I wonder why they have 72 hours to do this.

3 years have gone by, but now, NOW...they have 72 hours.

Mrs. Hawkings seems to be in charge here too.

I thought she said 70 hours. I'm definitely gonna have to rewatch!

Ya but we don't know what "time" they are actually in. The "present" on the island could be any time after the island moved. Remember when Ben moved the island he ended up in the desert almost a year after. This is starting to hurt my head.

It's likely that the wormhole/space-time rip is in flux, and Mrs. Hawking has calculated the exact time that there would be a known time and location of the island that they could reach in the outside world's timeline. Missing the window would require another three years of calculation to determine the next available window of opportunity.

enigma, I think that's correct. She was definitely trying to calculate the next window of opportunity.

So technically the Oceanic 6 and Ben could return to the island 3 years later, but also, on the same day that they left (from the perspective of those still on the island) Dear god...mindblowing.

I'm pretty sure she said 70 hours. For the fun of numbers in this show i looked up its complex significance on our second favorite site, wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventy

70 hours should be 3 episodes in LOST time. So will they be back on the island by episode 5?

...........unless they miss the window. :cool: What fun would it be if things went according to plan?

Didn't Mrs. Hawking say 70 hours. I wonder if the terrible thing that will happen if the 06 don't return that could mean bad things for us all has to do with the effects on the space time continuum or the possibility of Widmore getting to the island again.

I can't even begin to imagine how Ben even knows Mrs. Hawking, so much to think about.

70 hours should be 3 episodes in LOST time. So will they be back on the island by episode 5?

Nah I think that's stuff for the season finale. I think we're at the point in the show where we're going to see closer and closer to real time. Not to 24 standards, but I think the remainder of the season will cover about 70 or so hours of time. The location of the window is either so difficult it took three years of calculations to locate the next opening to the island continuum, or the wobble of the wormhole is such that it only lines up periodically every three years.

Nah I think that's stuff for the season finale. I think we're at the point in the show where we're going to see closer and closer to real time. Not to 24 standards, but I think the remainder of the season will cover about 70 or so hours of time. The location of the window is either so difficult it took three years of calculations to locate the next opening to the island continuum, or the wobble of the wormhole is such that it only lines up periodically every three years.

I disagree, I don't think they will keep the cast apart for a whole season. I think there will be a couple more episodes of Ben gathering the Oceanic 6, as well as a couple more of the island losties jumping around to various points in the island's history. Just a feeling. Just not sure if there is enough going on off the island to warrant 16 episodes.

I disagree, I don't think they will keep the cast apart for a whole season. I think there will be a couple more episodes of Ben gathering the Oceanic 6, as well as a couple more of the island losties jumping around to various points in the island's history. Just a feeling. Just not sure if there is enough going on off the island to warrant 16 episodes.

I'd be fully supportive of them getting back to the island ASAP, but you've gotta wonder how much info is going to be downloaded when they get back together and take into account there's still 20+ hours to fill. A shade past mid season at the earliest I think. We're going to have at least one-two more episodes with Locke on Island, then we have to go through the whole Bentham meets the gang, toss in a little Widmore action, and possibly sneak in some Lance Reddick here and there. There's still quite a few hours of separation I left I think. And what do we have left? 11 episodes? I'm still thinking finale or penultimate episode.

I disagree, I don't think they will keep the cast apart for a whole season. I think there will be a couple more episodes of Ben gathering the Oceanic 6, as well as a couple more of the island losties jumping around to various points in the island's history. Just a feeling. Just not sure if there is enough going on off the island to warrant 16 episodes.
I agree with you simply because Lost never does the standard thing plotwise. The standard way would have the O6 return to the island in the season 5 finale. But I think They'll get back to the island somewhere in the middle of the season. And the rest of the season will deal with the result of the return it's Lost it won't be all hugs and parties when they go back.

I agree with you simply because Lost never does the standard thing plotwise. The standard way would have the O6 return to the island in the season 5 finale. But I think They'll get back to the island somewhere in the middle of the season. And the rest of the season will deal with the result of the return it's Lost it won't be all hugs and parties when they go back.

Is that a real spoiler or spoiler fonted opinion? (I can't resist looking sometimes, plus it shows spoilerfonted stuff when you quote anyways :/ ) I just think there's still a lot of story left and it's easy to think there's a lot of season left because it's what we're used to generally, but 13 episodes, and 2 are gone already and there's still a LOT to be done with the crews separated.

I'd be fully supportive of them getting back to the island ASAP, but you've gotta wonder how much info is going to be downloaded when they get back together and take into account there's still 20+ hours to fill. A shade past mid season at the earliest I think. We're going to have at least one-two more episodes with Locke on Island, then we have to go through the whole Bentham meets the gang, toss in a little Widmore action, and possibly sneak in some Lance Reddick here and there. There's still quite a few hours of separation I left I think. And what do we have left? 11 episodes? I'm still thinking finale or penultimate episode.

Ya I forgot about Locke getting off the island and going to see all the losties. But, since this is LOST they could easily get back to the island in say 2-3 episodes time and tell the rest of the off island adventures with widmore, Locke, etc, as flashbacks. Only on lost could you go from 1 episode with flashforwards to flashbacks that actually take place after the flashforwards lol.

Ya I forgot about Locke getting off the island and going to see all the losties. But, since this is LOST they could easily get back to the island in say 2-3 episodes time and tell the rest of the off island adventures with widmore, Locke, etc, as flashbacks. Only on lost could you go from 1 episode with flashforwards to flashbacks that actually take place after the flashforwards lol.
Plus, another thing to take into consideration is we don't know how much time will have passed on the island when the O6 make their inevitable return, it's been three years off island but given the nature of time on the island it could be shorter, the same amount of time or longer. My guess is the same ammount of time or longer because for the reunion to have dramatic effect the left behinders have to feel the pain of the separation as much as the O6.

Plus, another thing to take into consideration is we don't know how much time will have passed on the island when the O6 make their inevitable return, it's been three years off island but given the nature of time on the island it could be shorter, the same amount of time or longer. My guess is the same ammount of time or longer because for the reunion to have dramatic effect the left behinders have to feel the pain of the separation as much as the O6.

I think it will be both actually, if that makes sense. It will be the same amount of time, because the O6 will come back in the present time (2007 I believe). However, I believe that they are waiting for the island to jump to 2007 to go back (as per Hawking's calculations.) So to the O6 three years have passed, the island will be from 3 years later, but the losties on the island will perceive that approximately 72 (70 hour time-frame, minus the 2 hours tonight).

Actually with that theory (that tonight's episodes were kind of in real time, meaning 2 hours, then the O6 will only have been gone 3 days on island, but 3 years off island!

Whats going to happen in 70 hours. If the island jumps every so many hours why can't they just find it again? It's been 3 years since they left, and now they only have 70 hours to get back or the world ends? Doesn't make sense.

Yeah, not sure about that either. Maybe 70 hours is the last jump they can make -- like the island implodes after that jump or something... guess we will find out.

Either that or maybe Ms Hawking just doesn't want to spend a ton of time re-calculating the next jump...lol

it means that in 70 hours the island is gonna jump to the present time and to a location that Hawking and Ben can pin point, therefore they are gonna have to be waiting for the island to pop up at that precise spot and hurry up to get to it before it jumps again to who know when/where.

yes, Fierro, I agree about why they only have 70 hours to find the island, but why will the world end if they don't?

well, the island is messing around with the spacetime conntinumm. Who knows what kind of quantum consequences can that lead to?

This all goes back to the Incident, the reason why they had to use the Swan as a containment device and the Valenzetti Equation. Everything is coming into place, now.

My thoughts are the time off the island doesn't really have anything to do with time on the island. That the O6 will return to the island within hours of leaving. Like hambone15 said, 70 hours on the island. Aaron will be a shock to the islanders, won't he?

I've always thought the time between O6 go-come back for the left behinders would be short. It's been 3 years for O6 but it seems that for the left behinders it will be 1-2 weeks.
Locke got his mission quickly from Alpert and probably he will leave the Island immediately. At first I had thought that the left behinders would spent a bit more time on the Island and that they would face with a deadly danger later which would require O6's return. But we saw that the Island needed O6 immediately.

The questions for me is why 3 years? May be it will be related with Locke's departure time and the route he takes.

As to Aaron. The same thing happened with Walt. Though it was only weeks on the Island Walt grew up quite a few years.

It's likely that the wormhole/space-time rip is in flux, and Mrs. Hawking has calculated the exact time that there would be a known time and location of the island that they could reach in the outside world's timeline. Missing the window would require another three years of calculation to determine the next available window of opportunity.


That is the exact same thing I got out of it also. If they miss this one, who knows when the next one will be.

I've always thought the time between O6 go-come back for the left behinders would be short. It's been 3 years for O6 but it seems that for the left behinders it will be 1-2 weeks.
Locke got his mission quickly from Alpert and probably he will leave the Island immediately. At first I had thought that the left behinders would spent a bit more time on the Island and that they would face with a deadly danger later which would require O6's return. But we saw that the Island needed O6 immediately.

The questions for me is why 3 years? May be it will be related with Locke's departure time and the route he takes.

As to Aaron. The same thing happened with Walt. Though it was only weeks on the Island Walt grew up quite a few years.

I was also thinking about Ben in "The Shape of Things to Come." After he pushes the wheel he wakes up, and correct me if I'm wrong, almost a year after he left the island (roughly Dec. 25th 04, and the woman at the hotel says it's Oct. 05) So if this is true we really have no way of knowing the actual time (relative to the 06/off island time) that the island reappeared. I hope that made sense.

Within 70 hours 95 percent of the body's white blood cells die, per http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/time-death

I was trying to tie that into Locke's death but I think Sayid said he'd been dead a week. That conceded, maybe the 70 hours has to do with someone or something's postmortem state.

Also I have a prediction about what may arise here:

Ben/Jack will fail to get everyone back to the island within the specified time frame (with either Kate, Sun or Hurley not making it) and they will have to enlist Desmond to travel in time to change the course of things. I'm basing this on Faraday's insinuation that Desmond is the only one who can alter the past. Sadly, such an action may lead to Desmond's demise.

Again, it's just a theory, but I think a cliffhanger where they actually don't make the 70 hour window would be pretty cool.

Time is bouncing around so fast on the Island that it may be 70 hours Island time from when the FDW was turned to when they have to get back. In world time, that just happens to be 3 years. I had been so worried that our LeftBehinds were going to be tortured for three years that I'm glad it's unstuck time and that they probably won't have to endure the bad stuff as long as we thought.

Also maybe when Locke leaves the island it is 3 years into the future. Previously to Locke leaving the island no one (Ben/O6) knew what had happened on the island. So this would explain, "why after 3 years do they suddenly have 70 hours."

This is what I'm thinking as well, hambone. On the Island, it's only been a day or two before Locke leaves. However, the time frame in which he leaves is 2007 (after the latest time jump) and so he's able to make contact with the O5.

I think they have 70 hours because judging from the pendulum and the map, that is how long a window to the island will be open.

it means that in 70 hours the island is gonna jump to the present time and to a location that Hawking and Ben can pin point, therefore they are gonna have to be waiting for the island to pop up at that precise spot and hurry up to get to it before it jumps again to who know when/where.

Yes, this is what I think as well. My original thought was: What major event is going to happen in 70 hours (in 2008), but then I thought, wait.. perhaps that is when she (Ms Hawking) has plotted on her map exactly where the Islands will be (probably in present time, 2008) so that the O-6 can get back; otherwise, if they miss that opportunity then before another opportunity comes the Islands and whoever is directly connected to them and dependent on (including Hawking) them will be in grave danger.

Yes, this is what I think as well. My original thought was: What major event is going to happen in 70 hours (in 2008), but then I thought, wait.. perhaps that is when she (Ms Hawking) has plotted on her map exactly where the Islands will be (probably in present time, 2008) so that the O-6 can get back; otherwise, if they miss that opportunity then before another opportunity comes the Islands and whoever is directly connected to them and dependent on (including Hawking) them will be in grave danger.

Yeah that makes sense, I think the 70 hours is how long they have to get to the Island, and for 70 hours thats where the Island will be.

So I guess the left-behinds will not be tortured on the Island with time travel for 3 years. But its going to be odd seeing The Oceanic 6 back on the Island, for them its 3 years. For the left-behinds they have been gone for what a few days. Plus they are gonna be freaked at how much they changed.

Does that mean the left-behinds dont age a day, whereas the O6 are now 3 years older, when returning to the Island. I guess this might explain why Richard does not age.

Yeah that makes sense, I think the 70 hours is how long they have to get to the Island, and for 70 hours thats where the Island will be.

So I guess the left-behinds will not be tortured on the Island with time travel for 3 years. But its going to be odd seeing The Oceanic 6 back on the Island, for them its 3 years. For the left-behinds they have been gone for what a few days. Plus they are gonna be freaked at how much they changed.

Does that mean the left-behinds dont age a day, whereas the O6 are now 3 years older, when returning to the Island. I guess this might explain why Richard does not age.

Well who knows, I doubt this is the case, but we already know that during one of the time jumps the islands arrived at a time sometime after the 815 crash, because Desmond was in the hatch and apparently Kelvin was no longer there. Perhaps that is the time they'll return to. However, more likely it will be sometime in 2008, O-6 time, in which the Islands have jumped to in that moment.

Well who knows, I doubt this is the case, but we already know that during one of the time jumps the islands arrived at a time sometime after the 815 crash, because Desmond was in the hatch and apparently Kelvin was no longer there. Perhaps that is the time they'll return to. However, more likely it will be sometime in 2008, O-6 time, in which the Islands have jumped to in that moment.

hmm I can see the Island jumping to 2008, and in line with the 06ers time. I hope they do this eventually, I've always had hope the final season will somehow end up being more closer to real-time as in how its aired etc.

If you look back at the mythology of LOST, there have been certain times when the Island is accessable to the outside world. The Black Roc, Danille's Crew, The Cessena, Flt 815, The numbers being heard by the Australian listening post and probably a few more. Now Dharma was the exception to the rule since they seemed to be able to come and go at will, as did Ben's follower's. I'm sure that had something to do with the incident.

So according to this, there seem to be certain portals in time when for some reason the Island isn't "cloaked". The intervals seem pretty lengthy so I would surmise that a miss of the 70 hour deadline could mean anywhere from 16 yrs on up.

I also believe that once all the off-islander's(not just the O6) return, they will have to set things straight in order to stopped the Island from skipping. It won't automatically stop once they get there. There will have to be someway for them to go back and correct the timelines that were altered during the skipping phase otherwise the past would have been changed and therefore changed the present and future.

A lot of work to be done before LOST signs off the air.

I alos believe that once all the off-islander's(not just the O6) return, they will have to set things straight in order to stopped the Island from skipping. It won't automatically stop once they get there. There will have to be someway for them to go back and correct the timelines that were altered during the skipping phase otherwise the past would have been changed and therefore changed the present and future.

A lot of work to be done before LOST signs off the air.

Yeah I dont expect it to be done that easily, but I do hope they wrap up the time-travel this season, well having the Island stop skipping this season, I want season 6 to be just normal present day time on the Island.