LOST-Theories.com

Last night, something struck me about Richard’s inquisition of the 5 year old John Locke. When he asked “Which of these items are yours already,” it almost seemed to me that he was testing John to see if he had travelled back to his 5 year old self yet. This began a whole line of thinking that I put together on this one topic

I am now wondering if all the flashbacks and flash forwards that the Losties have had these four seasons are actually time travel journeys. Our group believes the flashbacks to be simply memories, but perhaps their consciousness is actually travelling back in time to their younger selves.

When Richard is quizzing John, he is seeing if John has figured out yet that he can actually travel back to himself. Remember when Richard tells John that because he can walk since coming to the island this makes him special. Perhaps what this means is that the Island did not directly heal John itself. Maybe what happened is that John discovers that he can travel his consciousness back to the day that his father pushed him out of the window and change it. This is his destiny to do this. In the alternative version of reality, John moves out of the way and his father runs out of the window killing himself. Perhaps this is why it was SO important that Anthony Cooper die so that John could fulfill this destiny.

I saw on the guest cast list that Mrs Littleton is going to be in the finale—perhaps this is what happens to Claire as well. She realizes that she has the ability to travel and goes back to herself to prevent her car wreck that injured her Mom. Last night, Claire seemed to appear enlightened somehow in the cabin, and perhaps this is it.

I have travelled to my future and seen that those of you who are a helluva lot smarter than me will be shredding this theory to pieces, so have at it!

Key characters

Short Name Full Name Episodes Theories
Richard Richard Alpert 310

Key episodes

# Title Aired Central character Theories
3.19 The Brig 5-2-2007 John 134

Comments

  1. IslandBound May 9, 2008 3:58 p.m. Comment: 1

    Perhaps this is why it was SO important that Anthony Cooper die so that John could fulfill this destiny”

    Nice post +1

  2. SoulReaper May 9, 2008 4 p.m. Comment: 2

    I think you have something here. Remember when Ben wakes up in Tikrit? He was shaking and woke up covered in smoke, and when he got to the hotel he asks for the date and for the year almost seems so he could be sure. But also I believe he had just gotten out of wherever he was because he was wearing a Dharma Initiative jacket with a bullet graze on his right arm. So he must have been in a pickle to risk time traveling.

  3. Smoky815 May 9, 2008 4:25 p.m. Comment: 3

    Nice Post. I had some similar thoughts on the flashbacks/forwards being consciousness time travels as well but wasn’t sure how to explain it. +1

  4. HiMOM May 9, 2008 4:34 p.m. Comment: 4

    this post is hot cuz its fly u aint cuz u not

    plus one

  5. AppleofmyEye May 9, 2008 4:54 p.m. Comment: 5

    very interesting thread. +1

    My two cents: I think the flashbacks are memories b/c they show the characters’ flaws and everything that has seemingly gone “wrong” for them. Why would the characters travel to their pasts and not do things “right?” If they are traveling back in time, what are they doing there? I’d love to hear ideas on this…

  6. RealSayyid May 9, 2008 5:18 p.m. Comment: 6

    @SoulReaper Ben DID NOT wake up in Tikrit… That episode was just couple of weeks ago, have a shame.

  7. knowitall May 9, 2008 5:30 p.m. Comment: 7

    I really like this theory. I have always thought there is more to the flashbacks than just memories. I have one major problem though. John might have some control over whether or not he gets paralyzed but how can Rose travel to her past and prevent her cancer? And if it is true that Juliet’s sister is healed of cancer, how could someone else travel to her past and do that?

    Anyway +1 for an interesting idea.

  8. kahana May 9, 2008 5:45 p.m. Comment: 8

    @SoulReaper-Ben wokeup in Tunisia, in some part of the Sahara Desert…

  9. Dharmajacket May 9, 2008 6:05 p.m. Comment: 9

    PPL, there is no time travel in LOST, it’s a show for mature people, who do not believe in time travel bulls hit. The answer is pure science. Only a retard believes in time travel

  10. MyStarbuckHatesLost May 9, 2008 6:22 p.m. Comment: 10

    Hey, Dharmajacket…tell that to the Doc. He did a bit of time traveling by showing up on the beach dead before he was killed on the freighter.

  11. AppleofmyEye May 9, 2008 6:31 p.m. Comment: 11

    True dat.

  12. Irocz28 May 9, 2008 7:57 p.m. Comment: 12

    Yeah science is boring. Time travel is cool. +1.

  13. neoplasm May 9, 2008 10:26 p.m. Comment: 13

    The science of time travel: http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/science_news/4253025.html?series=6

  14. SoulReaper May 9, 2008 10:33 p.m. Comment: 14

    Is Iroc and Dharma ACTING retarded? Time travel is science….lol

  15. shoegirl927 May 9, 2008 10:44 p.m. Comment: 15

    Excellent theory! I thought the same thing after rewatching “Stanger in a Strange Land”. When Jack woke up after his flashback it seemed that way to me. The only problem I see with theory is what “AppleofmyEye” wrote about why wouldn’t they change things and make them better? Well maybe they ARE BETTER than what originally happened. Maybe when we see a flashback they are trying to fix things or do something different than what they did before. Maybe they did IN FACT change something. For example, maybe on Jack’s first trip to Thailand he did not get his tattoo or something along that line. Maybe when he woke up in the cage he thought it was a dream. The other reasoning is they realized although they did things differently, they cannot change diddly squat, that the outcome is still the same.

    As for “Dharmajacket” I strongly suggest visiting the “Lostpedia” site every now and then and research something before you write something.- Here is a little bit to help you with this- Though the writers have said “no time travel” specifically, Damon Lindelof also drops the hint that time may move differently on the island; for example, at Comic Con ‘06, where he responded to one fan’s question with: “It’s interesting that you should ask about time because… you know… you’re making a basic assumption that they’ve been there, y’know, as long as they think they’ve been there.” o This controversial theory was “debunked” by Lindelof during the filming of Season 1. He said at the time, “There isn’t any time travel.” However, the events of “Flashes Before Your Eyes” appear to contradict that, and bring into question if the writing of the plot had been “course corrected” also at a later date. The writers could conceivably get around the “no time travel” (in the conventional sense of the word) clause, by evoking the idea of an alternate past/universe.[1]. However, even if one accepts that traveling backward through time one would actually be traveling to the past of an alternate universe, one would still be traveling to a different time (the past of the alternate universe) and so one would still techniquely be time traveling. Perhaps this is grasping at straws, but they may have not meant “Time Travel” in the traditional sense as in Back to the Future. Instead of physical time traveling, they may have been referring to a very specific “conscience” shifting of time. · Why Producers contradicted this theory: · In Flashes Before Your Eyes Desmond did go back in time (producers confirmed IT), which means a character did reenter the Island through TIME TRAVEL. · +1 from me!

  16. kateismywife May 9, 2008 11:34 p.m. Comment: 16

    I don’t understand why time travel can’t be considered science. Only closed minded people consider time travel to be science fiction versus science fact. And how is a mechanical/metaphysical pillar of black smoke pure science?

  17. shoegirl927 May 9, 2008 11:58 p.m. Comment: 17

    Good point about the smoke monster “kateismywife”. It makes me laugh how people have a problem with time travel(no matter what kind) but have no problem with ghosts, a moving/invisible island, a smoke monster and a cabin with a really scary dude in it that disappears….

  18. SoulReaper May 10, 2008 12:49 a.m. Comment: 18

    @shoegirl: didnt know the time-travel theory had been debunked. But there is “something” happening because Ben still asks for the date at the hotel to make sure when he was. Ben must have gotten to Tunisia traveling through I dont know what because he was covered in smoke and shaking none the less. And dont forget the bullet graze, he had must just gotten out of a fire fight or else he would have wrapped that wound a while ago.

  19. Irocz28 May 10, 2008 1:18 a.m. Comment: 19

    Soulreaper, don’t ever call me retarded again.

    Time travel is science….lol”

    Show me one certified scientific publication that incorporates time travel with science and then i might believe you that time travel is science. They are totally unrelated.

  20. SoulReaper May 10, 2008 1:52 a.m. Comment: 20

    r-tard

  21. Fate May 10, 2008 5:10 a.m. Comment: 21

    there there, kids. Calm down. Ice cream anyone?

    I like the theory. But as most do I just assumed that Richard was testing John if he was really special. I meant he also draw that drawing of smokey pulling him in a hole. I dont think thats future john in kid johns body.

  22. SofiaSerrano May 10, 2008 5:13 p.m. Comment: 22

    I’m sorry, I don’t agree with this theory. Wouldn’t they all bleed from their noses and eventually die (unaware of the notion of having a “constant”) just like Minkowski did? I won’t give it a minus 1 but come on people.. this is completely off the mark.

  23. shoegirl927 May 10, 2008 8:56 p.m. Comment: 23

    Soulreaper if you continue reading my super long paragraph you will see that it starts out saying that the procucers said early on that there was no time travel but later they admitted that Desmond did time travel in “FBYE”. So the time traveling theory is possible and is going on. Sorry that I confused you with my writing , I did ramble on… This is from an interview with the producers recently-

    Can you say if time travel is definitely a part of the series?

    CC: Yes. http://spoilerslost.blogspot.com/