ABC’s LOST explained!
Still wondering what the television show LOST was all about? I have answers!
SPOILER ALERT – the following article will completely explain and therefore give away to the most important puzzle pieces from the hit ABC television series LOST. Therefore if you haven’t seen the show and don’t want the end to be spoiled, stop reading this article right here! As for the rest of you who have wondered… what did it all mean? I have the answer for you!
Now that the spoiler warning is out of the way, lets get right to it…
The most mysterious lingering question remaining regarding the television show LOST is… what is the golden light in the cave at the heart of the island?
If only we knew what the light was maybe we could determine what the island was. And if we knew those facts we could piece together all the remaining details. Some might say the question was already answered when Jacob claimed the island was like a cork (when he said that he wasn’t lying which I will explain later) yet saying the island is a cork really only raises another question instead of giving any type of comprehensive answer, after all… if the island is a cork, what does that mean? I for one am glad that the writers didn’t spell it all out for us because if they had, it would have robbed us the opportunity to ponder the larger questions and solve the puzzle ourselves and ultimately that was the fun of LOST.
SO WHAT WAS THE LIGHT?
The golden light in the cave at the heart of the island is the same light that was behind the frozen donkey wheel that the MIB, Ben, and Locke, all were attempting to manipulate or channel to their benefit throughout the show. It also seems to be the same light (or a type of it) that engulfed the island when Desmond flipped the fail safe, when Juliette ignited Jughead, and each time our losties were bounced around when the island was skipping in time.
Most folks assume the light is God, or spirituality, or possibly the personification of goodness, or life, or something similarly vague. None of those solutions help us piece together the puzzle that is LOST.
Drum roll please…
Continue…
It’s not a bad theory all up and you make some interesting points. I don’t particularly agree with your theory that Dharma had learned how to manipulate time so as to stay forever young. If that were the case, and the Jack/Locke fight which resulted in the numbers not ebing inputed quickly enuogh and thus caused time to ‘skip’ a little, why were Jack/Locke et al not instantly aged along with the Dharma medical station?
Overall, great theory. My only contention is that you seem to interpret the black/white duality as past/future, respectively. However, I feel the writers intended a more complex reading of it; in fact, I think duality is merely an umbrella theme, in and of itself, that is a commentary on the human condition. Certainly, past/future works as one reading of these dualities, but I think it symbolizes many other dualities with equal weight, not the least of which is good/evil. I also do not think that good/evil is meant to be read as primarily linked to past/future (though they certainly do seem to nod at each other), but we are supposed to see that good and evil exist in every human, independent of the concept of time.
My other main contention is about the past (Smoke Monster) killing those who see darkness in it (their respective pasts), and are consumed by it. I believe you misread the Mr. Eko scene (I have not rewatched that episode in over a year, so please correct any facts I have wrong), which is, in my opinion, the exception to your rule. I thought it was very clear that Mr. Eko was (when confronting the Smoke Monster) staring down his dark past, but was not at all consumed by that darkness; Mr. Eko was very much at peace with his past (he explicitly states that he has nothing ot apologize for). I think Mr. Eko, through his ability to make peace with his past, became a human beacon of light (past is reconciled, future is bright) that aggravated or irritated the Smoke Monster (embodiment of the past), which is why he killed him (I think the monster has humanity in him, due to being merged with MIB’s soul, as you stated, so even he acts on certain human impulses, such as jealousy or anger). I think your idea on the exact nature of the Smoke Monster/MIB, as well as its role/function on the Island, needs some work, but I really do like where you may be heading with that aspect of your theory.
I’ve been struggling with some of the overall themes of LOST and I must say that your explanation of time/the future/the past makes incredible sense. Thanks for taking the time (ha!) to create such a detailed analysis. Having attended a seminar a couple years ago whose goal was to help people discover the baggage they are still carrying around from their past, then learn how to let go and embrace the future as a blank slate, your analysis brought a whole new level of appreciation to me for LOST.
Thank you for the encouragement! It means a lot to me. I hope you share the link to my theory with the other LOSTpedia folks. LOSTpedia is an awesome website and a great resource for LOST fans such as myself.
Great great great explanation! As a member of the Lostpedia website, I’ve read A LOT of theories, this is the best! Kudos to you for figuring it out! I love it, thanks for sharing it with us!
So,what lies in the shadow of the statue?
Better than Jeff (Doc) Jensen’s BS on Entertainment Weekly (PopWatch) spouting the island is “Carrie.”
So far one of the better compilations out there!
Eric,
You’re an original. This was really a fun read. I still don’t know what I think except that the last 15 minutes really upset me. And I didn’t like the Jacob/Brother/Light/Mother show particularly, but this helps because it makes it all more interesting, at least!
Thanks.
I made a minor addition to my theory today. It’s a picture of Sawyer and the Smoke Monster from the season 6 episode “The Substitute”. (scroll to the bottom half of my ULTIMATE LOST theory to see it.
I was re-watching LOST with my sister and her husband and I have noticed dozens and dozens of minor details that support my theory. Yet one of the minor details stuck out and really made me chuckle.
In “the Substitute” the Smoke Monster (appearing as Locke) comes to Dharmaville to recruit Sawyer. Smokie and a very drunk Sawyer have a short conversation. And in that conversation Smokie asks Sawyer who he thinks he is. Sawyer indicates his general apathy and then says… “I don’t care if you are the Ghost of Christmas past”.
Smokie is amazed at Sawyers response! He nods in agreement, and then he smiles as if to say… Wow you are a very perceptive drunk!
Clearly, this is a very minor detail but it does show that the writers were giving us clear clues as to what the Smoke Monster represented.
Just amazing. It all made sense.
This is the best explanation that I have ever heard regarding LOST.
i really enjoyed reading ur theory man
Charlie, Eytan, Diane… thank you so much for reading my ULTIMATE LOST theory. Your comments mean a lot to me… I had so much fun watching LOST and so much fun writing this theory it’s great to hear that folks are enjoying it.
This is brilliant! I have read a LOT of theories but this one puts so many things about the show into perspective. I’m so glad you followed me on Twitter so I could discover this. Good work.
WOWWWWWWWWWWWWW
amazing explanation!!!!
ill pass it on
This is the most brilliant ‘theory’ I’ve ever seen. I use the quotes around theory because from here on out, this is how I will view my absolute favourite show of all time. I’m going to show this to as many others as I possibly can so they, too can understand it as well as I now do.
Though this leaves a bunch of questions like… why was the pregnancy thing? Oh, wait, that was caused by the nuke. I forgot, but the scriptwriters has officially stated it.
And why would the island seize to exist if the smoke monster left the island? Why would he even want to – I mean what was he going to do in Los Angeles. And what one earth would the very old Richard do once he landed in Los Angeles? I think it would have been better if he died too and was perhaps reunited with his wife.
Great theory! We saw the final episode only last night here in South Africa…
A few things that do not add up for me – perhaps somebody has explained it already and I just haven’t got round to reading it yet, so please forgive ‘stupid questions”:
1.Why was Clair able to have her baby when no other woman could? 2.What was up with the episode where James was convinced by Locke to kill his con-man father?
3.And how did Locke know James’ real identity?
4.Finally, there was an episode with Jack In Tiawan, when he got that tattoo – what was the significance of that episode.
Any ideas?
By far the best theory I read. Thank you, Eric. Let me add that as a physicist I specially enjoyed your theory. You could further mention that Eloise is named Hawking as physicist Stephen Hawking, which made great contributions on space-time understanding. For the large public he wrote a popular book “A brief history of the time” (which appears in Season 3 ep. 7) and it could be a shortened reframing of your theory. Note Eloise’s son is Faraday as a great physicist who studied electromagnetism and he is based in Oxford (where prof. Hawking was born). I’m too ignorant about phylosophy but Locke and Hume have certainly something to tell us…