Exclusive! Doc Jensen’s LOST Season Three Predictions
Jeff ‘Doc’ Jensen is a man who takes his theorizing seriously. Yes, every so often it might seem the good Doc is reaching into the ‘absurd’ drawer of his filing cabinet, yet he has a better knack for predicting what ’should’ happen than any of us. So it’s a real treat that Jeff has allowed me to publish this prediction, which is sort of a respite from his never ending quest to ‘figure it all out’ and more of a ‘how season three might end’ theory. I’ve added a few thoughts of my own that might help this snake oil sell like hot cakes. This is not technically a spoiler, but if you don’t like spoilers you probably won’t like this either.
Before getting into Doc Jensen’s exclusive predictions here, it would be highly advisable for you to brush up on Jeff’s latest column here.
First, the mic goes to Jeff ‘Doc’ Jensen:
- When The Hatch imploded, Charlie should have died. But for some reason, he didn’t. Maybe it was force of will. Maybe another soul is inhabiting his body. Regardless, Charlie is a flaw in the system–and he needs to be removed.
- This is the meaning of the purple sky. The purple sky is a temporal anomaly that basically says that time is in flux until the flaw that is Charlie is corrected.
- Charlie will die in the second to last episode. When he dies, the new time line, with all its course corrections, will be adopted.
- In this new time line, Jack went to Australia and found his father–alive. In the season finale, it will establish that Jack’s Dad has always been there–either as a member of the castaways, or living among the Others.
With everything we know so far this season Jeff’s idea is not only plausible, it’s very likely! However, I’d like to introduce a few wrinkles of my own for you to chew on.
Only fools are enslaved by time and space. What is the full scope of this statement? Enslavement is confinement. If the others, or whoever produced the flick presently playing in cinema 23, are not prisoners of time and space, then why should they be confined to a single universe? Those of you who followed my short lived duplicates theory may recall that I created a situation where there were characters who were aware of both time lines, and were not about to be quietly absorbed when it came time for those time lines to merge.
The first time line begins with Desmond being born, grows up, sacrifices everything in an attempt to be a suitable man for his true love, only to find himself cast upon the island. Crashes 815, and the rest is history UNTIL, he turns the key resulting in:
Time line two. Desmond now relives his life with knowledge of his fate. As much as he tries to deny it, he knows that if he does go to that island to push that button, catastrophes will happen. Now here is where I get a little psychedlic.
My question is, what if the show we have been watching is actually time line two, and not timeline one? Sound absurd? Here are a few things that make this feasible:
First, the show is introducing new laws to us about how time and space behave in the universe of LOST. Fiction is far more powerful than physics - remember this. All the Hawkins, Kaku, and Einstein can’t help you here. We are at the mercy of a brand new ‘Time and Space 101′ and our professors are the writers of LOST. Our first lesson? The universe will find a way to correct itself. This does not mean changes can’t be made, but things will end up happening more or less like they were supposed to.
Now think, ‘Butterfly Effect’. No, not the movie. The actual theory it is based on. By Desmond knowing his destiny, and preparing to face it, he causes ripples. These ripples cause slight changes in the lives of everyone. Perhaps, for instance, Desmond’s interaction with Charlie in Flashes further strengthens Charlie’s anti-drug convictions. Because of that, he maintains a cleaner life, Drive Shaft releases a second album, and his brother still winds up in Australia with his destined love so Charlie still winds up in Australia as a visitor, and still winds up on Oceanic 815 bound for LA. Course correction. In the grand sea of time, these are mere inconsequential ripples. Nothing has been removed, such as a life, can cause damage. The river doesn’t bend.
Now, here comes the evidence that we are in Time Line Number two. Remember, these plot lines are just illustrations, it could really play out any way at all. Let’s say, inspired by their clean living, Drive Shaft records a version of "Road to Shambala", which in turn catches the attention of Drive Shaft fan and down on his luck drifter John Locke. He’s so taken by the message of the song, he begins to study eastern spiritual philosophies. He succeeds in finding inner piece and oneness, and ultimate forgives and forgets his father. When news of his father’s ‘death’ reaches Locke, he doesn’t react quite the same as he did in the flashback. Now he is more resigned to wish his father well in the next life, and grieve in private rather than attend his funeral. So he never meets up with good old dad during Cooper’s ‘redemption’ phase. In the long run, Locke never has the fateful encounter with his father as seen in "The man From Tallahassee" and therefore is never paralyzed. This does not, however, change the man’s inert interest in things like ‘walkabouts’, and thanks to the long arm of course correction, Locke ends up on Oceanic 815. He still needs to get kicked off the walkabout, but I’m just making a point. Locke can walk, because he was never paralyzed.
Aside from this, also recall that when Desmond came back to the present in ‘Flashes’ he was begging for another chance. He was raving like someone who had already had consciously made a complete attempt to avert a disaster. However, what was the disaster? Losing Penny? Blowing the hatch? Was he babbling about a future event that we don’t know about yet?
There are, of course, problems with this theory. For Locke’s chair, and Christian’s casket to exist in the second time line, we have to introduce a new law: any event that has been changed can leave artifacts on the island. Perhaps this is something of a special uniqueness only to the island. Perhaps it is that the split in the river has begun to run together.
The big point to ponder is, why would our time line two people have the memories of the time line one people? There are a lot of potential threads to explain that, most obviously being some mechanism involving the event that caused the crash to begin with. The potential for the Swan to tear time and space is not an unknown anymore. So maybe that ‘anomaly’, to use Ben’s term, is the best place to start pondering that idea.
Very plausable theory. I think it’s something along those lines. Let’s hope that if it involves anything like what is being described, that they can translate it well to television. Serious heavy sci-fi doesn’t normally transfer well. Not to mention half the audience may not be able to wrap their heads around that.
Comment by RazzleDazzle — April 11, 2007 @ 9:18 am
i like that theory. its interesting and can provide endless hours of watercooler chat. HOWEVER, i have some qualms about it:
1-the writers have said that they originally planned for Jack to be killed in the second episode.
2-The writers have said they had the whole scope of the project in their heads from the beginning.
3-adding this line to the story makes at least one of those points false, right?
Comment by peter — April 11, 2007 @ 9:28 am
I like it Doc… good stuff
Comment by Tina — April 11, 2007 @ 9:32 am
No. Because from a writers perspective the whole scope could have been planned in generalities, like: a bunch of people crash on the plan, there is force on the island capable of controlling time, there are people who have protected since… blah blah…
I, personally, would not expect them to have the finite details worked out. they would be in big trouble if they did.
Comment by docarzt — April 11, 2007 @ 9:34 am
nice one again doc, im likin this theory. i thought they were going to do something similar with expose actually. what with sawyer always going “who are they??” i thought they were going to have appeared in a new timeline or something, but thats sounding good. there’s been hints about jacks dad too …….
Comment by rich — April 11, 2007 @ 9:46 am
exactly doc…
i don’t know how much I buy into Jensen’s theory (as Charlie’s theoretical death would occur AFTER Christian’s, meaning their could be no causal relationship between them, though I’m curious if DJ came up with this before or after he saw ‘the next few’ episodes).
but…you’re totally right about the ability for the writers to have scope, but not character yet. After all, we’re being led to believe that Desmond is crucial to the mythology, but he didn’t exist at the pilot, so we can only assume that a) some things are made up as the writers go, and/or b) story lines can be shifted between characters.
So, what could have been Kate’s storyline before the pilot was written, became Jack’s. What could have been Sayid’s storyline initially (I say Sayid because he also has a long lost love that could off the island) becames Desmond’s…
Comment by wedestroymyths — April 11, 2007 @ 9:53 am
Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! Thank you Docs! These thoery things blow my mind, and its always cool when they aren’t true because then its like a BONUS freak job! You guys rock, both of you!
Comment by ElWray — April 11, 2007 @ 9:54 am
wedestroymyths: exactly. Especially if you are a writer sitting down to do an ensemble piece. I don’t think anyone one character was important to the event as much as the event would require an ensemble to tell.
Comment by docarzt — April 11, 2007 @ 9:57 am
Memory Conundrum solved (with the power of fiction). So here is how the second time-line folks can have the memories of time-line one folks: If the island is a privileged frame of reference, then when the event (the crash) repeats, only things that did not exist the first time around can exist in the aberrant field. So locke’s functional spine would be allowed in the privileged sphere, but his soul would not. It would be disembodied. Could that explain the whispers? Ghosts of themselves… creepy… You also would not be allowed to introduce an absence of element. In other words, if in time line one Christian is alive, a corpse would not be allowed to exist in time-line two. The casket could exist, since it is a physical item.
Comment by docarzt — April 11, 2007 @ 10:03 am
Doc Jensen here: something else to add to this, something which occurred to me this morning.
Factoring into this may be the warning given to Claire to not allow her baby to be “raised by another”–or, if you prefer, “raised by an Other.” My prediction suggests that Charlie may be “possessed” by an Other. Given Charlie’s role as de facto father in Aaron’s life, could he the “another/other” the psychic was warning Claire about?
Moreover, it’s safe to assume that the Others really do have a babymaking problem. (You’ll find out tonight the exact nature of that problem.) Let’s speculate for a second that the reason they have problem making babies is that The Island doesn’t WANT them to have babies; maybe they represent a biological/spiritual anomaly that Nature/God doesn’t want to see propogated. The Others’ possession of Charlie may be a way to circumvent this judgment. Could this be why The Island is so eager to kill Charlie?
Comment by Doc Jensen — April 11, 2007 @ 10:08 am
>I, personally, would not expect them to have the finite
>details worked out. they would be in big trouble if they
>did.
good point! I love it. i’m sold. However, as another commenter said, i hope they find a plausible way to ‘adapt’ that to the screen. most AI viewers will not appreciate such an esoteric resolution and may turn away in droves. I hope they stick with their guns and make the resolution something we’ll be talking about for years in a positive light!
Comment by peter — April 11, 2007 @ 10:42 am
Hmmm another though arises from that. Is the psychic a psychic at all? Knowing that Christian has contacts in Aussie land, could he have found out, somehow, about the pregnancy and the psychic, and more or less paid off the psychic to push Claire towards LA, which is also Christian Shepherd land? All on the QT, of course.
Comment by docarzt — April 11, 2007 @ 10:43 am
one last note:
what if charlie is ‘the one’ spoke of in the prophecy?
what say you? =)
Comment by peter — April 11, 2007 @ 10:43 am
Well pete, I defer to the spirit of ElWray (Hey I LOVED Grindhouse too!) in that even if we’re wrong, all this auxiliary story telling is definitely part of the fun. I’m sure Merl will someday introduce alternate LOST’s into his crossing theories…
Comment by docarzt — April 11, 2007 @ 10:45 am
Doc J…I have been reading your comments, write ups and theories since you started and for the first time I am truly shocked, amazed, horrified and even more intruiged if possible about this show. Part of the problem I am facing is knowing that you know more than the rest of us for once becaus eyou have seen the next “few” episodes. How you do your job but remain loyal to the Lost production team is beyond me…
My guess is that you are finally on board with LOST and are throwing red herrings to the wind.
Unfortunately, I do not think you are doing that. And if what you are postulating is remotely correct than this show will be one hell of a collassal good time/disappointment.
Here is to the best 7 Wednesdays left in 2007.
Comment by Ben Cunningham — April 11, 2007 @ 10:46 am
Charlie should have died in the plane crash
he did die when he was hung by Ethan and brought back by Jack. He should have suffered a massive trauma when the Rock trap (Season 1 final episode) fell on his head. He should have died in the Hatch, and we all know the rest. Now, since he was supposed to die and no matter what he does to change it he will still die? So, does this mean that the people who didn’t die in the plane crash are doomed to die anyway due to Time correcting itself because they were all suppose to die in the crash.
Comment by Brinson — April 11, 2007 @ 10:47 am
>>>The Island doesn’t WANT them to have babies
I think their race is dying off. Maybe they kidnap other people so that they can maintain a society. Then here comes along Walt. Not only a child, but a child with abilities similar to theirs. Repopulation is one thing. But if they could repopulate with others like themselves, they can preserve their race. I think it’s one of the reasons they keep testing peoples blood type (a theme on the show).
Comment by RazzleDazzle — April 11, 2007 @ 10:54 am
Ben: Doc Jensen here. I’m definitely “not on board with the Lost production team.” I’m just totally engaged by their creation and I like to think and talk about it. Rather obsessively. But to be clear, this prediction actually falls outside my knowledge of what is to come. In fact, my personal rule of theorizing is to only draw upon information that the reader could conceivably know. So I’m not cheating–and I’m not peddling red herrings on behalf off the producers. My wild breadth of ideas merely reflects the breadth of thought this show inspires in me–nothing more. No hidden agendas.
And by the way, I’m with ElWray: As much as I love inventing freaky theories… I hope they’re all wrong! Not trying to be “right”–just trying to have fun.
Comment by Doc Jensen — April 11, 2007 @ 10:57 am
Maybe right before Charlie dies he will remember seeing Desmond in London while he was busking.
Comment by Charlie Lesoine — April 11, 2007 @ 11:30 am
How do they remember the events from the other timeline? Am I the only one who saw Donnie Darko? In that movie, when the timelines diverged, Donnie was supposed to die. But instead he was drawn out of his home by Frank. When he failed to die, an alternate timeline was established, and eventually the world started to tear itself apart. The result was the course correction of Donnie being killed when he should have, and the world going on as it should have. However, after the course correction, everyone remembered what had happened in the other timeline, though in a somewhat vague sense (you had to watch the directors commentary for that tidbit). It fits in very, very neatly to your theory.
Comment by GodBlessTexas — April 11, 2007 @ 11:36 am
The best part of the Donnie Darko comparison is this: in both cases the writers exercised their control over the rules of time and space. To clarify where I was going though:
1) In the original time line all characters had the memories that we see now (this also adds a new dimension to the ‘doomed to repeat’ aspect of the show.) because that was their lives.
2) On a supernatural level, only one soul can occupy a body at one time. Since on both occasions the souls wound up on the island, one has to go because:
3) Contrary to known relativity, the island is a privileged frame of reference because of its special properties. It is a sort of nexus. Anything that already exists there can not exist in the privileged frame. So the ‘new’ souls that come with the ‘new crash’ are ejected in favor of the pre-existing souls. Souls, naturally, being a little different then physical items.
It’s got some rough edges… but its coming together. Any ideas?
Comment by docarzt — April 11, 2007 @ 11:46 am
I realize now I botched #3 a bit. What I meant to say is that, the island exists outside of normal time to a degree. Not so that time passes differently, as much as if there were a change in the time line outside of the island, it wouldn’t impact the island. The entry of the plane into the frame would cause any matter that already existed to be taken out, replaced by the new matter. However, there could be artifacts. For instance, Christian’s casket since if he is alive in time line one
it wouldn’t be on board the plane. The issue of memories would need to be solved by a more existential debate about souls and whether or not they are ‘enslaved by time and space’ and whether the original soul/memories are their own privileged frame.
Comment by docarzt — April 11, 2007 @ 11:53 am
So the island is a double event horizon were two universes coexist. The Psycho-magnetic phenomena under the swan station causes the two universes to co-mingle. And maybe the voices we keep hearing in the jungle are just the thoughts of people on the island in the other universe coalescing…
Comment by Charlie Lesoine — April 11, 2007 @ 11:57 am
I highly recommend viewing “What the Bleep Do we know”. While the topics discussed are pretty wide, they do cover this time line theory in almost laymans terms. I would suspect that if you did not have an understanding of quantum physics (no matter how small) you might have a hard time with some of the topics on the show. But they do explain much of what is getting discussed here.
Comment by RazzleDazzle — April 11, 2007 @ 11:57 am
I recently watched Season 1 and 2, and it seems Charlie has been destined to die from day one, which would fit with everything said here.
We all remember Charlie’s close encounter with the flaming-plane-engine, don’t we?
Comment by The Pearl — April 11, 2007 @ 12:01 pm
Charlie Lesoine: Yeah… or perhaps the whispers are the disembodied souls of time line two 815rs?
Comment by docarzt — April 11, 2007 @ 12:03 pm
For this to be plausible, then the Others also must believe they are living in “timeline 1″, since they know all about the Losties’ lives that we’ve been shown, not these theoretical “timeline 2″ alternates. For example, Ben and the Others know that this Locke was paralyzed, not an alternate Locke. No weird explanation for the appearance of the wheelchair is required. For this theory to be plausible would require that not only the fans have been misdirected, but also the 815 survivors, and the nearly omniscient Others as well, are all mistaken about which timeline they are living in or were in prior to the crash. Requires too big of a leap of faith without any evidence having been given to suggest it at this point, IMO.
Comment by mj — April 11, 2007 @ 12:50 pm
But remember MJ, one apparent tenant of the others’ society is that ‘Only fools are enslaved by time and space’. But again, echoing ElWray… the fun is in the playing.
Comment by docarzt — April 11, 2007 @ 12:56 pm
As an after thought MJ, (and I’m not gunning for you, everything you said makes perfect sense), when have the writers not misdirected us? Whether it is this theory, or another, I’m sure the game changer is going to profound enough that we all will be shaking our fists at Darlton until Jan 2008 demanding some kind of explanation.
Comment by docarzt — April 11, 2007 @ 1:02 pm
never posted a thing in my life, but since no one has addressed the following to my liking…
Consider this:
Two distinct couples that no one really likes/cares about or pays any attention to.
Couple ‘A’ appear in the beginning of the series but then disappear without a single bit of acknowledgement from the other losties.
Couple ‘B’ are never seen in the beginning of the series, but then mysteriously appear as though they have been there all along.
Point being?
Nikki and Paulo- couple ‘B’- were able to obtain the seats on the plane that Rose and Bernard - couple ‘A’- would have been in, had the timeline not been altered. Rose and Bernard = timeline one; Nikki and Paulo = timeline two.
if tptb did not intend this, they should, since it would make these otherwise forgettable sets of characters compelling. It would also save us from having to watch another Rose/Bernard episode.
Comment by monkeyfist — April 11, 2007 @ 1:31 pm
So if the theory is correct, then Charlie’s body is possessed by Ethan’s soul now???
Comment by anonymouse — April 11, 2007 @ 1:35 pm
Doc: But if the voices are trapped souls, why is one universe prevailing over the other? Perhaps in the second universe there are many many more people on the island?
Comment by Charlie Lesoine — April 11, 2007 @ 1:41 pm
One thought to throw into this whole mix…The Valenzetti Equation and the numbers. Each number is the answer to some equation regarding the universe (i.e. perhaps 4 represents the Noble Truths of Buddhism). Dharma was working with these numbers and perhaps, to some extent, the Others were as well. Since changing the numbers on this Island, as opposed to changing them in Australia, would save the entire world (or delay its destruction) then it would seem that what happens on this Island affects the world instead of vice versa. Therefore, what is more than likely, is that Desmond somehow effected one of the “numbers” (or what the represent) and impacted the world “outside” of the Island. In order for the Island to return to the same time frame as the world that surrounds it the two realities would have to reallign. If Charlie never becomes an addict, but Liam does, then perhaps Charlie intervenes and “saves” Liam. (Fire And Water, “Save us Charlie” “Save us little brother”). Without Charlie on the Island then there is no relationship to Claire, Charlie doesn’t dream and Aaron isn’t baptized. But keep in mind, Charlie for all intents and purposes was dead when Jack found him hung by Ethan. Jack “willed” him back to life. How could he? Because Charlie’s role was to save Aaron (the only child born on the Island thus far)spiritually. The Island responded to Charlie’s relationship with Claire, selected him as a surrogate father and responded to Jack’s will to save Charlie. My prediction for the Season finale: Others vs. 815ers and somehow the 815ers use Smokey against them to save themselves. The big twist, with Charlie dead, someone (probably Penny) is able to reach the Island or….The DNA take from Claire is compared to Jack’s and they discover that Jack (or Aaron) is Jacob.
Comment by Merlboroman — April 11, 2007 @ 1:47 pm
I think you’re drinking too much of the Donne Darko kool-aid, Doc. It’s interesting, but probably too complex for the show. Jensen’s theory sounds simple enough for primetime.
Comment by karmachu — April 11, 2007 @ 1:50 pm
Great theories, all. Fun reading.
Has anyone mulled over the possibility that the lostaways are actually The Hostiles?
Maybe the Others or remnants of Dharma re-programmed (a la Clockwork Orange) the Hostiles - or Hostile children - and released them into the world. But the Island somehow pulled them back to protect it against the Others?
That could account for all the the entwined histories.
I like the time travel theories, but I agree that they’re a bit too sci-fi for mainstream TV. I think the writers will stick with more vague magic realism instead of treading into Quantum Leap/Star Trek territory.
Comment by Michael — April 11, 2007 @ 1:59 pm
Monkeyfist, the last podcast explicitly confirmed that is not the case (Nikki & Paulo replacing Rose & Bernard.) TPTB said Rose & Bernard are still on the beach, and in fact have a major storyline coming up.
Further evidence: Rose’s “cameo” in Expose (Jack working on her in the background, and Boone asking Nikki for a pen–recall he thought they were going to have to do a laryngotomy on her.) There was also a flashback scene that was filmed & deleted to save time, which took us back to the hatch explosion/implosion, and showed Nikki & Paulo near Claire & Bernard when the hatch door landed on the beach. The image was released as one of ABC’s promotional photos.
Comment by mj — April 11, 2007 @ 2:03 pm
DocArzt, don’t worry, I know you’re not gunning for me.
I enjoy your ideas, and visit your site pretty much daily to see what you’ve got, and agree the fun is in the theorizing and stretching our minds to see what we can come up with… the depth of the narrative is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on television.
Of course, as viewers, we are virtually constantly misdirected by the writers. It’s part of what makes this so much fun. My problem with the theory posited is that it would require everyone within the story to be 180 degrees off as well, and while I could accept that with the survivors, it would undermine any credibility of the Others.
That, and I have a personal bias against the timeline variation theories to begin with. I love how the writers have been [generally] extremely careful to have answers to the mysteries they reveal, and are pretty good at maintaining consistency within the internal logic of the story. While I fully expect that not everything will be 100% explained by the end–much should be left open to discussion and conjecture–I do expect that most will be tied up and make sense, though it will certainly be complex. And when we start messing with timelines like suggested above, well, the logical guidelines, the universal truths as they exist within the story, no longer have any meaning. It’s an out that the writers can use to explain absolutely anything… “oh, that? yeah, it was in a different timeline!” It would be the greatest deus ex machina they could come up with, and would likely preclude any true resolution of the story.
Even now, fans don’t believe Damon & Carlton that Christian Shepard, Nikki, and Paulo are dead, or that Bernard and Rose are hanging out on the beach. If this kind of a timeline device is employed, imagine how difficult it would be to accept any resolution of the story? That is the thing that concerns me. And, of course, Occam’s Razor… while I love reading the crazy theories, and exploring the possibilities, I still think that in most cases as fans we overextend, and most times a cigar is just a cigar, and they really do show us what they want us to see. I think back to season 1, when the Losties got the radio working, and how surreal it was when they heard a transmission from the “survivors of flight 815.” Mind-boggling… until we found out there was a band of tail section survivors on the other side of the island. Brilliant storytelling, but the answer to the mystery was very firmly grounded, as are most of the revelations we’ve been given.
Comment by mj — April 11, 2007 @ 2:17 pm
Doc J, great stuff.
So, Desmond has memories in all possible realities that have it’s connection to the event of turning the key. I think we have been seeing shifts in the time line from day one on the island. Remember how the hatch seemed to one day be pristine and the next degraded. Paulo and Nikki show up and Bernard and Rose are gone. There are different record players one with metal casing and the other with a wood grain.
Having your theory apply to Lock is interesting, but he had experienced quick healing after other injuries, like the blast door (when his faith in the island was restored, he took off the splint) and the piece of wood that he pulled out of his leg in season 1.
For the memories issue, maybe only one consciousness can exist where multiple time lines collide. Therefore, Locke would only remember the events that caused him to be paralyzed (Because he was on the plane the first time it crashed). Not the other time line where his “force of will” caused changes in the events of his life to avoid a confrontation with Cooper for murdering his soon to be son-in-law. I wonder how many kidneys Locke has now. Desmond is the only one that has flashes from all timelines because he turned the key.
Comment by TabulaRasa — April 11, 2007 @ 2:24 pm
So, which “timeline” are we watching on the show again? 1 or 2? Did we switch over to the the second timeline when Desmond turned the failsafe key? Jack already told Kate that his father died and he was bringing the body back. But the body didn’t seem to be in the casket… soooo… Jack was actually remembering his father’s death from another reality? Was this the islands way of giving him a clean slate or a ripple in the second reality?
Ow. My head’s starting to hurt.
Comment by sandleford — April 11, 2007 @ 2:33 pm
I also think the DocArtz thing is way too complex and convoluted to explain on network TV.
The whole idea of changing events until the course correction occurs is mind boggling. For instance, what events do you change? Who decides which events are the ’signigicant’ events that can’t be changed? How does one know which events to change, and which ones to leave alone?
Certainly one could go and just start course correcting, changing events to see what happens. But there would be no way one would know what the consequences of changing those events would be. To the point, if I was living 3 parallel lives, it would seem conceivable that I would do different things in each one of those lives, not the same things. For the Butterfly Effect idea, if I were doing the same things each day, but in one life I went to work one day but in the the other life I didn’t go to work that day, what would be the consequences of that, if any?
Each event, no matter how small then, could be offered up as an event changing action. If I brushed my hair in one timeline, but not in the other, I effectively “changed events” in the timeline. Did I course correct? You could say no, because that is such a small incident. But what if brushing my hair caused me to delay my exit from my house by 1 minute, thereby not stepping into the path of the bus outside in the street and being killed instantly, whereas in the other timeline I did step into the path of the bus? Every incident then would have consequences, and that would be almost impossible to explain. You can’t have course correcting events where some are important, and others aren’t. Every potential change in the timeline could be seen as important as every other one.
Comment by T — April 11, 2007 @ 2:40 pm
I agree that there will be a “relatively” easy resolution for everything on the show in that none of the answers revealed so far have been too convoluted. What seems most simple to me is that there is only one island and one universe. Like a stone erratically skipping across the stream of time, the island was unreachable before the existence of the pearl station and is again unreachable and lost in time now that the magnetic anomaly is once again not being regulated. The psychic Smoke monster is a representation of the anomoly and the purple light was a huge buildup of energy from this psycho-magnetic source Which sent desmonds soul on a shockwave into the past. With the island drifting above the timeline of the universe, an inhabitants past timeline become very close in 4 dimensional space to their location. But the magnetic shockwave went forward as well as backwards in time. Hence the flashes desmond gets. Charlie was supposed to die when the hatch imploded but he didn’t maybe that has something to do with him meeting Desmond while playing guitar in london…
Comment by Charlie Lesoine — April 11, 2007 @ 2:42 pm
Well, T, you wouldn’t have to explain every last course correction only acknowledge that this is this time line where things turned out differently. It certainly extends the life of flash-backs! But, again, the whole thing (my part at least) is intended as a slight study into absurdity.
Comment by docarzt — April 11, 2007 @ 2:49 pm
If you want to know my real theory, here it is: The producers will not end the show with a solution that requires us to check out half of the science section at the library and watch the show frame by frame in order to understand. I call it the K.I.S.S theory. Keep it simple stupid. It needs to be something that is easily understood in the context of information that is readily available in Joe Average’s noggin. It is most definitely NOT going to be designed to appeal to us nuts who like to stretch the explanations past the the believability barrier. I like the star wars analogy. Lots of miraculous things happen in that series of films in the terms of the force and what not, but in the end its still about taking down the Death Star. It’s highly likely at some point LOST is going to present us with its equivalent of a ‘Death Star’, in a metaphorical sense, and all of this time mumbo jumbo, miracle healings, and mysterious cult like scientists will be relegated to jawas in rolling junkyards, souls traversing the death/life barrier, and hyper drive; just a means to pass the time while we make our way to the heart of the story be it heroism, redemption, or whatever in the face of some nemesis.
Comment by docarzt — April 11, 2007 @ 3:04 pm
yo doc,
I guess its a pretty cool theory but i don’t think the writers would make the viewers think that much.i know they give us consistent easter eggs and many pieces of litterature to compare.but i i believe the small details are all just small things to distract us from a much larger plot. I’m more interested in the mythology and characters rather than the sci-fi aspect so i hope damon and carlton avoid your theory although its obviously very well thought out.
Comment by pdh — April 11, 2007 @ 3:12 pm
Just a thought, nothing really to do with this topic, but what about the spear point, or whatever, that Sawyer stepped on when he and Kate first returned? You can’t tell me something like that was coincidence. Any speculation?
Comment by Chandler — April 11, 2007 @ 3:15 pm
Hey Dr. J, after reading your theory (btw I love all your theories at EW, especially the one that introduced me to morphic resonance), I am in complete agreement with annonymouse. If Charlie is inhabited by an other’s soul/energy, then it has to be Ethan. It would have happened the moment Charlie shoots him. Ethan may have even planned on such an event, since creepy lil Aaron is obviously very important to the grand scheme (possible Jacob)…
Comment by cap10tripps — April 11, 2007 @ 3:33 pm
There is another point that would make Charlie being inhabited by Ethan make a lot of sense. The moment it would have happened (shooting) was before they meet Desmond. This would explain why Charlie has no recollection of their London encounter…
Comment by cap10tripps — April 11, 2007 @ 3:37 pm
cap: then how do you explain them (Charlie and Ethan)both being alive at the same time?
Comment by Charlie Lesoine — April 11, 2007 @ 4:49 pm
I just had a thought-
What if the way Juliet “arrives” on the island is by waking up handcuffed to Ben? Oh, and chased by ol`smokey of course!
The others we already know may only be “case workers” assigned to the “new arrivals” for Dharma. ((BTW, where did they all leave to last week?)) Just because former experiments have failed, it doesn’t necessarily mean that new ones are not currently being conducted. Of course there’s a bunch of holes in that theory. I have to admit I’m prolly wrong, since it does also appear that Ben’s group likely established after the purge.
To put it another way:
Since the mice figured out the first trap- they decided to build another trap within a trap.
One more thing since I’m already posting…
What if the smoke monster is really just a red herring?
-I think he is!
Of course I’m also a crazy s.o.b.
It’s just fun to speculate during the 167 hour wait in-between episodes.
Comment by Chuck_Farley — April 11, 2007 @ 5:26 pm
The logical result to the souls problem is that souls cannot be created on the island. So, babies cannot be conceived on the island, which is why all of those that have been impregnated on the island will lose their babies. Therefore, either Sun’s baby will be miscarried or conception happed before the island (a possible convergence of another timeline).
Comment by TabulaRasa — April 11, 2007 @ 6:38 pm
so… this whole show is like a Final Destination trip?
Comment by mz deelo — April 11, 2007 @ 8:24 pm
Interesting. One thing to consider or expand on this — one can read the entire show as a process of the Losties working out their issues from before the crash. To follow up Doc J’s prediction, perhaps if the character is able to work out his/her issues on the island, he/she is allowed to remain alive and not be on the flight.
So, Charlie seems to have overcome his addiction. He doesn’t need to be there anymore. Claire is keeping her baby. Sun and Jin have solved their marital problems (for now). Etc etc.
Perhaps as the show continues and people continue to solve their problems, the universe will no longer condemn them to the island?
A thought. In any case, any theory is better than the theory that the Losties are the ancestors of the Others, who need to keep specific people alive to ensure their own eventual birth. That theory bugs me.
Comment by kkty — April 11, 2007 @ 8:25 pm
mz -
I thought this was beginning to sound familiar.
Comment by TabulaRasa — April 11, 2007 @ 8:26 pm
I don’t understand the question Mr. Lesoine. If what Doc J says is true (all speculation), then the others can sort of body snatch. Perhaps their enlightenment allows them to control their energy enough to be able to sort of posess someone’s body. Again, I’m just rollin on the Doc J’s point…
Comment by cap10tripps — April 11, 2007 @ 8:29 pm
I dunno about all this soulswapping stuff, but I think kkty has something. I think that somehow, the Losties having to confront their inner demons will be a huge factor in either what the Island’s agenda is, or the Losties getting off of it (Locke’s dad/Sawyer’s nemesis manifesting pretty much proves this). Also, what TabulaRasa had to say about no new souls being made on the Island makes a LOT of sense to me. Maybe I just like it because it’s an utterly badass theory, I dunno. Hat’s off.
Comment by Jimmy Zer0 — April 12, 2007 @ 2:18 am
I like the no new souls theory, but they never said anything about the children dying. I think Ben’s mom may have died on the island during birth. To me it’s more about the slower moving time/aging issue. If a 70 year old woman has a baby (no matter what age she appears to be), chances are there will be major complications…
Comment by cap10tripps — April 12, 2007 @ 7:56 am
cap -
I just made the assumption that since something happened during conception (when Juliette was talking to Ben) that the fetus would be lost as well.
BTW, where is her indignation that they are killing people for the sake of this experiment?
Comment by TabulaRasa — April 12, 2007 @ 2:33 pm
I don’t know. This all seems like crazy talk to me.
Comment by Charlie Lesoine — April 12, 2007 @ 3:12 pm
Could Jacob be the smoke monster and needs a young body to take human form sort of like yhe man in the painting in ghosbusters 2. Hence why Aaron appears to be so crucial to the others. This is probably an ongoing affair as they obviously tried using Alex to no avail and with Charlie around aaron is untouchable hence why he is destined to die. This could be why Desmond has appeared later in the show as he could be a type of bodyguard for Charlie sent from who knows?
It is strange how it appears to be his calling to go to the island and now there has been presented with the mission of protecting charlie who in turn protects Aaron.
Also the fact sun is pregnant leads me to think she will only concieve if the island lets her basically she is back up for the island incase Desmond and charlie are successful in protecting baby Aaron and jacob needs another body to reincarnate.
also who knows if sun is no good there is a posibility Kate could become pregnant as she slept with sawyer and would not know for a couple of months which gives jacob 3 opportunities to reincarnate himself.
gotta go will add to this later.
probably crap anyway.
Comment by darren locke — April 13, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
Good thoughts Darren. The Smokey needs a baby idea goes along with the haunted island theory. I particularly liked how you pointed out the connection from Des, to Charlie, to Aaron. It seems you could be on to something…
Comment by cap10tripps — April 13, 2007 @ 9:57 pm
I agree with Darren, except for the part where he said Desmond was Charlies guard. If you think about it wasn’t Desmond leading Charlie to his dimise. He THOUGHT he was saving Charlie all those previous times and this time he thought Charlie’s death would result in the rescue of the whole group. It seems that it was all in vain and Desmond’s real purpose was to get everyone on the island killed or atleast get the Dahrma initiative back to the island (even if Desmond doesn’t realize this). Also, just a thought, but what if some of the other flashbacks in the show are also flash forwards into a repeated timeline? And that
Comment by Amanda — May 26, 2007 @ 10:34 am