Why are there two John Lockes? What happened during the incident? Why did Jacob touch the Losties in the past? In this theory I try to put some of the pieces together that were provided by „The Incident“. Be warned, though: this is a confusing and complex theory
BACK TO SQUARE ONE
First of all – where do we stand?
In „The Incident“ we have seen two Lockes on the island – one that is dead, one that is alive but somehow acts as a puppet of the man without a name (who I continue to call Samuel). Richard Alpert telling Sun that he witnessed the death of Jack, Kate and Hurley. Thirty years earlier Jack and his companions are trying to manipulate time. And in Flashbacks we have seen Jacob touching each of our fellow Losties – everyone in a different time.
I WATCHED THEM ALL DIE
Let’s start with our buddy with the eyeliner. He told Sun he saw all of our beloved Losties die thirty years ago. That can’t be true, right? I’m afraid it is – he DID see them die.
Jack’s plan failed, however – during the incident he and his friends will die. Why exactly that happens, I’m not quite sure – it could happen just the way that it did with the construction worker at the Swan site. The white light that we have seen at the end of the season was not the detonation of Jughead, but it was some sort of discharge of electromagnetic energy.
At the end of the incident however, Jack and all other Losties in 1977 are dead – an event witnessed by Richard who, of course, had no idea that the death of them was not the end. I will return to that storyline eventually. But first, a little physics.
WHATEVER YOU WANTED TO BE IN IT, WHEN YOU OPENED THE BOX, THERE IT WOULD BE
In my opinion, season six evolves around the Schrödinger’s cat paradox. I am by no means a physicist, so I could never really summarize that theory – thus, I will quote Schrödinger who wrote that theory:
„A cat is penned up in a steel chamber, along with the following device (which must be secured against direct interference by the cat): in a Geiger counter, there is a tiny bit of radioactive substance, so small that perhaps in the course of the hour, one of the atoms decays, but also, with equal probability, perhaps none; if it happens, the counter tube discharges, and through a relay releases a hammer that shatters a small flask of hydrocyanic acid. If one has left this entire system to itself for an hour, one would say that the cat still lives if meanwhile no atom has decayed. The psi-function of the entire system would express this by having in it the living and dead cat (pardon the expression) mixed or smeared out in equal parts.“
In other words – the cat is BOTH alive AND dead until the box is opened. When the box is opened the cat „decides“ whether to be alive or dead.
I AM DEAD BUT I AM ALSO HERE
Back to Lost: Locke is both alive and dead – the similarities to the Schrödinger’s cat paradox are evident. But hang on a moment … didn’t Ilana open up the box with the dead Locke inside? And we all saw that Locke was dead – so does that mean that Locke „decided“ to be dead? Not at all, because the crate wasn’t the box. THE ISLAND is the box.
The island is a microcosm secured by outside interference. But if now someone from the outside would enter the island, it would be similar to „open the box“ in Schrödinger’s theory. In that very moment somebody entered the island, Locke would „decide“ whether to be alive or dead.
And I will go that far to tell you who this someone will be – somebody the island isn’t done with: Our mutual friend Desmond.
IF LOCKE IS IN THERE... THEN WHO IS THIS?
So we’ve got a dead Locke and a living Locke. For quite a while I assumed that Samuel has somehow used the dead Locke, just the way he seemingly have used Yemi and Christian before. But in fact, Samuel didn’t use the dead Locke, rather he used the living Locke.
Locke „resurrected“ as soon as he hit the island (I deal with that later) and that very moment Samuel has taken over the living Locke. But Locke is still there – he still remembers meeting Ben at the hatch as well as he remembers Sun. So it might be possible after all, that at the end, Samuel might leave Locke’s body and Locke being Locke again.
THIS DON’T LOOK LIKE LAX
Back to That 70s Show: Jack and his friends are dropped dead. So far his plan worked out – but do they land in LAX? Afraid not. The incident had happened exactly the way that it always did. Jack and the other Losties will die, but they will reappear, though. The same way as John Locke did: Dead AND alive.
So do we see Jack mourn over his own dead body in 1977? No, because for once it would look too ridiculous to see all our Losties twice, but more importantly that wouldn’t match with Richard’s statement – he DID see them die.
At the very end of „The Incident“ however, we saw a bright light – which has so often been an indicator that weird things about time are going to happen – just like this time.
In other words: Jack and company die – their bodies scattered around the hatch in 1977. At the same time they „resurrect“ - but not in 1977, because simultaneously they flash to another time.
THEY JUST NEEDED A LITTLE PUSH
Now we’re entering the metaphysical level.
The question would be: why were Jack and his friends able to die and still be alive when so many others of our beloved losties had just passed away? Well, it needed a little touch … by Jacob. Jacob touched everyone of the 1977 Losties (except for Juliet and Miles that is; but perhaps we just haven’t seen these particular flashbacks yet), and obviously enough he did so on purpose. These little touches provided the Losties with some sort of an anchor. This „anchor“ allowed them to die and to live at the same time. Tied to that anchor the living versions of the Losties will switch to 2007... Welcome to the zombie season!
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
But why was Locke dead back in the real world and suddenly dead AND alive on the island? Because Jacob’s anchor didn’t had any effect back in the real world. Only in the secured environment of the island the magic of Jacob’s touches would play out. So he touched Locke after he was falling from the skies, a couple of years later Locke died – and nothing mysterious happened. Until he reached the island – in that very moment one Locke became two and one of these Lockes became Flocke.
THEY’RE COMING
Er, so by touching Locke Jacob provided Samuel with the opportunity of getting himself killed? Wouldn’t be too surprising, would it? I mean, Jacob almost begged Ben to stab him – obviously Jacob wanted to die, because all of this was part of a long con of his on Samuel. I don’t know what will happen to dead Jacob – if he becomes yet another Schrödinger’s cat or if he might reappear in another body (perhaps that of Frank, the possible candidate).
But who is meant by „they’re coming“? Could be the 77-Losties that might arrive as Jacob’s cavalry, could as well be Desmond, Penny and Charlie – the outsiders that will force Locke (as well as the 77-Losties) to „decide“ whether to be alive or dead. Whoever was meant by „they“, Samuel obviously wasn’t too glad to hear about the coming arrival of them.
WE CAN CHANGE OUR DESTINY
One final word about the probable existence of an alternate timeline. I DO believe that the Losties will find a way to change the past. But I believe this to take place at the very end of the series. I will deal with that issue in a separate theory on the possible outline of season six. But I’m pretty convinced that the incident plan failed – so as for now it is „Whatever happened, happened“.
P.S.: I apologize for probable mistakes for as I’m not a native English speaker. I hope you were able to understand the point nonetheless. Thanks for your interest and for your patience!
BACK TO SQUARE ONE
First of all – where do we stand?
In „The Incident“ we have seen two Lockes on the island – one that is dead, one that is alive but somehow acts as a puppet of the man without a name (who I continue to call Samuel). Richard Alpert telling Sun that he witnessed the death of Jack, Kate and Hurley. Thirty years earlier Jack and his companions are trying to manipulate time. And in Flashbacks we have seen Jacob touching each of our fellow Losties – everyone in a different time.
I WATCHED THEM ALL DIE
Let’s start with our buddy with the eyeliner. He told Sun he saw all of our beloved Losties die thirty years ago. That can’t be true, right? I’m afraid it is – he DID see them die.
Jack’s plan failed, however – during the incident he and his friends will die. Why exactly that happens, I’m not quite sure – it could happen just the way that it did with the construction worker at the Swan site. The white light that we have seen at the end of the season was not the detonation of Jughead, but it was some sort of discharge of electromagnetic energy.
At the end of the incident however, Jack and all other Losties in 1977 are dead – an event witnessed by Richard who, of course, had no idea that the death of them was not the end. I will return to that storyline eventually. But first, a little physics.
WHATEVER YOU WANTED TO BE IN IT, WHEN YOU OPENED THE BOX, THERE IT WOULD BE
In my opinion, season six evolves around the Schrödinger’s cat paradox. I am by no means a physicist, so I could never really summarize that theory – thus, I will quote Schrödinger who wrote that theory:
„A cat is penned up in a steel chamber, along with the following device (which must be secured against direct interference by the cat): in a Geiger counter, there is a tiny bit of radioactive substance, so small that perhaps in the course of the hour, one of the atoms decays, but also, with equal probability, perhaps none; if it happens, the counter tube discharges, and through a relay releases a hammer that shatters a small flask of hydrocyanic acid. If one has left this entire system to itself for an hour, one would say that the cat still lives if meanwhile no atom has decayed. The psi-function of the entire system would express this by having in it the living and dead cat (pardon the expression) mixed or smeared out in equal parts.“
In other words – the cat is BOTH alive AND dead until the box is opened. When the box is opened the cat „decides“ whether to be alive or dead.
I AM DEAD BUT I AM ALSO HERE
Back to Lost: Locke is both alive and dead – the similarities to the Schrödinger’s cat paradox are evident. But hang on a moment … didn’t Ilana open up the box with the dead Locke inside? And we all saw that Locke was dead – so does that mean that Locke „decided“ to be dead? Not at all, because the crate wasn’t the box. THE ISLAND is the box.
The island is a microcosm secured by outside interference. But if now someone from the outside would enter the island, it would be similar to „open the box“ in Schrödinger’s theory. In that very moment somebody entered the island, Locke would „decide“ whether to be alive or dead.
And I will go that far to tell you who this someone will be – somebody the island isn’t done with: Our mutual friend Desmond.
IF LOCKE IS IN THERE... THEN WHO IS THIS?
So we’ve got a dead Locke and a living Locke. For quite a while I assumed that Samuel has somehow used the dead Locke, just the way he seemingly have used Yemi and Christian before. But in fact, Samuel didn’t use the dead Locke, rather he used the living Locke.
Locke „resurrected“ as soon as he hit the island (I deal with that later) and that very moment Samuel has taken over the living Locke. But Locke is still there – he still remembers meeting Ben at the hatch as well as he remembers Sun. So it might be possible after all, that at the end, Samuel might leave Locke’s body and Locke being Locke again.
THIS DON’T LOOK LIKE LAX
Back to That 70s Show: Jack and his friends are dropped dead. So far his plan worked out – but do they land in LAX? Afraid not. The incident had happened exactly the way that it always did. Jack and the other Losties will die, but they will reappear, though. The same way as John Locke did: Dead AND alive.
So do we see Jack mourn over his own dead body in 1977? No, because for once it would look too ridiculous to see all our Losties twice, but more importantly that wouldn’t match with Richard’s statement – he DID see them die.
At the very end of „The Incident“ however, we saw a bright light – which has so often been an indicator that weird things about time are going to happen – just like this time.
In other words: Jack and company die – their bodies scattered around the hatch in 1977. At the same time they „resurrect“ - but not in 1977, because simultaneously they flash to another time.
THEY JUST NEEDED A LITTLE PUSH
Now we’re entering the metaphysical level.
The question would be: why were Jack and his friends able to die and still be alive when so many others of our beloved losties had just passed away? Well, it needed a little touch … by Jacob. Jacob touched everyone of the 1977 Losties (except for Juliet and Miles that is; but perhaps we just haven’t seen these particular flashbacks yet), and obviously enough he did so on purpose. These little touches provided the Losties with some sort of an anchor. This „anchor“ allowed them to die and to live at the same time. Tied to that anchor the living versions of the Losties will switch to 2007... Welcome to the zombie season!
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
But why was Locke dead back in the real world and suddenly dead AND alive on the island? Because Jacob’s anchor didn’t had any effect back in the real world. Only in the secured environment of the island the magic of Jacob’s touches would play out. So he touched Locke after he was falling from the skies, a couple of years later Locke died – and nothing mysterious happened. Until he reached the island – in that very moment one Locke became two and one of these Lockes became Flocke.
THEY’RE COMING
Er, so by touching Locke Jacob provided Samuel with the opportunity of getting himself killed? Wouldn’t be too surprising, would it? I mean, Jacob almost begged Ben to stab him – obviously Jacob wanted to die, because all of this was part of a long con of his on Samuel. I don’t know what will happen to dead Jacob – if he becomes yet another Schrödinger’s cat or if he might reappear in another body (perhaps that of Frank, the possible candidate).
But who is meant by „they’re coming“? Could be the 77-Losties that might arrive as Jacob’s cavalry, could as well be Desmond, Penny and Charlie – the outsiders that will force Locke (as well as the 77-Losties) to „decide“ whether to be alive or dead. Whoever was meant by „they“, Samuel obviously wasn’t too glad to hear about the coming arrival of them.
WE CAN CHANGE OUR DESTINY
One final word about the probable existence of an alternate timeline. I DO believe that the Losties will find a way to change the past. But I believe this to take place at the very end of the series. I will deal with that issue in a separate theory on the possible outline of season six. But I’m pretty convinced that the incident plan failed – so as for now it is „Whatever happened, happened“.
P.S.: I apologize for probable mistakes for as I’m not a native English speaker. I hope you were able to understand the point nonetheless. Thanks for your interest and for your patience!
