Readers Theorize about “The Constant”
The mind boggling events of "The Constant" caused some of the greatest discussion I’ve ever seen on this site. Lost fanatics came up with hordes of interesting theories about the state of time travel on the show, how people like Richard Alpert and Jacob may be tied into things, and what Penny’s father is up to in the grand scheme of the series. Read on for some of the more interesting insights.
Submitted by Greg:
Just a minor tid-bit that seems pretty obvious and isn’t that big in the grand scheme of things, but the fact that some people experience disorienting (and possibly fatal) "time jumping" side effects when traveling to the island could certainly explain why Juliet (and presumably other submarine-riding future island folk) were drugged before making the trip. Again, it seems pretty obvious, but I haven’t heard it mentioned yet.
Submitted by glider43
Last night’s episode might explain more about who Jacob is. If he, like Desmond, is one of those who is "unstuck in time," then it could be that he is constantly flickering between the past and the future, hence his shadowy brief appearances, the strange relocation of his cabin, and the knowledge of future events that he imparts to Locke and Ben in the form of guidance. The time phenomenon might explain a lot of other strange happenings on the island as well — for instance, the polar bear that was previously on the island might be the same bear that ended up dead on the desert, if animals can become unstuck as well. The way that characters appear in other characters’ past lives might also be part of the phenomenon. The whole thing makes my mind feel unstuck. We need a few physicists around here to explain things to us.
Submitted by Indra99
My theory basically is that some of the Others (Richard Alpert for sure) are actually the pirates from the Black Rock and that they are closely tied to the Dharma initiative. First we know that Richard Alpert has not aged at all since the 1970’s. Also they first appeared to the survivors as pirates (and we know on Lost that there are few coincidences) All of that was just speculation though until this week’s episode. I think the most important part of it was the auction where they were selling the journal from the first mate of the Black Rock. Through digging around a few days ago, I discovered that the Black Rock’s captain was Magnus Hanso. The journal of his first mate was being auctioned off by the Hanso family. I am guessing that Magnus managed to make it off of the island and bring the journal detailing the properties of the island with him. Later his family founded the Hanso Corp. which of course is what was funding the Dharma initiative. Think about it: that means that the hostiles and the Dharma initiative people are closely related. I actually think it is quite possible that Magnus himself is still alive and that he is Alvar Hanso, the founder of the company. I say this because according to Javier Grillo-Marxuach, one of the writers of Lost, he may be actually older than he appears. Also his Dr. said that there were some anomalies in his bloodwork. It has me wondering if there is some sort of fountain of Youth on the Island. We know Ben has been aging at a normal rate (he was born in the early 1960s) and so has Aaron and yet Richard has stayed exactly the same (and maybe Magnus too) Remember also that the Dharma initative was researching ways to extend life so that would certainly play into that theory. Regardless of whether Magnus is Alvar or not, the fact of the matter is that the funders of the Dharma initiative were the descendants of the captain of the Black Rock. I think this explains why they are still dropping food on the island because they know that there are still people on it.
Submitted by manifold x
The "minor" point mentioned in the episode is that they took at dusk and landed on the freighter in the middle of the day. Maybe I missed something but was that clearly explained? So it would appear that what Faraday discovered with the time lagged probe and this particular incident suggests some kind of INSTANT shift in time once an object passes through whatever "shield" surrounds the island.
Submitted by msintn
Okay, here’s my question: All this time we’ve been thinking that when Jack and Hurley say "Lets go back" they mean LITERALLY go back. What if it’s going to turn out that they only travel back in time to the past, in order to change something that happened in the past?
But Daniel said you cannot change the future, and Darlton said in the EW online interview that they are against the idea of PARADOX. But wouldn’t traveling back in time to change the past also change the future, and therefore cause a paradox?
I hope that’s not what happens. I want them to go back to the island for real, and if it only turns out to be time traveling back to the island, that’s really going to suck!
Submitted by lbanks69
Could it be possible that the reason why Faraday wasn’t wearing anything on his head is because he WANTED to be exposed to radiation? He implied you need to be exposed to radiation to experience time travel (hence, the purple radiation machine for the rat). It could be possible that he wanted to be exposed to it himself to allow for time travel. Why does he wear the vest? Well…everyone hates tumors.
It is also probable that Widmore hired him because he had experienced time travel and therefore could make better assumptions about the properties of the island.
Submitted by pearle
I am wondering if the ship’s doctor examining Desmond’s eyes was more than just a standard medical test for pupil response, etc. I am thinking of the way the smoke monster seemed to go eyeball to eyeball with people, almost sizing them up. And when Juliet and Kate encountered the monster (when they were handcuffed together) it was dark and the monster seemed to emit bright flashes of light, like a camera flash. Maybe the smoke monster has a way of assessing the state (or presence) of a person’s consciousness by “looking” into their eyes.
Submitted by David Westray
The journal would contain coordinates etc of the journey of the Black Riock itself. If no coords, at least "we traveled east from XYZ" to give directions to where the Black Rock sank (or didnt sink). This is a round about way of saying Widmore is after the location of the Island.
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Well I was shocked and amazed with that episode, tho what startled me the most was the open door and the comment “Looks like you have a friend on this boat”. I know people keep asking about Michael, but I’m thinking Walt, his dad turned out to be quite selfish in the end.
I wonder when Daniel wrote about Des being his constant, was it at Oxford, or was it when he was signed up for the freighter? If Des cant remember ever meeting Daniel in the past, but Daniel remembers Des, then in the past Des actually appeared, thus physical time travel not the “conscious mind” travel that Daniel described to be happening to the rat. Also, makes me wonder about Charlie when he appears to Hurley in the future, seeming perfectly real, and perfectly normal.
When Penny said she’s been looking for Des for 3 years, why 3 years ago? Is it 3 years since his boat was wrecked on the island? I forget how long Des has been there, can anyone remember?
Comment by Kellybee — March 4, 2008 @ 12:35 pm
“When Penny said she’s been looking for Des for 3 years, why 3 years ago? Is it 3 years since his boat was wrecked on the island? I forget how long Des has been there, can anyone remember?”
I think it’s fair to see most people here remember–and yes, it’s been 3 years.
Comment by Bob — March 4, 2008 @ 1:17 pm
Well first of all Kelly, I’m pretty sure the “friend” on the freighter is going to be Michael, because there was definately more to the deal with he and Ben when he let them leave the island. Michael had to help Ben escape, and in return he would let them leave the island, but I think that Ben intended for Michael to come across the freighter (hence the exact coordinates he gave Michael). This would mean Ben has a secure spy on the freighter, and supports the fact that the friend is Michael.
Secondly, Penny has been looking for Desmond for 3 years, because he has been on the island for a little over 3 years now. I remember in a past Desmond-centric episode, he explained to one of the Losties that he had been on the island for 3 years, and seeing as that was last season, he’s been there for a little more than 3 years now.
Comment by Gates — March 4, 2008 @ 1:21 pm
The Faraday not wanting tumors comment made me think of the tumor that Ben had removed from his spine. Interesting.
Comment by Kimbrah — March 4, 2008 @ 2:21 pm
It does seem to make sense that the ‘friend’ is Michael, but I keep thinking that if the freighter crew saw a small boat coming from the island with Michael and Walt on it they would capture and question them. It doesn’t seem to make sense that they would just let Michael wander around getting information to somehow send back to Ben and open doors from other people that came from the island.
This makes me think that maybe its Walt. Walt does have a different sort of connection with the island and Locke and Ben. Maybe Michael is locked up somewhere but they didn’t see Walt as much of a threat since he was just a kid. This would allow him to somehow contact Ben and wander around, etc.
Then again, maybe we’re just forcing it because we are so curious about what happened to Michael and Walt. It could be someone completely new.
Comment by AnotherOther — March 4, 2008 @ 2:33 pm
“Okay, here’s my question: All this time we’ve been thinking that when Jack and Hurley say “Lets go back” they mean LITERALLY go back. What if it’s going to turn out that they only travel back in time to the past, in order to change something that happened in the past?”
If Jack and Kate go back to the island, end up too far in the past, and there’s a whole “oh my gosh, they set in motion a chain of events that helped them in the future” bla bla bla, oh wow, THEY’RE the Adam and Eve skeletons from the beginning of Season 1 thing, I will shoot myself and scorn the name of Darlton for all time. Too cliché.
Comment by R.Pete.G — March 4, 2008 @ 2:50 pm
One thing we need to remember is that Desmond isn’t Marty McFly. Desmond was not physically going back in time. His consciousness was traveling back to 1996 and forward into 2004. Daniel said as much in 1996. Also, when Desmond wrote the instructions on his hand in 2004, the writing wasn’t there in 1996. Desmond doesn’t suddenly appear back on the freighter after he’s been in the past. As far as we can tell, his body stays in both time periods while his consciousness time travels. Therefore, when we’re thinking of others time traveling, we need to think of it more as an out of body experience instead of “Back to the Future.”
Comment by darth philogos — March 4, 2008 @ 4:55 pm
wen did the black rock crasg on the island??? m micheal is on the boat sum how i bet he go off the island and i hear that in micheals episode that we see MR FRIENDLY in micheals flashback and where michealas been and wat he as been up to..
i reckon he as got back to the island through ben or mr friendly or sumone who was on the island and got off (BEn, MR friendly, Alpert, widmore ?)
get bk with wat u fink???
Comment by JASON — March 4, 2008 @ 8:08 pm
Ummm I’m sure I’m not the only person that noticed this, and this is the wrong place to put this theory. But since it just popped into my mind here it is. In the episode where Ben and Locke went to Jacob’s cabin. And there was that split second where you could see Jacob. Was that the Lost prop guy from the video podcasts playing Jacob? They look exactly alike.
Comment by hms. — March 4, 2008 @ 8:32 pm
Re: “Secondly, Penny has been looking for Desmond for 3 years, because he has been on the island for a little over 3 years now. I remember in a past Desmond-centric episode, he explained to one of the Losties that he had been on the island for 3 years, and seeing as that was last season, he’s been there for a little more than 3 years now”
Just a thought, but this doesnt fit in with the time anomaly that was discussed last week (or does it?). Wow, its complicated but makes me love it all the more. Maybe Desmond suffers because he’s still on “Real Time” and not on warped time?
Comment by kellybee — March 5, 2008 @ 5:46 am
Interesting theories…
Do you think if what we learned in “The Constant“ can explain why all the babies born dead?
Comment by Louis-Patrick Boulianne — March 5, 2008 @ 7:48 am
One thing that I believe needs to be looked at more closely, that I think is getting lost, is that Widmore is very central to what is going on.
First, it is obvious that these writers have deep literary backgrounds and nothing is more classic that a rich, arrogant and powerful industrialist that wants to control the world. From Dickens’ Scrooge to the banker in It’s a Wonderful Life to Dr. Evil to many many other examples, the billionaire and ruthless corporate titan is a wonderful villain.
If you notice throughout the series, and I’m lucky b/c I’m getting my wife into it and we’re now watching season 2, you’ll see hints all over the place. Only one comment I’ve seen recently noticed that Widmore Labs created the pregnancy test that Sun uses. Given that fertility is such a central concern on this island, this is a neat coincidence. Then I noticed that the truck that Locke drives for his job as a home inspector has Widmore on the side (you also see this when he’s inspecting the house in CA for Sayid’s old flame - another weird coincidence).
Let’s remember that this show did not start out with this intricate concept in mind. If you watch the DVDs you’ll see that it’s a show that had a basic plane crash premise that then JJ and Damon teamed up and decided to make the island a character. Who better to want to control this island and use it for nefarious purposes than a cold hearted and brutal industrialist? He’s like a Bilderberg, wanting to control the world.
Therefore I see this guy as wanting to be the puppet master - I bet he’s connected w/ Dharma, Oceanic, the fertility issues, etc. I think he helped arrange to put everyone there for some nefarious reason. I’m betting that he’s the villian here and that - again like in many stories - an anomaly comes along that disrupts his perfect plans. That was like Neo in the Matrix, Luke Skywalker, or several other characters. This person who wreaks havoc on the rich guys plan could be Jack, Ben, Kate - maybe Penny - who knows - I think that’s the mystery.
Overall then my thought is Widmore is pulling many strings - I think an ex of how he knows exactly what’s going on is why he leaves the water running in the bathroom at the auction house w/ Desmond and walks out and lo and behold Desmond touches the handle and flashes back - would be very curious unless you think he knows what he’s doing. Therefore I think Widmore and his gang are up to no good and are going to try to use and manipulate this island for their purposes but at the end of the day someone like Jack or Kate is going to save the day for everyone else and put ol’ Widmore and his McCuthon’s scotch in his place.
Thoughts?
Comment by Steve — March 5, 2008 @ 7:54 am
I think time travel is out. In this episode they talked about the different durations of the cerebral flashbacks. It could be an hour, a day, a week, even years.
I just had a thought. Was the submarine used to go under the island protecting mechanism enabling them to leave the island without complications?
In the upcoming episode preview, I saw Daniel and the red head woman in Dharma apparel. More flashbacks from their time in the Dharma project on the island?
Comment by mchamma60 — March 5, 2008 @ 9:11 am
I am so glad someone else thinks the man on the boat is NOT Michael. I don’t think he would be allowed to spy on anyone. And secondly, why would he still help Ben…Your Walt theory looks a little better. If I remember, they hint at some telekinetic abilities for Walt, so he could open doors while being locked up and astrally project himself to give Ben news. But the question still remains…Why would Walt help Ben? If anything, he would help the freighties capture Ben, who held him captive.
Comment by Mickey — March 5, 2008 @ 9:39 am
I haven’t seen any theories or comments about Ms. Hawking from the episode “Flashes Before Your Eyes.” She seems to be above everything: Maybe she also experiences cerebral time travel and has a constant of her own. She seems to be able to predict the future like Des. She even told Desmond that if he didn’t accomplish certain tasks “every single one of us is dead.” Does the nebulous “us” mean “civilization as we know it” or perhaps “the other cerebral time travelers?” She also made a huge deal about Desmond pushing the button.
The only other time I remember seeing her was when she was in the photo with that monk right before Desmond met Penny for the first time.
Does anyone have an idea where she fits into the picture? If this has been discussed already, I must have missed it.
Comment by darth philogos — March 5, 2008 @ 11:24 am
I think the man on the boat is Michael…but not the same Michael that left with Walt. In the Ausiello report on tvguide’s website, he suggests we focus more on the HOW than the WHO concerning Ben’s spy. That makes me think there is something seriously screwed up about this situation - perhaps some time travel??? I mean, why would the freighter pick up Michael and Walt and then give them free reign of the ship? The freighter folks are way too secretive to do that. If, however, when Michael left he somehow goes back in time to a point when he is hired on as an original crew member…????
I don’t know. Maybe that is too ridiculous…but having the spy be Michael is too predictable. If it is him, there has to be a really big twist involved to make it interesting at this point…
Comment by tesla — March 5, 2008 @ 1:19 pm
Hm. I think the How question about the person on the boat must relate, not to Michael, but to Mikhail Bakunin. How the heck did that guy survive so many deaths? Whatever happened to him?
Either that, or it’s some three-toed mythical creature. Whatever happened to that thing?
Comment by gribbon — March 5, 2008 @ 2:16 pm
SO heres a thought about being unstuck in time.
that POLAR bear that they found in the 2nd episode.
maybe they were bringing him on/off the island. and something happened to him that he got lost in time so he somehow ended up in the desert.
that would explain some.
ALSO.
the adam/eve characters from the first season could very well end up being 2 ppl lost in time.
some of the really random stuff on the island could be answered by that.
Comment by Zach — March 5, 2008 @ 3:47 pm
sum one sed jacks dad is jacob ?
well if jacob is jacks dad then who was the jacob in the cabin who we saw with ben and locke.. he didnt look like jacks dad and we saw jacks dad in the chair when hurley looked through the window and then we saw an EYE maybe that EYE was jacobs and jacks dad was there too sumhow connected with jacob dont no how yet though????…
can sumone tell me wat year the black rock ship crashed on the island???? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
Comment by jason — March 5, 2008 @ 7:38 pm
Here’s a question: Desmond asks if Daniel is changing the future. Daniel: “You can’t change the future.”. But then he exposes the rat to radiation, the ra travels into the future to learn the maze (taught to her by Daniel), comes back and does the maze and dies.
How is Daniel gonna teach the rat to run the maze,when the rat is dead? Is that not essentially chainging the future?
Confusing
Comment by Sbujero — March 6, 2008 @ 2:00 am
Ok, we know that:
- Desmond deserted from the army
- Desmond was not physically going back in time. His consciousness was traveling back to 1996 and forward into 2004 (R.Pete.G)
- Faraday from the future, told Desmond that the next time he would time travel, he should take the first train and meet with past Faraday at the Oxford University
All these beeing said, I think that Desmond deserted the army because future Farady told him in 2004 to meet him at the Oxford University in 1996 o_O. It makes my mind hurt
Comment by Dima Stelian — March 6, 2008 @ 4:34 am
HEY CHECK THIS THEORY !
YOU NO WHEN MILES ASKED BEN FOR 3.2 MILLION DOLLARS WELL HOW ABOUT IF BEN AS SOMEHOW GOT HOLD OF HURLEYS MILLIONS ?
WHAT DO PEOPLE REACKON TO THAT ?
Comment by JASON — March 6, 2008 @ 8:53 pm
o and another quick point to make
if michael is on the freighter then if he has made a deal with ben how and when because i have just watched season 2 the last episode where michael leaves with walt and when he is talking to ben he does act as if he as made a deal he just seems like he is actually going home so if he somehow lands on the freighter then when did he make a deal with ben ???????????????????????????????/
Comment by JASON — March 6, 2008 @ 9:11 pm
ok, here’s my theory: There is pre time travel Des and time travel Des. Let’s go back to tbose “flashes” Des had of Charlies death. Thet weren’t premonitions, they were memories of the second timeline Des created when he time traveled. Since Des didn’t know he was going to time travel yet, he couldn’t realize they were actual memories. Otherwise he could have told Charlie I’m going to save you this time and this time, but no not the underwater station. If Des is perfect as he said at the end of the episode, he now has memories of two different timelines, the ones before he time traveled and now the ones where he did timetravel.
Comment by donald — March 7, 2008 @ 7:18 am
Heres an interesting question, not sure how I should word it but what happends when the past des catches up with current des? Sure his mind has went back to when he was in the army but what if he keeps going back and forward for the next year.. would find himself on the island again pushing that button again? So time could progress so that he could be in the past pushing that button by himself then flick to the future where he’s off the island or something. Surely then he could decide not to miss a countdown and so 815 wouldnt be pulled in and crash so then none of this would happen = paradox? AND what if while the future/current des’s mind is back in time and so the future/current des is in a trance that the future/current des IS KILLED?? Will the future des’s mind be stuck in the past? Does that mean he lives his life again?? Also, what then happened to des’s REAL past mind (the one that decided to enter the boat race)? Is that now gone since the future des has replaced the past des’s mind in past des’s body? Ultimately, has the writers ACTUALLY got a hold of the story or have they gone too sci-fi and just dont have enough quantum physics understanding?
Comment by yue — March 8, 2008 @ 9:36 am
I think Ben is his own spy on the boat and has mastered the time travel thing, being able to jump back and forth at will.
Comment by andy — March 8, 2008 @ 1:45 pm
To answer Yue’s question, this is how I see it. When island Des traveled back in time to army Des, he also traveled into a seperate timeline/dimension/reality. Knowing what army Des knows, (at the very least that he was lost on an island away from Penny) do you think army Des would get anywhere near a boat? If island Des would become “trapped” in army Des, this is what would happen: army Des would go on and live his life however he wanted, while island Des would spend the rest of his life in that catatonic state until he died. His subconscious can exist in both timelines at the same time, but his conscious can exist in only one at a time, hence his confusion. What Des needs is an anchor, a person/place or thing that exists in both timelines, in this case Penny. Remember it was army Des that asked for Pennys phone number, but it was island Des that actually made the phone call. And when Penny (his constant)answered the phone, both timelines were rejoined into one.
Comment by donald — March 10, 2008 @ 7:29 am
Not sure if anyone still reads this page anymore but a point to add to the above is it seems that future des goes back to past des and is finds the university to give the numbers to that guy. It seems that after this, when it flicks to the present dan looks in his notebook and finds that he writes des is his anchor. this could only happen if past des is in the same timeline/dimension/reality as future des to affect its future or else it would just be another version of dan that is the anchor. bascially, it does seem that he travels back and forward in the same timeline/dimension/reality rather than seperate
Comment by Yue — March 18, 2008 @ 5:05 pm