Taking into account only what we have seen so far, what characters' presence on this particular Island is just too crazy to explained away as a mere coincidence? The two that come quickest to mind are Hurley, because of the numbers on the hartch, and Jack, because of Desmond being on the Island.

If Hurley's presence on the Island was not designed, by fate or manipulation, but it is also not a coincidence, then what else explains the numbers on the hatch? He didn't put them there and they are not a hallucination, so then what?

Unless Desmond followed Jack, whether by being on the Oceanic 815 or by journeying to the Island on his own afterward, then Jack must have been designed to somehow end up on the Island. But having a plane break-up mid-air is not a surefire way to bring your subject to where you want him if you want to insure he makes it there alive. So then what?

More than making a point about Jack and Hurley being on the Island, I am asking for answers, Any comments to make things clearer are welcome.

Also, taking into account what we know about them so far, what characters presence on the Island do you think might be possibly by design, be it fate or some sort of outside manipulation? Thanks.

If I remember correctly it seemed that fate or the powers that be were trying to keep Hurley OFF the flight but HE was determined not to miss that flight...maybe he wasn't supposed to be on that flight.

I think Hurley was supposed to be on that flight. He was obsessed with finding out the truth about the numbers, and this is the only way for him to do that, although it is interesting that everything was working against him making that flight, but it was his "lucky day".

Another thing I find interesting is that Jack had to push to get his Dad's body on the flight, and it is missing. That must mean something.

They were all brought together for a purpose to be revealed later.

Sayid was supposed to be on an earlier flight, but had the agents changing it because of his friends funeral....
Is it a mere coincidence that Sawyer was on the same plane as the son of the man he talked to the bar, the man who was talking about how proud he was of his son and the son was a much better doc them him, AND that Saywer could tell Jack this and make things better between Jack and his father?

There as quite a few connections between the passengers, connections that IMHO is a little to "good" to be merely concidence....

If I remember correctly it seemed that fate or the powers that be were trying to keep Hurley OFF the flight but HE was determined not to miss that flight...maybe he wasn't supposed to be on that flight.


Maybe the fates, powers or whatever, meant Hurley to be on the flight but never took into account the counterforce of bad luck. But is overloading a hotel electrical outlet and not gassing up a car low on gas really a matter of luck, or just a matter of Hurley's bad planning and general disorganization?

But what about all the happenings that got him on that flight? The old guy in the airport did give him the "wheels", albeit after shrewdly extracting a price well over blue book, and the airline ramp door attendant let him board so, therefore...

...They were part of a massive conspiracy to get our boy to the Island. Eureka!

Yes, I do need some rest.

It also seems that maybe Locke was "supposed" to be on the island. He didn't get to go on his walkabout trip... and now that he's on the island, he can walk.

But, I've always thought that maybe Helen was a psychic that he was talking to and she told him some random stuff about how he'll be walking around in the outback, jungle, something or other, which led him to think it was his "destiny" to go on the walkabout in Australia... She told him that he'd be able to walk again if he went and did it... That's why he was sooo upset that they wouldn't let him go along. Now, because of what she knew and/or told him, he was denied the outback trip that was "supposed" to make him walk, only to arrive at his real destination... Hence, Locke's faith and his obsession that everything happens for a reason...

It seems to me that Hurley was intended to find his way to that island more than anyone. His relationship with the numbers provides a more overt connection between him and the island then there is with any of the other characters.

It's almost as if those numbers were broadcast to call out for a specific person to the island. Looking for a "chosen one" perhaps. The numbers met with many folks, but think about how once Hurley came in contact with those numbers his whole life was turned upside down, first he's given the means to travel around the world through winning the lottery and then he is given the tragic events to propel him along a specific path. Hurley doesn't strike me as the most motivated guy in the world and he probably needed a little more motivation than most people, hence the use of tragedy to get him moving towards the island. In our view, a lot of people met with those numbers, but only Hurley had this strong connection to them.

The way the writers present the numbers through hurley's perspective makes us all see the numbers in a very narrow field which is simply that "The numbers are bad luck." It's an excellent smoke screen or limiter to keep us from seeing the numbers as something else like a tool or an invitation. Not to mention the endless numerology rabbit trails everyone's running down.

The fact that those numbers on the hatch, while scaring hurley tell me that he is meant to go down the hatch. Perhaps he is some kind of pre-destined replacement. Maybe the hatch crew is staffing up and the numbers are like their recruiter.

I'll also say the feng sui paqua logo in the hatch tells us that "balance," in the Eastern philosopical sense, is a core value of those behind the making of the logo (and the hatch). And Hurley seems to be the most "balanced" primary character on the island.

So pay special attention to Hurley, I think there's a lot more to him than comic relief.
Who provides the "sermons" when the Lostaways bury their dead? Hurley.

Hurley also provides diversions from the hard life on the island. Perhaps the nature of his character is to also keep us diverted away from his real importance.

The only thing that keeps me from accepting that Hurley may be a pivotal character in the story is I thought I read somewhere (I use this phrase so many times, I really should write this stuff down when I hear it) that having Jorge Reyes in the show, and not the story concept itself, is what inspired the writers to come up with the Hurley character. That is not to say they can't assign importance to such a add-on character, just that it seems less likely he would be someone crucial to the development of the overall story

Has anyone seen anything the producers or writers may have said of the significance of the Hurley character?

I wonder how much of what the writers have said has been a smokescreen - because Jack was supposed to die in the Pilot, Sun's part was supposedly written for her because they liked her so much, and ditto Hurley. If all those things are true, then at least some of the characters don't matter - any story could have been plugged into the 'secret' (whatever it is).

On the other hand they've got a dog, a child and a baby, all expensive and inconvenient things to have on a set, and they had these elements before they knew it would be a hit show - which makes me think they had to be key somehow or they wouldn't have spent the money.

But to actually stay on the topic... either they're throwing every conceivable coincidence at us to hide something else, or these coincidences aren't actually coincidences. Desmond and Jack ending up there: too big to write off as a coincidence in even the lousiest novel, and these are good writers. So I think Jack was meant to end up on the island. And so were Hurley, Locke and Kate for the same reason (numbers, legs, plane).

Has anyone seen anything the producers or writers may have said of the significance of the Hurley character?

That's what I had read, also. I think he originally auditioned for the role of Jack, which wouldn't really work out too well for the Jack's plot line. Apparently, he brought enough to the audition that they decided to create the character just for him. I think him having used those numbers and subsequently crashing on the island is almost just pure chance thing...we look into it soo much because of him but I think it was just his "luck". In other words, TPTB knew exactly how the show was going to go and just added that in as a little bit of fun that will really have no bearing on what is/will be happening with the show.

Desmond and Jack ending up there: too big to write off as a coincidence in even the lousiest novel, and these are good writers. So I think Jack was meant to end up on the island. And so were Hurley, Locke and Kate for the same reason (numbers, legs, plane).

Well, when Jack was "supposed" to die off in the pilot the thought was that Kate was going to be the main character... At that point, there was no reason why she couldn't have become the main character in which case the flashback from S2E1 would just have been Kate running into Desmond somewhere.

Right, that's what I mean: the characters seem to be plugged into an overall scheme, and it doesn't really matter who they are or what their backstory is except in the sense that it landed them on the island.

(For example, in Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, they all needed to be murderers who got away with their crime - beyond that, it didn't matter if they were a Nanny or an alcoholic Playboy, and any attempt to figure out what they had in common that didn't result in "they're all murderers" would have been a dead end.)

I often wonder why Charlie is there.....I mean the idea of him being there to stop his drug addiction is obvious, but it seems like everyone else's reasons go alot deeper than something that obvious. I cant wait to find out more of Charkie's backstory.

Is it a mere coincidence that Sawyer was on the same plane as the son of the man he talked to the bar, the man who was talking about how proud he was of his son and the son was a much better doc them him, AND that Saywer could tell Jack this and make things better between Jack and his father?

There as quite a few connections between the passengers, connections that IMHO is a little to "good" to be merely concidence....

Personally, I chalked up Sawyer and on the same plane as the son of the man he talked to into the bar as "its a small world". I figured Sawyer and Christan would gravitate to a bar conveniently located near their accomodations in Australia, where its likely other Americans would be imbiding. Therefore the odds aren't on the level of "crazy" that you might meet someone whose path, or that of their relative, you might cross later again in Australia or on the trip back to the states.

The scene where Sawyer tells Jack about meeting his father was definitely one of the most dramatically powerful in the whole first season, so maybe the bar scene between Sawyer and Christian was intended by the writers as merely a setup for that and nothing more. If so, it was well worth it. That scene between Sawyer and Jack was brilliant!

On the other hand, maybe there is more to the fact that Sawyer and Christain's son are on this same Island. Guess we'll find out soon enough....or maybe not.