LOST’s sixth season has been rapidly dwindling away – we only have five episodes remaining before the series finale – and what a disorienting journey it has been. The so called “Alt” universe (which isn’t so alt after all), and the morally ambiguous struggle between Jacob and John “Not” Locke have been interesting skeins, but at the same time largely removed from the tale told up until now. The revelation of a secret ‘sub’ narrative is necessary to tell the tale to its conclusion, but making it all fit has been awkward. And then, there was “Happily Ever After.” Let’s take a look at the ‘perfect’ wreckage this episode left behind.
The Alt is Dead, Long Live the… er… Alt?
By virtue of the fact that Desmond conscience traveled from one universe to the other, the question of whether both universes exist simultaneously has finally been settled. So the “Alt” is not an “Alt” at all, but a perfectly viable second Universe. With the terms “multiverse” and “parallel dimensions” on just about every fourth-graders tongues these days, the idea may not be too stirring at first. Make sure you are thinking in terms of ‘this is not a Universe that existed all along’ as opposed to the New Age of thinking where there is already a Universe for every possible outcome. The difference could point to the core of LOST’s final showdown. More on that later.
All you need is Love.
For Desmond it took a gigantic magnetic pulse to transfer his mind from one `verse to another. For Faraday and Claire, it was merely seeing their loves from across the room. The correlation between energy and love is fantastic, Deepak Chopra would approve. The notion that the unified field is made up of pure potentiality, and that in turn is raw love, is maybe a bit too sappy for fans who are in this for the cool old decrepit science compounds and killer smoke clouds – but it suggests a sentimental direction for the endgame that will stay in our mental digestive tract a little longer than a big bang shoot-em up finale.
The idea that the connections forged in the un-tampered time are so strong that even universes can’t silence them is fantastic. Very nice job having Love, via Penny’s touch, be the force that caused Desmond to jump again – creating a parity between Widmore’s cold science and affairs of the heart was critical dramatic batting.
Desmond is a man of two worlds.
Desmond is out to preach the gospel of interdimensional love, in two dimensions. We didn’t get rock solid confirmation of this, but my suspicion is that both Desmonds are now one in terms of their minds. Frankly, these makes me fearful for Desmond. He has always been one of the more tragic characters – everything he does in the name of love gets him in a bad way. This big mission could be his last.
Which Widmore is It?
Widmore has certainly done an about face, but why? To say this doesn’t seem like the Widmore we’ve known all along is an understatement. Treating Desmond with respect? Sure he still has a cold and ruthless side, but there is something else going on here – what is his motivation? How does he know what is going on?
This Widmore is, in fact, Widmore from the ‘non-crash’ universe. In the 815-crash verse, Widmore was ultimately ejected from the island by Ben Linus and his obsession became to somehow recapture the island so he could return. In the ‘new’ universe, Ben ultimately left the island with his dad and eventually it sank. Without Ben to eject him, Widmore could have been witness to this catastrophe. He knows what is going on because he was privy to the power of the island. Aside from everything else we know, this Widmore would have every reason to want to prevent the crash-verse from becoming canon – as would Eloise. In the 815 verse, they not only LOST an island but a son – Faraday.
If Widmore in the alt became aware of a possible of a round of ‘Last Universe Standing’ on the horizon, he’d act to make sure he’s was the one preserved. A universe with love for noone but him, Eloise, Penny, and Faraday.
Using the bizarre magnetic vectors of the island, Widmore was able to find a way into our universe where the island is still accessible to him. But there is a problem: both universes can’t exist for him to possess the island and his life-as-he-knows it at the same time. Somebody has to go. Still convinced Widmore is a good guy?
Big Crunch Theory
The critical difference between a parallel dimension that exists by virtue of the fact that it is a possible outcome (see multiverse), and the LOST parallel universe is that in LOST the universe in question was created via an event – according to Faraday. The consequence is that in doing so, additional mass was created. While it is safe in its little protected bubble of space-time, if the additional mass were to make it into the same space it could precipitate not only a huge release of energy, but also a ‘Big Crunch.’ Extra mass means excess gravity, which means the Universe would crush itself. Ouch. Thank Widmore, we have Desmond on the job. But which Widmore, and what is his real goal? Just when people seem to be doing the right thing on these show, we usually wind up finding out they are the Island equivalent of Golum and the One Ring. Or maybe this whole crazy theory is only true in another dimension.
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