Can Someone Explain The Flash Sideways - Lost (2004) Discussion

[–] WhereIsRent (1020) 2 years ago

*SPOILER WARNING*

In the series finale it's revealed that the world of the flash-sideways is basically the afterlife with all of the characters meeting there after their deaths.

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[–] Zinger (2174) 2 years ago

So then it's actually a flash forwards?

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[–] BillySlater (4108) 2 years ago

No its like a purgatory during death. None of the events in the flash sideways actually happen in their lives. You see when Sawyer touches Juliet in the flash sideways that they don´t know each other but when they touch, they remember their actual lives. Supposedly the flash sideways was supposed to help them in the "moving on" process in the afterlife, according to Jack´s Dad.

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[–] Zinger (2174) 2 years ago

Right, but it takes place AFTER all the stuff with Locke being the man in black etc.

So it's the future (technically).

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[–] WhereIsRent (1020) 2 years ago

Yeah, so you're right in a sense that the flash-sideways are flash-forwards seeing as they take place after all the characters have died.

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[–] BillySlater (4108) 2 years ago

Well AFAIK, the flash sideways is not considered reality, so I am not sure if it could be considered "the future" but from a narrative standpoint I guess it could be considered a "future event".

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[–] ExTechOp (2757) 2 years ago

I was under the impression it was what life would be if the plane hadn't crashed.

That's because the creators said that, explicitly, in interviews when the season started airing: "They're sorta like ... flash-sideways."

So they allowed themselves some wiggle-room, but intentionally misled us into thinking it was "what if the plane hadn't crashed."

In fact, it turned out to be an afterlife where things that went wrong went right instead according to each character's history, desires, etc.

I recall another clue early on, when Evangeline Lilly described Flash-Sideways-Kate as "on the run but enjoying her life on the run." Makes sense in light of what the sideways world turns out to be (an afterlife created by the characters themselves).

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[–] TrentnQuarantino (8583) 2 years ago

The Flash Sideways shows the show had no real point. It was a very entertaining great show with memorable characters and really amazing management/direction/writing. But, it just had no overall point or plot. It was Swiss Family Robinson turned into a soap opera. Love it. Just re-watching it now and I am enjoying it immensely. Poor John Locke's kidney, and always hated the death of Shannon. Michael was an idiot. Also, Jack is not really the same character re-watching the show for the second time.

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[–] Seperatrix (1090) 2 years ago

LOST was a bumpy ride for me. When it was airing during its original run there was spacing between the episodes and that made for a fun time speculating. But alas, the payoffs weren't exactly there by the end.

I've mentioned this somewhere on other threads, but my interpretation of LOST is based on the concept of a bardo world. A Tibetan concept that tells of each person who dies goes through repeated iterations of their former life until they "get it right."

So I think the LOST writers were riffing off that concept (and probably got the idea from Lynch's film Mulholland Drive -- the actor who played Jacob was one of the main characters in Mulholland Drive).

My take is that they all died during the plane crash, their time on the island is one iteration in the afterlife, then the "flash sideways" is the final iteration. But that's just me. I'm not insisting it's the officially sanctioned explanation, just the one that allows me to enjoy the show.

The island is no longer needed as a platform for their purgatorial living, that's why it sank, and there was a church in that world for all of them to gather in at the end.

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[–] BillySlater (4108) 2 years ago

I gave up on it while it aired but I got hooked on the DVDs. The first three seasons are pretty great. Season 6 to me is unwatchable. They were better off just sticking to the on-island stuff instead of filling half the season with events that never actually happen.

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[–] TrentnQuarantino (8583) 2 years ago

> I've mentioned this somewhere on other threads, but my interpretation of LOST is based on the concept of a bardo world.

I've heard that before. I think it's a way for some people who happened to have read or know about the Tibetan Book Of The Dead to show off. I don't like it, because all great literature, or literature that aspires to something more than the run of the mill soap opera trash is based on common experiences and understanding, or if it advances from that it does it in a very accessible way. Lost was just deliberately confusing.

In general I really dislike TV or movies that counts on the Rorschach test to get different people to see different things in something. I that is the mark or laziness. Not that it cannot be entertaining or even show exceptionalism in other areas, like effects, or acting, or directing, but for me to be great there needs to be a point. Lost had no real point in my opinion, and taking a few things that happen to tweak a few people to think of something like the TBOTD or whatever else - of course they might go for something like that because it beings attention and controversy to bear, which sells more tickets or views.

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[–] Seperatrix (1090) 2 years ago

"I've heard that before. I think it's a way for some people who happened to have read or know about the Tibetan Book Of The Dead to show off."

Nope. Not showing off. Just wanted to make that clear (whether that comment was directed toward me or not). The TBOTD is something I've read about, hence a little familiar with, and occasionally I think I see it in a film or television series.

For the record, I'm probably 100% wrong when it comes to LOST, but as I said, the bardo interpretation is the one I like to go with, because it works best for me (no point in going into all the reasons why).

A film or TV series can be anything it wants, I don't shut out the "Rorschach test" type shows (see The Rambler for the perfect example) and I don't seek them out. Any form of entertainment can connect with me on some level and I don't discriminate if I feel that connection and regardless of whether or not I understand why.

Rather than a Rorschach test pertaining to LOST, I'm guessing the writers intended the island to be an afterlife purgatory, then changed their minds along the way. Too many inconsistencies and threads left hanging for my taste.

I enjoyed it the most upon first viewing. I revisited it last year and mostly found it annoying. But it still had some worthwhile moments here and there. Mostly wasted potential.

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[–] raymondoz2007 (2053) a year ago

They were killed when the BOMB went off.

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[–] OldG (628) a year ago

The flash sideways part was such a waste of time... I mean they have created so many mysteries throughout the show and then we spend most of the last season in the afterlife/purgatory... instead of trying to give the viewers some payoff... I am not saying they should have answered everything... but much more than they ended up doing... which basically shows that they didn't have a plan for half the mysteries they presented...

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[–] Volley (3373) a year ago

Purgatory.

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