The Nature of the Island by Michael from Australia

Firstly, I should say I like the fact that the writers left the ending in the flash-sideways vague. You could believe that they went to heaven, that they were reincarnated or that they simply ended. Whatever you believe, they did it together and they did it in peace.

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I state this because my theory is concerning the light. I believe the light they were engulfed in at the church is related to the light beneath the island. There are a few possibilities I have come up with:

1) The light beneath the island is the Earthly location of “heaven”
2) The light beneath the island is a “gateway to heaven”
3) The light beneath the island is the Earthly location of the flash-sideways universe

Option 1) implies that when they were engulfed by the light in the church, their souls went to the light on the island. The island needed to be protected because if the light went out, there would be no heaven (everyone they know and love would "cease to be" in heaven). Note the symbolism: when the cork stone was pulled out, the pool went from a glowing white light to a dark red, hellish light.

The good thing about option 1) is that it gives importance to protecting the island, which is ultimately why Jacob brought them there. It also ties the island in with the flash-sideways. When Jack placed the cork back in, he made the ending in the flash-sideways possible. Option 1) has a possible disadvantage, in that it introduces the notion that heaven can be destroyed by man.

Option 2) implies that when they were engulfed by the light in the church, their souls passed through the light on the island to get to heaven. Alternatively, their souls passed through the light on the island to be reincarnated (or any other belief you wish). The island needed to be protected because if the light went out, you couldn’t “move on”. People would either be stuck in the flash-sideways or as whispers on the island.

Once again, option 2) gives importance to protecting the island and ties it in with the flash-sideways. Instead of saying “humans can destroy heaven”, option 2) says “humans can destroy the gateway to the afterlife”. As long as we keep the light on, we can “move on”.

Option 3) says that the flash-sideways universe, the “afterlife”, IS the light beneath the island. When characters died in the real world, their souls were transported into the light. It doesn’t matter when you enter the light, since in the flash-sideways there is no “now”. For example: Hurley died a long time after Jack in the real timeline, but entered the flash-sideways timeline before him. Being engulfed by the light at the church was a sign of them leaving the light and “moving on”. The island needed to be protected because if the light went out, you couldn’t enter the flash-sideways and thus couldn’t “move on”. People would be stuck as whispers.

Option 3) ties in the flash-sideways and gives importance to protecting the island. It explains why Desmond saw the flash-sideways, since the white light he was engulfed in IS the flash-sideways. (Or it could simply be that he was brought close to death).

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Some other comments:

The whispers were people who couldn’t enter the light, according to option 1), 2) or 3). They are on the island either because they’re trying to get into the light, or because they can only exist near the light.

If the light ever goes out, it is our (mankind’s) fault. I believe that sometime in the ancient past, humans arrived on the island. According to Lostpedia (http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/The_Heart_of_the_Island) the writing on the cork stone is cuneiform script, dating around 5000–1000 BC. These ancient losties found the light and somehow turned it off accidently. They soon learnt that they had doomed mankind, depending on options 1), 2) or 3). They built the cork stone and the structure in the cave in order to somehow turn the light back on. (They would have done all this with knowledge given to them by whispers or by ghosts who couldn’t move on). Someone then became the original protector of the island, protecting the light from going out again.

I believe that most of the supernatural elements on the island are due to the light. It made the Man in Black into the smoke monster and when it went out, he lost his power. I think the original protector of the island stepped into the light and obtained other strange abilities, such as making rules, which have been passed on to subsequent protectors. (The light could have a different affect on different people. Jack didn’t seem to turn into a monster when he was in the light.) The light has strange effects on the laws of physics, causing the electromagnetism and time travel. This is why DHARMA were there - to investigate the pockets of energy and harness them.

I don’t think the monster can stray too far from the island, since his power comes from the light. He could appear on the freighter as Christian because it was close enough to the island. (Jack’s vision of Christian in LA had to be a hallucination or a real ghost). In order to leave, he needed a physical body (Locke) and he needed to get rid of the rules (by killing Jacob and the candidates). His plan changed when the light went out. Since the rules are ultimately due to the magic of the light, the Man in Black could then leave.

While there were certainly some supernatural elements off island, if you recall the episode “316” Eloise Hawking says there are many unique pockets of energy around the world. These pockets probably include the “exit” in Tunisia and the Lamp Post. Since there is “a little light inside everyone”, it stands to reason that individuals could have some supernatural powers.

The incident destabilized a pocket of the light. DHARMA needed to push the button to prevent the light from going out.

What did Jughead do? I can think of a few ideas:
A: Jughead could have created the flash-sideways, turning off the light and sinking the island. In our timeline, Jughead didn’t go off and the incident occurred due to DHARMA’s drilling. The incident time-knocked the losties into the present day and made DHARMA create the button.

B: Jughead could have caused the incident. The light absorbed the energy and time-knocked the losties into the present day. This made DHARMA create the button.

C: Jughead never went off. DHARMA’s drilling caused the incident and time-knocked the losties into the present day.

D: Same as C, but DHARMA uses Jughead as the failsafe. They aren’t sure exactly what it will do, so it is only to be used as a measure of last resort. When Desmond turns the failsafe key, the light absorbs the energy of the bomb’s blast. The light stabilizes and they no longer need to push the button.

I prefer D, since it explains the failsafe and is ”whatever happened, happened”.

Jacob says the island is like a cork that keeps the evil from spreading. While the world seems to be alright without the island in the flash-sideways, this may not be an accurate representation of the real island. The flash-sideways is the “afterlife” and there may be no evil there (the whispers apparently can’t get there). So when the light goes out in the real world, some kind of evil should be released. The Man in Black lost his monster powers when the light went out, so it can’t be him. The evil could be the whispers, but I think it is the infection. Characters coming back from the dead with no emotions certainly seems to run contrary to the concept of “moving on”, which I believe is closely related to the light.

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Thanks for reading this long theory!

Namaste.

-Michael from Australia