Lost Update - Living In The Past

Lost Update Season IV 07/25/2008

Happy and I’m smiling,
Walk a mile to drink your water.
You know Id love to love you,
And above you theres no other.
Well go walking out
While others shout of wars disaster.
Oh, we wont give in,
Lets go living in the past.

Once I used to join in
Every boy and girl was my friend.
Now theres revolution, but they don’t know
What they’re fighting.
Let us close out eyes;
Outside their lives go on much faster.
Oh, we wont give in,
Well keep living in the past.

OK, pretty quiet in here, so let me add another theory to the mix.

Welcome to the first installment of the 2008 Summer of Lost theories. Tonight I am offering yet another wrinkle, another theory, that perhaps, ties into my virtual reality theory, but again, may not. As always, you are the judge, jury, and sometimes executioner.

We start the summer haitus by referring to the lyrics written by Jethro Tull, Living In The Past, and realize that perhaps, that is exactly what the castaways are doing.

Please take a second to reread the lyrics above. Let them sink in. Can you pick out a theme in the song? A certain cast member? Scenario? Look closely, for this song is the key to night’s theory.

And what is tonight’s theory….
In a nutshell, Ben Linus, in present time, has seen the world come to an end. Let it be by nuclear war, global warming, American Idol reruns, disease, or other world ending disaster. (Insert your own doomsday thoughts here) However, the group he headed up, the Dharma Initiative, was working on a time machine before the world’s demise. Ben believed, by studying the past, predicted that he could change the course of history by manipulating certain key events, and thusly, the future itself.

This is the story of Ben Linus, time traveler.

What does this mean to the castaways? Simple! All the events we have witnessed on Lost are from the past. That’s right! The past. No present. No future. Only the past.

Onward to proving my theory. From the season four cliffhanger, we know Ben Linus has a time machine that he uses to go back and forth to manipulate key events. But why would Ben want to do this? My explanation follows in detail.

Although Ben has a time machine, it has not yet been perfected. Hence certain flaws, (Richard not aging, Desmond’s flash backs) prevent a pristine reboot to the past.

Ben, seeing the world come to an end, begins his attempt to save the world by traveling back in time to change history. His early attempts fail as history, despite his efforts, tends to repeat itself no matter what variables are added or subtracted to the equation. Ben realizes that he must be more specific and calculate subtle changes in the time line that would create a chain reaction to change the outcome of the future. Ben has devised a new plan, a new hope, to bring civilization back.

This is when we, the viewer, tunes in. The pilot episode. The plane crash. Ben, by studying history, selects key people (The castaways) that when put together, and changed and manipulated on the island, that when they return back to the mainland, will have a significantly different impact on the world and thus, alter the course of history and prevent the world from coming to an end.

We can all agree that the passenger list of Oceanic Flight 815 is very diverse. We can also all agree that each and everyone of the passengers have been altered. Some bad to good. Some good to bad. Some dead.

Ben, through his research, knew Oceanic flight 815 would crash on said given day. He set to task to create the eclectic group of people that needed to be on board that flight. Going back in time, he manipulated each and every passenger to force them on that flight. (Think back of all the incredible coincidences that each passenger had boarding) This also gives credence to Ben being spotted at the airport with several of the passengers and all of them in somewhere connecting with Ben before they crashed on the island.

Once Ben had the passenger list he wanted, all he had to do was wait for the plane to crash. He would then set to task to manipulate and groom each castaway into what was needed to change history. Just some examples are:

Kate needed to stop running and trust.
Sawyer needed to kill Locke’s father.
Claire needed to keep the baby.
Michael needed to unite with his son.
Ana Lucia needed to die.
Libby needed to die.
Ecko needed to die.
Boone and Shannon needed to die.
Locked needed to learn to trust.
Charlie needed to die.
Desmond needed to learn the truth about Penny.
Jack needed to understand about his father.
Hurley needed to realize he wasn’t insane.
Nicky and Paulo needed to die.
Etc…

On the island, through Ben’s intervention, all these events occurred. When each member was perfectly molded, they would be set free and returned to the mainland in hopes of changing the history of the world.

Perhaps the black rock ship was one of Ben’s earlier attempts in changing the future. And the French expedition. And Richard and the commune. Perhaps all failed attempts. Plenty of variables in the mix that could go wrong. Maybe this time though, Ben has it right.

There it is. A new Lost theory. Your thoughts please…..

Back To Lost Theories Archives

LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL