How to Sink an Island by BudE

More than any previous season, I find myself simply enjoying the show and observing how things unravel rather than theorizing about where the season will end and how it will get there. Maybe it’s because this is the last season or maybe it’s because we have already been given some key answers (i.e. regarding the Black Smoke, the numbers, etc.).

But I do have one question that keeps bugging me … in the Flash Sideways, how does the Island end up underwater? I haven’t read much about this beyond the obvious conclusion that the hydrogen bomb worked. Unfortunately, I don’t buy it… so I came up with a theory.

To start, we need to look at a few of the details, especially the timing. From the Season 1 Premier, we saw that the Barracks had been built. To me, this indicates that “event” occurred after DHARMA arrived, which was in the early 70s. So we know it was sunk after 1970 or so.

Let’’s look at Ben Linus for a second. Ben was born in 1964. He went to the Island in 1972, Barracks appearing brand new and was shot by Sayid in 1977. Ben kills his dad in 1992. What is also interesting is that Ben Linus was observed in Flash Sideways world working as a European History teacher. Now, I’m going to go out on a limb and take it at face value that this Ben, while maybe a bit snippy, is not the murderous island Ben Linus that we all know and love to watch scheme. It is likely that Flash Sideways Ben Linus has either never been to the Island or went there and returned before it was sunk. In any case, he was not shot by Sayid, and subsequently, never became an Other. Ben is alive because he, like Miles, was evacuated from the Island prior to the Incident.

Okay, here’s where some of you tell me that the Bomb worked and that caused the ALT world. And you know what? Most of the evidence supports this.

And I say, maybe you’re right. But maybe it was more than that.

Why? First, because I hardly think that the barracks would still be standing after an H-Bomb was detonated. Nor would the Losties have survived. I mean, what…they just happened to Flash right before the blast hit them? Second, because as far as I know, TPTB have not said it worked. When Flocke was shown to be the Black Smoke, TPTB said, “Yup, he’s the smoke.” When the Numbers were revealed to represent people, TPTB said, “Yup, the numbers are people.” But they never said the H-Bomb worked. Seems strange.

So what might have happened?

I think the Incident INITIATED a sequence of events which eventually resulted in two parallel timelines.

We know that when Ben and Locke each turned the wheel within the bowels of the Orchard Station, the Island moved through time. As such, the Orchard Station is time-related. Now, at a glance, I would consider this to be the most important station on the island. But it’s not. TPTB have stated that the SWAN is the most important station on the island. And, TPTB stated that by Desmond pressing the button, he was saving the world. Sounds like some serious power!

What is the Swan Station? We know that every 108 minutes, the correct code had to be entered to prevent the discharge of magnetic energy. We also know that Radzinsky was working on the Swan design back in the 70s and that the Losties thought that mini-nuke might reset their lives. I believe the nuke was the Incident. However, I also think it always WAS the Incident. The nuke always went off. WHH. I’m not sure about the precise events, but maybe the pocket of energy absorbed the nuke’s blast (sounds farfetched, but this little pocket of energy can also cause a global catastrophe). This “Incident” lead to the requirement to push the button.

Okay, here’s the problem…two guys stuck in this underground chamber for an extended duration. The Purge occurs and there are no fresh recruits to replace the old Button Pushers. Radzinsky was there at some point and Kelvin was there. Radzinsky flips out and blows his brains out. So, for awhile, Kelvin was there alone, but then when Desmond arrived in 2001, he suckered Desmond into helping him and Kelvin tried to escape.

I think something changed though. We know that Desmond in special. I believe that he somehow operates outside the rules and that it will be Desmond’s place in time and space that already caused 2 parallel universes to emerge.

So how and when could this have happened?

My theory: It happened when Desmond turned the failsafe key.

Think about it, if all anyone ever had to do down in the Hatch was to turn the failsafe key, wouldn’t they have done this years ago. And while turning the failsafe resulted in a kickass episode, wasn’t the overall result a little lame. I mean, the only lasting effect was a hole in the ground. Right?

Wrong.

I believe that the effect was much bigger. I believe that when the failsafe key was turned, time and space split. In timeline 1, time continued and all that was left was a big hole in the ground and a kickbutt Des-centric episode. But timeline 2 RESET to the date of the Incident and the combined effect of the H-bomb and the pocket of magnetic energy sunk the Island.

I also think that this is a huge problem because the emergence of two timelines will if not corrected, result in something devastating…like a paradox, or each timeline nullifying the other timeline, or maybe a merging of the two timelines.

And the biggest reason I think this is because I believe that the Losties cannot change the past. As Faraday said, Desmond is the only one who can change things. TPTB have invested a huge amount of time in creating one of the best characters on the show in Desmond. Eloise was right when she said that the Island is not done with him yet.

Ask yourself this, “How was it (and why was it) that Desmond just happened to appear on the plane in the ALT timeline? And how is it that he just kind of disappeared from the plane?” Okay, maybe he moved seats, but that would be anticlimactic.

I believe that when Desmond turned the failsafe, he became the only person on this show who can operate outside of the rules. And it will be Desmond who will be needed to correct the problem at some point this season.