Interesting e-mails

[Jack]

Hi Jay and Jack!

I have a few theories for season 6. So far I have been pretty disappointed with the season. Perhaps it is b/c I have been watching all the seasons all over again (this is maybe the second or third time for some) and I am remembering how much I loved each one. Season 3: "The Constant" and "Through the Looking Glass." Season 2: "Live Together Die Alone." Season 1: "Raised by Another" and "Walkabout." Season 4: "Confirmed Dead." Season 5: I can't pick a definite favorite but collectively it was a very surprising season. I really loved "Ab Aeterno" this season.

Ben:
Ben is on Smokey's side and was never meant to be a true leader of the island because when Sayid shot YB, Kate brought him (YB) to Richard and the Others. Richard said they could save him but he would never be the same, he would always be one of them. Ben was never a candidate--he fell into the job because he earned it (sort of, kind of, maybe not) in the Purge. [Side theory: Maybe Jacob wanted Ben to do the Purge b/c he didn't want Smokey to recruit Ben and he wanted Ben to get rid of anybody who could be recruited by Smokey.] Because Smokey saved YB's life, Ben is forever on his side. He can't do anything about it. He killed Jacob b/c he couldn't be a part of his island business. Widmore was exiled/banished b/c of something, maybe sleeping with the enemy? Not literally, but maybe he came between the rules of Jacob and Smokey. So Ben took over after the very impressive and loyal Purge. Ben had to do something super legit to be a Jacob follower. Richard let Smokey save YB because he had a heart and knew the only way to save YB was to give him to Smokey. That's why Smokey judged Ben and taunted him with Alex--Ben is on Smokey's side so Smokey can judge Ben and Jacob can't (like in religion people say their God will judge them, no one else).

Flashsideways and the Incident:
The Incident happened without the Losties and it flooded the island but YB and Roger were able to get off the island safely. They were part of the group that left before the Incident went down. This scenario/flashsideways business is if the Losties never went to the Island b/c the Incident was different and flooded the island before Oceanic 815 ever took place. They never went to the island in 2004 so they could never (and did never) go back in time to 1974 (or 77?)--the Incident was different. Their lives are still intertwined b/c they're meant to be (I don't know too much about that part). It was inevitable in the airport. What happened happened and in this flashsideways scenario, what happened was different b/c the present was different so the past was different. I don't know about Charlotte and the island. I think she was there and left before the Incident and still became an archaeologist b/c she was all "OMG I need to go back. It's so important. Etc." And it would be interesting to know what happens with Daniel Farraday and Eloise and Widmore .

I don't like the flashsideways. I think it's dumb and annoying. I don't care about little flashes of redemption, like "Ohhhhh so nice! Ben did the right thing!" Sawyer is a policeman/detective. Wonderful. I say, who cares? I know there's a point to them and it only makes sense that I have to figure it out by the end of the season but right now they're a waste of time.

I know this show is their show. It's not made to make me happy and some people are happy and some aren't but I think they're just kind of screwing around with random things. Some episodes have had an air of Nikki and Paolo uselessness. I disagree with you guys: I didn't like the fight scene between Sayid and Dogen. It took way too long! and was a little bit ridiculous. And I think the acting has been pretty terrible. Josh Holloway (and Sawyer) is forcin it left and right and Kate's just dumb and Emilie de Ravin doesn't play that part too well. Nestor Carboneli was great and Terry O'Quinn has been pretty good too. And Alan Dale. I'm probably being too picky but I love this show!

Question: In "The Package," Keemy's accomplice was named Omar. This is not Sayid's brother, Omer, right? They just happen to have the same name? And if this is just coincidence, why would the writers give them both the same name? I guess they have different spellings but they're basically the same name.

Thanks guys. I'd love to hear what you guys think.

-Megan (Massachusetts)

PS: Those are my theories and I'm sticking to them.

[Jack]

jay and Jack,

Here's my crackpot theory that I've been working on all season. I think its finally ready for primetime:

I think its all about Desmond. There are three elements of this theory: replacing Jacob, circles/loops, and the powers vieing for control on the island. In short, I think that Desmond will be the new power on the island when the dust settles, replacing both Jacob AND Man in Black (no, I dont think they're the same person or even different sides of the same coin - I think they're wholly different entities), and he will be put in this position by a larger, more powerful force - the island itself.

1) Desmond as the replacement:

Desmond has the most personal relationship with electro-magnetism, which I believe might be the source of what makes the island special. After happily ever after, I think we're being not so subtily hit over the head that Desmond is "Jacob-pushing" the 815ers toward their alt-island destiny. Kind of like practice for the real thing.

One of the podcasts last week brought up something very interesting that got my juices flowing. Maybe the big event on this show was the implosion of the swan hatch. Maybe this MASSIVE release of electro-magnetism was the thing that gave the smoke monster its freedom to put into place its end game. So there's I disagreeumption (which, I know, i have no evidence for). With Desmond at ground zero, it puts him in a unique position to eventually beat out the Smoke Monster and then ascend to Jacob's throne. Why might be the only one to win? I'm thinking its somewhat like Harry Potter. Voldemort used Harry's blood at the end of Book 4 to come back to life and put into place his own end game, but doing so is what ultimately ensured that Harry could win. I think we saw something like that. Only once the Smoke Monster is defeated can Jacob be replaced.

2) Circles/Loops:

We've obviously seen the important role that circles and loops play in the show. Beyond literal loops like the compass and Jacob's "it only ends once" comment last season, its worth noting that the show's original title was "The Circle." I'm in the camp that thinks that this story has actually been repeating over and over again, with slight variations along the way. So the question becomes, why are we watching this variation of the story? What makes this time special enough to tell? I think its because Jacob and Man in Black are about to become fused into one being, balancing each other and finding ultimate peace.

Not too long ago I read a book called Footprints of God by Greg Ives (a kind of a Da Vinci Code like story). The story is about a new type of MRI technology that allows for a "snapshot" of the brain to be taken in such detail that consciousness itself can be digitized and loaded into a computer. SPOILER: The big pay off is the joining of the male and female genders of the human race into one consciousness to avoid nuclear disaster, creating peace and harmony in the process.

I think that the joining of Jacob and the Man in Black into one entity (Desmond in this case) will be what ultimately makes this iteration of the story worthwhile. Which brings me to....

3) A larger power: I'll make this short and sweet - people have magic powers. The man in black is a flying smoke column and Jacob has the power to grant another immortality. In order for any of our characters to take Jacob's place, they have to get his powers too. How does anyone get Jacob-like powers? I think that they have to be given.

I think that the Island itself, or maybe the electro magnetism, is a conscious representative of the universe and has been represented on the island first by Christian Sheppard and now by little raggedy dressed island boys toying with Flocke. If Jacob and Man in Black have rules then someone needs to impose those rules. Desmond will be given a choice, maybe with his young son as an avatar (a la Contact when Jodi Foster's character converses with her an alien being in the form of her long dead Father). This will make such a foreign experience more personal to Desmond, and all the more difficult because....

I think that Desmond will have to willingly choose to replace Jacob/Man in Black and that choice to live away from Penny and his son will be his sacrifice. I'm thinking its like the end of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 when Orlando Bloom's character can only be with his love 1 day every 10 years. This seems like a more torturous sacrifice than death.

Anyway, sorry for the ramblings. Thats my attempt at an ultimate theory on the series. What do we think?

Thanks, and you're my favorite podcast.

Ian

[Jack]

David



So, for the science side of all things Lost, especially with the
awareness that Desmond seems to exhibit, I believe more and more that
the flash-sideways is a para singular reality to the on island people.
The reason I feel that way is that it reminded me a lot of the book
version of Flashforward. I think that it is how they would like to
explain what is happening without it being, "God smote, begot, and
that is that."

Spoilerish stuff, for peeps not having read the book:

When they talk about Pauli's exclusion principle:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauli%27s_exclusion_principle

And the particles which defy Pauli's Principle:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaons

They talk about a para-singularity existing instead of a regular black
hole while a particle which is supposed to be an electron is currently
a Kaon. Therefore being able to defy normal physics and condense
"strangely." Eventually, the Kaons return to a normal state again,
becoming electrons, and the exclusion principle forces them all out
into normal space again.

The energy math is really hazy to me, so I dunno if I am on the right
path or not. It could be that the matter that makes up the "magnetic
pockets," on the island somehow create a kaon rich environment,
disrupting the singular existence of reality. Obviously it is a sci fi
show, so there bound to be a room of fudge to would explain the Lost
phenomina using quantum science. See any Michael Chrichton novel for
reference. It could be that a para-singular world was temporarily
created and will eventually re-collapse on itself, at which time, the
peeps on the island will need to decide whether or not to chose one
way or another. I am sure it will be: choose happy life where everyone
is happy and liked, and murdering Kate is incarcerated where she
should be. But Smokey Locke escapes. Or choose island life, be unlucky
and miserable, Kate gets to run free, unpunished for her heinous (heh,
heinous), crimes; but Smokey Lost is stuck.

You guys are great! Thanks for the podcasts.

[Jack]

Ok, I don't think I got my idea across that clear, so let me write it out for you:

Jacob and MIB were at some point in their young lives exposed to a high dose of electromagnetism/radiant while on visiting the island. This event gave Jacob the ability to flash forward in time and see the events that would eventually include the 815 timeline. During this event, MIB may have also been given the ability to change his appearance. Jacob may have even physically flashed forward in time, which may be why people on the island including MIB could see him.

Jacob as a boy tells MIB as a boy something along the lines of that he's destined to do something evil and be trapped on the island forever. MIB believes that he can change what is supposed to occur, thereby not being trapped and being able to go 'home'. However, the evil act of MIB manages to occur (possibly having to do with his mother), regardless of him trying to change things. Could this be because young Jacob ensured the events would occur, thinking he's preserving the timeline? Hmm.. So there we have MIB being betrayed; Jacob could have stopped him from doing whatever it was that keeps him on the island, but just allowed it to happen anyway, maybe even causing it to happen.

Jacob see the events around the Losties in the 815 timeline, and figures that if he's ever killed, the only way for someone to be able to keep MIB on the island is for that person to be able to move back and forth in time and change the events every time MIB finds a loophole. He sees that there was a group that was able to move through time too (physically, just like him), and that they were the best bet to be candidates to replace him. So there's our reason behind why they're candidates; nothing more than Jacob knowing they were able to move through time.

Jacob might have even seen his own death, which is why he wasn't worried. Jacob seems to be firmly entrenched in 'Whatever Happened, Happened', while MIB desperately wants to be able to change things. Obviously a very familiar theme in this story. This might also hint that the rules are based upon WHH, so if lil' Jacob tells MIB that he can't kill someone, it's because Jacob has seen in the timeline that MIB didn't kill that person. Can't change what happened/happens.

Side note: MIB seems surprised to physically see Jacob, which may scare him because it means that the events Jacob told MIB would happen are still happening, and his loophole isn't as strong as he thought. Notice how MIB is acting a little more panicky lately? He thought he changed the fate, but it's looking more an more that Jacob was still right.

In comes Desmond, who is not officially one of our final candidates, because Jacob did not see him physically move through time (his consciousness moved between time and realities, but Jacob may not know the other reality exists), so discounts him as being able to really prevent MIB from leaving. But Desmond has the ability to move through realities, and may be able to keep MIB contained in much more of a way than Jacob ever could.

Regardless of someone being a candidate or not, Desmond will ultimately be the replacement for Jacob because of his abilities.

Desmond....leaping from life to life, putting things right that once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap....... would be the leap home.

Couldn't resist.

Ian in Atlanta

[Jack]

Hey Guys,

I was watching "The Constant". When Daniel Faraday is looking at his
journal on the page where it says that Desmond will be his Constant if
anything happens - the facing page is a graph of space and time. The
top part of the graph on the left says "imaginary space" with a curved
line from A to B approaching "real space" on the right. The top of
the graph says "time" and the bottom says "real time".
lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:4x05_Journal_end.jpg

The Farad is a unit of capacitance named for the physicist Michael
Faraday. The two large coils in the box that Desmond was locked in
were similar to inductors. Two inductors in close proximity can
create a transformer.

When you are calculating the resistance of a circuit that contains
resistors only, the calculation is easy with ohm's law. When you
begin to add capacitors and inductors, that calculation is more
difficult and can involve numbers on an "imaginary plane". Depending
on how the circuit is set up, the phase angles of a circuit's
impedance can be skewed a certain amount in the imaginary plane.

I think that since Desmond is Faraday's constant, Desmond represents a
certain amount of capacitance and/or inductance. The island's
magnetic fields represent a certain amount of electrical current
involving this complex calculation. I believe that only Daniel or
Desmond has the ability to tune the island in (at one of the donkey
wheels) to eliminate the imaginary component of the island because
they represent the correct impedance to balance out the island's
imbalanced impedance. When they turn the wheel, the imaginary
component of the equation will disappear and they'll move from
IMAGINARY time and space to REAL time and space.


I think the final scene of the series will end with us zooming out
from the eyeball of a very confused looking engineering student who's
professor just explained how imaginary numbers and phase angles work
by telling a very long story about the survivors of a plane crash on a
crazy island where some people live forever, cancer is cured, the
crippled walk, babies can't be born, and smoke monsters are
everywhere.

I wish my engineering classes had been that cool.


Dan the Engineer

[Jack]

What an episode! I just love Jorge and hope he continues on in something so we can seem him every week. He’s fun to watch on TV and seems like a great guy – at least through your interviews and your discussions with him.

I loved seeing Libby again and finally getting to go on the date with Hurley. A kiss “woke” Hurley up to his connection with the island, which goes back to the LOVE thing.

However, my crackpot theory isn’t so much about love as it is about similar situations. What if the situations are what’s making the connections become clear. Desmond and Charlie under water in a similar scene to the LOOKING GLASS. Hurley and Libby kissing in an event that was supposed to have happened on the island but didn’t. Desmond and Penny in the stadium. What if Desmond is going to be working to get these people in similar circumstances to get their memories of the island back. So we’ve got a few of the Losties who are making connections back to the island – I wonder if that’s why Desmond ran over John Locke – to get him back to the point he was at when he was pushed out of the window by his father. My prediction is that because of his injuries, Jack will have to perform spinal surgery on him. That will force their connection.

Of course, once that happens I have absolutely no ideas what would happen.

Now we need to connect Kate and Sawyer and possibly Juliet. I wonder why Jin and Sun, with all the presumable kissing they’ve done, haven’t connected?

Also, when MIB through Desmond down the well, I thought it was a lot deeper than they show on the previews for next week. Next week it look likes it only about 15 feet deep or so and no outlet at the bottom.

When John fell down in Season 5, it was maybe 30-40 feet deep and opened up into tunnels that eventually led him to the donkey wheel.

This may not be the same well that had once led to the creation of the Orchid Station. MIB said there were several of these wells on the island.

So we’ve got six shows left. I’m getting nervous about this all fitting together and coming out not seeming to be “rushed”.

6.13 – The Last Recruit – April 20
6.14 – The Candidate – April 27
6.15 – Across The Sea – May 4
6.16 – The Finale –
6.17/6.18 – The Finale


We’ve Got May 11 and 18 for perhaps 6.16 and then a recap show on 5/18 and then the finale on that Sunday night May 23.

Do you guys have an itinerary for the weekend in LA? Are you doing any pre-Sunday podcasting or events?

Thinking ahead to next year’s Autism Speaks fundraiser, you ought to get as much LOST memorabilia as you can for your auction. Autographs, pictures, maybe some set pieces or a signed script would be cool. I mean you may want to see if you can visit the ABC studios while you’re out there and maybe score some cool stuff.

Take care and hopefully see you in LA.


Mike

[Jack]

I think that the flash sideways is a kind of prison for the losties
and especially the candidates. This "prison" is a manipulated
existence created by MIB/FLOCK/SMOKEY as a result of his eventual
escape from the island. MIB must keep everyone trapped there in order
to preserve his existence off the island, kinda like in the Matrix
movies. So by giving everyone "what they want most" in a fantasy
world, they will never go looking for the true world they used to live
in on (and before) the island, since that would destroy MIB's freedom.

But just as in the Matrix, people can discover that there is another
world outside of this contrived world, and eventually escape to
discover the island and the world were they have true freewill and
true love. So in a sense, it's like a hell where everything keeps them
just comfortable enough that they won't go looking deeper, more
fulfilling lives.

Desmond has a great life, he has everything he ever wanted, Widmore's
approval, a great job, and a life of status and comfort.

The only catch is that when they come into contact with of prisoners
of this manufactured reality, there is bleed through.

So Desmond is like Neo in the Matrix, where he has the ability to
crossover and bring down this fake reality. And he's doing it. And
spreading the word to other losties. He's like Neo and Morpheus rolled
into one, freeing people by showing them the truth of their previous
lives, and the love they left behind.

Eloise is remotely similar to the Oracle, but a more mean and nasty
one. She knows what going on, but still lives within this false world
because she gets to have her son alive.

The more I start to think of the this theory, the more connections I find.

What do you guys think?

-Mike

[Jack]

Hey Jay and Jack,
After tonight's episode it occurred to me that the Biblical character of Jacob had a son named Joseph who was thrown down a well (much like Desmond) and sold into Egypt by his jealous brothers. After this and subsequent years of mistreatment, he interprets a dream for the King of Egypt, foretelling seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Impressed with Joseph's wisdom, the King promotes him to second in command and puts him in charge of collecting food during the years of plenty for use during the famine. As a result, not only the Egyptians, but Joseph's brothers, and his father Jacob are preserved during the hardship. In the end, Joseph is reunited with his repentant brothers and tells them that what they had intended for evil, God intended for good, to preserve the lives of many people.
This raises some interesting questions: Is there some sort of complex family relationship between Jacob, Desmond, and Man-In-Locke which specially suits Desmond for the salvation/preservation of the island/losties/world? Will Man-In-Locke's evil attempt to be rid of Desmond ultimately be used by some higher power (the island?) for good? Does redemption/reconcilliation lay ahead for Man-In-Locke?
Jason

[Jack]

Alright fellas, I think I've got it figured out. We've seen how the Man in Bald can easily convince people to join his cause...by simply talking to them according to Dogan and Claire. But there've been a few instances where he HASN'T been able to convince people,and that's when it came to me...HIS POWERS ARE RENDERED USELESS against any of the candidates or anyone who's been in contact with Jacob. That's obviously why he can't kill them. Let's think about it...Jack heard him out, and still left. Sawyer & Kate played him and chose Widmore. Jin was about to leave Locke's camp before he was kidnapped. Sun chose to run away from Locke, and Hurley wound up leaving with the rest of them too (must've been Claire's BO).

The only gray area in my theory is Richard, Sayid and Desmond. Richard is the only one of the bunch that we know isn't special and wasn't really chosen by Jacob, rather just given a gift for his loyalness. Richard WAS convinced by MIB, but Jacob was able to "out-convince" the MIB and brought Richard over to the white team. Now Sayid was only brought to the dark side AFTER he was dead. Dogan knew he was bad before he sent him to stab Locke, yet he still seemed genuine when he said "You let him talk to you." Why? Because people CAN be changed. Once the MIB promised Sayid he could see Nadia one day, he now has a reason to bring out his "evilness." And what was the one thing that brought Sayid over to the good side? DESMOND! And Desmond spoke to him EXACTLY like Jacob...almost like it was Jacob? We've been wondering 2 things (among many) the past few weeks...Where the hell has Jacob been? And why is Desmond so at peace on the island since they put him in the Big Bang Chamber? We've thought it's because he's seen the alt. universe, but what if it's because Jacob has taken over his body just like MIB took over Locke. Lets call the Desmond who woke up on the sub and wacked Widmore with the IV stand "Normal Desmond"...Well I think once he was zapped with the eltro-magnetism, Normal Desmond transferred into body of Alternate Universe Desmond...and Normal Desmond woke up as Jacob. Just like MIB needs a person to be dead in order to take their body, maybe Jacob can only do so through the release of electro-magnestism. And we know Desmond is the only one who can survive a blast like that. I think the scarifice Desmond is going to have to make, is he's going to have to give Jacob his body.

I know you've gotten a ton of e-mails saying how Jacob is now Desmond. However, I think this is a pretty original spin on this.

Thanks for taking a read guys, keep up the good work.

Matt from New York

[Jack]

I have a theory...


It now looks like Jack will be the one to sacrifice everything to protect the island. Going back to the Lighthouse episode, it was made pretty clear that Jack would play a major role in the fate of the island and the LOST series, being that Jacob told Hurley that having him see what was in the mirror was the only way for him to figure out how important he is. Jacob says "Jack is here because he has to do something..." and up to this point he has not yet done anything of any major significance that would validate Jacob's comment. I believe that whatever his importance is will have to do with being "The One" to sacrifice himself for all of his friends and the Island.


In many ways, my theory is similar to the way the story of The Matrix is and the way The Matrix Revolutions ended... Somehow, the island is like The Matrix world (a dreamworld) and the flash sideways 2004 is the "the real world".


(spoiler alert)


At the end of The Matrix trilogy, Neo sacrificed himself for the sake of humanity in both the Zion (human) world, as well as the Matrix (virtual machine) world, in order to make peace for both races.


The architect in The Matrix Reloaded explains to Neo (The One - or who might be Jack in this case) that the machines have destroyed the human city 5 other times before, and the purpose of The One was to preserve the race and rebuild the city, starting a new cycle of the Zion civilization. However, Neo from the movies was different than the other "Ones" by having a certain love interest in Trinity, which was inexistent in the other cycles, and here would be represented by Kate - OR the simple motif of "love" and how it is now the key to everything.


Not that this would mean I see the LOST writers taking this idea from The Matrix, but more from what The Matrix did to go along with biblical references, as well as the connection with Alice in Wonderland. As a huge Star Wars fan myself, I am also a huge fan of The Matrix trilogy. All of the most recent episodes of LOST and discussions on your podcasts prompted me to watch the Matrix Trilogy over again. After what I have seen, I believe I have a good idea how all this will conclude. And I think I'm onto something because Star Wars is more universally known and the writers have fit just about every SW reference possible to make us think more about those movies than any other.


If you have time, take a look at this article online about The Matrix and biblical references: action-films-thrillers.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_matrix_and_the_bible


I am copying and pasting a portion of it here to explain my theory a bit deeper. (text in italic are exact copy/paste from that website and my LOST reference additions in bold.)


-----
Although not a part of the resistance against the machines, another essential character is Agent Smith (Man in Black). From the beginning of the movie, Smith is a leader of the Agents and a vital part to the control of mankind. Smith says in the second installment of The Matrix that he is Neo’s foil, or opposite (Man of Science vs Man of Faith). Smith’s parallel character in the Bible is the Anti-Christ, the Accuser, or Satan. At the end of the trilogy, Neo and Smith have a face-off ending in the defeat of Smith and the noble self-sacrifice of Neo. Just as sin controls mankind and Jesus is the freedom in Christian belief, so Smith controls the matrix and Neo sets people free from it. Just as Satan would be the overseer of sin, so Smith is the overseer of the matrix - and in the case of LOST, Man in Black is the overseer of the Matrix and also wants to "get free" from it, just as Agent Smith did in The Matrix.
Neo, Savior of the World - Jack, Savior of the island
Neo is the Christ-figure in The Matrix sent to liberate men from their fallen and enslaved state. He is heralded by Morpheus and other believers as the “One.” Neo (Christ) sets humans free from the matrix (sin) as it is controlled by Smith (Satan). - since the beginning, everyone looks to Jack to be the leader and he was never really sure about that role. Just as Neo wasn't sure of what he had to do and his struggles.
Neo has a resurrection scene at the end of the first installment of The Matrix.In this scene he is killed by Smith, and his coming back to life serves as a testament to his power, and sets the stage for Neo’s final sacrifice at the end of the third movie. It is the scene at the end of the trilogy when Neo makes his Christ-like death. After this sacrifice, Neo is lifted into the sky, the same way one might describe Christ’s resurrection. - and now, this is where I believe all of this will culminate during the finale. Man in Locke will kill Jack.. That is the sacrifice Jack will make for the island and be resurrected by Jacob. Jacob's resurrection will cause a chain reaction of events that will destroy MIB and his spirit.
-----
I believe that in reference to the "love" connections and the way this is going, Kate will die and that will likely happen in the next to last episode, if not the first half of the finale. It was always about Kate and Jack and we knew that from the Pilot episode. This will drive Jack to pursue MIB and want to kill him. At the point that Jack confronts MIB, he will have a vision, as Neo did, (and Jack will cry in this scene) or maybe see Jacob, and end up sacrificing himself, allowing MIB to kill Jack and start a chain of events that will ultimately destroy MIB.
In a way, with Jack sacrificing himself to be the new Jacob and allow Jacob to take over his body followed by the destruction of MIB, this would make peace with both worlds - the current timeline and the flash sideways timeline - and it will reset (White Flash) to a time that will reveal itself in the finale that will be mid- October 2004 and the birth of Aaron Littleton.
At the time of this "reset", the spirit of MIB is dead... thus Jacob's purpose in the body of Jack is no longer needed, since it seems that his existence was only to protect the island from that which was the evil that MIB possessed, so long as he was alive. The reset will take the island to a different time and uninhabited, which is where the bodies of Kate and Jack will be laid to rest in the caves, and when Jacob leaves the body of Jack and before he leaves him, he slips the bag with the white and black stones as some sort of memento, like items people leave in the casket when a person is buried.
I believe Desmond IS important in the whole story, though more of a Morpheus role or one to help and guide The One (Jack) to fulfill his destiny.
Widmore is not as important as we are led to believe, I think. He's just the Admiral Ackbar of the group and just leading the rebels against the empire. Important to the part of the story, but not the focus on the main plot-line.
In the end, all will be okay in the 2004 timeline, everyone will be alive and happy and with a fresh start to their lives and the show will end with a scene where we see the burial place of Kate and Jack and it pans out to reveal the island as a whole. Since we know that the island moves through time, this "reset" would send the island back to about 1955 or whatever the length of time would be for the decomposition to happen that Jack mentioned in the "House of the Rising Sun" episode - which is when Jack and Kate were the ones to find Adam and Eve. The island in the 2004 "flash sideways" timeline will be buried underwater as a result of a different set of events in a way, and the island that has Jack and Kate in the caves will be in a different time and place that is non-existent to the world at the end of the series.
Gosh, I hope all that makes sense. Just a crazy theory, but I'm sticking to it.
If you can imagine, I edited this a lot to widdle it down to the most important details. I know you guys will have hundreds of e-mails in your inbox with their being a week off for people to come up with these ideas. I hope you had time to read mine and that you enjoyed it.



,





--
George in Michigan

[Jack]

Hey Jay and Jack,

I've had a theory for a while that this episode convinced me must be true. Apologies if this one is already out there.

You'll notice that Man-in-Locke and Jacob are never phased by anything the Losties do. Even when the Losties are in full-fledged freak out mode or bombs are dropping on them, they both look on like they've seen in all before. My theory is that they have.

I think that the island has a plot that gets played out by different characters. Jacob keeps bringing people to the island, and they fall into the pre-defined roles - the man of faith, the man of science, the one who thinks of others (Hurley), the self-serving one (Sawyer), etc. If the story line proceeds as normal, it's a draw, and Jacob brings more people to the island to try again. Both Jacob and Smokey want one of the pawns to break the pre-determined steps and tilt the scale in favor of their side.

The things in this episode that have convinced me are Locke's comments when the bombs were dropped on the camp about how it's starting sooner than expected, the Locke knew where to find Jack on the beach, and the comments about being with Locke now. There have been a lot of comments and hints that this has all happened before.

Love the show!

Shana

[Jack]

Hi Jay and Jack,

I was just listening to your latest podcast and I haven't finished it yet so maybe someone has the same theory as me.

Before I get to my theory: Cindy is alive (unless she has died since the last episode). In "The Last Recruit," Smokey was leading everyone and then told Cindy he was going ahead to find Sayid so Jack pulled Sun, Frank and Hurley aside to go to the boat. So Cindy is still alive and insignificant and dressed like a crazy island person.

Following his death, Christian Shephard has appeared on the island to Jack, Locke (the real one), Michael (on the freighter, not the island) and Claire. He has also appeared to Jack off-island. In the case of the dead Locke, his body is on the beach but there is ANOTHER Locke waltzing around the island (Smokey). With Christian, however, Jack found his casket and he wasn't inside, so then Jack decided it would be a good idea to destroy it. There are two Locke-like beings and only one Christian-like being, that we've seen so far b/c we do not know where his body is.

I don't think Christian is always Smokey. Maybe the island uses Christian to get work done, along with freaking the characters out. I do think Smokey was Christian in the water scenario (he admitted it to Jack) and I think Smokey might have been Christian when Locke fell down the well to move the island. Locke asked him, "Are you Jacob?" and Christian said, "No, but I can speak on his behalf." Either Christian was the island or the ghost of Christian or, my theory although I believe any of them could be true, it was Smokey helping Locke get off the island so he would die and Smokey could take over his body. With Yemi, though, Smokey was Yemi but Yemi's body was in the plane.

I think Christian is a special case. I think he's just up for grabs, kind of. Either Jacob or Christian (I don't remember) said, "I help people get where they need to be" and that's what Christian has done, in any form, whoever is in him at the time. He came to Jack off-island and then Jack became depressed and was all "We have to go baaaaaack!" On-island, Christian helped Jack find water and helped Sun find Jin w/ the picture of the Dharma Initiative circa 1977. But he did lead Claire astray so I think that was Smokey b/c he needed one of the Losties on his side and Claire has daddy issues. And with the real Locke when he was alive, Christian was in Jacob's cabin (twice? once alone when Ben came in and once w/ Claire?). The first time, when Ben came too, Christian was just chillin in the rocking chair all mysteriously. The second time, with Claire, he was again, just chillin, but he had Claire too so he was even more mysterious. I think for the real Locke, Christian was there to make him believe more in the island and trust it more, to convince Locke that he had a purpose.

I still don't know what/who Christian is but overall I think he's useful to all major island characters (Jacob, Man in Black and the island itself).

And I don't think anyone is all good or all bad. I think it's all about the balance and most events in Lost can be seen as good or bad, depending on your perspective. Examples: Kate killing her father, Desmond going to the island and pressing the button, Jin becoming Mr. Paik's assistant (he did it for Sun or b/c he was a cruel person), Kate sleeping with Sawyer (she loved him or she was an obnoxious whiny hmm-hmm), etc.

Thanks guys
Megan (Massachusetts)

[Jack]

I maintain that MiB/Flocke/Smokey/Whatever was lying about being behind the sightings of Christian Shepherd.

Besides the appearances completely off-island, we've also seen him in several places Smokey can't be or doing things he wouldn't want to:

-When the bomb on the freighter is about to blow, Christian appears on the boat to tell Michael that he can leave (die) now. Smokems has insinuated that he cannot cross bodies of water in his smoke-form (he needed a body to be able to boat to the Hydra island) so there's no way that he could have teleported himself across several miles of open ocean for a fleeting appearance on the boat.

-Before Claire's weird disappearance, she sees Christian and they hang out in Jacob's cabin. Later, Locke sees both of them there, and Christian tells him he has to move the island. The cabin is surrounded by the circle of ash, which Smokey can't cross.

-Christian helps John down beneath the Orchid where the Donkey Wheel of Space/Time Displacement is. There is nothing to indicate that Smokey would want Lock to complete his task (stopping the time skips) and all of Smokey's confirmed appearances indicate that he has to travel place to place like a normal 3-dimensional entity, so for him to be down at the bottom of the well he'd have had to have manually floated down there in smoke form. This seems unlikely, especially considering the fact that time was jumping around like crazy while Lock was on his way down.

-When Sun and Frank come from the Hydra island to the abandoned barracks after crash/landing in the Ajira plane, they see Christian in one of the buildings and he tells Sun that Jin and the other main characters are in the 70s. At that time, Flocke was still on the Hydra island watching Ben in the sick bay.

I think Christian is something different. He's a ghost or spirit or something deeply connected to the island and invested in its survival. Flocke only said he was behind the Christian ghosts because he didn't want Jack to know the truth. Whatever Christian is, he's on Jacob's side, and therefore an enemy of MiB.

-Aaron

[Jack]

i Jay & Jack,

I love listening to your show, it’s a fun way to fill in my week in between Lost episodes, it’s great to hear all the different theories from people all over the country, and your own theories as well, of course.

Anyways, here is my theory number 1, which is still in progress- I think that the electromagnetic device inside the crate that widmore used on Desmond, is the only way to kill Smoky. Obviously stabbing him doesn’t work, as we saw from Sayid’s attempt. Widmore and the nerd herders are somehow coming up with a plan to herd Smoky, using the pylons into their trap, which is the crate. So Desmond must somehow be related to Jacob, or he’s there as a replacement. Though I do think the boy that they keep seeing on the island is Jacob growing up again, you know it’s not a dead person, or Sawyer & Des wouldn’t be able to see him.

My other separate theory about how they’re going to try and kill Smoky, is by getting him to step into a time traveling machine, like the one at the end of season 4?(the orchid?), and then getting him to bump into himself like the rabbits almost did in the comic con video.

My third theory is that Smoky is in fact the devil, trapped on the Island, much like the book of Revelations talks about Satan being bound for a 1000 years, and that Jacob is, of course, the steward/ arch angel sent from God to keep him on the island. God’s plan has always been about agency, and letting people choose between good & evil, which is why Jacob is bound by these rules to all island visitors. If Jacob were to show up and tell people exactly what they should be doing, it would take away their agency, just like it would take away our agency for God to visit us in present day and tell us exactly what we need to be doing. Satan’s plan has always been about offering someone something more enticing in the future if they just do that one thing for him, which is all trickery and a shell game anyways. You can’t trust the devil to fulfill any promises he’s making to his team right now.

Lastly, Jack, we all know that your theory about Jacob & Smoky being one and the same is not right, so let go of it. J let go now before anymore proof comes out. I have at least 5 reasons why they’re not, but won’t go into them because my email is already too long.

Keep up the good podcast gentlemen!

Aaron in Boston

[Jack]

My research started when I realized the LOST finale would air on my birthday, May 23rd. I thought, "Hey, cool, another awesome show ending on my birthday. I remember when Star Trek: TNG ended on my birthday SIXTEEN years ago." Woah, that's one of the numbers. And it will air on May TWENTY-THREE? Another number? 16 years apart on the 23rd day of the month, cool. Then, I started remembering what the ST:TNG finale was about. Below is my summary of coincidences based directly on ST:TNG's wiki pages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STNG#Season_seven & en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Good_Things...)...

The finale of ST:TNG was a 2-parter titled "All Good Things...". In the finale, Captain Picard leapt across time to combat a threat and was able to demonstrate to Q (a super-being, maybe like Jacob), that humanity could think outside the confines of perception and theorize new possibilities while still being prepared to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the greater good! What?! This sounds JUST LIKE SEASON 6 OF LOST! It's also funny that some of the accusations Q makes against humanity in the "trial" portrayed in the ST:TNG finale are similar to the theme of the conversation Jacob and MIB had on the beach when the Black Rock was approaching about everything being progress and how it only ends once. Also, at the end of the episode/series, Q reveals that, contrary to his seeming role as antagonist, he has in fact advocated on humanity's behalf in spite of the wishes of the other members of the Continuum. This smacks of Jacob/MIB possibly being one in the same. Can you spell Jacob with a "Q"? Maybe it's JaQob, if JaQob and Man in LoQ is the same person. Wikipedia also makes the note that the show ended with the Enterprise crew making FOUR consecutive motion pictures after the series ended (4 is one of the numbers). Okay, I'll stop with that.

Anyway, I thought these coincidences (both important and inconsequential) might be interesting to you guys and the fans. I couldn't sit on my findings and not share. I have a feeling some of the LOST writers might be Star Trek fans who assembled these coincidences and commonalities in their subconscious (or on purpose to see who would notice). Either way, it will be awesome.
Keep up the great work!

Cory from Willcox, Arizona