According to the rules (which were Jacob’s rules at the time), the candidates must do everything together. Since they were still candidates upon the explosion of the bomb and no one had replaced Jacob yet, the island refused to let them die. Upon Jughead exploding, 3 things happened:ġ) The light of the island absorbed the impact/radiation of the hydrogen bomb and performed its last exertion of energy on #2 below (this explains why those on the island that didn’t flash, such as Pierre, were still alive in the sideways universe as well as why the island was underwater)Ģ) The core candidates (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Jin, Sayid, Hurley) and those that formed strong personal bonds with them over the years (Miles, Juliet) flashed to 2007. This explosion, caused by the LOSTies, was indeed the original incident that caused the need for the hatch button-in other words, the LOSTies had always been responsible for the incident. This explains why the smoke monster can read people’s memories.īased on the basic assumptions, the explosion of Jughead in 1977 created an alternate timeline that we know as the sideways universe.
The smoke monster is able to harness this power/characteristic of the light as it is merged partly with the light from Jacob’s friendly toss in the river. Because everyone has a little bit of the light inside of them (according to Mother), the island can see into the hearts & minds of all the characters. I also believe that the island is a character in and of itself, with the life of the island being the heart of the island-this is why the island is special. This theory stemmed from figuring out a question I had after the finale: Was it just part of a purgatorial mirage to throw us off or was there an actual point to Ben’s teaching job, Jack’s son, John’s job search, etc.?ġ) Juliet’s ‘come on you son of a bitch’ smack-down on Jughead caused the bomb to explode and created the alternate universeĢ) What happened, happened (thank you, Faraday)Ĥ) The island exists across all possible timelines/dimensions ( explains why time and space are all relative when it comes to the island)ĥ) The light going out means the end of the entire universe (across all dimensions, timelines)Ħ) The “rules” that exist are made by the protector of the island and enforced by the island
However, he never denies it at being its own timeline, so I propose that the sideways universe is indeed an alternate timeline, but due to the circumstances around its creation, it eventually became to be a “purgatory” world that eventually allowed all the characters to move on. At the conclusion of the finale, Christian clearly explains that it is indeed a purgatory-like place. I’ve seen a lot of theories debating over whether the sideways world is an alternate timeline or a purgatory world. As a long-time theory lurker and first-time theory writer, Kudos to all the theory writers out there for giving me ideas I never thought of.
Following is my theory on the details of how the sideways world was created in connection with Jughead and the explanation of sideways differences.