when did they...[SPOILERS]? - Lost (2004) Discussion

[–] g-bone (532) 2 years ago

Everything on the island happened. They all meet up at the church at the end after each one of them dies at whatever point in their lives. It's just not explained why they all met up at the same time when obviously each person dies at different points in the years after the island.

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[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

"Everything on the island happened."

But... did it really?

From the series epilogue:
"How does an island move?"

When you can answer that question, you've figured out everything you need to know about the island and LOST.

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[–] raymondoz2007 (2045) 2 years ago

When did Jack actually die??

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[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

"How can an island move?"

Ben Linus in the epilogue explicitly doesn't answer the question.

How you answer that question tells you whether the island is real or not.

If the island isn't real, then they died in the crash.

If the island is real, they died as you see in the series.

My own opinion is that is doesn't matter. Lindeloff and Cuse left themselves lots of wiggle room to go either way because they couldn't write themselves out of the many mysteries and unexplained elements of the series.

I figure they waited to see which way the fans interpreted the ending, and then claimed that was their ending all the time.

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[–] WhereIsRent (1014) 2 years ago

Jack died at the very end of the show in the bamboo forest with Vincent by his side.

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[–] Marty1968 (296) 2 years ago

Who immediately ate jacks face

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[–] WhereIsRent (1014) 2 years ago

Haha yep.

I thought Rose and Bernard were looking after Vincent yet they just let him roam around the island getting up to whatever.

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[–] BillySlater (4097) 2 years ago

Jack died in the finale when he closes his eyes as the plane leaves the island.

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[–] kuatorises (7467) 2 years ago

"But... did it really?"

Yes, yes it did.

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[–] Seperatrix (1089) 2 years ago

I think they all died in the plane crash.

So why do the writers insist "no -- everything on the island really happened!"????

So what I think is this: The island experience "really" happened in the sense that the characters "really" existed in bardo. A Tibetan concept that upon death the soul goes through phases, or journeys, before finding a resting place. So they really lived and had those experiences -- in that realm.

I think the bomb explosion kicked them sideways into another realm, that was simultaneously linked with the world they inhabited on the island. That's why they didn't die during the bomb explosion, because they were already dead. Anyway, the gist of it is that one can -- and will -- go through various iterations between death and rebirth until you get things right with your past life. And what is LOST but people reflecting on their past in an attempt to "make things right?" Especially (primarily) Jack.

I know that some prefer the interpretation that Jack was having his Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge moment (a character is shown actually holding this book in at least one episode). In other words the entire series was all in the head of Jack as he lay dying. That can work too. At the end of the day it's whatever you want to make of it. I have my conclusions and you'll have yours.

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[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

This works as good as any other explanation afiac.

The writers really couldn't explain the island in 'real' terms that made sense

The correct answer to the unanswered question "How can an island move?" is: It can't. Even if they tried to explain it with some high techy, sci-fi answer, it conceptually can't work.
Islands are physically connected to seabeds.
Subterraneans rivers originate from deep within the earth.
You can't physically disconnect an island and move it like it's a boat. It would break apart, rivers would drain. It would cause major seismic and oceanographic events.

When the writer's didn't answer this question in the epilogue, that's when I knew that THEY KNEW it was BS all along. Instead they pulled a Wizard of Oz... "Hey, don't pay attention to that man behind the curtain, pay attention to this emotional and spiritual BS that we are spreading over here to distract you."

LOST only works as something that took place in some 'magical' place where rules of reality don't apply. Call it bardo, call it purgatory, call it Oz... whatever works for you. But it's not reality.

And, all of this explains why a sequel has never generated enough popular interest, despite ABC and the showrunners' repeated attempts over the years. The writers never had a cohesive plan for the overall explanation of the show... the epilogue was Lindeloff's knowing wink to acknowledge that. Hence the big pivot for the final season and episode.

People aren't going to be fooled into watching it again.

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[–] raymondoz2007 (2045) 2 years ago

The cork

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[–] kuatorises (7467) 2 years ago

"Were they all dead in S.1 in the plane crash?"

https://media3.giphy.com/media/FcuiZUneg1YRAu1lH2/200w.gif?cid=82a1493b8kat9u44x3ktzxn8yfvpbvow1fs6wsnueawvwzqq&rid=200w.gif&ct=g

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[–] Seperatrix (1089) 2 years ago

"When the atomic bomb went off?"

Yes, well, Richard plainly states that he saw the LOSTIE's (at least some of them) die, presumably from the bomb explosion. He could distinguish between people "vanishing" like Locke on the one occasion (while the island was skipping) vs people dying apparently, so I don't think when the bomb went off they simply vanished and Richard was confused (mistaken) about what had happened.

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