Movieline Attempts to Tie Up Almost 100 of Lost's 'Loose Ends'
After the Lost finale aired, some people complained that there are still dozens of questions left unanswered -- but is that really true? Sure, there are still a few loose threads left hanging, but I'd argue that the bulk of the questions people have are either answerable or can be strongly guessed at based on the information the show has already given us.
To put my theory to the test, I decided to rebut a popular video compiled today by College Humor that lists nearly 100 outstanding questions that Lost has left us with. How many could I answer, and how many were legitimate loose ends? Let's find out.
Why did the monster kill the pilot?
Because he's an angry smoke monster who often kills people who come to the island, as long as they're not candidates.
What did Locke see when he first saw the smoke?
Smoke, I'm guessing?
What's with the polar bear in Walt's comic?
It...was a polar bear in Walt's comic. Would you like to know who published it, or...?
Where's Christian Shepherd's body if it's not in the casket?
On the island somewhere, presumably.
Why did the psychic say that Claire had to fly on Oceanic 815, and why did he insist that her son had to be raised by Claire?
It's open to interpretation. In one of Eko's flashbacks, the psychic seemed to be a bit of a fraud, but if you subscribe to what he's saying, it still makes some sense. It was Claire's destiny to be on that flight, as she was a Candidate (albeit one who was eventually crossed-out...maybe Jacob was more interested in her before she got pregnant). As for why Claire had to raise Aaron, look how many people tried to kidnap that baby! And look what happened to poor Claire when she had to go without Aaron. Her hair was terrible.
Why did the Others want Walt so badly?
The Others kidnapped children, since they were unable to reproduce. Walt was a child. Ergo, Walt was kidnapped.
Who sent Kate the letter telling her about her mother being treated for cancer in the hospital?
Some dude? I mean, do we really care?
How does Walt know about the hatch and why does he warn Locke not to open it?
Walt had some special psychic powers, so he learned about the hatch by picking it up from Locke. As for why he didn't want it opened...well, a lot of bad shit went down in that hatch. Like, Walt's dad shot some people and stuff. It wasn't all fun and Mama Cass records.
Why does the smoke monster make mechanical sounds?
Because it's cool.
How is Walt able to apparate before Shannon?
Special powers.
How did Walt communicate with Michael using the Swan computer?
Probably got on one of the Others' computers, checked his email, played a few rounds of Words with Friends, and still had a little time left over to tool around a bit.
What is the deal with Kate and that horse?
I mean, it's an island with polar bears and zoo animals. A black horse may hold special resonance for Kate, but can't it just be a black horse? We've seen people riding horses on the island before.
Why are supplies still being dropped on the island after the purge, and by who?
All right, we finally have our first really legitimate unanswered question. I wouldn't mind knowing the answer, either.
What triggered the lockdown, and why on earth would anyone trigger it so that during the lockdown, black lights would go on?
The food drop triggered the lockdown. As for black lights, who doesn't love those?
What happened to the original Henry Gale?
Ballooned to the island, then died. I mean, it could have been interesting to know more about him, but what more did we really need to know? He was a red herring for the Ben story.
What happened to the original timeline Libby in the mental hospital?
Unanswered question #2.
Who built the four-toed statue?
We can intuit that among the people who crashed on the island were Egyptians, just to go by their hieroglyphics and Tawaret statue-building. Did we actually need to see them in a flashback, peering over blueprints and sweating on ladders? I didn't, but your mileage may vary.
Why does only one specific bearing get you off the island?
Because it's a hidden, magical island, and it just does?
What are the hieroglyphics on the Swan countdown timer about?
An homage to the Egyptians who used to live on the island and tagged hieroglyphics all over the place?
Why did Tom feel the need to wear a fake beard?
To fool the Oceanic survivors into thinking that the Others were simply a primitive tribe of other castaways, not a technology-possessing race tapped into the mysticism of the island.
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Comments
You're really asking for a specific explanation for a vague idea of the source of all life, and what the writers probably mean to be a vague idea of "god". They can't explain that in specific terms.
As to the many rules and time-travel oddities, they happened because that's what needed to happen. As we saw at the end, Hurley was going to run a much more sensible piece of mystical land. The island stuff is really pretty simple - Jacob made it complicated because he could, was probably a little crazy, and clearly ADD.
I believe it's possible for a jet to push back using reverse thrust.
Yes, exactly.
As someone who loves well-done SF/F, I can't help but feel like the mysteries were dropped in there to rope viewers who--understandably--thought they would be answered. All over the internet, I'm now being told that I was watching the show for the wrong reason, that "questions only lead to more questions" (as if I'm some demanding five year old), that it's all about the fuzzy emotional experience and that I'm missing the point of the amazing experience.
So the primary theme was that seeking answers is futile. Well, that's silencing, and a little insulting to the viewers who were justifiably roped into the show because they reasonable thought they'd find resolution. But whatever, it made ABC lots of money, and I guess that's what really matters.
My theory on why Smoke-Monster couldn't leave the island: He was created by the light at the heart of the island, and as long as it glowed, he couldn't get away from it without dying or something. He probably could have left before he was cast into the golden shower.
If it was God, why not say that? We accept the Force in the first Star Wars movie because it's fairly well-explained internally to be the magical stuff that the Jedi draw their power from (which is why the midichlorians thing was unnecessary). Saying that the golden vagina stream contains the light that's in all men doesn't make sense to me. I don't understand what light is supposed to be inside me. Do you mean my consciousness? Do you mean the spark of life--movement, thought--that's in all sentient beings? Do you mean that this is some energy left over from the big bang? Do you mean that this is where an alien spacecraft landed and the bacteria from which life started came from? Say that. Don't be willfully obtuse.
You might be right that time travel happened because it needed to, but that's just a massive deus ex machina as part of the show's central plot, isn't it? Not very good writing, then.
Who the hell cares. It's over and done with. Yes the finale was vaguely disapointing and more than a little sappy but thems the breaks. Time to "move on" people.
Ah, Ha, Ha, HAAAA!!! I accept your answers but like everyone says on LOST, "Answers just lead to more questions...SO QUIT ASKING THEM DAMMIT!" But, I've got one more: How in the Hell did Locke's dad, Sawyer, get on that Island? Which leads to the second question: "If you conned some man's mother and caused his parents to commit suicide, why do you mock them while tied up in a chair?" And finally the third question: "If, like Ben says, there's a box where you can have anything you want (Ben had some C4 in it apparently) does Hurley get pizza delivered there, now that he's Grand Puba?"
Aircraft most assuredly can back up under their own power and don't need a tug. I work on an Air Force base and see it periodically, although usually they are pushed back simply because it's easier for the guy in the truck to see where he's pushing them. The pilot can't see behind him to back up (planes don't have side or rearview mirrors) and in fact, Lapidus had to have Miles hanging out the door to directing him while he was backing up.
I think Smokey wanted Eko originally, then killed him and when he told Locke "You;re Next" - he meant Locke would be smokeys next target
The one thing that really bothered me about lost and I'll admit this is stupid but the size of the submarine on the outside was way to small! and I know it was just a prop but man that thing was small they could of used some CGI or something.
You can use two words to answer pretty much anything: quantum physics.
We're all just atoms floating in a vacuum, right? The huge electromagnetic (and presumably volcanic) forces at the center of the island and the Well-o'-Light (TM) can do all kinds of crazy stuff, like scrambling your soul into a pillar of black smoke, or creating a wormhole to Tunisia.
So why can't Smokey leave the island, but Jacob can? Because the power of the island has destabilized Smokey's atoms, meaning he can't physically exist beyond the limits of the island's energy source. When the light went out, his physical body was reconstituted, meaning he could have left if he hadn't been killed by Jack-ob.
What's the Well-o'-Light (TM), then? Well, you can buy into all the spiritual stuff spouted by Mama Janney, but I think we can also ration out that there's a purely scientific explanation as well (note: not real scientific, but within the science of the show). The island sits on a site of raw, electromagnetic energy, potentially powered by some big volcanic activity underneath. This energy is so strong that it makes all reality around it bend in ways that are impossible anywhere else in the world. For reasons that aren't important, this energy is stabilized by the Magic Cork (TM), and when the Cork is removed, the energy dissipates out into the water beyond, putting the kibosh on any funky changes it's caused (e.g. immortality), and uncapping the giant volcano that sits underneath it.
If the island had actually sunk, it could have caused widespread natural disasters: earthquakes, tidal waves, giant clouds of ash, etc. Who's to say the evil waiting to be unleashed isn't just incredible elemental forces that could kill thousands, if not millions of people? If we want to go really far with our extrapolations, we could theorize that the island sits on a point of convergence for multiple tectonic plates, and that the massive eruption that would be caused by its sinking would create monstrous disasters powerful enough to affect the entire world.
Anyway, that's my take on the whole thing. Since you can pretty much explain most of the "weirdness" that took place through that, I'm content to think that it's at least a very viable explanation for everything.
maybe it was a tardis class submarine?
I love lost cause it was different and weird, but there're so many things I don't understand like the ending, where did all go? were they dead on that church or what? I need some logic to this deal...
Nadia was given short shrift because Shannon was Sayid's lover that didn't remind him of his past being a torturer. Recall that at no time during Season 6 does he specifically mention (when asked by Smokey, etc.) that he wishes he could have Nadia back. He just wishes to have back 'someone special'.
One quirky theory I had about the food drops, besides the good ones folks have come up with... imagine that dropping something that large and heavy really causes it to bounce around in time... now imagine that you have a bunch of island inhabitants radioing for the drops. They wait a bit and nothing happens. Head's are gonna roll! GET ME MY FOOD DAMMIT! So what happens? Another food drop is attempted. And then another and another and another... soon they discover that they have a 10% success rate. If they drop 10 pallets, one makes it down. So they do it for a few years and they've now constructed this huge queue of food in space-time that's set to drop every 6 months or so.
It's got holes in it, but it's a cute idea I think. 🙂
The Food Drop was basically explained by Faraday when Sayid and Des went to the freighter and it took forever. Unless you go via the bearings Faraday and Ben knew about, time isn't going to be behave properly. So the airdrop could have happened when Dharma was still there, and it just now got to the ground. It also explains Hurley finding a radio station for the ending of one episode. Radiowaves were delayed in getting to the island when it was in a particular spot.
All of these questions are silly. People wanting small answers instead of having to think about hints the story gives you were bad viewers. Viewers that just didn't get the point.
Libby in the mental hospital. Libby went a little nuts when her husband died. The end.
I'm cracking up here with your TM's
I totally buy the Quantum Physics explanation, plus it also fuels the possibility of a sideways reality where Lost continues to air every week and I don't have to suffer withdrawal symptoms.
I absolutely hated the finale, but it's not because I didn't get answers. It's because the episode was too sappy and sentimental for my ice cold heart, and the ending was really, really dumb. In fact, I didn't care for a single episode in season 6, because the writing was terrible. I don't know what happened in the writer's room (Damon's ego, perhaps?), but Lost didn't end up being the show I started watching.
"Why are supplies still being dropped on the island after the purge, and by who?"
This supply drop was made WAY before it actually arrived. It was caught in the time loop that everyone experienced in season 5 and finally arrived in season 2.
Cody is right re: "Unanswered" Question #1. IIRC, Farraday addresses this.
stupid answers lol..
Yet you felt the need to troll comment boards about a show you thought was bad from the first episode. You should seek punitive damages from the person who held a fucking gun to your head and made you continue to watch, or to decide it was worth your time to troll a comment board for something you presumably know fuck-all about. Idiot.
So basically all the answers are "because it's a TV show"?
I think Claire broke the circle of ashes around the cabin, so her buddy MIB could get in.
DL, I would like to buy you a fish biscuit. Great stuff.
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