TURN BACK TIME

Time was the worst component to LOST.

The unexplained time skips and time travel aspects of the show still grate deep thinking sci-fi fans.

It may just come down to the use of time as a clumsy metaphor.  A metaphor is a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, esp. something abstract.

What could the time reversals represent in LOST?

If a normal person "could turn back time," it would mean going back in their personal history and change something that had happened. Most likely, it would have been a personal event choice of action. For example, going back to a first date and being too afraid to express yourself to your date, leaving him or her in an emotional flux that would lead to regret later on. If you only had said something clever; or kissed her on the cheek, or asked her out again, or didn't say some stupid thing . . .  these are the types of mental parasites that whittle away a person's psyche.

Redemption is the process of saving someone from sin, evil or an error. On a personal level, only one's inner self can redeem themselves from a bad path, bad decisions, or bad way of life. Usually it can only happen by personal sacrifice on behalf of another person. This was one of the themes of the show, but if one looks upon the main characters, it was a hollow theme.

Only one character "changed" during the time travel arc. Sawyer. He turned from outcast rogue into the new Dharma sheriff. But was it truly a change, or another long con of personal survival? It would seem to be the latter, because in the end game Sawyer did not want to do anything for anyone except to get off the island. However, some will point out that Sawyer did change his perception of women because of his relationship with Juliet.

Even Jack's noble sacrifice to die as the island guardian was weak. If he was an immortal, he did not need to die. He selfishly chose to end his own life because he squandered his time to re-do things with the people he once cared about. In a time loop, Jack's gnawing personal demon was the relationship he had with his father. But that never resolved itself, even in the sideways world. Being dead lifts many burdens. Or did it? Now, with all the time in the universe ahead of him, Jack stared blankly in his final scene. As his excuses evaporated, so did his drive to live and prove himself.

In reality, human events are fixed in a linear time line. The mistakes we make in the past stay as fixed events. Only remorse, love, caring and change can create a newer event to hopefully replace that past mistake. Replacing bad memories with good memories seems to be the function of good mental health. In order to do so, you need true friends and family around you. They are the people who you have been around the most in your life. They know your "true self." They are the key to turning back the clock to re-live the fond memories during current dark days. Sadly, this was not a major lesson in the show. It was more an after-thought.

REGRETS

A couple of years ago a nurse named Bronnie Ware, who counseled patients in their final 12 weeks, published a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. Yahoo Finance decided this week to update the list with one more item.

The top regrets people had at the end of their lives:

1.“I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

2. “I wish I didn’t work so hard.”

3. “I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.”

4 . “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.”

5. “I wish that I had let myself be happier.”

6. “I should have saved more money for my retirement.”

JACK'S FIGHT

In the vain of Hurley's fall, let us look into an important event in Jack's childhood, the school yard fight.

As a teenager, Jack intervened in the school yard when a bully was beating up his best friend, Mark Silverman. Jack tried to save his friend from injury, but Jack himself got the brunt of the abuse.
Hearing what happened, his father told Jack of his ability to take in the consequences of life and death decisions. He advised Jack to avoid being a hero because he didn't have what it took to cope with failing.

It is really an odd statement by Christian to his son about a school yard fight to put it into terms of making "life and death decisions."  For a few, it was a clue to a theory, like Hurley's Fall, that the story of Jack we saw in the series was not true at all.

Various threads of theories can be woven into a composite theory on this incident: that children don't directly go to heaven, they have a chance to live a new life in an alternative world view of their choosing; that Jack's fight ended one life but began a new one; that the incident and his father's words traumatized Jack into a mental state where he fantasizes that he is the man his father wanted him to be; that Jack's back story was all an illusion, a made up story in a place of make-believe; that Jack was Christian's "David" in Christian's own sideways world life.

With all the childhood struggles of the main characters, the alternative theory that they all died as children but were granted a true-to-life experience with angels without wings is an appealing concept. It throws away all the inconsistencies and continuity errors because it is fantasy. But as a fantasy, it creates its own problems, mainly the initial stated premise of the show itself.

If Christian's harsh assessment of Jack, that he could never be the hero, was the most important thing in Jack's mind, that fault could have been etched in Jack's conscious. Jack's entire life was to reach hero status - - - but one cannot call oneself a hero. It is a titled earned from recognition from other people.

On the island, did anyone really call Jack a hero? Jack lost more fights than he won. Many of Jack's decisions led to disasters such as communicating with the freighter. Jack lost more lives during his time on the island than lives he saved . . . which is not the resume of a hero.

And it is not necessarily heroic to die. Jack's last fight was with Flocke. Jack was beaten badly. It was Kate that ended it. But instead of Jack going back to Hurley, the new island guardian who could have saved his friend, Jack went to the bamboo jungle to die. For a man hellbent on survival for six seasons, this seemed wrong. His sacrifice was not meaningful nor served a purpose. It is almost self-delusional to cast oneself as the martyr in a cause that is already completely over. This tends to make Jack more important in Jack's own mind. It also tends to think of the story more coming from Jack's own mind than reality.

WIPE AWAY

We make such messes in this life, both accidentally and on purpose. But wiping the surface clean doesn't really make anything any neater. It just masks what is below. It's only when you really dig down deep, go underground, that you can see who you really are. — Sarah Dessen

The housekeeping analogy of wiping away one's mess does not make one's life any neater can be applied to LOST, at various levels.

First, the creators and writers of the show steadfast refusal to discuss or explain the meaning of their series to their fans is a swipe against their former viewers. Now that years have past since the show ended, and numerous fans have devoted a great deal of time, thought, resources and sweat equity into preserving their memories, wouldn't the show's inside people want to tell their viewpoint on the series? Because the open question genre of a drama and mystery show, which leaves major plot points hanging, is actually not a genre at all. If an inspector (viewers) come to a builder's new home construction site, the inspector should have the right to hear how the builder (show producers/writers) created their foundation and built their structure in order to pass inspection.

Second, as a character study, most of the characters made major messes in their lives. From failed parental relationships, to serious accidents, to failed love relationships, to criminal activity to murder - - - LOST ran the gambit on twisted character flaws. Now, most of the characters could have wiped the surface clean and continued on with their miserable little lives and secrets but for the Flight 815 flight crash on the island. Metaphorically, the flawed characters had to go through their own personal "hells" in order to a) recognize their personal faults; b) trust and believe in other people for support; c) take chances not just for themselves but for others; and d) accept change to create a new path to erase any regrets.

If you don't care on how or why the characters were put into this personal hell to work through their inner problems, then LOST can make sense. But if you want to know more than just symbolic personal character development or reaction to the mysterious events on the island, then LOST continues to be a frustrating exercise in logic and common sense.

PESSIMISM

No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit. — Helen Keller

Pessimism is a a tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen; a lack of hope or confidence in the future, for example, a dispute could cast an air of deep pessimism over the future of something.  In philosophy, it is a belief that this world is as bad as it could be or that evil will ultimately prevail over good.

There was a lot of pessimism in LOST, both on the surface, in the characters and in the final meaning of the series.

Hurley was a pessimist. He believed that the worst was going to happen to him; he was cursed and people around him would get hurt. From his father leaving him as a boy, to the deadly porch collapse that sent him to the mental institution, to the learning of the Numbers which cursed him with wealth and resulting bad luck and misfortune.

That was the island view of Hurley. The sideways world had Hurley as a more confident man of the community. His only problem was that he was lonely; he was too shy around women. There was a feeling that women would only be interested him for his money, and not the real Hugo Reyes. So in that respect, he was a man trapped on his own relationship island.

Kate was also a pessimist. Unlike Hurley who sat around for something bad to happen to him, Kate tried to run away from the worst aspects of her personality and actions. Kate lacked any hope or vision for her future. She doomed herself at an early age to be a runaway. She let the excitement of evil entice her to do bad things. She never felt that she could change, especially after time and time again, hurting the people she cared about.

That view of Kate carried forward into the sideways world. She was not confident that she would ever have a bright future. She was going to jail for her crimes. She would amount to nothing in the grand scheme of things. She would never find happiness. Her fate was sealed at an early age.

Certain aspects of Jack's life were based on internal pessimism. He inability to get his father's approval led Jack to make huge missteps in his life. He saw the worst aspects of himself translate into relationship issues with his wife, Sarah. He saw the worst aspects of his father translate into alcoholism, addiction and depression after he changed his story on his father's negligent surgery. The lack of his father's acknowledgement of his own abilities led Jack to the darkness of a bitter, lonely existence.

In an odd twist, those characters who had the worst of it - - - the poorest, the weakest, and the most disillusioned  - - -  found the secrets of the stars, sailed into uncharted waters, and opened a new heaven for their human spirit. For no apparent reason, Desmond became the main characters guardian gatekeeper from the island world to the sideways heaven. Desmond apparently became supernatural after he turned the fail safe key. Part of him made it beyond the island and triggered a response in the sideways world. He just needed someone less pessimistic than himself to open the gate to allow the sideways characters to awaken. 

Charlie was the key to unlock Desmond's gate. It was Charlie's crazy optimism bouncing off his dark self loathing before Daniel's special concert that brought full knowledge of the situation to Desmond's spirit.  He realized that he could bring all the island friends and associates "back" if he could somehow put them into situations that could create a memory bridge to the past. Strong emotional pulls would pull the characters through to the end. In an ironic twist, it was Charlie who was the last islander to awake in the sideways world after he witnessed Aaron's birth.

Desmond's sole outlook in life was to win Penny back from his stupid lack of commitment and his self-loathing about being able to cope in a middle class world of work and responsibility. He decided that he had to overcome Widmore's oppressive personality and will to gain favor in Penny's soul. So Desmond took off to prove himself to Widmore and therefore Penny by solo sailing across the Pacific. He would use the stars to navigate. He would be in uncharted waters. He would place himself in danger. He would put everything on the line to win Penny. He would prevail or he would perish. He was optimistic that he would win Penny back. 

Whether this was a self-wager with the devil with the prize being Penny is a question of debate. Some could consider Desmond's plan as being asinine and self-destructive. The excuse was to win Penny back, but in reality it was a means of leaving her forever as he would never survive the perils at sea. It was a suicide mission to avoid his fears of commitment and settling down. In one respect, Desmond had to die in order to get Penny back in the sideways world. If the island realm was a grand test of Desmond's love and commitment, it could only manifest itself when he awakened in the sideways world and reclaimed Penny and her feelings/memories of him at the concert.

It was like the sideways purgatory was a place where souls milled about stewing about the regrets of their lives. Those who could not fix those regrets were doomed to stay in purgatory. But those who decided to fashion a "test" to bring their past decisions into the present of the after life would be rewarded in the end. The test was the island, a proving ground for pessimists to erase their past regrets.

HURLEY'S REGRETS

As with the earlier post on Jack's regrets, what about the other island guardian?

“ Hope is a waking dream. ”
— Aristotle

 The major life decisions Hugo made come down to the earliest crisis. The profound effect of his father leaving him created a void which Hugo filled with candy bars and shyness. He was helping his father restore a classic car, but when he left Hugo lost the drive to do much of anything. We have no evidence that he excelled in school, or that he liked anything interest except music and entertainment like Star Wars.

The second major life event was the incident where two people were killed in a porch collapse. Hugo was attending this party. When he stepped on the overcrowded balcony, it fell. Hugo blamed himself. As a result, he voluntarily committed himself to a mental institution.  It would seem that Hugo was quite content within the facility. There was little stress on his life. There were no pressures from his mother to do things or go on dates. The dark side of this situation was that Hugo apparently created an imaginary friend, Dave, who controlled much of Hugo's decision making process.

 It would appear that Hugo did the minimum in his life: his appearance, his fast food job, his personal time - - - all were loosely pieced together not to better himself but to blend into the background.

Outside of the mental institution, Hurley did not have many friends. His best friend was his chicken restaurant buddy Johnny, who also hated his job and their boss, Randy. It was the slight encouragement by Johnny that got Hugo to make the giant leap to ask former schoolmate and record store clerk Starla out on a date. But Hugo was betrayed by Johnny, who took Starla away after he learned of Hugo's secret lottery millions.

The next major event in Hugo's life was the winning Numbers. The Numbers were his curse. It created bad luck, including death. He hated the fame and fortune. He really hated that his father returned to the family only AFTER Hugo became wealthy.  It is why he went to Australia to find out why the Numbers, which he learned from Leonard at the mental hospital, were cursed. In a self-fulfilling prophecy, the search for the Numbers cursed Hugo again by crashing Flight 815 onto the island.

The next life event of note was Hugo's short lived relationship with Libby. It lasted about two weeks before she was killed by Michael. But before that time, it was Libby who stopped Hugo from following Dave off a cliff. It was Libby who made it known that she was interested in Hugo. It gave Hugo enough courage to ask her out on a date, a date that never happened. The cruel aspect of this event was that Hurley was on the verge of personal happiness but it was taken away (until the after life reunion).

Did Hurley have any regrets on any of his prior 815 decisions? Possibly only one: keeping his lottery winnings secret from his best friend, Johnny, destroyed that friendship. But it was not a great anchor on his soul because Johnny was not part of his sideways reunion.

But what about his decision to take Jack's place as guardian? The circumstantial evidence from Ben was that Hurley did a good job (whatever that means). But it also shows that decision froze Hurley in time; he had no "other" life after the 815 crash. He had no other post-island relationships even though he was a young man with great wealth. We do not know whether he ever returned to his mother and father (or why they were not part of his sideways reunion in the church).

Hurley never really made any life changing decisions. He took the cards that he was dealt. In certain respects, Hurley's life was one of walking through independent events. He may have hoped for a good outcome, but he never seized the moment to try to directly influence its outcome. As a result, he probably had few regrets because it was not in his nature to put himself on the line. He may have wished for a girlfriend, but did very little to make it happen. He may have wished for a better job, but he did very little to improve himself to get better work. He left things literally to chance to change his lot in life so he really had no need to have true regrets.


And maybe that was the point. One theory is that the entire series was Hurley's dream. A dream that worked out quite well for him in the end (a girlfriend and many loyal, close friends which he did not have in his real life).

JACK'S REGRETS

It is a simple observation.

Will you look back on life and say, 'I wish I had,' or 'I'm glad I did'? — Zig Ziglar

In the linear progression of events, everyone has regrets. For every decision, there are consequences. Some paths open while others close forever. The mental game is "what would have happened" if I did X instead of Y.

Let us examine Jack's life.

First major life decision was following in his father's career path: medical school. Was this something that he truly wanted to do, or was the need of his father's approval clouded Jack's judgment? Was there even an alternative (like music which was the secret for his fantasy son, David)?

But without medical school and a staff position at his father's hospital, Jack would have never met Sarah, the critically injured spinal patient. It was this miracle that cemented Jack's mindset that he could cure anybody. It was also a major milestone because Jack's stubbornness against his father's opinion of the patient's condition led to Jack's miracle. As a result, Jack merged his professional achievement with his affection toward Sarah, who was abandoned by her boyfriend right after the accident. Did he feel sorry for her, or did he really fall for her? 

His second major life decision was to marry Sarah. But he got cold feet before the wedding. Then Jack became paranoid about her feelings toward him. Jack self destructed his interpersonal relationships.  Was it because he could not handle his own success?

The third major life decision Jack made was to turn in his father for medical malpractice. Jack first covered up for his drunken father's negligence which killed at patient. But at the very last moment, Jack told the truth. His father's career was ruined. But, in reality, Jack's career would have also been ruined. California has a harsh licensing board - - - to cover up for malpractice is just as bad as the malpractice itself. Jack's behavior cost the hospital millions of dollars in a wrongful death claim. As a result, Jack would have lost his staff privileges and probably his medical license. (This is one of the major plot inconsistencies in the medical-legal issues of the show's scripts which leads some to believe that many of the background elements of the characters were dreams, nightmares or mental fantasies).

So what were Jack's life regrets?

His relationship with his father was strained at best. He never felt that his father acknowledged his accomplishments. His father was always critical. 

His relationship with women was rocky as well. We have no evidence that Jack dated in school or when he was on hospital staff. Was he a shy introvert? Or did he have his job consume all his waking hours? Did he make the conscious decision to fore go personal happiness for the better good of being a surgeon? 

Did Jack wish he could change his life?

If the island was the magic box that made wishes come true, it is hard to tell. He did like helping others. He did like being a surgeon. He did not like losing patients (he became emotional at the end like the last gasp of air by Boone). He could not accept losing patients. Against all hope, he was used to prevailing against all odds. Maybe his ego would not allow him to change.

The escape from the island did change Jack. His time as an O6 survivor led him into a drunken, suicidal depression. There really no reason for this except the Big Lie he concocted in order to "save" the people he had left behind. (Logically, by telling the truth could have launched a real rescue party to save his friends trapped on the island.) Perhaps, it was the perception that Jack on the mainland was not in charge in the way that he was on the island. The 815ers looked to him for leadership. Back in the real world, he could not get the same type of loyalty, even from Kate.

If the show was about a retrospective a character's life, choices and regrets, did we have any "gotcha" monumental climax with the central character of Jack? Not really. He got to speak to his father one last time in a non-substantial fashion. He got no resolution of his prior feelings - - - because once he realized that he was dead, nothing mattered anymore.

And maybe that was the key to Jack's lost soul: nothing matters after you die.