Lost: Top 10 Unanswered Questions (15 Years Later)

#10: How Did Ben & the Others Have So Much Money?

The mysterious Island inhabitants known as the Others have access to a surprising amount of resources. Although a lot of it is left over from the DHARMA Initiative after the Others killed them all, the group still has access to a surprising number of things on and off the Island. Ben has access to millions of dollars in various currencies and has apparently spent time in international hotels all over the globe. The Others have the funds to set up shell or real companies in the USA, like Mittelos Bioscience. Did the group use DHARMA’s research to earn their money? Did they just rob Charles Widmore? Where did they get the funds?

#9: How Did Christian/the Man in Black Appear Off the Island?

Dead people don’t really stay dead on “Lost.” One of the most frequent apparitions is Jack’s late father, Christian Shephard. Most of these appearances are the work of the Smoke Monster, a.k.a. the Man in Black, who can look like dead people on the Island. However, given Christian’s appearances off the Island, and the Man in Black’s inability to leave, we’re left scratching our heads. How did he appear to Michael on the freighter just before it exploded? You could argue that it’s still in the Island’s “radius.” But that doesn’t explain Christian appearing to Jack at the hospital on the mainland. Was it simply a hallucination by Jack? Or something more?

#8: How Does Eloise Know So Much About Time Travel?

Eloise Hawking is one of the most mysterious characters in the series. She’s a former member of the Others and Daniel Faraday’s mother. She also demonstrates a shocking degree of knowledge about how to get to the Island and time travel. While the former can be chalked up to her apparent takeover of one of DHARMA’s stations off-Island, the latter is less clear. True, her acquisition of her future son’s diary in the past could explain some of it, but it doesn’t explain all of it. How did she know the intimate details of Desmond’s life leading up to him going to the Island? How could she predict the death of a random stranger wearing red shoes? Did the Island grant her time travel abilities?

#7: What Are Ben & Charles’s Rules?

There are many hidden sets of rules in “Lost” to the point where it can be tough to keep track. But one of the most mystifying is the agreement between Ben Linus and Charles Widmore. Both men lead the Others at various points. And when Widmore’s man Keamy kills Ben’s daughter, Alex, Ben claims that Widmore has changed the rules. What’s even more baffling is that when Ben confronts Widmore later off the Island, he claims that he “can’t” kill Charles - not “won’t.” And yet, in the final season, Ben does just that. Were their rules merely an agreement not to kill each other or their families in their contest over the Island? Or was there something supernatural preventing them from killing each other?

#6: Who Killed the Ajira Passengers?

When Jack and company come back to the Island, they do so on Ajira flight 316, which lands on the smaller Hydra island off the main Island. Most of the main characters depart, leaving the confused survivors stranded there. Then, the Man in Black/Fake Locke has Sawyer do some reconnaissance on Hydra island. There, Sawyer discovers that the remaining Ajira flight members have all been killed. Considering Charles Widmore arrived there on a submarine with several armed men recently, he seems an obvious culprit. However, he denies responsibility and there are no obvious gunshot wounds. Could fake Locke have gone all “smoke thing” and thrown them around? He certainly didn’t let on, and we don’t know for sure.

#5: What’s Up With the Cabin?

There are many strange and mysterious structures on the Island. One of them is a cabin in the woods. It’s initially believed to be connected with the Island’s immortal protector, Jacob, thanks to some deception by Ben. However, the cabin is actually used more frequently by Jacob’s nemesis, the Man in Black, a.k.a. the Smoke Monster. There are many unanswered questions about the cabin. Like when was the circle of ash around it broken? The ash is meant to repel (or maybe trap?) the Monster. Also, who was the other person in the cabin when Hurley looked through the window? And how can the dang thing teleport?!

#4: What’s the Deal With All the Unexplained Objects & Animals?

There are so many individual random objects and animals throughout “Lost” that receive no explanation, that we thought we’d just lump them all into one entry. Several animals that appear in the characters’ flashbacks show up on the Island with no apparent explanation, like the black horse that Kate recognizes, or the cat from Sayid’s past. Likewise, there are several bizarrely out of place objects that the show calls attention to that are unexplained. Why is there a toy truck in the polar bear cave? Whose glass eye was in the Arrow DHARMA station? And before you say old patch-face Mikhail, his missing eye is scabbed over. If these things weren’t supposed to be important, why draw so much attention to them?

#3: What Are Mother’s Origins & Abilities?

For as mysterious as Jacob and the Man in Black are, the duo’s adoptive, unnamed mother is even more of a question mark. According to her, she wasn’t born on the Island, so where was she from? She’s the earliest known Protector of the Island, but who passed the job on to her? Was it her own dead mother? Perhaps the biggest questions of all relate to her attempt to stop the Man in Black from leaving the Island. To stop him leaving, Mother somehow manages to fill in his well and massacres his entire village singlehandedly. Could she become the Smoke Monster too? Was Mother somehow both the Protector and the Smoke Monster before both her sons? Every question leads to another question.

#2: Who Shot at Locke’s Group in the Outrigger?

During season 5, a group left behind on the Island after the Oceanic Six leave begin skipping through various time periods. During one skip, the group, led by Locke, arrives at their old camp at some time after the Ajira fight crashes in 2007. They find 2 outrigger canoes used by unknown people. After taking one to row to the Orchid station, they’re pursued by the apparent owners of the canoes and shot at. While in the water, they experience another time shift, escaping their attackers. Who these mysterious people were has never been officially revealed. Theories on their identities have ranged from the Ajira survivors, to Widmore’s group, to the Others, to even sailors from the 19th century slaver ship, the Black Rock.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Why Didn’t Rousseau Recognize Ben?You’d Think She’d Remember the Guy Who Abducted Her Daughter

How Did Penny Learn About the Island?

Sure Her Dad Was Also Looking for It, but How Did She Connect It to Desmond?

How Did Ben Know About the Frozen Wheel?

It Was Hidden Behind a Chamber That Was Built When He was a Kid!

How Did Rousseau Never Run Into the DHARMA Initiative?

They Built Things All Over & Were Still Around When She Arrived!

Was David Shephard a Real Person?

He’s Not Jack’s Son, Sure, But Who or WHAT Was He? Someone Else’s Kid? An Angel?

#1: What is Walt’s Entire Deal?

Several characters during “Lost” display supernatural abilities, like being able to see the dead, or immortality. However, the uncanniest and least explored abilities are those of Walt. The boy is repeatedly stated to be “special,” and his apparent powers certainly back that up. Walt appears to several characters, despite being miles away and even after he’s left the Island entirely. Is this some form of astral projection? Is he consciously doing it? Likewise, Walt seems aware of things he can’t possibly know, such as when he warns Locke not to open the Hatch, despite never seeing or hearing about it. Is he some kind of psychic? We’ll probably never know, but hopefully his return to the Island can help Walt understand his own abilities.

Is there a piece of the “Lost” puzzle that continues to puzzle you? We’ll have no idea if you won’t tell us in the comments!