LOST-Theories.com

This theory is based on What we KNOW about Adam and Eve. by LOSTCONNECTION. You may wish to read it before continuing.

Sometimes all of us fans are so busy feeling starved and looking for crumbs that we don’t notice that five of the seven courses we’ve been promised have already been served.

— ProfOzone

After reading LostConnection’s exceptional post re: Adam and Eve, I’ve been inspired to make explicit a point that LC’s post demonstrates in practice… that is, LOST is all about the people. I think this is a point that many fans of the show often forget.

Case in point:

When Ben told John about the “magic box”, theories flew all over the place in regard to what this box may or may not be. It seemed apparent that the writers had suddenly revealed some very significant clue that heretofore had been hidden from the eager viewing audience.

But had the fans all forgotten that John first introduced the idea that the island gives folks what they want way back in season 1? In only the seventh episode of the entire series? (It was in reference to Charlie getting his guitar back.) OK, sure, John is… well… John. For him to spout what might sound like metaphysical nonsense right after he arrives on the island isn’t nearly as impressive as Ben telling us something after living there his entire life. BUT… it seems to me that if folks remembered what John told Charlie, they’d also realize that Ben wasn’t giving John information that was new to John! That it was important that Ben said, “How can I explain this in a way you’ll understand…” That the most important thing about what Ben said wasn’t in what new information it was supposedly introducing. Rather, the most important thing about what Ben revealed to John is it confirmed for John everything he already believed about the island.

To see the moment between Ben and John this way, though, one has to be able to see the forest for all the trees. Sometimes all of us fans are so busy feeling starved and looking for crumbs that we don’t notice that five of the seven courses we’ve been promised have already been served.

For the writers, I’ll bet this is supremely frustrating. To them, the odd things that happen on the island are just that. Odd things. Requiring no explanation beyond that. If they’d written a story about a haunted house, would they have to explain everything that happened in it? No. The fact that it’s haunted would be explanation enough, and then they could go about getting their audience engaged with their characters. But with LOST the mystique of the place seems to be interfering somewhat with people connecting with the characters in the show.

Since the show isn’t really about explaining all of the odd occurrences, delving into Eastern mysticism and/or quantum physics, all of the people looking for those kinds of answers get impatient. They stop watching or suggest that the writers are just making it up as they go along. Thankfully, some people go back to seasons 1 and 2 and pick up on themes that they missed before and realize, “Gee, I guess the writers DID know what they were doing, I just wasn’t paying close enough attention!” But there are a significant number of people who, no matter what, still insist if the show isn’t going the direction they wanted it to then it isn’t going anywhere at all.

Perhaps all of what I’m saying seems odd coming from a person who has posted so many theories here attempting to uncover the backdrop against which the characters are cast. But for all of my blather my point has been, ironically, that for the writers the backdrop is probably not complicated. For the average viewer, in fact, knowing that the island has “paranormal properties” is probably enough. Sure, the writers are probably influenced by all kinds of theories in science, metaphysics, religion, and psychology. But these things are not the meat, if you will, of the show. They just give the island the “weird properties” it needs for them to animate and motivate their characters within the overall plot.

None of this is to say that theorizing about magnets and timelines and such isn’t fun or useful. But I think one will miss the overall point of the show if such ideas become the lens through which the show is watched. The centerpiece of any comprehensive theory ought to be, I think, the characters and who they are and where they’re going. I think LostConnection’s post re: Adam and Eve is an excellent example of how this can be done.

Key characters

Short Name	Full Name	Episodes	Theories
Ben	Benjamin Linus	3.20, 4.9, & 3” href=”/episodes/theres-no-place-home-parts-2-3/”>4.13	1714
John	John Locke	3.3, 2.17, 1.4, 1.19, 3.13, 3.19, 4.11, & 3” href=”/episodes/theres-no-place-home-parts-2-3/”>4.13	1229

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