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…
Oh my!!!! I loved the show so much, but have never been one for symbolism in books or TV. I remember discussing a short story in 9th grade and we were discussing the author’s use of a red apple and why he used a red apple. I remember clearly thinking what if the author just wanted to pick a color and had no other reason? There was so much of the show that went right over my head. I just watched it for the basic plot and character development so obviously I missed a lot and didn’t understand the ending at all. This explanation of the show is so fabulous that I simply must watch the show again with this to catch some of the hidden meanings and extras. I never paid any attention at all to the Egyptian connections. Never picked up that the resetting of the clock had anything to do with stopping time. Wow!!! So much makes sense and it makes the show take on a whole new meaning. Thanks!! I wonder what the writers would say to this analysis. I am curious if I will need you to explain their new show that starts tonight. LOL!!!!
I now have a reason to re-watch LOST and enjoy it again.
Makes perfect sense and puts a whole new perspective on how these writers put this show together.
Top form.
Hey Eric,
Really enjoyed reading your explanation and it truly makes sense to me.
One thing and it might seem trivial but how do you explain the significance of the ash with smokie. People used it numerous times to trap it, and were even successful at the lodge in doing so. Which raises another question if it was trapped how could it pretend to be all those people/past memories?
burp!
Bitchen’ article, man! I used to get loaded and smoke marawana and drink bud’s while I caught the latest episode. But everything you said in the article was interesting and a great read.
Thanks for listening. I’m gonna go smoke my Marlabullos and work on my Chevvvy.
Capt Paco Stillmans
Thank you. This is the best explanation and I greatly appreciate how much thought and effort you put into these posts. Thank you.
See…I told you I pop back in here to read this and it’s still a great read! Let’s hear more!!!
Dude what happened, i was sure this was going to be a hot discussion for at least a year. WE DEMAND A ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY POST.
I was up all night reading everything and all
Mate, You are an absolute champion! This has been kind of bugging me in a silly way for some time now and as an Engineer and someone willing to accept new ideas I think you have absolutely nailed it. Well done and well written.
Cheers.
This explanation is unimaginably great. It is not perfect, but it is the closest to being perfect. I have a few questions with this theory, but I’ll take some time to collect them. But I suggest you put in this theory on Lostpedia. There are a lot of Losties there and your explanation would generate buzz. Leading to discussions whether you are right or where you are wrong.
Thanks for putting this up though, you are great!
Thank you, Eric.
Brilliant analysis.
Many questions remains. What do you think about?
I don´t know how fence against BM worked. Maybe sonic fence generated inverted frequencies voices from the past so that it interferenced and stopped BM?
Thank you Josh! I really appreciate the nice comments and thanks for sharing it with others.
I think this is by far the best explanation for LOST as a whole, although I think if it were true the producers would have explained this in the show, seeing how brilliant it actually is. If it were true they’d undeniably be the greatest storytellers ever, so why would they keep it a secret? Love this whole post, I’ve read it a ton of times. Getting ready to rewatch the show, it’s gonna be awesome!
Thank you Shay and thank you Michael for your nice comments.
Michael you have figured it out on your own. Walt showing up to our “losties” after he has been abducted by the “others” is a manifestation of the smoke monster i.e., the past. The smoke monster is already in full gear orchestrating the events that he believes will lead him off the island. Walt is the perfect choice for the smoke monster to use as a facade since Walt is on everyone’s mind and since there is no chance that Walt will show up in two places at the same time. Walt is a part of all the “losties” memories (i.e., past) and therefore can be easily used by the past to manipulate events.
The past and the future are in an epic battle against one another and each one is using our “losties” like chess pieces moving them into place to thwart the other ones plans.
Eric – wanted to finally comment and tell you how much I love this theory. The link to your post was sent to me by a friend around the time the series ended and I was so impressed that to this day when one of my friends finally finishes the series I immediately forward them the link to this page. Hell, I even reread it every so often. Thank you for such an articulate well put together theory! I, too, would love to hear what the creators of the show would say about this. I believe that this is truly dead on. 🙂
> Eric,
>
> First of all, I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your ultimate theory on Lost. I have never heard a better explanation, and I seriously doubt that I ever will. Well done, sir! I do have one question that I hope you will try to answer for me. In season 2, in the episode where Shannon gets shot and killed by Ana Lucia, Shannon sees Walt inside her tent at the beginning of the episode, and then both Shannon and Sayid see Walt in the jungle right before Shannon gets shot at the end of the episode. What do you think happened here? Do you think Walt was a manifestation of the monster? Do you believe Walt was time travelling? I would really love to know your theory on this subject. I recall in a later episode Ms Klugh asking one of the Losties if Walt ever appeared somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be. This was one of the many mysteries the writers of the show left unanswered for us fans, and I was hoping you would give me your thoughts. Thank you for your time, and keep up the good work!
>
> Michael Bahnsen
158 comments and counting! Thank you fellow LOST fans!!
Thank you Nav!
The answer to why Locke was able to walk again requires a bit of creative license from the writers of the show but hey, it’s sci-fi right?
The island is disjointed from regular time. Think of time like a old fashioned vinyl record with a track and a needle moving along as time passes. But if you could lift up the needle and move it back to a previous location you could go back in time. That is essentially what was happening throughout LOST. Do you remember when our losties were bouncing around through time in season 5? That sequence began with a scene of professor Chang in bed waking up to his record player skipping around replaying the same portion of the song over and over. That was the writers subtle clue to us as to what was going on.
Anyway, Locke could walk again and Rose had no cancer because when they arrived on the Island the island was at a time previous to when they had received their infirmities. Based on the radio reception Hurley and Sayid could hear on the beach it sounded as if they were in the 1940’s or early 50’s at that point.
Now one might assume that they would bring their infirmities with them back in time but apparently in this case it didn’t work that way and I am willing to take that leap.
Thanks for reading my theory please share it with other LOST fans.
Eric you are a genius. Exceptionally well written and thoroughly explained. I am very impressed. Please can you explain why John Locke was able to walk again when 815 crashed?