but actually to the next stage of death: judgment. Only after the pain of punishment is there a judgment to determine if a soul has redeemed his or herself to be worthy of a heavenly after life. So believed the ancient Egyptians. That belief is the cornerstone of most modern religions. So when there was lack of religious context throughout the series, and the mish-mash of all religious symbols in the church, one could assume that the characters next chapter would be answering for all their personal sins. They certainly did not reflect on their past mistakes in the sideways world. Once they were awakened, it was time to "move on." To what? Judgment. That is the most probable answer to the question.

REBOOT EPISODES 77-80

POSTING NOTE: Due to work changes, I may not be able to post updates on Tuesdays after Monday night marathon G4 reruns, but updates will occur later in the week.

LOST REBOOT 
Recap: Episodes 77-80 (Days 94-97)

Sayid and Desmond meet the crew members on freighter, while the latter experiences some unexpected side effects from the trip, when his mind bounces back and forth from 1996. The helicopter hits turbulence on its way to the freighter, and Desmond experiences unexpected side effects; as his consciousness travels in time he and a key character discover their “constants.” The episode follows Desmond's consciousness in a continuous narrative.

Juliet receives an unwelcome visit from someone from her past, Harper,  and is given orders to track down Charlotte and Daniel  in order to stop them from completing their mission of getting Ben.  Meanwhile, Ben offers Locke an enticing deal. Juliet is walking through the jungle and suddenly hears the whispers. She looks around and finds Harper standing behind her, who says that Ben has a message for her: Daniel and Charlotte are heading towards the Tempest station, and Juliet has to stop them, using deadly force if necessary. If Daniel and Charlotte figure out how to deploy the gas, everyone is going to die. Juliet asks why Harper doesn't stop them herself, and Harper answers that it is Ben's wish that Juliet does it, and says that although Ben is a prisoner,  he is "exactly where he wants to be." Harper says that Juliet must kill Daniel and Charlotte. The conversation is interrupted by Jack, who points his gun at Harper and demands to know who she is. She says she is an old friend of Juliet’s and she was telling her where the people they are looking for are headed and that Jack with his gun should go there too. The whispers are heard again, and Harper suddenly disappears.

Juliet is forced to reveal some startling news to Jin when Sun threatens to move to Locke’s camp.  Juliet warns Jin that Sun is very ill and will die within three weeks if she doesn’t leave the Island, but Jin doesn't appear to understand what Juliet is saying, and Sun refuses to translate. Sun is not swayed and Jin supports her, saying: “Where Sun go, I go.”  Meanwhile, Sayid and Desmond begin to get an idea of the freighter crew’s mission when they meet the ship’s  captain, who has a militaristic tone.

Sayid confronts Michael, Ben’s spy on the freighter while  Ben urges Alex to flee Locke’s camp to go the temple in order to survive an impending attack from the freighter crew. Sayid insists on learning why Michael was on the boat. Michael answers, “I’m here to die.”

Later, Sayid and Desmond find Michael in the engine room and confront him about why he is on the boat. Michael tells his story about being Ben's tool. When he is finished, Sayid asks him if he is truly working for Ben. Michael confirms this. Sayid grabs Michael and drags him into Captain Gault's room, revealing Michael's true identity as the saboteur, a spy, a traitor, and a survivor of Flight 815.


Science:

“Minkowski” as a crew name as a clue to the freighter situation. Hermann Minkowski was a scientist and peer of Albert Einstein. Minkowski’s work dealt with the concept of space-time. By 1907 Minkowski realized that Einstein’s special theory of relativity could be best understood in a four dimensional space,  in which time and space are not separated entities but intermingled in a four dimensional space-time. Minkowski said "The views of space and time which I wish to lay before you have sprung from the soil of experimental physics, and therein lies their strength. They are radical. Henceforth space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and only a kind of union of the two will preserve an independent reality."

“Faraday” as a scientist as a clue to the island electromagnetic properties. Michael Faraday was a 19th century English scientist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include those of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and electrolysis. It was by his research on the magnetic field  around a conductor carrying a direct current that Faraday established the basis for the concept of the electromagnetic field in physics. Faraday also established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena. His inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices formed the foundation of electric motor technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that electricity became practical for use in technology.

The island as a large machine, which creates it own electromagnetic field, as referenced in the snow globe effect. And if this island electromagnetic field interfaces with Minkowski’s four dimensional space time to alter an individual’s reality in time.

Improbabilities:

When Capt. Gault shows Sayid the black box flight recorder from Flight 815, alleged “acquired” by Widmore, is unbelievable. Any plane crash debris, especially the flight recorder, would be impounded as critical investigative evidence by the NTSB. Further, Gault claims that the Flight 815 wreckage was “staged” by a man with great resources and serial killer motives to “find” 324 bodies for the wreck site: Ben. If one can film the wreck, and recover the flight recorder, the recover of other plane parts and bodies would be possible. With airliners having serial numbers on all parts and detailed records, it is impossible to “duplicate” a plane in a matter of weeks.

The concept of “mind jumps” from 1996 to 2004 caused by exposure to oscillating radiation frequencies. Further, the need for an “anchor” in both time periods would not cause Minkowski and other crew members to die because everyone has a parent, sibling, friend or co-worker in both time frames. The conscious imbalance and alleged brain trauma caused by severed “memories” from two time periods cannot cause physical harm - - - at best, it seems to cue schizophrenic behavior.

Frank being able to hold the helicopter on a bearing while flying through a thunderstorm.

Clues:

On the helicopter ride, Desmond “flashes” or mind jumps. One remarks whether he is “day dreaming.”

The Numbers may be Hurley’s curse, but they are also Desmond’s numbers. Penny’s apartment number in his latest mind jump and the setting for Daniel’s Eloise experiment are part of the Numbers.

Frank travels to the lower level of the ship, where he meets Regina, who seems somewhat distant and a little confused. He tells her that the captain wants him to bring the paper bag (to Sayid and Desmond), and that the book she is reading, The Survivors of the Chancellor, is upside down.

The book written by Jules Verne is about the final voyage of a British sailing ship, the Chancellor, told from the perspective of one of its passengers from his diary. In the story, one of the crew members commits suicide Later, Regina in chains, jumps overboard to her death while the crew watches. It seems people think of their fate, it happens to them.

Juliet explains that all pregnant women on the island do not come to term; in the second trimester there is nausea, followed by pain, unconsciousness then COMA, then death. However, her explanation that the body’s immune system attacks the mother by “white blood cells decreasing” is the opposite of an immune response (another gross medical error).

When Michael attempts suicide in a car crash, he awakes in a hospital room next to a comatose patient. A vision of ghost Libby appears to him. Then, Michael tries to commit suicide with a loaded gun, but it jams. He is told that the island won’t let him die. But when he is on the freighter, he tells Sayid that he is on the boat “to die.”

When Ben plays his “last card” of a secret video tape of Widmore, Ben says the blindfolded man “was one of his men” who gets severely beaten. That man appears to be Desmond in 1996.

The whispers in the jungle when Juliet is heading for the Tempest:

"Sarah is having another..."
"Is that the other woman?"

Right when Juliet runs into Harper in the jungle:

"Look out"
"Sarah is having another..."

"Did you hear that?"

"If she won't save us then who is?"

"Sarah, somebody's coming"

"There is somebody coming"

"Hold on one second"

"There is somebody coming"

After Jack runs into Juliet and Harper:

"Look out"
 
“Sarah, it's someone we know. Sarah, it's someone we know"

"I'm not answering"

"Answer them"

"We have our answer"

"Can we trust her?"

The “Sarah” we know is Jack’s ex-wife, the woman he “miraculously” cured after her auto accident.  The consensus is that when people die around the Island but cannot "move on" to the next stage, they remain as whispers, watching or trying to communicate with the living on the Island.  Characters often hear them when in peril, or when the Others or the Smoke Monster are near. The deceased whisperers can appear in their physical form only to a select few. If so, why is Sarah’s soul trapped on the island? Or are these whispers the echoes of people in Jack’s life, trapped in his mind?
Sarah should not be on the island; she moved on without Jack. It was Jack who could not let go of her. And now, a mental conflict inside of Jack about "moving on" from Sarah with another woman (Juliet?)

Daniel’s concept of a “constant” in both “worlds” is a clue that Desmond’s freighter flashes were not flashbacks, but connections in the sideways world, a parallel reality that once breached (known) can cause death if not controlled by a strong singularity in both worlds.

Discussion:

“ A word too much always defeats its purpose. ”
— Arthur Schopenhauer

Locke said there are no reason for rules if there is no punishment for breaking them. In the series, we have numerous “unwritten” rules, especially those island rules of Jacob, and the rules between Ben and Widmore in their feud.

Rules are defined as: a) one of a set of explicit or understood regulations or principles governing conduct within a particular activity or sphere: the rules of the game were understood, b) a law or principle that operates within a particular sphere of knowledge, describing or prescribing what is possible or allowable: the rules of grammar. c)  a code of practice and discipline for a religious order or community, or d) control of or dominion over an area or people.The word is from Latin, regula, meaning “straight stick.”

Somehow, the rules have been broken. And now there is the word, “war,” on the lips of Ben and the Others. Who is at war?

Jack thinks the survivors are at war with the Others. Locke had thought that too, until he became a splinter cell leader.

The Others think they are at war with the survivors for killing their people.

Ben thinks he is at war with Widmore’s men on the freighter.

But the twists on the freighter (more for shock value than plot movement) call into play a larger "con" being conducted on the characters. It is an emotional roller coaster when Michael's bomb does not explode, when Desmond incredibly "calls" Penny on Christmas eve, when Regina commits suicide and no one cares, and when the captain tells them the elaborate hoax of the Flight 815 wreckage (since there is no need to tell people where the false wreckage is when no one can find the island to begin with - - - it took the Black Rock journal purchased by Widmore to find the island). Who is running the con on the characters? Apparently, the all-powerful being called "the island" is calling the the life and death shots of the characters.

In the final season, we will learn that Jacob is at odds with his brother, MIB, but you cannot call their dispute a war. It is more a difference of opinion. A wager on the outcome of humans brought to the island for some unknown purpose. All we know is that MIB has continually won this wager and has grown tired of the characters brought to the island because in the end, they all wind up corrupting themselves.

We also still here that some people are “special.”  But in island terms, what does that mean? Ben infers that he is special because he “was born on the island.”  This is a false statement in physical reality; he was prematurely born on the mainland, in the forest, with his parents. Locke has also been called “special,” and he was also a “miracle” baby as he was born prematurely in a rural town after his mother was hit by a car driven by his biological father. Jacob and his brother are also “special,” because they have immortal and magical powers. Is it because they were truly “born” on the island, after a shipwreck? Or are all these persons “special” because they were “born” in a different dimension, in the island after life realm?

One last person was called “special.” Walt showed that he had telekinetic powers, so much so that his adoptive father was so spooked by his special talents that he pushed Walt off onto Michael to raise after Walt’s mother’s death. We do not have any information on Walt’s actual birth to put him in the same classification as Ben or Locke. But Walt shows one aspect of Jacob and MIB as he materializes as ghost Walt to Locke to tell the bleeding man to get up because he still has “work” to do.

Which leads us to another nebulous word from the series, “work.”  What is the “work” that drives people forward in the series. The Others, including Richard Alpert, have been worried about Ben’s sidetracking to other issues like the fertility question over the Other’s primary mission. But we have no idea what the Others “goal in life” is on the island, except to fear outsiders.

What is Locke’s “work” that he needs to accomplish? He has nothing to go back to off the island. In fact, his life was pretty much a miserable wreck. Is the work to be completed the coup of Ben’s leadership? Is it to become the island’s new guardian?

The 815ers have no clear mission either. First, it was survival. Second, it was living together or dying alone. Third, it was battling the Others. Fourth, it was rescue. Then, rescue concept tore the group in half. And then, when some of the survivors actually leave the island, they are compelled to return to the island.

The Tempest scene was badly conceived and poorly executed. First, the concept of Dan knowing the computer codes to change a chemical plant system is not credible. Second, the warning of the activation of the plant makes no sense. The plant was inactive when Charlotte and Dan arrived. There was no need to “de-activate it.” Third, when Juliet arrives to stop them, she passes the main power switch. She could have simply “turned” off the station’s power! Fourth, Daniel claims that he is there is make the chemical gas “inert.” However, an inert gas or noble gas, any of the elements in Group 18 of the periodic table. In order of increasing atomic number they are: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon. They are colorless, odorless, tasteless gases and were once believed to be entirely inert, i.e., forming no chemical compounds. So that is not what Daniel could do at a computer console. In order to neutralize a poisonous gas, something has to react to it. In 2005, Czech scientists believe they found the first known neutralizer for mustard gas:

An enzyme [employed through their method] reacts within minutes, is able to split several molecules of mustard gas per second, and its decontaminating effect is expected to last for hours at an average temperature of 30 degrees Celsius.

The problem is that Daniel is not neutralizing the gas: the computer screen ends with notation that a valve has been secured. It appears that the whole drama was for naught; a double, double cross. Are the freighters friend or foe? If a friend, why are they lying to the survivors? If they are a foe, why not use the gas and kill everyone? No wonder no trusts anyone anymore.


Is this why the whispers of Sarah talk about "trust?" The whole basis of the island story could be summed up as the mental instability of Jack. He is the one who could never get over Sarah. She was the one he fixed, but he could not fix their relationship. When he tries to commit suicide, it is Sarah who appears before him - - - and he wants to be with her, but she refuses and leaves. Sarah is one of the elements in Jack's life that he cannot get over. Likewise, it is Christian's berating that Jack cannot make the hard decisions, the life and more importantly, the death decisions. As such, he can never be a leader. He can never be a good doctor. So in a way, the island and its plots could center around the mental issues (or character flaws) of Jack not being able to "get over" Sarah and "move on" with another woman and the fact that he cannot "save" every life; and at times he needs to "take" lives in order for others to live. It would be an agonizing dynamic in a tortured soul's mind to try to reconcile those deep rooted beliefs; but that is what Jack does at the End.

The characters now appear to be rats in a complex maze. When Michael attempts to set off the bomb on the freighter, it surprises Ben that he actually attempted it. So the bomb was rigged NOT to explode. Instead, Ben ordered Michael to get a “list” of crew, then disable the radio room and engines. Why? If the whole purpose is to “stop” the crew from getting to the island, why not stop them dead in the water by exploding the bomb? The only reason is that Ben “wants” the crew to arrive at the island; that he wants “them” to do the dirty work of killing everyone but his “chosen” people (meaning all the 815ers). But Ben will stumble over his own arrogance, because when he sets Alex off to safety, Karl and Rousseau are both killed, and Alex is captured by Keamy’s ship crew. In one respect, this incident fulfills a wish of Ben’s: to get rid of Alex’s boyfriend and her mother. But the consequences for that decision will be grave.

Magical/Supernatural/Elements:

The concept of “constants” and mental “time travel.”

The “whispers” are trapped souls left on the island.

The island “not allowing” Michael to commit suicide on at least two occasions, because Tom has Michael “has work to do” to save his friends still on the Island.

Last lines in episodes:

EP 77:
DESMOND: Aye. I'm perfect.

[Daniel is on the beach flipping through his journal. On a page, he sees: "If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be MY constant."]

EP 78:

BEN: [cheerfully] See you guys at dinner.
[Ben marches into a house and shuts the door behind him, leaving Sawyer and Hurley dumbfounded.]

EP 79:

[Hurley and Sun are at a cemetery, Sun holding the baby. They approach Jin's tombstone. Sun kneels down, crying.]

SUN: [Subtitle: Jin... You were right. It's a girl. The delivery was hard on me... The doctor said I was calling out for you... I wish you could've been there. Jin... she's beautiful. Ji Yeon. I named her just like you wanted. I miss you so much. I miss you so much.]

EP 80:

ALEX: Wait! Wait! Don't! I'm Ben's daughter! I'm his daughter!


New Ideas/Tests of Theories:

In the last Reboot, we fully developed two “Unified Theories” to the Lost mythology to explain all of the factual and legal impossibilities in the actual Lost scripts. The Dream State theory postulates that the characters are alive in reality, but in a deep coma state where their minds have split in the dream world of the island and the fantasy world of the sideways realm.  In the Egyptian After Life theory, the characters are already dead before the plane crash, and that their souls have been split between the underworld (island world) and the spirit world (sideways).

Using the science concepts of Minkowski and Faraday, one could extract a science-fiction basis for the island itself. It has been debated whether the Island is a character, a person or a place. If one combines Faraday’s electromagnetic physics with Minkowski’s theories of space-time, the Island can be seen as a unique “machine,” creating its own electromagnetic field a part from the Earth, which creates an opening portal, nexus or intersection into the four dimensions of space-time. This portal connection to space-time would allow an individual to go back into the past (to change events) or go forward into the future (to see the future events). The island’s power is one of a living time machine. Any person of wealth or stature would want to “control” the ability to control a time machine. One could make a fortune knowing the future, or changing the past. This may be the motivation for Widmore’s attempt to reclaim the Island from Ben and the Others. At the same time, this may be the motivation for Ben to keep people from coming and going from the island. It’s power must remain a captive secret so the island is not over-run by “miracle seekers.”

So what is the Island?

We know various story “facts” about the island. First, it appears to be a Pacific tropic island, believed to be located somewhere near Fiji. Second, based on the freighter rocket experiment, it is moving away at a fairly rapid speed. Third, based on the helicopter flights, it is difficult to get because there is only one “door way” inside the mask or cloaked atmosphere that surrounds the island itself. Fourth, the island contains “unique” electromagnetic properties. It appears that the Hatch was constructed after an “incident” to control the “discharge” of any electromagnetic build-up. Fifth, Faraday remarks that the island “scatters light” differently than normal. Sixth, we will learn later that the island contains a cave containing a “life force.” Seventh, there is speculation whether the smoke monster is mechanical, nanotech, spiritual or an organic beast.

So what is the Island?

Various theories have been postulated over the years.

One, is that the island is the bridge between earth and hell, a place of limbo where the dead or near-dead act out their last days before the after life journey begins.

Two, is that the island is actually hell, and souls incorporated into human form must journey through various dangerous but familiar “tests” to determine whether they are worthy of redemption and a fantasy life in heaven.

Three, is that the island is a fantasy game show, like the movie  West World, but abandoned and taken over by evil spirits.

Four, is that the island is an alien space ship that has trapped people in its snow globe field to view humanity at its basic level.

Fifth, is that the island is merely a collective, networked dream of various characters who are in a state of coma or deep dreaming.

Sixth, is that the island is an alien time machine that has crash landed on earth, and the forces of good and evil are trying to control it.

Seventh, is that the island is ancient Atlantis, a highly advanced civilization that had mastered the elements and dimensions of time travel.

Eighth, is that the island is an ancient Egyptian portal to the underworld, created to help their pharaohs in the after life achieve great power and immortality.

Ninth, is that the island represents the subconscious of a troubled person, trapped in his or her own personal fantasy land.

Tenth, is that the island is a living being of supernatural powers, who uses human beings as pawns for his amusement.

Eleventh, is that the island is a prison for Satan, who is trapped by the electromagnetic fields created by messengers (angels) in order to “save the (human) world” from destruction.

Twelfth, is that the island is a quantum portal, a black hole in the fabric of the universe, that allows parallel universes (the multiverse theory) to come into contact with each other, either physically or mentally in time jumps.

Thirteen, is that the island is a metaphor for god, in how he gives people choices but allows their individual’s free will to guide their decision making to make their own choices; but with consequences for their actions, good or bad.

REBOOT: EPISODES 21-24

LOST REBOOT 
Recap: Episodes 21-24 (Days  42-44)

After burying Boone, tempers flare as the castaways' suspicions of each other grow -- and Shannon vows revenge. Locke shows up at Boone’s funeral, and is blamed for his death by Jack and Shannon. Locke takes Sayid to the light plane crash. Later, Shannon tries to kill Locke, but Sayid intervenes and the bullet grazes Locke’s skull. 

With the second raft complete, Sawyer and Kate fight over a seat on the raft. After Michael is poisoned, Sawyer tells Kate’s secret to sabotage her escape plans.  The mysterious Hatch is shown to a few of the survivors, and Walt gives Locke a warning not to open it.

The French woman shocks the survivors by showing up with a dire warning about "the Others." Rousseau reluctantly leads a party to the Black Rock to get dynamite to blow open the Hatch, which Jack believes holds equipment or could be a shelter. Sayid thinks otherwise.  The second raft  leaves the island with Jin, Sawyer, Michael and Walt.

As the castaways brace themselves for an attack, Claire’s baby is kidnapped by Rousseau, who in Claire’s mental flashback of the scratches on her arm, knows Rousseau (not Ethan?) attacked her before causing her amnesia.  Charlie and Sayid  try to find Aaron on a dangerous chase into the jungle. While the threat of the Others bears down on the castaways, the raft crew continues their flight from the island - and almost lose hope when the rudder falls off the raft; but Sawyer swims to save it before it sinks.

Science:

Dynamite:

Dynamite is an explosive based on nitroglycerin with an earth like absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued. Dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel in 1867.
Dynamite is usually sold in the form of sticks. The maximum shelf life of nitroglycerin-based dynamite is recommended as one year from the date of manufacture under good storage conditions. Nitroglycerin by itself is a very strong explosive, and in its pure form it is extremely shock-sensitive (that is, physical shock can cause it to explode), and degrades over time to even more unstable forms. This makes it highly dangerous to transport or use in its pure form. Absorbed into diatomaceous earth or more commonly sawdust, nitroglycerin is less shock-sensitive. Over time, the dynamite will "weep" or "sweat" its nitroglycerin, which can then pool in the bottom of the box or storage area. (For that reason, explosive manuals recommend the repeated turning over boxes of dynamite in storage.) Crystals will form on the outside of the sticks causing them to be even more shock, friction or temperature sensitive. This creates a very dangerous situation. While the actual possibility of explosion without a blasting cap is minimal, old dynamite is still dangerous.

Improbabilities:

The Black Rock ship found deep in the jungle.

Dynamite in Black Rock still good after more than 100 years in a tropical climate.


Mysteries:

The Black Rock was a fully-rigged 19th century British trading ship that was found shipwrecked deep inside the Island and overgrown by the jungle. The ship carried a cargo of slaves, dynamite, and other equipment intended for mining. In the midst of a large storm at sea, a massive wave swept the vessel inland, causing it to crash violently into the Taweret statue, thus toppling the structure, leaving only the foot of the statue intact. This wave carried the ship far into the interior of the Island where it finally came to rest in an area known as the Dark Territory. The Black Rock brought the third oldest inhabitant, Richard Alpert, to the Island. Richard survived because the smoke monster, who killed all the other crew, used his mind to show him his long lost wife.

The Hatch

The Hatch was a large steel entrance to DHARMA Station 3, called The Swan. The Swan was an underground facility built during the late 1970's. It was located somewhere in the southwest region of the Island, about a mile inland from the survivor’s camp.

The DHARMA Initiative had originally designed the station to be a laboratory to study and manipulate the "unique electromagnetic fluctuations emanating from this sector of the Island," as described by Dr. Change in the Swan orientation video. However, after the “Incident,” a 1977 drilling accident at the Swan construction site that unleashed a large amount of electromagnetic energy,  they enacted a special protocol to prevent a potential global catastrophe. Two individuals manning the station took shifts entering The Numbers in a computer console every 108 minutes, apparently to release any EM build up at the site. On November 27, 2004, the Swan exploded and imploded on activation of the fail safe key by Desmond, a previous castaway.

The Others
The Others, referred to by DHARMA as the Hostiles or the Natives, and also by the tail section survivors of Flight 815 as “Them,” are a group of people living on the Island who predate visitors and  who were followers of Jacob. Jacob never showed himself to his people, but used Richard Alpert as his intermediary. The Others  took orders from a succession of leaders including Eloise Hawking, Charles Widmore, Benjamin Linus and briefly John Locke.

The background Others.
Jacob and his brother, MIB were born on the Island. Their real mother was killed by a Crazy Woman, who adopted them. Crazy Mother was the Island guardian for the Life Force. After her death at the hands of MIB, and Jacob throwing MIB into the light cave (and roaring out as a smoke monster), Jacob assumed the guardian role for the Island and its secrets. But Jacob had long been bringing people to the Island to prove his  brother (MIB) wrong about his view of human nature. According to Jacob, it is the Man in Black's belief that all people are inherently corruptible, whereas Jacob wished to show him that people could know the difference between right and wrong without his interference. For some time, the people Jacob brought to the Island were simply killed by the Man in Black or each other, without Jacob stepping in. That rule changed in 1867 when Richard arrived to the Island on the Black Rock and, in exchange for the gift of immortality, he agreed to act as an intermediary between Jacob and the people he would bring to the Island. This was essentially the beginning of the Others.

Themes:

You can’t trust secrets to anyone on the Island. When Kate tries to get herself on the raft, Sawyer uses her secret (a convict) to turn the camp against her when it is found that Michael was poisoned by someone. The survivors begin to manipulate each other to get what they want; which is what the Others will do to them.

Atonement. Reparation for a wrong, injury or a sin. In early 15th century medieval Latin, it was meant to mean “unity” as unification with God. The Island and its tests of the survivors has been equated to Hell. Jin recognizes that he is being punished for his past deeds; that he needs to make amends by leaving the island to save his wife.


Hope.  The raft is the last hope for rescue. That is why everyone in camp pitches in to get it launched before the monsoon season. Locke also answers Jack's question of what is inside the Hatch is "hope."

Clues:

“Special” people prior to the Island. Locke was called “special” by his mother. Walt was called “special” by his stepfather. Hurley was once called special by his mother, who was trying to boost his confidence to be more social. Locke, Walt and Hurley all slowly appear to have a special connection with the Island, able to sense strange things or make things happen.


Discussion:

“ Genius is eternal patience. ”
— Michelangelo

Jin tells Sun that he has to leave the island in order to save her. He believes that they are on the island to be punished. He tells Sun: “No, don't you understand, Sun. I'm in this place because I'm being punished. I made you suffer. You don't deserve any of this.”

Later, in the caves, after Aaron is kidnapped and Shannon is still despondent over Boone’s death:

SUN: [to Shannon] He died bravely.
SHANNON: What?
SUN: Your brother.
SHANNON: Yeah. Thanks.
SUN: Do you think all this -- all we've been through -- do you think we're being punished?
SHANNON: Punished for what?
SUN: Things we did before -- the secrets we kept, the lies we told.
SHANNON: Who do you think is punishing us?
SUN: Fate.
CLAIRE: No one's punishing us. There's no such thing as fate.

Fate is defined as the development of events beyond a person’s control because of the determination of a supernatural power.

Here is the basic fan viewpoint of the series. Were the characters dead and trapped in Hell (the Island) looking for redemption of their souls, or were they trapped, alive, in a supernatural place, being toyed with like the Greek gods did with their human subjects?

After Boone’s death, Walt's opinions of his friend John changed and he stopped talking to him. Instead, he focused his attentions on his father and building the raft. However, when Michael fell ill just before the raft was supposed to be launched, Jack suspected foul play. Walt, however, wanted Locke to know that he didn't poison Michael (thinking Locke may suspect it after he burned the first raft). When Locke grabbed his arm, Walt ominously told him to not "open that thing” - despite having no previous knowledge of the discovery of the hatch. After Michael recovered from his poisoning, Walt finally told him that he burned the raft. Michael asked if he wanted to stay on the Island but a changed Walt said that they "need to go.”

Did Walt’s  “special” insight foreshadowed the future (time travel consciousness)? Or did his “touch” of Locke give him knowledge of the Island, the Hatch and future events?

The day  that the raft was intended the launch, Walt, having woken first and gone into the woods to relieve himself, spotted Rousseau  arriving in the camp, and bringing with her a dire warning of the Others  imminent attack on the camp and recalled that the day her own child was kidnapped, she saw a pillar of black smoke. (a fire or the smoke monster?)  Despite much skepticism about Rousseau's warning, it was Walt who noticed a pillar of smoke in the distance, implying some truth in the French woman's warning.

We get the short story of Leslie Arzt, the high school science teacher who is smarter than “the cool group” of castaways. He forces himself into the dynamite expedition, but chickens out at the dark territory. But he is flushed back to the group as he is being chased by the mechanical sounding smoke monster. During that attack, Rousseau takes part of the team under the banyan roots (where some cultures believe protects one against evil spirits). Rousseau tells them that the monster is a “security system” that protects the Island.  Meanwhile, Locke tells Hurley to stand still as the monster approaches/chases the group. It is the opposite of human behavior to stand still in the midst of danger (further evidence that Locke may not be human at all). Arzt returns muddy and shaken. Then he takes over the removal of the dynamite. In a script formula of knowledge plus arrogance equals disaster, Arzt blows himself up. Instead of taking that as a sign that the dynamite won’t work - - - Locke and Jack pack up 6 sticks and head back to the Hatch.

After the raft launch, Charlie tells Claire his picture of their rescue, by helicopter. This is the premonition that Desmond would have latter in the show, when he gets Charlie to go on the underwater mission to his demise. Desmond’s vision was not the future but a hope Charlie put in his mind. It may show that the Island pieces together conscious memories in order to test individual souls, since we will learn that Jacob and MIB have been playing a game throughout their time of determining whether humans brought to the island are corrupt.

Magical/Supernatural/Elements:

Suspension of normal chemical properties and time (dynamite inert in tropical conditions after 100 years).

The Others and Whispers. We will know that the whispers are trapped dead souls on the island. Rousseau says that the whispers are the Others, which infers that the Others, as a group may be trapped spirits taking human form.

A bird comes flying through the jungle during the trek to the Black Rock, calling out the name “Hurley” as its screeching call. Some believe that it may have been a Dharma experiment; others believe it may have been a phoenix, sent to warn Hurley about danger. In some cultures, people have the concept spirit animals to guide them on the right path.

Last lines in episodes:

EP 21:
SAYID: John, no more lies.

EP 22:
KATE: Yeah, me too.

EP 23:
WALT: We did it!
[More waving and whooping. Jin and Sun share a long goodbye look. Long shot of the boat moving out toward sea.]
[Shot of the pillar of black smoke.]
EP 24:
HURLEY: Whoever named this place Dark Territory? Genius.

New Ideas/Tests of Theories:

What could be the darkest territory? Hell. It is a concept that TPTB attempted to quash in Season 1 fan posts, saying the show was not about purgatory. But in The End, the sideways world turned out to be a purgatory waiting room and the unanswered questions left viewers feeling a bit puzzled and taken for a ride.

There is nothing wrong with a show about human souls trying to find redemption and hope in Hell’s test of character and moral values. Dante’s Inferno is classic literature on the subject matter.

There may be many layers of this “fate” or punishment. When Sawyer tells Jack about his encounter with Christian at the Sydney bar, one could say that acknowledgement of Christian that his son was right, he was wrong and that he could not even pick up the telephone to tell Jack - - -  his personal hell.

And we can see characters being moved into the Island realm to pay penance for their past sins, like Sayid.  He was in Sydney trying to find Nadia, he claimed girlfriend that he tortured in Iraq (but they were only childhood acquaintances - - - now as an adult, Sayid turns obsessive stalker to find her), but is sidetracked into working for the CIA to betray his college friend in a terrorist cell.  When his friend commits suicide over Sayid selling out his principles for a girl he wants, Sayid changes his plane ticket to the next day (Flight 815) and the fate of the Island punishment.

Jin is the first to openly say that the Island is a place of punishment. He tells Sun just before he leaves on the raft.  As a result that Jin realizes that the place is Hell, and he must find a way out, he basically takes himself out of the game of candidates. That is why in the End, Jin is not a factor to replace Jacob.


Through the first season of LOST, references to Hell in the language used by the writers is clear. It is not a premise that many fans wanted to believe, but in the overall supernatural elements and dead end story arcs, it is still the most plausible answer to all the mysteries.

The idea that the whispers are dead souls trapped on the Island and the Others are also trapped on the island brings to mind the fact that MIB used to kill new arrivals, steal their memories, then create “humanoid” representations to haunt any survivors. Can the Others just be ghosts of people brought to the island? Avatars of Jacobs and/or MIB? If Jacob and MIB are supernatural beings, these avatars could be like children playing toy soldiers in a sandbox. It would also explain later on how Michael, “Patchy,” could be killed multiple times but not die. It is a show paradox: what is real is not real, and what is not real is real.