FAQ

I want to thank everyone for all of the great emails. It may take me a few days at times, especially when the show is on, but I do answer every email that I get.

Quite a few fans have submitted similar questions to me about this site and also about the show. If you have any additional questions, please let me know and I will do my best to answer them here.

	What do you think about Jack indicating that his father is still alive in S3E22?
	Did the May 2007 Announcement That There Will Be Three More Seasons of LOST Affect Your Theory?
	Violence on LOST
	Why should I care about new characters when they are introduced?
	Isn't LOST a MORPG or an ARG?
	Who is playing?
	Who is winning?
	What is the purpose of the Flash Backs and Flash Forwards in the game?
	"What about Desmond, in the game, he seems like a "background character" or one chosen from a list by good or bad player for manipulation purposes? Why is he in the game?"
	Is there a relationship between sex and death?
	How do you decide which roles to include?
	How do you decide if a role is 'good' or 'bad'?
	Why don't you mention any characters from The LOST Experience?
	Do you buy all of the LOST merchandise like the books and puzzles?
	Why don't you have a chat room?
	How many hours a week do you spend working on this site?
What do you think about Jack indicating that his father is still alive in S3E22? Barbmom
Matthew Fox answers this question in an article from Entertainment Weekly. According to Fox, he says he asked TPTB what the line meant and they told him that it wasn't intended to indicate that Christian Shepard was still alive. Instead, it was intended to show just how high Jack was from taking the stolen drugs.
Did the May 2007 Announcement That There Will Be Three More Seasons of LOST Impact Your Theory? Elizabeth,TN
I received a lot of email regarding the Official Announcement that there will be three more seasons of LOST (2008, 2009 and 2010). And that each of these seasons will consist of 16 episodes. Let me start by saying that I am always at my worst when I try to predict what TPTB will do. They always turn around and surprise me, just as they surprise everyone else. But here are a few thoughts that I have included in my recent email responses: There isn't a problem with the number of seasons left, but with the fact that they are rapidly running out of the total number of on-island days in the game (108). There has been a recent development now that we found out in S4E1 that there will be the "Oceanic 6" who apparently leave the island before the end of the full 108 days. The implication is that they will have to return to the island to complete their full 108 days on the island before the game can end. And this is starting to become very evident through the statements made recently. such as Jack telling Kate in S3E22 that they have to "...go back", by Hurley telling Jack in S4E2 that they need to go back to the island, and by Charlie telling Hurley in S4E2 that "They need you". Another possibility is that it could simply involve restructuring the way that the episodes have been written in the past. I have been thinking that when TPTB keep comparing Season 4 of LOST to "24" that they are actually hinting that Season 4 of LOST will be more like "24" than we think. Perhaps they will dramatically slow down the passage of time covered in each episode and perhaps they could even take an entire season to cover just one day. We have in fact seen this happen to a degree, as the last few episodes of Season 3 and the first few episodes of Season 4 have only covered two days. Other fans have written to me saying that it seems impossible for TPTB to have enough of the story left to tell to do three more seasons. And they are wondering if TPTB decided to announce that there would be three more seasons just to get the fans annoyed that they will have to wait that long for the answers. And then, once everyone is screaming that they can't wait that long for answers, TPTB will say "We listened to the fans and we have decided to end it sooner". In the event that the ratings continue to decline, this scenario actually could give them a graceful way to end the show sooner than 2010. Barbmom, an avid supporter of this site, suggested a fourth possibility to me that I think is intriguing. So far we have seen the LOSTies successfully complete Levels. But as any video game player knows, sometimes it just seems impossible to complete a level and move on. So, perhaps if the objectives in a Level are not successfully achieved, the TPTB would 'play' that level over again. I have always thought that at the end of the final episode of the show TPTB would release a complete DVD set that will include an 'explanation' of the game. It could easily include a Commentary version of each episode that explains in step by step details what is happening as the game is played through all six levels. The "enhanced version" of the episodes for Season 4, that have been seen just before the airing of the new episodes, demonstrates exactly how this could be done, with little pop-up messages that provide information. As I started out saying, it's all just speculation on my part. I guess we'll all just have to wait and see what happens.
"Do you think that the level of violence on the show is increasing?" Lise, Quebec This is probably the question that I am asked the most. Especially after we saw Sawyer treated so brutally in the first 6 episodes of Season 3. My answer is a simple no. I do not think that the level of violence has increased. If you recall, in Season 1, we had some very violent scenes. Such as Sawyer being tortured by Sayid, Sayid being tortured by Danielle, the pilot's death, Charlie being hanged, and Boone's hallucination of Shannon being killed by the monster, etc. The violence continued in Season 2 as we saw more character deaths and more torture scenes. But here is what I think has changed, over time the audience has become very attached to the LOSTies. So now, when something bad happens to them, it affects us more because we care about them more.
"Why should I care about new characters that TPTB introduce?" Jeff, UK When we first met the Tailies at the beginning of Season 2 many fans had a negative reaction to the new Tailie characters, just as they seem to have to Nikki and Paolo. It took some time for us to care about the Tailies. Mr. Eko is an excellent example. It wasn't until we got to know him that the fans really began to care for him. And while there were claims that no one cared about the Others, fans seem to have embraced Ben and Juliet. Daniel is also rapidly becoming a fan favorite
"You seem so convinced that there are only two players. Why don't you think that LOST is a MORPG or an ARG?" Robert, California For one very simple reason, Locke's quote from S1E2 when he says "Two players. Two sides. One is light. One is dark." Many fans write to me and say that they believe that I am right and that LOST is a game. However, many are inclined to believe that LOST is a MORPG or ARG (especially fans who also play these games online). But there hasn't been any thing directly from the show to support any more players than two. I have gone over the transcripts searching for any possible references besides Locke's quote on the number of players. There just aren't any other references to the number of game players.
"Who is playing the game?" Jo, Abu Dhabi You can find my lengthy answer to this on the Playing page under the Who's Playing? section.
"Who is winning the game?" Mike F. I would have to say that I think "Light" is winning since I believe that "Light" has to maneuver all characters into 'good' roles and meet all the requirements to pass on to the next level. And "Light" has accomplished them to move through the various levels. So, I believe that would give "Light" the advantage because "Light" has successfully moved from Level 1 through to Level 4. However, to complicate things, it is difficult at this time to know exactly what actions would gain points besides those that I think I have been able to identify to date, or just how many points might be awarded for certain actions. It is possible that an equal number of points are granted to either "Light" or "Dark" if they get a character to move to a 'good' or 'bad' role respectively. I do, however, think it is probable that certain actions like saving someone's life would result in being awarded more points than finding a hatch or a map. So, I have to say that right now, I'd lean heavily toward saying that "Light" may be winning. On the flip side "Dark" probably gets points for actions like kidnapping LOSTies, introducing a version of the monster that results in the LOSTies changing plans or getting a character like Sayid to torture Sawyer. It also appears that points may be lost for an action that goes against the objectives of the game. In S3E9 Ben says to Jack "And here we go again. I've already given you a ticket off this island, Jack What's it going to cost me this time?" And in the same episode, Achara tells Jack that there will be consequences for him forcing her to give her the tattoo. I don't mean this as a cop-out, but without knowing the exact point structure, it is premature for me to make any definitive statements until we get a better idea of how the points are awarded.
"What is the purpose of the Flashbacks and Flash Forwards in the game?" Steve I am not sure what inspired the creative team to write it that way, but think about it, with only 108 on-island days it could be very difficult to stretch the show out over 6 seasons and make about 150 episodes without having the Flashbacks and Flash Forwards to add extra story lines and activities. TPTB use them to give us some background to understand the characters' motivations and add to the drama. However, in the game theory, who cares? Actually I think it is important to the game theory- it gives us a chance to see the characters in a much wider of variety of roles. After all, to be a Murderer you have to kill someone- just how many people can you kill on that island? With the back stories handled in the Flashbacks, we saw Sawyer murder Druckett, Kate killed her step-father Wayne Jansen, Sayid killed Elsa, and there were lots more murders committed by a whole bunch of people. We also got to see many of them have fathers that are in the bad Daddy role. We also saw Sawyer as a Prisoner, likewise for Desmond. It gave us Eko as a Priest, Eko as Drug Dealer, Eko as kidnap victim (prisoner), and Eko as a killer. Anyway, you get the drift-- if gives them a chance to put the characters in a much wider variety of roles than they could easily do if they were just limited to the story of what happens on the island.
"What about Desmond, in the game, he seems like a "background character" or one chosen from a list by good or bad player for manipulation purposes? Why is he in the game? " Steve I agree that someone put him in the game, but I think that Desmond served a really good purpose. In Season 2, he was there to introduce them to the hatch and to make them start entering the numbers. Think about it, he tells them where the film is so they can learn about Dharma, he gets Locke worked up into a Man of Faith addicted to spending his time down in that hole in the ground watching a clock count backwards from 108 for an entire Season. How opposite is that for a character whose dream it was to go on a Walkabout and spend his days outside moving around? He's now down there staring at a computer screen, the same way he did when he was in a wheel chair. And then Desmond gets Charlie to swim to the Looking Glass so they can finally send out a signal from the radio tower after 3 months. If you were on a deserted island and knew there was a radio tower somewhere, wouldn't you have done everything within your power to find that thing so you could be saved? I have actually been tempted for some time now to categorize both Desmond and Danielle as "Game Instructions". Why lump them into 'Game Instructions"? Because they step in and give info and things to our characters when they need a little direction or provide something that shouldn't even be on a deserted island. Need to sail around to the Others side of the island to ambush them? No problem, Desmond delivers a sailboat right to LOSTies beach.. Need some dynamite to blow open the hatch? No problem, Danielle can locate some... Need a battery to power the radar on the raft at the end of Season 1? No problem, Danielle has one... Need to find where things are on the island? No problem, Danielle knows where things are outside the hatch, Desmond knows where things are inside the hatch... And by the way, Juliet probably belongs in this group as well since she knows where things are in Otherville and she can work the fence, and remember the cards she showed to Jack while he was watching the Red Sox game on the TV in the Hydra Station?
"Does a character having sex have anything to do with dying? We saw Anna Lucia die after having sex, ditto for Shannon. Perhaps if you have sex while in a good role it is a strike against you?" Barb TPTB know their demographics, and sex sells in the 18-49 year age group. In addition, they love to lead the audience off on tangents wondering what the relationship is between things. So they in effect created the whole "sex and you die" theory. While Ana Lucia and Shannon did die after having sex. I do not believe that they died because they had sex. I believe Ana Lucia died because she killed while she was a policeman (the 'good' role of Sheriff), just like Eko died because he killed while in the 'good' role of priest. And I believe that Shannon died because she was in the 'bad' role of Useless three times. The last time she referred to herself that way was just minutes before she got shot. By the way, it's the same reason Boone and Charlie died. You might want to read over the Deaths section on the Playing page. So that brings us to Kate and Sawyer having sex, I don't see anything in their behavior so far that puts them in danger of dying. Do they get points for having sex? Maybe, it could be related to the idea that many fans hold of their being a need to produce children.
"How do you decide which roles to include?" John, Seattle I take the names of the roles directly from the dialogue on the show. If you look on the Roles page you will find not only the Game Roles but also a section called Another Life where I list the specific references to these roles from each episode. There is only one role that I have named myself- that is Aaron's role as Future King. I chose that name for him because Claire had been in the role of Princess and because many of the LOSTies activities have centered around protecting Aaron. I strongly suspect that there are additional roles that I have not yet identified in my list and I am watching (and re-watching) the episodes carefully to identify them.
"How do you decide if a role is 'good' or 'bad'?" John, Seattle I determine if the role is 'good' or 'bad' by looking carefully at the dialogue, by depending on whether the individual role acts for "The Greater Good" or by looking to see if being in a particular role somehow causes harm to someone else.
"Why don't you mention characters from The LOST Experience?" Laura, Buenos Aires TPTB stated that TLE did not provide any information necessary to "solve" LOST. Therefore, you will not find any characters or facts from TLE listed on this site. You can listen to the podcast from March 10, 2008 for a further discussion of what is "canon" to the show.
"Do you buy all of the LOST merchandise like the books and puzzles? Do you think they offer important clues to understanding LOST?" Craig, NJ No, I do not. TPTB have stated many times that reading "Bad Twin" or playing with the LOST puzzles is not going to help fans "solve" LOST. But, I do own the DVD's and the Soundtracks the LOST game for my cell phone and Via Domus. I also own several of the LOST books that have been written about LOST by independent authors.
"What about adding a chat room?" waltisfuture There are several reasons why I have chosen not to add a chat room. First, there are so many excellent chat rooms out there already. Next, I am only one person and I have decided to dedicate my time to adding content to the site. And last and most importantly, you will notice that there is absolutely no advertising on this site, I do my best to keep costs down so I can continue to keep it free of annoying ads.
"How many hours a week do you spend working on this site?" Everybody asks this one Many more than I originally intended to spend! I estimate that it takes me about 4 hours to watch each episode and then to document the facts from each episode on the site. The really long hours add up when I carefully re-watch episodes to locate mistakes, when I double check my facts if someone questions them, when I do basic background work to back-up facts with either screen caps or direct dialogue, and due to the many long hours I spend answering emails. But I love every minute of it. I am especially grateful for the encouraging emails I get from fellow fans.