Revisiting the Top 50 Lost Loose Ends #4

Part four of a series revisiting IGN's article, "Top 50 Lost Loose Ends." For part one and for more information about the original article and the series, point your browser here. In this edition, we'll discuss and throw a verdict onto 10 more of IGN's top Lost mysteries, #20 through #11.
Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V



#20: Aaron
UNSOLVED

We might look back and be able to mark this "solved" before Season 4 by chalking the interest of the Others in Aaron to their fertility problems. Still, the deal with the psychic (though he claimed in Eko's flashback that he is a fraud) leaves me uncertain about that scenario. I used to think Aaron might turn out to be the most important character in the series, but then Walt's importance emerged and Aaron surged to the background. I think it's about 50-50 on whether Aaron will turn out to be Walt-esque or just a normal kid who garnered the attention of a bunch of baby-starved Others.

#19: Voices in the Woods
UNSOLVED

I absolutely love that the writers actually script the whispers. In terms of the mystery, however, we have absolutely no idea. My best guess would involved the smoke monster above all the explanations IGN ponders. Supposedly we will discover more about the whispers in the future and, as the article suggests, that discovery will certainly lend us a lot of info on the island and its powers/properties.

#18: Eko's Death
UNSOLVED

I agree with the article that Eko's death via Smokey has significant literary impact on the storyline. The article claims the monster had never landed a death blow, but they forget the pilot. Certainly the monster has a vicious side, as evidenced by the deaths and its chase after Kate and Juliet, but it has confusingly let some people live, most notably Locke. The Locke "white" monster, who lets him live, versus the Eko black monster will most likely reveal an ultimate truth about the island. The answer could be religious, as the article postulates, but I believe it will most likely have to do with "communion" with the island. The island and the monster are probably highly linked, if not the same entity, and Locke certainly finds favor with the island. Though Eko marveled at and respected the island, in the end he felt his life's purpose had reached finality. Perhaps the refusal to bow to the island led to the monster's ire.

#17: The Others' List
PARTIALLY SOLVED

I think we learned enough about the list to slap a "partially solved" on this one. The list was indeed most likely Jacob's list and we now know Ben takes orders from the mysterious shack-man. I assume the list reveals those for whom invitation to live with the Others exists, but it could really be anything. We do not yet know the true purpose. A question I have always wondered about is why those on the list were all from the tail. Not one person from the beach was on the initial haul.

#16: The "Good" People on the Others' List
UNSOLVED

As with the previous entry, I assume the "goodness" of the people comes from the man with a list, Jacob. I think IGN's commentary in the second paragraph on this mystery is probably off base, but I have definitive answer with which to replace it. We will probably discover this answer in due time.

#15: Why Do the Others Want Children?
SOLVED

Easy: because they can't have any! The why is still uncertain, but we definitely now understand the obsession. Probably the most cut and dry answer in the entire article.

#14: Surviving the Crash
UNSOLVED

I highly doubt we will ever know the answer to this question. The most likely guess is outlined in the article: the island's properties. But we have clearly seen that the island cannot stop fatality, which would most likely ensue following a crash of 815's magnitude. As of now, I give it to the island and move on.

#13: Christian Symbology
UNSOLVED

Another mystery that will likely span the entire show. The Christian symbolism in the show is prevalent to a point that one has to assume it plays a major role in the crux of the plot. However, it could turn out just to be a large part of the story at the character level, just a lot of characters. Those who value the island the most - The Others - do not seem to be overtly Christian, so that outcome is a distinct possibility. But I believe Christianity has played too large a role to simply be a vehicle for character redemption.

#12: The Others' Master Plan
UNSOLVED

Ben seems to spend a lot of his time in the end of Season 3 defending the island from outside forces. Initially, those forces were limited to the survivors. Things started to spin out of control, however, and now most of the impetus of the show seems to hinge on the Others' protection of the island. Before the problems, however, can we say that was their master plan? From what we have seen to this point, I would say their master plan is simply to continue the existence of their people in harmony of the island. Perhaps that notion will prove to be far too narrow, but we have no proof as of now. It is interesting to view the progression of a viewer's take on the Others as the show moves from season to season. During Season 1, they were a completely unknown force. In Season 2 they were primitives before morphing into master tacticians and the most cunning of adversaries. In Season 3 we saw them as normal people who had a leg up on information before they almost wilted completely in strength, dying by the bushel and unable to stop an assault on the island. A very interesting arc.

#11: What Hides the Island?
UNSOLVED

I assume the electromagnetism of the island is what kept it hidden from the outside world, but that is nothing more than my best guess. We know the Penny's team detected the island after the implosion, but we still do not know the method by which the island remains hidden. A big mystery, for sure.