It was always strange that Jorge Garcia was the first actor cast in LOST, as Hurley. Hurley was often a character in the background, then in the foreground for comic relief, and then to represent the fans wanting answers to the mysteries. Why Hurley? "The first shall be last and the last shall be first." What is the lasting effect of Hurley in the LOST mythology?The critics, writers, reviewers and fans have been wrestling with a Unified Theory to explain all the mysteries thrown at us during the six seasons of the show. It was a rebuttal to the critics that said the show runners were "making it up as they went along" with no rhyme or reason to the story lines, plot twists, new characters or strange dead ends.
If one believes the whole roller coaster ride was merely employment search for Jacob's replacement as Island guardian, who wound up with the job in the End? Hurley.
If one believes the whole struggle was merely a game between Jacob and his deceased brother's spirit over the own mutual destruction, who would up at the end game? Hurley (along with Jack, Kate and Ben).
And if a "game" is the underlying theme of the Island conflict, was it merely a long lost game of Senet that is the key? Hurley did not play that game - - - he played Connect Four.
Connect Four is a game of dark and light pieces placed on a board that is six rows across and seven rows down (a total of 42 spaces). The object of the game is to get four of your colored pieces in a row - - - horizontally, diagonally or vertically.
Hurley was seen playing Connect Four at the mental institution with catatonic patient Leonard Simms, who beat Hurley. Simms continually muttered the Numbers to Hurley and Dave, Hurley's imaginary friend. Simms is a former marine who in 1988, with Sam Toomey, heard the Numbers while at a government listening post. Toomey used the Numbers in a game of chance, and a plague of back luck followed him. They believed the Numbers were cursed; it led to Toomey's suicide and Simms' insanity.
At the mental institution, Dr. Brooks told Hurley that he knew about "the accident" in which Hurley blamed himself for going out on a porch, which then collapsed, killing two people. Dr. Brooks told Hurley that 23 people were on the porch that was only constructed to hold 8. That as a result, Hurley was in "a catatonic state." Dr. Brooks prescribes medications that Dave tells Hurley not to take - - - and Dr. Brooks photographs Hurley with Dave, but the photograph reveals that Dave is not in the picture. (Also at the facility, Libby as a patient is taking her medications when the picture is being taken - - - and Dave can not be seen from her viewpoint.)
We have the connection of catatonic patient histories with Leonard and Hurley. There connection increases when Hurley returns to the hospital to tell Leonard that he used the Numbers and won the lottery. Simms comes out of his catatonic state to berate Hurley for what he had done; he screamed "You've opened the Box!"
Later in the series, Ben tells Locke about the island powers and a magic box. If he wished something, it would appear on the island. Shortly thereafter, Locke's father, Anthony Cooper, appears in the dungeon. Cooper claims he was in a serious automobile accident and the next thing he knows he is strapped to a torture chair. Cooper also states during this meetings that he believes they are all dead and in Hell.
We never see an actual Box. But if Simms was correct in that using the Numbers for luck would open a box of curses, it could be a metaphor for opening a Pandora's box which means to start something that many new and unexpected problems. The Numbers were a trap when used to gain money on games of chance as it cursed the victor with subsequent bad luck leading to a mental breakdown.
IN the episode, "Dave," we learn of the Numbers past and the ramifications upon Hurley. We also learn that the original script was rejected by ABC because it would lead many to conclude the whole LOST saga was all "in Hurley's head." However, the episode still points to that theory through Hurley's interactions with Dave on the island.
During the food drop find, Hurley runs away to find Dave's slipper in the jungle. Later, he chases Dave through the jungle to the beach and Eko's church under construction. Frustrated, Hurley goes to Sawyer for his medication because "he's seeing a bald guy in a bathrobe." Sawyer says Hurley is "nuts," and they fight. Hurley decides to head to the caves to live alone. Dave appears during this long walk. Dave convinces Hurley that he is still at the mental hospital, but in a coma. Dave says that everything that's happened since Hurley "locked Dave out of the hospital" is all in Hurley's head. Dave leads Hurley to the edge of a cliff and tells him if Hurley jumps "everything will return to his old life." To show him, Dave jumps first. Hurley is about to jump when Libby suddenly appears and stops him. Hurley rationalizes that he is a comatose dream, that nothing is real including Libby, especially since he could never have such an attractive woman like him. Libby replies that "he is regressing," and tells him that she likes him. She then kisses him (which stops Hurley from jumping) and says she "does this feel real?"
One of the odd things about the Hurley-Libby relationship is that neither acknowledged knowing or seeing each other while at the mental hospital. They were in the same small day room. They had the same nurse. They would have seen each other on a daily basis. Yet, when they meet on the island, there is no recognition at all. And Libby does not tell Hurley their kiss is "real" but whether it "feels real" as in a vivid imagination or dream state.
The dynamic pull between Dave and Libby is strange. Dave offered Hurley a chance to "get out of his coma" by leaping away from his dream state while Libby interrupted the plan by saying, like a physician, that Hurley was "regressing" (from what?) Regress means to return mentally to a former stage of life or to a supposed previous life. One could surmise that Libby did in fact stop Hurley from returning to his previous (non coma) life. If Hurley was in a coma, but his subconscious created a vivid imaginary life of riches, heartbreak, curses, adventure, and now love, his ego might not want to let go of the fantasy world. To our knowledge, Hurley never actually returns to his normal, pre-accident life.
In reciting the Numbers, Simms stressed the number 8, which was Hurley's candidate number from the Lighthouse. If one grids out a Connect Four game board in numbers, you would find that there are no living candidates that make a four square connection. So the board itself is immaterial to the conclusion of the Jacob-MIB conflict.
A further examination of the base elements of the game: Jacob said he was looking for one candidate to replace him, but did not say how he would defeat MIB. The Numbers were important components throughout the Island so they must have some significance. The Six Numbers add up to 108. Who were the Four left to battle MIB at the End? Jack (23), Kate (51), Hurley (8) and Ben (117). Their candidate numbers total 199, 91 more than the Numbers. There is no Candidate 91 that we are aware of. What made MIB human so he could die? The re-boot of the cork at the Light cave. Who was present on the same team for that event? Hurley (8), Jack (23), Ben (117) and Desmond. Now, Desmond name was never mentioned as a candidate. He had no number. But Desmond was always mentioned as being "special," a wild card even on the Island. The other three numbers total 148. There was one other "special" person who was missing from the island, Walt Dawson. Dawson's number was 40. So if one assumes Desmond was a substitute "special" person, the opposite of Walt, the connection between the four at the Light Cave would be 148 minus 40 or 108. Since there were four candidates working together at the same "reset" of the Light Cave (the Box), that combination allowed the Box to be resealed and end the Jacob-MIB conflict. The cursed bad luck that plagued Hurley would be cured, and he would remain the Island guardian until he decided to "move on" to the sideways after life.
But again, to our knowledge, Hurley never actually returns to his normal, pre-porch accident life. After MIB's demise, believe Hurley is no longer cursed: he is large and in charge on the Island making his own rules (which is the exact opposite of his pre-accident life).
There was an episode in Star Trek:TNG called "Remember Me." Dr. Crusher was taken through an experimental warp bubble into her own reality created by her own thoughts at the time of the accident. A mysterious Traveler tells the crew that humans have a limited understanding that the mind can alter time and space. In this context, Dr. Crusher's thoughts at the time she was transported into the alternative realm constructed an elaborate cascade of events of the alt Enterprise crew disappearing because her pre-accident conversation with a colleague was about how so many of their old friends were gone. Only after she figured out that she was in her own reality did she realize that there was a gateway home, through a white light vortex. The underlying human condition of the episode was that perception can be reality.
Which gets us back to Hurley's porch accident. He comes out on the porch, and it collapses - - - and his last thoughts may have been "it's my fault that people got killed or hurt. I am cursed with bad luck . . ." That mental state could have created his own alternative, complex reality in his coma or catatonic post-accident condition, with vivid characters and places that his mind perceives as real. What could also enhance the experience would be the the connection that the other Island characters were actually other party guests he knew or saw before the porch collapsed which sent him into his alternative reality.
Hurley appears to be a good keystone for the beginning and the end of LOST. It is interesting to note that the show's themes of good or evil, redemption or greed, black and white morality have no bearing on a non-judgmental character such as Hurley, especially if it was Hurley's reality at issue.
The four points of LOST could be family, friends, life and death. Throughout the series, there were never more content of family, friends, life and death than through Hurley's character.
Were Dave's statements to Hurley the unified truth to LOST?
