LOST on Earth's Mirror Matter Moon

Light / YangDark / Yin
EarthDark "Island"
LivingDead
Man-in-WhiteMan-in-Black
Free willDeterminism
FaithScience
OthersDHARMA
Eloise/CharlesAlvar Hanso
Ji YeonAaron
Gods of LifeGods of Death
Temple aboveChamber below
Reality w/ crashReality w/o crash
This theory proposes that Lost is about yin-yang duality. It's about interdependent opposites. Because it connects the light and dark sides of the universe, the island is the epicenter of yin versus yang.

Light/Dark Matter. Mirror matter (also Alice and shadow matter) is a hypothetical form of dark matter. It's similar to the "light" matter we're familiar with on Earth, but its particles exhibit right-handed interactions instead of left-handed interactions, making it the dark mirror twin of our matter. Due to this fundamental difference, the two types of matter are invisible to each other, and they have trouble sticking to each other. An entire hidden, parallel sector of dark mirror stars, planets, and smaller bodies is on the table.

The idea is that a huge chunk of mirror matter landed in the ocean, began drifting, and developed like an island. This drifting "island" seeded the world's earliest cultures with notions like duality, an afterworld, judgment, magical serpents, floating islands, and magical healing. To move between the island and Earth you must pass through a wormhole, which flips your particles' handedness and often shifts you in time. The exotic matter allows these light/dark connections.

Good/Evil. Extremes of "light" and "dark," like self-sacrifice and murder, are explored within the characters. In keeping with the theme of equal opposites, these are often portrayed as morally ambiguous.

Living/Dead. Hurley's gift, Miles' gift, a judgment chamber, a jumping cabin designed by a dying man, a being that mimics the dead... They suggest a parallel land of the dead that is especially accessible on the island.

Light/Dark Gods. To use Lindelof's term, Jacob and his nemesis "personify" the white and black sides that Locke alluded to with those backgammon pieces. Jacob grants life, and favors hope and choice; whereas his dark counterpart behaves like a god of death and the afterlife, and favors pessimism and manipulation. The dark one can manifest as people—and produces things like the cabin—from the land of the dead; otherwise, he appears as pure darkness. The dark smoke being originates from the core of the dark island.

Us/Them. Groups with opposing ideologies are perpetually in conflict on the island. The hyper-faithful Others keep clashing with science groups from the outside: the Jughead testers, DHARMA, Rousseau with her team. This conflict symbolizes actual, destructive ideological polarization on Earth.

Won/Lost. Lewis Carroll's looking-glass world was a giant chess board with characters as pieces; and the light side won. Here, Jacob lost the game in order to win eventual harmony between the sides... Still, the two realities could give opposite outcomes...

For more details, evidence, and comments, see the longer previous version. Many thanks to all who have contributed over the years. If you like mirror matter, note that I wasn't the first to discover it in terms of Lost. Check out Bigmouth's excellent theory. — Mike(NY)




Reflections on Season 6

Feb. 3. So where's home? Earth, beneath the temple, the land of the living, the land of the dead, Heaven, the future, just outside the Crab Nebula? (I doubt it's the other universe, as the split appears to have happened after the "incident.") Was Jacob's death a prerequisite for the MiB's return?

Here's one possible on-island outcome: Jack replaces Jacob, as the universe naturally corrects a light/dark imbalance. The monster is prevented from returning home (assuming he's evil, returning would probably be a bad thing). Thus, it continues, with Jack as the Man-in-White, with all of Jacob's gifts, and the monster assuming John's form in Jack's presence—as the appropriate compliment, just as Esau (who surely died long ago) was the appropriate form to compliment Jacob.

Feb. 4. Juliet's apparent flash-sideways (clearly reminiscent of the consciousness flashing) and Jack's apparently vague sense of recollection suggest that awareness of the parallel universe could develop in more of the characters. Importantly, if they should meet a tragic end in one universe, their consciousnesses might be able to jump ship to the other. This could be nearly literal should the island actually be the monster's ship, LOL.

Feb. 9. Perhaps Lost is about the MiB dealing with his own daddy issues (i.e., shunning by God). That dynamic has certainly been covered enough...

Hmm. Infected by darkness. That's heavily symbolic and keeps the light/dark theme going. Still, it was a bit simplistic after an episode with so much stalling.

Feb. 16. It's hard to know how much of what "Esau" said was factual... Just an island... Right...

Still, it looks like at least part of the endgame is set. "Esau" wants the candidates dead (can he kill them himself?) or else claimed. If he eliminates these "reserves," his side, the dark side, wins and he can return to the land of the living and/or leave the island. But, I assume Jack will replace Jacob and the light/dark stalemate will be preserved, keeping the dark side as corked as it should be.

I do question whether it still makes some sense that Jacob is aiming for the game to end in a draw some time in the future. Indeed, the progress toward the one ending might have just been toward an end in his favor, i.e., victory over the darkness (personified by the MiB).

But I do still think this war is meant to animate the tension between yin and yang; neither of which is superior to the other. If that's true, it can only end in a draw or continue in a stalemate. Or, option c, each wins in a different reality.

To pimp dark mirror matter, perhaps the argument should be: What better playing field than the meeting place between light and dark?

Feb. 17. As lukemh suggests, Jacob could have touched both Jin and Sun in order to effectively touch Ji Yeon. I think that's too clever to be false. So Ji Yeon might indeed spearhead the future of the light side. If that's the case, I think it's safe to assume Jack's demise. Here's hoping a draw via Ji Yeon + Aaron is still plausible.

Feb. 18. Maybe Jacob, or whoever fills his role, being governor of birth and the preservation of life on the island, can flat-out prevent the MiB from fully retaking a living form. With Jacob dead, he now more fully embodies Locke's duplicate. And with the elimination of the candidates, the preventive force will be completely gone, allowing the MiB to be fully restored to life. Is the island, arguably being especially linked to the land of the dead, the only place where that restoration could occur?

Feb. 20. Jacob's death, MiB's victory, or the candidate's ascension on the December, 2007 solstice (the 22nd)? We've discussed how 815, Juliet, the US Army, and possibly Desmond may have all arrived on the September equinox. The Lostpedia timeline puts the arrival of 316 (absent any very large time-shift) in late December, 2007. Depending on the hemisphere, the December solstice is the darkest or lightest day of the year.

Feb. 23. Jacob had a looking glass, David was reading Lewis Carroll (alluding to Jack reading it to Aaron), and there was more apparent cross-over mirror action with the scar. All good, though of course only suggestive. Ten bucks says the baseball belongs (or belonged) to Dogen's son. They might've just planted the seeds of Dogen's on-island backstory.

Feb. 27. For what it's worth, very pivotal moments occurred on the December, 2004 solstice: Jack made radio contact with Minkowski, Charlie died in the Looking Glass, Jack pulled the trigger on John, and Hurley first saw the cabin. I suppose those events were largely dark in nature.

The infection by darkness might be an analog to what could occur if the monster is allowed to move to Earth (assuming that's his intent). The light side presence (Jacob and his predecessors and replacements) keep the chief carrier of darkness isolated on the island and the passageway for the spread of darkness to light plugged. [Cool: Jacob's Creek hits on similar notions here.] I assume the light side must be extinguished from the island before the monster can leave. Curiously, all things here assumed, that would make the dark side of the universe evil in nature.

Feb. 28. Tweaked the Won/Lost bit up top to draw greater attention to a parallel: Carroll's looking-glass world was a giant chess board where black and white sibling kittens transformed into the leading figures of the opposing sides... vs. the island, where dark and light (presumed) siblings became the leading figures of the opposing sides, with the island as a giant chess board. Researching the "Alice" in Alice matter generates an obvious motivation for a massive "game" on the island: "Let's make our looking-glass world a giant playing field too."

Mar. 2. Todd Hostager posts excellent and expansive commentary on his Lost HEMA Theory site. More recent entries are chock-full of mirror matter and mirror-universe material. Check it out. ("DHARk MAtter Initiative" all the way!)

Some pre-show thoughts: Per some discussion with Jason and B.U., the submerged island might have been "flipped" to "light" matter as a consequence of the detonation (or something else). If that's true, it seems reasonable that the island's exotic matter became inert in the process, and, more importantly, the doorway to the dark side shut. If nailing the door shut is a good thing, then we might assume the consciousnesses of the Losties will escape to the "alt" reality upon their death on the island.

Like the button-pushing, the continued presence of the light side might be only a temporary way to plug the breach.

Post-show: For those hoping "Esau" might be the good guy... Well, that ship just sailed.

Curious how Sayid didn't seem to have a "mirror moment." I'm guessing that if refuge is found in the "alt" reality, it's only for the good guys (or those who survive).

I liked the semi-confirmation of the internal good/evil duality, and of "Esau" being associated with all things death. I've changed 'Good/Bad' above back to 'Good/Evil'.

Finally, although Dogen suggested "Esau" is no longer trapped, I think he might still need to sweep the board; i.e., claim or kill the remaining candidates.

Mar. 8. With our discussion about Faustian bargains and whatnot, and a suggestion over email by Kevin C. that the "alt" timeline offers the rewards for such bargains, I began to think Jacob might be well-aware of that lure.

Scenario 42:

Jacob (via Hurley): There's a man... Well... There was once a womb. Well, there was once a pregnant woman... who was sent to this place by my father. She gave birth to twins, myself and [cough], and she died in childbirth. We weren't really sure why she came here, but we worked out our roles... Anyway, my brother will appear to you as John Locke. He can't kill you but he wants you dead.
Jack: Zzzzz.
Jacob (via Hurley): A man will appear to you as John Locke. He can't kill you but he wants you dead.
Jack: Uhuh...
Jacob: He will offer you a bargain: Kill yourself and your friends, and you'll get to live the life you wanted to create with the bomb. When you die your soul will go to that place.
Jack: OK...
Jacob: I want you to do it.
Jack: Huh? Why would I do what he wants?
Jacob: It needs to be you. James is willing, but the reason is important. He'll do it out of self-interest. You need to do it to for the sake of humanity.
Jack: So I'll save humanity and all of this will be over?
Jacob: Sort of. My brother will think it is, and he'll become mortal so that he can leave. But he'll still be trapped here because he overlooked someone. And she's safe off the island.
Jack: Whatever... Save the details for the last possible second, OK?

So mortal "Esau" will be killed. But the light side will not be the victor.
The dark side claimed Aaron in the womb.
Will Ji Yeon and Aaron reach harmony or will the struggle persist between them? And what of the "no-crash" universe?

Mar. 10. So "Esau" might need his own stooge replacement to leave. I think that indirectly supports the idea that Jacob and "Esau" were replacements themselves... that embodiments of light and dark must be continually present on the island to realize the light/dark conflict. I'm not yet sure how easily that possibility can be reconciled with other recent speculation (e.g., would there be any great consequence of "Esau" leaving if "evil incarnate" is left behind in the form of a replacement?).

And no-crash-Ben's time on the island seems to suggest a split did occur when the bomb did/didn't detonate. But that remains a bit fuzzy.

Mar. 12. More speculation:
Abel —> Jacob —> Ji Yeon
Cain —> Esau —> Aaron

In service to his plan to engineer harmony between the next replacements, Jacob vetted both Ji Yeon and Aaron, and intentionally permitted Aaron to be claimed in the womb.

"Esau" insisted that everyone who left be brought back. What he meant: Bring back all of the remaining candidates so I can ensure that they kill one another.
I think it's a replacement that will set him free, but it's the complete elimination of Jacob and his candidates that will allow him to fully resume living form. (The alternative is to fully die, shedding his quasi-dead smoke status; and who would prefer that?) Contrary to Scenario 42 above, Ji Yeon's survival would mean "Esau" would be unable to regain life. The ploy would be to get him to install his replacement before realizing Ji Yeon is the true #42.

BTW, didn't Jeff Jensen suggest a Cain and Abel connection? I think he has yet to expound on it.

Mar. 17. I (and everyone else) look forward to more on MiB's mother and how her claimed insanity influenced the current state of affairs. He's not dead, he says, but is he alive? Or is he in limbo? Did she dupe him after she was claimed? ADD: Might the Aaron/claimed-Claire dynamic follow the same trajectory? [thanks to Jeff Jensen for the meat of that last bit]

The mirror motif is alive and well. Of course, the question of the relationship between the universes remains paramount. But even if we determine their light/dark status, I imagine we'll be left with some ambiguity as to which is superior.

Also, what would the MiB do to the island without the MiW's protection? Destroy it? Sink it? Overtake the light side and upset the balance?

Mar. 21. Some especially ridiculous speculation: "Esau" transformed from human to smoke when he tried to leave via the Frozen Donkey Wheel. The island said, "not so fast, dark one," and all that was left was a sort of dematerialized essence.

Mar. 23. Perhaps Charles wants to capture the MiB on the little island so he can do bad things to the big island without the MiB's interference.

On Ab Aeterno:

1. Looks like the "island is a portal to the dark side which must remain plugged lest the darkness escape and spread (across the light side)" notion is a keeper.

2. Jacob took his body and his humanity. Sounds good; though the actual "taking" part is probably key.

3. Jacob can apparently prevent the MiB from leaving through his will or mere presence alone. Hence, the MiB is almost assuredly planning to have the candidates killed before they can reinstate the no-fly order.

4. Curious that Jacob is actually trying to win over the opinion of the dark one. I think he was saying, "Given that you — the darkness — might eventually escape, I want you to appreciate that humanity does not deserve obliteration. I can find a spark of goodness, you'll see. I'll bring them here to show you. And then maybe you'll reconsider unleashing your wrath."

Outstanding episode, with 2 and 4 being the new meat.

Mar. 24.
Good                               Bad                                  After Bad
           
Merged                           Sealed (submerged?)
     

Mar. 25. Jacob/Esau backstory — Draft 1

A ship from the Roman Empire marooned on the dark island — though it wasn't the first. Surviving were a mother, her twin sons, and possibly some of the crew.

The dark island, indeed the dark side of the universe, is home to a dark — malevolent, from our perspective — immaterial "energy." The mother was "claimed" by it, went crazy, and either abused one of her sons (Esau) or killed herself.

In a ritual that should occur again, Esau and Jacob replaced prior personifications of the dark and light energy (the latter of which is associated with our side). In a sense, they were fused with distilled concentrations of the energy. With his new destructive power, Esau went on a vengeful killing spree and divulged his desire to continue off the island (on our side).

To stop Esau, Jacob killed him (or had him killed). In an immaterial form, the darkness cannot escape to the light side through the wormhole connections that the island provides. Jacob's own life-supportive "light" power enables him to refuse granting life to Esau, preventing him from resuming material form and escaping.

Foreseeing his eventual death, Jacob launched two strategies to avert disaster after his demise. One was to persaude Esau that he is wrong to think the rest of humanity is as corrupted as their mother. And for the other, he sought a replacement — someone who would be able, willing, and present at the time of his demise — to continue denying Esau access to a living form.

But eventually Jacob appreciated that there are only two more permanent solutions: Sever the link (destroy the wormhole connections) or engineer a bond between the next replacements that would counteract the opposition inherent in their roles.

Mar. 28. Semi-spoiler-ish bit from Lindelof follows in white text:   [source]
In a Q&A he suggested that if they had to pick a code name for the finale (not necessarily one particular scene — more the episode as a whole), "the black and white cookie" might be a good one. It was tacked to the end of a response, but it's nevertheless intriguing. The yin-yang symbol obviously comes to mind.

Just thinking that the "Merged" panel above is akin to "live together," whereas "Sealed" is, if it were to end tragically, akin to "die alone."


Endgame — Possibility 1

Behind that locked door in the sub is in fact Ji Yeon Kwon, the real Candidate 42.

Charles has two plans, both of which follow the more permanent solutions of Jacob mentioned above.

Plan A is to trap the MiB on the small island while Charles' team destroys the remaining exotic matter (beside the wheel chamber, at least) on the main island. That would seal whoever remains, including the MiB, permanently on the island, on the dark side. Charles' team will fail, but discussion of the plan will serve to inform the audience as to what happened in the no-crash reality. In that reality, the detonation of Jughead both destroyed the exotic matter, sealing-off the portals, and flipped the island to the light side (without the MiB, who was still in his non-flippable, immaterial form).

Plan B, the fallback plan, is to install Ji Yeon as Jacob's replacement. She will continue preventing the MiB from fully reclaiming material form and leaving. Jack and friends will perish, but they'll live on in the no-crash universe — bitter plus sweet.

Later, Aaron will arrive as the new MiB (having been claimed in the womb, with Jacob's permission), and he and Ji Yeon will reach an accord, or even marry, as the old rumor suggests. (Bigmouth has repeatedly hit on variations of both possibilities.)

[Yeah, for close readers, this bit of crazy-talk uses merged vs. sealed, instead of a reversal in fortunes for Jacob and the MiB across the two realities.]

Mar. 30. So much for Ji Yeon as the package. LOL. There's still hope for her as #42, of course, but there's also the simpler solution where Jack replaces Jacob. The Nerd Squad destroying the pockets, however, still sounds good.

I get the impression that the pockets might sustain the smoke... hence no smoke on the small island? Anyway, it would provide another possible motivation for messing with the pockets: cut the lifeline.

Mar. 31. This place isn't death.

Taking Widmore's comments about the consequences of the MiB's escape as truth, it seems pretty clear that the no-crash reality is not one where the MiB did in fact escape. Had he, we should have expected the eradication of all things good shortly thereafter. Instead, the no-crash reality might be one in which Jacob "wins," or Jacob and the MiB have assumed reversed roles (note BU's comments), or the island/portals were sealed (as above).

April 1. Did you catch Fringe? They just showed what I've been yapping about for too long: A window-like wormhole supported by the Casimir effect connects two sides that exist in parallel. Only here, on one side is Earth, and on the other is a much smaller mass with the island. Looking-glass optional.

April 3. The MiB needs to escort the candidates off the island about as much as he needed to escort Jacob off...
He can't kill them directly (like he couldn't kill Locke or Jacob), and he needs them all gone. Rounding them up will make the job easier.

April 6. I really enjoyed that episode. I guess the security of the universes is up in the air, but it's not very surprising that hovering around death lets memories be exchanged — we already saw that with Juliet. My guess is this special connection will conveniently only affect the main characters... Or will everyone in the world with even a slightly different "alt" life experience this? The episode also seems to firmly plant the idea that the no-crash universe is indeed a result of a split [at some point], with the detonation occurring in the no-crash universe.

April 9. They've been laying on the references to looking-glass worlds, mirror twins, and light/dark duality this season (not that I'm complaining); and so I've stopped cataloging them. In the days of yore, what could've been such references were more oblique, and a common theme was to juxtapose light and dark, with dark on the right or right-hand side (which is where it ought to be for an ideal mirror matter reference). The arrangement of the twin paintings of scales in Widmore's office fits in that category, as the one with the dark frame is on the right-hand side (from our perspective). (Thanks to Anonymous, The ODI's post, and Karen.) Another minor but consistent curiosity is that Jacob was living in the left foot on the Western coast of the island (with West being associated with left and left-hand, of course).

April 13. Turns out the whispers were pretty much what everyone's been thinking they are for quite some time... souls, perhaps in an electromagnetic form, perhaps trapped by the electromagnetic field of the island. Maybe malevolence attracts malevolence? Bad people stick to a bad place?

The island developing upon a core of extraterrestrial dark matter still sounds feasible, I think. It's the peculiar properties of invisibility and detachment from Earth (and some quotes from the producers) that suggest it's a world unto itself. But we'll see...

Abstractly, the MiB is surely as Damon suggested: the personification of "darkness" — presumably death and malevolence. It's a means to express the qualities of the dark side in human terms. But concretely, I think the monster is probably a sentient being from the core of the island (kind of the mirroring monster I described in the previous version, but with more intention and intelligence). The desire to go home is simply borrowed from the memory of "Esau." That he knows the well was dug by hand suggests he could've been around for the entirety of the island's history. (The instrument and scale in the cave suggest Jacob's people would have had or made tools — the well-diggers probably preceded Jacob.) That is, the monster has been watching forever.

April 17. Just added a bit back up top about the smoke being originating on the dark side.

It might be worth revisiting the idea that Jack is the obvious counterbalance to Locke. Hence, Jack ought to be the candidate — if he and fake-Locke survive.

April 20. "The Last Recruit" was an especially unrevealing — though pleasant — episode. Having the candidates leave might be sufficient to allow the MiB's escape, but I'm sill pretty certain their death would suffice.

April 23. So how does one (i.e., Jack) become Jacob-ified? I'd imagine he or she needs to be infused with the light energy, so to speak, as Jacob presumably was.

May 3. In a nutshell:

Two boys are brought to the island in a storm. One eventually replaces the previous MiW and the other dies and is fused with the darkness that is kept at bay by the island, replacing the previous form of the dark one. Like his predecessor, Jacob is empowered to grant life to himself and others, while the dark one is empowered to kill and to mirror the dead. Thus, the MiW is the ideal counterbalance to the dark one.

They understand that this is a cosmic chess game. Jacob aims to preserve the game or else have it end in a peaceful draw. In contrast, if the dark one wins (by eradicating the light side from the board), he can escape and convert everyone from the living to the dead. While looking for a replacement, Jacob has also been attempting to demonstrate to the dark one that humanity is not deserving of annihilation — though this is probably a futile exercise.

That's it, basically. Jack has apparently elected to replace Jacob — and so the story will continue with Jack as the MiW and Locke as the preferred form of the dark one. The dead will live on to some extent when they're transferred to their sideways selves.

What is the island? It's a mysterious place powered by exotic matter, a chessboard for a game between light and dark, and a potential gateway; and perhaps that's all the producers feel need be shared.

If they want to go further, I think a little world of dark matter would suit their needs well, as would the island serving as a bridge between light and dark.

May 4. Well, there you go. He rounded them up for the mass, indirect kill. But who's the straggler (in his eyes)? Desmond, Widmore, Zoe [or Richard, duh]?

May 10. Because the monster tried to kill everyone by surprise, it seems the Faustian bargains we were discussing are probably off the table.

Less than two weeks...

May 11. That was a fun episode, but it was very weak in the details.

Whatever that shiny, light-in-each-of-us stuff is, it's magical. It seems the key to Lost will be Disney-ish magic, not pseudoscience. Not that we couldn't foresee that possibility...

The glowing heart of the world is destroyed —> The light in everyone is extinguished —> Darkness wins

A cork isn't the first metaphor I'd go for — assuming that's all there is to it. (I really hope it's not.)

May 12. A worth-reading post-episode Damon and Carlton interview is here.

May 13. I've managed to translate the incantation Mother spoke during the wine ritual. The syntax is a little rough, but here it is:

"Strong in this one, the source is. Protect the macguffin, he will."

I don't quite get it, but I'm sure it will make more sense after the finale.

/sarcasm

May 14. What I think are fairly obvious predictions about the remaining story:

* Jack will replace Jacob, as he's already shown his commitment. A big part of Across the Sea was to set up the notion of succession.
* The magic light will be in jeopardy. Again, the stakes were just set up. Desmond is obviously pivotal here. (Forget the other pockets around the world. You never heard of them...)
* Jack might fully kill fake-Locke, as Mother's rule might not apply to him.
* The key memories of the characters (especially the dead ones) will continue to be transferred to the Sideways reality.

* And one crazy possibility: If the island is submerged because its light was destroyed, the "enlightenment" of the transferees might re-ignite the island (as the light in each of us is linked to the light of the island), and let it rise again in the Sideways reality.

May 15. If Mother wasn't misinterpreting the light... oh man... I'll probably remember the light-in-the-cave scene as the downfall of Lost — try as I will to repair my impression of the story. It's just too cheesy given the prior intelligent and serious tone of the series. And the because-I-said-so rules from Mother were about as weak a narrative device as one could dream up. I hope Lost snaps back to awesome.

May 18. Questions I need addressed to be satisfied with the show (1-4 are closely related):

1. Is the island sentient or machine-like? Does it hide? Does it recruit protectors? (I'm reminded of Pandora here — perhaps it's a microcosm and analog of Earth. I've been fixated on this of late.)

2. What is the island (if not a living entity)? If it's really a cork of some sort, then "cork" needs to be further defined.

3. What is the glowing stuff? Is it negatively-charged exotic matter from a meteor or eruption? Is it God-stuff, as Mother described? Is it a little of both?

4. What's the deal with the bearings? In other words, how and why is the island so inaccessible?

5. What are the consequences of the escape of the darkness? If the darkness = Smokey, then elaboration is needed on why his escape would presumably be so existentially or metaphysically devastating.

6. (ADDED:) What was/is the fate of Jacob and the monster in the Sideways reality?

For Bonus Points: Why did Damon remark in May 2007 that, "Somewhere just outside the Crab Nebula is where it will all end, geographically." Fully appreciating that it could be a random and meaningless joke, the fact that it is amazingly compatible with the cover of Foot's book has always struck me as remarkable.


On What They Died For. So Jacob needs a candidate to protect the light from Smokey, but Smokey only formed a definite plan to destroy the island when he realized Desmond's potential... There's a problem with the logic there. Nevertheless, the episode kicked butt. [On further reflection and a comment by darkprose, killing the candidates may have been a means to get to the light source. And destroying the light might be the ultimate means to his freedom. How inconvenient for humanity.]


May 21. I want thank you for indulging me with a public forum for this crazy theory and wacky commentary. It's been a very unique and enjoyable experience, and your feedback and clever contributions have been a fundamental part of that.

I'll end with my craziest prediction ever (taken from above):

The island will rise in the Sideways universe. The detonation of Jughead shut off the light, so to speak, and the island sank. As the "light" is reignited in the characters (through the continued transfer of key memories and emotions), the light in the island will in turn be reignited, and the island will rise. Hope floats, or whatever, lol.


May 24. Well...

The Sideways resolution was epically satisfying (emotionally).

The island resolution, on the other hand...


Some final theorizing:

I interpret the light as what allowed the composition of the Sideways dreamworld. It is the atomic building block of the afterworld.

Where this light exists in great concentrations in our world, both worlds intermingle. Think of the island as an intrusion of the afterworld into our world.

Note that freedom from time and space, the presence of the dead, and the ability to control reality by one's will were properties that were shared between the Sideways construct and the island. The island is like a light version of the construct, as it must partially obey our laws as well. Other sacred places, which contain smaller pockets, like Uluru and beneath the church, would likewise be places where the worlds intermingle.



August 18, 2010. And some final whining...

I get the impression that our expectations for the end of the show were at odds with those of the writers. We still wondered, "what the fuck is up with the insane shit that goes on on this island?" while the writers were focused on whipping out their arguably tangential "Sixth Sense" moment in the church. It seems they mistook the early commercial success of the show as validation for the promise of that scene; and they ran with it without appreciating that it could not pay off six seasons of convolutions of what we actually thought held the promise of the show: the story of the island.

Indeed, I and every fan with whom I've spoken, felt the resolution of the main plot was half-baked and obtuse. We found duct tape where we were expecting genuine and polished parts. Give us your prized moment in the church, but don't write-off such wonderfully laid island mysteries with deities, magic light, and a literal plug.

The filler — necessary to sustain such a long show — the cabin, the bearings, the moving island — was so alluring and absurd that we mistook it as being integral to the master plan. When such pregnant material is left to rot, it sadly suggests reckless writing, or worse, intentional baiting. Appreciating that a tight 6-season show is a tall order, the writers did play up the eventually-dangling threads in innumerable media appearances.

So the writers should be heartily thanked for the journey. Not so much for the plot lines to nowhere.

The twist for the encapsulated Sideways narrative softened its rough edges. If only a mature, revelatory plot device could've replaced the subterranean spring of light that burps smoke monsters.

Alas... It was fun. I loved 90% of Lost.

Mike

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Anonymous said...

Couple of thoughts on Desmond. First, the episode where he comes back Widmore claims he brought him back because he was the only person to survive an electromagnetic blast. But didn't Locke survive the same blast? It occured when they stopped pushing the button in the hatch, the sky turned purple and they ended up somewhere else. This was the same time Desmond began to see the future, similar to how he has awareness of both realities, and Locke become more connected to the island.

That event seemingly didn't have a major outcome at the time, but surely it didn't occur without a good reason. So my thought is this: once Locke died the MiB could enter his body, and this is related to the electromagnetic blast (perhaps as an outcome of the blast, but more likely because they were the ones who could survive the blast). Thus, it is my theory that the Island's purpose with Desmond is for Jacob to return in his body like MiB did in Locke's. This maybe only temporary (until the new leader is selected) but it is a thought. What would be even more intersting is if the Desmond we are seeing now already is Jacob (after Widmore's test). But I think this is less likely, and it's more likely that the kid is Jacob, preparing to enter Desmond when the time is right. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Desmond die on the last episode before the candidate is selected.

Ultimately I think the alternative reality will win out. This in part is what Desmond is doing. Preventing MiB from entering the new reality by removing Locke from the picture. This will effectively end MiB or leave him banished on the sea floor of the sunken island from the season premiere.

Thoughts? Am I out to lunch? My guess is yes, but it's fun to hypothesize.

Juice

Anonymous said...

Joe - I have been wondering a similar thing as well. On the episode where we see Ben's reality it is curious they mention being on the island. But wasn't Ben's dad shot on the island? And what about Ben's debt to the island after he is saved by the island after Sayid shoots him? I guess all this gets undone because the plane never crashes on the island and thus the gang never travel back to 1977. This might also explain Dr Chang not knowing Hurley.

Juice

MikeNY said...

Joe —

Yes... It appears that the the universe split into two earlier than the detonation — perhaps at one of those early time-travel moments, like when Locke turned the wheel (whenever that was). I think the time-travel allows the detonation to still be the cause of the split. But, exactly how it all works is hard to sort out. There's been considerable discussion of the conundrum on Bigmouth's blog.


Juice —

Yeah, it is peculiar that only Desmond is seen as surviving anything. Can we chalk it up to artistic license. Maybe Des will die from the fall and then be resurrected? My concern, though, is that I don't think 'Hume' was on the list.

I think preventing the MiB from crossing over by killing Locke is an excellent idea.

Anonymous said...

Nice confirmation on MIB only being dead people! Do they need to be on the island?
Rob

Jason said...

I still think we're going to see an ending where Jack fixes Locke's legs in the "alt" timeline, leading back to the beginning of the show where he can suddenly walk after the original crash.

Did anyone notice the cut on Jack's neck after the bombing? It looked exactly like the one he had on the plane during the "alt" timeline?

Are we going to see a "loop" of both timelines leading back around to each other over and over again?

Is that the ultimate way of keeping MIB trapped on the island? If the timelines are in a never ending loop, is that how he is being trapped on the island?

MikeNY said...

Rob —

Probably... There are clearly ghosts, but those who can be seen by anyone other than Hurley were probably the MiB. (Walt was apparently an exception.)


Jason —

Yes! Well, about the cut.

Not sure about the loops... BU mentioned something similar... But the literal bleed-through, and the figurative bleed-through with the paralysis cure make great sense!

Jenny A. said...

MikeNY: What's your take on Jack seeing Locke's face reflected in the surgical mirror?
Superbly intriguing, non? :) Jenny A.

Jason said...

In the spirit of your Mirror Matter Moon idea, could the Lamp Post have been a literal map of how the island moves around the world?

And in the spirit of balance between opposing forces, could the island be swinging back and forth like a pendulum? With the rotation of the Earth itself causing the island to move to varying spots all over the planet and possibly moving through time as well?

And in regards to the wheel turn by Ben and Locke, is the rotation of that wheel corresponding or causing the swinging of the pendulum? When the wheel is suddenly turned forward, it's kind of like flicking a swinging pendulum on your desk forward causing it to suddenly jump?

And if the wheel gets stuck, the island stops in one spot, like a skipping record until it is moved forward again.

Just some random thoughts.

Jason said...

Also,

Was that Jack's big choice that Jacob alluded to? Whether to run away with Sawyer or to stay and fight?

MikeNY said...

Jenny —

Yes, that was very cool. :-)

Still, it's hard to gauge whether the mirror was simply necessary for the scene or deliberately incorporated.


Jason —

You're basically describing the original incarnation of this theory... So I'm very partial to what you suggest about the map and the wheel; but of late, I'm more inclined to think the island usually just drifts near sea level, and the wheel lets it jump geographically (and maybe a tiny bit in time; though the people can obviously jump conisderably in time).

Stay or go? Yeah, I think you're right. Moreover, staying implies he's willing to replace Jacob. The greatest rivalry in the show will be reinstated, and it'll be especially cool given that their aims are now reversed.

Anonymous said...

I thought the ending was a bit ambiguous when Locke says to Jack, "You're with me now".

Did Jack actually die on the beach after the explosion? Maybe Jack is not the chosen one. Maybe it's Hurly.

"The meek shall inherit the earth" -sure fits Hurly.

MikeNY said...

Anon —

I think Hurley is certainly the most "good" of all of the candidates. Still, I think a revival of the Jack/Locke rivalry would make for a pretty compelling story. My guess is that fLocke misinterpreted Jack's return as a choice to rejoin fLocke's camp.

Jenny A. said...

Mike, I choose to believe the surgical mirror serves a purpose, thus the writers deliberately incorporated it. :) Very LOSTical of me.

What's intriguing is that both Locke & Jack had previous sideways world scenes w/mirrors, seeing their own reflections. Yet now, Jack sees Locke (who is unconscious, another interesting nugget). Symbolic of timeline convergence? Or will Jack take on some of Locke's faith, or role? Any way around it, a very nice touch by the writers, and a hat tip your way, too! ~~ :) Jenny A.

MikeNY said...

Jenny —

I really like that latter way: That it's meant to allude to a reversal — as has certainly happened, especially for those two.

Anonymous said...

This is a really great theory and I hope it comes true because they need something like this to connect all the dots.

MikeNY said...

Anon —

Thanks. It's been fun.

Anonymous said...

Mike,

I really like your May 3rd thoughts, really ties the room together. What if "their sideways lives" are within the "little world of dark matter"?

BU

MikeNY said...

BU —

Could you expand on that? (My interpretation is that the island is that little world...)

Anonymous said...

In response to your question, "Who is the straggler", I don't think there is a straggler. Perhaps the smoke monster knows someone is still alive because he's still "not free".

MikeNY said...

Joe —

Actually, I think you're exactly right. At that moment he probably inferred that Desmond (the most likely choice, I think) was not killed.

Jason said...

Any connection between the music box Claire receives from Christian and the one Sayid fixed for Rousseau back in Season 1?

MikeNY said...

Jason —

Good question. I assume the mirror was a key element. I also wonder what song that was. The same? Or meaningful otherwise?

Anonymous said...

The song in the box was catch a falling star and put it in your pocket.

MikeNY said...

Joe —

Thanks. Makes sense, as Christian apparently sang it to her...

Anonymous said...

For the straggler, is it possible that Locke sensed some of them survived the sub bomb?

And Clare was singing that "catch a falling star" song on a recent episode. I know because it was stuck in my head afterwards.

Juice

MikeNY said...

Juice —

He definitely could've sensed that, though didn't he suggest there was one left? Maybe he can only sense the freedom when every light "piece" is gone.

Yes! She sang it as Smokey was on a killing spree in the Temple.

Anonymous said...

Mike,

Been a mirror matter fan since before S4. It really blows my mind that this couldve been basically right this whole time. Every time I see a mirror I think of this. Next week should be all light/dark and totally epic.

Martin

Unknown said...

Is anyone else still wondering who the candidate named "Wallace" is? I haven't heard it mentioned lately, but understandably, there has been a lot of action unrelated to the Lighthouse.

MikeNY said...

Martin —

Thanks. Despite the convenient clues, I think the odds are still long... But I can't wait for next week either!


Mary —

I guess he could pop up in the finale. Perhaps, though, 108 (he was 108, right?) has dropped in importance since the timer. In other words, Wallace might've merely been filler. :-(

Anonymous said...

So what do you think is the fate of the Sideways universe?
Tim

MikeNY said...

Tim —

I'd love for the MiB to be reborn (literally or figuratively ) in the Sideways and for that universe to disappear as a consequence. But, realistically, both universes will go on. Unlike in the "crash" universe, in the Sideways everyone will live — and they'll pull-in the key memories form the crash universe, as has already started. Plus, there, the island is most likely inert.

In other words, it will be the counterbalance to the crash universe. Duality... despite the wackiness of ending with two universes.

Abdul Ahmad said...

Why can't the light be both "magic" and science. Even for those who believe in the afterlife and the heavens and the Earth, they believe that God set rules for the Earth to abide by. Rules that we call science. I don't think anything that was discussed in this episodes negates the fact that the light was the source of electromagnetic energy and that perhaps this electromagnetic energy can be manipulated to control space-time.

Jason said...

Did the cup of liquid that grants eternal life remind anyone else of The Holy Grail?

I still think we're going to find that the island is the basis for all of the magical places told in stories throughout the ages. i.e. Garden of Eden, Atlantis, Lamuria, Bermuda Triangle?

MikeNY said...

Abdul —

I think you're correct: The shiny stuff will have all of the properties they've ascribed to it. What confuses me, though, is that it they suggested it was something very specific ("negatively-charged exotic matter") and even used as such for teleportation, but now it's also something that is — assuming Mother is correct — wholly mythical (i.e., the light that exists in all of us).


Jason —

Indeed. The island as a universal source is still very much on the table. Good call on the "grail," as that fits wonderfully.

Anonymous said...

Hey Mike-

(a) What if the light is something along the lines of the output end of a black hole, the source of energy & matter in this universe, thus combining the magical/metaphysical & scientific elements.

(b) How did the mother kill all the people? I'm guessing that Mother is light & dark in one, has been through the cave (and therefore knows why it is awful) and is guardian of the island in both life-giver and life-taker forms. She compartmentalizes these duties for the next generation of protectors but as you've mentioned before the balance between them is key.

BU

Abdul Ahmad said...

I see parallels with some of the mythology in Lost and some of the beliefs in Islam (and likely with other older religions/cultures as well).

"Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things." - Quran, Chapter 25 (The Light), Verse 35


I've also seen places in Islamic literature where souls are referred to as light or having light. So in terms of light being the source of life and/or part of supernatural powers, LOST doesn't seem to stray to far from that idea.

Then theres the smoke monster which since the start of the show some people have thought it to be a form of a jinn. Jinn are basically another form of intelligent life in the Islamic tradition. Whereas humans are made of clay, Jinn are made of smokeless fire and can make themselves invisible to humans and can take many different forms including appearing as smoke.

The cave of light was explained as the place of life, death and rebirth. When MiB was thrown into the cave, his body died, but his soul was kept alive due to "the rules" and thus he was reborn as a jinn.

Perhaps not the exact scientific explanation you were looking for, but I've always thought Lost interweaved Science and Faith tightly. One thing I know for sure though, this episode is dividing the viewership between people of science and faith (just as the Time Travel did and the initial Smoke Monster reveal did).

Jason said...

Did we see another "Man of Science, Man of Faith" reference?

Jacob is the man of faith, willing to believe he, his brother, mother and island are all special. Willing to take it to faith that the island needs to be protected.

Whereas MIB is the man of science, willing to embrace the science of outsiders in order to get himself off of the island? Willing to believe that the island is nothing special and does not need protection?

MikeNY said...

BU —

a- Could be, but then these pockets supposedly exist at multiple locations. My guess is we might get one more nugget about the pockets, but the shiny stuff will mostly be left as a MacGuffin, and thus open to interpretation. (Read: important for its value, but otherwise unaddressed.)

b - The compartmentalization you describe jibes with my running interpretation. I liked how they maintained the ambiguity and equality of the (mirror) twins.



Abdul —

Great post. Thanks.

It would be very appropriate for the show to define the invaluable "shiny stuff" in both faith- and science-based terms.

To be sure, though, I think they did an unusually poor job at answering several critical questions.



Jason —

Definitely. Good point. Moreover, there were strong parallels to the Others vs. Dharma — the us/them mentality — in the form of Jacob/Mother vs. the well-diggers.

Jason said...

Is it possible that the boy who grew into MIB and the smoke monster are actually not one and the same?

Did MIB's fall into the golden light kill him and release the smoke monster upon the island?

And did that monster assume the form of Jacob's brother in order to find a way to leave the island and bring about the destruction of the world?

I don't remember Jacob or his mother ever saying that his brother leaving the island would cause the end of the world, only something about the dangers of someone going into that light (possibly releasing the darkness inside?)

Random thoughts.

MikeNY said...

Jason —

Good questions. I like to think the monster represents something greater and more sinister than the MiB.

But, on the face of it, it seems like the monster is really just the MiB sans body. Perhaps the malevolence is something else.

Then again... Jacob, supposedly, isn't one for lying, but maybe hyperbole is more his cup of tea.

Jason said...

Also, how in the hell did the mother manage to kill the entire group of people on the island and fill in that massive well?

Something's amiss there. Can't just be a plot hole or something we're supposed to take at face value.

Is it possible that she is a "light monster" in opposition to the dark one?

Jason said...

Oh, and I just want to say one thing.

Mike, your theory has been the best one I've found on the internet, and the only one I come back to on a regular basis.

You always find something positive in someone's ideas and don't downplay them in a negative way.

Wherever this story ends up, I'm glad I've been able to share my crazy ideas with ya.

/salute

Anonymous said...

Jason - agree with your last post. Whatever the story resolution this has been a fun place to read and theorize. Kudos to you Mike for that.

I've been a little disapointed at how slow info and resolution from the show has come. I can only hope the conclusion finds a way to be as interesting as the theories!

Juice

MikeNY said...

Guys —

Many thanks! You're a big part of what has made the journey fun.



Jason —

I like what BU raised: Mother was a combination of the two, light and dark. If so, some smoke action might have been in her repertoire.

Jason said...

"The source is strong in this one. He will protect the macguffin."

A macguffin is a block cipher, used in cryptology.

Is she saying that the light source on the island is strong in Jacob? Do the numbers somehow relate to some kind of cryptic code that only the person protecting the island can decipher or keep from being deciphered?

Anonymous said...

In the movie world, Alfred Hitchcock coined the term "Macguffin". It is basically a plot point, incident, or object that serves no purpose but to move the plot along. It means nothing.

Maybe the light is nothing more than a macguffin...a way of moving the story along and tying up loose ends.

It's hard to believe that "macguffin" would be an ancient word. I think the producers are messing with us a bit.

Steve

Jason said...

Not necessarily a word, but something scientific perhaps?

Like a DNA sequence?

Anonymous said...

STEVE,
AGREED!
http://www.essortment.com/all/alfredhitchcoc_rvhd.htm

MikeNY said...

Tongue-in-cheek, guys... ;-)

Sorry for the inadvertent wild-goose chase.

Anonymous said...

Mike,

Your theory still kicks ass, plus you got your literal mirror twins. At this point do you think dark matter is involved?

Ben (not that Ben)

Ricky said...

Macguffin? Gee..I think this is a joke coming from CC & DL: Jacob is supposed to protect the island? The source? I doubt it will make any sense when we will discover what is Lost's MacGuffin...
By the way I'm heavily disappointed by this season: a lot of time spent on nothing and I must say even bad visual effects... And reading their interviews is making me pissy man..cut the cr*p and give some answers: I really wanted to know MIB's name: yes I was one of them! What's the point? No need it to be biblical or something: even Bunny will go. Just give me small stupid things instead of talking about circles, when since now, I've read better theories than the actual plot...
I hope the last 3 hours of the show will be so great that I will just have to shush...but I seriously doubt it.
And don't misunderstand me: I was a believer since few weeks ago...then nothing interesting is going on, so..

Cheers.

R.

Jason said...

You know I just gotta take every little piece of information and theorize about it.

I guess I'm still hoping for a (at least somewhat) scientific explanation for the island.

MikeNY said...

Ben —

Thanks. Although I think the pieces are largely in place to go there (mirror/dark matter), I now doubt that they will.

They're shooting for symbolism and allegory, and, despite the light/dark theme, another layer would probably get in the way. I have just a spark of hope left.


Ricky —

I totally sympathize. I think my coping strategy is to quickly reframe the story as allegory posing as sci-fi posing as generic drama. The translation was a joke on my part. Apologies for the confusing dry delivery.


Jason —

I think at best we might get a dual-explanation. In fact, we sort of already have one. Contrast DHARMA's and Mother's interpretations of the glowing stuff. But that might be it for the sci-fi.

Jason said...

I agree completely with your May 15th comment. This season has been extremely disappointing to me. I feel like most of the episodes have been just killing time until the finale. I lost most of my interest in the characters except for Jacob and MIB.

Anonymous said...

Mike,

For what it's worth I googled mirrormattermoon. I got about 800 hits for that alone. So even if this doesn't turn out to be spot on, you've had a huge impact!!

Steph

MGMT said...

You seem pretty upset about the seemingly magical "source of everything" light... but considering the time period, how else do you expect Mother to describe an electro-magnetic pocket of energy? I really doubt Mother would know magnetism from magic, and all of her explanations reflect that. My hope is that, in the next 3 and a half hours, the magic light gets a more scientific explanation. It doesn't have to be fully explained, but as long as there's at least a suggestion of explanations beyond magic, I'll be satisfied.

MGMT said...

Also, regarding the pockets of energy... I suspect that it really is just one large pocket very deep beneath the whole of the island, and each of the points where they dug wells are just the points where the pocket is close enough to the surface to be detected. I imagine it much like magma beneath the earth... it's mostly very far down, but at certain points it pushes closer to the surface, and sometimes through the surface.

MikeNY said...

Jason —

I feel like they rarely move quickly enough — but then I always feel that way. We'll have to wait to see if the Sideways stpryline was really worth the screen-time. It needs a strong contrast with the Crash timeline, beyond what they've given us so far.


Steph —

Thanks. Interesting.
I hope those sites got something out of it.


MGMT —

Agree and agree. I hope the pocket will have dual meanings: God-stuff from the heavens and exotic matter from space. But a lack of clarification won't cut it.

Anonymous said...

I was thinking about the white-light cave...when Jacob tossed his brother inside, his brother not only died, but was converted into the smoke monster. Does this cave suck out all the "good" in people, leaving only the bad?

I'm kind of wondering if LOST will have a Flying Dutchman type ending where we end up back on the beach after the crash (episode 1) and every thing is identical except that the characters have changed...IE Jack is now the con man, Sawyer is the doctor, etc....meaning that this whole scenario just plays out for eternity.

Steve

MikeNY said...

Steve —

Your idea about sucking out the good sounds good to me. It's hard, though, to know if Smokey is in fact purely evil or he's just extremely frustrated and angry.

It seems likely to me that Jack will become the next protector. So I'd guess history will be repeating, only Jack will be taking the place of Jacob. I wouldn't be surprised if it indeed ends with another shipwreck.

Unknown said...

Steve,

I like your theory except that I don't believe MIB died, per se. His body did, but going into that light was "worse, much worse" than dying. His humanity and body were taken but he is very much alive, and I wonder if going home means MIB wants to die.

I also don't think Jack, et al will come back in different roles; I think Jack will be sitting on the beach with John, talking about how it all only ends once and everything else is just progress. And in the distance there will be another ship, airplane, hovercraft (it'd be great if it were really far into the future! :-)...

Anonymous said...

Hi Mike!

Been following your theory a long time.

I want to recommend an incredible novel to you - John Fowles´s "The magus". It has a lot of themes in common with Lost, and the story also takes place on an island. It´s not about dark matter, but otherwise really good. :-)

best
Sam
Sweden

MikeNY said...

Mary —

Hovercraft :-)


Sam —

Thanks! That sounds excellent.

I should have some free time on Tuesday nights coming up... :-)

Abdul Ahmad said...

Mike, your latest post (may 18) worries me that you won't enjoy the finale :(.

Its not about the Island or the science. That was the macguffin. It really is about the people and their redemption. As they said in the last episode, every answer brings another question, and you will keep going down the rabbit hole and not be satisfied.

One of the meta conversations from a few episodes ago was Jack asking Locke to let go. I think you need to let go of wanting to get these answers and just enjoy the finale for what it wants to answer. :)

MikeNY said...

Abdul —

Thanks. Don't worry. I'll love the finale.

But yes, I nevertheless expect to be left irritated with dangling threads. It is a mystery show after all. We've been anticipating clever explanations — as those are what make mystery stories satisfying and exciting.

I love David Lynch because you're forced to attempt to decipher his intent. But they're not Lynch.

Abdul Ahmad said...

I think the problem with explaining everything results in episodes like across the sea. If they answer something that contradicts what other people are thinking and makes the story less cool, then it will ruin the episode. Instead I like that some things are left open-ended so that everyone can have their own interpretation of the minor details.

Also, as far as the light, I think its pretty clear that it is electromagnetic energy seeing that Jacob made Desmond resistant to it as a fail safe. Perhaps its so that he can enter the cave and be able to survive it.

MikeNY said...

Abdul —

To me, it wasn't the fact that they gave us some answers. Across the Sea suffered because the explanations were often uncompelling and poorly executed.

I agree about the light. The only catch is that something is creating a strong electromagnetic field and radiating the light. It's like they've said there's something purple inside the island. What is it that's purple?

MGMT said...

The way I see, the impreciseness of the answers has to do with the people giving the answers not having that precise of knowledge. The mother calls it a "glowing light of life, the universe, and everything" not because she's trying to be vague and obfuscate the truth, this is simply the best that she can understand what she sees.

Now, going into the finale, I don't expect that anyone with greater knowledge of advanced sciences will be seeing the light, and as such, I don't really anticipate anyone being able to describe it in any greater detail than "electro-magnetic". The writers have never before chosen to step outside the perception of the characters to explain anything, and unless the ghost of Faraday decides to visit Hurley and be like "Dude, this is all some crazy mirrormatter shit", I doubt we'll be getting any greatly scientific explanations.

On the plus side... as long as they don't put forth anything that counters your mirrormattermoon theory, then it still remains a completely valid explanation, one that I'll surely continue to consider the best.

MikeNY said...

MGMT —

Thanks. Much appreciated, and excellent points.

"The writers have never before chosen to step outside the perception of the characters to explain anything" exactly captures the limits that I've been gearing up to expect in the finale.

Moreover, Darlton and the cast have been suggesting that the finale is more spiritual and less "technical" (as Emerson put it).

So I'm sure I'll be a bit frustrated by their lack of precision but I'm also sure I'll be awed and inspired by the conclusion. I get the sense that most in the sci-fi camp are shifting to that view.

Joel said...

Lost has made quite a few references to the relationship between science and faith - that balance, and balance in general forms the crux of the show.

I'll be disappointed in the finale if it doesn't address both. Aside from the compelling stories and personalities of the characters, this show derives a huge part of its interest from the withholding of information, and solving many of those problems with a MacGuffin seems more or less like a band-aid to me.

I'm not looking for an ending that buttons up all the loose ends or anything like that - but I'd definitely appreciate it if 'the island is full of magic light' is only a small part of one of the biggest answers many of us been looking for.

MikeNY said...

Joel —

Well said!

I must admit I'm no longer expecting much in the way of clever answers (though I think we and the narrative deserve them!).

Jason said...

So, the island was real, and everything that happened before and after it were real. They all died at different points.

The ATL was not real, but was a place they created in order to all end up together again. A place where they all ended up "fixed".

Am I getting this right? It's hard to put into words at this point.

JennyA said...

"I want thank you for indulging me..."
--
And thank you, MikeNY. Watching & commenting on LOST has been a shared indulgence. It brought strangers together in a netherland, looking for meaning, just like the show itself. Are we the mirror world? :) Jenny A.

MikeNY said...

Jason —

I think so. That's exactly how I understood it.


Jenny —

:-) Thanks. True words.

Jason said...

I loved the resolution to the characters' stories.

Very disappointed in the lack of explanation for all of the other island-type mysteries.

I really hope the island story gets revisited again somewhere, which considering the popularity of the show is a definite possibility.

Anonymous said...

anyone else feel duped? the more time that passes since the finale, the more disturbed i am by the b.s. pulled by lost last night.... *whew, i expressed some level of disgust, without spoilers...whew*

MikeNY said...

Jason —

Totally agree. But I think the official Lost story is over. :-(


Anon —

Imagine the finale — heck, S6 — without the Sideways. Everyone would've hated the finale. Perhaps that's why they added the Sideways: They knew they could at least end a one-season arc in a fairly tight way.

Anonymous said...

Reminded me a lot of Seinfeld...great series, terrible finale.

I'm glad they reconciled the ATL, but I can't believe they ignored the story of the island.

For all the amazing theories to explain the island, they simply ignored it and left us with a ghost story.

I hate to say it, but a certain TV movie did a better job rescuing seven castaways stuck on an island 40 years ago....

Steve

RyanKY said...

Mike, I've enjoyed your blog very much, partner. I still think mirror matter is the best explanation going for the island.

RyanKY (aka rhinow22 to Bigmouth)

Anonymous said...

i think i'm going to try to forget a few things from season 6, esp. the finale and its myriad unanswered questions about key figures (aaron, the island itself, etc) and go back to living happily in the land of the original as well as updated/modified versions of the mirrormattermoon theory i found on this blog years ago. made much more sense, was far more satisfactory...even in the way it allowed for further guessing as to what this or that meant or what was to come. this blog may have saved my experience of lost. if i can be buggered to properly convince myself that last night never happened

MGMT said...

I think it would be really great if you revised and reposted the long form version of the mirrormattermoon theory, taking into account any further supporting evidence that's occurred over this season. For how emotionally satisfying the finale was, they left so much of the true nature of the island up to further speculation and debate, and in future discussions with friends and random internet folk, I would love to be able to just quickly link to this blog as my explanation.

On another note, I'm sure it was a big disappointment to a lot of people that the nature of the island wasn't fully explained, and I'm sure many will just claim that the writers just had no explanation. Personally, I think they did have one, but chose not to give it. They understood how much the discussion and speculation is part of the Lost experience, and that giving any one definite explanation would only deflate the majority of the audience (save for the few who had guessed whatever that explanation was, who would be crying "I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO!!!" to their deathbed, much to everyone else's chagrin). So instead of giving a few people smug satisfaction and leaving everyone else to grumble, they decided to leave it open enough that most everyone can still have their pet theory.

And as I've been typing this, I had another thought. Perhaps the whole point is that truth really does lie in the eye of the beholder. What seems like fate to one person looks like coincidence to another, but who cares who's right when the outcome is the same. In other words, what appears to be the source of life to one person looks like mirror matter to another, but who cares who's right when, either way, fucking with it will destroy the world.

Jason said...

So the island truly was a MacGuffin. Just a plot piece put in place to keep the story going forward and keep people interested. It really was always about the survivors and the redemption of their "flawed" lives.

I'm ok with it. A lot of people aren't.

MikeNY said...

Steve —

Yeah, the island "resolution" just fell apart from a critical standpoint. It was fun, but it was a mess.


Ryan —

Thanks, man. It's been wonderful having your critical insight over the long haul. :-)


Anon —

I definitely have a love/hate thing going on too. I hope the blog can help you, um, move on. :-(


MGMT —

If I can reconcile what's here with the recent revelations, and I have time, I'll give a revision a whirl.

I thought they might leave everyone with a chance to be "right." But my gut tells me they really only had a fairly nebulous notion about what the island is. They're supposed to reveal a little more on the S6 DVD… but I won't be crossing my fingers.


Jason —

I think you probably nailed it.

Joel said...

@ jason: i think you're exactly right. there are very few loose ends if you look at it that way.

the show was clearly more about the people than the island. and the ride rather than the destination.

i think what's difficult - at least for me, is that the way the show unraveled (from season 1) had as much to do with the mysteries of the island as the stories of the people that were on it. to find that it ultimately wasn't as much about mystery as it originally let on does leave me a little frustrated that the island was in many ways, a red herring.

one thing i can say though, is that i've really enjoyed this blog / theory. so cheers to MikeNY and thanks so much for putting it together. i'm going to miss jumping on here after every few episodes to try to make sense of it all. it was fun.

and maybe that's the point.

Bob Cobb said...

I just want to thank you for sharing your awesome theories with other LOST fans. Honestly, your theories were much more interesting and satisfaying than any the show actually provided.

Thanks again.

Abdul Ahmad said...

So I think I get the whole Hatch and pushing the button thing.

In the 70s, when Dharma drilled into the pocket of energy, they basically uncorked the electromagnetic energy and that almost destroyed the Island until Juliet used Jughead to blow up the hole that they drilled and close it off. (At the same instant it blew up they time flashed so they weren't killed.)

With the Swan Hatch, they ended up drilling into that energy again, but with the pressing of the button they end up corking the pocket of energy so that the Island doesn't destabilize. With that energy they are able to channel it to do time travel (which is shown in one of the Dharma training videos with the two rabbits). MiB likely has done something similar (with more ancient technology) with the Frozen Donkey Wheel.

Whatever energy they were channeling into was the same energy that existed underneath the cork that Desmond unplugged.

Abdul Ahmad said...

I should also mention the energy they were siphoning was enough to destroy the Island (which is what almost happened before Desmond turned the fail-safe key) but it happened at a much slower rate indicating that it was a much smaller amount of energy that was being released than when the hole in the cave was uncorked. In the Hatch they had 108 minutes to press the button before the Island started to destabilize whereas it only took seconds for the Island to destabilize after Desmond uncorked the hole in the cave.

Dr. Todd J. Hostager said...

Just put another HEMA Theory post up, invoking mirror/dark matter.

One benefit of them NOT answering key mythology and science-related questions is that it leaves these juicy points open for debate for the rest of our lives, as well as providing food for thought for succeeding generations to come. Namaste, Todd

MikeNY said...

Joel —

Thanks. The payoff was the journey.


Paul —

Thanks, man. Appreciated.


Abdul —

Great synopsis. I think you nailed the details.


Todd —

That was delicious. Thank you!

I'll be checking back, in case you have anything more up your sleeve.

Namaste.



All — Check out Todd's blog. It could help sate your desire for a digestible resolution — one that's fairly compatible with what I've been pushing.

Anonymous said...

I would say that after watching the finale I was very satisfied. I could say it was highly entertaining and suspenseful, and for pure storytelling it was as good as any other episode.

But after a while things started to bug me a little. And I can't help but think the concept that they knew the ending all along was a lie. In fact, I now believe the once discredited idea that the island was purgatory may have been true but that they changed it because it was guessed so early. I say that because the alt. universe is conceptually similar to purgatory (a place for people to work through their issues and find redemption). Add to this, that half the audience seems to interpret that the castaways died on the first episode on the plane and it only brings home that this may have been the original plan for the island.

I think it also bothers me that this sideways universe concept does not tie into other seasons. In fact, it now appears to have been a one-year story arc. I guess I would have preferred something more scientific with the sideways universe, and an ending that connected the two (perhaps one winning out over the other). Especially bothersome was rather than leave open an interesting science vs. religion debate, their ending chose a side.

But my main question is this: What connection did blowing up the a-bomb have with the sideways universe. My thought after watching this seasons premiere was that blowing up the bomb somehow created this alt universe. I thought this is why Julliet said that the plan had worked. Was their truely a connection, or was this just smoke and mirrors to distract us from the actual resolution of the finale?

Oh well, like I said, I still enjoyed the finale, and I still enjoyed the show.

Abdul Ahmad said...

Juliet was experiencing her meeting with Sawyer in the afterlife when she said it worked (where Sawyer unplugged the Vending machine).

MikeNY said...

Anon —

I guess we could theorize for quite a while on what was really going on in the producers' heads.

My take is that they did have the "universal church" scene in mind since the get go.

That could explain why they felt OK not doing justice to the mysteries they introduced in the main plot. Those were secondary (and they kept us hooked).

I think the fact that the Sideways conclusion could have been introduced at any point in the show speaks to that.

My take was that the bomb had nothing to do with the Sideways world. Those red herrings ("it worked," as Abdul describes, and the submerged island) were executed well.

Unknown said...

Mike,
I think it's a testament to the LOST writers that the ending eluded so many intelligent bloggers like yourself. Your mirror matter blog was quite inspirational as never before did I find myself researching quantum physics and cosmology as I did after following your blog for all these years. Was it all worthwhile? Well for some that answer might lie somewhere outside the crab nebula. But for me, reading and interacting with devout LOST fans like yourself made this a valuable experience--so many thanks.

Mirror Matter Disciple

MikeNY said...

Alex —

Thanks to you.

The destination may not have paid off the intellectual investment, but the journey — the epic discussion — was exceptional.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on calling the final image!

"LOST begins with an opening right eye. [Thanks to blacklodge for pointing this out] Will it end with an opening left eye back on Earth or a closing right eye on the island?"

Bruce

Abdul Ahmad said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
H E Pennypacker said...

Mike

Having now watched the entire series and realising that they didn't really explain what the hell was the deal with the island - I think the moon theory still fits, in fact I think they didn't answer it in the show because a) this way fans will speculate on it for decades to come and b) because you nailed it back when they were still in season 3!

Unknown said...

I enjoyed the finale very much, and after watching it a few more times I've become even more satisfied.

I like the idea that the mysteries are left up in the air for the individual viewer to make up their own minds. Personally, I think that the Sideways world was as real as the island world, because there were still people there who hadn't moved on (Daniel, Eloise--who knew what it was all about and was afraid Desmond would take Daniel with them, Charlotte, Miles, etc etc). Those people will someday move on, but they have more "work to do," to quote Walt.

I've also heard that the S6 DVD will have an extra 14+ minutes that will explain a little more to us die-hard fans; like more about Walt, and some stuff with Hurley and Ben running the Island...I'd love to see Hurley's rules; what a hoot! I'll bet people can come & go, there will be luaus every weekend, golf every day, boat races...it would be fun under Hugo.

I'd also like to thank you, MikeNY, for sharing this ride! It's been REAL, all of it! :-)

MikeNY said...

Bruce —

Lucky call, I guess.


HE —

Thanks. As nice as that would be, my gut tells me that Lost was, as David Fury suggested, a big shaggy dog story. All of the "attributes" (movement, invisibility, time-jumping) just sounded cool to the writers, and a grand explanation was never really in their sights. Alas...


Mary —

Thanks. I really enjoyed the finale, but I do wish it had left the series a little less open to interpretation and more tightly wrapped up. It would have left me with a much better impression of Lost on the whole — despite already loving the series. C'est la vie, I guess.

The Ben and Hurley scenes will no doubt be delicious. I can't wait. :-)


Cheers all,

Mike

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