What the flash-sideways really are and MIB and Jacob on them
This is just something that came to mind. If MIB is so desperate to get off the island and in the flash-sideways universe the island is drowned it makes me think he is free in our world in this version of the universe. Maybe at final episodes he will bring doom to the whole world as the black smoke monster, killing and bringing all people back to life as evil, but before that Jacob gets to come back in time to persuade our characters to come to the island, so we have the present in-island iteration that the whole series is all about.
So, in the end the flash-sideways would be the past where our characters didn’t create the incident and while they were temporarily much happier, it all would end with destruction. If this theory is correct then Jacob would be the good guy after all, because while he made losties lifes apparently more miserable he saved the island and the world.
What do you think? Is it a plausible or logical explanation for what’s going on?
Well, at this point anything is plausible, even a zombie uprising!
Haha… anyway, I esp like your post, and any theory I’ve read, that states what we think is the end of the show is actually the beginning. The writers do like to mess with timelines, AND FLASHBACKS, so it only makes sense to start a story TRULY in medias res with the entire series one big flashback. ZOMG. 😉
Want to see comments or you, pilouu take this further with some scenes that helped you put this thought together in your head? Can’t think of any at the moment, but I wanna see you add to this.
I’m seeing how your theory fits into the fact that this alt timeline has significant differences in the Losties pre-815 lives, at least more than other theories I’ve read (possibly made).
I agree, anything is plausible, Nicki and Paulo will save us all.
The only thing that doesn’t work is how different their lives are in the sideways flashes, those individuals could not be the ones that originally crashed on the Island because we saw their flashbacks and we know they aren’t married, or have kids, or whatever. The writers wouldn’t make anything we’ve seen not have happened. I like the theory though, anything original is cool with me.
I think there really is 2 of everyone existing right now in different timelines that split at the point of the jughead explosion. At some point their consciousnesses will merge on the Island or after the Island and for the one’s that survive (or don’t stay on the Island to protect it) they will continue on with their lives and may forget everything that happened during the split.
This is similar to an idea and post/thread I made (except I went further into Jacob and MiB’s roles) about how the flash-sideways or alt timeline is actually the first iteration of time, and seasons 1-5 have been the second iteration of time….check my post out if you like =) Great minds think alike!
I think it would be quite odd if Armageddon suddenly hits the alternate reality. I assume they are going to make sense of the alternate reality in some other way.
It’s not a bad theory but I don’t think it’s going to happen.
I”m a bit confused. Are you saying the flash sideways is a branched time line universe or a time loop or what?
I’ve recently been thinking along similar lines about the sideways flashes.
My thinking was that the 815 passengers and many others that we have seen on the island were not originally there. Also originally the Dharma Initiative, possibly being unknowingly influenced by MIB, caused the island to sink in 1977 when drilling at the Swan site.
Foreseeing this Jacob then set about weaving a new timeline by influencing people including the 815 passengers to come to the island, each having a purpose to fulfil that played a small or large part in circumstances that would eventually lead to Jack, Kate, Sawyer, etc being there at the time of The Incident and setting off the bomb, which somehow negated the energy released, thereby saving the island and stopping it from sinking.
Not sure if it’s a coincidence or not, but the names that we have seen that are not crossed off anywhere, Sheppard, Ford, Jarrah, Reyes and Kwon were all present at The Incident, possibly indicating that Jacob had narrowed it down to those people to be the ones that would be there to carry out the ultimate stage of his plan.
Also, when Juliet said “it worked”, she could have meant that Jacob’s plan worked and the island had been saved from sinking in 1977.
This would explain why people such as Ben, Roger and Ethan left the island in the flash sideways timeline, because they always did, and were only still on the island throughout the series because they were influenced by Jacob into staying there as part of his woven timeline.
I don’t have an answer as to how this fits in with MIB using John and Ben as his loophole, or the upcoming war and Widmore’s return to the island.
Possibly MIB will try to convince his converts to go back to 1977 and stop the 815’ers from interfering when the drilling accident occurs, as this is the way that they could get the lives we are witnessing in the flash sideways – lives that are totally without the influence of Jacob – the lives they would originally have had if Jacob had not interfered in them.
And now that Jacob’s dead he can’t go back and do it again, meaning that MIB’s timeline with the sunk island and everyone living their original flash sideways lives would be permanent.
It sounded like a “you’re screwed” dead end branch to me.
That was in reply to Penelopedean.
Hatchmatchdispatch, interesting thoughts! Here is another thought: Perhaps people are simply crossed out when they have fulfilled their task in the grand scheme? Hm, nah, I don’t really believe myself.
I lie, that’s an interesting thought about the The Incident being the crux of the whole thing, but I have to think there is something even bigger they are looking to avoid (maybe MIB running wild in America like the T-Rex in Jurassic Park Lost World??)
Thanks for all your replies and it’s interesting to see that many of you had similar thoughts or think this is possible.
I really don’t see the flash-sideways as an alternative parallel reality or like the future (i.e. that the series will end in this reality). It would be a shame that all the characters end up with normal slightly happy lives and with no memory of their experiences on the island.
That’s why I’m pretty sure that all the events in the FSW already happened and after that Jacob went to the past to change all that bringing people to the island.
I think the incident is the event that saved the island from sinking, and maybe it is also the loophole for MIB as it allowed him to possess Locke’s body and kill Jacob because of that. But it’s all in Jacob’s plan. With the island safe he can choose the candidate that will take care of the island and get rid of MIB.
For AdayAfar, right now I can remember a particular scene that made me think this theory, but it sounds pretty logical as it is important to the series that all the experiences and development the characters had are real and have consequences. If they all end up in an alternate reality with no memory, then all previous five seasons would be pointless.
Okay so the flash sideways is the original time line and what we’ve been watching for 5+ seasons is a branched time line caused by Jacob and possibly MIB traveling back in time from the flash sideways.
So how do they travel back in time without the island?
But, if the island is sunk in the flash sideways, then how would MIB ever become MIB? Logically this makes no sense.
@ Penelopedean
I think only Jacob traveled back in time. Possibly through the mirrors in the lighthouse? All previous 5 seasons would be the result of Jacob interfering in the past. And if the island is sunk then MIB is possibly free in our world.
What I’m still not sure is the fact that he is free in our world and still haven’t brought armageddon… Maybe he is not lying? He only wants to be free and there’s no reason to protect the island. Then Jacob is wrong and made our losties lives miserable for no reason bringing them to the island.