When Desmond tried to leave the island, he mentioned that getting out was something like being stuck in a snowglobe. Either Desmond's just lost his talent of sailing, or something's been blocking someone from either entering or leaving the island- unless a certain button was forgotten to be pushed.

Juliet says she's been on the island for an estimate of three years. Desmond also crashed there around that time. So can we assume that another incident happened like when Desmond didn't press the button and brought down flight 815? Or maybe this was part of some kind of shut down and the Others were recruiting and planning on building back up the island.

I dunno about any of that...but I DID enjoy the snowglobe commercial in the middle of the eppy...where it starts snowing inside the family's house...and they try to go outside...but hit the glass wall...including Fido. Pull back...and theres a snowglobe over their house. Too fitting.

desmond sailed in circles because of the magnetic force of the island. remember when one of the others told juliet that the losties had a boat? she said, 'great, let them sail in circles.'

My theory is that even the Others can't leave the island, even if they want to. It's the Hotel California... you can get there, but you can never leave. ;)

Hm, I really believe that the Others at least *can* leave the island. I believe that Ethan and Albert (or Alpert, whichever it was) had been on the Island already and had gone back to the mainland for one reason or another when they made contact with Juliet.

So I believed Ben, for once, when he said that they had a way of getting off of the island.

Maybe they can only leave or enter at certain times.

I think the Swan was holding open a crack to the outside world. Desmond didn't know where to look; that's why he was stuck. Remember the precise directions Ben gave Michael.

But when the Hatch imploded, that crack slammed shut and they are cut off. There are probably still intermittent openings--plenty of people seem to have landed there over the years--but I bet they're unpredictable.

And I'm quite sure Ben wanted that crack closed. That's why he was going for Locke; that's why he planted the seed of doubt in Locke's mind about the button. The only reason he entered the numbers himself during the lockdown was that he didn't want to be in the Hatch when it happened.

I think the Swan was holding open a crack to the outside world. Desmond didn't know where to look; that's why he was stuck. Remember the precise directions Ben gave Michael.

But when the Hatch imploded, that crack slammed shut and they are cut off. There are probably still intermittent openings--plenty of people seem to have landed there over the years--but I bet they're unpredictable.

And I'm quite sure Ben wanted that crack closed. That's why he was going for Locke; that's why he planted the seed of doubt in Locke's mind about the button. The only reason he entered the numbers himself during the lockdown was that he didn't want to be in the Hatch when it happened.

But wouldn't that mean Michael and Walt are trapped in the snowglobe too?

But wouldn't that mean Michael and Walt are trapped in the snowglobe too?

To my mind, they probably should be, since the sky went purple pretty soon after they left. But I think the idea is that they barely got out in time.

There was a theory floating around (I'll search for it so I can reference it) that 9/11 happened as a diversion so that the Others (or whoever is in charge) could make the island "visible" for a split second to bring Juliet in. Now, I don't really think that the Others caused 9/11 or that's what Lost is trying to say by any stretch of the imagination, but it brought up a good point that the island(s) is/are not visible to the outside world unless the Others choose them to be.

After the voilet light, the others mention they have no contact with the outside world anymore.

and what about those ice men we met was it the end of last season when desmonds gf was looking for him????when we thought that the whole island was a snowglobe?????

where did they go????

i want answers and I want them NOW!!!...lololol

I think they can leave the Island but only if Ben lets them. It could be a free will/brainwashed thing or it could be something physical. But the only thing Michael and Walt needed to leave The Island, other than the boat, was Ben's permission and the correct heading.

who put that beady eyed liar in charge anyways?????

desmond sailed in circles because of the magnetic force of the island. remember when one of the others told juliet that the losties had a boat? she said, 'great, let them sail in circles.'

That's fine as far as it goes, but it's far short of an inescapable situation. If, for instance, someone gave enough thought to the known fact that magnetic forces were at play, they might well then realize that following a compass wouldn't necessarily get them where they wanted to go. Once they figured out how to correct their course in relation to the magnetic anomaly, it would be "bye-bye, island".

Clearly, we must be dealing with a problem that requires a far more obscure solution than mere course correction. Something like the scenario in the old "Land of the Lost" series, perhaps. In that show, the world the Marshall family found themselves stranded in was inescapable for several reasons (the show's internal logic changed from season to season). Initially, it was shown that the LotL was a "closed environment" - if you continued to travel in a straight line you would eventually end up back at the point where you had started. Yes, you can say the same about our reality here on earth, but the difference was this: Imagine a hollow globe of the world. In our reality, at any time you are positioned at a given point on the outside of the globe, as we all are now -- but in the LotL reality, you would be standing at that point on the INSIDE of the globe's shell!

In case you're not getting the picture, this point was illustrated when the Marshall family (in an episode penned by Larry Niven, I think) climbed the highest mountain they could find in order to survey their surroundings. Upon reaching the summit, they spotted what appeared to be a small group of humans gathered at the top of another peak far in the distance. Using binoculars to get a better view of the distant figures, they discovered that they were looking at their own backs!

This, at the very *minimum*, is the level of complexity we must be talking about when it comes to solving the problem of escaping the Lost island(s).

Another concept integral to the possibility of departure from LotL was that in order for a body to LEAVE the closed environment, another (presumably somehow "equal") body had to simultaneously ARRIVE. In one episode (plotted by Theodore Sturgeon, if I recall) it was shown that if you could satisfactorily manipulate time and/or space, you could escape simply by arranging to have your own self* take your place in the LotL.

Unfortunately, none of this actually provides any direct insights into the Lost situation - except that we can assume the writers are familiar with LotL and specifically are NOT utilizing any of the problems or solutions already explored in that earlier series. I am hoping, though, that the heady stuff I've just related to you all regarding LotL may somehow shake loose the nut of a solution to a Lost-related puzzle that one of you may have had stirring around in his or her noggin.

- mnw

*(or, alternately, a doppelganger from another dimension)
100%
But wouldn't that mean Michael and Walt are trapped in the snowglobe too?

Do you really believe that Michael and Walt are back home in the USA living a normal life?

- mnw

BTW: Let's not forget that supplies come to the island(s) from time to time. This means that at the very least one must be able to freely enter and leave the Lost islands' *airspace* under certain conditions. For that matter, it's only the button thing that kept Oceanic 815 from safely flying directly over and past the island - right?

Maldiva has 2 questions and one possible answer:

1. if 815 flew into a "snowglobe", wouldn't it would be raining metal and body parts on the island? (we saw the plane spilt into two)

2. RE: the magnetic pull of the island, what are the odds that 815 and Desmond got so close to it to be affected by it? (got to be 108 million to ONE)

here's a thought: what if someone doctored the guidance systems of 815 and Desmond's boat to direct them to the island? :)