| 1. Preliminary Thoughts |
The Island
The nature of the Island is the primary Lost mystery. Are the forces of the island natural or supernatural? And if supernatural, is the Island inherently good, evil, or does it simply give people what they bring to it, like a mirror?
Thus far, we have received several natural explanations. The strange behavior of the compass in Season One – even the plane crash itself – was explained by the electromagnetic anomaly. The presence of polar bears was explained by the Dharma scientific observations. The mysterious hatch was shown to be manmade and, in fact, almost discouragingly practical. The inability to contact the outside world was explained by the Looking Glass jamming device. Even the Others, formerly shadowy and disturbing beings, have been unveiled, revealing very human and flawed creatures, some of whom feel as much in bondage as the survivors.
But then there are the other details. The large number of virtually unharmed survivors. The mysterious and selective healings. The visions. The voices and sounds that only some can hear. Jacob. More on that later. But for now, it’s enough to say that some of the mysteries could only be “naturally” solved by horrible contrivances, as far as one can tell, and that the nature of the Island – or at least its components – is, to some extent, supernatural.
Given that the Island has magical tendencies, the question arises – Why? What is the Island’s purpose (or Fate’s purpose or God’s purpose) in these magical doings?
The Island could be innately good. It appears to offer the survivors second chances, a shot at redemption – criminal Kate and hands-off Jack became leaders, drug addict Charlie overcame his addiction and died a hero, and the list goes on. This could also account for the healings, visions, and other benefits of Island life.
The Island could be innately evil. Several islanders have compared it to Hell. The Others seem to be in denial about darkness, playing happy music at funerals and using terms like “shot to sunshine,” perhaps suggesting some innate darkness about the Island that they fear. And certainly at times some Power seems to be playing mind games with the islanders.
And the Island could be a mirror, reflecting the baggage and expectations that the islanders bring. Rose and Locke are healed, Ben develops a tumor. Charlie – after embracing a new and wholesome life – dies a hero’s death, Mr. Eko – after refusing to repent – dies a violent death. Their motives and their hearts control their experiences.
It is impossible to determine which is most likely, given the little information we’ve been given. The balance between darkness and hope on the Island is tenuous…perhaps representing the real world, enhanced and deepened to highlight the worst and the best of life.
What Is Real?
When examining the evidence about the nature of the island, it becomes increasingly clear that we cannot trust what we see. Many of the experiences and accounts on Lost are, or appear to be, subjective.
A prime example is in Season One’s “All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues,” in which Jack – and the audience – hears Claire scream, while Kate hears nothing. This doesn’t appear to be a hallucination or a psychological manifestation of any kind, because it leads Jack to Ethan. Nevertheless, it proves the point that what the audience sees may be from one character’s subjective perspective.
Furthermore, information that we take for granted may be false. For instance, after hearing Ben claim numerous times that he was born on the Island, one began to assimilate this into the mythology. However, he later confessed that this was a blatant lie. This adds another twist to the problem of determining what is real and what is not.
Five major issues that may be truth or fiction come to mind.
Whispers
- The whispers have been meticulously transcribed, played, and re-played. We hear the voices clearly. Moreover, large groups of people have all heard the whispers together. Yet sometimes the whispers seem tailored to an individual, reflecting what is in that person’s uppermost thoughts. Sawyer, reliving his Frank Duckett escapade, hears “It’ll come back around.” Jack hears his dead father’s voice over the intercom. Are these subjective individual experiences (i.e., imagined), the workings of advanced technology, or simply magic?
Sickness
- The Island sickness has been mentioned by Rousseau, the Others, and Desmond’s slimy partner. Yet we’ve never actually seen anyone catch this mysterious sickness: in fact, the concept is usually dismissed as paranoia. Is there really a sickness, or is this a delusion perpetuated by crazies and manipulators?
Flight 815 found
- Naomi tells Hurley that Flight 815 has been found with bodies recovered. Yet, considering that Naomi has lied before and is essentially deceiving them now, could she have her own motives for telling them this? Was Flight 815 really found?
Anthony Cooper
- When Anthony Cooper conveniently arrives, we are so shocked and frankly appalled that it isn’t immediately apparent that this Anthony Cooper is very, very different. The old Cooper was a cavalier, self-centered con man, but this Cooper is downright demonic, egging Locke on to kill him, mockingly tearing up Sawyer’s letter, and never seeming to care what happens to him. The old Cooper would sooner push Locke out a window than get caught…this Cooper dares everyone to kill him. Convenient. As if he is deliberately trying to bring out the worst in Locke and Sawyer…or, perhaps, to force false closure on both of them. Regardless, either the writers slipped up or this Cooper was a fake with some interesting motives.
The empty coffin
- Jack finds his father’s coffin – empty. Since Kate’s thoughts of a horse from her past temporarily conjured up a horse that both she and Sawyer could see, could Jack’s preoccupation with his father have caused him to see and smash that empty coffin? (This is the least developed, solid plotline of the five, but with the question of things real and imagined it inevitably came up.)
Jacob
The subject of things real and imagined, objective and subjective, brings us to the Great Mystery of the Island – Jacob. How real is this Jacob? What’s his role?
First, the fact that Ben is the only person to see Jacob, prior to Locke’s visit, is suspect. With typical Ben-like flair, he unhesitatingly weaves his tales about Jacob, calling him a great and powerful man, inspiring fear of Jacob in survivors and Others alike. His readiness to volunteer this information, given his secretive nature, seems to indicate that Jacob is his own deliberate creation.
But then we actually see Jacob. Briefly, but decidedly. Moreover, it isn’t an illusion of Ben’s or Locke’s, because the filmmakers show the audience their trademark Eye Closeup as Jacob reacts to Locke. Jacob is corporeal, and he can be invisible to an individual one minute and visible the next.
Given that there is a physical Jacob, the question becomes whether or not Ben simply dressed someone up (one recalls Tom wearing the fake beard) to pretend to be his Jacob. With Ben, one never knows. But Carlton Cuse has claimed that Ben took Locke to see Jacob as a test, in order to ascertain whether Locke could, like him, see Jacob. When Locke did, Ben felt threatened that Locke would take his place in Jacob’s sight. “Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul.” If we can trust the filmmakers, then, Jacob does appear to be much like the character that Ben so willingly described.
The extent of the role Jacob plays can be gauged not only by Ben’s fear, but by the role that cancer plays on the show. On arriving on the Island with Jacob, Rose is healed of cancer. After Jacob (according to Ben) pledges to heal Rachel of cancer, Rachel is seen apparently cancer-free. When Ben gets cancer, he is freaked out about it – so much so that Juliet notices even in her agitation. These signs all appear to indicate that Jacob can heal cancer, and the fact that he allows Ben to get cancer makes Ben afraid. He thinks that Jacob is giving up on him.
Jacob’s role may also be associated with visions. Ben tells Locke that he’d better hope Jacob helps him. Locke then has a vision of Walt that keeps him alive. Moreover, Locke then quickly heals enough to join Jack. Finally, Locke warns Jack of impending danger, something that he didn’t seem to be aware of before. Whether Jacob communicated through the vision or through some other means, he appeared to communicate long-distance.
Jacob’s role is complicated by his words, “Help me,” so deep and distorted that the emotion behind the words is impossible to determine. He could be appealing for assistance, or he could be inviting Locke to join him in power, a la Darth Vader. Or, of course, Locke – who always wants to be called upon for assistance – could have imagined this altogether. The significance of these words, when revealed, should shed more light on Jacob’s role.
Chosen
It has been clear from the first flashbacks onward that the convergence of this group of people was not an accident. There must be a reason why these people, in particular, crashed and survived.
At first it seemed that everyone on the Island wouldn’t be missed or sought after for long. Sawyer, Locke, Shannon…all seemed to be unloved people living quiet and unrecognized lives. But Kate was in high demand, Sayid had just parted from the CIA, and Desmond is still vigorously sought by Penny. (Granted, Desmond was not a crash survivor, but he still appears to be on the Island for a purpose.)
Later it seemed possible that, given that those on the crash had recently had run-ins with the law, the survivors were pawns in a government conspiracy. Sawyer, Kate, Sayid, Ana Lucia, and to a lesser degree Locke, Boone, and possibly Charlie and Jin, all had encounters with or particular aversion to the law. But Rose, Bernard, Claire, Michael, and Walt seem to thwart this theory. While it may be a government conspiracy, connections to various governments are not the deciding factor.
Thus far, the only clear and common thread appears to be Fate.
Flashbacks
This is not speculation, at least not primarily. This is just my thoughts on the evolution of the flashback format over the first three seasons.
In the first season, the flashbacks not only gave us vital backstory, but they explained the psychology of the characters and why they act as they do today. For instance, in “All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues,” Jack’s desperate need to fix things and twisted fear of failure, explained in the flashbacks, drove him to work almost maniacally to save Charlie. On a simpler level, in “Hearts and Minds,” Boone’s feelings for and fling with Shannon in Sydney explained his hallucinations.
In the second season, a great deal of the psychological significance of the flashbacks was stripped away, except in the case of Ana Lucia, cordially hated, and the standalone episode “Dave”. Their value was found mainly in their contributions to the mythology.
In the third season, the flashbacks’ contributions became more oblique. They often did not appear to have psychological or mythological plot significance. (The exception, of course, is the Juliet and Ben flashbacks, which had both. And the flashbacks of Desmond’s hesitance and cowardice set the psychological stage for his slightly off “I must save the world” mentality.) Instead, they seemed to be setups, to be paid off in later seasons.
We may soon see the payoff for some of these plants. For instance, all three Cassidy episodes seemed to be for the purpose of drawing parallels between Cassidy and Kate. They’re both women who break the rules in order to survive, since someone they loved betrayed them (and, of course, because they made some poor choices). Sawyer may have impregnated them both. And if Kate is pregnant, the question of how Sawyer will react will ultimately either reflect or contrast his reaction to daughter Clementine’s existence. (Also, it seems that Cassidy turned Sawyer in; will Kate ever betray Sawyer?) The writers would do well to pay off these setups sooner rather than later.
© Voice of Reason 2007