I loved the episode, except I am disappointed that WHH was not confirmed or disproved, nor was ALT. I wanted that information, now. But I get it... they want to drag it out, drag out the debate.
One thing I want to clear up... Jacob was not killed right before Juliet set off the bomb. Don't be confused by the editing of the show. Jacob was killed 30 years AFTER Juliet set off the bomb.
The white flash at the end could mean that everyone flashed to 2007. Or it could mean everyone flashed to 2004. But they probably flashed somewhere.
Everything else is still just pure speculation and clues. There is no definitive answer. One clue: the episode titles. "Dead is Dead" was confirmed. Dead is, indeed, dead. That's not John Locke. One might assume that, then "Whatever Happened, Happened" is also true, if the titles are true. But one cannot make such assumptions. There are just these stretches of logic. Maybe Miles was right. Maybe he was wrong. Every point of view has been expressed... Kate, Sawyer, and Juliet changed their minds more than once about (essentially) WHH vs. ALT. And at the end they, the characters, don't know.
I think ALT is still alive. But I have no idea how you tell the rest of the story in one season, but in two separate universes. (If they really negated the place crash, then everything we've seen in 2007 will, poof, disappear. Unless there is an alternative reality.) Perhaps someone has an idea how, in 18 or so episodes, they'll conclude this story in a satisfying way with Kate, Jack, etc. off the Island. Which is what ALT would require, no? Unless the plane crashes again, but somehow differently.
For simplicity's sake, for the sake of storytelling, it would be clearer and better to have Jacob be right. "They're coming." Who are "they?" They are not Bram & Box. LockEsau knew about them already and knew they would be after him. Jacob probably means the people he recruited... Sawyer, Jack, Kate... not Juliet. So, is Jacob right or wrong? Will the LOSTies flash into 2007 to take over for Jacob? Or will Jacob's plans be negated by an ALT caused by the negation of the incident. If Jacob sent them there to negate the incident, to negate Esau, then why would he think they were "coming?"
Too many questions. The writers and producers intentionally left both WHH and ALT potentially alive, and clearly on purpose. They wanted to drive everyone mad.
Personally, there are two answers that could potentially satisfy me. The WHH version is pretty clear: the LOSTies flash to 2007 and hilarity ensues. The ALT versions, well, by definition there are infinite ALT possibilities. The theory that I've read that I could enjoy would be if the plane crashed again, but this time everything was changed... but definitely NOT it landing at LAX. It would be fragmented enough to (if ALT didn't erase the entire 2007 storyline) have a bunch of people in LA in 2004 and a bunch of people in 2007 on the Island... at least you would have 2004/2007 on the Island if the plane still crashed.
(As a side note, from a practical standpoint, ALT:LAX might be difficult to pull off for casting reasons.)
So it seems like the possibilities are:
WHH - Incident always was what it was, LOSTiest are "coming" to 2007 (this also fits in with Rose & Bernard being the "proof" Jacob was looking for)
WHH:DH - WHH, but some factor has been changed via Desmond Hume
ALT:LAX/IGNORANT - Plane lands in 2004, nobody realizes anything changed; Kate is in prison (guess she's off the show)
ALT:LAX/AWARE - Plane lands in 2004, everyone (or some people) realize they're in a different reality; Kate is in prison (guess she's off the show)
ALT:CRASH:CI+CO - Plane still crashes in 2004, but circumstances & consciousness are changed
ALT:CRASH:CI - Plane still crashes; only circumstances are changed, not consciousness
ALT:CRASH:CO - Plane still crashes; only consciousness is changed, circumstances are not
The episode was designed and executed specifically to keep all possibilities on the table. Dammit.
I just want to know what happens to the people at the foot in 2007 if, indeed, everything changed. And nobody here knows that. Or any of this. The writers and producers (presumably) know, and we won't know until 2010. It's agony!
One thing I want to clear up... Jacob was not killed right before Juliet set off the bomb. Don't be confused by the editing of the show. Jacob was killed 30 years AFTER Juliet set off the bomb.
The white flash at the end could mean that everyone flashed to 2007. Or it could mean everyone flashed to 2004. But they probably flashed somewhere.
Everything else is still just pure speculation and clues. There is no definitive answer. One clue: the episode titles. "Dead is Dead" was confirmed. Dead is, indeed, dead. That's not John Locke. One might assume that, then "Whatever Happened, Happened" is also true, if the titles are true. But one cannot make such assumptions. There are just these stretches of logic. Maybe Miles was right. Maybe he was wrong. Every point of view has been expressed... Kate, Sawyer, and Juliet changed their minds more than once about (essentially) WHH vs. ALT. And at the end they, the characters, don't know.
I think ALT is still alive. But I have no idea how you tell the rest of the story in one season, but in two separate universes. (If they really negated the place crash, then everything we've seen in 2007 will, poof, disappear. Unless there is an alternative reality.) Perhaps someone has an idea how, in 18 or so episodes, they'll conclude this story in a satisfying way with Kate, Jack, etc. off the Island. Which is what ALT would require, no? Unless the plane crashes again, but somehow differently.
For simplicity's sake, for the sake of storytelling, it would be clearer and better to have Jacob be right. "They're coming." Who are "they?" They are not Bram & Box. LockEsau knew about them already and knew they would be after him. Jacob probably means the people he recruited... Sawyer, Jack, Kate... not Juliet. So, is Jacob right or wrong? Will the LOSTies flash into 2007 to take over for Jacob? Or will Jacob's plans be negated by an ALT caused by the negation of the incident. If Jacob sent them there to negate the incident, to negate Esau, then why would he think they were "coming?"
Too many questions. The writers and producers intentionally left both WHH and ALT potentially alive, and clearly on purpose. They wanted to drive everyone mad.
Personally, there are two answers that could potentially satisfy me. The WHH version is pretty clear: the LOSTies flash to 2007 and hilarity ensues. The ALT versions, well, by definition there are infinite ALT possibilities. The theory that I've read that I could enjoy would be if the plane crashed again, but this time everything was changed... but definitely NOT it landing at LAX. It would be fragmented enough to (if ALT didn't erase the entire 2007 storyline) have a bunch of people in LA in 2004 and a bunch of people in 2007 on the Island... at least you would have 2004/2007 on the Island if the plane still crashed.
(As a side note, from a practical standpoint, ALT:LAX might be difficult to pull off for casting reasons.)
So it seems like the possibilities are:
WHH - Incident always was what it was, LOSTiest are "coming" to 2007 (this also fits in with Rose & Bernard being the "proof" Jacob was looking for)
WHH:DH - WHH, but some factor has been changed via Desmond Hume
ALT:LAX/IGNORANT - Plane lands in 2004, nobody realizes anything changed; Kate is in prison (guess she's off the show)
ALT:LAX/AWARE - Plane lands in 2004, everyone (or some people) realize they're in a different reality; Kate is in prison (guess she's off the show)
ALT:CRASH:CI+CO - Plane still crashes in 2004, but circumstances & consciousness are changed
ALT:CRASH:CI - Plane still crashes; only circumstances are changed, not consciousness
ALT:CRASH:CO - Plane still crashes; only consciousness is changed, circumstances are not
The episode was designed and executed specifically to keep all possibilities on the table. Dammit.
I just want to know what happens to the people at the foot in 2007 if, indeed, everything changed. And nobody here knows that. Or any of this. The writers and producers (presumably) know, and we won't know until 2010. It's agony!
