Alternate Time Lines? Hmmm…

Hey guys! First time poster here, so forgive me if I rehash theories you guys may have already touched on. But I’ve found myself waking up in the morning with my mind wondering to ‘what about those pesky ATL theories?’ and I thought perhaps if I finally made a post, it might set my mind at ease.

I’ve been reading/rewatching a lot of the lost theories you guys have posted on here and I gotta say, you’re all quite thorough in your explanations behind your reasonings. With every episode you all cite references from the show that could lead to a possible reason for/against the possibility of season 6 dealing with alternate time lines. However, I gotta say, rather than look back as previous episodes for hints of clues, my brain keeps on thinking about other time-traveling story archs and how they handle each situation.

OK, so back to the future… clearly, we all know that in their universe, time can ‘skew’ and create different timelines, something that is essential to tell the plot of the story. Rather than ‘whatever happened, happened,’ Marty’s family makes a serious change from the beginning of the movie, being a miserable, low-income household, to one thats successful and happy, all based on Marty’s actions at the Enchantment Under The Sea dance. In the movies sequel, he travels back to the 1950’s, thus creating TWO Marties. And while he’s off replicating all sorts of events, that could potentially fit into a ‘whatever happened happened’ senario, we find out that this is not the case, and we’re stuck with a thrid movie where they’re back in the wild west for some reason.

So basically, you can see that in the world of BTTF, ATL is essential to the arch based on changing the outcome of events. It also makes for a GREAT story, so long as you have enough time to tell it and can wrap your mind around it. So, if you believe that the overall goal of Lost is going to be effecting the outcome of the plane crash, then I could see you having alot in common with Mr. McFly. However, I believe the show might have more in common with another well known time travelor…

In Futurama, Phillip J. Fry doesn’t know the meaning of ATL. (well, that’s actually probably true…) When traveling to the past and sleeping with his grandmother, we discover that he himself is his own grandpa. (a paradox, yes, but so is the compass on Lost) So it seems to me, he probably always was his own grandfather. Go figure, right? And when traveling back to 1999 to prevent him from ever being frozen in the firs place, Fry realizes at the last minute that he likes it in the future and wouldn’t give it up for the world. Heck, even Nibbler was there all a long to ensure that it happened, which to me says that whatever happened, happened, and no matter what you might try, there’s only ever going to be one time line.

Now, in my eyes, Lost is way more about character development rather than actual plot. (flashbacks anyone?) So in terms of storytelling, I suppose it could go either way… Yes, their goal is to get everyone safely off the island, but to do it by altering the past is only something that’s popped up in the last 5 or 6 episodes, which seems a bit out of left field if you ask me. However with only one season left, I agree that in order to make the whole ATL worth introducing it in the first place, there just doesn’t seem to be enough time to explore it in season 6, (no pun intended) and that if they altered the time line so much as to create a new one, that the telling of Jacob’s death would have just been superfluous. UNLESS, the losties write a letter to Jacob telling him that on the night he’s visited by John, that he will be stabbed and burned to death, and to “please take whatever precautions are necessary to prevent this terrible disaster.” But he’d probably just tear it up anyways… 🙂

Anywho, thanks to bearing with me. Rather than just go on listing examples from the show as to why or why not there are hints at, I’m curious to know what you’d like to see happen in season 6. Personally, I’d like to see the losties sent through time again to a point where they were already on the island, trying to avoid contact with their own selves yet somehow fitting into the ‘whatever happened’ theory. I love the mentality of Bill And Ted where they tell themselves to do things in the future to help in themselves in the past, but that’s for another post. 🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_w7Bivi2C4