What on Earth is going on with LOST?

I see that there is a LOST thread, this thread is just for theories as to what is going on with the plot.

The series is winding down, and apart from a few asides referencing old school Lost
(Hurley to Jack: Isn't the cave where we found the skeletons and stones dude?
Jack to Hurley: Yeah it is.
End conversation)
....we haven't really focused in on any of the big Lost mysteries.

What was the Dhrama Initiative doing there? If Jacob invites everyone to the island are we to assume that he invited the Dharma Initiative? If he invited them then why didn't he let Richard in on it? If he didn't invite them how did they find it/travel to and from it with such ease.

Wait... vague memory of Richard being in on it and getting Juliet to the island....

Blast, I don't have the seasons memorized nor do I have them on DVD... so yes let's discuss what we are confused about here, perhaps we can help each other out.

Dharma was wiped out by Ben Linus sometime in the late eighties after he defected to the Others. So when Richard was recruiting Juliette they were considered 'the Others' at that point.

As far as what Dharma was doing there...studying electromagnetism and later time travel apparently. I'm not sure about Jacob's reasons to let Dharma on the island.

Okay that is true, I don't know how I missed that one.

I am just getting overly fussy at this point. I mean what about the Alvar Hanso ARG that went on? What about the sharks? Why is Dharma able to get on and off the island? Why was Des on Oceanic 815?

lol, take a look at lostpedia.com...I believe the shark/polar bear question is answered along with the Hanso stuff.

As for Desmond on 815, I dunno other than the easy answer of that's where he would have been if they hadn't crashed on the island.

I'm thinking there's still a piece of the puzzle that will answer most of everything in one grand swoop, some great revelation. REALLY hoping that they don't end the series with even more questions to be answered in the rumored Lost movie. That'd be flat out cruel.

LOST movie!? Arg I had not heard that rumor, I tend to avoid forums about it while the show is on.
Don't get me wrong, you didn't spoil anything of course, it is just that I do not like feeling out of the loop, but it is hard to stay in the loop while avoiding forums.

Okay so I have it figured out. I am not going to call this a SPOILER because, well, it is only my own speculation.... but here is my idea.

This is all about Eloise Faraday. ALL OF IT.

The entire show has been about her getting back what she lost: her son Daniel.

Let me explain; in the flash sideways we are shown that she is acutely aware of the fact that Desmond should know Penny and she is quick to tell him to to stir the pot. Also she is the only person in the flash sideways to have something back that she lost;
Kate had her freedom on the island but she lost it in the sideways.
Rose was cancer free on the island but lost her health in the sideways.
Locke was able to walk but lost that ability in the sideways.
Claire had Aaron on the island but was gearing up to give him away in the sideways.

Jack and his son are red herrings; yes Jack has something new but I bet by the end of the season we will see what he has lost.

Anyhow Eloise has her son back, the son that she killed on the island.
She lost her son on the island, she found him in the sideways.

Also she is the reason why the Oceanic Six went back to the island. Sure, she can say that they all had to be on the plane for it to reach the island but that is all crud. That plane was full of Jacob's mercenaries, it was always destined for the island. Eloise knew that it was always going to the island, she also knew that she had to get the Oceanic Six back in order to all of the chips to fall into place... she has the ability to time travel as well as see how people are going to die; somehow she discovered a loophole and found an alternate ending to her son's life... at least she is prolonging it.

She is the one that got them onto the plane. She is also the one that convinced them to bring John Locke's dead body. Why? Because she knew that the man in black would need a new vessel, a vessel which would gain the attention of more than just Jack and Claire (Christan Shepard only had an emotional attachment to these two) So she had the Six bring Lacke's dead body knowing all along that some of them would be transplanted into Dharma land and would eventually work with Faraday to turn the world on its side and build an alternate reality.

So this is all about her. All of it. Everything with the Man in Black and Jacob; that is interesting but it is all a red herring, it is not really the story that is being told. We have been watching Eloise's story from the beginning.

Final tie in? Desmond; Faraday's constant. He has been there since day one, so even if DANIEL wasn't around his character's narrative has been in the form of Desmond.

wow thats a pretty interesting theory, the name of the show takes a whole new meaning

The entire show is based around Eloise Faraday’s desire to regain what she lost; her son Daniel.
The show is not about the man in black or Jacob. The show is not about the others. The island is a magical and mysterious place but it isn’t the story; it is the setting for the story.

Evidence: Eloise made it clear that sideways Desmond should not seek out his true path. She knows that the sideways world is not the “right” world.
Eloise is the only person that has gained something in the sideways world (Her son). Rose is sick again. Locke can’t walk. Jack’s son is a red herring; I am sure we will find out what Jack lost.
Eloise has been on close contact with Desmond for a long time. Desmond is Daniel’s constant.

Eloise convinced Jack and the others that they had to board the Ajara flight so that it would reach the island:false. The Ajara flight was always going to crash and reach the island, that is why Jacob's mercenaries were onboard; he was expecting them.

Eloise convinced Jack to bring along John Locke’s dead body to the island. Why? Because she wanted to provide ol’ smokey with a vessel that people would react to. She is not a smokey sympathizer; he is a means to an end.

Eloise knew that some Ajaras would be transplanted in Dharmaville and would be working with her son (whom she would later kill) What we see is already take two, in this take Jack and Kate are there to finish Daniels work thus creating sideways world.

She forced the sideways world to be created and is trying to make sure it is the only world that exists. Perhaps she knows something about smokey, perhaps she hopes that he leaves the island and destroys that universe leaving her universe the only one in tact.

Thanks Drewjamicks! I hope that I am right, it would be quite neat.

Guys, you're all great, but my eyes read faster than I care to.

Please, tag your spoilers like this so that those of us a little behind on Lost this season don't rip our eyes out.

O.O

Lost is freaking bananas, and I want no part in it. That you guys have put up with it for this long absolutely blows my mind. The entire vibe I get from that show is that the viewer is the victim of a really elaborate practical joke. Some day soon the curtains will drop and the whole cast will be standing there, laughing at you. And you will not be wearing pants.

If the show ends up in some sort of Carrol Churchill/Bertolt Brecht sort of ending where the audience is an actor and there's a singing chorus... I won't know whether to be mad, or impressed.

TheMadSpin said:
Guys, you're all great, but my eyes read faster than I care to.
Please, undefinedtag your spoilers like thisundefined so that those of us a little behind on Lost this season don't rip our eyes out.
O.O

I am sorry, in the first post I said that since this is all crazy speculation I wasn't going to spoiler tag (It seemed like spoiler tagging the sentence David Letterman will make a cameo on this week's Lost it. Really we have no proof so don't worry I am probably wrong about the plot. I did not consider people that were a little behind on the plot.

Oh! However my post doesn't talk about the past three weeks' episodes! But I am still sorry.

sunjammer said:
Lost is freaking bananas, and I want no part in it. That you guys have put up with it for this long absolutely blows my mind. The entire vibe I get from that show is that the viewer is the victim of a really elaborate practical joke. Some day soon the curtains will drop and the whole cast will be standing there, laughing at you. And you will not be wearing pants.

The show could be a joke... but I have had fun trying to figure it out like a puzzle. Even if, in the end, the whole thing fizzles it has been a fun viewing experience for me.

Just wanted to say that I am SO HAPPY that this post exists. I love lost. I have so many theories and thoughts.

Those of you that are caught up, check out Lost.Cubit.net

It's a kickass website for theories and discussion.

seethrumirror said:
Just wanted to say that I am SO HAPPY that this post exists. I love lost. I have so many theories and thoughts.
Those of you that are caught up, check out Lost.Cubit.net
It's a kickass website for theories and discussion.

I will check out that link, thanks. What do you think is going on with our favorite island?

LOST was a rerun last night. I could have cried.

it was good this week, the shit's really going down now. I was a bit surprised at the ending of the recent show, a little let down even. its seemed messy and anti-climatic for the characters involved

LOST just isn't the same anymore. A good season this time around, sure, but the show's departed so radically from the magical, character-driven first-season--not to mention gotten so whacky due to impossibly untied loose ends--that it just feels like a totally different show. I'm committed to watching it to the end, but bleh.

Where is Miles?!
I cannot wait until tomorrow!

Prediction!
Miles is with Richard and Ben, Miles is very important to the island... Jacob had a plan for him to become a mercenary or something like that and the three of them went off into the temple to prepare Miles for his big job.

Okay seriously, what is LOST doing? I don't even want to talk about it. WARNING! DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED LOST ON MAY 18, SPOILER TAGS NOT WORKING

Wait, yes I do.

What do you mean Jacob selected them because they were all alone like he was; no they were not! Claire was with child and then she had Aaron, Desmond had Penny or at least wanted her... Bernard had Rose and Rose had Bernard, Micheal was reunites with his son Walt so he had just found something, Eko had lost his brother Yemi... but had gained faith, I mean I could go on but is there a point?
What about Yemi's plane? What about Boone's death? I mean the plane was found by Locke it killed Boone it held Charlie's cocaine as well as Eko's brother... and this was all coincidence? In theory Jacob also brought Yemi's plane down...
Oh my gosh what about Danielle? What about Richard? Why did Richard recruit "others" if they were not on the list? Why did Richard recruit Ben?
Why did smokey kill Richard/?!?! "You can join me anytime' says Smokey McLiarface then wam blam smack into a tree! This series finale had better be awesome, I mean awesome.
Alvar Hanso? Bad Twin? Paik Industries? Why does the Brother that taught Desmond know Ms. Hawking? Why does Faraday have the last name Faraday? Why is the sideways more interesting than the island? Why is Jack the hero... I mean... OBVIOUS! Jack has always been the leader, give the island to Hurley! Why is Jacob's ghost a little boy? Where are Rose, Bernard, and Vincent? Where is Walt? Why can't Micheal's ghost leave the island if he did exactly what smokey told him to do? Why did he think he was doing what Jacob told him to do? Where are the others that had Walt originally? If the others were being lead by Christian Shepard "Jacob" which was really smokey and they kidnapped the children under smokey Shepard Jacob's orders then why did Locke Smokey annihilate them in the temple? Who built the temple? Why does Jacob live in a statue? Numbers. Polar bears. Hatches. Geronimo Jackson.Faraday time traveling. Bunnies. Destroyed Dharma films. Cabin. peh !

Can't wait for the last episode. So excited!!

lol thats quite a string of questions Katherine.

Possible Spoiler Ahead (from episode on 5/11):

I have to say I'm a tad disappointed at some of the revelations recently. They seem rushed and not well thought out. I mean come on! They had YEARS to come up with the ending (supposedly they already had the ending in mind when the show was created) and 'light' is what they came up with?! I've invested quite a bit into the show and am really hoping that it satisfies in the end....

Can't frickin' wait for the finale! It's going to be tough getting used to no more Lost after this :/

http://andrewmarathas.com/blog/?p=179

My take on Locke/The Smoke Monster. I'm not overexcited...

Andrew Marathas
Illustrator

So, its done. I should have expected them to sidestep all the questions I had about the show...which is what happened. Guess they'll be answered in the movie.

/frustrated

I don't want there to be a movie but I think there almost has to be. They all pile into the Lamp Post church and then...what? Go on to ANOTHER world. Not forward, not sideways, not island... come on? The whole sideways was a world "they created to find each other"??? Can't be Eloise knew that they were meddling, why would they create a meddling Eloise? I am so not satisfied with this because, frankly, it could have been better.

I watched it. Fitting ending. The end with Vincent killed me (dog owner here).

I found this on NeoGAF. I think it explains it pretty well.

every single solitary event from S1-S6 happened, with the exception of the S6 flashsideways
Jack died in the jungle, Kate/Sawyer/Miles/Frank/Richard/Claire flew away, Ben and Hurley stayed on the island
Kate and Co. went home, led their lives, grew old, died
Hurley and Ben eventually died
Once they all died, they arrived in the flashsideways, which is your purgatory
They all needed to find eachother and be together again before they could move on
They did at the end

If they do a movie I'd be disappointed. There are lots of questions, but better to allow people to resolve them in their own mind. Like what type of adventures do Hurley and Ben go on?

While not the tie all loose ends ending I think many would have wanted, it wasn't a bad ending at all. I know I teared up a couple times Vincent laying down next to Jack at the end, and Aaron being born in the flashsideways timeline

IG.Collin said:
I watched it. Fitting ending. The end with Vincent killed me (dog owner here).

I agree with the preliminary report that the sideways did not happen and came to the same conclusion myself; the issue I have is Jack's son and life with Juliet which never happened in any form of reality. I am also confused about why some characters were "not ready" (Ana Lucia, Faraday, Miles) while others got to move into the big warm fuzzy.

Was EVERYONE hanging on to a false life? Did no one find peace? Why is it that Jack got to hang out in a fluffy-you-will-find-all-your-mates-and-then-move-on kind of pugatory while the narrative had insisted that lost souls were stuck on the island? Poor Micheal is stuck whispering sweet nothings to cast aways while our other stars are in an alternate Matrixy universe. Perhaps what bothered me most is how it had NOTHING to do with the island. The whole alternate living simulation thing would have played just as well if there was simply a plan crash on a regular island. There was nothing about death, life, or rebirth; no answers to the time traveling questions, etc. Even the "good v evil" fight was marred by the fact that we learned that Mr. Nameless was set up by his kooky mum whom had recently slaughtered all of his people; so I wanted him to get off of the island. As soon as he was mortal where was the danger in letting him leave? None, danger gone... skip the revenge bit and fix the island. Nope, they didn't do that and now Jack is dead. I love that Jack died, I loved the Vincent scene; but everything leading up to it seemed rushed... and for a season that seemed to drag on in some episodes I am upset that the finale felt so rushed. Take out the clips from other shows that played during everyone's Island Enlightenment scenes and also the island bits because, in the end, they do not matter and you have an incredibly short finale.
I loved LOST and this finale will not ruin it for me. It was still a great ride and a great show; but the ending should have been better. It should have reminded us of the mystery instead of acting as a casting call for old faces. It should have answered some questions... the "whys" if not the "hows". It should have felt like season one, when everything was fresh.

I agree with some of Katherine's frustrations, really.

Overall, I enjoyed about 75% of the finale. I liked where it was headed, and, admittedly, a lot of that feeling came from a sense of relief that after so many episodes this season of doing things pretty strangely, they were finally pumping out something compelling and fresh.

Ultimately, though, I just felt like the ending was too disjointed from the rest of the series. I'm not normally prone to overtly negative commentary. I like to land on the bright side of things most of the time, but I felt myself, at the end, thinking something plain, like:

"That's it? Why bother articulating something like that?"

It didn't really feel like a "plot twist" that really connected with anything, I guess. I mean, I guess, technically, yes, it does make sense. There isn't anything inherently confusing about what they gave us, but I feel like it was a cop out.

That being said, the first five seasons were damn good television. That can't be denied in any form. I guess I'll just have to live with that!

Andrew Marathas
Illustrator/Smoke Monster

I loved the way they closed out Lost. It was a near impossible task but the way they carried it off was very satisfying for me.

And I didn't cry at the end, OK? I just had something in my eye....honest.