LOST-Theories.com

My Viewpoint

I feel I should introduce the concepts that have led me to the conclusions I have made for LOST.

On Gods…

Gods are entities or phenomena beyond the explanation of humans. This is a broad definition, but for LOST includes every force that has some mysterious power.

Obvious examples are the black smoke and the electromagnetism associated with the Hatch. Both of these may have explanations somewhere down the story arc, but once reason is put behind them, they will cease to be gods.

Less obvious gods in LOST are Benjamin Linus and Charles Widmore. The only times when either has been prevented from gaining what he wants is when the other prevented it (Ben is keeping the Island from Widmore, and Charles was indirectly responsible for Alex’s death). This ability is not possessed by either Jack Shephard or John Locke, the two other main leaders in the show.

Locke and Jack might be described as demigods, somewhat limited in powers, but still above mere mortals. Both are strong and charismatic leaders, possessing skills that are difficult if not impossible to teach.

On DHARMA and the Way of Life…

Dharma means roughly “the right way” in Sanskrit. The DHARMA project’s search for “the right way” to live led them to the Island, which is most likely the Garden of Eden. This would be a logical place for them to search for (if only metaphorically) since it is the site of the Tree of Life which is said to grant immortality. Now perhaps it is foolish to propose immortality is genuinely possible, but what if we were to suppose that immortality did not mean unending life for a single person, but instead unending life for a species. Surely this is what DHARMA was seeking in their quest to prevent the demise of modern civilization predicted by the Valenzetti Equation.

The Biblical story makes a clear distinction between the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. Since Adam and Eve chose the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, they were given the ability to understand the gods, but lost the ability to live forever. The fruit from the Tree of Life would no doubt rob the ability to understand the fine workings of the world, but would ensure that humanity would continue forever.

On Science and Faith…

This is a key aspect of LOST (so much so as to be incorporated into one of the episode titles). This debate ties into the Tree of Knowledge vs. Tree of Life argument. While Jack (a man of science) pushes for a return to modern civilization and the knowledge and technology it holds, Locke (a man of faith) seeks to live with nature on the Island. This is the main difference between Jack and Locke. Jack feels he can use knowledge to control events around him while Locke feels that understanding the way events unfold will allow him to find his place.

And so the theory goes like this:

Charles Widmore = God or Poseidon

Similarities to Both:

• Widmore claims the island has always belonged to him, and was stolen from him by Ben, which implies that both of them have existed (perhaps in consciousness not in body) longer than a normal man would.

Similarities to God:

• If the Island represents the Garden of Eden, God would obviously claim it.
• According to Widmore, everything Ben has was at one time Widmore’s. Though it is likely that Ben obtained his resources illegally, it is equally unlikely that everything stolen would be taken from Widmore. It would only be likely if Widmore were God (or felt he were) and thus owned everything.
• Ben had to visit Widmore in a penthouse (a penthouse is the top floor of an apartment building). Widmore could just as easily own a mansion in the countryside, yet Ben had to go see “the man upstairs”.

Similarities to Poseidon:

• Poseidon is the Greek god of the seas, and hence would be angry if Hades saw fit to usurp any island from him, and especially so if the island were special.
• Poseidon also hated the hero Odysseus and sought to keep him from his wife Penelope.

Benjamin Linus = Satan or Hades

Similarities to Both:

• Both are rulers of the underworld, and the dead who inhabit it. While the survivors of Flight 815 are not dead, they are thought to be dead.

Similarities to Satan:

• Ben is the archrival of Charles Widmore and has taken the island from him.
• Ben is known for his cold and calculating ways, never killing anyone, but using others to do his bidding.
• Every character who has spent prolonged time with him has begun to agree with him and fall more into his control.
• Ben admits he cannot kill Widmore much as Lucifer, with only the powers of an angel, cannot kill God.
• Ben, a lowly workman at the time, kills all of the other DHARMA workers and takes over as the leader of the island. As dharma roughly means “the correct way”, Ben is in fact choosing to veer away from the right way of life and toward the evil associated with killing. Both Ben and the Satan of Paradise Lost feel it is “Better to reign in hell, than serve in heav’n”.

Similarities to Hades:

• Ben recently revealed that he can summon the black smoke, which is most likely the Cerberus (the three-headed dog that guarded Hades) named in the blast door map.
• There are two female characters (Alex and Juliet) that bear certain traits of Persephone, the mythological wife of Hades.

The Rules That Ben and Charles Play By

The rules are still ambiguous, but probably are rules of engagement between the two factions. These rules most likely forbid either of them (as Gods) from allowing the murder of humans not loyal to the other. In other words, both sides have agreed to keep collateral damage to a minimum. This would explain why Ben attempts to prevent Keamy from killing Alex by claiming she means nothing to him. Ben thought that Keamy would then release her since she was not one of Ben’s minions. All of the other people killed on the island thus far do not count in the same way Alex does since neither Ben nor Charles endorsed those killings. Likewise, because Locke did not actually die after being shot by Ben, Ben did not technically break the rule.

The Island as the Garden of Eden

The survivors of Flight 815 found the remains of two people in a cave they used temporarily for shelter. Locke dubbed the skeletons Adam and Eve. Supposing the two were metaphors for the Biblical Adam and Eve would imply the two relinquished the knowledge they had gained from the Tree of Knowledge and embraced the way of living that the Tree of Life taught. Regardless of who the skeletons belonged to, they found the true way of living (with nature that is) and thus found Eden.

Births are unheard of on the Island, a phenomena which falls in with the Tree of Knowledge vs. Tree of Life argument. Since all of the women who have tried to conceive on the Island were living a modern life and not a natural life, the Island rejected them. Similarly, since Locke embraces the natural way of life, he is imparted with extraordinary healing by the Island.

Juliet Burke and Alex Rousseau (parts of each) = Persephone

Persephone was the wife of Hades, stolen from her mother Demeter (the goddess of fertility) and taken to the underworld. She was later rescued and reunited with her mother. Both Juliet and Alex were essentially kidnapped and held by Ben, though each is only partly related to Persephone. Ben wanted Juliet, a fertility specialist, for his wife and kept Alex, who both fits Persephone’s youthful description and was stolen from her mother, as his daughter. Persephone has been referenced in other LOST tie-ins (LOST: Via Domus and The LOST Experience).

Jacob = the Hebrew Jacob

The name Jacob means “struggled with God”. The Jacob of the Bible had wrestled with God, which left him crippled. The knowledge gained through this struggle with God would make him a key adviser to Ben, who is himself fighting God. Jacob asks Locke for help when Ben takes him to Jacob’s cabin, which hints that Jacob does not enjoy working with Ben.

Desmond Hume = Odysseus

Odysseus goes through many trials after the Trojan War, eventually being shipwrecked on a deserted island with the goddess Calypso. He turns down the life she offers him for the life he can have with his wife Penelope. Odysseus was also one of the few Greek heroes to venture into the underworld Hades before his own death.

Penelope Widmore = Odysseus’ wife Penelope

Penelope never falters in her love for Odysseus, even when he does not return for ten years after the Trojan War. She sends her son Telemachus to find his father. Penelope Widmore feels the same way about Desmond, and has people around the globe looking for him.

Key characters

Short Name	Full Name	Episodes	Theories
Charles	Charles Widmore		432
Desmond	Desmond David Hume	2.23, 3.17, 4.5	898
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	1505
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	1292
Penny	Penny Widmore	3.8	261

Key episodes

#	Title	Aired	Central character	Theories
4.9	The Shape of Things to Come	4-24-2008	Ben	280

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