The hit show that captivated viewers when a commercial jet crashed on a mysterious island is back for its final season. “Lost” has definitely left fans in a state of disarray trying to figure out the strange and esoteric occurrences on the island. The show started with a fairly standard premise: a group of people crash on an island and need to figure out how to get off, but as the series played out, the show turned out to be anything but typical. Time travel, smoke monsters, ghosts, and destiny have all been interwoven in the make up of “Lost” to create a intricate puzzle that seemingly takes a genius to solve. There are many open ended questions coming into the final season with ample theories all over the web and media attempting to provide answers. Over the course of the shows’ impending end, I will add my insight and conjectures over the enigma what we’ve come to know as “Lost”.  Beware, spoiler warning, if you missed the first episode of the season, don’t read any further.

Season 5 of “Lost” ended dramatically when John Locke’s possessed body encouraged Ben to murder Jacob in the present, and Juliette set of the hydrogen bomb in the 70s with the intention that the lives of those trapped on the island could return to normal. The looming question coming into season 6 was rather the explosion worked or not. What the explosion did was rip the fabric of time and create a parallel universe where on one hand, the survivors were still on the island in the present while on the other hand they were back on their plane unknowingly passing over the island buried deep beneath the sea. So what does it all mean?

Parallel Realities

The first thing to pay attention to are the subtle changes in the lives of the characters without ever landing on the island. Boone does not come back from Sydney with his sister, John Locke does indeed go on his long awaited walkabout, and Hurley actually has good luck after winning the lottery. Seemingly Jack’s plan to return to “life before the island” actually worked, but it’s not all positive. Jin and Sun’s relationship returned to its tumultuous beginnings, Charlie is arrested for attempting to commit suicide on the plane, and Kate is still in custody and will seemingly continue to be on the run. This new double reality allows a comparative analysis of the effects of the island for the oceanic passengers. It is another representation of the constant duality exhibited in all aspects of the show. The first few seasons gave insight to the characters through flashbacks, then flash-forwards displayed the affects of the island once the “Oceanic Six” made it off; now the back and forth between the different realities will provide closure for each character in an alternate setting. Jack and Kate can end up together on the island, and maybe Sawyer and Kate off the island, the possibilities are endless. There are also forces connecting the two realities as seen with the disappearance of Desmond, and Jack’s father from the plane.

Jacob and the Smoke Monster

Jacob and the nameless entity that takes possession of Locke’s body are classic models for the duality of good and evil. Jacob is seen as a well intentioned character who believes that humans are inherently good while his antagonist seems to think that all interactions between visitors to the island will end in chaos. No one really knows the extent of their power, but after revealing the nameless being as the smoke monster, there is more clarity in what the two might be capable of. With a better understanding of the supernatural abilities of the smoke monster, it can be assumed that the ghosts seen on the island are just incarnations conjured by this character. The smoke monster can only take the form of the bodies of the dead on the island. That’s why Jack’s father has been such a pivotal figure along with Claire, Boone, and later Charlie; the smoke monster was able to take the shape of those killed to manipulate the course of events on the island. So far Jacob has not shown the ability to shape shift, so one has to wonder if that was truly Jacob who advised Hurly to take Sayid to the temple to be revived. The process of healing was thought to be a failure with Sayid when he was submerged in the purification pool where it was assumed he drowned. When Sayid awoke at the very end of the episode the question remained—- was that was really Sayid, Jacob, or the smoke monster? More to come after episode two airs tomorrow.

Mansa Motif