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are the flashbacks what the characters see while going through similar events on the island, or are they narrative devices that let us, the reader/viewer, see the significance of the present though the lens of the past?

— lockeko

fellow fans

How mad is everyone going to be if the last shot of the last season is Juliet coming out of the shower and waking Jack up from a terrible nightmare?

Another question, in the frist episode the first voice we hear is the narrator. That same voice does all the catch-up/special episodes, and does the “Last time on LOST” voiceover if the last episode was a cliff hanger. I have been watching the show assuming we are seeing the show from the characters POV, especially during the flashback scenes. This of course, brings up the problem of honesty in memory. As we all know, memory is less exact than we would like it to be. If 15 people witness a crime, their stories will be similar, but not exactly the same. So, How much can we trust what we see in the flashbacks? Also, back to the narrator, is it possible that this is who is telling us the story of LOST? If so, are the flashbacks what the characters see while going through similar events on the island, or are they narrative devices that let us, the reader/viewer, see the significance of the present though the lens of the past? please comment

Key characters

Short Name Full Name Episodes Theories
Desmond Desmond David Hume 2.23, 3.17, 4.5 851
Jack Jack Shephard 1.1, 1.5, 2.11, 1.11, 1.16, 1.20, 3.9, 3.22, 3.1, 4.10, 4.12, & 3” href=”/episodes/theres-no-place-home-parts-2-3/”>4.13 1451
Kate Katherine “Kate” Austen 3.6, 1.2, 1.3, 2.9, 1.12, 1.16, 1.22, 3.15, 4.4, 4.12 711
Sawyer James “Sawyer” Ford 3.4, 2.3, 2.6, 2.13, 1.16, 3.10 451
Sayid Sayid Jarrah 2.14, 1.9, 3.11, 4.3, 4.12 387

Key episodes

# Title Aired Central character Theories
2.23 Live Together, Die Alone 5-24-2006 Desmond 320
2.22 Three Minutes 5-17-2006 Michael 131
2.21 ? 5-10-2006 Eko 167
2.20 Two for the Road 5-3-2006 Ana-Lucia 96
2.19 S.O.S. 4-12-2006 Rose, Bernard 102

Comments

  1. lockeko Jul 17, 2007 7:22 p.m. Comment: 1

    Think about the Dallas ending, in the final shots, we could see who the other losties really are in Jack’s life and how their Lost Character fits who they are in real life, i.e. Locke is a colleague who disagrees, Sawyer was Jack’s wingman in med school, Ben is a lawyer who is suing the hospital, etc.

  2. Stip Jul 17, 2007 9:05 p.m. Comment: 2

    Also, back to the narrator, is it possible that this is who is telling us the story of LOST? If so, are the flashbacks what the characters see while going through similar events on the island, or are they narrative devices that let us, the reader/viewer, see the significance of the present though the lens of the past?”

    my brain hurts… why can’t they just be flashbacks?

  3. lockeko Jul 17, 2007 9:09 p.m. Comment: 3

    I guess they can be flashbacks, and I’m not saying the’re not, I am simply questioniing whether we can believe what we see depending on who is telling the back story

  4. Jukin Jul 18, 2007 1:24 p.m. Comment: 4

    Interesting that you are questioning the perspective of the viewer. Yesterday in another thread we were discussing whether there was ever really a plane crash or if the Others had in fact brainwashed the survivors into thinking they survived a crash. I made the point that the plane did in fact crash since we saw it from the perspective of the Others. If they had faked it there would never have been the scene in the Others village where Ben sends Ethan and Goodwin out to investigate. Now you are raising a question of can we believe what we saw…. interesting. I think I agree with stip, my brain hurts.

  5. lockeko Jul 18, 2007 1:43 p.m. Comment: 5

    mine too, but one of the first rules of critical analysis is to answer the question of whether we can believe what we are being told.