Lost
Summary
Time travel is an important part ofLost ’s story , though it is n’t explain until later in the ABC serial — and the rules and event may be confusing even after it ’s confirmed . Lostdrew witness into its cardinal mystery with ease , comply a group of plane crash survivor stranded on a seemingly deserted island . As the group realizes they ’re not alone — and their circumstances may be more sinful than they first imagine — the storyline gets increasingly complex . Lost ’s constant twistswere part of the show ’s collection , and some of them were so bizarre that a prison term - move around island did n’t seem too off Qaeda .
Losthints at its time traveling topic in season 2 , as the episode " The Long Con " finds Sayid and Hurley picking up a suffering signaling that could come from anywhere — or " any time , " as Hurley jest . And Hurley is n’t far from the true statement , as laterseasons ofLostadopt this sci - fi narrative in earnest , especially after Desmond arrive on The Island and the DHARMA Initiative is introduced . As it turns out , The Island itself has the ability to move through timeand space thanks to its electromagnetic barrier . There are also humans whose awareness can venture through time in a non - running fashion , make this look ofLosta perplexing one .
Lost was hail as one of the best new TV show of the millennium when the series debuted , but 19 years by and by , its many flaw are glaringly obvious .
How Time Travel Works In Lost
The Island’s Electromagnetic Energy Is The Biggest Factor
Time travel is confusing within the world ofLost , but the show ’s edition of this sci - fi concept is partially excuse during a conversation between Daniel Faraday and Desmond in season 4 , episode 5 , " The Constant . " Faraday studies metre journey and even finds a path to send a rat ’s consciousness into the time to come . This enables the rat to know things it has n’t learned yet , exchangeable to how Desmond realizes sure things will happen before they do . alas , this knowledge ca n’t change the future tense . To avoid paradoxes , Lostdrives home the fact that " whatever encounter , materialise . “Essentially , a person can change the " how " of what happens , but not what happens .
Desmond ’s not the only reference moving through meter inLost , as The Island itself flirt with fourth dimension and blank in a way that impact everyone on and around it . Many ofLost ’s great mysteries are explained by The Island ’s powerful electromagnetic field , which throws off the timing of the thing occurring almost and on The Island from the very beginning . InLostseason 4 , a missile takes longer than it should to hit its intended target just because it ’s fired near The Island . This is also why the subsister speak to Doc Ray over the radio set even though he ’s seemingly dead at the time .
These oddities ring time and quad on The Island are precisely what the DHARMA Initiative is canvass , but the forcible impact of fourth dimension travel gets more acute when their " case " becomes destabilized . A Frozen Wheel is able to channel The Island ’s electromagnetic zip . However , when it ’s call on , it causes far more obtrusive shifts in time , physically transmit the survivor to various points in the past and succeeding and even moving The Island itself . As Faraday tells Desmond , " Every par needs constancy . " The lack of it is likely what causes physical prison term travel to become so apparent later on .
All six seasons ofLostare presently streaming on Hulu .
Lost’s Confirmed Methods Of Time Travel
Temporal Displacement & Physical Time Travel Occur
Lostappears to have two affirm method of time travel : worldly supplanting and physical metre change of location via The Island . The former is what pass off to Desmond as his thinker moves him through time , a distinct experience compared to the flashbacks and trice - forward the other fiber have throughoutLost . Desmond realize that he ’s moving through time and space , and he ’s frequently discombobulate by the shifting , as well as the knowledge he gains from it . He ’s forced to habituate a " unceasing " — in his case , his girlfriend cent — to tether him to a stable degree in time and admit him to emerge from his " travels " unhurt .
Lostconfirms that secular deracination can be fatal if a somebody or beast does n’t have a " constant , " something seen with Faraday ’s scum bag and George Minkowski . Being expose to The Island ’s electromagnetic vigour is what grantsDesmond his clock time travel abilities , bringing the sci - fi phenomenon back to the show ’s setting . And this makes sense , as The Island itself is also responsible for the 2nd confirm eccentric of sentence locomotion .
Lostalso showcases strong-arm time travel during its later seasons , though there are hints that The Island is moving through space and time before . A Frozen Wheel beneath The Island is used to brace its energy , and when Ben Linus deform it , the other part are send off to different points ofThe Island ’s timeline . These time travel flashes bewilder the characters off - kelter , sending them to the past and future . Ben also superintend to move The Island itself after destabilize its power source . Locke finally fixes the placement of the Frozen Wheel , but even the number of shifting it has odd consequences , transporting the person creditworthy to a desert in Tunisia .
Is “What Happened, Happened” Really True?
The Future Can’t Be Changed In Lost
Lost ’s time travel rule of " what happened , bechance " does seem to be genuine , as Desmond is incompetent of saving Charlie despite numerous efforts to prevent his decease . Although Charlie ’s death is get by different condition each metre Desmond helps him cheat it , Charlie will always fail . This inevitability helpsLostkeep its timeline intact despite the introduction of time traveling . The serial emphasizes that whatever find during time travel like a shot contributes to an already - set future tense . The characters ' activeness while move may change small view of the timeline , but the end result always remains the same .
Whenever the charactersdotry to convert the hereafter inLost , the timeline sets itself straight and redirects to the inevitable outcome . In the case of Charlie , he meets his end in theLostseason 3 finale , " Through the Looking Glass , " sacrifice himself to save the other passengers . This is a dissimilar destruction than the I Desmond saves him from earlier — drown to save Claire and an arrow to the neck among them . However , if Charlie chose to write himself , he would have perished another way . fundamentally , Losttakes aFinal Destinationapproach to time travelling . The characters can delay an outcome , but they can never altogether avoid it .
How Lost’s Time Travel Influences The Present
Time Travel’s Influence On The Present Underscores Lost’s Themes
Although metre travel inLostcan’t change the future , it does seem to influence the present as the characters experience it . The show ’s timeline always correct for the changes the characters make , so they are n’t creating a multiverse of timelines with their antics . However , traveling through time does change their present circumstances . In Charlie ’s case , it even buy him more sentence and a unlike ending . In this way , meter travel seems to further the ABC show ’s themes . connexion and fate vs. free will are huge elements throughoutLost ’s six seasons . Although free will only goes so far , it does seem to make a difference to the characters ' lives and human relationship .
Cast
