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As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m a big LOST fan. I’ve watched it since the beginning, and have spent way too much time trying to figure out how the pieces fit together. (If you haven’t seen the show, there are several major mysteries that slowly unravel as the seasons roll on. But we’ve got two more seasons left to get to the real truth of what’s up.)
In the four years since the series started, fan sites have sprung up focusing on the show, and fan theories to explain the mysteries are everywhere — many now thoroughly debunked. But I think I’ve found the most comprehensive, well-illustrated, and plausible theory yet: Jason Hunter’s Lost: A Theory on Time Travel. Warning: don’t read it unless you’re caught up on the show — it contains all sorts of spoilerish information, including updates related to last night’s episode. Hunter also includes speculation about what might happen in the show’s future (if his theory is correct), but he doesn’t seem to have inside information.
Hunter’s theory takes many, many pages to explain (including graphs!), so I’ll just give you a taste of a few of his rules related to time travel:
1. When someone enters the time machine, they can only go back in time - and only to a time where the machine was currently running.
2. When you go back in time, you do not de-age. For example, if you are 50, and go back 10 years in time, you do NOT have your 40-year-old body. HOWEVER, while you are re-living 10 years of your life, you body will not age until you catch up with the time in which you entered the time machine.
…
5. If you go back in time and die, you are not “totally” dead because there has already been a variation of the universe where you were alive in the future. Thus, you become “half dead” until time catches back up. In other words, your presence may be known to some people but not others. Your presence would only be known when you are required to make an impact to fate.
LOST returns in two weeks with its two-hour season finale. After that we’ve only got 34 more hours of TV (two more seasons) to wrap this thing up! If you’ve got a nutty theory, please share in the comments. (Or just start your own website like Mr. Hunter.)
Comments (14)
Comment
Higgins, I heart you.
posted by stacy on 5-16-2008 at 6:00 pm
Awwww! Blog hugs all around!!
posted by Chris Higgins on 5-16-2008 at 6:02 pm
Umm no, didn’t you guys get the memo? We’re going with the clone theory. Basically The smoke is the cloner, and the memories are flashbacks, the smoke tries to make sure that the clones are perfected. And when the clone machine is assured it has a “perfect” specimen… well stuff happens.
Seriously think back, a lot of the show can be explained by cloning, The whole problem with time travel is it still doesn’t explain the crash landing. The crash could NEVER happen, the biggest problem is not everyone lived from the crash.
The time travel theory is saying the crash was “fate” to stop the island. However if you notice it assumes everyone on the island is needed. If that was true why would the show need any extras? The simple fact is that in a group of 40 some people we’ve only seen around 15.
So in the end, I’m sticking with clones… Because clones are awesome.
posted by Kinglink on 5-16-2008 at 6:25 pm
man timelooptheory is amazing. it explains a lot too, but is based on a ton of assumptions.
i still like it the best though
posted by mo on 5-16-2008 at 9:05 pm
Posted this link in www.surfurls.com. Its a Social bookmarking site.
posted by gibsy on 5-16-2008 at 10:22 pm
Kudos to my favorite magazine giving props to the best show on television!
posted by VSack on 5-16-2008 at 10:45 pm
I haven’t read the site yet, but I’m wondering how they explain the tour group of kids that go by the zoo they kept two of them prisoner a couple seasons ago.
posted by Maimon Mons on 5-17-2008 at 4:50 am
I believe Kate ends up with Ben. In an early flashforward she tells Jack she has to get back to “Him”. I believe Ben, who gets what he wants, “takes” Kate because he blames Jack for his loss of Juliette.
I also believe the time warp thing will play into it big.
posted by gus on 5-17-2008 at 8:48 am
^I don’t mean to be rude. But in that flashforward, Kate is talking about Aaron. Jack and Kate end up together anyway, as we saw in one of the last episodes. Jack never “took” Juliette. The only reason he was ever interested in her is because Kate was into Sawyer, and he was jealous.
Anyway, that theory is awesome. It really explains a lot of thing with just time travel. Mental Floss and LOST together is pretty much the best thing ever, by the way.
posted by Kinleigh on 5-17-2008 at 2:34 pm
Mental Floss + LOST is second only to Mental Floss + Peter Sagal of Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell me.
Y’all are so on the up-and-up.
(^ I’m Texan, can’t help it!)
posted by Beth on 5-17-2008 at 7:07 pm
Higgins, you rock! I went so far as to print the time loop theory (14 pages) so I could digest it at leisure. It is very intriguing and very plausible. Great stuff. Can’t wait for the finale but will miss it over the summer
posted by JaneM on 5-17-2008 at 8:17 pm
Great job Kinleigh, it really was a no brainer Kate was talking about Aaron. It’s amazing how little some people are paying attention!
posted by Sandy C on 5-18-2008 at 10:44 am
OK, I admit I only read half of the theory, and I do currently believe the show’s “secret” is something to do with time travel.
However, this particular theory is way too holey to possibly be the actual explanation. “All the other weird stuff is just fate correcting the course of what’s meant to happen” — what is fate, then? Who’s deciding what is the “true” timeline and what should get corrected? And isn’t that an awfully convenient method of explaining away all the supernatural stuff?
posted by Celeste M. on 5-18-2008 at 1:07 pm
I came across this theory at the beginning of this season and it’s the best, most complete theory I’ve seen so far. Way to recognize!
posted by jplanet on 5-19-2008 at 9:37 am