The Lost Mysteries Both Major & Minor

Written: 2010-02-04 ***Spoiler Alert!***

A group photo of the 5th Season cast of Lost.

I've been consumed with Lost over the course of the last few weeks leading up to the premiere of its sixth and final season. That this date was hotly anticipated is a major understatement. It's been more like a major holiday event. Thanksgiving? Fluff. Christmas and New Years? Mere blather, mere daft natter. In an effort to kill some time during the last half of my Season 5 reviewing, I came across a hilarious set of Lost parodies on one of the Web's preeminent time-sinks, YouTube. After I finished all ten parts, I jumped back to the top of the webisodes' playlist and watched the "LOST - Answers?!" music video that precipitated the whole thing. It was even more brilliant than the parodies that followed it, but it also raised some serious doubts as to the likelihood of this shameless Lost Disciple getting any of his questions answered. True, this doubt came earlier in my marathon when I read that the Libby issue might never be resolved… at least until I heard the good news, but after the barrage of questions The Fine Brothers raised — many of which had never occurred to me — I wondered if I, like Locke, had been tragically misled. You see, watching Lost demands that the viewer take a leap of faith, much like the characters on the show, and trust that the story will actually go somewhere and reward the faithful with some answers. Faced with only 16 painfully fleeting episodes left, I wondered just how many plot-threads would end up getting thrown overboard before this ship went down for good.

It was this doubt, along my dissatisfaction over the level of discourse and inquiry I came across, that prompted me to finally commit my Lost inquiries to the written word. During this latest go-around, several questions, both major and minor, have arisen anew or brought themselves back to the forefront of my attention, and one thing I've noted is how precious little of these questions were answered without conjuring forth several more in their wake. So here's a list of all the unresolved things I've wondered about from Season 1 up to and including the two-hour premiere of Season 6. Needless to say, for those who haven't seen everything up to this point, there be spoilers aplenty in these here waters.

I tried listing the questions in the order in which they were presented to viewers (i.e. Seasonally) but when it comes to this show, order and linear continuity tend to go up like Arzt at the end of Season 1.

The Smoke Monster's Actions

Why did the Smoke Monster kill the Flight 815 pilot? In fact, why did the Smoke Monster do everything we've seen up to Season 5? Since the Smoke Monster was officially revealed as being The Man in Black, who I will refer to from here on in as Esau (something I've suspected for some time) then I'm inclined to believe that most of the visions seen on the Island were caused by him. Aside from strange dreams, some examples are:

In short, what laws govern Esau's abilities? What has prevented him from killing Jacob himself? If he requires a body in order to assume that body's form, then how does that explain the appearance of the the black horse, or the boy that appeared to Eko in the jungle, or young Ben's vision of his mother? All three of these sightings involved "bodies" that were not on the Island, two of which were still alive.

Adam and Eve

What is the identity and origin of the two bodies discovered in the caves? There's been speculation that they're Rose and Bernard, but if that's the case, why did one of them have a bag of polished black and white stones?

Richard Malkin, Fraud or Psychic?

Was Richard Malkin — the psychic responsible for Claire taking Oceanic Flight 815 — the genuine article or a fraud like he claimed when he spoke with Mr. Eko? While talking with Eko, he claimed he gathered intel on people and used this information to exploit them. Does this intel, combined with his sudden urging of Claire to take Flight 815, mean that he is somehow in cahoots with the Others?

Aaron, Savior or Destroyer?

Why is Aaron's absence or presence on the Island so important? Before Richard Malkin changed his tune, he claimed that was it crucial for Aaron's welfare that Claire raise him. Why was this so absolutely essential? And what made Malkin change his mind? Part of me wonders whether or not Aaron is Jacob. If he was, that would explain a lot.

Hurley's Connection to The Island and/or The Numbers

Ever since the first Hurley-centric episode, "Numbers" (Ep: 1x18), I've been dying to know the significance of the Numbers and how they relate to the strange phenomena that surrounds them. According to The Lost Experience, the Numbers were derived from the Valenzetti Equation, a mathematical formula that predicts the end of humanity, but this doesn't adequately explain some of the weirdness Hurley's experienced. Are the numbers the numerical equivalent of "naming The Dark One"? Is Hurley's bad luck mere happenstance, or is he genuinely cursed? Why can he see and speak to dead people? Did that bird really call his name at the end of 2nd Season? Was that bird even a bird or was it Esau? Why did Jacob's cabin summon Hurley? Since Ben and the Others seem to enjoy a level of intel that even the CIA would envy, why didn't they, at the very least, question Hurley about the Numbers?

To Heal or Not to Heal

What is the nature of the Island's curative properties? And why are its ameliorating effects so fickle? Such as when...

The Black Rock

How did the Black Rock end up so far inland? Does the fact that the Island was shown underwater in the alternate timeline in the Season 6 premiere, offer a clue?

Pushing a button every 108 minutes is, like, so pre-Industrial Revolution.

Why didn't the Dharma Initiative automate the process of dispersing the electromagnetic energy? And if The Swan was part of a psychological experiment, why would the Dharma Initiative risk the fate of the entire world on the humble participants of this experiment? Didn't any of them consider this a tad reckless?

Also, if the Others knew about The Swan hatch, why didn't they make sure that the button kept getting pushed? During the Season 2 finale, Ben looked pretty pissed when he saw the purple light show, yet he was the one primarily responsible for goading Locke into leaving the button unpushed in the first place. I know that most of the Oceanic survivors, and apparently the rest of the world, are just a bunch of unworthy swine in the eyes of the Others, but why would they leave something as dangerous as The Swan in the hands of people so woefully ignorant and unenlightened?

Lastly, if pushing the button is so critical, why is it necessary to enter a password just to do it? Wouldn't it have been easier to just let The Swan personnel simply hit "Execute"?

The Incident

From the moment the show introduced the concept of "The Incident" I was led to believe that it occurred after The Swan was constructed. Just look at the sealed off sections. If the Incident occurred before The Swan was made, the Dharma folks could have simply built around the source of the leak without the messy ad hoc-looking concrete shown in Season 2. Furthermore, the Lost video game, Lost: Via Domus, featured the room that was sealed off after the Incident. The Incident Room was based on production artwork culled from the show itself. I know that Via Domus is not part of the Lost canon, but this fact, along with what was revealed over the course of the 2nd Season, makes me think one of three things:

  1. There is another Incident that occurs after The Swan is constructed.
  2. The showrunners were pulling a fast one and hoped viewers wouldn't notice.
  3. The events of Season 6 will somehow explain all this.
Cindy and the Children

What happened to Cindy and the kidnapped children? We caught a maddening glimpse of them in Season 3 while Jack was caged, but their brief appearance revealed next to nothing. Why was Cindy so nonchalant when she saw Jack alive and well (at least, physically speaking)? Have she and the children been fully assimilated by the Others? If so, why?

The Sickness

Is the Sickness real or was it simply part of the Dharma Initiative's psychological experiments? Which brings me to my next point...

The French Team's Science Expedition

What happened to the French science team after they went down the hole in the wall to recover Montand? How and why did Rousseau's team go insane? Were they infected with a sickness, "The Sickness"? If so, how did they contract it? Which brings me to another point...

The Death of Innocence, Body snatching, or Mind Control?

Did the Smoke Monster change Rousseau's group? Or was it the cistern in the Temple? Judging from what's happened up to episode 6x01, the Smoke Monster (aka, Esau) can't control the minds of other people. He has to manipulate them into doing what he wants. But can the same thing be said about Jacob? Is Jacob a body snatcher that can control or alter people's minds? Why did Ben lose his innocence after he was healed in the Temple?

Dharma Mainland Operations

Who's been running the Dharma Initiative's mainland operations. Things like regular food drops or continued recruitment efforts, such as the hiring of Kelvin Inman, had to be handled by someone. Who?

Why was Walt so Special?

This was one of the most frustrating unresolved issues of the show because it was an important plot point from Season 1 that was never adequately resolved. We know that Walt can somehow call birds to him, or at least make them fly to their deaths. We've also seen that he's capable of, what I'm fairly certain is, Astral Projection. So I just answered my own question, right? Partially, yes, but why weren't these abilities explored further in the show? Did Walt posses any other gifts? How did he get his gifts? Was he simply born that way? What kind of "tests" did the Others make him do, and why? How did they get "more than [they] bargained for" with him? Why did Jacob want him?

What's Libby's Story?

Why did Libby end up in a mental institute? What's her story? Will she return via the alternate reality/timeline?

The Pregnancy Conundrum

Why can't women get pregnant on the Island? I'm inclined to believe the Incident caused this, since Horace's wife, Amy, was able to have young Ethan shortly before the Incident took place.

Eloise and Brother Campbell

How did Eloise know Brother Campbell? And how did she wind up steering Desmond into pushing the button? Prior to some of the show's later revelations, I was more inclined to believe that Charles Widmore manipulated Desmond into The Swan Hatch, rather than Ms. Hawking.

"Annie, hold a little tighter I might just slip away"

What ever happened to Annie? She seemed to be Ben's one and only friend (and possibly something more) in the Dharma Initiative. Was her conspicuous absence during the Purge in any way related to Ben's decision to help wipe out the Dharma people?

Jacob's Cabin and The White Ash

How did Jacob's cabin change position? What is the nature of the white ash surrounding it? And why does this ash ward off Esau?

Dharmaville

How and why did the Dharma Initiative build the barracks right on top of the Island Ruins? Why did the Others let them do this? And why did the Dharma folk build a secret room over the part of the ruins that could summon the Smoke Monster? Why keep it secret? Speaking of building...

The Orchid and the Frozen Wheel

Why did the Others let the Dharma people build the Orchid on top of the frozen wheel chamber? If I were an Other, that would be a big, no-no. Did actions like this precipitate the Purge? Methinks that's big yes, but Lost viewers might never know for sure.

"The Rules"

Why can't Ben kill Charles Widmore, or vice versa? Assuming there is a rule that prohibits the Others from killing one another — and I'm inclined to believe there is — wouldn't one Other ordering a group of mercenaries to kill the rest of his fellow tribe/clan/cult members still count as, you know, killing? Or is this another "loophole"?

Where's Claire?

Where did Claire run off to with Christian? Why did she go? And why did she abandon baby Aaron without telling anyone? Assuming Kate's dream of Claire in the Season 4 finale was real, why was Claire's warning against bringing Aaron back to the Island so damn vague? Has Claire gone mad or is she infected with The Sickness?

Doctor, Who?

Why does Dr. Pierre Chang use different aliases in the Dharma orientation videos? Is this part of the Dharma Initiative's ongoing psychological experiments? What happened to Dr. Chang after the nuke was detonated in '77?

Sun: The Force may be with her, but she certainly can't use it

Among the Oceanic 6 on Ajira Flight 316, why was Sun the only one who didn't end up back in 1977? Eloise claimed that because all of the Oceanic 6 weren't on the Ajira flight, the results of their trip would be "unpredictable." And on that note...

Forget the Oceanic 6; what about the other 815 passengers?

If it was so important that they recreate the conditions of Flight 815's crash in order to get back to the Island, why did no one discuss the potential repercussions of returning without Michael, Ana Lucia, Arzt, Frogurt, et al for the return trip?

The Fallout of Daniel's Time Experiments

While researching time-travel, Daniel performed a series of experiments on himself and his girlfriend and research assistant, Theresa. Why did these experiments make Dan lose his memory? Why wasn't Theresa eventually killed by her apparent temporal displacement?

The Four-toed Statue and The Island Ruins

Who built the four-toed statue of Tawaret? Who built the many ruins and tunnels scattered throughout the Island? Who built the frozen, Island/time shifting wheel?

Charles Widmore, Monster or Martyr?

Charles claimed he was somehow tricked by Ben into leaving, but we never see how this went down. Was this just a false accusation? What happened between Charles and Eloise when they left the Island? Are they working together toward a common goal? Are they allied with Jacob or Esau?

Off-Island Weirdness

How did the Island prevent Michael from killing himself once he returned to New York? Michael saw a vision of Christian before he died on the boat. If these types of encounters are caused by Esau, then how did he get far enough off shore to communicate with Michael? How did Kate, Jack, and Hurley "see weird stuff" respectively after they left the Island? Why haven't Sayid, Sun, or Aaron experienced any Island weirdness back in the real world?

Alvar Hanso & The DeGroots

Where the hell are Alvar Hanso and the DeGroots? It was revealed in The Lost Experience that Alvar had been held captive for many years before he was freed, but I'm curious as to what he's been up to since his release. When Charles Widmore first revealed his sense of propriety over the Island, my first thought was, Who the frakk are you and what does Alvar Hanso have to say about any of this? Well, at least part of my question was answered, but where is my favorite reclusive Danish industrialist and munitions magnate now? And what does he have to say about the madness that's been going on in the Island?

The Others Hierarchy

During the heyday of Eloise and Charles, it seemed as if they were the leaders of the Others. Was this simply an offshoot of their romance, or can more than one person formally lead the Others?

The Death Warrant on Rousseau and Alex

Why did Jacob order the death of Rousseau and her child? Which brings me to my next point...

Ben, Charles Widmore, Eloise Hawking: The Good Guys?

Ben has long claimed to be one of the good guys, but this is also something that his arch nemesis, Charles Widmore, has implied about his very own let's-torch-the Island self. Given the arguably insane sacrifices Charles and Eloise have made in service to the Island, one has to wonder not how good, but just how ruthless they really are. The same goes for the man they're working for...

Jacob's Motives

Esau might be the worst thing since The Dark One — some even speculate he might be Satan himself — but Jacob still looks pretty sinister in my book. Let's review:

What are Jacob's aims? Does he care about the greater good of humanity or are people merely pawns to be used and discarded for his own ends? I've gotten the impression that he and Esau share a common origin, but is this true? What laws govern his abilities? Why didn't he put up a fight when Ben killed him? Did he plan a counterstroke to Esau's scheme? And was that counterstroke executed by bringing the Oceanic 6 back to the Island (well, five of them anyway)?

Everyone That Detonates Must Converge

Did the nuclear blast in 1977 create two parallel realities? If so, how? Are we witnessing a potential convergence of the on-Island and off-Island events (or realities) shown in the Season 6 premiere, "LA X"?

Esau: Stuck Here Like The Rest of Us

The events of "LA X" reaffirmed a theory I'd held that Esau was somehow trapped on the Island. He refers to himself as a person eager to return home, but most people I know can't shapeshift and turn into an autonomous, self-directing mass of black smoke. Just what kind of person is he? And what home does he plan on returning to? Is it in our galaxy/universe/dimension?

Closing

I'd be shocked if even a majority of these questions were answered, but I just wanted to put a list out there of all the things I've been dying to watch unfold. I know there's some stuff I missed, like some of the new, alternate reality events shown in "LA X" and some other longstanding questions like, What is the Island? or whether Jate or Skate will prevail, but I feel any one of four things in regards to these remaining plot lines, depending on the particular story thread:

  1. I don't need to know everything.
  2. I don't care.
  3. I have no doubt it will fully resolved.
  4. The issue in question is completely irrelevant.

For those who didn't follow the link at the top, here's the hilarious Fine Brothers parody video that helped spur me to write up this write-up.