LOST Post-mortem
I watched the final episode of LOST last night called "The End". Under the cut are few thoughts about it and the series (based on my knowledge of myth and history), just for the fun of it. If you are interested in more theories, have a look at the Lostpedia.
- The Island
The island appears moves location over time. But this is not the only one in recorded (mythical) history to do so. There have been sightings of islands that seem to rise from the depths (only to later sink) and which seem to have appeared in more than one location (though a rational mind would assume faulty navigation and charting for that). Historically, belief in mythical islands such as Brazil led to the discovery of real islands and continents by European explorers. The island's ability to move seems to be a result of ancient alchemy (see next point) using the power of the the source to move in time and space. - Heart of the Island.
One explanation of the chamber within the heart of the island is some form of esoteric spell, perhaps one using a form of alchemy. So, rather than being some natural phenomena that has always existed, it was deliberately created, by ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians as whole were not a great sea faring race (they hugged the coasts) though there was a theory that perhaps they reached the Azores or even circumnavigated Africa.
Perhaps though that it wasn't explorers who discovered the Island by accident, but a breakaway party of priests and supporters that deliberately looked for an isolated island on which to create a magical experiment, one which which would create a "magical power source" based on their religious beliefs and/or symbolic representation of Egyptian elements. The result was the chamber at the heart of the island. The only problem was that after creating that source, it killed most or all those involved in the ritual (explaining the skeletons found by Jack), leaving a few survivors who may have either tried to leave or stay and tap into that power (which was only accessible from the island) - Mother
The Mother then was a a descendant of the latter group, with guardianship passed down from from parents to children. While the source had the power to slow aging to almost a standstill, it did not quite make people immortal, hence the need to find a successor. Luckily, it seems that the source also gave those guardians the ability to bring people to the island by various means. Note that Taweret was initially seen as "a deity of protection in pregnancy and childbirth". - Smoke Monster
When the Man in Black was killed by his brother Jacob, by being thrown down into the heart of the island, we see a cloud of black matter come out of the mouth of the cave, and this is the "Smoke Monster". But what is the smoke monster? The ancient Egyptians believed in five parts of a soul: the Ib (heart), Sheut (shadow), Ren (name), Ba (personality) and Ka (life force). As Jacob later finds the dead body of his brother at an "exit point" (the same spot Jack appears at after resetting the source) with the life force gone from it. The "Man in Black" never seemed to have a name, and very little "heart", so the smoke monster is a combination of Sheut and Ba. While there was a guardian and the power source was on, this remnant of Jacob's brother couldn't escape the island. - Flash Sideways
Starting season 6 the narrative was split between events on the island, and a contemporary version of what would have happened to the survivors if they hadn't crashed there. My initial idea on this was a "quantum split" in time as a result of exploding the Jughead bomb (a 20 ton hydrogen bomb) in close proximity with the source. After all, this was part of an attempt to stop The Incident from happening and thereby change the future. In retrospect that entire idea seems to have been a red herring to disguise what the flash sideways narratives were.
In ancient Egyptian mythology the heart "...was conceived as surviving death in the nether world, where it gave evidence for, or against, its possessor. It was thought that the heart was examined by Anubis and the deities during the Weighing of the Heart ceremony. If the heart weighed more than the feather of Maat, it was immediately consumed by the monster Ammit. If the deceased was judged worthy, his or her ka and ba were united into an akh." What we are seeing in the "flash sideways" is the creation of akhs for each of the survivors, by means of realistic storyline in which each achieved the goal that had been preventing them from letting go of their heavy hearts. - Cyclic nature of Jack
The last scene on the island mirrors the first of the series. Jack lies on his back in a cane field, with a wound in his side and is found by Vincent, the dog. But there are differences - the clothes that Jack wears for one, and instead of waking up, Jack closes his eyes as he (apparently) dies. Having accepted guardianship from Jacob, and passing it on to Hurley, Jack can die knowing that his friends escaped and that the Island was in good hands.
The first thought that occurred to me was - what if instead of just dying, Jack were to reopen his eyes and discover that he was in episode one? - Meeting and Moving on
In the final scenes, we understand that all the characters in the TV series are dead and are meeting in a place outside time and space, like a Bardo in Buddhist belief. . So, back on the island there are still loose ends (like how did Desmond leave) but in this space none of that matters because either it's all already happened, or will happen. The key then to moving on was accepting that fact, which each was able to do once they'd achieved their remaining goals, and met the people they needed to. Ben doesn't join the rest because his goals are never really achieved and his heart is still weighed down with guilt. Others are still working through theirs.
Perhaps too this Bardo is a creation of the island, affecting only those who came into contact with it. Which belies this idea is the presence of people like Jack's father (Christian Shepherd), who was dead when he came into contact. with it. However, like his namesake, Jack's father helps herd the survivors on to their next destination.
Ultimately as well, there is a message to the fans from the makers of the show. It is time to remember the good times of the show, let go, and move on.
Funnily enough, my mother more or less predicted this, back in 2005 when I spoke to her about the show. She thought that they were all dead and the Island was a type of purgatory. Like me, she stopped watching Lost in the middle of season 2, however I came back to the show towards the end of season 5 after seeing a few episodes, and then watching a recap of the last 5 seasons! I've thoroughly enjoyed watching the show, but am now glad to move on.