Over the past five years, millions of television viewers have been psychologically man-handled by the writers and creators of LOST. We watched the first season and fell for the characters. We tuned in for season two and fell in love with the mystery. At this point, a good percentage of us were hooked, and there was little that could be done to keep us from tuning in every week. However; over the next three seasons, for every answer the writers of the show revealed about the mysteries of the Island or it's inhabitants, another five questions seemed to bloom. We cursed our television, but we couldn't turn it off. Now, as the premiere of the final season inches closer, I want to take a look back at ten mysteries or questions that I want answered by the writers of the show. Why only ten? Because I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that there have been so many questions and loose ends introduced by the writers over the past five years, that it would be virtually impossible for the show to justify every action, every quote, an every theory held on to by the fans of this television phenomenon. This was a very difficult list to narrow down, but if I could only have ten, they would be as follows.
Where does Walt fit into the big picture?
The kid became early friends with John Locke, read Spanish comic books and seemingly made the illustrated polar bears appear, as well as the birds in his textbook, and the Others seemed to know that he was "special." He appeared to Locke again upon the brink of death, but we haven't seen him since. What is his greater significance in the storyline?
Update: My good friend Ethan (@ImmortalWah) reminded me that we last saw Walt in New York City in the episode, "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham." Is this the end of the Walt legacy? I sure hope not.
What is the purpose/cause of the visions?
Jack see's his father, Kate see's a black horse, and Hurley see's Libby. Everyone seems to see the smoke monster and everyone seems to hear the ghostly whispers? What kind of purpose do these visions serve? Where are they coming from?
Why doesn't Richard Alpert age? What is his ultimate role?
We've seen the infamous Richard Alpert in various time frames across the history of the island. He helped Locke when he was trying to prove himself to Ben, he helped Ben escape the wrath of his father, and most recently, at least in the mind of the viewers, we saw him with villagers when some main characters skipped around in time. Is he immortal?
What lies beneath the relationship between Ben and Widmore?
Ever since we've been introduced to Widmore, we've known that he seems to be the direct adversary of Ben Linus. Things heated up even more when the commandos from the freighter killed Alex. The wrench in the gears of this relationship is the fact that when Ben confronted Widmore after he turned the wheel and escaped the island, Widmore said that Ben couldn't kill him because it was, "against the rules." Is Widmore Ben's constant? Who is good and who is evil?
What's going on with the imposter John Locke / Jeremy Bentham?
At the end of Season 4, we saw John Locke was the body in the coffin at the funeral parlor. While this saddened his loyal followers, including myself, we just knew that this couldn't be true. We later found out that Ben killed Locke and made it look like a suicide. When Jack and the gang brought the coffin back to the island, we saw the emergence of some kind of imposter John Locke who seemed bent on manipulating Ben and killing Jacob. When the time came, Jacob mentioned that the imposter Locke had "found the loophole." Then the imposter Locke says something like, "You have no idea what I had to do to get here." What is this loophole? Where is the real John Locke?
I will post the five other mysteries and questions that I want solved by the final season of Lost tomorrow. Stay tuned!
