Theories and questions in a conversation between myself and AoD. Please join in using the comments. Everything below the fold will spoil LOST up to the episode that aired on April 20th, so be forewarned. Please don't post anything from tonight's episode. We'll create a new thread for that.
AoD:
I'm not super-thrilled that the writers have announced they're not going to be answering most of the unanswered questions :I
MG:
there seems to be a good percentage of fans that are unhappy about the final season
what questions are left that you feel are unanswered?
AoD:
Some of the bigger ones would be:
Who were the original inhabitants of the island?
Who built the statue, how, and why?
Who installed the wheel that moves the island?
When did Widmore and Elanor leave the island, respectively, and why?
How did the wheel slip off it axis between the time Ben used it and the time Locke used it?
What was the ash that was around the cabin when Jacob was still alive, and what effect does it have on the Man in Black?
Was the healing water at the Temple good or evil? (Jacob sent Sayiid there to be sent into it, but both of the people who have been brought back by it seem to be evil)
Why did Claire abandon Aaron and then blame everyone else for Aaron being "taken" from her?
Did The Numbers actually cause Hugo bad luck? If so, why - they seem to be indicators of something good.
How and why was Locke initially cured of his paralysis, and why did it come back some times?
Was it Jacob who said "Help me" to Locke when he and Ben visited the cabin? Why didn't Ben hear whoever it was?
How is Jacob able to grant Richard immortality?
Is baby Aaron good or evil?
Where is Christian Shepard's real body?
How did Christian Shepard appear to people off the island if he was The Man in Black and TMiB can't leave the island?
What is the sickness? Does it really exist? If not, WTF was going on with Rosseau on her team after they entered the area under The Temple and she did not?
How did Radzinsky survive the incident, and still end up living and working in The Swan years later?
What are the blast doors in The Swan for?
Was there ever actually anything behind "The Door" station? If so, what happened to it? If not, why would they build such an elaborate door leading to only a rock wall?
Where does the door in The Staff labelled "Escape Hatch" lead?
Why do the Dharma Initiative supply drops continue when the Dharma Initiative members have all been killed and the project has been cancelled? How does a plane intentionally find The Island in order to drop supplies there anyway?
Why couldn't The Man in Black kill Jacob himself?
Was Richard ever a Candidate? If Jacob brought Richard to the Island, why didn't he recognize him when they meet on the shore and Jacob attacks him?
Which Kwon is a Candidate - Jin, Sun, or Ji-Yeon?
Who was crossing out names, and why? For example, Kate's name is crossed out in the cave, but not on the compass rose in the lighthouse - but Kate is still alive. Does that mean TMiB eliminated her as a possible candidate, but Jacob hadn't?
Ilana says she has to protect six people, but there are only 5 candidates left at the time she says this: Sawyer, Hugo, Jack, Sayiid, and "Kwon". Who is the 6th person?
Since Desmond's name doesn't appear on either list (neither The Compass nor The Wall) does that mean he's "Richard" to the next "Jacob"?
Was TMiB really ever a man - and, if so, how did he become what he is now? (this one I suspect will probably be answered in some degree)
I could continue, but won't :)
MG:
well, I think 3 or 4 of those have been answered already, 3 or 4 will be answered, and the rest are left to your imagination, because this is a tv show not a novel :)
AoD:
lol
Which 3 or 4 have been answered?
I've been taking tedious notes for 6 years - if they answered any of those, I must have just missed it completely
Well, not for "6 years", but for "6 seasons"
MG:
Who were the original inhabitants of the island?
Who built the statue, how, and why?
People Jacob brought to the Island previous to Richard
that's really all that needs to be said about it, in my mind
AoD:
So you don't think Jacob and TMiB were at one point normal inhabitants of the Island?
MG:
I think we will get more history on Jacob and TMiB
one of the questions I believe will be answered
if they don't answer more of their history, I will be disappointed
I would guess that due to several clues given on the show that Jacob is from Roman times
AoD:
Such as calling Richard Ricardus and the whole "I'm an Other - we speak Latin"?
How about Ilana & co? There's a ton of unanswered questions around them.
I mean - reams of them.
MG:
meh
we won't get any more on her
AoD:
But yes - I agree with your assertion that they're going to ultimately disappoint the viewers because they didn't have the decency to actually plan to answer all the questions they posed.
MG:
lol
it has to have background dude
AoD:
yes, but that background should be EXPLORED
MG:
in your mind it should be
it's like in the first Star Wars, when they talk about Obi Wan fighting in the Clone Wars
it's not part of the story, it's part of the background
you don't want to answer that question, you want the viewer's mind to fill that in
as far as Claire. . .well, I think ultimately her sickness, Sayid, Rousseau, her team. . .that whole mess will hopefully get a little more, but I'm not sure. I'm expecting that to be a bungled mess. Although I do think that Claire died in that rocket blast, to the same extent that Sayid died, and that is why she wandered off
we need to move this to the blog so others can chime in