Smoke Monsters, Jacob and Polar Bears Oh My, Lost Eats People!
Last Tuesday, Lost’s sixth season premiere enshrouded our television screens with clouds. Fans got two hours of a phenomenon six years in the making. Being a fan, I find that one of the greatest parts about the show is that people can discuss and dispute facts such as the statue, the smoke monster, and the cabin. I love how these conversations occur more often than discussions about opinions such as Kate sucking, Mr. Eko being a beast, and how much of a prick Benjamin Linus is. One of the main arguments against Lost is that it doesn’t make sense, and is therefore stupid. People who think that way are not able to think critically about phenomena in addition to opinions. Those who see the nonsense and try to make sense of it are able to be enticed by Lost. Those who are unable to do so can’t scrutinize television and then blame television for their faults. Having been insulted, they probably won’t read or even start an article that they wouldn’t understand if they tried.
Lost’s season finales are the best at making gigantic cliffhangers that could be explained by many different things. For months fans are able to contemplate what happened or what will happen or why what happened happened. All theories make sense because Lost is extremely unpredictable. Lost is so unpredictable that these theories are almost always off by many leagues and season premieres almost always blow many minds to smithereens. I say almost always because of last Tuesday’s premiere where Lost did the most unexpected thing they’ve done so far: the expected.
Season five of Lost ended with a gigantic explosion where two things could have happened: nothing or something. Fans decided that if the bomb did what it was supposed to do, the entire series would have been for nothing and the characters would have probably crossed paths in LA. The other option was that it didn’t work and the rest of the last season would be spent on the island. Lost copped out by doing both. Most people, including my editor, think that this is because of parallel universes. This idea probably formed by little changes like Desmond being on the plane, Hurley having only good luck, and Shannon only being a partial bitch (not going back with Boone). Another good piece of evidence for this argument is Juliet’s famous last words, “It worked.” As I was watching, however, the idea of parallel universes never made an appearance in my mind.
If parallel universes had crossed my mind while watching, I would have thought back to a NOVA special: “Black Holes: the Other Side of Infinity.” “Black Holes: the Other Side of Infinity” explains that parallel universes are on the other side of a black hole. Black holes are made by the explosive power of a large star dying. Now, the force from the atomic bomb in addition to the inexplicable energy on the island very well may have created a black hole but the island would be destroyed in the making of it. Second of all, the parallel universe idea would be too straight forward for the show. Lost prides itself in roundabout explanations.
Remember the beginning of season four? Where Bearded Jack is all, “We have to go back Kate!” We knew the entire season that they got off the island, we just didn’t know how. That is precisely what I think is happening this season. We’ll be shown how the island sinks and simultaneously how the characters interact thereafter but the actual act that resets everything will be saved for a thrilling, sobering, mind blowing finale. I think how everything will play out has to do with “The Man in Black” getting off the island. Somehow, in getting off the island he goes back in time and sinks it. That’s just my theory. My idea may be partially wrong or entirely wrong. The parallel universe idea may be completely correct. Which fan is right is not the point. The point is that there are many possible answers to any given question Lost presents. Lost is a truly interactive show that forces you to think about it and entices you to find out if your hypothesis was correct. Most of the time it won’t be, but partial predictions being right and unseen answers blowing your mind every episode makes Lost the wonderful and unique show that it is.
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