We've all been assuming that "backstories" were flashbacks, life occurances that happened in the past before the crash of Oceanic 815.
There's nothing to say that the "present" (where tonight ended, with Jack wanting to go back to the island) isn't the present, and all the island parts are memories of the past.

Lots of ways this could go but I think the supposition that being on the island post-crash is what is happening in "real time" in episodes may be flawed....

I think this was the only flashback that was a flash-forward. All the others were when characters were REMEMBERING what happened.

I like this idea.
Everything happening on the island is a flashback would be amazing.

Do you think that the scene we saw at the end with Jack and Kate will be the ending they use for season 6?

Personally, I think this would be sooo innovative. I mean, why CAN'T there be "flash-forwards" if there are "flashbacks?"

Way to go, TPTB, if you did this!

I think that's what they meant by game-changer, which they promised in the finale. Maybe now we'll see much more of what happens to those who get off the island afterwards, or maybe we do need to watch all over again with eagle-eyes and see which flashes go where. Some are certainly memories...Kates all are, for instance, that I can remember. Obviously Sayid's are.

Jack's scenes tonight were flash forwards, and the Christian reference was a red herring.
Nothing difficult about that at all, and imo a brilliant move by the creative team. I loved it.

In S4, they'll begin to fill in the blanks between the radio tower scene and the flashforward.

I have to say... I immediately began to wonder if some of the other flashbacks we've seen were actually flashforwards. Like, for instance, Locke getting rejected for disability because of his depression... hmmm... could be in the future. It makes me want to watch all the episodes over again.

Don't forget the title.... Through The Looking Glass refers to the second Alice book (and one of my favorite books of all time). It's an alternate world where nothing makes sense, and things change at a moment's notice. But none of it is real.

It's going to be a long eight months.

It's going to be a long eight months.

you can say that again.

And i'm wondering the same thing... if the flashforward we saw tonight is one possible outcome, maybe we'll see that the way events occur on the island can lead to different possible scenarios or something. I don't know, i'm too overwhelmed to think about all this right now.:eek2:

And i'm wondering the same thing... if the flashforward we saw tonight is one possible outcome, maybe we'll see that the way events occur on the island can lead to different possible scenarios or something. I don't know, i'm too overwhelmed to think about all this right now.:eek2:

That might be interesting, but only if current-day losties have some idea of what can go wrong in the future, and try to fix it in the present. I don't want a whole season of "we were rescued and now we're miserable... try to guess why?"

This just in...
Hoffs/Drawlar (funeral parlor) is an anagram of . . . flash forward

I think this was the only flash forward episode. I know there have been questions about the year in some flashbacks, but almost all of the important stuff we know happened in the past (the marshall chasing Kate, Claire's mom dying, Sawyer's exgirlfriend who befriended Kate, even Locke's problems since they involved brown hair and his father).

I can't remember all of the time continuity issues but I remember there being a soccer poster behind Michael when he was in the hospital making the Penguin card for Walt, it was for 2005 or something...

We've all been assuming that "backstories" were flashbacks, life occurances that happened in the past before the crash of Oceanic 815.
There's nothing to say that the "present" (where tonight ended, with Jack wanting to go back to the island) isn't the present, and all the island parts are memories of the past.

Lots of ways this could go but I think the supposition that being on the island post-crash is what is happening in "real time" in episodes may be flawed....

Let's not forget though that the events in the pilot episode were set at the same time the episode aired. So technically only the pilot took place in the present and everything that's been happening on the island has taken place in the past (2004).

I read one of the Lost finale reviews online, and the author suggested that maybe some of the previous episodes we've seen are actually flashforwards. They referenced the Hurley episode where he was in the institution. If Christian might be alive in Jack's future, maybe Libby is alive in Hurley's.

Personally I don't see how it fits, since Hurley already knew Dave when he showed up on the island, but this thread made me remember that article.

I read one of the Lost finale reviews online, and the author suggested that maybe some of the previous episodes we've seen are actually flashforwards. They referenced the Hurley episode where he was in the institution. If Christian might be alive in Jack's future, maybe Libby is alive in Hurley's.

Personally I don't see how it fits, since Hurley already knew Dave when he showed up on the island, but this thread made me remember that article.

I was thinking about this, too, but I really don't buy into the fact that Christian is alive. Flash-forwards could be ruled out by process of elimination, maybe?

Shannon, Boone, Ana Lucia, Eko, Libby, Nikki and Paolo, now Charlie (sniff!)- all dead in the Island Present (meaning 2004, I'm going to call this IP), so theirs must have been flashbacks.

Kate - the marshall died in IP, so anything pertaining to him would have to be a flashback

Sawyer - Kate met Cassidy in a FB, and the man he killed in Australia has been referenced in the IP (would these facts cover all we've seen of his flashes?)

Hurley - had the money and was in the institution before the crash (met Libby and learned the numbers in the institution)

Jack - his father was alive in most of his flashes. The one in Thailand happened before the island, as he has his tattoo in the IP. And we know his marraige was over before he got to the island.

Locke - he's trickier, but since his father just died in IP, we know anything involving him was in the past. (I also think its realistic to use his hair loss as a marker, but you never know on this show!)

Sun and Jin - their flashes have pretty much dealt with how they met, learning they couldn't have children, etc. None of these would make sense in the future.

Michael and Walt - Michael's flashes dealt with Walt as a small child, and the more recent ones were set when Walt first met his dad and they were about to leave Australia, so these were definitely in the past.

Claire - flashes dealt with her pregnancy, or she met Christian, who is dead.

Sayid - I was going to mention that reverse-torture scene in Paris, but then I remembered that he recognized that cat on the island, so that's likely the past, too.

Juliet - flashes can be dated by her seeing the live feed of her sister and nephew in IP.



Well, this rules out a lot of stuff, but I'm sure I've missed plenty of more vague flashes that could go either way... any thoughts?