Did the writers have this ending in mind?

I think so. I believe their direction never wavered from an afterlife-oriented ending. That said, they made some huge detours off their road map, which isn’t a bad thing in my opinion. In a recent Times Talk, the showrunners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof brought up that the two questions they were most asked was whether they had the show all planned out from the beginning and whether the fans have input on the show’s story. Of course, the desired answers were that the show was entirely planned from the start and the fans have a ton of input—which both cannot be true. I could give many examples of how fan theories trickled into the show. The earliest “theory of everything” I remember was that the castaways all died in the plane crash and the island was purgatory. Turns out, the theory wasn’t far off.

Understandable, the writers couldn’t give the jig up so soon, so they danced around the idea of the afterlife, playing it off as a joke at times. Locke’s father claimed he awoke to the island after a crash. Like Richard in this final season, he believed the island was hell. The first visitor from the freighter, a woman named Naomi, told of a found Oceanic 815 complete with a full roster of dead passengers. The idea that the castaways are ghosts explains away the occasional ghostly visit. But that idea isn’t true, is it?

The common reading of The End is that what happened on the island happened and whenever the characters died, they began their “sideways” life. That could be, but the beauty of this show is that, it might not be. More of this later.

Sci-fi and fantasy genres set up an extraordinary world that could not exist. The viewers must suspend their disbelief to enjoy the story. LOST set up an island with unknown powers, a mysterious entity named Jacob, a group of natives who kidnap kids, a giant Egyptian statue, and a monster made of frickin’ smoke. Disbelief suspended. In order to earn that suspension, fantasy stories need to stay true to the rules they put in place. When the rules can change, don’t apply to some and are made up as they go. It can be frustrating. This was my only problem with the series. The mythology was such a moving target that all our theorizing was a waste of time. A perfectly sound theory of WTF was going on would be debunked by information that contradicts previous “rules.” I understand the show uses many religious symbols, but it didn’t have to be written like the bible.

I didn’t get an explanation. I didn’t want a explanation. The question of the island was so anticipated that the answer could only be a disappointment. Aliens? Nanobots? Atlantean voodoo? Every explanation would not only fall short of expectations, but it would have already been done. The island, the light and the smoke are all magic beyond our understanding. Accept it. It is not what they are, but what they symbolize. It is what they do, not how they do it.

My interpretation of The End.

The alternate “sideways” universe is a life chronologically after the castaway’s island life. It is literally the after life, but not necessarily the “afterlife.” I see it as more of a reincarnation as the same person in a parallel world with a chance to improve. It is a moral do-over. I imagine Jack lives an entire life before he ever crashed on the island. Perhaps many. The island provided the experiences needed to finally move on once the sideways but things in perspective. Purgatory is a very Christian theme. I don’t think the sideways was any more limbo than the island. Moving on is the end, everything, and every life lived before that is just progress.

If I am to believe that the sideways universe is the great beyond, it is by definition supernatural. Then why does nothing supernatural happen in the sideways while the universe pre-limbo include shape-shifting smoke, a time-shifting donkey wheel, people who see (Hurley) and talk to (Miles) the dead and boys who drive birds to their death. (Walt) The sideways is a life linked to another world by both death and love. That is why near-death experiences and romantic encounters trigger past memory. Where did I come up with theory? From one of the many authors featured on the show.

Light spoilers of The Dark Tower follow.

Stephen King wrote a series called The Dark Tower in which a tower is described as an axis on which the multiverse revolves. One method of transversing these worlds is by one owns death. Like LOST, there is a cyclical nature to the story, and the writers are so much a fan of the books that they pitched it as their next TV series. I will stop here before I say too much, but if you want to better understand my version of LOST, this series is a good read. The island is this version’s Dark Tower.

LOST has always been a show that lived on after the credits. The theorizing fanbase spawned a plethora of podcasts, weekly water-cooler conversations and viewing parties across the globe. I know this from the Twitter talk of gatherings getting together at 5am to watch the simulcasteds endgame. It is only fitting that the finale left us with more theories to explore.

I cared about every lasting character of LOST. I can’t say that about any other show. The open-ended mythology made fan fiction writers of us all. With many mysteries still in the air, our personal fictions can continue forever. And with the show over, no one can prove us wrong.

I had no bad reading experience that held back my scholarly ways, I liked the novels I read–all two of them: 1984 and Alas, Babylon. I know now that it was the medium that was slowing me down. I could never jusitfy sitting down and opening a book, there was simply too much for my ADD brain to do. I’m sure I’ve written more words than I’ve read in my life.

Getting to the point, and the tech side of the post, I’m all audiobooks now. I actually “sacrificed” by taking the longer cummute during a recent move to a home close to my wife’s work. On any given weekday I get a minimum of two reading/listening hours. The lifehack here is this: ditch the radio and get audiobooks. All the good talk has moved to podcasting and the music staions have less range than the average “Now, That’s What I Call Music” CD.

Audio Crack Dealers:

I get most my books from Audible.com. Once you become a member they are the cheapest way to get downloads onto your iPod barring bittorrent. The audiobook section on iTunes is the same as Audible’s sans discounts. The only disadvantage to Audible is that you cannot easily share your new favorite books without lending out your MP3 player. The audiobooks are DRMed–meaning no copying. It is a bad practice and the only reason I’m not giving them a full recommendation. Seriously, Audible, even the music industry has caught on by now.

On the other hand, a free resource is the library. If you still use a CD player, I recommend it. You don’t have as good of a selection, but the price is right. Another free source is illegal downloads. For the record, this is stealing. However, when there isn’t a viable option to download an audiobook the legal route, I won’t fault you for finding another method. Lets say I wanted Steven Fry’s reading of the Harry Potter series and live in the US where, due to licencing and publisher voodoo, I am stuck with another reader…but I digress. I’ll save copyright management and piracy for another post.

If you don’t like paper yet enjoy stories and learning, listen to audiobooks.

To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page and paste these instructions in the body of the note. Type your twenty-five random things, tag twenty-five people (in the right hand corner of the application, and then click “post.”

Now, it’s time to get started…

1. I am not superstitious in anyway. The only reason I’m responding to this chain letter style note is because I like learning things about my friends. For good measure, I’m breaking the chain by ignoring the 25 taggie rule and tagging 13 friends. That’s right, 13. Three of whom I don’t even like.
2. I have a deep seeded hatred of lamas. Not a big fan of alpacas either. Camels? Take ‘em of leave ‘em.
3. My favorite author is Orson Scott Card.
4. I started reading comics when Superman “died” and still pick up an issue from time to time. I consider comics and graphic novels the most creative media on the market.
5. I identify myself as a skeptic, and I encourage you to doubt that.
6. Other than Lamas, I’m a big animal lover. I’ve always wanted to go on a safari…or own a cougar.
7. I have three blogs and six e-mail addresses, and if I haven’t already responded to your inquiry, I’m not going to.
8. On that note, I almost never check my voice mail. If you call me, I’ll call you back upon noticing your missed call. Recordings go straight to the Phantom Zone.
9. I often only care to see a movie once, but a good score I can listen to over and over. Reliving the movie in my mind is all I need. I am a connoisseur of fine soundtracks.
10. I see no value in Reality TV unless it is a game show.
11. I am the least competitive person I know. I really don’t care about beating you, and only about beating myself in very specific skills.
12. I have yet to meet a poker player I feel is as good or better than myself. However, I haven’t been looking as hard as I should.
13. Air hockey is my Achilles Heel. I would lose two out of three games to pretty much anyone…including myself.
14. I have stopped listening to radio on account that it sucks in Atlanta. Audiobooks and podcasts all the way.
15. For the first time, I didn’t want a white guy in office. (I wanted Richardson.)
16. I’m a summer.
18. I’ve all but quit video games and television. Just don’t find the time anymore. LOST is about the only show worth scheduling in. Honestly, I don’t like it. I gotta make more time for wasting.
19. I wrote three 100 page books as a child…for fun. In the past couple months I have reread some of my early work. Man, it sucks.
20. Seriously though, I hate lamas. If they all went extinct tomorrow, I would probably be sorry…only because I didn’t cause it.
21. I want to be a magician when I grow up.
22. Stereotypes don’t both me. They are in place because they are usually true, and anything usually true should be considered.
23. I use Google every day.
24. I have never taken any drugs (excluding alcohol) harder than NyQuil. This is due in part to a general adversity to pharmaceuticals, my distaste for smoke inhalation, and my inability to swallow pills. Gag reflex.
25. I can stop hiccuping and start crying on command.

Things we know from prior episodes that are used in my theory:

• John Locke has been transported off the island and has taken the alias of Jeremy Bentham
• Abaddon convinced Locke to go on the walkabout that lead him to the island, and now holds some influence over John.
• Saiyd perceives the “Economist” as an enemy to himself and Ben
• Saiyd and Ben have a falling out at some point

Okay, here it goes…

Locke is transported off the island and once again comes in contact with Abaddon. Abaddon reminds Locke that he owes him for introducing the island to his life. Abaddon then convinces Locke that the best way to get everyone back to the island is by allying himself with his (and Widmore’s) team.

Meanwhile, Sayid wages war against Widmore’s team at Ben’s command. Sayid learns of the “Economist,” a man adverse to technology. The only other characters known to be adverse to technology are Jacob and John Locke. I believe John is the Economist.

Locke meets with Walt, Hurley, and Jack as his plans with Widmore’s team break down and he realizes that once again he is being played.

Sayid eventually succeeds in locating the Economist and kills Bentham/Locke. Once Sayid sees who he killed, he breaks from Ben’s manipulations.

This leaves us about where we are currently in the off-island story line.

What I find interesting, is that both paths lead to the unbelievable. First, let’s think about religion. I was brought up Christian, so I am expected to believe in staffs that become snakes and parting seas. How can a flood cover the earth knowing the sizes of the oceans now? How could a man build a ship big enough for all the species of the world? How do dinosaurs fit in with the Genesis story? If I wanted to sit out the old testament, I would still be faced with a man who could raise the dead, materialize food, and walk on water. I may as well consider the Mythology of the Romans as a viable option.

Science doesn’t get off scot-free either. Evolution can be a hard theory to wrap your brain around, but it is nothing compared to theoretical physics. The material world we live in is mostly empty space. The only reason I don’t fall through my chair is because I’m repelling it. Apparently we don’t live in a 3-D space either, Sting Theory accounts for at least ten dimensions. Is time really relative? If I went far enough in one direction of space, would I really return to my point of origin? Does a single electron really exist everywhere around a nucleus at once?

I respect those who don’t except what they are told, but rather reason with it. Question how you were raised, explore other options, and come to your beliefs on your own.

Here is a quick rundown of my recent favorites:
Ender’s Game: About a super gifted kid who is drafted to defeat an alien race. The majority of the story is about his training and the burden he must bear.
Speaker for the Dead: The sequel to Ender’s Game and, according to the afterward, the story the author really wanted to tell. It deals with a very dysfunctional family that is charged with the task of understanding a new, more primitive alien race.
Freakonomics: I consider this a book of unintended consequences and interesting studies in behavior. Learn about principles of economy that don’t involve money. Somewhat similar books I’ve read are Predictably Irrational, which I thought was weak in comparison and The Tipping Point, which I recommend.
Einstein: I’m not usually one for biographies, but he was an interesting guy. As an added bonus, you might start to understand his science upon reading. I also read Steve Martin’s biography, Born Standing Up, but only recommend it to either big fans or those trying to get into the entertainment industry.
Ace on the River: A good way to become a better poker player without studying odds and specific situations.
And finally, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: An outrageous and funny trip through the universe. Don’t bother with the movie. If audio books are your thing, try and get the version narrated by British comedian Steven Fry.

I also recently re-watched The Dark Knight and, as a comic book reader, have an idea of how I would like to see the next film play out. There are a lot of holes to fill in the on-screen Gotham City. Bruce needs a new love interest, the mob needs a new boss, and since Heath Ledger is no longer with us, it needs a new supervillain.

I have no problem recycling villains from the older movies series (before Batman Begins.) I would love to see Nolan’s take on the Riddler or Mr. Freeze, but I think if any character is to be rehashed, it would be Catwoman. After all, that would fill both the villain and love interest holes. I would say Catwoman is a safe bet for the next film, if not for the Halley Berry flick and the taint it placed on the character. I would rather see new villains on the scene.
In the comics, the Ventriloquist is a relatively innocent man held hostage by his puppet, Scarface. The character is a study in split personality disorder and, as that derangement wasn’t explored in Two-Face, it could be very compelling here. The Dark Knight left a perfect opening for Scarface to take over the mob, but he wouldn’t be the main villain.

The set up for the next film is that the police want to bring in Batman. He is again an enemy of Gotham. We all know that the police aren’t up to the task for taking down Batman, so they are open to a bounty hunter of sorts to bring him to justice. The bounty hunter, Bane, is the main villain. Bane has ulterior motives for his actions and wants to destroy Batman to prove himself Gotham’s master. Batman will have to save the city from Bane, which will position him back in Gotham’s good graces.

If Nolan really wanted to tie the three films together trilogy style, Bane could be connected to Ras Al Ghul’s organization. As long as they don’t treat Bane as a mindless minor character as they did in Batman & Robin, I’ll be happy.

Enjoy!