This theory comes after watching The Variable and concerns the nexttwo episodes. It's not concrete, just an idea.
Throughout the episode "The Variable", we learn in flashbacks of Eloise Hawkings constant desire for her son to follow science and use his gift. At the end, Daniel claims "You knew this would happen" after she shoots him. What I found most interesting about this, is that in that event happening, the future seems like it must change. After all, it doesn't seem like Eloise has had Daniel yet, and however the events play out it must have an effect on her going forward. So did Daniel change the future as a result? Or was he right?
For a while, everybody thought that the bomb "Jughead" was buried in the Swan, but that wouldn't explain the electromagnetic force behind the wall. Dan explained that they built the hatch to contain this as a result of an "Accident". He thinks he can prevent the "accident", which in turn leads to the plane crashing and Charlotte dying, by blowing up a Hydrogen Bomb to negate the charge. Here's where my theory comes in: I think that the Bomb is "what lies in the shadow of the statue".
Only one person knew before anyone else that Flight 316 would fly directly over the Island; Eloise Hawking. The same Eloise Hawking who was alive when Daniel and the other Losties travelled back to 1954, and told them to bury the bomb. As a result she must know the bombs whereabouts. Furthermore, in the original 1977 the "accident" did happen, and they did build the hatch and had to push the button every 108 minutes. Eloise knows this, and so found it imperative to ensure her bright son Daniel grow up and go to the Island, in order to rectify the Dharma Initiave's mistake. The accident meant Eloise and probably a lot of others had to leave the Island, and Eloise has probably always wanted to go back.
As a result of Daniel going back, he discovered that the "accident" would cause Charlotte's death and as a result, needed a way to stop it any way that he could. However it will work, the "jughead" will negate the effects of the "accident". So here is my understanding of the timeline: In 1954, Eloise meets a man who tells her that the Others must bury the bomb as it is leaking. In 1977, a man who calims to be her son is shot by her for a pulling a gun on Richard Alpert. As a result of this, Jack will decide to follow Daniel's idea as he wishes to change the future and never end up on the Island. Jack will then ask Richard where he buried the bomb so Jack can do this in time.
Richard will reveal the bomb is buried "in the shadow of the statue". Sayid will reappear and lead Jack to the statue, as he hates being on the Island more than anyone else there, and will want to have never come, and in doing so, perhaps prevent Nadia's death. This will lead to "The Incident"; of which there are two possible outcomes, the bomb will or will not blow up.
I believe the bomb will not blow up, as in 2007 where Locke, Ben and Sun are, Lapidus gets taken hostage by Illana who asked him if he knew "what lies in the shadow of the statue". Miles was also asked this before he accepted the job for Widmore, by the group in the black van. They said if he didn't know, he shouldn't go. What they didn't reveal is that is where the bomb is buried, and that Eloise Hawking has sent them there to blow it up and correct the "accident", by negating the electromagnetic force underneath the Swan station. Of course the Swan station imploded, however all we saw was a giant ditch with no station left. It could be that the concrete containment of the energy is still there underneath, and that the electromagnetic force simply destroyed the infrastructure of the Swan itself. Desmond, may have experienced the same "remembering" that he did after Dan spoke to him during one of the flashes on the Island, which account for his so called precognition that Ch! arlie would die.
The threat of the electromagentic force underneath the Swan is still thee, whatever threat it may pose, and Eloise seeks to finish Daniel's work and correct it. This is contingent on Daniel coming back to the past, which of course means that the bomb cannot have already blown up.
If it does blow up, the story set in the present then gets thrown out of line, because the future would have been changed, and so nobody would have gotten on Flight 316. The reason they had to get on the plane, was because Eloise knew that they failed to blow up the bomb, and so sent as many "Variables" back as she could to try and alter the past and perhaps, prevent Daniel from dying. Her contigency plan is to have the group she sent to to the Island blow it up in 2007, but again, the whole "blow up the bomb" theory is dependant on the effects of the bomb having a positive outcome for Eloise. What that is at this point remains unclear, but what is clear, is that Eloise is doing her part in manipulating events to try and alter the past, and in doing so change the future.
After all, how did the Others know that a plane would be landing on that runaway? It could be that Eloise's influence us further stretching than we had known. It could also explain her being in the picture with the monk that takes Desmond on, as she could have known he had to go to the Island, to meet Daniel.
Overall, without underwriting any of the other key players (Widmore, Ben, Alpert, Jacob), Eloise could very well be hatching her own scheme to set things right, and maybe get her son back.
Throughout the episode "The Variable", we learn in flashbacks of Eloise Hawkings constant desire for her son to follow science and use his gift. At the end, Daniel claims "You knew this would happen" after she shoots him. What I found most interesting about this, is that in that event happening, the future seems like it must change. After all, it doesn't seem like Eloise has had Daniel yet, and however the events play out it must have an effect on her going forward. So did Daniel change the future as a result? Or was he right?
For a while, everybody thought that the bomb "Jughead" was buried in the Swan, but that wouldn't explain the electromagnetic force behind the wall. Dan explained that they built the hatch to contain this as a result of an "Accident". He thinks he can prevent the "accident", which in turn leads to the plane crashing and Charlotte dying, by blowing up a Hydrogen Bomb to negate the charge. Here's where my theory comes in: I think that the Bomb is "what lies in the shadow of the statue".
Only one person knew before anyone else that Flight 316 would fly directly over the Island; Eloise Hawking. The same Eloise Hawking who was alive when Daniel and the other Losties travelled back to 1954, and told them to bury the bomb. As a result she must know the bombs whereabouts. Furthermore, in the original 1977 the "accident" did happen, and they did build the hatch and had to push the button every 108 minutes. Eloise knows this, and so found it imperative to ensure her bright son Daniel grow up and go to the Island, in order to rectify the Dharma Initiave's mistake. The accident meant Eloise and probably a lot of others had to leave the Island, and Eloise has probably always wanted to go back.
As a result of Daniel going back, he discovered that the "accident" would cause Charlotte's death and as a result, needed a way to stop it any way that he could. However it will work, the "jughead" will negate the effects of the "accident". So here is my understanding of the timeline: In 1954, Eloise meets a man who tells her that the Others must bury the bomb as it is leaking. In 1977, a man who calims to be her son is shot by her for a pulling a gun on Richard Alpert. As a result of this, Jack will decide to follow Daniel's idea as he wishes to change the future and never end up on the Island. Jack will then ask Richard where he buried the bomb so Jack can do this in time.
Richard will reveal the bomb is buried "in the shadow of the statue". Sayid will reappear and lead Jack to the statue, as he hates being on the Island more than anyone else there, and will want to have never come, and in doing so, perhaps prevent Nadia's death. This will lead to "The Incident"; of which there are two possible outcomes, the bomb will or will not blow up.
I believe the bomb will not blow up, as in 2007 where Locke, Ben and Sun are, Lapidus gets taken hostage by Illana who asked him if he knew "what lies in the shadow of the statue". Miles was also asked this before he accepted the job for Widmore, by the group in the black van. They said if he didn't know, he shouldn't go. What they didn't reveal is that is where the bomb is buried, and that Eloise Hawking has sent them there to blow it up and correct the "accident", by negating the electromagnetic force underneath the Swan station. Of course the Swan station imploded, however all we saw was a giant ditch with no station left. It could be that the concrete containment of the energy is still there underneath, and that the electromagnetic force simply destroyed the infrastructure of the Swan itself. Desmond, may have experienced the same "remembering" that he did after Dan spoke to him during one of the flashes on the Island, which account for his so called precognition that Ch! arlie would die.
The threat of the electromagentic force underneath the Swan is still thee, whatever threat it may pose, and Eloise seeks to finish Daniel's work and correct it. This is contingent on Daniel coming back to the past, which of course means that the bomb cannot have already blown up.
If it does blow up, the story set in the present then gets thrown out of line, because the future would have been changed, and so nobody would have gotten on Flight 316. The reason they had to get on the plane, was because Eloise knew that they failed to blow up the bomb, and so sent as many "Variables" back as she could to try and alter the past and perhaps, prevent Daniel from dying. Her contigency plan is to have the group she sent to to the Island blow it up in 2007, but again, the whole "blow up the bomb" theory is dependant on the effects of the bomb having a positive outcome for Eloise. What that is at this point remains unclear, but what is clear, is that Eloise is doing her part in manipulating events to try and alter the past, and in doing so change the future.
After all, how did the Others know that a plane would be landing on that runaway? It could be that Eloise's influence us further stretching than we had known. It could also explain her being in the picture with the monk that takes Desmond on, as she could have known he had to go to the Island, to meet Daniel.
Overall, without underwriting any of the other key players (Widmore, Ben, Alpert, Jacob), Eloise could very well be hatching her own scheme to set things right, and maybe get her son back.
