OT: Lost - What They Died For Open Thread

My guess: the past six seasons have been The Bible, rewritten. 

$10 says Jack dies on the way and ABC tries to steal the HBO magic with it

Did Jacob just turn water into wine? 

Seeing as they just ordained Jack the new Jacob, I'd say there's a pretty high chance he dies next episode knowing this show

Here's what I think we're in store for.

- Des is trying to gather everyone at the concert, obvsly.  I think we'll see that David's mother (Jack's ex-wife in the ALT) is Juliet.  We'll see that in the finale, and also at some point in the finale see Sawyer and Juliet having that cup of coffee.

- When Juliet said "it worked" in the seaon 5 finale....  she was mistaken.  She saw the ALT, and assumed (as one naturally would given circumstances) that it meant that the existence of the ALT was caused by the Incident/Jughead explosion. 

HOWEVA, I think what we'll see is that the existence of the ALT isn't due to the incident, but, something we have yet to see...  something we'll see in the finale.  In other words, the existence of the ALT is temporally subsequent and causally contingent to something we haven't seen yet. 

As result of what we saw in tonight's episode, I'm betting that it's the destruction of the Island. 

We know that

1)  MiB is planning on teaming up w/ Desmond to destroy the Island, and,

2)  In the season premiere, we saw the Island onthe bottom of the Pacific ocean, leading us to believe that plan will in fact succeed.

The writers could of course be leading us astray and wanting us to think that, but, let's just say hypothetically that it is what it is....  that the MiB will succeed in teaming up w/ Desmond and sinking the Island.

The implications of this are huge...  It then shifts the big question going into the finale from, "Who will win?" (in terms of the grnad conflict between Jacob and MiB) to, "is MiB really as bad as he seems?" 

I mean, after all, in the ALT, a lot of people's lives are much better overall.  It seems like a better universe for most - if not all - of the characters.

(And, as an aside, I've somewhat been expecting this for awhile - that the writers will humanize MiB and he won't end up being as bad as we thought.  They started that last week w/ his backstory, they may continue it in the finale.  It's something they've been up too..... blurring lines and complicating categories of good vs. evil since the beginning of the series.)

Anyhow.  If I'm right, it means the ALT is in essence an epilogue to the show...  happening subsequent to what we'll see in the finale...  and the question we'll be left with to answer is if it is a better reality for the characters. 

Considering the untimely demise of John Locke at the hands of Linus, and the subsequent taking of his body by MiB. It was really satisfying to see the Alt. Locke begin to believe again. I had really missed that faith that he always had, I had really missed the man that believed when no one else would.

Awesome episode overall, I was captivated throughout and I am so anxious to get to Sunday to see what becomes of all my beloved losties.

I love how the writers keep Ben and his intentions fluctuating.  The ambiguity fits with that character perfectly.  He just led the MiB to Widmore; I don't blame him, there was a rivalry there anyway.

Should be a mind-blowing finale.  I'm going to miss this show.

Yeah, I was really surprised at the sudden shift of Linus character. I had just begun to believe, completely, that Linus was genuinely sorry for what he ahd done and then he goes and willingly becomes Flockes assasin. I am wondering if there isnt some other motive involved that Ben is working towards and this is just a way of endearing himself to Flocke in order to get closer to him?

Wow.  That was an incredible episode.  Maybe I'm a bit dramatic, but that was seriously one of the best, most exciting episodes of the series.  I friggin loved it.  It could be all the chemicals rushing in my head because now everything is falling into place, but it was just amazing.  I'm still a bit worried that we won't find out some stuff, but I guess certain things don't really matter that much or are bits of unnecessary info.  I really want to find out about the temple.  Who built it and what purpose did it serve?  That would be pretty frustrating info to miss out on. I do think we'll find out about why they traveled through time (other than to save the writers' jobs) and what truly happened in The Incident.  On the other hand, certain hows and whys will probably not be answered and just remain mysterious components of Lost's lore.

Another amazing thing is that stuff with Ben.  Without saying too much, I love the show for those unexpected turns of events.  I just want to put it out there: Alex was not his daughter.  He cared for her, no doubt, but he stole her from her mother, who btw was a MILF when not all uglied up and dirty on the island.  (I just realized that that's analagous to Jacob and MiB's "mother.")  Even the man's positive attributes are rooted in evil.  Yes he saved her life from Whidmore (ahh so Ben has every reason to see him as trying to kill Alex from the very beginning--yeah I know, a little late to the party) and Jacob may have ordered it, but he still kidnapped a child and ruined her mother's life.

What an amazing show.  There may never be another.

I am probably way way off on this, but my current theory can be summed up as such:

1. The island is kept afloat by the light/humongous amount of electromagnetic energy. It is also what is being contained within the island in Jacob's cork analogy.

2. The aforementioned "cork" is located within that source of light at the heart of the island. Desmond, who can survive massive electromagnetic events, will go into the source of light and pull out the metaphorical cork, releasing the light into the world.

3. This act of releasing the light into the world will make the world a somewhat better place, although if it is scattered about the globe, it's impact could and should be limited. This is why the world is only a marginal better place in the Sideverse, which is hopefully created as a result of the release of this light.

4. Hopefully, this event will translate through time in such a manner that it makes sense that the detonation of the nuclear warhead in season five makes some sense in terms of temporal mechanics.

5. Jack will battle the smoke monster/MIB/what-have-you to prevent the evil within him from tainting the good that will be released into the world via the light. Ben will betray Locke and assist Jack.

6. In the Sideverse, pretty much every major character will meet at the concert (or after the concert or something). At this meeting, they will all remember their experiences on the island, and the episode will end on a note that expresses how Lost was an epic myth discussing the nature and condition of humanity.

7. The island itself is a utopia of sorts created by the light or the source of life and good. This is the reason why people manage to heal on the island so easily, among other things. One of the major points of the finale, and the series in general, is that humanity is highly complex and morally flawed, which is why so many characters perceive the Island as a dystopia. The reason that the light should be released into the world is that its release will benefit humanity, whereas concentrating it in one place does not, because most people cannot appreciate the Island for what it is.

8. The idea of the Sideverse being a place that exists after the Island is sunk is important, particularly because it appears that everyone will remember what happened on the Island, because the Island is Eden. The destruction of the Island as seen in the Sideverse is an allegory for the expulsion from Eden. One of the major points made by the series will be that humanity, for the most part, is better off not living, or at least is not ready/able to live in Eden.

That about sums up the major points. I'm not going to make many guesses on how they'll try to write conclusions for the characters for the most part because I think that on this show, it is secondary to the goal of concluding the sweeping narrative arc, which in the tradition of many science fiction stories told on an epic scale, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, the movie being a better example than the book, The Ophiuchi Hotline, and the reimaged Battlestar Galactica, is supposed to be a myth of the human species.

Not that I have anything against it, I just missed the boat and never bothered to catch up. Still, as a sort of third party observer, it is still fascinating to see peoples reactions to it. I'm anxious for the finale just to see how the general public reacts. Which speaks a lot to the show and its writers.

...that the LOST writers have imaginations as good as those posting on forums.  Does anyone wonder if they scoured the internets for ideas on how to wrap up?

... after the first season.

But I think I read somewhere that JJ Abrams and the writers had this all mapped out from the start.

Keeping the actors in the dark until the end is one cool thing about it; they may have been as lost as the viewers...

Any theories on why the cut on Jack's neck keeps bleeding out? Is it foreshadowing his imminent death at the hands of Locke's knife (or someone else's knife)?

interesting that Shredder, who is supposed to be training someone at work, still finds time to post on a "Lost" thread......hmmmm

Shredder works nights. Hopefully he knows I'm just kidding about how he spends his work time....

I"ve been looking forward to an explanation of the statue since it was first shown. It certainly resembles a few different Egyptian deities. Here are the pics:

From Lost notice the hippo or crocodile head on a human body and the two Ankhs, one in either hand:

Whether the Lost statue is male or female would probably determine which of the nect two it is supposed to resemble. Now look at these statues of ancient Egyptian deities.

Tawaret (if female)

or some comparisons

and

Sobek (if male)

With so many different interpretations of the Ancient Egyptian Gods and their meanings (the Egyptian Gods changed roles over the course of the ages) its difficult to read into what it symbolizes for the show. Sobek as a protector seems appropriate. I'm trying to find a picture of the statue from the front to determine whether its male or female. Thoughs?

Now I hope they mention all this in the finale!!