Unanswered Questions: Unlikely to be Answered

The producers have stated unequivocally that while most of the big mysteries will be resolved, a number of them simply won’t be — largely because they’re little things the fans labeled “mysteries” when they were never intended to be more than plot devices.

The unanswered questions below are my best guesses as to the stuff that just doesn’t seem important enough to ever be answered. The first few are even questions they’ve outright stated will never be answered. If any of these wind up being answered in the final season, I’ll be delighted to remove them from this page. But I’m not going into Season 6 expecting these questions to be answered, and neither should you.

My notes, explanations, and thoughts are in blue.

Back to the main Unanswered Questions page.

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What is the island?
As much as we’d all love to know the answer to this — particularly since it’s been alluded to numerous times that the island is important to the survival of the world — the producers have said that this is a question with no answer. The island is meant to be a magical place in the vein of Narnia, which has mystical properties just because it does.

Why are the Numbers cursed?
The Numbers were explained in the ARG “The Lost Experience” as the “Valenzetti Equation,” which was supposed to be able to predict the end of the world. So while there may be more to be revealed about the history of the Numbers, ultimately the Numbers are probably cursed simply because they’re cursed.

A few days after crashing on the island, Michael was chased through the jungle by something big, causing him to accidentally run into Sun while she was bathing. What chased Michael through the jungle? [1.03]

Why does Hugo Reyes have the nickname Hurley? [1.10]

The rain seemed to act as a portent of the monster’s arrival in the jungle. Is the rain connected to the monster, or is there another reason beyond the norm that it came up so suddenly? [1.01]
This is most likely just a plot device used by the writers to add to the sense of foreboding in momentous scenes.

Hurley and Charlie crossed a very old rope bridge that collapsed after they walked on it. Who built this bridge, and when? [1.18]
It can be reasonably assumed that the rope bridge was probably built by Others-of-the-past a very long time ago.

After the Hatch was blown open, Kate began climbing down into it, but was suddenly grabbed and pulled down into the shaft. What grabbed her? [2.01]

Who painted the mural on the wall inside the Swan station? What’s depicted on it? [2.01]
Directing producer Jack Bender is the off-screen artist responsible for the mural, and its appearance in the episode was his idea. His intention was that it was painted as the mad artistic expression of one of the Swan’s workers from over the years. More than likely, the mural can be chalked up to Radzinsky, who is known to have gone insane while manning the Swan, even committing suicide.

Where are the founders of the Dharma Initiative, Gerald and Karen DeGroot, today? Are they still alive? [2.03]

Where is Alvar Hanso, financier of the Dharma Initiative, today? Is he still alive? [2.03]
It was revealed in the ARG “The Lost Experience” that Alvar Hanso is still alive and still trying to carry on the mission of the Dharma Initiative. But the producers have said that all of the ARGs were non-canon materials, so there could be more to this.

Eko once mentioned that he “used to be married.” Who was Eko’s wife, and what happened to her? [2.05]

The Tailies found a box in the Arrow station containing a glass eye, a Bible, and a radio. Where did these objects come from, and who put them there? [2.07]
Know anybody who could make use of a glass eye? Mikhail seems like an obvious choice.

The Swan Orientation video warned against using the computer for communication, because it could cause another Incident. Why would communicating using the Swan’s computer cause a second Incident? [2.09]
There’s always a chance this could be explained in Season 6, in the aftermath of the Incident, but it doesn’t strike me as something that would be a priority to the writers.

Why did Radzinsky edit out the part of the Swan Orientation film warning against using the computer for communication, and hide it at the Arrow station? [2.09 & 2.24]

During his time working as a priest, Eko investigated a case involving Psychic Richard Malkin’s daughter Charlotte miraculously returning to health after nearly dying. Did Charlotte Malkin truly die and come back to life, as she and her mother believed, or was her father’s scientific theory of a medical misdiagnosis the accurate explanation? [2.21]

Why did the Others take a sample of Michael’s blood? [2.22]
Theories on this aren’t hard to imagine, such as… maybe the Others conducted a paternity test to ensure that Michael was indeed Walt’s real father. But it’s never been definitively explained, so I’m including it on this list.

What crime was Desmond in prison for after being dishonorably discharged? [2.23]
We know that Desmond spent time in prison for, as one character put it, “inability to follow orders.” But even though this seems like the kind of question the writers would eventually want to answer, it doesn’t look favorable that we’ll get an answer.

Why was the sea bearing of 325 the only way Michael and Walt could sail away from the island? [2.24]
Ben told Michael to follow this exact bearing to leave the island, and later in Season 4, Daniel gave a very similar bearing (305) to Frank Lapidus to use for coming and going to the freighter in his helicopter. Daniel also stated in Season 5 that after the island was moved through space/time, the old bearing would no longer work, and he would have to determine the new one. So only one specific bearing works at any particular time, and it changes no doubt due to the island’s constant drifting through the Pacific ocean. But it’s never been explained why only one bearing will work at a time. Just like many other unique properties of the island, this one can probably be chalked up to “it just is that way,” with no other explanation required.

Ben assigned some of his people to retrieve Desmond’s sailboat, the Elizabeth, from Sun, Jin, and Sayid, who were using it at the time. After the Others delivered the sailboat to Ben, it was never seen or spoken of again. What became of Desmond’s sailboat? [3.02]

Was Eloise Hawking right that Desmond pushing the button in the Swan station was “the only truly great thing” he would ever do? [3.08]
This one always seemed like something worthy of follow-up, but it’s never even been mentioned on the show more than once. I still wonder if she was lying, merely telling Desmond what she thought he needed to hear, to fulfill his destiny.

What does the symbol the Others branded onto Juliet’s back mean? [3.09]
The symbol designates Juliet as a traitor or a murderer among her people, but the symbol’s actual meaning has never been explained.

Juliet threatened to tell the other Oceanic survivors about a dark deed Sayid committed at Basra, presumably during the Gulf War. What did Sayid do at Basra? [3.16]

In the Looking Glass station, Bonnie gave Charlie the code to turn off the jamming device. The code was programmed to the tune of a Beach Boys song, and Bonnie explained that it was programmed by a musician. Who was this musician? Was he or she in the Dharma Initiative or the Others? [3.23]

What did Daniel mean when he said that the sunlight on the island didn’t “scatter quite right”? [4.02]
Just more “the island is different than the rest of the world” stuff, most likely.

Daniel did an experiment on the island that demonstrated a time difference of thirty-one minutes between the island and (presumably) the rest of the world. What’s the significance of this thirty-one minute difference? [4.03]
More than likely this was just meant to remind viewers of the island’s unique properties concerning time.

What was the meaning of Richard’s “item test” on Locke as a small boy? How would Locke telling him which of the items “already belonged to him” help him determine Locke’s destiny? And why did Richard decide that the test was a failure when Locke picked the knife? [4.11]

Matthew Abaddon told Locke that he experienced a miracle once, just before he recommended that Locke go on a walkabout. What was this miracle Matthew Abaddon experienced? [4.11]

After Ben flushed Jack’s drugs down the toilet, he hid a small box away where Jack wouldn’t see it. What was in that box, and why did Ben hide it from Jack? [5.02]
I keep trying to remember if this was ever explained by something that Ben may have carried with him later — it could very well have been the gun he shot Desmond with that was in the box — but it’s never been addressed or even hinted at again.

Compiled and posted by Robin Parrish.