Lost in Lost – Wondering about some smaller mysteries

Lost has spent the past five years raising question after question and presenting mystery after mystery. In all honesty, I think the writers have left themselves with too many mysteries to solve. I’m sure that a good number of the smaller questions are going to remain unanswered, with our imaginations having to fill in the small gaps that exist. Most of the questions have answers even though they haven’t been explicitly called out and tied in a convenient little bow.

There are some mysteries for which I would appreciate a little clarification.

Here’s the list:

• The purpose of Room 23: We saw Carl getting brainwashed in room 23, and the mysterious room was mentioned in some of the Lost webisodes. It would appear that it was part of the Dharma Initiative’s experiments in mind control, but I’m wondering what the Others used it for. What did they hope to achieve by sending Carl there? Did they use it on their younger members to keep them obedient? If that’s the case why didn’t they use it on some of the 815ers or even Juliet?
• Juliet’s symbol of exile: After Juliet was exiled from the Others, she was branded with a mark on the small of her back. The exact nature of the trial and symbol has always intrigued me. The symbol itself probably isn’t that important, but I would love to get some more insight into the rules and traditions of the Others. Are their ways determined by Jacob? Have they been passed down by Alpert?
• Claire’s psychic: There has been some back and forth with this issue since the first season. At first, Claire was told not to give up Aaron (before he was even born). However, Aaron has ended up being raised by another person and things appear okay. Ecko even had an encounter with the same psychic, where the man admitted that he was a fraud. Is that the final word in this story? If history rewrites itself in the final season, it will be interesting if this issue is revisited.
• Walt: We know Walt is “special,” but I’d like a little more insight into the issue. What is the nature of his powers? Were they brought out by the island or Jacob? Does he have more of a role to pay in all of this? I’m doubting that he does, but I would love to learn a little more about his “specialness” and perhaps why he is special.

I’m sure there are many other small mysteries that have popped up over the course of the show, but those are the ones that have been nagging at me recently. I’m sure some of them will be answered and others won’t, but in any case I can’t wait until the final season starts!

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Dec 14, 2009 @ 11:00 EST5EDT