What LOST was always trying to say by James Hughes

Yes there were actually 2 stories running side by side throughout all six seasons:

1) THE STORY OF THE LOSTIES
This was ALWAYS the real story of LOST. When Jack Shepherd’s eye opens in the Pilot, our own lives change. We see the carnage, we see the need for help, we see the 48 flawed human beings, and we see the need for connection. Then for the first two seasons we experience just how ‘lost’ these people are through some of the greatest use of flashbacks ever seen. And all of these flashbacks are OFF-ISLAND. Their lives have been an array of mis-direction and in some cases an abuse of free will. There is an emptiness inside them, a feeling that their path is not their destiny. As the story unfolds, they begin to realise they need EACH OTHER to chose a better path. One in which they can put their hand on their heart and say this is what I am meant to do. These are the people I am supposed to know. Can you look out of your own window and truly say this is your destiny? This existence you live is the one you were born for?

For most, that destiny is finding the person you are supposed to be with. The connection that makes you complete.

For others, it is a destiny of action. A singular moment that they were born for. A moment when it arrives, they know in their hearts this is what I’ll be remembered for:

a) Kate’s destiny was to kill the Man In Black. And the death of Sun and Jin pushed her in this direction. It made her realise her true calling.
b) Hurley was meant to be the protector of the Island. It took Jack’s sacrifice to make him realise this.
c) And Jack himself, whose story we mainly focused on, finally realised his true destiny was to sacrifice himself to save the Island. Jacob never fully explained the light. But Jack knew it was important and he sacrificed his life to protect it. That is the ultimate Act Of Faith, from the Man Of Science. Jack from the earlier seasons would never have done this. He would be too busy asking questions. But our Jack had learnt to let go. When he lay dying in the jungle, he didn’t cry, he didn’t reflect on regrets. He smiled. He’d found his destiny. He was no longer lost.


2) THE STORY OF THE ISLAND
Running alongside our MAIN story was the story of our location. Our losties were on an Island that has been here for thousands of years, and thanks to Jack, will be here for thousands of more. But in lifespan of the Island, our Losties were only here for the blink of an eye. So we were never going to fully understand the Island.

At various points the stories would merge: Polar Bear running through the jungle, the discovery of the hatches, the Dharma Initiative, Jacob and MIB. But the full scale of what this Island is and why the light is there is a DIFFERENT story. When the paths cross, we see the mysteries. But the answers do not progress our MAIN story of the Losties.

In the Story of the Island, the Smoke Monster is important. How he came to be. His real powers. But in our MAIN story of the Losties, the smoke monster is simply another obstacle to overcome in the pursuit of their destiny. Why the Dharma Initiative conducted all those experiments. Why the Others took the children. Why Women cannot have children on the Island. Is all subplot. It is all background story that only needs to be answered if it is important to our MAIN story. The Island story and its full history is huge, but it was never the story our writers were telling.


However, other creators aware of the growing interest in the Island's history, would have sacrificed their own end game, to try and satisfy this thirst for knowledge. But the result would have been one of endless exposition. Instead they stuck to their guns and did not deviate from their MAIN story.

It is not about the beach we sit on. It is not about the ocean we gaze out to. It is not about the Statue that rises behind us. It is not about Egyptian Hieroglyphs on a wall.

Destiny lies within. It is about the people we meet. The connections we make. And how each and every one of us is lost until we find them.