COMPASS BEARING

The fixation with The Numbers came down to names attached to bearing points on Jacob's light house compass. It was within the light house where Jacob used the looking glass to spy upon his candidates throughout their lives, especially their childhoods.

One could imagine that Jacob as a magician would give sad children one last adventure before going on to the after life; a Willy Wonka of the Spiritual World.

But we never got a charitable sense from Jacob or how he operated. He seemed very detached and solemn.

A compass is an instrument containing a magnetized pointer that shows the direction of magnetic north and bearings from it. The use of the compass for navigation at sea was reported from China c. 1100, western Europe 1187, Arabia c. 1220, and Scandinavia c. 1300, although it probably dates from much earlier. Since the early 20th century the magnetic compass has been superseded by the gyrocompass as primary equipment for ships and aircraft.

A bearing  has several different meanings:

1 [ in sing. ] a person's way of standing or moving or the way one behaves or conducts oneself;
2 relation or relevance;
3 the level to which something bad can be tolerated;
4 a part of a machine that bears friction, esp. between a rotating part and its housing;
5 Architecture a structural part that supports weight, such as a wall that supports a beam;
6 the direction or position of something, or the direction of movement, relative to a fixed point. It is typically measured in degrees, usually with magnetic north as zero: the Point is on a bearing of 015°.

There are 360 bearing points on the compass which means that there could be only 360 maximum candidates. From lostpedia's records, there appear to be 220 empty bearing points (with no names). 360 minus 220 equals 140 candidates on the island after Flight 815 crash landed.

Under what iteration were the 815 candidates?

We know that Jacob allegedly brought numerous candidates to the island. We assume centuries past based upon the relics and architectural features of a temple and hieroglyphs. Jacob himself was a shipwrecked Roman from at least 400 AD (based upon his travelers' dress). So, under Jacob's reign, he lasted approximately 1600 years as island guardian.

If the Numbers influence the way humans were captured for the island rituals of Jacob, let us suppose it followed the pattern:

1st group was 4
2nd group was 8
3rd group was 15
4th group was 16
5th group was 23
6th group 42.

At the end of the 6th group, a total of 108 candidates would have arrived on the island.
Which means the 815 manifest list came ashore in either the 9th (135 candidates) or 10th visitor group (151).

We can go back in time to try to figure out who the groups were:
Last group: 815ers
Next to last: Danielle's science boat
Prior to that: Dharma
Prior to that: U.S. Military
Prior to that: The Others
Prior to that: Jacob's boat
Prior to that: Crazy Mom's arrival (?)

So we have been shown at least 7 of the 9/10 groups who came to the island. One group that made an impression was the ancient Egyptians and another group could have been the ancient Greeks (based on Jacob's tapestry).

So throughout time, there were many candidates summoned to the island. Many more creative, scientifically inclined, stronger or spiritual than Jack. So why did Jack become the key to unlock the cycle of island visitors from the greatest civilizations known to mankind? Despite all the attention to detail, lists, candidate names, etc., was Jack's emergence just a random event that changed the course of island history?

In the story, there were three bearing references. Ben told Michael to use bearing 325 to leave the island waters to salvation. Daniel told Frank to use the bearing of 305 to find the island. And finally, Jacob told Hurley to move the lighthouse mirrors to 108 degrees (which was the sum of the 815 candidates). The rescue or salvation number would then appear to be the sum of the current candidate group. It would also imply that in order to reach salvation, the new leader must draw strength or the will from his other candidates in order to succeed.

If that is the formula Jack had to complete, then did it work? What strength did Jack gain from Locke, Sayid, Sawyer, Hurley, or Jin? In his depressed mountain man state, Jack admitted to himself that Locke was right; he had to return to the island - - - but we don't know if it was the drugs or a true revelation inside Jack (since once Jack returned he turned into a complacent worker bee). Jack may have admired Sayid's cold blooded skills to make life and death decisions without hesitation. Jack may have admired how easily Hurley made friends with his fellow castaways.  Jack had a true rival in Sawyer, but Jack never seemed to inherit any of Sawyer's good or bad traits. And Jack was never close to Jin to have a strong relationship. So the concept that all the candidates had to empower one candidate to victory seems to have slim to no evidence of support. By the time Jack took command of the island, Sayid and Jin were dead, Hurley was a scared wreck, and Sawyer was fleeing the island as fast as he could. The "live together or die alone" mantra seems to be a nullity.

Jack, as Number 23, would point almost due north. North is the direction where all bearings come from. It is the natural point in the sky for astronomy and observation of the heavens. The brightest star is called The North Star. Was Jack's death the focal point to show the other candidates and 815 passengers the way not off the island, but the way to the sideways after life world?

THE CASE FOR KATE

It is hard for many viewers to like Kate. She was in the middle of most things, but never a critical factor in any outcome. She lived a miserable life. And, on the island, she found company with other miserable souls who had personal issues that ground them to a halt. Misery loves company. That is the Kate Austen story.

We saw a feisty young tomboy manipulate her young male friends into criminal activity and trouble. We saw her twist logic to justify what she wanted to do. She learned that her real father was the abusive step dad, Wayne. She decided to make things right in her own mind by taking out an insurance policy and blowing up the house and her biological father. (Never mind the subsequent factual farce of the story line of Kate's legal issues). Even on the run, she got her "boyfriend" to "rob" a bank just to get back a toy airplane from a safety deposit box. Once she got what she wanted, she killed him. Every time she was on the verge of happiness, she panicked and fled (such as her marriage to the Florida police officer, who apparently never Googled her background check before his vows).

So we have the foundation of this character summarized as follows:

1. Extroverted but aggressive child with anti-social tendencies.
2. Lashing out at parents for lack of attention or authoritative structure in her daily life.
3. Ability to use charm, guile and flirtation to get her way with weaker minded men.
4. Inherit ability to think on the run when in trouble.
5. Extremely lucky at times to accomplish her Houdini like escapes from the law.
6. The cold blooded killer instinct to eliminate unwanted things in her life.

Kate was clearly a troubled young woman. In her background, we don't have any strong evidence that she made lasting or close friends. She may have been the center of attention at school, but she was too hot to handle by her classmates. Her mother worked extra jobs to make ends meet so Kate was without maternal moral guidance. She had a free range childhood, mostly out on her own testing the boundaries of community standards.

She did not seem the type to want the spotlight of fame or fortune. She may have found Iowa boring, but even as the O6 media celebrity, she shied away from the cameras to become a suburban mother hermit. So, it was out of character for Kate to turn her moral attitude back to do an 180 degree turn to return to the island (but some remark that this was Kate's way of ending her responsibility for caring for Aaron.) Going back to the island was either a thrill ride escape plan or a death wish.

If the island was a place for redemption, then Kate would have been a leading candidate for change. She was an arsonist, murderer, liar, cheater, bank robber, adulterer, and selfish. The closest characters she gravitated towards on the island were Sawyer, a like minded criminal, and Jack, who had deep seeded personal self-esteem and father issues. In their own ways, both Sawyer and Jack led miserable lives even though they were successful in their professions. Kate was successful in nothing.

On the island, she had an intimate relationship with Sawyer, which may or may not have been a means of lashing out against Jack. Her relationship with Sawyer would sour and cool off. Off the island, she had an intimate relationship with Jack, which may or may not have been a means of lashing back against Sawyer who left her on the helicopter during the rescue. Her relationship with Jack would also turn sour and cool off, even upon the return to the island.

She became even more miserable on her island (1977 flash return) when she found that Sawyer had "moved on" with Juliet in Dharma bliss. With Dharma, Kate was a lowly nobody. She was frustrated that Jack gave in and gave up - - - no more leadership, no more wild plans or adventures, no more excitement. So if Kate wanted to get an island adrenaline rush, Jack was not going to be her partner in crime.

So even if Kate was plotting in her twisted logic mind that returning to the island was a means of punishing Jack and taking back Sawyer into her arms, she terribly miscalculated both her wiles and Sawyer's true feelings. Sawyer was suddenly happy being a normal guy with a normal job with a stable home life. He was stale plain vanilla, which must have startled Kate. When Jack went church mouse janitor on her, she was effectively left to be miserable alone.

If LOST was the examination of the loneliness in human lives, then what is the turning point that make true change happen? At the moment of resolution, with the defeat of Flocke, Kate had a choice on the cliffside - - - stay with wounded Jack or escape the island with Sawyer. She chose the latter under the guise that she "needed" to get Claire home to Aaron (but at that moment she did not know where Claire was or even if she was still alive.) Based on the objective evidence, the decision Kate made was to leave Jack behind and go back with Sawyer (to catch him on the emotional rebound so to speak). It speaks to her devious nature and her self-preservation mode against taking on the burden of responsibility for another person (in this case bleeding Jack). It was selfish of her to leave the island without him, especially if Jack was indeed her "soul mate."

Which is why many viewers were troubled by the fact that Kate wound up with Jack in the end. They had no sideways world connection - - - no relationship - - - no strong emotional bond. Any lingering memory of Kate by Jack would have been her leaving him to die (which could not command either respect or love).

In the Season 5 episode "Follow the Leader," the time skipping O6 are captured by the Eloise led Others. Jack reveals to Kate that he means to reset their lives, having the plane never crash and avoiding all the misery that's happened since. Kate adamantly states that it was not all misery, but does not elaborate. He responds that enough of it was.When Daniel is killed, Jack takes up his plan to reset the island. Jack tells Kate that he wants to erase their past because he can't let her go. That admission seems to go against all the character traits of Jack; how can he still pine for her when he left her knowing her heart was given to someone else?

If we view the entire series merely from the perspective (or eyes) of Kate, we see despite all the tangents, continuity errors, bizarre premises and story line dead ends, Kate winds up happy if not content with Jack. She winds up in the afterlife setting a free person, never captured, never convicted, never jailed, never burdened with raising another's child, never accepting responsibility or accountability for her actions. Everything just falls into place: like a perfect dream.

So that could be the case that the series was really Kate's dream. She got away with everything and still got her reward in the end.

THE JOURNEY

Some believe LOST was merely a journey by the various characters through the pitfalls of danger and friendship which led to a lasting impression to reunited in the afterlife.

Others believe that LOST symbolized the ancient religious journeys through the afterlife.

Thoth, the Ibis headed humanoid, was the guardian of the souls on their journey through the afterlife. Other cultures around the globe used bird-men to symbolize the passage from life on Earth to new life in the stars. Ancient cultures believed that the Earth had been visited by star children who gave them knowledge and spiritual rituals to guide them.

In both ancient Egypt and China, leaders of those civilizations were entombed with a massive amount of supplies and other people, such as wives, consorts, guards, soldiers, and servants. The reason was simple: the leaders needed to have people around his soul to help navigate the after life to find paradise. So they were buried with their closest staff members, along with food, weapons and important writings. They left behind cult priests who would pray for their leader's safe passage and appease the gods during his journey.

The statement "live together or die alone" is a modern take on this ancient ritual. In order to move along in the afterlife, a person needs to have "friends" to help him make it to the end. That is why most cultures revere their ancestors, whom they hope to meet in the afterlife to help them get to heaven.

LOST was never heavy on overt religious symbolism. Religion rituals and symbols may be an explanation of what the writers were trying to hide in the plain sight as their vision of what was really happening to the characters. They kept on saying the it was the journey that was the most important thing of the show. That could mean the wild ride of plot twists given the viewer, or the slow progression of angst, loss and perseverance that the characters had to show in order to move on with their lives.

THE GAP

There are a few elements that most people can agree upon: the island was a magical place; it was a spiritual place; it was not of this world. The implication of those facts is that somehow (such as Thoth's magic) the main characters were diverted, taken, kidnapped or sent though time, space, or realms.

This chart explains the possibilities. In our normal life existence, a human soul would live her or his life out in a normal fashion, ending in some sort of purgatory afterlife as taught by most of the major religions. But in LOST, the normal life continuum was interrupted by the "plane crash."  The passengers on Flight 815 were diverted to a magical island in a different realm of existence.  The FDW chamber held hieroglyphs which stated there were various "Earth gates." This chamber could have been a two way teleportation device.

Why were the characters diverted into the island realm? There are a few reasons: to train for their eventual journey through the after life; to kill boredom of the gods (throughout the pantheon of Greek myths the gods came down to Earth to mess with humanity); or to experiment on human souls to determine if they were worthy of a greater purpose.

But once a person got to the island, there were only four choices. One could go back through the diversion portal back to the normal Earth time line. One could stay (or be trapped) on the island in human or spirit form. One could "die" on the island and one's soul could go through a nexus gate to the afterlife. Or, as some of the characters did (but we don't know how), they opened a new gate to create their own sideways purgatory (a purgatory within purgatory). The various realm gates appear to intersect in the afterlife, to be sorted by the White Light.

The big Gap in the flow chart of where the characters were during the series is the island itself. Many fans thought the island was connected by a wormhole which would explain the shifts in time and space. Others believed that the island was a fore-hell for lost souls to begin to sort out their acceptance of their fate of being dead. Others thought that characters were trapped in mental delusions so strong that their conscious thought they were transported to different realms.

If we go with the proposition that what happened was "real," then the passengers on Flight 815 were diverted from normal Pacific air space through an electromagnetic energy field and deposited on the island. This island looks and feels like a tropical island, but it contains supernatural elements and immortal beings so it cannot be of "our Earth."  The characters are still "alive," but must try to live in a spiritual or a world in a different universe. In order to get back to Earth, they must escape the pull of the island's power source or use it to re-open the diversion portal. Only a handful of people ever made it back to their Earth time line. The rest either went directly to the afterlife or diverted themselves to the sideways world to wait for their friends to "awaken."

The concept of awakening leads to the concept of magic: being under a spell. Illusionists can put audience members into deep sleep, hypnotize them, make them do weird things, then snap them back to reality. Did the island and/or Jacob serve the role as magician? Or was the real guardian of the souls of Jack's friends Christian? He died before the other characters so he may have been in an afterlife position to direct or re-direct his son to the promise land (as inferred by the church ending).

In any event, the characters were clearly "detoured" from their normal life's path by and through the island. The question remains about how they got from gap to gap in the time-space-reality spectrum.

THOTH

If the island had name, it would have been Thoth.

Thoth was an ancient Egyptian god-like being who was said to have represented knowledge, science, magic and guidance of souls through the passage in the underworld.

He was often depicted as a half-man, half Ibis. He often helped Ra, the Sun God, through his nightly passage through the underworld. The image of a winged god of knowledge is also found in other cultures, including ancient religions of Hindu, Taoism, and Buddhism.

Thoth's roles in Egyptian mythology were both numerous and varied. First, Thoth served as a mediating power, especially between the forces of good and evil, making sure neither had a decisive victory over the other. This aspect was particularly relevant in his arbitration of the conflict between  Set and Horus.  Likewise, Thoth's mediation role was also evident in his netherworldly alter ego A'an, the god of equilibrium, who monitored the posthumous judgment of deceased mortals and recorded the results in a celestial ledger.

Thoth was also understood to serve as the scribe of the gods, and was credited with the invention of writing and alphabets. As a result, he was also acknowledged as the progenitor of all works of science, religion, philosophy and magic. In the Hellenistic period, the Greeks further declared him the inventor of astronomy, astrology, numerology, mathematics, geometry, surveying, medicine, botany,  theology, civilized government, the alphabet, reading, writing, and oratory.  The Greeks further claimed he was the true author of every work of every branch of knowledge, human and divine.

Thoth was also characterized as a creator deity: the self-begotten and self-produced One. In this context, he was understood to be the master of both physical and moral law, both of which corresponded to the proper understanding and application of Ma'at.  As such, he was credited with making the calculations for the establishment of the heavens, stars, Earth, and everything in them, and to direct the motions of the heavenly bodies.

In this particular context of the Egyptian pantheon, Thoth's this-worldly and other-worldly power was almost unlimited, rivaling both Ra and Osiris.  

Thoth was also prominent in the Osiris myth, being of great aid to Isis. After Isis gathered together the pieces of Osiris' dismembered body, he gave her the words to resurrect him so she could be impregnated and bring forth Horus, named for his uncle. When Horus was slain, Thoth gave the formula to resurrect him as well.

Mythological accounts also assign him credit for the creation of the 365 day calendar. According to this tale, the sky goddess  Nut was cursed with barrenness by Shu, who declared that she would be unable to conceive during any of the months of the year. Coming to her aid, Thoth, the crafty god, discovered a loophole—since the lunar calendar year was only 360 days long, the addition of days that were not contained in any given month would circumvent the hex. Thus, Thoth gambled with Khonsu, the moon, for 1/72nd of its light (five days) and won. During these five days, the goddess conceived and gave birth to Osiris, Set, Isis, Nepthys, and (in some versions) Kheru-ur (Horus the Elder, Face of Heaven). For his exploits, Thoth was acknowledged as "Lord of Time."

All of Thoth's powers dovetail nicely into the various aspects of the elements of the island.  

Throughout the series, the conflicts between the forces of good and evil resulted with neither having a decisive victory over the other. The ideas of lists and missions and judgments follow Thoth's monitoring of  the posthumous judgment of deceased mortals on ledgers. The island was filled with themes of science, religion, philosophy and magic. It would appear that the island had certain unbroken "rules," as stated in the Jacob-MIB conflict which may represent Thoth's mastery of both physical and moral law. In his myths, there are great stories about being a guardian in the underworld and healer of infertility. Infertility and guardianship of the island were two prominent themes in the series. Also, Sayid's resurrection from the dead in the Temple waters was surrounded by columns of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs which were probably the formula for the ceremony and magic.

The island would best be described as Thoth or his domain. It is apparent that there may have been an unseen entity behind the curtain beyond Jacob or MIB.  With all his powers, Thoth seems to fit the bill as being the man behind such a supernatural curtain.

CLIFFHANGER OF THE ISLAND

To tide fans over from season to season, LOST used the time tested serial cliffhanger to keep fan interest. Did these cliffhangers have anything in common besides holding the drama for six months or longer?

At the end of the first season, the big mystery was the distress signal, which Sayid said has been repeating for more than 16 years. The distress call was made by Danielle after her shipwrecked science crew was wiped out by the smoke monster. It allegedly took out all the radio frequencies surrounding the island (which was false based upon Dharma's and the Others communications stations). The idea that a distress call was uniterrupted was to dash the hope of the survivors for the one thing they still were clinging onto: rescue.

At the end of the second season, Locke found a mysterious hatch cover in the jungle. He believed that it contained all the answers to the mysteries. His quest to open the hatch would later lead to tragedies. The hatch was created by another science team who came to the island to conduct experiments. One of the aspects of the hatch cover and its operation was The Numbers. The Numbers continued to pop up throughout various aspects of the story lines. We were led  to believe that the key to solving LOST was in The Numbers. We would later find out that the numbers represented, if anything, candidates to replace the mysterious Jacob.

At the end of the third season, we had another element of the island show itself: The Others. Just as the survivors hoped was dashed when the first raft was burned by Walt, the second raft set sail for rescue. But before it got too far, it was intercepted by another boat of bearded men who kidnapped Walt, shot Sawyer, and destroyed the raft. The Others were the "native" inhabitants of the island, but we really do not know that for sure. The Others were supposed to be the headbutting rivals to the survivors' camp, but by the end they were mostly red shirt victims as were most of the 815 survivors.

At the end of the fourth season, we had the plot twist of the "flash forward," a peak into the future of the series with Jack screaming like a mountain man to Kate that they "had to go back" to the island. This shocking reveal meant that at least two survivors made it off the island. How?! We would later learn that a ill-fated Widmore assault team from a freighter would give the O6 an opportunity to leave the island via helicopter, to be rescued by Penny's boat, but not after several character sacrifices (Michael and Charlie dying, and Sawyer jumping from the helicopter). The whole O6 side story really did not amount to anything substantial and it was very forced to bring the characters back to the main action of the island. If you left a dangerous place run by a mad man (Ben), who in their right mind would want to go back? The people left behind were fellow survivors, but they could all be dead now. There was no reason for the O6 to return to the island.

At the end of season five, we have Juliet banging a rock on an atomic bomb casing yelling that it needs to explode. Many fans believe she detonated the device, but that did not happen. The incident was a massive electromagnetic discharge from the island itself (much like Desmond's fail safe key) which caused another implosion and realignment of island time. Juliet was a secondary character who was kidnapped by Ben to come to the island to fix the fertility issue of the island women. She wanted to leave but could not. She tried to manipulate men into doing her bidding, but was rarely successful. During the time skip to Dharma 1970s, she wound up undercover with Sawyer for three island years until the O6 returned to re-set the island. Juliet survived the implosion only to die in the arms of Sawyer in the beginning of the final season. Did her death actually matter in setting up the final season? No. Sawyer vowed revenge against Jack, but they never came to angry blows.

And the end of the lineal time of the series, we see Christian open the church doors and a white light engulfs everyone in the pews. This is supposed to represent the characters "moving on" in the after life, but we are left to imagine where they were going. Which in some respects is ironic, because we still really don't know where the characters have been.

So what were the key elements of the cliffhangers? An island that traps people, a hatch that controls mysterious energy force which may shroud the island from the world, the Others who don't want anyone to leave the island, the need of the island to have anyone who has escaped to return, that numerous deaths and sacrifices were needed on the island, and that in the end the island is given over to Hurley and Ben. They appears to be a need for the island to have a person "in charge." A normal island is merely a mountaintop of extruded volcanic rock that spears above the ocean water line. But this island is more, it appears aware.

A theme running through the various groups that landed on the island was that they were scientists: the Romans, the Egyptians, the Dharma group, Danielle's crew and various members of the 815 passenger list were highly educated professionals. So it seemed that the island needed "science" in order to do something it could not do on its own. And that may be the biggest cliffhanger of all: what did the island want?

CLIFFHANGERS

A cliffhanger is a story telling device which stops the story at a precarious, dangerous or surprising stop until the next chapter or episode is revealed to answer or explain the prior plot point.

LOST contained numerous cliffhangers, some from episode to episode, some from season to season.

In examining the end-of-season cliffhangers, and the promise of their resolution, reveals the following:

Season 1: The opening of The Hatch and the attack on the raft which strange people kidnapped Walt.

Season 2: Jack, Kate and Sawyer are taken by the Others; Locke lets the Hatch timer run out to a system failure (which aftermath is in doubt); and a listening post tells Penny it has found the island.

Season 3: Jack's flashbacks are revealed at the airport to be flash forwards, that Kate and Jack will escape the island.

Season 4: The island moves and the man in the coffin is revealed as Locke (but not how he died).

Season 5: Juliet is trapped in the construction pit, left to pound on rock on the atomic bomb.

Season 6: The cast gathers in the sideways church to be engulfed by a white light.

We would learn that the Hatch was a Dharma science station, that had to be manned by a person who needed to input The Numbers (for some unknown reason). We would learn that a group of native inhabitants called The Others were behind Walt's kidnapping and the sinking of the raft. The Others claim to be "the good guys" but state that the island is their domain.

We would learn that Jack, Kate and Sawyer were captured by the Others so their leader, Ben, could manipulate them to apparently serve the goals of a mysterious person named Jacob. Jack was needed to perform spinal surgery on Ben. Sawyer was needed to be conned by Ben to quell any rebellious notions that the survivors would have in the future, Kate was used as the romantic pawn to keep both Jack and Sawyer in line.

We would see that if the Hatch timer went to zero, an alarm would signal, and hieroglyphs would appear that said "He Escapes Place of Death," and there would be a massive surge of magnetic energy that would rattle the entire island.

We would learn that Penny had hired men to listen for the island so she could find its location. We were left wondering why people could not find the island.

We saw the sudden plot inversion to the flash forward with Jack and Kate at the airport. We saw an upset Jack losing his nerve. When Kate left, saying "he is waiting," we did not know who she was talking about (Sawyer, Ben or some other person). The question was how did they get off the island, and what happened to them.

We learned that several 815 survivors got on board the helicopter from Widmore's freighter just before it blew up. But running low on fuel, Frank attempted to return to the island when it suddenly vanished without barely an ocean ripple, stunning everyone on board.

In another flash forward mystery from that season, the man inside the coffin was revealed to be Locke, but we did not know how he died until it was revealed that Ben killed him.

We would learn that Juliet "survived" the construction site implosion (meaning that the atomic bomb did not detonate), but she mumbled that "it worked" (but we don't know what that means). She is embraced by a time skipping partner, Sawyer, who holds her when she dies. He vows revenge against Jack for his foolish plan that led to Juliet's death.

In the end, we see the smiling faces of the main characters engulfed by a white light as Christian opens the church doors, but we don't know what that means or where the characters are "moving on" to.

The answers to the cliffhangers were mere isolated facts, little puzzle pieces, which did not connect together to form a clear picture to solve the biggest mysteries of the series.