Ab Aeterno and the flash sideways

[Ryan8bit]

Possible spoilers for Ab Aeterno.




Despite not having a flash sideways in Ab Aeterno, I think we were given a big clue about it. The Black Rock destroys the statue in 1867. In "LA X" when the plane flies over where the island was, the island is submerged and the statue is still broken. This implies that the Black Rock always came to the island.

Now, if you believe that Jacob brought the Black Rock to the island, this would negate the theory that Jacob is the only thing gone from existence, causing it to be what it is.

Even if Jacob didn't bring the Black Rock, the island still moved from the Atlantic to the Pacific, implying that something mystical is still going on.

What this likely says is that Jacob existed on the island, or at least that the island had some form of ancient power in the flash sideways. It somehow seems a little more likely that the bomb and 1977 are the point of divergence.

 

[Checkmate]

The sinking of the island happened around the time of the nuclear detonation. That was made pretty obvious, including the scenes of the Dharma Initiative amongst the sunken mess (not the least of which was the shark we saw).

What this episode hinted at is that the sideways flashes are a "what if?" scenario depicting what would happen if Smokey got off the island. I have a feeling everything is going to get really ugly there soon. With the island gone, there's no "cork" holding him at bay. Thus he has free reign to leave and demonstrate exactly why Jacob (and his replacement's) job is so important.

 

[label]

What this likely says is that Jacob existed on the island, or at least that the island had some form of ancient power in the flash sideways. It somehow seems a little more likely that the bomb and 1977 are the point of divergence.

My theory is that writers will pull a big twist (again) and the Bomb is not the cause of the sideways reality but some future event will be. Rarely do the writers go with the obvious and having the bomb in 1977 be the diverging point seems pretty obvious.

Course, maybe the twist this time around is that they went with the obvious.

 

[Ryan8bit]

The sinking of the island happened around the time of the nuclear detonation. That was made pretty obvious, including the scenes of the Dharma Initiative amongst the sunken mess (not the least of which was the shark we saw).

I guess the many fans who think the bomb had nothing or little to do with it are the ones I'm addressing here, and there are plenty of those here.

What this episode hinted at is that the sideways flashes are a "what if?" scenario depicting what would happen if Smokey got off the island. I have a feeling everything is going to get really ugly there soon. With the island gone, there's no "cork" holding him at bay. Thus he has free reign to leave and demonstrate exactly why Jacob (and his replacement's) job is so important.

The island isn't gone, it's just underwater. And if he had free reign to leave once it sunk, how did he go about doing that? Even if he was able to leave, why would this manifest almost 30 years after the incident?

No, I don't think the sideways has anything to do with Smokey getting off the island.

 

[Seven of Five]

Hmm. I still think that the side-flashways are happening without Jacob's influence. I also still think that the bomb blast sent them back to the future, but did not sink the island. I don't believe that Smokey has escaped from the island in the side-flashes though. The Losties so seem to be having a second chance at their lives though.

I said in the rating thread that I could see the show ending with the Losties at the start of another loop, but perhaps that's a bit too nuBSG. What would make more sense would be our Losties ending the whole Jacob/MIB cycle once and for all, which could conceivably end with the island being sunk.

However that storyline ends would perhaps lead into the reset we had in LA X. Not sure how exactly - a reward from Jacob? From Christian even, as I trust neither MIB nor Jacob still.

 

[Checkmate]

The island isn't gone, it's just underwater. And if he had free reign to leave once it sunk, how did he go about doing that? Even if he was able to leave, why would this manifest almost 30 years after the incident?

No, I don't think the sideways has anything to do with Smokey getting off the island.

Maybe his goal isn't instant obliteration of all life on the planet, but slowly taking power and/or influencing evil in all its myriad glory instead? Does Smokey really come across as a moustache-twirling traintrack-tying villain who's only interest is blowing things up? No. He likes fucking with people.

 

[Jenee]

It seems Smokey's intent is to get rid of all the evil people. Not 'be evil' or influence people to be evil.

 

[Checkmate]

Yeah, you're right. In the last episode, as the most recent example, he didn't try to make a good, honest man commit murder. Nope. Sure didn't.

I guess I just can't think outside the box.

 

[Jenee]

You are so shortsighted.

 

[Checkmate]

At least I can admit when I'm wrong. Especially that painfully, embarrassingly, and agonizingly wrong.

 

[Jenee]

How am I wrong?

 

[Trippy]

What this likely says is that Jacob existed on the island, or at least that the island had some form of ancient power in the flash sideways. It somehow seems a little more likely that the bomb and 1977 are the point of divergence.

My theory is that writers will pull a big twist (again) and the Bomb is not the cause of the sideways reality but some future event will be. Rarely do the writers go with the obvious and having the bomb in 1977 be the diverging point seems pretty obvious.

Course, maybe the twist this time around is that they went with the obvious.

I think the island sunk when MiB left...the 'cork' is still there, but the bottle is broken

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I'm working on the assumption that the writers aren't fibbing when they say the fs's (I am SICK of writing that out! ) are not a different timeline or reality.

So I think they're...the afterlife.

Everyone dies in the series finale. The fs's are heaven or hell, which differ only on the attitude of the person and what they do with that experience. Already Ben and Locke are having better experiences than their miserable lives, and Sawyer has a chance to turn things around.

It would be a hilarious coda to all those "the island is purgatory" theories. No, everything else is purgatory.

Nobody realizes they're dead in the fs's because nobody who dies ever realizes they are dead. That's the universe's little joke on us.