LOST theory

[cellio]

Time will tell whether this is correct or utterly silly, but... I think I know what's going on with the apparent alternate timeline on LOST.

I think the "flash-sideways" timeline is not just an alternate timeline where the crash never happened. In this week's episode we see Jack, in that timeline, not knowing basic things that he would know if he were that timeline's Jack, like that he'd had an appendectomy when he was eight and when his son started playing piano. Further, several of the characters seem to vaguely recognize each other, which wouldn't have been true in an alternate timeline where the plane crash never happened. (And did Jack seem to recognize Claire's name when his mother read it from the will?)

I think we are seeing certain Losties, specifically the ones touched by Jacob, incompletely mind-wiped and installed into an alternate timeline. That's not 2004 Jack whose plane never crashed; that's 2007 Jack installed into 2004, who doesn't know everything that 2004 Jack did because that's not him, and he doesn't remember the island because those memories got erased (mostly) on his way to 2004. (What happened to 2004 Jack? Collateral damage.)

Since (by my theory) not all of the flash-sideways characters were in the plane crash (e.g. the ones who later died on the island), we should see some differences in how original and "transplanted" characters behave in that timeline. Assuming we get to see enough of the secondary characters to form an opinion, of course.

Comments

[tashabear.livejournal.com]

It's getting even MORE complicated, and yet not so bad that I want to throw up my hands in disgust, the way I did with Heroes. That show just ate itself by trying to do too much.

[cellio]

When did Heroes get complicated? I enjoyed the first season but haven't seen more yet. (Second season is in the Netflix queue.)

[tashabear.livejournal.com]

Season two, IIRC. I may not have devoted sufficient attention to it, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have as good a grasp on LOST if I hadn't watched Seasons 1 and 2 back to back on my laptop, so watching Season Two of Heroes on DVD may help it make more sense.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

So maybe Jacob rewarded them by putting them into the alternate timeline, and when the series ends we will see Jacob do that?

[cellio]

I think it'll be something like that, yes. Whether it's Jacob (who seems to be doing ok for a dead guy) or the last task of the chosen candidate, I don't know.

[cellio]

Actually, I think it would be a tidier ending if neither Jacob nor his nemesis wants this outcome -- if the candidate does it on his own, looking out for the people's interests instead of choosing sides in their dispute.

I think I also have to amend my theory: we saw a hint that Claire has some memory of the island too (Aaron's name). So maybe all people who were on the plane and who are still alive at the time of this event I'm speculating about go to 2004, but the act is set in motion by a candidate.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

I've been reading a bunch of TV critics, including Alan Sepinwall, who has made the excellent point that the alternate universe scenes will probably carry more weight with the viewers once we know how they fit in. Right now, they seem mostly irrelevant to what is happening to the "real" version of the characters.

He's also made a point I've made over and over about the Others being illogical in what they hide from the Losties, which is encapsulated here:

Watching Jack smash the lighthouse's mirrors, and recognizing that this is exactly what Jacob must have intended when he told Hurley to bring Jack along, reminded me once again of Ben's overly-convoluted plan to get Jack into performing spinal surgery on him. Back in the middle of season 3, I asked Lindelof why Ben required such a ridiculous scheme when he could have walked up to the castaways' beach on, like, day 5 and offered them shelter and food (let alone a trip home on the Dharma sub) in exchange for some tumor removal. Lindelof countered that "that version is considerably less intriguing for a mystery show." The problem is that if that's the only reason things are vague and overly-complicated - if it doesn't come from the characters, or the needs of the story, but from an external need to maintain an air of mystery - then it doesn't work. It's obvious and distracting and irritating, especially this late in the game, when there's no damn excuse for it.

(from http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2010/02/lost_lighthouse_reviewing_epis.html)