Friday, January 11, 2008

Revisiting the Top 50 Lost Loose Ends #2

Part two 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, #40 through #31.

Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V



#40: The Skeletons in the Cave
UNSOLVED

I might rate this mystery slightly higher on the list, but the skeletons found in the cave are easy to forget since they have not been mentioned since Season 1. Sometimes I even forget the survivors ever went to the cave, it's been so long. We have little other than speculation as to the answers to the skeletons, though thanks to the currently-running ARG, Find815, the last sentence of IGN's guess, that the skeletons could be Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan, do not seem as far fetched as they once did.

#39: Why Didn't Ben Take Jack Earlier?
UNSOLVED

The unsolved label on this question will probably remain that way for the rest of the show. Although I can see the plot aspects that elicited this question as stumping at the time of the article, this mystery does not exactly keep me up at night. My best guess is based on the line Ben delivers to Jack about wanting to Jack to want to do the surgery. Or perhaps Ben did not think he would necessarily need Jack, since he commented that Ethan was a fine doctor before he was killer. Maybe Ethan could have done the surgery? Another potential explanation lies with the island's healing powers. Ben could have thought he would simply heal and was waiting for it to happen. Perhaps not until Jack commented on the promptness of Ben's death would Ben really feel the need for Jack to perform the surgery. Regardless, I think we might never find a definitive answer, unless someone asks for specificity during an official podcast.

#38: The Significance of 108 Minutes
UNSOLVED

Another question I believe deserves a higher spot on the list of Lost's biggest intrigues. Although I suppose you would have to group the numbers and the Valenzetti equation in there to really cover the numbers. I fear we may never receive a satisfying answer to "why 108?" The IGN article channels Occam and his razor (who just happens to make an appearance in Find815) and the simplest answer here would be "because it is the sum of the island's numbers."

#37: How Long Have the Events on the Island Been Going On?
UNSOLVED

Although we learned that Ben's island-birth was indeed false, Season 3 also lent us some more less obvious clues that the island's mystique has happened for quite some time, such as the temple. I believe the ultimate answer will be "a long freaking time," but, as the article notes, I believe we will not know for a long freaking time.

#36: Who Is Christian's Daughter?
SOLVED

We finally nab a solved in this part of the series. This question was definitively answered in Season 3. Aaron will grow up saying, "Uncle Jack," because Claire is Christian's daughter, which makes her Jack's half sister.

#35: Where Is the Pearl's Crew?
UNSOLVED (but meaningless?)

Just a bit high on this ranking, no? Desmond was still in the Swan, yes, but because he was not a member of the Initiative, we cannot assume that other stations have survivors somewhere on the island. I never even asked myself about the Pearl's crew. We did see Ben and Juliet visit the Pearl when Paolo was hiding the diamonds, so the cigarette could easily have come from an Other.

#34: Black & White Symbolism
UNSOLVED

Again, I'm not sure this "loose end" is such a mystery. I don't want to downplay the black and white symbolism employed on the show, but I would guess that it largely stands for good and evil. Those issues are conflated quite a bit by the characters and the forces at work, so the question has relevance, but is it really something we will come to discover in the future?

#33: Jack Tossed from the Plane
UNSOLVED

Ah, a mystery we have pondered since the birth pangs of the entire series. To me, two huge questions erupt before we even see the beach or the plane. Why is Jack in the jungle and what significance does Vincent hold? The answer to Jack could end up being as simple as "he was just thrown from the plane somehow" or it could be a jaw-dropper. Vincent, on the other hand, I suspect will be a huge element to the show.

#32: The Supply Drop
UNSOLVED

Although we discovered that food drops could seemingly be requested via the Flame station, we really have no idea as to how they arrive, from whom they come, or how often they are scheduled. Theories on this mystery run the gamut, from time-travel implications to Hanso-funded cargo planes. Until the Initiative and all the forces attempting to control the island are fully explained, this question will most likely remain unsolved.

#31: Why Couldn't Desmond Leave?
UNSOLVED

We go 9-for-10 in the unsolved category during this segment. Perhaps when Michael returns to the show in Season 4 we will get a better idea on this one. Obviously, the island seems to funnel anything and everything to its bosom. Desmond and his boat had no better luck getting away from the pull than anything else. Though you could couple this question with compass bearing 325, I think it will end up being more significant than a 31st ranking merits.

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