Lost in Lost – Let’s talk about the flashsideways

I’ve already gone on the record to say that I love the “flashsideways” that are being featured on Lost this year. It seems like there is a significant group of folks who are not quite as excited as I am. I think, however, that Lost easily could have fallen into a trap in this final season of just giving out answer after answer, losing touch with the characters in the process. Thank goodness the writers were smarter than that, or I think I would have been just as disappointed as I was with the final season of Battlestar Galactica.

Up to this point, the flashes have served as a great way for the audience to reconnect with the characters. They have given us a look into the lives of the characters had flight 815 not crashed on the island. At least, that’s what it seems like right now. It seems like there is more at work than we know, however. We have seen that the island is at the bottom of the ocean in this altered reality. Could it be that in this version of things, there is no Jacob? Is the safe landing of Oceanic 815 simply an effect and not a cause of these changes? If Jughead is responsible for this alternate timeline (if it actually is an alternate timeline), then I am sure there are more changes that occurred, some of which we have already seen. Are we really seeing what these people’s lives would have been like had Jacob never interfered with them?

It’s been noted by several commenters here, and around the web, that it appears that everyone’s lives are much improved in the flashsideways. The characters seem to be happier for the most part, and their situations appear improved. Hurley has all his money, but none of the bad luck, Sayid still has Nadia even if they are not together, Locke has a relationship with his father and Helen, Ben isn’t a completely heartless bastard, Sawyer isn’t a conman, and Jack has a family. Certainly the argument could be made that these aren’t all improvements: Jack certainly still seems miserable with a broken marriage and a terrible relationship with his son, Sayid is still the tortured torturer, and Locke is still in a wheelchair. Then there is Kate, who is still running. As we’ve seen time and time again, whenever she is given the chance, she runs away. It certainly doesn’t reflect well on her as a person. So many of the characters have sought redemption, whether successfully or not, but Kate has never seemed repentant for her behavior.

If we agree that the characters are better off in the alternate timeline, and that it was the lack of Jacob’s interference that has caused this improvement (and both of those are pretty big “ifs”), then what does that say about Jacob? Is he truly a force for good if he can cause people’s lives to go so badly? His actions seem just as sneaky and manipulative as anything Ben has ever done. Personally, I don’t think Jacob is in the wrong here. Instead, I think it is simply what the island demands.

I’m wondering if, in order to be a viable candidate to take over the protection of the island, one must prove themselves through redemption and suffering. Are these characters experiencing less suffering because they are no longer proving themselves to the island in the flashsideways? At this point, it’s probably still too early to tell. I think that there is a lot more to the flashes than we know at this point. I think they are going to tie into the mythology of the island and the end game of the show. However, even if they don’t — even if they are simply a glance into how things might have been — I still think they are a perfect way to end the series.

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Mar 29, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT