On Current Theories and What LOST is All About by Neturbo82

*Before reading this, if you have not read "The Dark Tower" series by Stephen King, some of what I have to say does pertain/elude to it. It is an incredible series (possibly the best written art I have ever had the pleasure of reading). The few spots where it is mentioned has info that you will not want to know if you either a)have not read it, b) plan on reading it, or c) haven't finished it yet. I am placing this up as a warning, as while they are not necessarily DARK TOWER spoilers, they will ruin your enjoyment of the series.

LOST Theories

Let me start off by saying that the show in it's entirety was (in my opinion) the best visual media created to this date (up until the series finale, I will say that BSG (Battlestar Galactica) was a close tie for that spot in both storyline, character development, ending, and meaning). Good, now that we have that out of the way, onto my theories. In order to discuss my thoughts, I want to present a combination of theories brought out by many of the great LOST fans that helped to make the show as popular as it is/was/will be.

The following is a collection of general theories condensed (as to not take up too much typeing space). While I will admit that I did have my thoughts closely relating to some of these before actually reading other peoples info on the interwebs, I will not take credit for any of this. All of these insights I will bring out are a collaboration of my own thoughts and those of LOST theorists all over the web.

Pergatory Theory:

This theory is currently (as far as I can tell) the top theory amongst avid LOST fans on the internet. The general basis of this theory is as follows:
Season 1-5 - Everything we saw happen actually did happen and was real.
Season 6 - Everything we saw happen (not including the "side-reality") also did actually happen and was real.
Season 6 - The "Side-Reality was actually a form of non-religious-centric pergatory that people who die go to before they can move on (to heaven/hell, the next plane of existence, the next universe; take your pick... as I'm sure was intended if this theory is correct.

Characters - Those who dies along the way and did not end up in the church either a) were not ready to move on, b) had already moved on, or c) were stuck in their own seperate version of pergatory.

Characters - Those who are of our main cast and/or closely related to our main case were a group of people who because of their past could never move on without help from each other.

While I hate to use the word "pergatory" I can't think of anything else in my vocabulary to describe it otherwise. Trust me, there is a lot more to the pergatory theories out there. I am just touching on a few things and adding my own quick thoughts. Go out on the interwebs and read them all for yourselves. For me, this is one theory that regardless of it being the true situation or not and despite the critisism and holes in the story, makes me happy and thoroughly satisfied, and really what else can you ask for.

The Island:

Presumably the center of the universe or existence or whatever. If it went out/was destroyed or whatever, EVERYTHING would cease to exist. Whether EVERYTHING is the world, the galaxy, the universe, or all universes, who really knows. I personally think that a bit of "The Dark Tower" mythology played into what the light, and the island actually was (the "thing" that holds all worlds, universes and existences together to create one mass unknown entity). Arguments could be made for this point based solely off of the writers and creators documented love and admiration for Stephen King's "The Dark Tower Trilogy" and their purchase of the rights to turn the series into film (reguardless of where their actual persuit takes them).
Truthfully, the main idea here is probably the most common and in my opinion the only true answer to "what the island is".

The Protector:

Forever there has been a protector. Someone (or some thing) that has been by the "light" in order to protect it from going out. There was someone before Jacob, There was Jacob, There was Jack (however short-lived his time was), There was Hurley (unknown for how long), and whoever Hurley put in place, so on and so forth until the time when it finally goes out and everything ceases to exist (provided that is ever allowed to happen). The main goal of this entity was to ensure the antagonist (or other unforseen and unknowning antagonists such as the Dharma initiative, U.S. Government, etc) did not destroy all existence.

The Antagonist:

Where there is light, there is also dark. There are always two sides to every equation. The "Smoke Monster" regardless of form was just a manifestation of a once dormant "evil" who's soul purpose was to end everything. Call it what you will, dark v light, god v devil, etc... It doesn't really matter. If we take human nature and the good versus evil theory of our culture, both always exist and are always in constant conflict.

Time Travel, Parallel Universes, Parallel Existence within a "universe", and parallel existence within one entity, and anything that resembles these theories:

The basis here generally brings out the discussion by which Desmond was traveling through time via conciousness. I think that this is very misconstruen. The theory of time travel as us humans know it singulates time into a single universe and time line. While yes, there was time travel on the show I think people are missing the big point here. Desmond was not traveling through time per-say, his conciousness was traveling to his other bodies in other planes of existence (or parallel universes, if you will). While time travel may have been involved during these, I think it is far from the point. Time travel undoubtedly happened during the show, but 2001 in our universe might really be 1892 in another universe.

Think of a parallel universi like this:
We are universe G, Universe F & H are the universi directly to the left and right of us. Each one extremely similar to our own but with slight differences.

Now we move from universe F to universe E. This one may be similar to our own universe (universe F) but is going to be more different to from our own and more similar to it's closest parallels (univseri E & G). The further from our universe you get down the line, the more different it becomes. However, regardless of what universe we are talking about, all entities within all universi are linked together. Although one may die in universe A, universe B's version lives on until his/her death.

Whether all these entities across universi are connected or not is up to the viewer to decide. If you want to expand your own possible theories on this, I suggest watching some of the good programs on history and discovery channel pertaining to the universe and parallel universe theories.

The real question for me (as the idea of The Island theory that I posted above really pushes me to scream "THE DARK TOWER") is whether or not our universe (universe "G") is the "primary" universe. While our characters have experienced the events of the show in countless parallel universes differently (or possibly not at all), was ours the primary and most important? I think that due to the island being underwater in "pergatory" or a "parallel universe", the question begs to be answered as "yes, what we saw was the primary universe"; but I also support that the decision on that should be up to the viewer.

A Note:

In any case, the real point I'm trying to drive across here is that NONE OF THIS MATTERS. They are all great theories and they definitely helped me to derive my own understandings, but I don't think it really conveys any information related to what the show actually means.

How all of this ties into what "LOST" was all about:

LOST is what YOU, the viewer makes of it. You can read theories all day and night, make up your own, argue others etc. I am a big proponent of the idea that you need to take out your own views of what you see. The real question is (and despite your actual views of it's ending), did the show enhance your life for the past 6 years? I know it did mine! It was all I talked about with friends for the longest time. It was something to look forward to each week or during the months of dry television between seasons. Tuesday nights were not Tuesday nights, they were LOST nights. This show was another way for friends and family to come closer together even if just for an hour each week. The boring times that needed filling during my weeks were filled by discussions of the show, it's characters, and the way it was written and filmed. Like Special Agent Jack Bower, LOST is and forever will be a cult classic of all the generations who have viewed it and hopefully for generations to come.

LOST is about a group of people from different backgrounds, problems, and empty, troubled or meaningless lives finding their true versions of "their true life purpose", and their belief that life isn't all just for nothing. It's about people coming together to help each other through devistating times, and trying to make their own lives, their friends lives, and something that makes them feel like their lives actually had meaning. Billions of people search for life meanings, what happens before, comes after and what is out there (whatever "there" may be). This show is the best put together epic of the age old needs/wants of human beings... to know their lifes purpose and to hope for something pleasurable once it ends as we know it.
What really happend at the end? Does that really matter? What matters is whether or not you enjoyed the ride you were on as a whole. I know I did, and now that I've said my peace, I will leave the show and it's theories to rest... well at least the theories as I plan to watch the whole thing again! HAHA

A Final Note

Concidering Disney owns both LOST and Marvel, it would be great to see graphic novels for items such as: Walt, The origins of the Hanzo Foundation, Dharma Initiative, and the "REAL" Others; Eloise Hawking, The Egyptians who inhabited the island past, amongst other things.
Neturbo82