Many of these thoughts are out there elsewhere, but I thought of these song lyrics in the context of what's happening on the Island and it being a place for redemption.

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
'Cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look? Ooh!
Some say it's just a part of it:
We've got to fulfill the book.
-Bob Marley, Redemption Song
Also sung by Sawyer during the S1 finale Exodus, Part 2.

-Everyone has a choice. You can give someone a little push but it's their choice. To stab or not to stab.
-Don't worry about Jughead, it didn't go off, it didn't change things.
-Jacob has been stabbed. Ben killed Locke.
-But it's all part of the plan, what happens, must happen. It's also self correcting, if one person doesn't play their part (free will) another person's actions will cause a course correction.

All of the time shifts earlier in the season occurred just after a character said, heard, witnessed or decided something crucial to moving the plot forward. Once the crucial event occurred, that character (and those skipping around with them) were free to shift to the next point in time. A few examples:

01-Because you Left
--Time shifts just after Locke learns he will have to die to get everyone else to return to the Island. Richard says, "You're going to be moving on soon," before he utters the crucial words.
--Time shifts after Faraday goes to Desmond in the hatch and just after Faraday tells Desmond what he'll need to do once he's off the Island.
03-Jughead
--Time shifts just as Locke tells Richard when he will be born and suggests a visit.

Those stuck in the 70s + Jack/Kate/Hurley/Sawyer + Daniel all needed to converge at the point in time where they are contemplating detonating the bomb to move forward.

Juliet was ready to help Jack detonate the bomb when she didn't think Sawyer really loved her. She loved him, but didn't think he really loved her. But as she lay dying at the bottom of the shaft she knew he loved her, so her motivation to detonate it was different. Her action causes another time shift to occur (but the bomb does not go off), bringing some/all of the present day folks stuck in the 70s to be in sync with timeline in 2007 where Jacob has just been stabbed and has uttered, "They're coming."

So just as Miles pondered, their actions were consistent with what needed to happen. The Incident occurs, 815 crashes and we're set for a showdown in 2007 when Jacob's chosen ones come to his aid. (If true, I'd suggest Juliet is hanging on for life, and not dead yet.)

I think the first epi of season 6 should open with this song lol. It would be pretty cool. :)

One of my favorite songs. And don't forget the opening verse, which could be about the Black Rock on the horizon in the opening sequence:

Old pirates, yes, they rob I;
Sold I to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit.
But my hand was made strong
By the hand of the Almighty.
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly.

Wow nice conclusion LAustinTX

Love it. I too think that Juliet didn't actually cause the bomb to detonate. It seemed to me more like a flash than an explosion/implosion.

Kind of like when Desmond turned the failsafe key.

Is it possible that Juliet pounding the rock onto the bomb (which may have been a dud all along) simply broke through the final inch or so into the pocket of energy?

Let's face it...if the bomb really did go off then Sawyer, Jack, Kate and everyone else within a mile or two (pretty much everyone) would be dead and there goes Season 6... no Jack, no Sawyer, no Kate and apparently Locke is truly dead in 2007... that's probably 3/4ths or more of your fanbase pissed off right there.

Really good post, thanks LAustinTX

-- J

Haha. Amazing how much of that song seems to line up...

good call - ive always been obsessed with this song in relation to LOST, and also it is one of the best songs ever made. Marley knew he was dying of cancer when he wrote it.

I love this connection! Good conclusions, LAustinTX.

Am I imagining this, but didn't Sawyer sing this to himself at some point in Season 1 or 2? I'm sure of it.

First post by the way!

Yep - was in Exodus part 2!

This is probably my favourite thread on this forum. Frickin awesome.

As cool as this is, my ONLY fear is that this may mirror Battlestar Galactica too closely (when many of the characters started singing/hearing Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower", which became a sort of plot summary theme song of sorts). I wouldn't be surprised if the writers avoid Redemption Song for that fact alone: fear of ripping off another show's basic idea.

As cool as this is, my ONLY fear is that this may mirror Battlestar Galactica too closely (when many of the characters started singing/hearing Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower", which became a sort of plot summary theme song of sorts). I wouldn't be surprised if the writers avoid Redemption Song for that fact alone: fear of ripping off another show's basic idea.

Meh, they've never been shy about ripping off others' motifs or plotlines. But if Sawyer, Locke, Miles, and Sun al start humming it and moving toward the statue, we'll know who the Final Four are!

Word. I dig anything involving Bob Marley!

As you can tell from my signature, IMO, Redemption Song is one of the best songs ever written! :biggrin: