Lost : Want a mystery solved? Ask here.

People often complain that so much was left unanswered, and that's just not true.

Everything in this show was given an answer, whether directly or indirectly. And some things just have to be pieced together by the viewers.

Have a question? Ask me. I'll explain it to you, you tiny babies.

In the first season why didnt Hurley Sawyer and Jin remember being in 1977 together? Thanks in advance.

I assume you're kidding, but I don't know you.

They didn't remember being together because that hadn't happened to them yet. Time always works linearly, but character arcs (and thus, characters' memories) don't have to. 1977 Jin came after 2004 Jin.

Then why did Charlotte remember Daniel as she was dying?

Because that happened in her childhood

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Ferris Bueller, you're my hero

Oh yeah, my bad.

Why didn't Charlie just swim out of the window?

All the graves of planet Earth are about to give birth.

Desmond told Charlie that he had a vision. In this vision:

-Charlie drowned
-Claire got rescued

Charlie believed that in order for the vision to come true/complete, he had to drown. He knew he was destined to die soon anyway, so he figured he may as well die a hero.

Desmond's interpretation of that vision was wrong. He claimed he saw Aaron being held by Claire on a helicopter, but that never happened.

Desmond most likely saw Aaron being held by Sun and assumed it was Claire. Kind of like how he saw the photo of he and Penny which led him to assume the parachutist was Penny.

The new home of Welcome to Planet Bob: http://kingofbob.blogspot.ca/

Why didnt desmond remember Daniel knocking on the hatch

He did. He wakes up and tells Penny about his "not a dream - a memory" while they're on the boat together.

Desmond didn't remember it until 2007 because it was a change in the time stream. It was a new memory, if you will. Changes in the time stream can only happen to Desmond because he's special that way, and these changes take a while to "catch up."

Okay, here's a classic. When Ben Linus needed a spinal surgeon why did he deceive, kidnap and torture the one person who could save him? Why didn't he just ask nicely?

Not so much of a "mystery" as it is a character flaw.

Ben and Jack are both flawed characters in that they're control freaks. Ben realizes this.

Ben realized that if he came out of the forest and said, "hey plane crash survivors, my name's Ben and I lead a group of people who live in houses. We also have a surgery room. Jack, I know all about you, will you please come fix me?" - it wouldn't go well. Jack would ask too many questions, would want to be in control of the situation, and would want things that Ben didn't want to give him.

Besides, asking politely isn't really Ben's style. We've seen how the guy operates. Ben likes to be in situations where he wins and the other person loses; win-win scenarios (such as asking nicely) aren't even good enough for him.

Ben kidnapped and manipulated because he thought it'd put him in a situation in which Ben wins and Jack loses.

Because he was loaded, okay?

Shut up talking spaceship! I'm trying to watch my favorite sci-fi show.

How and when did Tom have time to leave the island to visit his European cousin in NY during S3 if the hatch explosion disabled the submarine?

The hatch implosion didn't disable the submarine, it disabled The Looking Glass. The Looking Glass helped the submarine navigate, so Ben said they couldn't use the submarine after the hatch implosion because it'd be too hard to leave/get back to the island without The Looking Glass's help.

Tom was able to make the trip to NY and back because he didn't need The Looking Glass's help for that trip; it's a trip they've made before.

Only partially correct. Ben was lying about the Looking Glass being disabled. It was perfectly functional, but he wanted the Others to believe they couldn't leave the Island. Only specific select Others were allowed to leave, Tom being one.

And no matter how many times they made the trip, they would still need the Looking Glass to return to the Island. It's beacon that signals the Island's location, which is important considering it moves with the passage of time.

The new home of Welcome to Planet Bob: http://kingofbob.blogspot.ca/

Did you notice the photo on the monk's desk:

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/lostpedia/images/7/7f/Camhawk.jpg

''I'm fortunate the pylons were not set to a lethal level.''

yes. Eloise and the monk were childhood friends and they kept in touch over the years. No big deal, no significance. They're just buddies.

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by bjaxs - Wed Jun 10 2015 16:08 - Eloise and the monk were childhood friends no significance just buddies

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That's your answer? It was just a red herring? Sorry, red herrings are not answers.

To be a solution, it would need to have significance, it's safe to say.

''I'm fortunate the pylons were not set to a lethal level.''

It's not even a red herring. Red herrings are made to look important, but the show didn't try to make this seem important. It's just a picture of two people on a desk. The show put zero focus on it at all.

They happened to know each other. Nothing more.

That was the final scene of the episode, was it not? That is focusing on it.

''I'm fortunate the pylons were not set to a lethal level.''

No focusing would be the camera panning over the picture longingly or something, it was just a background prop

-
Ferris Bueller, you're my hero

Fairly obvious and somewhat insignificant imo.

Eloise ran/managed/occupied(whatever) The Lamp Post Dharma station, this was situated under a church, a church is a building connected to religion, as are Monks.

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Everything in this show was given an answer, whether directly or indirectly

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Right on, brotha! BTW, one of Lostpedia's worst errors is that a lot of its articles still have "unanswered questions" sections. There are no unanswered questions right?

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one of Lostpedia's worst errors is that a lot of its articles still have "unanswered questions" sections. There are no unanswered questions right?

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Far worse, though, is the fact that Lostpedia "spoon feeds" WAY too much information. People should not go to a wiki for answers. They should watch the show and think for themselves!

Full disclosure: I'm not a true fan of the show, and I rely on Lostpedia frequently because I want to be spoon-fed! (There, I confessed it!) However, I realize how terrible that is, and I'm truly ashamed.

Kudos and a salute to all the Lostpedia volunteers for all their hard work over the years! But sadly (ironically?) the Lostpedia project never should have been started. Why spoon-feed information about a show that shouldn't be spoon-fed?

why are you

why is i?

Lol

Because, unfortunately, too many *beep* people didn't get anything that happened - they need spoon-feeding because of their idiocy :P Even afterwards they can't wrap their head around it - I mean, people still don't get time

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Ferris Bueller, you're my hero

Hopefully too many people didn't blow the whole circus away.

Shut up talking spaceship! I'm trying to watch my favorite sci-fi show.

And yet most of the so called "unanswered questions" on the Lost Pedia page are actually answered.

Example - "If the government officials told Sayid that Nadia was alive before he boarded Flight 815, why did he then tell Danielle Rousseau that Nadia was dead?"

Because he thought he'd never see her again, and that he may never leave the Island.

Others aren't really mysteries.

Example - "Where did the nickname "Hurley" come from?"

I mean come on, next they'll ask, why Jack's parents named him Jack, although its clear why the writers chose Jack and John to epitomise the battle between science and faith, "Jack", is a medieval diminutive of "John", and the characters are the two sides of one coin.

Was it Christian's ghost or the MiB on the Freighter?

Did the bomb go off?

Your explanation of the Cabin?

What is the origin of Locke's/Richard's compass?

How come Kate's number (51, if memory serves correct) was not part of "the numbers"? Why was it not 4 8 15 16 23 42 51 the whole time?

How many protectors have there been?

Where did the Source come from?

What is the point of Hydra Island in relation to the Source? By this I mean, the main island is the home of the Source and for the Protector yadayada but what purpose does Hydra island serve?

What would have happened if "they all went back"? Meaning would anything be different if Desmond and Aaron had been on Ajira? Would they have travelled back in time or not?

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Was it Christian's ghost or the MiB on the Freighter?

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Christian's ghost. MIB had no reason to paddle out to the freighter, say bye to Michael, and ride his canoe back. Now, Michael has no history of being able to see ghosts, but Christian must've felt a strong enough connection with Michael's circumstance to "pierce the veil" and bid him farewell.

This is honestly one of my least favorite scenes because it makes no sense. But Christian's ghost makes more sense than MIB in this circumstance. Especially since we hear whispers.

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Did the bomb go off?

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Yes and no. The bomb didn't have the full impact that they expected (i.e. it didn't destroy half the island) but it did release a small charge that was impactful enough to spread the EM energy.

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Your explanation of the Cabin?

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Horace Goodspeed built a cabin as a getaway. After Horace died, Jacob used it to hang out and meet with Richard. Jacob had many magic abilities, one of which included the ability to move the cabin around. He did this to hide himself from unwanted visitors. The circle of ash kept MIB out at first, but MIB had someone/something break the circle so he could go in and manipulate Locke into moving the island.

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What is the origin of Locke's/Richard's compass?

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There is none. It simply was. Accept it.

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How come Kate's number (51, if memory serves correct) was not part of "the numbers"? Why was it not 4 8 15 16 23 42 51 the whole time?

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This isn't a question. Might as well ask "why weren't the number 4 5 6 7 8 9 10?"

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How many protectors have there been?

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At least three. Likely more.

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Where did the Source come from?

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It didn't come from anywhere. It's always been there. It's The Source. Just a natural part of the universe.

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What is the point of Hydra Island in relation to the Source? By this I mean, the main island is the home of the Source and for the Protector yadayada but what purpose does Hydra island serve?

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Hydra island is part of The Island. There's just a shallow connection of land between the two that the ocean flowed over. It's all one piece of land beneath the water.

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What would have happened if "they all went back"? Meaning would anything be different if Desmond and Aaron had been on Ajira? Would they have travelled back in time or not?

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Aaron and Desmond would have remained in present day if they boarded the Ajira plane.

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Christian's ghost. MIB had no reason to paddle out to the freighter, say bye to Michael, and ride his canoe back. Now, Michael has no history of being able to see ghosts, but Christian must've felt a strong enough connection with Michael's circumstance to "pierce the veil" and bid him farewell.

This is honestly one of my least favorite scenes because it makes no sense. But Christian's ghost makes more sense than MIB in this circumstance. Especially since we hear whispers.

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I agree, and the whispers sound is the most compelling argument for Christian's ghost, coupled with Libby's ghost having appeared before hand to Michael on the Freighter well before it got to the island. But the point in asking this question is that it is left unanswered, there are many that believe it to be the MiB, they have their compelling arguments as well. It isn't 100% one way or the other.

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Yes and no. The bomb didn't have the full impact that they expected (i.e. it didn't destroy half the island) but it did release a small charge that was impactful enough to spread the EM energy.

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"Spread" it? Seems rather still contained there in the hatch. Also uhh, where from the show did you get this info that it went off?

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What is the origin of Locke's/Richard's compass?

There is none. It simply was. Accept it.

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Well hello there Ms. Sassy-Pants. Listen, you are the one that made this thread saying that nothing was left unanswered and that you have an answer for all the questions and mysteries of Lost. This answer you give here is basically a "just because" answer, which isn't an answer at all. See because in the show itself..

Locke: What is this?

Richard: Its a compass.

Locke: What does it do?

Richard: It points north, John.

And see what is a north pointing compass? A man made object. This man made object seemingly has no origin nor end, looping back in time. So see, at some point this object had to have been made and then some how put into that loop. This is never explained in the show, you have no explanation for it either with your "Accept it". What is another expression for something not being explained? Oh that is right, unanswered question.

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This isn't a question. Might as well ask "why weren't the number 4 5 6 7 8 9 10?"

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It is a question, because the "answer" for the numbers is that they correspond to the remaining candidates, who came to the island together on Oceanic. Supposedly Kate is one of these, before she becomes a "mother". So why is her number not included?

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At least three. Likely more.

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You mean at least four. Mother, Jacob, Jack and Hugo. But the question is how many in total, "likely more" isn't an answer and hence unanswered question.

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Hydra island is part of The Island. There's just a shallow connection of land between the two that the ocean flowed over. It's all one piece of land beneath the water.

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This is answering how a 2nd island could be there, I'm asking what was the purpose of the 2nd island?

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Aaron and Desmond would have remained in present day if they boarded the Ajira plane.

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Well you stated your answer in a definitive way, but how did you come to such a conclusion?

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So why is her number not included?

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Why isn't Sullivan's number included? The numbers aren't special because they're the candidates numbers. Them being candidates numbers is just another instance of them popping up everywhere.

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I'm asking what was the purpose of the 2nd island?

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It's all part of the same land mass, and thus the same island. That's like asking "what's the point of the mountains?"

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Well you stated your answer in a definitive way, but how did you come to such a conclusion?

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Because we don't see Desmsond and Aaron in the past. What happened, happened.

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"likely more" isn't an answer and hence unanswered question.

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Answers don't have to be 100% definitive. Viewers are allowed to make their own interpretations.

I enjoy how you skip over the freighter and the compass replies. The big boy stuff is a little too much for ya huh? Look below at how The KoB and Senior Besharp say it was the MiB, and how can this be? Because it is an unanswered question.

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Why isn't Sullivan's number included? The numbers aren't special because they're the candidates numbers. Them being candidates numbers is just another instance of them popping up everywhere.

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Oh really now? Just another instance? I guess the new question is what are the numbers? Because what the show gave as the answer was that the numbers were that of the remaining candidates and that is why the numbers keep popping up. But if that isn't the case, what are the numbers?

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It's all part of the same land mass, and thus the same island. That's like asking "what's the point of the mountains?"

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I guess it is part of the same land mass, one would assume, but that is never shown nor talked about on the show. As to your mountains, one could say it protects the Source.

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Because we don't see Desmsond and Aaron in the past. What happened, happened.

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Really now? You sure what happened, happened when it comes to Desmond? Because "You don't buy the ring."

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Answers don't have to be 100% definitive. Viewers are allowed to make their own interpretations.

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Exactly my point sonny. If a question/mystery doesn't have a 100% definitive answer and it is left up to the viewer's interpretations, then it is an unanswered question. These are "your" answers to these questions, these aren't "the" answers, do you see silly rabbit, do you see?

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But if that isn't the case, what are the numbers?

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The numbers are numbers. Honestly I'm pretty sure the show made them seem so important as a red herring.

Hurley's use of the numbers, however, was "cursed" because that was Jacob's way of getting Hurley to the island. Because Jacob's a manipulative jerk.

Some people say the explanation of the numbers is The Valenzetti Equation. But no, that's just another instance of them popping up. It explains why DHARMA was broadcasting the numbers from the radio tower, but it doesn't explain the "importance" of the numbers. Because there isn't really an importance. They're just numbers.

I mean does saying "Oh, Hurley was cursed because the numbers were written on a cave wall!" make sense? No. Jacob was just putting Hurley in a long con to lead him to his destiny.

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If a question/mystery doesn't have a 100% definitive answer and it is left up to the viewer's interpretations, then it is an unanswered question. These are "your" answers to these questions, these aren't "the" answers, do you see silly rabbit, do you see?

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But "my" answer is still "an" answer, is it not? If viewers like me are able to take information from the show and piece it together in a way that makes sense, then we have an answer. And thus it's not unnanswered.

For example, we didn't need Pierre Chang to tell us "electromagnetic energy is harmful to pregnant women" to get an answer for that mystery. Viewers were able to piece it together themselves because Ethan was born before The Incident and pregnant women died after The Incident.

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The numbers are numbers. Honestly I'm pretty sure the show made them seem so important as a red herring.

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So what you are saying is that they made up a mystery, a question if you will, and then didn't give it a legitimate explanation?

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I mean does saying "Oh, Hurley was cursed because the numbers were written on a cave wall!" make sense? No. Jacob was just putting Hurley in a long con to lead him to his destiny.

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It does within the context of the show. Seeing how even after your "No", you talked about Jacob. So those numbers being written on a wall by a fate controlling demi-god is the answer they gave. That "he has a thing for numbers."

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But "my" answer is still "an" answer, is it not? If viewers like me are able to take information from the show and piece it together in a way that makes sense, then we have an answer. And thus it's not unnanswered.

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Ohhh K. See now when I asked you "do you see silly rabbit, do you see?" You obviously did not. Because "your answer" isn't "an answer". It is speculation, a guess, a theory at best, but really just something to make you feel better about the fact that the writers didn't really care about some of their mysteries. See when you say "Everything in this show was given an answer". The "an answer" infers that it is "the answer". When a mystery/question is left up to speculation and guessing, it means that it wasn't answered, hence unanswered.

Like with Christian on the freighter, you have your theory, KoB and BSharp have their theory. Two contradictory theories for the same question. Neither "answer" can be proved, disproved nor can they coexist, because it was left unanswered. And you have nothing for the compass either, "It simply was. Accept it." Talk about a non-answer to an unanswered question.

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For example, we didn't need Pierre Chang to tell us "electromagnetic energy is harmful to pregnant women" to get an answer for that mystery. Viewers were able to piece it together themselves because Ethan was born before The Incident and pregnant women died after The Incident.

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Oh no, that is an awful example. There are plenty that still argue against it, even with the epilogue. Trust me, that is more than needed to prove "the answer" to that mystery.

By the way

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Because Jacob's a manipulative jerk.

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Clever girl.

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See when you say "Everything in this show was given an answer". The "an answer" infers that it is "the answer". When a mystery/question is left up to speculation and guessing, it means that it wasn't answered, hence unanswered

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Not true. Not in fiction, not in art.

Maybe in a scientific inquiry into the real world we can demand "the" answer because there is a real world referent.

In fiction there is no real world referent. Fictional items exist only within people's minds. Thus all "answers" exist only within a mental plane. And unless you believe in "group consciousness", we each have our own independent mental plane.

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Like with Christian on the freighter, you have your theory, KoB and BSharp have their theory. Two contradictory theories for the same question. Neither "answer" can be proved, disproved nor can they coexist

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Good example. These multiple theories DO co-exist. How? Because each one exists within the mind of a different Lost audience member, the only place a Lost theory can exist.

King o' bob's mind is able to ignore the "Not yet" message to Michael, so his theory works within his own mind. Mine works within mine, etc.

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Good example. These multiple theories DO co-exist. How? Because each one exists within the mind of a different Lost audience member, the only place a Lost theory can exist.

King o' bob's mind is able to ignore the "Not yet" message to Michael, so his theory works within his own mind. Mine works within mine, etc.

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Except that you and Bob both believe that it was the MiB, parts of your theories are different I grant you. But your theory and the theory that it was Christian's ghost cannot coexist.

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Except that you and Bob both believe that it was the MiB, parts of your theories are different I grant you. But your theory and the theory that it was Christian's ghost cannot coexist.

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They don't. My theory exists in my mind, bob's theory exists in his. The only place they'd have to co-exist is in "canon" as though there really was a definable such thing.

Perhaps there are some things we can agree are "canon" but the identity of Christian on the freighter doesn't look like a good candidate. Too much disagreement and ambiguity.

Uh except that Valenzetti was actually sort of right. The numbers were constants in the equation that signaled the end of the world. Dharma was broadcasting them in the hopes of altering the equation. Thanks to Jacob's manipulation it worked because in addition to Locke and Sheppard being on the island you also got Reyes to show up. And Reyes was a better guardian than Jacob was. So in the end they changed the equation Sheppard briefly took up the mantle to correct the error that Jacob/MiB introduced and then Reyes took over.

Presumably the Valenzetti equation would have changed after Reyes took over.

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[Was it Christian's ghost or the MiB on the Freighter?

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MiB.

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Did the bomb go off?

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Yes.

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Your explanation of the Cabin?

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You know my answer, but basically; Jacob used it to pass along messages to the Others until the MiB used Claire to break the circle of ash. The MiB then "moved in" so he could convince Locke that moving the Island with the Donkey wheel was what Jacob wanted.

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What is the origin of Locke's/Richard's compass?

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It has no apparent origin. Though I like to think it came from the Black Rock and that from 1954-2007 there were two versions of the compass existing together. Similar to how for awhile there were two versions of the same rabbit in the Orchid outtake video.

http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Orchid_Orientation_video#Outtakes

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How come Kate's number (51, if memory serves correct) was not part of "the numbers"? Why was it not 4 8 15 16 23 42 51 the whole time?

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You mean her Candidate number? Her name was crossed off by the final encounter(Locke's was crossed off by the MiB, not Jacob).

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How many protectors have there been?

Where did the Source come from?

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Neither of these are addressed by the show. But this is similar to asking "Where did the universe come from." Like Mother says, any answer would only lead to more questions.

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What is the point of Hydra Island in relation to the Source? By this I mean, the main island is the home of the Source and for the Protector yadayada but what purpose does Hydra island serve?

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There may be a pocket of energy on Hydra Island, we don't know. What we do know is that it exists within the EM bubble generated by the pockets of energy. That's why it is where it is.

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What would have happened if "they all went back"? Meaning would anything be different if Desmond and Aaron had been on Ajira? Would they have travelled back in time or not?

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There was never a possibility of anything happening differently from what we see. This is a law of the Lost universe. The only possible outcomes are the ones we see. The choices that lead to those outcomes might be different, but everything always ends up where it's "supposed to."

Desmond only ever returns to the Island because Widmore kidnaps him. Our Losties always time traveled because they had "work to do" in the past. Desmond wasn't on Ajira 316, so he couldn't be on flight 316.

The new home of Welcome to Planet Bob: http://kingofbob.blogspot.ca/

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But Christian's ghost makes more sense than MIB in this circumstance. Especially since we hear whispers.

I agree

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I disagree (as does King o' bob but for different reasons). What Christian says is, "You can go now Michael". This implies Michael was previously asked to wait. When did that happen?

It happened when he received the mysterious note saying "Not yet". Who wrote that note? Did Lost really leave that unanswered? No. The image of Christian saying "Now." tells us that it was he who initially told Michael "Not Yet".

Hurley can see Michael as a whisper because Hurley can see ghosts. But why would Michael be able to see Christian as a whisper? Richard can't see Isabella's ghost and she is a lot more important to him than Christian is to Michael.

Moreover, making sure the Freighter explodes at just the right time makes sense as something the MIB would do. The image of Christian appears to Ben Linus and Locke in a similar way over similar issues. And Christian is definitely the MIB in disguise in those appearances.

You just have to let go of the hidebound assumption that the MIB can't appear across even the smallest body of water. When you do, a lot more of the story makes sense. Is it really so hard to consider that the boundaries of the Island extend to the "temporal barrier" (or whatever) that keeps it hidden? That boundary extends outward across the water from the Island for a certain distance and that is the likely limit to how far the MIB can appear.

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The only possible outcomes are the ones we see.

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Through Desmond we see Charlie drown, zapped by lightning and shot by an arrow through the chest. Three possible outcomes and we see them all.

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Was it Christian's ghost or the MiB on the Freighter?

MiB.

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As a counter argument, I point to the episode Meet KJ. Where Mike is on the freighter and goes to blow it up before it ever reaches the island. Before he presses the button and "not yet" pops up, there are some whisper sounds and ghost Libby shows up. Then the Christian sighting in question happens with some whisper sounds. Then Mike because a whisper.

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Did the bomb go off?

Yes.

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Well then what is the failsafe if it isn't the bomb?

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You know my answer, but basically; Jacob used it to pass along messages to the Others until the MiB used Claire to break the circle of ash. The MiB then "moved in" so he could convince Locke that moving the Island with the Donkey wheel was what Jacob wanted.

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So what was up with creepy Jacob on the rocking chair saying "Help me"?

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It has no apparent origin. Though I like to think it came from the Black Rock and that from 1954-2007 there were two versions of the compass existing together. Similar to how for awhile there were two versions of the same rabbit in the Orchid outtake video

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Yeah, but we both know that the intention in the show was that it was a singular compass, that circles around in time. They made a paradox and left its origins unanswered. The OP was trying to say that nothing in Lost is unanswered, this right here, even if it was your double compass, wasn't answered in the show.

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You mean her Candidate number? Her name was crossed off by the final encounter(Locke's was crossed off by the MiB, not Jacob).

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I know, Jacob crosses off her name because she became a "mother" but doesn't cross off the dead guy's name. The dead guy's number is one of "the numbers" and her number isn't one, what is the deal with that?

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Neither of these are addressed by the show. But this is similar to asking "Where did the universe come from." Like Mother says, any answer would only lead to more questions.

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That is the point though, this OP was saying everything in the show was answered and here is another example of unanswered question/mystery, the origins of the Source and Protectors left unanswered.

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There may be a pocket of energy on Hydra Island, we don't know. What we do know is that it exists within the EM bubble generated by the pockets of energy. That's why it is where it is.

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Or what happens when the cork is pulled from the Source? The island breaks apart.

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There was never a possibility of anything happening differently from what we see. This is a law of the Lost universe. The only possible outcomes are the ones we see. The choices that lead to those outcomes might be different, but everything always ends up where it's "supposed to."

Desmond only ever returns to the Island because Widmore kidnaps him. Our Losties always time traveled because they had "work to do" in the past. Desmond wasn't on Ajira 316, so he couldn't be on flight 316.

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Yeah, but they kept saying "everyone has to come back" and two of them didn't come back with them, Aaron didn't come back at all. And we both know most of the exceptions to the rule/law of the Lost universe have happened with good old Desmond.

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As a counter argument, I point to the episode Meet KJ. Where Mike is on the freighter and goes to blow it up before it ever reaches the island. Before he presses the button and "not yet" pops up, there are some whisper sounds and ghost Libby shows up. Then the Christian sighting in question happens with some whisper sounds. Then Mike because a whisper.

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So then why is he dressed like the MiB posing as Christian rather than wearing the black suit that both Jack and Hurley see him in? Instead he's wearing the exact same outfit Christian was wearing when he recruited Claire in front of Miles, which we know for a fact was the MiB.

This counter argument lacks substance. Especially since Libby told Michael not to blow up the bomb, but Christian appears to tell him he can stop preventing the bomb from detonating.

Also, if it were the Ghost of Christian, why would he lie to Micheal? He says "You can go now" but Michael just ends up stuck on the Island. He doesn't really "go" anywhere. Not to mention, Michael never showed any special ability to see ghosts. He's seen Libby and actually has a connection to her, so why isn't it her that appears to Michael if it's supposed to be a ghost?

I also don't like the scene either. Neither really makes sense with the information we have about the characters and their role in events. But the outfit and the fact that Michael has no special ability to see ghosts it doesn't seem to fit that it would be the ghost of Christian.

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Well then what is the failsafe if it isn't the bomb?

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A different bomb entirely. The jughead device was meant to destroy the Swan energy(according to Daniel). The Failsafe was meant to seal the leak in the pocket of energy. Instead, the jughead device discharged enough of the Swan site energy to give Dharma time to initiate the Button Protocol.

When Desmond turned the key, it sealed the leak and ripped a small hole in space\time which shifted Locke, Desmond and Eko away from the Swan. Due to Desmonds extended exposure to the EM radiation of the Swan, his mind was also send through time when passing through the wormhole. Exactly what happens to him when he, Sayid and Frank try to leave the Island, also caused by extended exposure to the EM energy at the Swan site.

So to reiterate, the failsafe was A bomb, but not THE bomb.

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So what was up with creepy Jacob on the rocking chair saying "Help me"?

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The writers have said it's less important what was said, and more important that Locke heard anything at all. This also falls perfectly in line with Jacob's actions throughout the series. He manipulates without intervening directly. Locke hearing Jacob in the Cabin leads to Ben seeing Locke as a real threat to his position of power. Which in turn leads to him killing Locke in the hotel room, which in turn leads to the MiB getting his loophole, which in turn leads to the MiB being stopped by Jack and Kate.

Remember that Jacob has knowledge of the future, and as such can perform such subtle manipulations and know exactly how the sequence of events are going to play out.

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Yeah, but we both know that the intention in the show was that it was a singular compass, that circles around in time. They made a paradox and left its origins unanswered. The OP was trying to say that nothing in Lost is unanswered, this right here, even if it was your double compass, wasn't answered in the show.

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The writers actually acknowledged it as a mistake. They didn't purposely introduce a paradox. I just want to make this clear, because some have used this idea as the basis for the Sideways being an actual alternate reality.

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I know, Jacob crosses off her name because she became a "mother" but doesn't cross off the dead guy's name. The dead guy's number is one of "the numbers" and her number isn't one, what is the deal with that?

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She was never really in contention. It was always going to be Jack. The numbers associated with them wasn't that important. As I've explained before, the numbers appearing all over the place was to show they are connected to the characters and their fates. What does it even matter what Kate's number was?

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That is the point though, this OP was saying everything in the show was answered and here is another example of unanswered question/mystery, the origins of the Source and Protectors left unanswered.

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I'm sure what they meant was "Every question the writers purposely introduced." The origin of the Source and Protectors was never within the scope of the show, nor was it a purposely introduced mystery. In the same episode we find out about the Protector and the Source we have a line from Mother saying "Any answer will only lead to more questions." This was specifically meant to address questions like this.

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Or what happens when the cork is pulled from the Source? The island breaks apart.

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The EM bubble that the Island exists within collapses when the Source is extinguished. Hence the Island starts to crumble because it's no longer resting on anything. It starts collapsing because it's not connected to the ocean floor.

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Yeah, but they kept saying "everyone has to come back" and two of them didn't come back with them, Aaron didn't come back at all. And we both know most of the exceptions to the rule/law of the Lost universe have happened with good old Desmond.

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Eloise was just doing her job, getting them back to the Island. They were told to replicate the first flight as close as possible, and they did. Desmond wasn't on flight 815 and Aaron had yet to be born.

But none of that really matters, since as I said, Desmond and Aaron were never going to be on that flight. It was never a possability. Eloise was just saying what she had to in order to get those people on the flight. Again, it's more about indirect manipulation than direct orders.

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So then why is he dressed like the MiB posing as Christian rather than wearing the black suit that both Jack and Hurley see him in? Instead he's wearing the exact same outfit Christian was wearing when he recruited Claire in front of Miles, which we know for a fact was the MiB.

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Hmmm

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The writers actually acknowledged it as a mistake. They didn't purposely introduce a paradox.

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So the writers made a seemingly intentional and obvious mistake in the script. Yet the production crew detail of what Christian was wearing wasn't a mistake? Maybe, just maybe the writers didn't want to give spoiler details to the production crew/costume department. Christian is now wearing this set of clothes instead of the suit. You know what I mean? Plus like there is a whole page on the wiki of production errors. Just saying.

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This counter argument lacks substance. Especially since Libby told Michael not to blow up the bomb, but Christian appears to tell him he can stop preventing the bomb from detonating.

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Not at all, Libby disappears when Michael pushes the button and never returns. It seems like she was telling him he had the option to pick the right choice. Where as Christian wasn't telling him to stop preventing the bomb, the coolant was done and the signal had been sent.

Plus this way it would be whisper Libby, whisper Christian and then whisper Michael. Your way is whisper Libby, MiB, whisper Michael. Why would the MiB care about Michael? Or the ship blowing up? One would think he would want to try to see if he could leave on the freighter.

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Also, if it were the Ghost of Christian, why would he lie to Micheal? He says "You can go now" but Michael just ends up stuck on the Island. He doesn't really "go" anywhere. Not to mention, Michael never showed any special ability to see ghosts. He's seen Libby and actually has a connection to her, so why isn't it her that appears to Michael if it's supposed to be a ghost?

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Well first off, I think he meant that Michael "can go now" from his living human body. Second you said this in regards to Jacob in the Cabin

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The writers have said it's less important what was said, and more important that Locke heard anything at all.

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So it isn't important for what Jacob said, but what Christian said is important?

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A different bomb entirely. The jughead device was meant to destroy the Swan energy(according to Daniel). The Failsafe was meant to seal the leak in the pocket of energy. Instead, the jughead device discharged enough of the Swan site energy to give Dharma time to initiate the Button Protocol.

When Desmond turned the key, it sealed the leak and ripped a small hole in space\time which shifted Locke, Desmond and Eko away from the Swan. Due to Desmonds extended exposure to the EM radiation of the Swan, his mind was also send through time when passing through the wormhole. Exactly what happens to him when he, Sayid and Frank try to leave the Island, also caused by extended exposure to the EM energy at the Swan site.

So to reiterate, the failsafe was A bomb, but not THE bomb.

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That is a nice work around and all, but it wasn't in the show. There was no second bomb shown, spoken off, or even a hint that Dharma would have the capability to make a bomb of that magnitude on the fly like that.

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The writers actually acknowledged it as a mistake. They didn't purposely introduce a paradox. I just want to make this clear, because some have used this idea as the basis for the Sideways being an actual alternate reality.

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Did they talk about the compass specifically? I haven't listened to all the podcast or interviews, never heard them talk about the compass itself, just that they didn't want any paradoxes in their time travel. So would love to hear them speak on it, if you have the link.

Just because it seems so intentional and an obvious paradox. Like how did that just slip in? They didn't read the script? Talk about it in the writers' room? Watch the dailies before the edit and sending it to ABC? Like they didn't have to make it that, it is almost forced into the show. They could have done your second compass, FLocke could have asked a random for their compass or Ben or anything else than what they did, to not make a time looping paradox.

As for this sideways bit, that isn't me. The compass for me is just another piece of evidence that the "whatever happened, happened" time travel is more 90% than 100%.

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She was never really in contention. It was always going to be Jack. The numbers associated with them wasn't that important. As I've explained before, the numbers appearing all over the place was to show they are connected to the characters and their fates. What does it even matter what Kate's number was?

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Then what is the point in having candidates? Just a death list for the MiB? I think at some point Jacob came to the conclusion of it being Jack and Hurley. But I don't think it was set in stone from the get go.

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I'm sure what they meant was "Every question the writers purposely introduced."

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Read the OP, it doesn't come off that way.

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The origin of the Source and Protectors was never within the scope of the show, nor was it a purposely introduced mystery. In the same episode we find out about the Protector and the Source we have a line from Mother saying "Any answer will only lead to more questions." This was specifically meant to address questions like this.

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Right, the writers knew they were introducing new questions when they brought in the Source and Mother. So they addressed it in the show, by purposely leaving it unanswered. Having Jacob start asking the obvious questions about the Source and that answer from her. But that is the point, they are letting the viewers know that they know that they are leaving some questions unanswered.

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Eloise was just doing her job, getting them back to the Island. They were told to replicate the first flight as close as possible, and they did. Desmond wasn't on flight 815 and Aaron had yet to be born.

But none of that really matters, since as I said, Desmond and Aaron were never going to be on that flight. It was never a possability. Eloise was just saying what she had to in order to get those people on the flight. Again, it's more about indirect manipulation than direct orders.

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It was a possibility, it was Jack's plan at first. Might have been helpful to have the guy that has a history with time travelling.

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So the writers made a seemingly intentional and obvious mistake in the script. Yet the production crew detail of what Christian was wearing wasn't a mistake? Maybe, just maybe the writers didn't want to give spoiler details to the production crew/costume department. Christian is now wearing this set of clothes instead of the suit. You know what I mean? Plus like there is a whole page on the wiki of production errors. Just saying.

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Considering the scope of the show, I would say this error is pretty small. Costuming would be a much larger mistake. Especially considering we saw him appear in a black suit to Jack only 2 episodes later. Not to mention we see Christian twice in that episode(Something Nice Back Home), wearing two different outfits. The exact same episode where we see the MiB using Christians image in the casual outfit recruits Claire and also appears to Jack in LA wearing the Black suit. The writers are clearly making a distinction between the two appearances. Are you really suggesting they didn't think of this at least two episodes ahead of time?

And so what if there's a page of errors? That doesn't make the logic your employing any more valid.

Besides which, this isn't even a valid argument you're presenting. "They made a mistake somewhere along the line, so that obviously means they made a mistake with the costume" is basically what you're saying. This is from the Bsharp book of logic.

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Not at all, Libby disappears when Michael pushes the button and never returns. It seems like she was telling him he had the option to pick the right choice. Where as Christian wasn't telling him to stop preventing the bomb, the coolant was done and the signal had been sent.

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More illogic. Libby appears to Michael in the hospital after he tries to kill himself too. Then she doesn't appear to him again until the freighter. Do you see why this line of reasoning doesn't work?

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Plus this way it would be whisper Libby, whisper Christian and then whisper Michael. Your way is whisper Libby, MiB, whisper Michael. Why would the MiB care about Michael? Or the ship blowing up? One would think he would want to try to see if he could leave on the freighter.

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Libby isn't a whisper. The whispers are people like Michael who can't move on. Libby did move on. What are you even saying?

I'm not suggesting the MiB does care about Michael, but he knows he can't leave the Island at this point. Jacob is still alive, and the MiB is under the impression that Jacob is somehow holding him on the Island.

I don';t know why the MiB would appear to Michel on the freighter. But I equally can't explain why the Ghost of Christian would appear to him either. Especially given that Michael has no connection to Christian and never had any special ability to see ghosts.

The whispers pop up when there's eminent danger. I would suggest that the whispers would have been heard no matter who appeared. Though I would have liked it better of nobody had appeared at all.

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Well first off, I think he meant that Michael "can go now" from his living human body.

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And the actual spirit of Christian telling Michael this makes sense to you?

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So it isn't important for what Jacob said, but what Christian said is important?

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Man, what's with you today? These two things have nothing to do with each other, first of all. Second of all, I never said the line was important. I asked what it's supposed to mean, since on the surface it appears to be a lie. And really doesn't make sense no matter whether it's the MiB or the ghost of Christian, since Micheal just ends up trapped on the Island. Unable to go anywhere.

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That is a nice work around and all, but it wasn't in the show. There was no second bomb shown, spoken off, or even a hint that Dharma would have the capability to make a bomb of that magnitude on the fly like that.

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Yes that's exactly what was in the show. They didn't show us a second bomb, but they told us there was one located under the Swan station which was the failsafe. It is never once stated or suggested that it's the core from a hydrogen bomb.

And what are you talking about with regards to the magnitude of the bomb? It didn't have to be a big bomb. Since it's job was to seal the leak, not negate the Swan energy. The bomb just had to be big enough to seal the hole in whatever containment chamber Dharma damaged during The Incident.

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Did they talk about the compass specifically? I haven't listened to all the podcast or interviews, never heard them talk about the compass itself, just that they didn't want any paradoxes in their time travel. So would love to hear them speak on it, if you have the link.

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They were kind of wishy washy about the compass when they talked about it. It seems like they wanted to pay it off, but it never worked out. The compass appears to have no origin, but objects like that shouldn't be possible in the model of time travel the show uses. Since everything technically only happens once.

Which is why I prefer the "two compasses" explanation.

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Just because it seems so intentional and an obvious paradox. Like how did that just slip in? They didn't read the script? Talk about it in the writers' room? Watch the dailies before the edit and sending it to ABC? Like they didn't have to make it that, it is almost forced into the show. They could have done your second compass, FLocke could have asked a random for their compass or Ben or anything else than what they did, to not make a time looping paradox.

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To be fair, with the amount of information the show presents, it's amazing that the show is as free of errors as it is. Gregg Nations is a great script supervisor, but nobody is perfect.

And like I said, everything really only happens once. There is no real time loop. It only looks that way because of how events are presented to us. The compass is the only object that appears to be in a loop because we never become aware of its origin.

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As for this sideways bit, that isn't me. The compass for me is just another piece of evidence that the "whatever happened, happened" time travel is more 90% than 100%.

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Except the compass thing always happened too. It just appears to have no origin. But 2007 Richard always gives time traveling Locke the compass to pass along to 1954 Richard. Since the compass somehow convinces Richard that Locke's story is true. If that didn't happen, Richard wouldn't visit Locke's birth 2 years later which means Locke wouldn't even be considered as a future leader of the Others and so on and so forth.

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Then what is the point in having candidates? Just a death list for the MiB? I think at some point Jacob came to the conclusion of it being Jack and Hurley. But I don't think it was set in stone from the get go.

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To keep the MiB guessing. Again, the MiB thinks Jacob is keeping him on the Island somehow and that killing Jacob and taking out the Candidates will allow him to leave. And since the MiB can't kill them directly, it would take him a LONG time to work his way through the list.

I don't think Jacob actually chose Jack or Hurley. Rather I think it was always going to be Jack followed by Hurley. I look at Jacob as being similar to Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen.

Yes, they seem incredibly powerful, but even Dr. Manhattan admits that even he is a slave to destiny\fate. He can only commit the actions he's predestined to commit. The only real difference between them and our Losties is that Dr. Manhattan and Jacob are puppets who can see their strings.

Nobody, not even Jacob, can alter the way events are supposed to play out.

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Read the OP, it doesn't come off that way.

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I'm pretty sure they're new here and are simply unaware of how pedantic the people on this board can be.

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Right, the writers knew they were introducing new questions when they brought in the Source and Mother. So they addressed it in the show, by purposely leaving it unanswered. Having Jacob start asking the obvious questions about the Source and that answer from her. But that is the point, they are letting the viewers know that they know that they are leaving some questions unanswered.

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Not quite. What they knew is that no matter how many answers they gave the audience, the audience would only have further questions. The writers could have had an entirely separate show dedicated just to answering the questions on Lost and then a third show dedicated to answering the questions of audience members in the "Answer show." It would be endless.

Just like real life, there is no end to the questions. There is no "ultimate answer" to everything. Many of the questions being asked aren't related to the plot, but the mythology of the series. We had all the answers we needed for the plot, but the mythology is entirely too big to cover every possible question a fan could ever come up with.

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It was a possibility, it was Jack's plan at first. Might have been helpful to have the guy that has a history with time travelling.

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It wasn't possibility. The fact that you think it is only means you weren't paying attention to how the timeline on Lost works. Desmond always got brought back to the Island by Widmore and the people we see on flight 316 are the only people who ever got on that flight.

And Desmond's experience time traveling wouldn't exactly be helpful. Since even he doesn't really understand how time travel works.

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