So the ongoing war between "whatever happened, happened" and "timeline changed" is picking up steam this week. I LOVE IT. Nothing like a good internet debate to get the blood going. I do so love how the "whatever happened, happened" believers so adamantly ridicule the "timeline changed" believers as though it were OBVIOUS that "whatever happened, happened" is true. Somehow, after 4 1/2 seasons, I don't think ANYTHING is all that obvious. Still, I do think the timeline has changed HOWEVER, does that necessarily imply that the outcome has changed as well?? I don't think so. There are many ways to travel from one point to the next and just because the elements along the way are different doesn't make the voyage less intriguing nor does the final outcome radically change...
1. The Frenchies:
Everything Danielle told the 815ers in the early part of the series is basically getting proved incorrect this season. From how Mortrand lost his arm, to the numbers being played at the 316 landing, we pretty much have seen that what Danielle said in the past is NOT how things are playing out this season. I know, I know, "Danielle is crazy and we can't believe her". SERIOUSLY, is that REALLY a plausible argument to defend the "whatever happened, happened" theory. I think not. BECAUSE..... to say that Faraday is dealing with a full deck is ALSO a bit of a stretch. The man is eratic, often talks to himself, and generally displays some fairly contradictory behaviour that, while not full blown crazy, is still pretty unerving. Danielle spent most of her time on the Island alone and scared, and yet managed to A) stay alive B) not become Smoke Monster food C) build a network of traps all over the Island D) build herself a nice little underground fortress. I could go on, but suffice! to say, I don't think we can simply say "oh she's crazy so forget EVERYTHING she has told us". Absurd reduction if so.
THEREFORE,
Due to Jin's presence in the past, the Frenchies found the Temple and Rousseau never got to the radio tower to change the numbers message. All this means timeline change to me. Does this imply that the purge never happened, or that Sawyer will have black hair instead of blond... NO. It just means that the elements from the "original timeline" have been altered. Mortrand still loses his arm, Rousseau still loses Alex but the CIRCUMSTANCES are different.
2. The Barracks:
So many wonderful theories about the barracks out there. My personnal favorites are "there are more than 1 barracks" and "Christian showed Sun and Frank an 'illusion' when they came in 2007". People please trust your own eyes. The reason "Namaste" was filmed in flashback/flashforward between 1977 and 2007 was to again WINK at the audience that we are seeing the same camp at two different periods. This IMPLIES that the DI camp we last saw in season 4 is NOT the same one we saw last week. This is turn proves that the presence of the 815ers in 1970's Dharma has somehow influenced the course of events to lead to a change in the timeline. It makes no sense to film "Namaste" in flashback/flashforward, if there are more than 1 DI camp.
3. The runway:
This is the crown jewel for all those "whatever happened, happened" believers as they unite and SCREAM aloud, Ben knew it all along, the Others built the runway so we were RIGHT!! Well let's all hold on a second. Seeing a runway on Hydra Island DOES NOT prove that "whatever happened, happened". Remember, the Others LEFT Hydra island in season 3 and were ALL sent to the Temple. The runway did not look CLOSE to being completed when we last saw it. There were dozens of people still working on it. Now considering it was being MAN MADE with little to no actual mechanichal equipment I don't think we can ASSUME that Sawyer and Kate and the Others broke enough rocks to complete the runway. It's a BELIEF that may or may not be true but again, the presence of a COMPLETED runway in 2007 in NO WAY proves "whatever happened, happened". To me, the runway is even more proof that someone else built the runway, not the Others, seeing as they FINISHED the job. There is also the presence of bu! ildings around the runway that we saw in season 3 which are not present in 2007 to consider. and no, I don't think they "blew away in the wind".
4. Ben and Widmore:
To me the biggest proof that the past can be altered lies in how desperate Ben and Charles are to regain control of the Island. Both men have manipulated, conned and killed several individuals in order to get people where they BELIEVE they need to be. I doubt very much they are motivated to do so to maintain the "original" timeline because they shouldn't have to.... if "whatever happened, happened" than the "original" timeline will always remain intact. By virtue of their actions, I believe each man is TRYING to change elements of the past in order to alter the overall picture.
This is already WAY too long. To sum up, the timeline has been altered. Will these subtle changes affect the overall ending, we'll all have to wait and see. But clearly Ben and Widmore believe that their actions will create some changes. Theory by John Doe
1. The Frenchies:
Everything Danielle told the 815ers in the early part of the series is basically getting proved incorrect this season. From how Mortrand lost his arm, to the numbers being played at the 316 landing, we pretty much have seen that what Danielle said in the past is NOT how things are playing out this season. I know, I know, "Danielle is crazy and we can't believe her". SERIOUSLY, is that REALLY a plausible argument to defend the "whatever happened, happened" theory. I think not. BECAUSE..... to say that Faraday is dealing with a full deck is ALSO a bit of a stretch. The man is eratic, often talks to himself, and generally displays some fairly contradictory behaviour that, while not full blown crazy, is still pretty unerving. Danielle spent most of her time on the Island alone and scared, and yet managed to A) stay alive B) not become Smoke Monster food C) build a network of traps all over the Island D) build herself a nice little underground fortress. I could go on, but suffice! to say, I don't think we can simply say "oh she's crazy so forget EVERYTHING she has told us". Absurd reduction if so.
THEREFORE,
Due to Jin's presence in the past, the Frenchies found the Temple and Rousseau never got to the radio tower to change the numbers message. All this means timeline change to me. Does this imply that the purge never happened, or that Sawyer will have black hair instead of blond... NO. It just means that the elements from the "original timeline" have been altered. Mortrand still loses his arm, Rousseau still loses Alex but the CIRCUMSTANCES are different.
2. The Barracks:
So many wonderful theories about the barracks out there. My personnal favorites are "there are more than 1 barracks" and "Christian showed Sun and Frank an 'illusion' when they came in 2007". People please trust your own eyes. The reason "Namaste" was filmed in flashback/flashforward between 1977 and 2007 was to again WINK at the audience that we are seeing the same camp at two different periods. This IMPLIES that the DI camp we last saw in season 4 is NOT the same one we saw last week. This is turn proves that the presence of the 815ers in 1970's Dharma has somehow influenced the course of events to lead to a change in the timeline. It makes no sense to film "Namaste" in flashback/flashforward, if there are more than 1 DI camp.
3. The runway:
This is the crown jewel for all those "whatever happened, happened" believers as they unite and SCREAM aloud, Ben knew it all along, the Others built the runway so we were RIGHT!! Well let's all hold on a second. Seeing a runway on Hydra Island DOES NOT prove that "whatever happened, happened". Remember, the Others LEFT Hydra island in season 3 and were ALL sent to the Temple. The runway did not look CLOSE to being completed when we last saw it. There were dozens of people still working on it. Now considering it was being MAN MADE with little to no actual mechanichal equipment I don't think we can ASSUME that Sawyer and Kate and the Others broke enough rocks to complete the runway. It's a BELIEF that may or may not be true but again, the presence of a COMPLETED runway in 2007 in NO WAY proves "whatever happened, happened". To me, the runway is even more proof that someone else built the runway, not the Others, seeing as they FINISHED the job. There is also the presence of bu! ildings around the runway that we saw in season 3 which are not present in 2007 to consider. and no, I don't think they "blew away in the wind".
4. Ben and Widmore:
To me the biggest proof that the past can be altered lies in how desperate Ben and Charles are to regain control of the Island. Both men have manipulated, conned and killed several individuals in order to get people where they BELIEVE they need to be. I doubt very much they are motivated to do so to maintain the "original" timeline because they shouldn't have to.... if "whatever happened, happened" than the "original" timeline will always remain intact. By virtue of their actions, I believe each man is TRYING to change elements of the past in order to alter the overall picture.
This is already WAY too long. To sum up, the timeline has been altered. Will these subtle changes affect the overall ending, we'll all have to wait and see. But clearly Ben and Widmore believe that their actions will create some changes. Theory by John Doe
