It’s the day after, and it’s hard watching TV when it’s actually on TV. Am I really going to have to wait 6 days to watch the next episode of Lost?
So, let’s get down to business.
Hints of the Other Timeline: Let’s assume that the two timelines are both real and co-exist. This season seems set up to potentially culminate in a clever and mind-bending intersection between the two timelines. Maybe the 2003 non-crash timeline may even turn into the on-Island 2007 timeline? Either way, there are hints that the timelines are connected. First and foremost, Juliet’s final few words seem to indicate that she sees something. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear her ask Sawyer out to tea later this season in the non-crash timeline.
And of course, there’s all the small changes in the non-crash timeline. Jack freaking out during the turbulence. His inexplicable cut on his neck. His remembrance of Desmond. It all seems to say that Jack somehow remembers or has a primal connection to his Island self.
Sayid: is not quite Sayid. Initially, I was tempted to say that maybe Jacob has chosen him as his new vessel. But that doesn’t quite make sense, as we don’t know that Jacob uses the same methods as the Man in Black. Also, we see Jacob after he’s died as himself. And lastly, Sayid says, “What happened?” upon waking up. It seems like Jacob would know what happened.
But…something is different. Sayid drowns in front of our eyes in the magical healing pool of the Island (I’d guess, the same pool that saved young Ben Linus when Sayid shot him), which may not be completely magical anymore. He has no pulse. And then he wakes up. Much like Ben would never be the same, Sayid can’t ever be the same again either. Will he always be an Other now?
The Sunken Island: Another big mystery this season is how the island got to be at the bottom of the ocean in the non-crash timeline. While it’d be easy to assume that the bomb exploded the entire island and somehow sunk it (the electromagnetic field was holding it up?), I’m not sure that’s a safe assumption. The brief sketchtastic CGI shot we saw revealed that the island looked somewhat intact. The main Dharma village wasn’t pulverized. Just…underwater. When exactly does the island sink in the non-crash timeline? What is the status of the Others who were on it? These answers are part of the non-crash timeline and I’m confident will be revealed.
That said, based the ABC promo for next week and the press blitz that Damon and Carlton did last night (an interview posted to Entertainment Weekly’s site before midnight and their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel), it seems like the writers are going to spreading answers liberally throughout this entire season. If this weren’t the final season, I’d kind of expect things to take a while and culminate in a finale that answers half of the questions I raise. Instead, I think we’ll only need to wait half a season before most of our questions are answered and only one main question remains: how will the two timelines converge?