After watching Jughead twice and reading some theories, I now believe that John Locke is the key to Lost. What we've learned in season 5 is that there are rules to time travel and affecting the future. However, John Locke does not know this, thus breaking the rules by contacting Richard Alpert in the past. Not only in the past, but as we see in Jughead, Locke visits Alpert in 1954, 2 years before John is born. This very interaction betwee Locke and Alpert explains everything. This is why Alpert visits Locke as a child, and tries to get him to come to the island. This is also why the others know what is going to happen. This is why they get the lists and so on. From this very meeting, Locke changed the future. Yes Ethan shot him and did not know who he was, but that was before Locke was sent back to '54 and met Richard. After this meeting, Richard and the others now know what is supposed to happen. That is why Loc! ke and Ben and other people have referenced the qoute "This wasn't supposed to happen". This is why Ben was always steps ahead of everyone else in every shape and form. The fact that everyone proclaims Locke to be special is because he made contact with people in a time before he was born, thus telling Richard what will happen. Once Richard learns that Locke is born, he knows there is something with time travel. This is what I believe causes the separation between Richard and Widmore. When Widmore learns that Locke was time traveling on the island, he has the idea to want to research the island and it's properties, something Richard was against. A powerstruggle ensued and then you have the battle of Dharma(widmore) and the hostiles(richard). Back to Locke being the key though, by contacting Richard in the Past, Richard knows everything Locke is supposed to do. Remember, Richard is not affected by the island skipping in time, so where he is in 2008, ke knows Locke is dead, ! that's why when Richard heals him in 2005 after the 06 left, h! e tells him he's gonna have to die to save the island cause he knows what will happen because of Locke. You have to keep in mind that the writers are showing us where the 06 is in 2008, but are starting off season 5 with what happen to the losties after the 06 left in 2005. With the island losties skipping in time, there seems to be a theme with that. What seems to be happening is when they travel through time, it takes them back somewhere in the past, and then when it skips again, it takes them back to their present in 2005. I think this keeps happening for the next three years as the island skips between present and past time. When it skips into past time, it will skip into a time where it shows a piece of the island's history. First we saw the beginning of Dharma, then it skipped back to when the nigerian plane crashed, then it skipped to a time where Faraday made contact with Desmond, then it skipped back to 1954 where we meet a young Widmore and Richard and Ellie(who will play ! some important role in the show). It switched from 1954 to a time I expect to be the island present for the losties. I think what the writers are going to do is when the island skips back into past time, they will reveal a mystery of the island we wonder about. (Russeau, 4 toed statue, black rock, Henry Gale, the the incidents that happened with Dharma before 815 crashed). I think this happens for the next three years beofre the 06 go back. I think there is a reason the 06 needs to get back in 70 hours. I think the 06 needs to get back in 70 hours cause that's the earliest window they have, if they wait longer, eventually the island is going to skip into a time where the on-island losties may come in contact with their past selves. Remember the bunny experiment. The scientists could not let the bunnies see each other cause one of them was a past self of the other. If this were to happen to humans, then God help us all. Somehow the 06 will go back and will play a part in sto! pping the island skipping through timeTheory by Lostfanatic24
