Understanding Time Loops and Candidates on Lost: The Truth Behind the Mysterious Characters

In the popular television series Lost, the concept of time loops and the 'candidates' is a complex and intriguing aspect that has left many fans pondering. This article explores the underlying mechanisms of time loops, examines the roles of key characters like Jacob, and delves into the true nature of the 'candidates.'

The Role of Time Loops and the Island's Source

Central to the narrative of Lost is the idea of a time loop. Jacob, who served as the guardian of the island, did not control the time travel phenomenon but rather facilitated it. The source of this time loop, the island itself, was the driving force behind the cycles of time, ensuring that certain events would repeat to maintain the temporal causality. The characters were part of a larger temporal causality that dictated their movements and roles.

When the characters crash-landed on the island due to the energy from the hatch, they found themselves in the past, causing an event (in this case, a plane crash) that led to their original time. This cycle was an integral part of the story's tapestry, where characters like Sawyer, Jack, Kate, Jin, Sayid, and Hurley played crucial roles in perpetuating the time loop.

The Candidates and Brainwashing

The term 'candidates' on Lost does not refer to individuals being controlled by the island or the Multidisciplinary Integration Battalion (MiB) to keep them in the past. Instead, it refers to a concept gleaned from Richard Condon’s novel 'The Manchurian Candidate'—a term used to describe individuals who have been brainwashed. Characters like Sawyer were named and modeled after the title character of this novel, Ray Shaw, which symbolizes the notion of brainwashing within the show.

In the context of Lost, the 'candidates' were individuals whose identities were stolen, their lives meticulously fabricated to deceive them, and created to believe they had survived a plane crash and to possess certain identities and backgrounds. They were, in a sense,anonymous duplicates whose purpose was to maintain the illusion of the plane crash and subsequent time loop. Other characters, like Sun, were not time travelers but were unwitting participants in this elaborate deception.

Faraday and the Completion of the Time Loop

The character of Faraday, a brainy and enigmatic physicist, played a significant role in the completion of the second time loop. After his mysterious journey, brought about by his mother, he died on the island, which allowed the larger time loop to continue. His actions, both in the past and in the present, were instrumental in the progression of events. Sun, originally only known by her Korean name Kwon, was a central figure in this loop but was never truly able to return to 1977 due to the intricate nature of the time loop.

The Role of the MiB and Ben

The Multidisciplinary Integration Battalion (MiB) was a fictional organization created for the show, and not a real institution. Therefore, the MIB's role in keeping the characters in the past was purely a narrative device, not a reality of the series. Ben, a significant character in the show, did not intervene to keep Sun in the present because she was not the primary 'candidate' in the time loop. The presence of Ben in 2008 with Jin’s wedding ring is a gesture that connects him to the island, but it does not imply he was trying to prevent Sun from leaving.

The show consistently emphasized the intersection of science and the unexplained, with the island divided into sections that represented both aspects. The emblems associated with the island symbolized the unknown and the unforeseen, unlike the known aspects of the island which were open for exploration. Jacob, the island's protector, never witnessed anyone traveling through time, affirming that the temporal causality was an intrinsic part of the island's existence and not under his control.

Conclusion

The discussion surrounding the 'candidates' and time loops in Lost reveals a nuanced exploration of brainwashing and the manipulation of time. It is clear that the characters were part of a larger, temporally complex design rather than being controlled by external forces. The central characters like Jacob, Faraday, and Ben each played a critical role in navigating and maintaining the intricate web of the series' narrative.

Key Takeaways

The characters in Lost were part of a time loop facilitated by the island's source, not Jacob. The term 'candidates' refers to individuals brainwashed to maintain a false reality rather than time travelers. The MiB was a fictional organization created for the show, and the characters' roles were not influenced by its control.