First of all, I am sorry if this theory has already been posted. Second, my apologies for possible spelling and grammar errors. English is not my native tongue, but I will do my best to write down everything as clear as possible.
Flashbacks and Flash-forwards not set in stone
During the early seasons, I felt – just like many others – that Lost revolved around redemption. Our Lost characters had made mistakes in their past, which we were shown by means of flashbacks, and did the correct thing on the island in a relevant situation. I could easily understand on what the many purgatory theories that existed were based.
However, that idea quickly vanished after watching season 3’s episode ‘Flashed before your eyes’ with Desmond and a number of episodes from season 4 which were clearly related to time travel. However, the reasoning behind all this time-traveling remain(s)(ed) somewhat unclear for me. As such, I started theorizing, and questioning everything. If the concept of time travel is involved, who was to say that the ‘order’ presented in the episodes were as they seemed; i.e. are the flashbacks really ’flashbacks’, or are they perhaps a glance of the future? Or, more importantly, are the events that occurred in these flashbacks really written in stone?
This lead me to theorize the following (and I really know this is just as outlandish or even more so as many other theories floating out there, and clearly not everything has been worked out yet). The ‘flashbacks’ as well as the ‘flash-forwards’ are indeed the reason our Lost characters are on the island. Yet, these are not related to purgatory AFTER THE FACT. The lost characters are not being redeemed of their mistakes in the past. The island is attempting to assure that they will not make these mistakes once more when they are faced with the situation AGAIN. The manner in which these situations play out is not always as the universe wants it to play out. The situations that play out on the island are intended to alter the behavior of the Lost characters. This altering is done In such a way, that if our characters would relive such a moment again, or if they would encounter such a situation in a ‘flash-forward’, they WOULD behave as the island (and thus the univ! erse) wanted them to behave.
I believe this is not just tied into the so-called flash-forwards, but also the flashbacks. Who is to say that the way it occurred as we saw on the episode in question is set in stone. It could play out differently if the characters are given the option to relive that situation again. As such, the island does not exist in the present time, it is unstuck in time if you will, and everything that happens there does not occur before or after the flashbacks and flash-forwards that we have witnessed.
I believe we already caught a glimpse of this through Desmond. In the episode ‘flashes before your eyes’ he relives something from his past. Although seemingly in control with knowledge from the island, Desmond actually did exactly as the universe demanded from him. He broke up with Penny, and would end up on the island making the plane of our Losties crash, press the button inside the hatch for a long time as well as other important feats. We never saw how that situation originally played out, but the way it was shown to us in this episode (after being influenced by the island) is EXACTLY as the universe wants it to play out. The island course corrected.
In the episode ‘the constant’ Desmond has another ‘flashback’ that he now undergoes with the knowledge of the island. He could only have given Penny all that information and the exact date (Christmas) if he KNEW about the island and had been on the freighter. The Lost episode did not show us how the ‘flashback’ originally played out WITHOUT the knowledge of the island and the freighter. The island course corrected the universe in this situation as well. It is now playing out as the universe demands it. Also note that this view ties in with the videogame of Lost (Via Domus). After completing the game, the main character starts over again at the beginning (plane crash), now with the knowledge of the island and an altered behavioral pattern (and with the female journalist STILL alive). In this new state, the events would probably unfold differently, and more importantly, exactly as the universe demands it.
Consequences for not attuning to the island
As soon as characters do not alter their behavior (thus they would act the same way again in the given situation) or do what the island wants, they are eliminated. This happened for example to Eko (he did not feel sorry for his actions and would have done the exact same thing again) and Charlie (Aaron was to be raised alone). The smoke monster is in that sense more than just a guardian. It is a guardian of the universe itself. No inconsistencies should be created, or it will eliminate the individual in question. This is done because you no longer matter to the universe, and after a course correction or shift is made in such a way that you are no longer ‘part’ of the greater scheme of things, the invididual is wiped out. This is probably why the smoke monster scans people. It can see whether or not you fit in the great scheme of things. For those that have read the Langoliers by Stephen King, I believe that the smoke monster does not eat the past, but that it does ‘eatâ! �™ those that are no longer supposed to exist due to a course correction or threaten the status quo of the universe. However, those that are wiped out still exist on the island, and are the so-called whispers…
The ‘others’ are aware of this situation, and attempt to maintain the current state of the universe. After all, it could have disastrous effects if a major course correction takes place (i.e. things do not play out as they should, and the universe needs to undergo an enormous shift in order to let things make sense again). This ties in to the lists. The island instructed the others to fetch those that were already good. Those that would not be likely to create a problem with the current state of the universe. Those left behind were the ‘bad’ ones, either because of what they had done to the universe or what they were going to do. These were the ones that the island needed to work on.
It also makes it apparent why the island itself is of that much interest. It is at the center of the course corrections by the universe. The one that controls the island, is the one that controls the current shape of the universe. Ben is a good guy because he wants to guard the status quo. The rules that Ben spoke off are probably related to the alteration of the current shape of the universe. Originally, it was not allowed to undertake actions that could endanger the current shape of the universe (which would cause an enormous shift). Widmore, by killing Alex, is directly endangering this status quo, and this is why Ben is so incredibly angry. Widmore is in all likelihood after the island for his own selfish reasons; to shape the universe to his insights.
In conclusion
So, to summarize, the island exists our of time, The flashbacks and flash-forwards that we have seen are not set in stone. These need to play out differently, and this is why the island attempts to course correct. It changes the behavior of the Lost characters so that they behave exactly the way the universe demands it, either in the ‘past’ or the ‘future’. Ben and Widmore are fighting for control of the island. Ben attempts to preserve the status quo, Widmore wants to control the island to shape the universe to his liking.
Of course, this theory is not complete, and it should just be seen as my two cents (and it can only be really proven if we would get an episode in which we see a seemingly familiar flashback or flash-forward now play out differently due to someone’s knowledge of the island). Thank you for reading, greetings from Holland and kind regards!
Jan Morsch
Theory by Jan Morsch
Flashbacks and Flash-forwards not set in stone
During the early seasons, I felt – just like many others – that Lost revolved around redemption. Our Lost characters had made mistakes in their past, which we were shown by means of flashbacks, and did the correct thing on the island in a relevant situation. I could easily understand on what the many purgatory theories that existed were based.
However, that idea quickly vanished after watching season 3’s episode ‘Flashed before your eyes’ with Desmond and a number of episodes from season 4 which were clearly related to time travel. However, the reasoning behind all this time-traveling remain(s)(ed) somewhat unclear for me. As such, I started theorizing, and questioning everything. If the concept of time travel is involved, who was to say that the ‘order’ presented in the episodes were as they seemed; i.e. are the flashbacks really ’flashbacks’, or are they perhaps a glance of the future? Or, more importantly, are the events that occurred in these flashbacks really written in stone?
This lead me to theorize the following (and I really know this is just as outlandish or even more so as many other theories floating out there, and clearly not everything has been worked out yet). The ‘flashbacks’ as well as the ‘flash-forwards’ are indeed the reason our Lost characters are on the island. Yet, these are not related to purgatory AFTER THE FACT. The lost characters are not being redeemed of their mistakes in the past. The island is attempting to assure that they will not make these mistakes once more when they are faced with the situation AGAIN. The manner in which these situations play out is not always as the universe wants it to play out. The situations that play out on the island are intended to alter the behavior of the Lost characters. This altering is done In such a way, that if our characters would relive such a moment again, or if they would encounter such a situation in a ‘flash-forward’, they WOULD behave as the island (and thus the univ! erse) wanted them to behave.
I believe this is not just tied into the so-called flash-forwards, but also the flashbacks. Who is to say that the way it occurred as we saw on the episode in question is set in stone. It could play out differently if the characters are given the option to relive that situation again. As such, the island does not exist in the present time, it is unstuck in time if you will, and everything that happens there does not occur before or after the flashbacks and flash-forwards that we have witnessed.
I believe we already caught a glimpse of this through Desmond. In the episode ‘flashes before your eyes’ he relives something from his past. Although seemingly in control with knowledge from the island, Desmond actually did exactly as the universe demanded from him. He broke up with Penny, and would end up on the island making the plane of our Losties crash, press the button inside the hatch for a long time as well as other important feats. We never saw how that situation originally played out, but the way it was shown to us in this episode (after being influenced by the island) is EXACTLY as the universe wants it to play out. The island course corrected.
In the episode ‘the constant’ Desmond has another ‘flashback’ that he now undergoes with the knowledge of the island. He could only have given Penny all that information and the exact date (Christmas) if he KNEW about the island and had been on the freighter. The Lost episode did not show us how the ‘flashback’ originally played out WITHOUT the knowledge of the island and the freighter. The island course corrected the universe in this situation as well. It is now playing out as the universe demands it. Also note that this view ties in with the videogame of Lost (Via Domus). After completing the game, the main character starts over again at the beginning (plane crash), now with the knowledge of the island and an altered behavioral pattern (and with the female journalist STILL alive). In this new state, the events would probably unfold differently, and more importantly, exactly as the universe demands it.
Consequences for not attuning to the island
As soon as characters do not alter their behavior (thus they would act the same way again in the given situation) or do what the island wants, they are eliminated. This happened for example to Eko (he did not feel sorry for his actions and would have done the exact same thing again) and Charlie (Aaron was to be raised alone). The smoke monster is in that sense more than just a guardian. It is a guardian of the universe itself. No inconsistencies should be created, or it will eliminate the individual in question. This is done because you no longer matter to the universe, and after a course correction or shift is made in such a way that you are no longer ‘part’ of the greater scheme of things, the invididual is wiped out. This is probably why the smoke monster scans people. It can see whether or not you fit in the great scheme of things. For those that have read the Langoliers by Stephen King, I believe that the smoke monster does not eat the past, but that it does ‘eatâ! �™ those that are no longer supposed to exist due to a course correction or threaten the status quo of the universe. However, those that are wiped out still exist on the island, and are the so-called whispers…
The ‘others’ are aware of this situation, and attempt to maintain the current state of the universe. After all, it could have disastrous effects if a major course correction takes place (i.e. things do not play out as they should, and the universe needs to undergo an enormous shift in order to let things make sense again). This ties in to the lists. The island instructed the others to fetch those that were already good. Those that would not be likely to create a problem with the current state of the universe. Those left behind were the ‘bad’ ones, either because of what they had done to the universe or what they were going to do. These were the ones that the island needed to work on.
It also makes it apparent why the island itself is of that much interest. It is at the center of the course corrections by the universe. The one that controls the island, is the one that controls the current shape of the universe. Ben is a good guy because he wants to guard the status quo. The rules that Ben spoke off are probably related to the alteration of the current shape of the universe. Originally, it was not allowed to undertake actions that could endanger the current shape of the universe (which would cause an enormous shift). Widmore, by killing Alex, is directly endangering this status quo, and this is why Ben is so incredibly angry. Widmore is in all likelihood after the island for his own selfish reasons; to shape the universe to his insights.
In conclusion
So, to summarize, the island exists our of time, The flashbacks and flash-forwards that we have seen are not set in stone. These need to play out differently, and this is why the island attempts to course correct. It changes the behavior of the Lost characters so that they behave exactly the way the universe demands it, either in the ‘past’ or the ‘future’. Ben and Widmore are fighting for control of the island. Ben attempts to preserve the status quo, Widmore wants to control the island to shape the universe to his liking.
Of course, this theory is not complete, and it should just be seen as my two cents (and it can only be really proven if we would get an episode in which we see a seemingly familiar flashback or flash-forward now play out differently due to someone’s knowledge of the island). Thank you for reading, greetings from Holland and kind regards!
Jan Morsch
Theory by Jan Morsch
