108 Answers to LOST’s Supposedly Unanswered Questions
Damon Lindelof has recently come under fire for Prometheus, the sort-of-a-prequel but actually completely a prequel to Alien. People on the INTERNET are saying that the lack of answers in PromETHEUS is just like the lack of answers in one of Lindelof's other popular projects, LOST. LOST comes up a lot when answers are involved. It was even recently mentioned in Buzzfeed's "32 Really Frustrating Things in Life."
What the ... Faraday?
LOST is also mentioned every May during finale season. Many Googleable lists of the "X Worst Finales Ever" will pop up, and LOST is usually in the number one slot, right above Battlestar Galactica and Friends. Battlestar Galactica because hearing "I'm an angel of God" in the very first episode makes a person surprised and angry when a main character turns out to be an angel of God. Friends is of course on these lists because of its final episode, "The One Where Joey Became Joey." Although, to be fair, it was still better than the Joey premiere episode, "I Miss My Fucking Friends."
"I'll be there for you," they said. "Like I was there for THEM," they said.
Now, I'm not very subtle about my love for LOST. I have made too many or not enough songs about it, but I still know that the show had problems. Nothing happened for about a season and a half, certain characters existed, etc. But "unanswered questions" is not among the show's flaws. You might not LIKE the answers, but they exist, and I can go no further in life without revealing them to you. I've already ruined The Dark Knight Rises for everyone, so I might as well improve LOST for you to even it out. I have your answers. You can trust me, because I'm a person typing to you on the Internet. Actually, just ask Damon Lindelof:
That tweet refers to a LOST Answers blog that I update infrequently, by which I mean "rarely," so, yeah, using only "infrequently" would have worked just fine. On said blog, you can find information on why certain people weren't at the Church, why Jack and Juliet's Sideways son was actually Jack and Kate's real-life son, and many other apparently creator-approved explanations of the mysteries of LOST.
So. Now that I'm officially creator-approved, let's get to it.
Spoiler Alert.
QUESTION 1: "So, it was purgatory, yeah? Right? YEAH?!?"
ANSWER 1: No.
Apparently a lot of people think that the Island was purgatory and everyone was dead the whole time. In a recent the Verge interview, Lindelof was asked why he made the whole show bloody purgatory. Lindelof spent the next few minutes explaining to the interviewer that everything on the Island happened in real life and the show was not, in fact, purgatory. Of course, all Lindelof had to do was show him a line from the finale: "Everything that's happened to you is real." Pretty straight forward, but maybe it would have helped if the Architect from The Matrix said it.
"... ergo, the Island is a series of tubes. Ergo, other stuff."
The likely cause for this false theory is that over the credits of the finale, ABC chose to show images of the crashed plane in silence, with no characters around. It was apparently meant to simply allow the audience to reflect on the series, not to claim anything about the plot of the show. The characters did not die when their plane crashed. I COULD stress that enough, but I guess I just don't want to take the time.
The longer answer for this is "The Island is a conscious place that can travel through time and space. It contains the source of all life. Water and Light combine at its center to form an energy that fuels Life, Death and Rebirth throughout existence. The Island, like all life, can make choices and be manipulated. If the light at the Source of the Island ever goes out, everything ends."
But the shorter answer is still "Magic." Magic is actually the answer to many Unanswered Questions, and if you hate that fact, then LOST just wasn't for you. Since the beginning, the central argument in the show was about Science vs. Faith. As it turns out, the winner of that battle is "a little bit of both." Our protagonist Jack started out as a man of Science, and he saved the world after he learned to balance his beliefs with his new found Faith in the Island. John Locke, on the other hand, operated on blind faith, and it broke him. He helped save the Island, but he also ended up being the face of the villain. On the other hand, Jack, the balanced one, was our hero.
Balanced.
So, yeah, Science won a little and Faith won a little. Among the show's sci-fi elements, like time travel and pushing a button every 108 minutes to stop the end of the world, there is also magic and ghosts and an afterlife. There is the unexplainable; a Monster in the jungle, and Magic on Magic Island.
This is a type of question asked frequently. "What's the deal with ?" or "What's up with ?" These aren't really questions, because they don't actually know what they're asking. The deal with airplane food is that it's food of varying quality that can be sold or given free on airplanes. What's up with the numbers is that they were the six remaining numbered Candidates to replace Jacob as Protector of the Island.
So, OK. Walt. What's the deal with him? Let's go with the longer answer again ...
Walt was always "special." He had premonitions, he attracted birds like a freaky magic bird kid and he had a clear connection to the Island. Walt was eventually kidnapped by the Others and studied by them, because he was a very special child. Unfortunately, Walt's father was a bit of a humongous wang who ended up murdering two people and ripping Walt away from the Island; away from his destiny. He stayed off the Island and lost his father. That's what we saw, so that's the deal with him, right? It's a sad answer, but some answers are sad. "What's the deal with John Locke?" He thought he was special until he attempted to kill himself. Ben convinced him not to, and then he murdered John. Sad already, and then Locke spent the entire end of the series looking like the villain. Pretty sad story, as was Walt's, but that's what happened.
Although, for even more on Walt, we can thankfully watch this extra epilogue from the Season 6 DVD:
In the epilogue, Ben Linus convinces Walt to escape Santa Rosa Mental Hospital in order to return to the Island. Ben told him he needed to help his father, Michael. We can easily presume from this that Hurley would eventually finish cleaning up the mess Jacob and Brother made, and he would step down for Walt to take over. That's what happens to Walt eventually, in another story we don't need to see. Chances are, he eventually became Island Protector and lived for hundreds of years, which is why he wasn't in the Church at the end. As Jack's father says, the people in the Church were there because the time they spent together was "The most important time of their life." Walt had other people to move on with, from HIS most important time. A time of peace and safety on the Island, with King Walt and Aaron and Ji Yeon, and probably Vincent still. We can only assume that Walt just Richard Alperted the situation and made Vincent immortal with his Magic Water and Light powers.
To understand this, we need to understand the nature of Time in LOST. The rule that the show has given us is "Whatever happened, happened." It's a paradox-correcting rule, and it eliminates the idea of linear time or circular time. It's more like a big splat of paint on a wall. Everything in the past, present and future (which is to say, everything) happened at once. One big splatter of Magic Water and Light on a wall that creates every moment of existence. The Magic Water and Light of Life explodes in a giant splatter of Everything. And whatever happens in that splat, happens.
So at the end of Season 5, Jacob's Candidates are in the '70s and the Incident is about to occur. The Incident that caused the creation of the Hatch, which caused the survivors to crash on the Island in the first place. 1970s DHARMA has drilled a hole in a particularly large pocket of Magic Island Energy, and it starts to escape, grow and collapse in on itself. If the survivors can set off the nuclear device Jughead, the Magic Island Energy will neutralize and the Incident will be avoided. The survivors would never have come to the Island at all. Time fixed.
Pictured: Stock photo of Time.
Except that's not how Time works. Everything that happened, happened. In the present, Jughead was sitting in the Hatch, waiting to be detonated as a Failsafe if someone didn't push the button. Sayid mentioned the nuclear device, Jughead, when they first arrived at the Hatch. Back in the '70s, the bomb didn't go off. The Incident continued, but eventually enough construction equipment got sucked down and plugged the hole. The bomb was kept in the Hatch for later use.
But let's look at the Sideways World from Season 6. In it, the Island is dead at the bottom of the ocean. Ben's father speaks of having left the Island years ago, so we know it existed when they were on it: right before the Incident. This Sideways World is a reality where Juliet DID blow up the bomb, and the Island sank. And a sunken Island means death for everyone; an Afterlife. The lack of Island also means that the Hatch was never built, so the plane never came to the Island, so they never went back in time to blow up the bomb that created the world in the first place. To correct this, the rules of Time have to create a second reality that interacts with and affects the original timeline. Two realities that exist at once, and occur because of each other. It's sort of like a second splat on the wall. It's smaller, but it still affects the shape and color of the original splatter. The only reason Desmond unplugged the Island and continued the Regular World's existence is because he got a vision of the Sideways World. The only reason the Sideways World exists is because of actions taken in the Regular World. Both realities happened, because whatever splatted, splatted.
As Jack's father said in and about the Sideways World, "This place is a gift you gave yourselves." Through chance, free will and paradox-correcting Magic Paint, a second Purgatorial Splat was created by these people. In this splat, the characters can say goodbye and forgive each other before returning to the Magic Light and Water that creates all life. These Oceanic passengers went through a very important time on the Island. They saved the world and created a place they could meet one last time, before moving on.
The longer answer here is "Egyptians." The longest answer is "Egyptians, probably."
This is in another category of question that doesn't work. It's the same as wanting to know where Jacob's mother came from. Chances are the answer is "brought there by someone else." OK, then where did THAT person come from? Who was THAT person's mother or father? This is information that belongs in an appendix of an Extended Universe Encyclopedia, not the narrative of a television show. If you want to learn more about Midi-chlorians and who Boba Fett's father is, just get the Expansion Guide. The Statue wasn't there because it was integral to the plot. It was there to enrich the setting in which the story played out.
An important thing people forget about LOST is that from the beginning, the Island was a character. The finale gave almost all of the characters perfect, appropriate send-offs. The character of the Island, however, didn't get a satisfying end. From the beginning, the Island gave Locke visions and had a mysterious agenda. It wanted things. Yes, Jacob and the Monster manipulated certain events, but there were things even they didn't understand. They were, after all, essentially kids when they took on their forms and roles on the Island. There are rules they don't understand and things at play that they can't comprehend. That's the Island. It is the Universe. It's the Rules. It's God. It needs Jack to go back. It won't let Michael kill himself. It is a being as well as a place. A being that Jacob doesn't understand, but is sworn to protect.
So, many questions can honestly be answered with "The Island did it." The cabin was a place that moved around seemingly at random. Characters would often peer in and see their own eye reflecting back at them. John Locke saw a wigged version of himself sitting in a rocking chair in the cabin. The Monster, as we were told, can only take the forms of people who are dead. Moving a cabin or location around is not a power attributed to the Smoke Monster, or Jacob. The only thing with the power to move objects through time is the Island itself. Locke even had a vision about where to the find the cabin. Visions aren't a Smoke Monster or a Jacob game. They're an Island game.
So if Existence and the Sideways World are two splatters of paint, then the Island is the paint brush. It is a conscious entity that affects how the paint splatters. Yes, the Smoke Monster played a long con to kill Jacob. Jacob played a long con to get rid of Smokey and to get Jack & Co. to fix the Island. The Island, however, was playing the longest con. Throughout its existence, it uses MAGIC ISLAND MAGIC to push people into making certain decisions that could lead to its survival.
It's not.
There was a certain expectation LOST presented for itself in the pilot. Tell the audience what happens to the characters, and explain the questions raised in the first episode. We know what the Island is, what the Monster was, why there were polar bears on the Island, why the characters were brought to the Island, and what happened to them. They saved the world.
Also, Magic was involved.
(Author's Note: I allude later on that Jack eventually became The Smoke Monster. It didn't seem to fit the conceit of the piece, but enough people have asked me about it that I'm including it here. I'll try to keep it "brief" and "simple", citing only information we were given in the show.)
Jack and The Smoke Mother
The Mother was the Protector of the Island.
The Mother explained to her sons that going into The Source would result in a fate worse than death (i.e.- Becoming a Smoke Monster).
The Mother destroyed the Man in Black's village in a most Smoke Monstery of ways, seen here:
What I'm getting at here is that, as Protector of the Island, Mother both had the powers of Jacob, and was a Smoke Monster. She split her duties and powers between her two sons, and made it so they could not kill each other. It would make sense that the Protector of Important Magic Island would be the incredibly powerful cloud of black smoke that can read people's memories and kill them in seconds. Rousseau was right: The black smoke IS a security system. A very important one, meant to patrol the Island and protect it for as long as it can. Mother was this being, and she also had the power of Jacob: to make rules, to give others abilities, etc. Full-on Island Protector.
But she couldn't decide which was deserving of the role. She loved them both. So she made it so each would get a part of her. The Gray Mother split herself into dark and light. The problem here is that The Man in Black became the Smoke Monster. He became a security system that wanted to leave its post. That was problem with the Broken Island for so long: One of its protectors had no interest in protecting anything. Both protectors wanted the other dead, but neither could kill the other. Thankfully, Oceanic 815 crashed and Jack was eventually all "Fine, I'll save the world."
So. How are Smoke Monsters made? They dip themselves into The Source. Into the Water and Light. Jacob tossed his Brother down and then his Brother cracked his skull, fell into The Source, and emerged as the new Smoke Monster. Later, Jacob found his body draped over a nearby rock and tree:
The Water and Light absorbs the essence of a person and turns them into a Smoke Monster. But they don't need the person's body. So The Source moved the body outside.
So what happened to Jack in the finale? He went down to The Source. Desmond unplugged the Island and was unaffected because of his Magic Time Brain. Jack had to plug it up again, though, and the Water and Light DID affect him. He sacrificed himself because he knew the Water and Light would kill him.
But the Water and Light doesn't kill you. We've SEEN what it does. It turns someone into a Smoke Monster, into a Protector of The Island. The person needs to be dead, though, as The Man In Black was dead when he reached The Source. Then it spits out the body. So after Jack was consumed by Light and Water, where did we next see him?
The same place The Man In Black showed up.
The Source spit Jack out once it absorbed his essence for Smoke Monstering. But Jack wasn't dead yet. He was stabbed and bleeding, but not dead yet. Not like the Man in Black already was when he fell into The Source. So Jack walked into the reeds, lied down with a dog, and died. His eye closed. The show was over.
But then, because Jack was now finally dead, a new Smoke Monster burst from The Source. And this time, it was a Security System that wanted to stay. One that even needed to stay. Jack's whole arc of the show ended with himneedingto stay on the Island and to do whatever he could to protect it. He believed in the Island, and he believed that he belonged there. Now he was even more correct than he thought. Jack could now happily float around in his new form, helping Hurley clean up Jacob's mess, and protect the Island he loved, in the form of something he once feared. He did this for many many years, until Hurley's reign ended and they could both pass off their power and position to Walt, the next true Protector of The Island.
Now let's go to the Sideways, where Jack keptalmostremembering his life. Every other character had one moment when they remembered everything that ever happened to them. Jack, on the other hand, needed several. A moment with Locke, a moment with Kate. He kept not quite being able to remember. Now, one could argue that this is just because he's Jack. He's stubborn and resistant, and just needed a while. However, he wasn't that way in the Sideways. That was one of the main points in that world. Everyone had evolved and grown in their lives, and they displayed the traits they'd developed in their time on the Island. Sideways Jack was not as stubborn as Real Life Jack.
SO. What's my point? Jack spent we-don't-know-how-long as a Smoke Monster on the Island. It could have been years or decades or centuries. Hurley lived a life just as long, but he never changed forms. Hurley remained himself. Jack, however, was Smoke Monster Jack. We saw what being a Smoke Monster can do to a person. As Mother said, it can be "worse than death". You lose some of yourself. You take the form of other people, you float around asblack smoke. Yes, its essence is you, but much of you is lost over the years.
Jack needed those extra pushes in the Sideways world, because he was so far away from it. He spent his life as Jack, but then he spent X amount of years as another entity. He lost a bit of himself, and each time Locke or Kate touched him in the Sideways, he got a little closer to remembering his life before the Smoke. He needed a drastic wake-up call like his father explaining everything to him in order to truly wake up from his life.
Ok, then. On to the rest...
Satisfied with the answers or not, the answers are there. Sometimes the answer is Magic, sometimes it's the Island, and sometimes your question is dumb. But each question does have an answer. If you read the remainder of these and find that you still have questions, feel free to message me or send one to this LOST Answers blog. I still have some creator-approved things to say about Christian Shephard, Jack becoming a new Smoke Monster, and many other things that may or may not blow your mind. Ask me sometime.
But for now, on to the rest ...
When the LOST finale aired, the folks at fellow cutuppery CollegeHumor released a video of LOST's 100 lingering questions.
Here are answers to all of those questions.
Why did the Monster kill the pilot?
The pilot wasn't a Candidate, and the Monster was a kill-y kind of monster, so it made an example of the pilot.
What did Locke see when he first saw the smoke?
A bright light, some smoke, the heart of the Island. Beauty. Love. Life. And so on.
What's with the polar bear in Walt's comic?
There was a polar bear in a comic book Walt was reading. It foreshadowed the appearance of a polar bear on the Island.
Where's Christian Shephard's body if it's not in the casket?
It was assimilated by the Island and transferred to the Sideways world. There is more to this, but basically whenever we saw Christian in a suit and white shoes, it was Enlightened Christian Shephard who was going back and forth between the Sideways and Real World, trying to help the survivors survive and save the world. When we saw Christian in rags, that was The Smoke Monster pretending to be Christian.
Why did the psychic say that Claire had to fly on Oceanic 815, and why did he insist that her son had to be raised by Claire?
He was revealed to be a fraud.
Why did the Others want Walt so badly?
He was Special.
Who sent Kate the letter telling her about her mother being treated for cancer in the hospital?
A person who knew her mother was being treated for cancer in the hospital.
How does Walt know about the Hatch and why does he warn Locke not to open it?
He knew about the Hatch because he was special and had premonitions and powers and such. He warned Locke because many bad things happened in that Hatch. At one point, Locke had a gun to his head in the Hatch. At another, his legs got crushed underneath a giant metal door. At another, he panicked while the Hatch was about to explode. Much death came as a result of opening the Hatch, and Walt sensed those things. He was a dumb kid and didn't understand the full picture. So, yeah. Don't open the Hatch, Mr. Locke.
Why does the Smoke Monster make mechanical sounds?
It is the sound it makes. Why do dogs' barks sound like barks?
How is Walt able to apparate before Shannon?
Special Walt.
How did Walt communicate with Michael using the Swan computer?
That was not Walt. It was the Others posing as him to get Michael to come to them.
What is the deal with Kate and that horse?
I'm still not sure what the deal with airplane food is, but I'm pretty sure the horse was the Smoke Monster taking its form.
Why are supplies still being dropped on the island after the purge, and by whom?
To keep Desmond and Kelvin alive, so they could keep pushing the button. People in the employ of the Others made the scheduled drops so the button-pushers believed DHARMA was still intact.
What triggered the lockdown, and why on earth would anyone trigger it so that during the lockdown, black lights would go on?
The food drop triggered the lockdown. Why on earth is the second part of this question a concern of anyone?
What happened to the original Henry Gale?
He ballooned to the Island and eventually died.
What happened to the Original Timeline Libby in the mental hospital?
She got better.
Who built the four-toed statue?
Early inhabitants of the Island, of Egyptian descent.
Why does only one specific bearing get you off the Island?
Because it's a Magic Island, and its survival depends on very few people coming to and knowing about it. Also, Magic Island again.
What are the hieroglyphics on the Swan countdown timer about?
They were about death.
Why did Tom feel the need to wear a fake beard?
To convince any non-Others that he was an uncivilized savage Islander.
Who was Libby's previous husband?
Who was Libby's previous husband's mother, and who was her husband?
Who are the skeletons in the polar bear cave?
The skeletons in "The Caves" were Jacob's Mother and Brother. The skeletons in the polar bear cave were unimportant people from the past who died in the polar bear cave.
Where did the toy truck come from?
Where did anything is why come?
How did Locke and Mr. Eko escape the Hatch explosion?
The Island wasn't done with them.
Why couldn't Locke talk after the Hatch explosion?
There was a Magic Explosion on Magic Island.
Why did the monster kill Mr. Eko, and why didn't he just do it the first time they met?
The Man in Black thought he could manipulate Mr. Eko for his own insidious means. Mr. Eko did not repent and give in to the Monster, and he was no longer a Candidate, so he got Smoked.
What did Mr. Eko mean when he said, "You're next?" as he died?
Two things. In terms of deeper meaning that you're clearly begging for, Locke was next in line to get manipulated by the Man in Black and unknowingly do his bidding. But more importantly, he meant "Holy shit, this fucking giant pillar of black smoke just killed me, it seemed pretty pissed and it seems to plan on killing lots more of you, so watch out for that, you're all gonna die." In other words, "You're next."
How disgusting was it when Hurley was eating from that tub of ranch dressing?
The Island wasn't done with the ranch yet, and Magic.
Why did Yemi's body disappear?
The Smoke Monster took it.
Why does Danny say Jack wasn't on Jacob's list when in fact his name was clearly written in the cave?
Jacob had many lists. Some were of people to take to join the Others. Some were of people to kill. Some were probably of eggs and almond milk. As Ben once said, "All those listssssssss." The list Danny was referring to wasn't some full list of Candidates that he was passing around. In fact, Jacob went out of his way to not let Jack or anyone else know that Jack was a Candidate. The whole point of the episode "The Lighthouse" was that some people need to figure things out for themselves, and not be told they're special.
Why can't women on the Island have babies?
The Incident. Several episodes before the Incident, Ethan was born. After the Incident, babies couldn't be born.
What was that Russian letter in Mikhail's typewriter?
Who sold him the typewriter?
Why was the supply drop menu hidden behind a game of computer chess?
Passwords and mainframes and security and other hacker reasons.
Remember when Ben gave Juliet that weird mark as punishment? What was that about?
It was about marking her as a traitor, for being a traitor.
What's the deal with Jack's tattoos?
He has tattoos. One of them means, "He walks among them but he is not one of them." But mostly, the deal is that he's got some tattoos.
How did Desmond's monk know Eloise?
They met.
How did Ben see his dead mother?
She was an Island projection.
Who decided to kill the Others in a purge?
Ben, Richard, and/or Jacob. Some combination of those three.
What happened to Ben's childhood friend, Annie?
She grew up and died.
Why did Desmond have a false vision of Claire and Aaron leaving the island on a helicopter?
Well, Aaron did leave in a helicopter. The Claire he saw was just a really pretty version of Sawyer. BUT, in all mostly seriousness, the premonitions Desmond had changed regularly. He would see Charlie walking, see a vision of him getting an arrow to the knee/face, and then stop it from happening. The actions leading up to both Claire and Aaron leaving in a helicopter were altered by the Man in Black stealing Claire away into the woods.
How does Mikhail keep coming back to life?
He didn't keep coming back to life. He just kept not dying, thanks to Jacob and the Island's pretty incredible healing powers.
Why does Walt tell Locke that he still has work to do?
Locke still had work to do. Mostly moving the Island and convincing the Oceanic 6 to go back, via his own suicide.
Whose eye appeared in the window of the cabin?
The Island, Life, Everyone, and so on. Actually, see earlier for all cabin-related information.
Where did Miles get that picture of Ben?
Charles Widmore, or an employee of Charles Widmore. Probably Naomi. A person, that's for sure.
Who was the "R.G." on Naomi's bracelet?
There was a woman named Regina on the freighter. She asked about Naomi before she died. Probably her. And furthermore, what's the deal with there being a freighter? Who built that thing?
Why was there a time difference between Faraday's timers?
Because time works differently on the Island.
Who is the Economist and why did Ben want him dead?
A man who worked for Widmore. Because Ben likes people who work for Widmore to be dead.
Why was Ben so surprised that they couldn't kill Alex? What are the "rules"?
The "rules" Ben spoke of were not the Island's Rules, like Jacob and MIB not being able to kill each other. This was an agreement between the two, because they're not complete monsters. "Hey, let's not kill each other's daughters, eh?" "Yeah, I like my daughter." "Well, I love my daughter." "I mean, I do, too. I love my daughter. Obviously. You don't need to try to upstage me like that." "Just sayin'. Love my daughter." "Yeah, ME TOO." "Oh. Then let's not kill each other's daughters, how about?" "Yeah. Yes. Good."
How does Jack's dad appear in a hospital in LA?
It was a vision projected by the Island in order to get Jack to come back, because they had to go back.
How did the monster get into Jacob's cabin?
The ring of Anti-Smokey ash that surrounded the cabin had been broken. Presumably, he walked or floated into the cabin. Maybe sashayed. Dunno.
Why did Ghost Horace direct Locke to the cabin?
The Island gave Locke the vision so he could find the cabin to lead to the world being saved.
Why did the Oceanic Six lie and name Charlie, Boone and Libby as the other survivors? What's the logic in that?
Partly out of respect for the dead. Everyone else was potentially still alive. If you're going to lie, sprinkle some truth and seemingly random details in there to make it more believable. As they explained what happened and spoke of Charlie and Boone and Libby, they didn't have to fake any emotion to sell the story. Also, the characters did the thing because that's the thing they did. That's an answer, too.
Why does Miles decide to stay on the Island?
Because he's a wise-cracking loose cannon who plays by his own set of rules. Also, he can talk to dead people, and here he is on Magic Island, home of the Whispers, aka Dead People. There is much to explore here on this incredibly fascinating Magic Island. There is nothing for him back in the real world. Why not stay here on Super Magic Island?
What's the deal with the frozen wheel? It combines light and water?
Yes. What's the deal with frozen airplane food?
Why does Ben insist that the Oceanic Six, as well as Locke, have to return to the Island?
Because they do.
Why don't the rules of time travel apply to Desmond?
He turned the Failsafe Key in the Hatch and was blasted with magnetic, nuclear and Magic Life radiation. Magic powers and so on.
Who are the men who tried to kidnap Sayid and Hurley, but got thrown into a dishwasher full of knives?
Goons. Hired goons.
Ben asks his butcher friend who was watching Locke's body if Gabriel and Jeffrey have checked in yet. Who are these people?
Other Others who live off the Island. The other Others who are working together to return the Oceanic Six and Locke to the Island.
When the gang was unstuck in time, who was that shooting at them from the outrigger?
People from the Ajira plane. The people were heavily armed, and we saw the outrigger with bottles of Ajira water. We didn't see the shootout from the other perspective, but we also didn't need to.
Who sent Sun a gun and pictures of Jack and Ben?
Widmore. She was working with him for a while. Amember?
Who attacked Sayid, and why did he have Kate's address?
Goons. Hired goons. Gonna kill Kate later.
Why was the Smoke Monster at the Temple?
It was ... there?
How do the producers of Expose deal with the deaths of their two lead actors, Nikki and Paolo?
Paolo was never on Expose. Nikki only had a guest appearance. She was only OK.
How does Eloise come to run the Lamp Post station?
She knew about it because A) she was the leader of the Others for quite some time and B) her son Faraday built it back in 1970. DHARMA no longer existed and she's a crazy all-knowing time witch, so, yeah, that shit's hers now.
How does a pendulum predict the Island's movements?
The magic and magnetism from the Island is connected to the Lamp Post because , so it pushes the pendulum in a magicy, sciencey sort of way.
Why do those returning to the Island need to recreate the circumstances of their first arrival?
To alert the Island of their return and so the Island will recognize them.
How did Jack, Hurley and Kate get from that Ajira flight to the 1970s, and why didn't Sun?
You forgot Sayid, and they got to the 1970s because they were Candidates and because of Magic Time Island. Sun did not flash back to the 1970s because she was no longer a Candidate, just like Ben and everyone else on Ajira 316.
How did Richard bypass the sonar fence?
He is immortal, thanks to Jacob. This is true.
How did Ethan go from a member of the DHARMA Initiative to a member of the Others?
He was a kid during the Purge. The Others don't kill kids. They take them.
What's with all the hieroglyphics underneath the Temple?
Some of the Island's early inhabitants were of Egyptian descent. They built the statue, and the tunnels underneath the Temple, and probably many other things on the Island. What's with things existing?
Why did Widmore tell Ben to kill Rousseau and her baby, and why did he then let Ben keep it anyway?
Because the Others don't cater to outsiders unless pushed or prompted by Jacob . Widmore's a bit of a prick and didn't want to deal with it. Ben appealed to his less prick-ish humanity, and Widmore gave in because he was surrounded by people who clearly didn't want anyone to kill a fucking baby, and he was expecting a child of his own soon, and it's way easier to say "Kill a baby" than it is to look directly at a baby and say, "Yeah, kill that baby right there." Short answer, though: Because characters have free will.
Why did Daniel leave the Island in the '70s?
He was helping design and build the Lamp Post station.
Why does Richard think he saw everyone in the 1977 DHARMA picture die?
Richard helped Jack and company get Jughead to the surface and watched the aftermath. During the Incident, there was an enormous flash of light when everyone flashed back to the present. To him, it looked like they died.
Who broke the circle of ash around Jacob's cabin?
I don't know, actually. Maybe a squirrel. The one true Unanswered Question.
Why can Jacob leave the Island but the Smoke Monster can't?
When Jacob drank the water, it imbued him with the power of the Island. He is connected to it, but he is not bound to it. Smokey was created from the Source of the Island and is bound to it. The Man in Black's body did not turn into Smokey. His body was buried in the caves next to his mother. Only his consciousness was transferred into the Island's Smoke. The Smoke is bound to the Island, not connected to it. The role of Island Protector is actually both Jacob and Smokey's powers combined. Their mother was a Jacob-like entity, but also a Smoke Monster, as we saw when she destroyed the Man in Black's town. Mother split her duties down the middle between Jacob and the Man in Black, which is what caused the whole mess in the first place. Eventually, Hurley the Jacob and Jack the Smoke Monster will die, and Walt will become the new Island Protector. He will have the powers of Jacob, and take the form and powers of a Smoke Monster, too. He will be one with the Island, as well as Protector of it.
Jacob uses his last breath to say, "They're coming," but who are They?
The surviving Candidates, from the '70s.
What's the deal with the pool that brings people back to life?
It's a pool of Magic Water from the Source, and it can bring people back to life. Why won't anyone tell me what the deal is with airplane food? Why!?
Why did Sayid come back to life with a British accent?
I will not dignify this joke question with a joke answer.
What is the "infection"?
It is the word used to describe people under the Smoke Monster's influence. Claire was infected. Rousseau's husband and team were infected. Sayid was infected, until the power of love gave the infection the business.
Why was the Smoke Monster confused that Sawyer could see Young Jacob?
Very few people can see Jacob, let alone the dying ghost kid version of him. Smokey thought Young Jacob was a vision he was having, because the Island's prone to giving people visions to mess with them. The fact that Sawyer saw it too meant that Young Jacob wasn't just some trick of Water and Light. Furthermore, do you really need me to explain why someone on LOST was confused?
What's the magic lighthouse about?
It's about eight stories high.
How is Dogen simply being alive keeping the Smoke Monster out of the lighthouse?
Jacob gave Richard immortality. He also gave Dogen this protective power. Magic powers on Magic Island.
What happened to the flight attendant Cindy and the kids?
They were taken and assimilated by the Others.
Why didn't Sun tell Jin to go just so their daughter wouldn't be an orphan?
Because she made a choice. Sun and Jin died together. Bad parents, great husband and wife. Oh, well.
Where did Jacob and the Smoke Monster's mother come from?
Where did Jacob's mother's mother come from, and who was her mailman?
Where did Allison Janney come from?
The West Wing.
Who finished the Magic Wheel that combined Light and Water?
Jacob, or someone else. Definitely a person.
What is the nature of the Light?
The molecular structure of the Magic Light is unknown.
Why does Tina Fey want the electromagnetic map of the Island?
So she can find where the largest pocket of electromagnetic energy is and use that information to find the Source of the Island.
How does the electromagnetic thing send Desmond to the afterlife and back?
Desmond was imbued with special Electromagnetic Time Magic, something the Island thrives on, and generates. The Source of the Island is "Life, Death and Rebirth." Essentially, it IS the afterlife. The Island and the Sideways Afterlife are connected. Desmond, being special, was shocked and filled with Electromagnetic Time Magic, which rocked his consciousness through the Island, through the Source, to the Afterlife, and back. I feel that it's important to mention the Electromagnetic Time Magic one more time.
Wasn't Sayid's soulmate Nadia, not Shannon?
No. Shannon was because, as corny as it sounds, Island Love is stronger than Any Other Love. More on this on LOST Answers.
Why weren't Michael, Walt, Lapidus, Eko or any of the other characters at the Church?
Michael wasn't allowed to move on. Walt had a different important group of people to move on with, as did the others. The group at the Church was very specific. They were the most important people in each other's lives, and they were meant to move on together. More on this on LOST Answers.
To contact Cody and tell him what a huge waste of time this was, search for his contact information, I guess.
For more from Cody, check out Advanced Batman Theory: Why Nolan Will Kill Bruce Wayne and The 12 Most Baffling Genres of Stock Photo, Explained.
