[JasonSuave]

In my opinion, the "answer" to this show can be one of a few things:
1. Everyone is in purgatory, or some form of hell (i.e. and insane asylum, the matrix, etc)
2. The plane crash was engineered by Dharma, and everything happening in the show is a clever manipulation of events
3. There is some underlying concept of time travel at work
4. While the characters may not be in purgatory, there may be some supernatural force that's causing "things" to happen

Of course, there are more than 4 different theories out there, but most of the theories are a variation (or combination) of 1-4 in the list. I don't believe the writers of the show would choose #1 or #4, because so many viewers have a vested interest in the story line. Concluding the series with #1 or #4 would mean that only one single answer is required to explain almost every question in the show.

Unfortunately, I think things in the show have gotten past the point where we can assume that #2 is the answer. Namely, because of the whole "Jacob" incident. I just can't imagine how that scene could've played out if there is some fancy engineering at work to cause "the voice" to only be heard by Locke.

So, this leaves us with theory #3. While time travel is very far fetched in terms of reality, I believe it provides enough information to fill out the remaining 3 seasons with content to keep us interested and asking questions.

So... onto my theory:

My theory suggests that the Dharma Iniative has created a time machine that started back in the 70's. Unfortunately, this time machine is only powerful enough to operate for 108 minutes. Also, being that the time machine uses the unique magnetic properties of the island, it can only function on the island.

Seeing that the time machine only has limited use, the greedy Others decide to kill off the Dharma scientists and take control over the time machine for their own personal gain. They see that the time machine could have a use other than just allowing people to travel 108 minutes back in time, so they decide to rig up a system where certain lab-rats "reset" the time machine every 108 minutes, thus suspending the island in a specific time. With that, the others assume they can technically live forever, as suspending time will keep people from aging on the island. The only thing on the island left for research would be finding ways to procreate in this type of environment. The question in Ben's mind is if time is suspended, and babies need to age to physically exit the womb, how is procreation actually possible? Enter Juliet.

The last piece of the puzzle would be: if the Dharma people want the timeline to be restored on the island, they would need to find a way to enter this time loop on the island and destroy/stop the time machine (button pressing). Therefore, a bunch of disgruntled Dharma employees off the island decide to engineer a plane crash which will send the victims of the plane crash back to the island to ultimately break the others free of their time loop. Before just sending any random group of people back in time to the island, Dharma will need to influence the lives of these victims such that they can each play a unique role in bringing down the others.

And, there we have the theme of LOST.

Here's a timeline to help illustrate my theory:

[oedipus]

I don't know if this a unified theory as much as it is a conglomeration of suppositions. However, I do admire the effort.

Have you used Visio before?

[JasonSuave]

Originally Posted by oedipus

I don't know if this a unified theory as much as it is a conglomeration of suppositions. However, I do admire the effort.

Have you used Visio before?

I'd look at this as a merging of many theories on top of the time-loop theory. Obviously, some of my facts might turn out to be different (i.e. the 14 year time frame). On the other hand, I think the general concept of different time periods is now the only thing that can explain what's happening on the island.

Unless, we jump to a supernatural theme - only problem with that is that we only really need one "answer" to sum up the entire show. I don't think the producers will go that route.

[DiLoMan]

I really like this, it explains alot. If nothing else I like how it brings a lot of things together in a timeline. One question I have is why would the Hatch be the time machine? Wouldn't the submarine be a time machine since that's what they used to get Julliete?

[JasonSuave]

Originally Posted by DiLoMan

I really like this, it explains alot. If nothing else I like how it brings a lot of things together in a timeline. One question I have is why would the Hatch be the time machine? Wouldn't the submarine be a time machine since that's what they used to get Julliete?

I wouldn't think of the hatch as a time machine, per se. I would think of it more as the "control panel" that keeps the island trapped in a "time bubble." The magnetic properties that the hatch manages could be what's keeping the entire island in said "time bubble." That's why when hatch blows up, we see the sky turn purple. Since the hatch has been destroyed, the reaction caused the destruction of the bubble (purple sky), and thus the island is now carrying on the normal course of time as if 1990 had just passed.

The submarine is in fact nothing at all. It's just a prop used by the others to create the illusion that you can travel freely to and from the island. in reality, anyone who collides with this invisible bubble, no matter the time, will be instantly transported to the suspended time on the island. So, if Juliet was recruited in 2001, all the Others/Dharma had to do was collide her with the island, and then drop her in some submarine sitting outside the island.

[DiLoMan]

So if they somehow collided Juliette with the island, how does that explain Richard and Ethan seeing her in the real world? How did they get to the real world? Also, when Ben met Richard, Ben was a kid. When Ben killed his dad, Ben was an adult. During that time Richard didn't age. So wouldn't the time on the Island had to have stopped before 1990, before Ben even arrived on the Island or atleast when he was still a little kid? Perhaps time stopped for the Hostiles before 1990 but the DHARMA people still aged because they were secluded in their own part of the island? Is Ben still aging? I'm not trying to punch holes in your theory, I think it's pretty cool.

[zackmann]

ugh!!!!

good work...

hurts my head to think about...

if a very complicated time loop theory explains everything, then the producers are clearly not trying to keep a general audience...a general audience will not respond well to such a complicated explanation...

[redwithpurpleflashes]

I am a fan of the 'time loop' theories but I don't think time can stop. If you are on the island, time does not stop for you, it will keep moving normally. An example would be if you watched me fall into a black hole. You would see me slow down to the point where it appears I stop and never actually enter it (i.e. takes me forever to fall in). This is only because the closer you get to the hole, the longer it takes light to reach you. From my perspective, I would fall in rather quickly (my clock would appear to be moving at the same rate).

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of time dialation on the island where it is slower when compared to the rest of the world. And for people that think this is too out there, time actually moves quicker on top of a mountain then at sea level (very small amount but measuable).

One more thing, I would assume that at some point, a conversation with Naomi would reveal a time discrepancy. I'd imagine at some point someone would say something like "Dude, I can't beleive it's been 90 days here!", and she would be all like, "Try 3 years big boy!".

[JasonSuave]

Originally Posted by DiLoMan

So if they somehow collided Juliette with the island, how does that explain Richard and Ethan seeing her in the real world? How did they get to the real world? Also, when Ben met Richard, Ben was a kid. When Ben killed his dad, Ben was an adult. During that time Richard didn't age. So wouldn't the time on the Island had to have stopped before 1990, before Ben even arrived on the Island or atleast when he was still a little kid? Perhaps time stopped for the Hostiles before 1990 but the DHARMA people still aged because they were secluded in their own part of the island? Is Ben still aging? I'm not trying to punch holes in your theory, I think it's pretty cool.

I'm thinking that people can still travel to and from the island. Remember when Ben told Michael to travel at a bearing of 325? My guess is that if you leave the island at that specific bearing, you will exit the time bubble and pop into the real world at 1990.

So, let's look at this in terms of Ethan: he died in the 1990 time-loop but was still alive in the post-1990 timeline outside the island, therefore he didn't need to travel back with Juliet in 2000, since he was already on the island in the 1990 timeframe. When Juliet reached the island and the time 1990, she was greeted with Ethan who is already in the time-loop.

When ben was a kid, I bet Richard used the machine to travel back in time to "recruit" ben. My guess is that there was already time-travel testing dating back to the 70's - it'd just never occurred to Dharma to "suspend" the 108 minute window. However, Dharma could technically send people back to any point in time as long as it was no further back than 1970.

[TheBigCat]

"Michael and Walt leave island and show up in the real world in 1990"

Where on earth did you come up with that?

Dude, put down the crack pipe and step away from the harmonic oscilator.