Lost Theory 3.0 by Hitta

Lost Explanation 3.0

Life is but a dream

Everyone has dreams that are symbolic. We wake from them unsure what we just dreamed about or why we dreamed about them, but they did have a connection to us on a fundamental level even though we didn't realize it. That is sort of what the core setting of Lost is based around, it is meant to skew the line between what is real and isn't real; and show us. Everything in Lost is meant to be debated as either real or not real; because it meant to show the duality of existence and how only the meaning you take from something is important.

Lost is meant to search the answers of the meaning of life and try to understand the reason that we exist. This is the exact reason that all of the characters are named after philosophers; there is only one that matters with Lost; and that's to understand the meaning. There are two core polarities in the show meant to show the reactions to life in which we undergo as a response to the things that we encounter: Nihilism and Existentialism. Existentialism is represented by Jacob; who symbolically always reassures people that they have a choice in everything that happens. The Man in Black represents Nihilism which is why he was never given a name. The Man in Black simply “Lost” hope and felt that there was no meaning in everything. He spent his life searching for answers and never found an answer. He always wanted to leave the island when he was younger; but simply lost hope in everything. He came to reject destiny; believe in the meaninglessness of all things. When he was thrown into the light(I'll get to what the light is further down) he became the embodiment of nihilism.

Lost is a story of destiny and redemption of the of humanity and their transcendence to a higher level of existence. 108(the perfect number in eastern religions) in lost is a number that is frequently seen. It represents destiny and the attainment of a higher state of consciousness. In the case of the survivors of 815, it is meant to show the destiny that they were all meant to find each other. 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 all combine to equal this number; in essence destiny's mathematical formula.

One of the most important things in understanding Lost(and often misunderstood) is the hatch computer. 108, 107, 106, 105, 104, 103... etc. Meant to show the winding down of life. Every time the reentered the numbers in the computer it would reset to 108 symbolizing rebirth and reincarnation. So the question is what did 0 represent? It represented the cessation of creative energy, the stoppage of everything; the end of all things. This is why when the timer hit zero, everything started compacting to the center, almost like a reverse big bang(I'll get to the reason why there in a moment). The computer was kind of like destiny in operation, a symbolic gesture of the cycles of life. So what was Desmond? When Desmond turned the switch in the hatch, he became destiny's fail-safe, it's protocol to make sure that the survivors realized that they were meant to be together. He was no longer bounded by time and space like the survivors, he became a facilitator of destiny. One of my favorite philosophical concepts I realize was embedded into Lost when thinking about the entire architect of the hatch computer, is that when the plane crashed on the island; it was the result of the computer reaching zero. All the survivors on 815 were “Lost”, they felt hopeless. Jack lost his father(whom all he wanted was to be accepted by), Locke was crippled, Sun was leaving Jin, Sawyer killed an innocent man, Charlie was a heroin addict; yet when the computer reached zero, at border between everything and nothing; destiny brought them together. They were all at zero, until Desmond reentered the code and they were essentially “reborn” on the island.

So what was the Light? In essence, it was everything; the source of all creative energy. This is exactly why when the man with no purpose was dropped into the light, he became the embodiment of nihilism. The emptiness was manifested into nihilism or the symbol of nihilism. The Man in Black wanted to destroy the island, which meant killing Jacob and the Candidates. The reason that Jacob and the Candidates had to die is because as long as they existed, the light could go out; because as long as they existed choice still existed, possibilities still existed. Man in Black wanted to eradicate all things. This is another one of those philosophical scenarios that really is amazing to think about; when the light went out; so did the power of the Man in Black. There is a symbolic theme to this, nihilism is always born from thought aka one of my favorite philosophical quotes: “there is no ness in nothingness”. When the Light went out, so did he. That whole scene was one big piece of iconography of Jack(and the survivors) confronting their innermost demons for the last time. The lights came back on, and Jack realized what he had; what was important. The call sheet that got leaked before the finale listed that scene where the lights went out as “Jack in Hell”.

What was the Alt reality? It was actually an Alt reality, just as the island was a possibility. Desmond, able to break the boundary between existences as the fail-safe, was able to help everyone see the connection; that they were all meant to be together. Of course I'm gonna be bombarded by people telling me that jug head didn't cause an Alt reality, but I don't believe this. None of the time travel rules were broken, because the universe essentially course corrected everything and brought everyone together; something that was impossible to break. The scene at the end of Lost was enlightenment and an embracing of the destiny that fate had given them. The Alt realities were symbolic of different incarnations of the self, how we as souls go through different forms of existence yet destiny brings us to the same place. The survivors found something though thanks to Desmond that they felt transcended the boundaries of time and space; the “Constant”. Why exactly would Ms. Hawking beg Desmond not to bring Daniel Faraday with him if they were in purgatory? Daniel said it himself, he believed that in a “past life” they detonated a nuclear bomb that cause the reality in which they were in.

The “Others” sort of played the role of the “foreign” philosophy. They at times seemed tribal, but in actuality they had the same problems that the castaways had(symbolized by their suburban homes). They had good ideas, but in the end the answer was destiny(in the self). Often it made clear to show that Ben was in the dark on things.

All the characters represented certain archetypes of psychological and karmic burden.

Jack Shepherd- The out-caste. The man that never have support from anyone, but was always willing to give everything to everyone. Always felt like he never had a home, never felt like he had a place to be accepted. Wanted to be accepted by his father, but could never find his affection.
Constant: All the survivors of Oceanic 815; which were represented by Christian Shepherd's coffins. They gave him what he always need...... acceptance.

Kate Austin: The runner. Running from her past, leaving family and friends behind. Constant: Aaron Littleton. She never had anyone that she had to care for except herself; and was stuck in a situation that she had to commit to something. Force to become a mother, she had to adapt to a more stable life.

Sawyer: The rebel. A con-man, looking for revenge from the man that “ruined his life”. Lacks the ability to accept authority and fit in. Constant: Juliet Juliet was his “soul-mate” which allowed him to settle down into the Dharma Initiative and have a normal life. She allowed him to surrender to something more.
John Locke: The Seeker. Always a seeker, but had dwindling faith in the unknown. He wanted to believe, but life always gave him the short straw. He was paralyzed, had a father that didn't care about him(conned him out of a kidney), had a crazy mother, had a man that he thought was a friend that turned out to be a DEA agent. Lost the one family he ever had because of this. Everything that John Locke stood for; faith, believe, and destiny; was leaving him. Then one day he woke up on a beach and God finally started paying attention to John Locke. Contrary to popular belief, John Locke died for a reason. He may have appeared to be duped at first, but Locke got the last laugh; the castaways started to believe. Constant: Destiny and divine love; which is symbolized by John Locke's legs.

Hugo(Hurley) Reyes : Fear of Divine. More of a people person. Believes in relations, carefree relationship style. Then one day he finds the numbers(the numbers of destiny) unaware at the time of what they are capable of. He uses the numbers to win the lottery and all of a sudden everything in his life turned sour. He became so fearful of everything that was going on around him that he had to be institutionalized. Hurley's tale is probably the most “trippy” to think about, because it is like there was fear created in something that was trying to guide him to what loved, people. Constant: Libby soul-mate and allowed Hurley to accept the divine intervention.

Sayid Jarrah: Man with a frozen heart. Emotionally crippled, experienced very harsh conditions in as a member of the Iraqi Republican guard. Nadia was the first to start to warm him up to opening up to someone, but she was killed and he became even more bitter because of it. Shannon was the first one that really touched him on a deeper level and completed him. Constant: Shannon.... showed Sayid that there is love and hope in the world.

Jin Soo-Kwan: Married to a woman that he loved very much, but was unable to separate his personal imagine from his marriage. Wife loved him very much but didn't really have a chance build on their emotional bond because of Jin's work for her father. This is sort of what made their death so poetic, because he was able to finally 100% commit to her; to the extent that he was willing to die with her. Constant is the baby, which forced them to have to commit to each other completely.