Jack’s “flash forward” was another flashback
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By bond
- Jack’s “flash forward” was another flashback
- Created: May 25, 2007
- Last updated: Aug 14, 2008
- After episode: 3.22: Through The Looking Glass
- Status: Current
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Many people have remarked that Jack has a significant amout of grey stubble while on the island, yet his full-grown, bushy beard is uniformly dark brown without a hint of grey in the “flash forward”. The producers would never miss something like that, and are likely giving us a hint about what’s really going on.
— bond
Jack’s flash forward was actually a flashback. This is the survivors’ 2nd time on the island.
This actually isn’t completely my idea—I found it in the comments section of another theory post (edit: i just noticed that joeparker discusses it as well in his post), but I’m bringing it to the surface and expounding upon it. This also ties in with Steve Wynn’s theory (http://lost-theories.com/theories/2007/may/07/great-gedanken-experiment-tale/)
It is highly probable that this is the survivor’s second time on the island.
Let’s look at three things: Jack’s beard, his mention of his father, and Desmond/ Locke’s ongoing assertions that “it isn’t supposed to be this way” and “it’s supposed to happen”.
IMO, Jack’s beard is so prominent in what we think is the season finale “flash forward” for a reason. Many people have remarked that Jack has a significant amout of grey stubble while on the island, yet his full-grown, bushy beard is uniformly dark brown without a hint of grey in the “flash forward”. The producers would never miss something like that, and are likely giving us a hint about what’s really going on. Another hint was Jack’s mention of his father. It’s way too simple to assume that Jack was just off his rocker and hallucinating. It’s very likely that his father is upstairs in the hospital, alive and well in that scene. But if he’s dead, how is he alive?
These two bizarre facts begin to make sense when it is realized that Jack’s entire “flash-forward” sequence was actually a flashback. What we have been watching for the past 3 seasons has been an account of the survivors’ second go round on the island. Jack told Kate that they had to “go back”, at the end of the episode, and that’s what we’re seeing. They made it back. The answer to how they went back may sit somewhere at the core of Steve Wynn’s theory on this website (see link at top of this theory).
But why don’t Jack and Kate appear to know each other after the crash? Several studies have shown that superhigh frequency electromagnetic radiation of low intensity produces retrograde amnesia in rats. We know that there existed an electromagnetic field around the island. I haven’t developed a theory much beyond this, but it could be something for others to think about.
Lastly, both Locke and Desmond seem to know more than the rest of the survivors—Des has premonitions and Locke always talks about how things are “supposed to be”. When Jack was radioing the freighter at the end of the episode, Locke told him that he’s “not supposed to do this”. What could Locke possibly mean by that? How could he seemingly know the future? I think that for whatever reason (up for further speculation) both Locke and Desmond are able to remember fragments of the course of events the last time they were on the island. To some extent they know what worked and what didn’t.
Also—this might be a long shot, but I also think we’ll see more of Charlie before the series ends after season 6. I have a feeling the survivors will somehow keep going back to the island until Locke guides them through the “correct” series of events.
I’m tired of writing. I hope this theory doesn’t suck.
Key characters
| Short Name | Full Name | Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack | Jack Shephard | 1.1, 1.5, 2.11, 1.11, 1.16, 1.20, 3.9, 3.22, 3.1, 4.10, 4.12, & 3” href=”/episodes/theres-no-place-home-parts-2-3/”>4.13 | 1451 |
Key episodes
| # | Title | Aired | Central character | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.22 | Through The Looking Glass | 5-23-2007 | Jack | 1251 |
Yes it does kind of make sense, although maybe a bit far fetched… but then this is lost we are talking about!
That’s a very interesting view. My head is spinning a little. :)
Yes amnesia can explain multiple things.
We have no idea who was in coffin but it was obviously some one from “the first time around”
I dont think locke saw the future but walt (or whatever he was jacob/etc.) explained everything to him and how jack was amking the mistake again.
I was also thinking it could e either flash forward or back. Because it might be present jack is the one shown in flash forwards and he is having flashbacks to his big mistake.
This theory would explain the 2 skeltons holding hands at the cave in season 1 being 2 people from the survivors. I have also read (not seen evidence) that there is a skelton beside locke after he was shot by Ben that had a bullet in his head, just like Locke was about to do to himself. All the skeltons in that mass grave we thought were killed by gas, not guns, so this might have been locke in a previous iteration that killed himself before Walt came and stopped him. So every iteration that they crash on the island maybe there are different people involved and each time it wasn’t the right mix of people to come to the right conclusion….so this time maybe Walt is the difference since he saves locke from killing himself.
when you say they made it “back” do you mean back in time as well? because the date of the crash predates the newspaper in jacks flash back/forward
or perhaps Christian (Jack’s dad) is still alive after all. Jack has seen him on the island in a “vision”… the same way Kate saw the horse, which was real. If the horse is real, why not Jack’s dad? also… there may be multiple “island trips” going on.. but I don’t think that they have actually been on the island multiple times… rather there are “multiple futures”, different series of events that could have happened… like if locke had shot himself. and so his dead body is there, he is both alive and dead, in different paths of time
I think you have to think of the matrix reloaded when thinking of this theory (at least I do). I don’t think you can worry about the dates involved as much as the fact that they continue to go back and try again until they make the right decisions to make things right….much like Neo deciding to choose the right door at his 6th attempt to save zion. All the events that lead up to the plane crash don’t have to be the same and it doesn’t even have to be the same people on the plane (I think with the exception of Jack and Kate). So everytime they crash the new set of survivors have to make the right decisions to make the island happy…so this time walt and now that I think about it probably Locke are “new’ survivors and they are likely to help Jack make the right choices to save himself from ending up a junkie (or maybe even dying in other iterations of this process). So it would explain why Jacks dad may have been alive this time and maybe why the name on the article is someone that was a survivor on a previous iteration of events but not the one we have watched the last 3 seasons.
This doesn’t explain how they actually start the new iteration of the plane crash though or why Jack has the gold pass to fly as much as he wants from the last time……….
the thought is interesting, and along the lines I’m believing, but you mention the detail to Jack’s beard. if they were that concerned about detail, they wouldn’t have thrown in a new Motorola cell phone, or a flat panel monitor in the hospital waiting room. Also I did notice the skeleton with the hole in his head, but thought nothing of it. Interesting.
rbertrand: that’s a good point about the bullet wound… Ben even said himself “history is about to repeat itself”
ok i dont know how important this might be…but remember the last episode of season 1 whern the slow music was playing and it was showing everyone board the plane…now that i read this theory something comes to mind, if everyone on the plane is supposed to be total strangers why were they nodding at each other like they acheived something i especially remember hurly look at walt and walt smiling…what was that about?
that’s my theory and I’ve been saying it for weeks. hence the line from Jack to Kate in “Greatest Hits” - “here we go again”
please………Duh….
so they all crash on the isalnd, get off and then they all get back on by boarding a plane that happens to crash on the island a second time? Is that the theory?
like a dejavu?