History Analysis / Lost

By not limiting the story to a set "answer", it frees the story to become anything and everything a viewer can see in it, like a Rohrschach test or even Wiki/ThisVeryWiki.

The episode "Outlaws", although a fine character piece, initially appears unconnected to the larger narrative of the show, especially as it is a season one episode from before the series' dense and sprawling MythArc properly took off. However, on a thematic level, this one tells the story of the whole six-year narrative in microcosm, revealing what the series was doing and--more importantly--what it was ''not'' doing, a whole five years ahead of the [[BaseBreaker controversial finale]].

By not limiting the story to a set "answer", it frees the story to become anything and everything a viewer can see in it, like a Rohrschach test or even ThisVeryWiki.

Everybody takes their carry-on emotional baggage with them on this wild flight. "Outlaws" is the most potent explanation the show ever had about how to unpack that baggage and become a better person by dealing with it. A theme that resonated through the show to the very end. This episode succinctly accomplishes in forty-five minutes what--on a macrocosmic level--it took the show six years to do. After all, the last scene is of Jack and Locke leaving their father-induced ideological differences behind and embracing each other. Instead of squabbling over the signs and portents offered up by the narrative, they're content to forgive themselves and, more importantly, live and let live.

As the show wears on it becomes apparent that two godlike figures, Jacob and his brother, are playing a cosmic game, with the castaways as pawns. Through unfathomable rules these beings appear and, like conmen, psychologically manipulate the pieces to get them to act according to some ineffable stratagem. The remote and aloof Jacob pushes people into Jack's path while staying removed and letting Jack figure things out for himself, which is all Jack wanted in a father; the Man in Black, meanwhile, is constantly encouraging Locke to embrace his destiny as a savior and as a messiah, which is all Locke wanted in a father. These cons/games may ''seem'' cruel and callous, and yet the Island's mysterious golden heart appears to be safe and everybody appears to have worked out their psychological issues. So, are Jacob and the Man in Black ultimately good gods, ultimately evil gods, or ultimately just mortal men with godlike powers playing out a petty sibling rivalry?

It is a person's emotional baggage that shapes their view of the world. An ambiguous situation may be [[ConfirmationBias accepted as proof]] or [[FlatEarthAtheist rejected as a lies]] according to whatever filtering system is bubbling under a person's conscious mind. The central theme of the show is dealing that baggage, because it makes a person vulnerable and easily deluded by charlatans, shamans, and con men. Something the historical John Locke also had quite a bit to say about.

The show repeatedly hammers home the idea that peoples' belief systems are related to their relationship to their parents.

Jack is compelled to fix things because his father told him he was never good enough. Locke desperately needs to believe he has a destiny because he craves a cosmic father figure after his own scammed him out of a kidney. Both fathers are conmen, even if Christian Shepherd had the ostensibly noble motive of giving his son the drive to succeed. Like the historical John Locke wrote, people are all born as blank slates, with our parents as the authors of our personalities.

[[folder:"Outlaws" as an InnocuouslyImportantEpisode of the Series as a Whole]]

''Beware unmarked spoilers for the whole show below.''

The show repeatedly hammers home the idea that people inherit their belief systems from their parents. Jack has to fix things because his father told him he was never good enough, while Locke's father duped him into thinking he was special for a free kidney. Both of these are confidence tricks, even if Jack's father had the ostensibly noble motivation of giving his son the drive to succeed. As the show wears on, though, it becomes apparent two godlike figures, Jacob and his brother, are playing a cosmic game with the castaways as pawns. Through unfathomable rules they appear, like conmen, to psychologically manipulate the pieces and make them act out ineffable stratagems. The remote and aloof Jacob pushes people into Jack's path while staying removed and letting Jack figure everything out for himself, which is all Jack wanted in a father; the Man in Black, meanwhile, is constantly encouraging Locke to embrace his destiny as a savior and as a messiah, which is also all Locke wanted in a father. These cons/games may ''seem'' cruel and callous, and yet the Island appears to be safe and everybody appears to have worked out their psychological issues. So, are Jacob and the Man in Black ultimately good, ultimately evil, or ultimately just men with too much power playing out a petty sibling rivalry?

Well, was the boar Frank Duckett or not?

The show's ambiguity is meant for the audience just as much as it is the characters. Recall the final scene, where Jack reconciles with his father under a stained glass window with different religious symbols all radiating out from a central, archetypal light. Just like Literature/TheHeroWithAThousandFaces speaks of the world-soul and the navel of the universe in vague terms to encompass all the different cultural variations on the archetype, the show dresses up its archetypal story of conflict between fathers and sons, heroes and gods, and free will versus destiny with allusions to mythology, religion, and popular fiction. By not limiting the story to a set "answer", it frees the story to become everything a viewer can see in it, like a Rohrschach test or even ThisVeryWiki.

!"Outlaws" as a Microcosm of the Series

The episode "Outlaws", although a fine character piece, initially appears unconnected to the larger narrative of the show, especially as it is a season one episode from before the series' dense and sprawling MythArc properly took off. However, on a thematic level, this one InnocuouslyImportantEpisode is the key to understanding what the series was doing and--more importantly--what it was ''not'' doing, a whole five years ahead of the [[BaseBreaker controversial finale]].

Everybody takes their carry-on emotional baggage with them on this wild flight. "Outlaws" is the most potent explanation the show ever had about how to unpack it from the dark corners of the soul and deal with it to become a better person. It's a theme that resonated through the show to the very end, and accomplishes in forty-five minutes what--on a macrocosmic level--took the show six years to do. After all, the last scene is of Jack and Locke leaving their father-induced ideological differences behind and embracing each other. Instead of squabbling over which signs and portents offered up by the narrative are right or wrong, they're content to live and let live.

Just like Sawyer and his boar.