Season 6: The Re-watch!

[doubleohfive]

^
That's what I'd always thought -- that the flash-sideways were for everyone -- even people like Keamy and Nadia ... but the scene at the church with Christian and everyone there was more for Jack's benefit. It's partly why Ben won't go in -- he's realized he did a lot of awful things to Jack in particular and the rest of the people in the church and he still "has some things to work out," as he tells Locke. I certainly can accept he also wants to work things out with Alex and Danielle, and perhaps even to the extent that Eloise Hawking had, keeping Faraday with her in the flash-sideways, but the church scene was important for Jack and the people that mattered most to him. People can bitch about "Why was Penny there?" but they forget that Jack did meet Penny and that more importantly, Desmond was important to Jack, and Penny to Desmond. I can buy that if it means the last time we see Desmond he's with Penny in the afterlife.

 

[Hober Mallow]

^
That's what I'd always thought -- that the flash-sideways were for everyone -- even people like Keamy and Nadia ...

Which makes you wonder, where did Keamy go? What happens when you die in the flash sideways?

 

[DonIago]

I think Keamy's one of the Island's voices at this point. I never assumed his appearance in the flash-sideways was really him.

I did assume the Church scene was a collective consciousness for those present though, not something largely for Jack's benefit.

 

[DevilEyes]

^
That's what I'd always thought -- that the flash-sideways were for everyone -- even people like Keamy and Nadia ... but the scene at the church with Christian and everyone there was more for Jack's benefit. It's partly why Ben won't go in -- he's realized he did a lot of awful things to Jack in particular and the rest of the people in the church and he still "has some things to work out," as he tells Locke. I certainly can accept he also wants to work things out with Alex and Danielle, and perhaps even to the extent that Eloise Hawking had, keeping Faraday with her in the flash-sideways, but the church scene was important for Jack and the people that mattered most to him. People can bitch about "Why was Penny there?" but they forget that Jack did meet Penny and that more importantly, Desmond was important to Jack, and Penny to Desmond. I can buy that if it means the last time we see Desmond he's with Penny in the afterlife.

And Penny played an important role in the life of Jack and the other Oceanic 6 because she saved them with her boat when they first left the Island (season 4 finale).

 

[RoJoHen]

She wasn't invited to the church. She was an illusion created by the flash-sideways, much like Jack's son. She didn't have anything to do with the Island or the time they spent there.

That's interesting... I mean, I have no problem assuming David Shephard was a figment of the flash-sideways universe for Jack and Juliet's benefit ... but I hadn't considered the possibility that Helen, Anthony Cooper, Ethan, Keamy, Omar, etc. --people who weren't in the church, yet still characters we'd already met-- weren't in fact the flash-sideways versions of them as well.

I mean, it's certainly a nice bow-tie to the whole concept of the flash-sideways but I also kind of like the idea that they were in fact the "real" flashsideways representations of themselves also.

Oh look, LOST is making me think. Again. SHOCK!

Christian says that the most important part of Jack's life was spent with the people from the Island and that the flashsideways was a place they built to find each other again. Helen had nothing to do with Jack, and by the time Locke died, Helen didn't really have anything to do with him either. She had already passed, and Locke was over it. The Church wasn't there for people who were important to the Losties. It was there for the people who were the most important to the Losties, ie. The Other Losties.

Granted, it's the afterlife, and time didn't apply, so the rules are probably very loose regarding how all this works.

 

[Spocktapus]

A related thing that's been bothering me about the flash sideways is Aaron. What does it mean that he's unborn for most of the time Claire spent there, and only a newborn when they are in the church? I can understand how this makes sense from Claire's perspective, but what does Aaron experience after he dies?

 

[doubleohfive]

Being an infant through most of his time on the island ,Aaron probably has no recollection of it or the people Claire (and he) knew there. Aaron's presence in the Flashsideways was likely more for Claire's benefit (obviously) and by extension for Jack and Kate too, and maybe even Charlie's.

My guess is that while the Aaron we see in the final episode is in fact Aaron (for Claire), Aaron himself probably had a whole other experience in the flashsideways more related to his own experiences and the people he knew in his life, before "moving on."

 

[C_Miller]

Being an infant through most of his time on the island ,Aaron probably has no recollection of it or the people Claire (and he) knew there. Aaron's presence in the Flashsideways was likely more for Claire's benefit (obviously) and by extension for Jack and Kate too, and maybe even Charlie's.

My guess is that while the Aaron we see in the final episode is in fact Aaron (for Claire), Aaron himself probably had a whole other experience in the flashsideways more related to his own experiences and the people he knew in his life, before "moving on."

Definitely for Charlie's benefit, even more so than for Jake and Kate, I believe. Both Claire and Aaron played a major role in Charlie's growth as a character and without them, he would not have become the respectable character we've all come to know and love (I'm a huge Charlie fan, I love a good comeback story). Yes, Kate raised Aaron in a sense, but this version of Aaron was for Claire and Charlie.