In the first 10 minutes of Episode 1 of Season 6, I tweeted the phrase “parallel universes!” That stuck in my mind, especially with the free will set-up from just a few moments before in the re-cap. If free will can trump fate, then alternate universes seemed a possibility.
But a friend (hi, Jon) suggested to me today that they weren’t parallel universes at all, but two plot lines in two different times that would somehow weave together to make a cohesive story. Yes. Yes, I think that’s probably true.
Some people out there in Lost-land have undoubtedly already come up with intricate theories, as well as arguments against this idea. But to me, the key phrase is Dogen’s statement to Jack that he was “brought” to the island, with the implication that there’s some kind of divine reason behind it. If Jack and co. were always supposed to be brought to the island, then their landing safely in LA is not going to prevent that. And this is exactly why in the new 2004, in which they land in LA, Ethan is not on the island, but in a hospital – the one Claire ends up in. It’s not some alternative universe where Ethan never became part of the Others or made it to the island. Ethan is doing exactly what the “island” would have him do given the circumstances.
This story is ultimately about Jack and his family. Which means it’s about Claire and her baby as well. This is why we had a big pregnant pause (haha) in Claire’s story line, why she’s emerged as the new Rousseau, and why the fate of Aaron is going to be key.
Details? I don’t have the mental energy to work out many at present. But let’s consider that our heroes are in two different times right now: 2004 (in LA) and 2007 (on the island). The 2004 crew is going to end up on that island. But the question is when? And by “when,” I don’t mean “How soon?” but “What year?” Will they go back to ‘77 and somehow alter what happened? Will we discover that the bomb didn’t really blow, but in that moment, what really happened was that the ‘04 crew went down and turned that magical wheel of island-moving time-travel, sending the other ‘77 crew ahead to ‘07 – all of which means that the hatch was built and later blown up by – what? the first ‘04 crew that really crashed? That doesn’t make sense. Or does some chain of events in the new scheme of things prevent Desmond from actually ever getting to the numbers in time, which is why Oceanic 815 didn’t come down in the new timeline?
Or does Juliet’s “it worked” mean that the bomb most definitely blew? And if it did, why do we have the Locke-blown hatch?
I think I need to do some reading on what makes for good and consistent fictional theories of time travel.
