Lost Horizons

Reader Lawrence King made some interesting points about the most recent episode of Lost, and rather than respond in the comments, I thought I'd put my thoughts up here. In a way, I almost feel silly speculating at this point, since it won't be long before we have the answers, but here I go.

Chronology has always been tight on this show. There was a three-year gap that was mostly skipped over, but aside from that, everything has happened pretty quickly. Some have noted that Michael had to return home from the South Seas to America, lose contact with his son, find a place to stay, try to kill himself, heal, meet up with Mr. Friendly and sign up for the Freighter in about a week or so.

I'm not sure why you (Larry) believe Widmore learned so much from Eloise. It's possibly, certainly--they met in LA. But weren't they mostly operating independently before then? Didn't Widmore already know how to get to the island once the Looking Glass went down--his freighter got there and was destroyed, so he's now simply returning with a different crew now that he knows the battle is coming. Don't forget he and his people found Locke and, I'd guess, knew he died, understanding he was central to the war. We don't know how much Widmore knows, but he seems to know plenty. He came with a plan (that included stopping the MIB).

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Eloise admitted for the first time in a long time, she didn't know what would happen next. Perhaps altaEloise still knows what's going to happen.

As far as the two battles, there's a dramatic problem they've got to get over. Neither are being led by the Losties. Dramatically, it's essential they take over, rather than be chess pieces in a game played by gods (or powerful humans).

Second, I don't see the battles as separate. Widmore knows a war is coming as much as Ilana does. He may be playing for a different side, or want different things, but he knows what the stakes are--indeed, he's brought it up more than once. (He seems to be generally on Jacob's side, though he wants something different from the others--he may be operating somewhat independently, but unless he's simply lying he doesn't want MIB to leave the island. He's aware of the electromagnetic pockets and wants to take advantage of them in some way.)

And part of this war, I think Widmore understands (though this is all speculation) is whether or not this alternate timeline continues. He keeps threatening how everything will disappear if the MIB isn't stopped. My guess, as I've stated before, is that what the MIB leaving the island means is this "normal" timeline disappears and the altaworld timeline is the real one. (At present, I think they're both equally real.) The MIB himself doesn't see anything wrong with this. What Jacob did to him created its own timeline and that's what he hopes to get rid of (so he can travel about doing whatever it is he does in the other timeline?).

I do think Desmond now has a vision, and perhaps specific knowledge, that he's got a mission in both worlds. In the altaworld he seems to know less, actually. He's aware that it's not "real"--that there's a more real reality out there, and even if it hurts, it's worth having. The other Losties have had these vague feelings as well--they just haven't seen it as clearly as Desmond.

Desmond knows (along with Charlie) the best way to see this is to have a near-death experience. I suspect he's going to pull a Charlie on the Losties to get them to see it. But what does this ultimately mean? Perhaps if you want to fully cross over, the important Losties (Candidates?) will have to die, just like Locke did already in the "real" world.

I think their deaths in the altaword (in a plane crash?) may annihilate this world and leave them in the "real" world. It'll be a sacrifice, I guess, but that's the price you pay to live in the "real" world.

Meanwhile, I don't think Des is zombielike so much as beatific--he's seen the truth and knows where it leads. Just as he must bring the Losties together in the altaworld, so does he have work to do in this world. Perhaps he sees the Losties need to get together again and do whatever it is they need to do. (And he has to make a sacrifice to get there?)

I can see, though, that the altaworld is "real" but has imaginary time, or exists out of regular time. The best clue for this is not Daniel's journal, but that Desmond was only out a short while but experienced many hours in his flash sideways.

As to "inconsistencies" in the alternate world, they don't bother me. First, we're not sure how the altaworld came about. It could be a number of factors. More important, Desmond saw how the universe seems to correct for things, no matter how you try to thwart it.

It doesn't really make that much sense that all these characters--Mikhail, Dogen, Keamy, Ethan, even Helen--would show up in the lives of the Losties in the altaworld, but there's something that binds them all together. Perhaps it's why this altaworld feels fake to those who experience the other one--it's based on the dreams and desires and thoughts of the Losties in the other world (Hurley is lucky, Jack has a kid, Locke marries Helen, Jin and Sun are still together, Des has Widmore's approval (Eloise made a point of that--are these things happening to keep the Losties fat and happy in the altaworld?), Daniel is a musician, Sawyer is on the right side of the law, Ben is honest and kind, Kate is on the run but returns to do what's right).

Incidentally, I'm looking forward to the return of characters we haven't seen for a while--Juliet, Shannon, Libby, etc. But I have to wonder if they'll have to be given up to get to the "real" world, or if all these characters will be allowed to live by the end.