There are countless theories that speculate on the unusual elements of the island, and try to explain the phenomena through scientific conventions. Definitely, the storylines on LOST support many of these theories, providing clues that suggest these scientific concepts.
That being said, I can’t help but think that another major theme laid out in the storyline is often being neglected: faith. Especially in season 4, both of these divergent themes are on full display, set on diametrically opposing tracks. Jack wants to lead the survivors off the island, while Locke wants to keep them there, protecting the island from outside forces. Furthermore, the LOST writers suggest a cliffhanger ending that will be open to debate and interpretation. I’m guessing that it will be a question of science versus faith. But at the end of it all, I’m wondering if both science and faith would be require to completely answer all of the island’s mysteries, marrying elements of both sides into one singular concept.
Time Travel
With the introduction of the characters from the freighter, the LOST writers revealed many of the elements at work around the island that distort the “normal” timeline, as seen from Faraday’s rocket experiment, and more tellingly, Desmond’s time travel during his journey to the ship. As suggested in other theories as well as on the show, there is probably some kind of electromagnetic bubble surrounding the island that causes time to behave in unstable ways around the island.
Furthermore, the hidden Orchid Station orientation video suggests that this field could create a Casimir effect, causing the same entity to exist in two different places at the same time, or that the same entity can find its way into multiples points in the timeline. I won’t go into tremendous detail about how this effect works, since I’m sure others can explain it better than I can. But it at least alludes to some possible explanations for some of the mysteries, including the duplicated plane found at the sea floor, the polar bear in the desert.
This effect could also be an explanation for those who seem to have some control over it, albeit in varying degrees. Desmond had a taste of it, while Walt continues to explore these abilities. And then there still might be others who have mastered it, such as Ms. Hawkings when Desmond first traveled through time in season 3, or the psychic who told Claire to take the fateful flight. Maybe even Ben has mastered this; it could explain why he always seems one step ahead of everyone, as he continues to course correct everyone by any means necessary to reach a particular desired outcome.
By the way, how ingenious was it for LOST writers to incorporate flashbacks from the very start? The flashbacks (and later the flash forwards) not only serve as a narrative device but foreshadows the later time issues later in the plot. It reminds me of a page from the graphic novel The Watchmen (noted as a inspiration for the writers), where Dr. Manhattan oversees all of time, bringing past, present, and future all together in parallel panels. I wish I could find the picture, but at least those fans of the Watchmen probably know which page I’m talking about.
The ability would be a very compelling reason to draw the likes of Mr. Widmore to the island, to claim the powers as his own. It would definitely be an interesting phenomenon for the Dharma initiative to study and understand. And no wonder Ben, if he knew the future, would resort to any unscrupulous means necessary to get his way, which could very well be for the greater good.
The Living and the Dead
But like I said, science explains only part of the island’s mysteries. What about deaths of the pregnant women, or the presence of the dead haunting the living? It’s almost paradoxical that while the island can somehow summon the dead and heal the sick, it cannot produce new life, as in letting pregnant mothers come to term.
Perhaps this is where science and spirit converge. Perhaps it is the very essence of our souls that fuels the island; somehow the island is capable of harnessing the human spirit into the unusual energies that surround the island. The mysterious energy is so powerful that it can summon the dead, and suck the life out of newly conceived lives before they are even born; a black hole of a different kind. With the island being so full of “life,” it can heal the sick. It might even explain why Ben warned Jack at the end of season 3 that if he were make that call, “every living thing will die” (paraphrased). If this phenomenon were to ever get out of control, it could suck the life from the entire world.
I realize that it sounds a little hokey. But with all of the things they revealed on both sides of the fence, they better have a very good explanation to discount one for the other.
Theory by MP
That being said, I can’t help but think that another major theme laid out in the storyline is often being neglected: faith. Especially in season 4, both of these divergent themes are on full display, set on diametrically opposing tracks. Jack wants to lead the survivors off the island, while Locke wants to keep them there, protecting the island from outside forces. Furthermore, the LOST writers suggest a cliffhanger ending that will be open to debate and interpretation. I’m guessing that it will be a question of science versus faith. But at the end of it all, I’m wondering if both science and faith would be require to completely answer all of the island’s mysteries, marrying elements of both sides into one singular concept.
Time Travel
With the introduction of the characters from the freighter, the LOST writers revealed many of the elements at work around the island that distort the “normal” timeline, as seen from Faraday’s rocket experiment, and more tellingly, Desmond’s time travel during his journey to the ship. As suggested in other theories as well as on the show, there is probably some kind of electromagnetic bubble surrounding the island that causes time to behave in unstable ways around the island.
Furthermore, the hidden Orchid Station orientation video suggests that this field could create a Casimir effect, causing the same entity to exist in two different places at the same time, or that the same entity can find its way into multiples points in the timeline. I won’t go into tremendous detail about how this effect works, since I’m sure others can explain it better than I can. But it at least alludes to some possible explanations for some of the mysteries, including the duplicated plane found at the sea floor, the polar bear in the desert.
This effect could also be an explanation for those who seem to have some control over it, albeit in varying degrees. Desmond had a taste of it, while Walt continues to explore these abilities. And then there still might be others who have mastered it, such as Ms. Hawkings when Desmond first traveled through time in season 3, or the psychic who told Claire to take the fateful flight. Maybe even Ben has mastered this; it could explain why he always seems one step ahead of everyone, as he continues to course correct everyone by any means necessary to reach a particular desired outcome.
By the way, how ingenious was it for LOST writers to incorporate flashbacks from the very start? The flashbacks (and later the flash forwards) not only serve as a narrative device but foreshadows the later time issues later in the plot. It reminds me of a page from the graphic novel The Watchmen (noted as a inspiration for the writers), where Dr. Manhattan oversees all of time, bringing past, present, and future all together in parallel panels. I wish I could find the picture, but at least those fans of the Watchmen probably know which page I’m talking about.
The ability would be a very compelling reason to draw the likes of Mr. Widmore to the island, to claim the powers as his own. It would definitely be an interesting phenomenon for the Dharma initiative to study and understand. And no wonder Ben, if he knew the future, would resort to any unscrupulous means necessary to get his way, which could very well be for the greater good.
The Living and the Dead
But like I said, science explains only part of the island’s mysteries. What about deaths of the pregnant women, or the presence of the dead haunting the living? It’s almost paradoxical that while the island can somehow summon the dead and heal the sick, it cannot produce new life, as in letting pregnant mothers come to term.
Perhaps this is where science and spirit converge. Perhaps it is the very essence of our souls that fuels the island; somehow the island is capable of harnessing the human spirit into the unusual energies that surround the island. The mysterious energy is so powerful that it can summon the dead, and suck the life out of newly conceived lives before they are even born; a black hole of a different kind. With the island being so full of “life,” it can heal the sick. It might even explain why Ben warned Jack at the end of season 3 that if he were make that call, “every living thing will die” (paraphrased). If this phenomenon were to ever get out of control, it could suck the life from the entire world.
I realize that it sounds a little hokey. But with all of the things they revealed on both sides of the fence, they better have a very good explanation to discount one for the other.
Theory by MP
