MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS

Another site recently pointed out an interesting (continuity) question: Why did the Egyptian hieroglyphics (in Dead is Dead) depict the smoke monster seemingly hundreds of years before we saw it created?

Anubis first appears in the Old Kingdom texts (2886 BC-2181 BC). The Roman Kingdom to Roman Empire spanned from 700 BC to 1453. Many believe that the shipwrecked Claudia, the Roman mother of Jacob and MIB, was probably from the Roman Empire period of 70 BC to 30 BC (which corresponds to the last Pharaoh of Egypt, Cleopatra.)

The real question is then: Why did the Egyptian hieroglyphics (in Dead is Dead) depict the smoke monster seemingly THOUSANDS of years before we saw it created?

In the Season 6 mythology, we were told that the Smoke Monster was created when in Jacob's rage, he threw the dead or dying brother into the light source (against his mother's teaching) and the Smoke Monster emerged from the Source.

However, it is possible that the Smoke Monster had existed before but it was "bottled up" at the source until another human soul came by for it to attach to and leave its underworld prison. The blast door showed the island "security system" as Cerberus, Hell's three headed vicious guard dog. If you believe that the island is a forehell in the afterlife, the concept of pure evil incarnate as the Smoke Monster can be a timeless beast that may have challenged all the island souls since creation, including the ancient Egyptians thousands of years before Jacob and MIB.

It would make sense that an Egyptian underworld god like Anubis would have to deal with an evil entity like the Smoke Monster. For if the Smoke Monster was not Jacob's brother, but an evil spirit that assumed MIB's personality and memories (and added to its own like how to make a FDW), the material was present in the story to make a rich tapestry of character development. But TPTB missed an opportunity to tie together all the diverse plot elements into a final cohesive ending.

23 OH

WIRED.COM published an article on the release of the $230 Lost: The Complete Collection Blu-ray box set, containing all 121 episodes and extras. The collection’s Season 6 disc includes a 12-minute “New Man in Charge” epilogue featuring Hurley (played Jorge Garcia) and Ben (Michael Emerson).

The collection also features a black stone/white stone Senet game, a replica model of the island; an Ankh bracelet similar to the one worn by Dharma Initiative member Paul and carried by the Tawaret statue, a black-light pen; assorted keepsakes; plus 30 hours of previously released extras and a disc of new bonus material.

The 12 minute epilogue sole purpose has to be to sell Season 6 discs. As a previous rant concluded, if TPTB wanted to answers the mysteries, they should have done so in the finale.

Now, the collection "features" are just as off-base. The whole mystery of the Egyptian culture, temple, religion as symbolized in the Senet game and Ankh bracelets was a non-factor in the climax of the story, and totally brushed a side as any foundational material for the ending. It does sort of back slaps die hard fan researchers who tried to find meaning in the forgotten LOST story lines and touted island features now being put into a box like a cheap, miscellaneous Kracker Jack toy. It just adds to the confusion of what LOST was really about. If the Senet game, Egyptian gods and symbols were so important now, why were they not adequately explained within the show itself?

LO$T BY THE WAYSIDE

Recession? What recession when crazed fans with alleged disposable income bid on LOST auction items. The New York Post reports big dollars . . . like con man Sawyer's briefcase full of dollars . . . was spent on prop and show items.

As the Post stated last weekend's "Lost" auction, props, scripts and clothing from the show went on the block, bringing in a surprising batch of bids. For example $47, 500 was dropped on the Dharma van Hurley saved the day with in the season three finale. A stripped down, rusty clunker from the late 1960s goes for a price of a loaded SUV? That's more than a Barrett-Jackson car auction value. What show value did the van provide? It was first the tangible hope of Hurley to rekindle his broken spirit like fixing cars with his father. It was then the instrument of change from pacifist Hurley turning into killer when he mowed down the armed Others on the beach. Turning point for the series? No, because none of that mattered in the end.

How about a staggering $27, 500 for the Lighthouse Wheel? At least the winning bidder will not have to squint on HD TV photo captures to determine who was really on the wheel and what were the real numbers. But what would anyone use it for? A large dining room table (some assembly required)? Your own fortune telling reading kiosk on the carnival broadway? An SBA loan would be a cheaper alternative. Was the Lighthouse wheel any more important than the Dharma van in the final plot of the story? No.

The Frozen Donkey Wheel that triggered the island to time trip went for $25, 000. This was once one of the great mysteries of the story: how did it work, what was the science behind it, and who made it? We learned in the rushed MIB back story that MIB and his Roman friends created it, how it works, no one knows, and its relevancy to time skips was left unanswered. The FDW could have been the centerpiece of the island explanation, but it was only another plot dead end.

Likewise, the Swan station Hatch Door & Computer went for $16,000 each. The Hatch Door was one of the greatest, time consuming off show research clue machine for die hard fans. Translations, time lines, an early island map - - - all clues to unravel the darkness. The computer that needed attention every 108 minutes or "god help us." Even Faraday's clue rich in science theory Journal with Jughead Details and "Des is my Constant" went for $27,500.

But, the importance of those items we, as fans, placed on them were totally irrelevant to the writers when the story of the island was wrapped up.

Jacob/MiB's black & white rock scale sold for $8,500. Most viewed the whole black and white stone thing as symbolic for good and evil. But in the story conclusion, there were no moral standard for good or evil. So the prop itself symbolizes merely the gray conclusion of the show.

Locke's compass went for $8,000. This is one of the enigma props. It time traveled separate from Locke, as a means of showing Richard the truth. But what truth? That Locke had to become the leader of the Others; but that was not the real John Locke.

Jack's passport sold for $4,750. Now, we all know identity theft can be costly, but Jack Shepard did not appear to be too wealthy for an alleged miracle working neurosurgeon.

Claire's squirrel baby, one of the most disturbing and bizarre props, sold for $2,750! Now, the writers gave the whole Claire alone in the jungle three years after being blown up by Keamy's crew no coverage. It was one of those sink holes in the overall story line of the show. Was Claire dead? Why did she leave Aaron? Then why did she blame others for her own choices? Was she a Flocke zombie? When did she create the squirrel baby? Was she insane? The most disturbing thing about this is what will the winning bidder do with it!! I don't think too many people have jungle manger scenes for the holidays.

A "portion" of the cave ceiling with candidates names went for $650. I don't know what the ceiling was made of (paper mache or plaster), but what would you use name and numbers for, new postal box name tag?

Finally, the Pilot Script signed by JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof sold for $15,000. Well, there was a third guy who created the original pilot script. But if you wanted a copy of the series first show, you could print out a copy of the transcript from lostpedia for a lot less money.

The auction tells us a few things. One, LOST fans are still rabid enough to bid way too much money for show trinkets. Two, ABC and the studio were quick to destroy all remains of the show as quickly as possible; no re-boot, prequel or sequel in the works.

THINK TANKING

"It’s been a little more than two months since Lost aired its final episode, fittingly entitled The End. Much has been said and written about how the soulful sci-fi drama wrapped things up — or didn’t, depending on your perspective. There were those who loved it, there those who hated it, and there were those who to this day still don’t quite know what to think." - - - Doc Jensen, EW, 8-10-10.

The conundrum. The confusing or difficult question or problem which remains unanswered to any global satisfaction.

Conundrum was first recorded in 16th century literature by Thomas Nashe, who used it as a term of abuse for a crank. It was then later used to denote whim or fancy.

Many lost blogs have closed shop, and many fans have moved on in silence. However, the community still seems to be simmering in a mental crock pot. Maybe they are waiting for the final box set for the final answers. But let's be real: TPTB concluded their series without any final answers.

As Lost's biggest proponent just said, in describing the show:

soulful - - - which denotes spirituality in life and death, even though TPTB claimed the show was not about purgatory or the afterlife, but ended the show there anyway;

sci-fi - - - science fiction is taking known facts and transforming them into realistic future applications, but without some explanation of the mysteries it is not science fiction but red herring diversion;

drama - - - the tension between human beings that results in conflict that is resolved in the end, which is still open to heated debate depending on one's own perspective.

There are fans who to this day still don’t quite know what to think about the show, and as Time lingers on, less and less people will actually Think about it.

There are reports that the special feature in the Lost DVD box was leaked on the net for a few hours. According to a few viewers, the epilogue promises to answer some, but not all, of those lingering questions that the fan base had once the series finale aired back in May.

This will bug some people. TPTB begged for an additional 20 minutes for the finale. They needed it to wrap up the story. Now, there is additional story to answer some "lingering" questions, that were raised in finale?!! If you could not tell your story in the allotted SIX seasons, it adds a measure of insult to the aggravation of disappointed viewers that it will cost them money to buy a DVD that may, or may not, help with the series resolution. That could be considered by some as a form of abuse.

DOES IT MATTER?

Prying eyes in the LOST garage sale catalog have found MIB's cast chair indicating that the character's name is allegedly SAMUEL.

Another biblical name, for a Hebrew prophet and ruler. In the story, that would make Jacob and Samuel brothers. The oddity is that no one, not even his family members, ever called MIB by his alleged real name.

Man in Black was an attempt to add more mystery to the spirited Smoke Monster. It may go down in LOST lore as another convoluted back story question that will never be truly answered.

AN AFTERLIFE VIEW

During Season 1, TPTB were adamant that the show was "not about purgatory" when many viewers realized that no one would have survived a mid-air separation plane crash. Purgatory is believed to be a place of moral redemption where souls are purified of evil in order to be saved. Semantics aside, the "afterlife" as depicted in the show may be a place without any moral consequences. Many viewers have concluded that MIB/Flocke was not necessarily good or evil. At the same time, they reflect that there were no adverse consequences for the killings on the island by Sayid, Jack or Kate, as they all wound up in the anteroom to heaven in Eloise's church.

A very simple explanation of the show's big premise is that the characters' souls were on personal quests or adventures missing in their past real lives until they found enough quality in spirit to let go of their regrets and move on. If the characters could create the sideways "reality" in the afterlife, certainly they could have collectively created the island adventure scenarios in another afterlife setting. As Christian explained in the afterlife, there is no concept of time (past, present or future, just "now.") No "real time" line would negate all the paradoxes in the time travel flash issues of the island events. The whole show could be viewed as a series of re-sets or modes in a video game. And as such, a character could "die" multiple times because even though it appears to be real, it is only an afterlife reality.

Let us focus on Jack. Jack came to the realization that he was "dead" dead in the end at Eloise's church. The context of how he "died" was the spliced scenes of Jack dying on the island after resetting the light source. However, Jack was also in Eloise's church in the O6 world which would be also be an afterlife creation. In that context, Jack's death to get to Eloise's church as a member of the O6 would mean he would have "died" either (a) with the helicopter crash landing in the ocean; or (b) if he "survived" that, then he would have at least died with everyone in the 815 crash.

Jin was awakened in the sideways world with Sun. The context of how they "died" was in the submarine explosion. Except, Sun was at Eloise's church in the O6 arc, which makes her demise prior to the submarine drowning, like Jack, either in a helicopter or Flight 815's crash. Concurrently, Jin would have "died" in the freighter explosion making his return to the island also an afterlife experience with those who remained on the island. The premise that the characters are merely spirits or souls in their own construct of an afterlife playground erases all the debates about continuity errors, factual inconsistencies, or unbelievable dead end story lines.

It would appear that in the characters afterlife, the collective memories can be used as powerful mental highways to bridge or bring lost souls back to each other during their personal (mis)adventures in the spirit world. No good, bad, right, wrong, moral, immoral, judgmental or punishment for the choices made by the souls because it is not our world perspective, but the world the souls created for themselves.

THE CHURCH

It took a long time to make an obvious connection. It may put to rest what LOST was all about (or that TPTB just stumbled upon a coincidence that makes pure sense.)

The church. In "The End," Christian specifically told Jack that "this place" was created by all his friends so they could find each again in the afterlife. Christian also told Jack that this special place "they all created" was real, and the things that happened to him was also "real." Everyone takes away from this finale sideways twist that the Lost Souls met up in a form of purgatory, or an anteroom world prior to making the final journey to heaven.

Except, we forgot about the church! Eloise Hawking operated the Lamp Post out of the same sideways world church! As lostpedia describes it "Jack meets Christian in the back of Eloise's Church in Los Angeles. Together, the two join the rest of their friends in journeying on to the white light."

If the church was a sideways world creation by the departed, then one could rationally deduct that the church in the O6, off-island story line (the Lamp Post) was also a sideways world creation, too. And that makes perfect sense, as the nonsensical, inaccurate, hard to believe events in the sideways world (Jin & Sun English awakening) mirror the inaccurate, hard to believe events in the O6 world (Kate's trial errors). None of those events were really "real" in the sense of the character's original life times.

If the location of the church is sideways world in the afterlife, then the characters themselves who interacted in the off-island world were also in the afterlife. And if the O6 left the island to the off-island afterlife, and they did not "die" on the island, then it is logical to assume that the O6 were already dead on the island. Whether they died in the crash or before the boarding of Flight 815, the show takes on reincarnating "course correction" theme that Eloise Hawking talked about with Desmond. People may physically die in their real life, but just don't "die;" they go through a series of spiritual tests of character and redemption in order to move on. (There is strong evidence against certain characters never having a clear redemptive moment in the End; the Sayid story line for example, where he continued to kill because he was a born killer.)

If the church in the sideways story arc is in the afterlife, and the same church is present in the O6 off-island story line, that means that the O6 story arc was also set in the after life. In fact, the odd unnatural abilities of the characters in the off-island world is shown to be purgatory: example, Michael's inability to "kill" himself in NYC because "the island" won't let him. The island is the after life community of lost souls. When Michael's ghost appears to Hurley on the island, he says he is a spirit trapped on the island. In other words, Michael is trapped on the island because he has yet to get to the next level of redemption. It also makes more sense that Hurley and Miles can "speak" to dead people or see ghosts because they are also dead. The island represents the collective subconscious memories of lost souls in the after life seeking some sort of second chance to set the mistakes of their lives in perspective.

One of the quiet underlying themes of the show was "knowledge was power." In this situation, it appears that various levels of knowledge of the character's own demise, and the reluctant "acceptance" of it, is the key to "awakening" in the end.

The sense that the character's memories created the sideways afterlife world is also apparent in the island world, too. Hurley was reading a comic that featured a polar bear - - - and one turned up on the mysterious island. As a child, Locke drew a smoke monster - - - and one turned up on the mysterious island. It was the collective imaginations of the characters that created the Lost Worlds. It would also explain Ben's "magic box" comment when Locke's father, Anthony Cooper, suddenly showed up on the island, claiming he was dead from a car crash.

Look at the constant from both ends of the spectrum: the flashbacks (pre 815) and the sideways world - - - Eloise. In Desmond's back story, she was the one who told Desmond about "course correction" that people cannot change what will occur to them. She also told Desmond that he should not be with Penny. Fans knew that Eloise had special powers and knowledge beyond normal comprehension. In the sideways world, Eloise scolds Desmond not to contact Penny. Why? Because she knows that if Desmond is awakened to his past purgatory cycle with Penny, he would awaken the others, including her son, Daniel and Widmore, which could lead to Daniel leaving her. The whole Eloise story arc could be considered as an after life guardian over-protecting her son for her own selfish purposes (maybe penance for killing him on the island during a time flash.)

It would also give some insight on the inconsistent, paradoxical confusion of the concept of Time during the show. If we parse the show into its main parts (pre 815 flashbacks, 815 crash/ island events, the O6 off island, and the sideways), then the concept that these are all "acts in a death play" makes some sense. A course analogy: each main part is a deal in a poker game; the players (characters) have to deal with the hand they are dealt (missions, events, beatings, etc), and if you go "all in" on a matter and lose, you "die" and have to sit out for the next "deal." Even in Vegas, people shift around from table to table, trying to get a new dealer, or meet some new people. This may be why there were so many undercurrent connections between the passengers before 815 crashed on the island. However, there is a conscious barrier between the hands (cycles) that is only broken upon final "awakening." We may have only seen four or five of these after life "re-sets" or deck shuffles during the show, but not in chronological order.

If you believe that the show was all about lost souls from the very beginning, LOST makes more sense and all of the blatant inconsistencies, dead end story lines, continuity errors, and open ended questions fade away. Dharma, Jacob, the Smoke Monster, time travel and all the other prop story lines were all mere fantasy tools and props from the characters own imaginations and narcissistic view of themselves of how they thought their lives would be if they were not "dead." In the afterlife, their collective memories were used to create situations, interact with strangers, overcome adversity and personal fears, with the goal of individual enlightenment.

The sideways world was created by Jack's friends in the afterlife.
The world they created was "real" in the afterlife.
Eloise's church was in the sideways world.
Jack's friends first went to Eloise's church in the O6 story arc.
That means Jack and the O6 were in Eloise's church in the afterlife.
The O6 arc and the island events were on in the same world.
That means if the O6 were in the afterlife after leaving the island, they could be dead on the island (in the island after life).
This place was Death. What the characters died for was the chance to meet other lost souls in the afterlife for a chance to move on together instead of dying alone.