Why do the Oceanic 6 have to lie about what happened? I know that Locke told Jack they would have to lie. But that wasn't the rationale that he gave the others. Who are they protecting and how are they protecting them by lying? What am I missing here?

I guess because if they told the truth, number one, no one is going to believe them and will think they are all crazy.

and two, if they told the truth, they will be a lot of people who will try and shut them up or try and get to them. I think it makes perfect sense, I would've lied my butt off too if I were to be saved like that after being on a crazy island.

To me, honestly, it seems like they wouldn't have to lie because the island isn't there anymore!!!

Once the island disappeared, no one would know where it was, and thus the O6 wouldn't have to lie. I mean, their lying is supposedly to protect the ones who didn't make it off, right? Well, isn't the island's disappearance enough protection?

However, I think that by lying, they are protecting the special powers of the island, as Locke told Jack. Plus, they would sound like lunatics if they told the true story of what happened, and the island wasn't even there.

It was a little overwhelming, but I think Jack was saying on the raft that whoever had sunk the fake plane wreckage obviously didn't want the truth to be known about the survivors, so they should play dumb so as not to become targets of whoever this entity is (which we pretty much know is Widmore, but I can't remember how much Jack knows about Widmore.)

Yeah, lying just makes sense. How do you explain to people that there was this island with a black smoke monster, crazy natives that try to kill you, spooky research stations, mercenaries trying to wipe everyone out, time distortions, dead people talking to you, etc. Oh, and then the island also completely disappeared when they tried to go back. They would sound crazy. Heck, even if they just said there a lot of other folks left on the island but it's not where it used to be, they would sound crazy. I think it is mainly just to protect whoever is still there from Widmore.

How does lying protect them from Widmore? Doesn't that assume that he believes their lies? I find that hard to believe. It just doesn't make any sense to me. If the reason they are lying is just not to look "crazy" then I also find that weak. The reason given was to protect the ones who are left and themselves and I don't understand how lying is accomplishing that, especially if we assume that Widmore knows they were on the Island anyway.

How does lying protect them from Widmore? Doesn't that assume that he believes their lies? I find that hard to believe. It just doesn't make any sense to me. If the reason they are lying is just not to look "crazy" then I also find that weak. The reason given was to protect the ones who are left and themselves and I don't understand how lying is accomplishing that, especially if we assume that Widmore knows they were on the Island anyway.

No no... they're not lying because they hope Widmore will believe they weren't there. They're lying because they hope that if they don't tell anyone, it's a silent agreement with whoever was after Ben (Widmore) to not take them out.

'Cause Locke said they had to...Jack finally figured out that Locke was right and that he (Jack) was always wrong....he decided he had better listen to Locke for once!:biggrin:

No no... they're not lying because they hope Widmore will believe they weren't there. They're lying because they hope that if they don't tell anyone, it's a silent agreement with whoever was after Ben (Widmore) to not take them out.

I think that's it exactly. If they aren't telling the truth about the Island then Widmore has no reason to kill them. I'm sure Widmore wants them alive so he can coerce them into helping him find the Island.

'Cause Locke said they had to...Jack finally figured out that Locke was right and that he (Jack) was always wrong....he decided he had better listen to Locke for once!:biggrin:

I agree that reason makes sense. But what I am saying is that's not the reason/rationale that Jack gave to the rest of the O6. He said it was to keep themselves safe and to keep safe those left on the island.

I think that's it exactly. If they aren't telling the truth about the Island then Widmore has no reason to kill them. I'm sure Widmore wants them alive so he can coerce them into helping him find the Island.
and in 3 years just hasn't got around to it?

I think that's it exactly. If they aren't telling the truth about the Island then Widmore has no reason to kill them. I'm sure Widmore wants them alive so he can coerce them into helping him find the Island.

That still doesn't make sense (to me). If Widmore wants to use them to find the island then he can do so whether or not they lie. But if he (or anyone else) is so blood-thirsty as to want to kill them if they talk about the island then he would hardly be the kind of person who would rely upon some kind of unspoken agreement not to kill them as long as they don't talk about the island. If he wanted them dead so they couldn't speak about the island, he could/would kill them regardless. If he wanted them alive so he could coerce them into helping him find the island again, he could also do that whether or not they lied. I still don't see how lying accomplishes the stated goal of protecting anyone.

I think the rationale is to keep the same type of people (mercenaries) coming back to the Island and harming the rest of the Oceanic survivors. I mean they found the Island once, right? What's to keep them from finding it again, even though it has moved.

To me, honestly, it seems like they wouldn't have to lie because the island isn't there anymore!!!

But I think that is exactly why they are lieing, Jack doesn't want to come off as crazy, I don't think it's about protecting anyone except himself, but he explains to the others that it's about protecting the remaining people on the Island, so they will go along with him and not quesion the belief he has in his story.

I think the rationale is to keep the same type of people (mercenaries) coming back to the Island and harming the rest of the Oceanic survivors. I mean they found the Island once, right? What's to keep them from finding it again, even though it has moved.

But how does their lying accomplish that?

I understood that if they told, the people on the island (those left behind) would be in danger from Widmore trying to kill them all.

Widmore doesn't know anything more now than he did when he sent the freighter. From what we've seen, no one he sent to the island came back. Abaddon asking Hurley about the island is evidence that Widmore doesn't know what happened, or how they came to be back. He is not privy to the information we've been shown, and it's probably in his own best interests that the O6 keep their mouths shut about the crash.

But how does their lying accomplish that?

By not giving anyone the ammunition they need. Yeah, it's logical without their help that the Island can be found again, so why tell the truth and speed up that process? Plus there is the slim chance that their silence will enable the Island and the remaining folks there to remain "Lost."

Plus there is the whole crazy factor but I think Jack is smart enough to know that someone out there knows the whole truth and will believe the madness and use it against not just the O6 but those on the Island. And who's to say that whoever is behind this (Widmore) won't threaten the remaining folks to get the O6 to do bad things.

Widmore doesn't know anything more now than he did when he sent the freighter. From what we've seen, no one he sent to the island came back. Abaddon asking Hurley about the island is evidence that Widmore doesn't know what happened, or how they came to be back. He is not privy to the information we've been shown, and it's probably in his own best interests that the O6 keep their mouths shut about the crash.

I thought of that. But once again, doesn't this then assume that Widmore is believing their lies about not being on the island? If he believes their lies, then he will leave them alone in his quest to re-find it? I just can't buy that Widmore would believe their lies, especially now that Sun basically established in her statements to him that he knows that they got off of the island, hence that they were on the island on the first place. So their lying can't be accomplishing anything with Widmore that I can see.
100%
By not giving anyone the ammunition they need. Yeah, it's logical without their help that the Island can be found again, so why tell the truth and speed up that process? Plus there is the slim chance that their silence will enable the Island and the remaining folks there to remain "Lost."

Plus there is the whole crazy factor but I think Jack is smart enough to know that someone out there knows the whole truth and will believe the madness and use it against not just the O6 but those on the Island. And who's to say that whoever is behind this (Widmore) won't threaten the remaining folks to get the O6 to do bad things.

If we agree that someone out there (Widmore and/or other people) are trying to locate the island, then I still don't see how their lying about the island is keeping anyone from finding it. I think it was established last night that Widmore knows that they were on the Island, so I don't see how their lying to everyone else about being on the Island thwarts Widmore.

To prevent anyone from going and looking for the island and for those still on it and possibly endangering them all again.

Just think of what would happen if they told the truth and the world found out that there was a fake crash wreckage in the bottom of the ocean, and a moving island on which the survivors really crashed.

It doesn't make sense. I was talking to a few people about it and it doesn't make sense. Widmore knows that people are alive on the island. He knows the island exists. He staged the fake plane. So their lie isn't protecting them from Widmore. So why the need for a lie??

It doesn't make sense. I was talking to a few people about it and it doesn't make sense. Widmore knows that people are alive on the island. He knows the island exists. He staged the fake plane. So their lie isn't protecting them from Widmore. So why the need for a lie??

Exactly. I don't feel so badly now at least. lol I was just reading Doc Jensen and he said he didn't follow the logic of them lying either. If they would just say they are lying because 1) Locke said to lie and he moved the island so he must know what he's talking about or 2) we'd better lie because people will think we're nuts if we don't, then at least those reasons would be plausible. But that's not the reason they gave, to protect themselves and their friends, and the lies they are telling don't seem to do anything to accomplish that goal.

Another thing to keep in mind is that we, the viewers, may not know everything the characters do and that will be revealed to us in S5.

The lying is important and for good reason, we just don't know it yet... maybe. Of course, the lying makes sense to me.

I wish they had taken out a commercial segment to give more air time to further explain the lying part. Just to expand about it more. There were a LOT of commercials last night.