The New 815 is a flashforward. The new 815 folks dont resemble old 815, but we do know them... by Adian McDonald

Many people, myself included, feel we have seen the end in the first episode. The New 815 flight is a flashforward glimpse of the 2007 Island story. The "new" 815 people are not strangers. Of course they are not similar to the old 815, which is the last thing they should want. The key is how similar they are to the characters we know after many years of LOST, not who they were.

In more detail:

1. The alternate universe and/or timeline theory is plausible,
but very unlikely. Practically, the writers have been very
concerned about losing the audience with time travel as a concept. And many casual viewers still don't grasp it. Given this, It's unlikely they would throw in alternate realities on top. No way, no how. Also, concern has been expressed about why we would be interested in seeing a whole season of the losties after they land, because where can that go? Not back to the island. More on the LA story later. But we would care even less about what happens to alternate characters in another reality. I watched this show in this reality, I only care about the folks I have been following for years. People in other dimensions can make their own damn show. Vincent can be a poodle, whatever.

2. Did the bomb go off or not? Did the bomb sink the island? If it did, how are they on the island in 2007 when it seemingly sunk in 2004?

Remember Miles people! The bomb went off, it always went off. The bomb going off, however, does not cause the reset--it will facilitate them getting to a point where they do cause it, however. Miles asked if they had considered that the bomb going off was the cause of the incident. I think it was. Had the bomb not detonated, it seemed like the island would have been destroyed, or many would have at least died. If something had not happened to stop the energy being released, they could not have contained it and built the station. In other words, how can they build the swan if the hole is sucking everything metalic down the drain? They dont have a failsafe key to stop this event, the failsafe key in 1977 is the bomb. The bomb puts out the fire, so to speak, allowing the swan to be built and keep the problem in check. Would the bomb wipe out the island? It's fiction....so, when the bomb explodes, the island is not consumed by a mushroom cloud because the nuclear reactio! n cancels the electromagnetic force. Problem of holocaust solved.

Thus, if the bomb does not sink the island or cause the reset, this explains how the island is there in 2007 when it is gone in
2004, for the 2007 folks have yet do cause the sinking/reset. And keep in mind that though they are in 2007, they may travel
in later episodes to 2004 or prior via the Orchid or other means. But either way, going to 2004 would be in their future. So 2004 can be a flash forward for them in 2007, because they have yet to go there.

3. The differences between the two 815 flights--profound or not? No doubt, S1 Jack is very different from the Jack on the plane now. Ditto Hurley and Rose. Anyone else? S1 Sawyer, when seen on the plane precrash, is just pissed. He looks mad. And of course we know why that was. But S6 Sawyer? He bumps into Someone and apologizes? No angry look, mostly a warm grin and good nature smart ass. He clearly thinks Arnst is an idiot, but he's not rude or angry. S1 Sawyer might have been more willing to yell at him, or be pissed he was even bothered. And yes, he may be planning to con Hurley, or maybe this Sawyer, maybe still a con, only targets people that deserve to be conned. He could be like the Dexter of con men, some people deserve to be taken and Hurley is not one of them. Not only will Sawyer not
con him, he uses the opportunity to use his smarts to help Hurley avoid being a target of another less ethical con man.

What might all this mean? These new versions are not strangers, they are the people we know them to be after six years of LOST. Sawyer's not an asshole bad guy anymore, be has a good heart and wants a house with Juliet, he was chief of police of all things. Didn't see that coming based on S1 Sawyer. Tell someone who just started season 1 that Sawyer was going to be the amiable head of security and pillar of a community of yellow houses and they would laugh their butts off and tune you out.

Jack is no longer the science only control freak he was, he has changed and is along for the ride. Rose is not nervous, she is as serene as she was in her beach hut. Locke is not
the angry depressed wreck he was before the crash in S1 on the plane, he's pleasant and happy to speak to Boone about survival.

Almost all of the focus has been on how different the two versions of characters on the two versions of 815. Forget that. Who cares? Focus on how similar they are to
the characters as we know them now. Is new 815 Jack new at all, or the Jack we know from season 5, and the first episodes of season 6. Its that Jack on the new plane, not the old.

Kate? She seems the same...still on the run. Just like Kate on the island. She wants on the raft, then off. Goes to Sawyer, then to Jack. From New Otherton to the Beach and back. Oceanic 6 Kate has Aaron and can't really run...but she has wads of cash, guns and packed bags ready to go, just in case. It's
who she is. Kate changed most with Aaron. So are we surprised she ends up in a cab with Claire? I bet we might even see Kate deliver Aaron again.

All this applies to Boone as well. Big deal, he could care less his sister stayed down under. That's Shannon for ya. He doesn't even seem bothered about having to travel all the way there for nothing. We know this Boone. This is the Boone after Locke got him to let go of Shannon on the island with some trippy drugs.

All this suggests, if you agree with it, that the changes we saw
happen in folks during the run of the show are not going to be wiped out by a reset. We saw these people evolve for a reason, seeing them revert to the idiots they were would suck. They were, in fact, brought on their island adventure for a reason.

Do they know each other on the plane? Jack seemed to only spark to Desmond, who he spoke to. But he looked at Kate the same way, but no chance to speak to her. Jack has not seen Rose for years, so what if they didn't have a connection.

Basically, it's way to soon to conclude they don't know each other. But maybe if they spend time together, they will see they have a connection they can't explain, it's like they met in another life, Brother. And that's exactly what Desmond does, see Jack in another life of sorts. If he disappeared and nothing else is offered to explain his stint on the plane, I would argue that it was awesome if only to service Desmond's tag line. Maybe he even knew, whenever he said it, that he would see them in another life? Hmmm...

Sawyer may not know Hurley by name, but was, perhaps, nice to him
because they have a vibe no memory per se, but a sense they like each other because they ended up being so close on the island. The essence of that relationship, not specific memories followed them.

So since John became a little more into a man of science, blended with his faith, so too did Jack add more faith to his life of science as a doctor. Both men now with more balance, yin and yang, should get along well together. Jack will fix Locke and maybe they can hunt together. Maybe a spin-off sitcom.

Of course this could all be wrong, but it seems to add up. I am less concerned about the prevailing theories being discussed because when have the prevailing theories ever been correct? LOST would suck if the writers were as clever as an average blogger who downs some drinks, watches the new episode and then figures it all out in his posting that night. That said, i'm certain of nothing, and all of my ideas and theories may be proven totally false next week. It's LOST, I expect this to happen. But I think there is something to this theory.