Cult Spy: The unsolved 'Lost' mysteries

As another tantalising season of Lost hurtles towards a thrilling climax, we wait in hope - rather than expectation – that some of the key questions surrounding the various mysteries will be answered when the finale is aired this Sunday on Sky One. So now’s the perfect time to rattle through a few of those lingering question marks that have been hovering over the island in recent times.

If you have already seen the special feature-length episode thanks to the wonders of the internet then still read on, as you can work out how many of the mysteries were solved or even addressed throughout the course of the finale. Judging by the ending of the last two seasons though - when the hatch was first discovered and Penelope Widmore received a call from her crew in the Antarctic – a fresh new tin of Dharma Initiative branded worms is set to be opened…

The finale is pretty certain to address the more recent developments that have taken place in the series. The identities of the occupants of the supposedly deserted underwater base that Charlie ventured to wouldn’t go amiss – perhaps they’re a militant wing of the Drive Shaft Fan Club who have ‘done a Widmore’ and tracked down their idol? Some clarification on the status of Locke would be sweet too, as the poor kidney-deprived man was last seen in a mass grave after being shot by Ben. Nice.

As for this ‘Jacob’ dude – the invisible leader of The Others - what in Jumping Jehosophat is that all about? All that build up and then there’s literally nothing to see, although we did hear a cryptic cry of “help me”. Also, we’ve just seen this Naomi chick parachute into the island claiming to be on the hunt for Desmond (like every discerning young lady ought to be) and revealing that Flight 815 has been found with no survivors. But if there’s one thing to be gleaned from watching Lost, it’s that everything is not as it seems and face value can often be a charade. So it would come as no surprise to find out that Naomi has a sinister ulterior motive, was not alone in surviving the helicopter crash, could perhaps be working for The Others, or even might be the reincarnation of Mr Eko. You just never know.

There are plenty of longer-term mysteries that have left hordes of viewers scratching their heads with such frustration that their bonces have begun to resemble that of Locke’s. Let’s hope the creative minds behind Lost can save our precious follicles by explaining issues such as the existence of the black smoke monster, the prevalence of Hurley’s special numbers (and remarkably pungent hairdo), and what has happened to Michael and Walt (if you can still remember them).

The island also has the long-standing issue about its ability to regenerate or degenerate life itself. We’ve seen Mikhail The Other come back from the apparent dead recently, Locke regain his ability to walk and Jin has had the seeds of his loin restored, yet pregnant women face a tragic end. Clearly the Suffragettes’ message didn’t spread to the island. Emily Pankhurst would’ve been better off hiding down the hatch rather than hurling herself in front of racehorses.

On the subject of sexuality, when is the whole Jack-Kate-Sawyer triangle going to culminate in some kind of definitive relationship? There’s been plenty of to-ing and fro-ing from the disturbed temptress Kate, especially now that Juliet has arrived on the scene to absorb much of Jack’s energies. Sort it out Kate goddammit – either go for the Sawyer sausage or the Jack jalapeño – and stop trying to nibble away at both! Still, at least Claire isn’t after Jack as well. That would be fairly incestuous (and undeniably entertaining) given that they’re actually half brother and sister – but neither of them know it yet.

However, the most pertinent unsolved mystery on the island relates to the whereabouts of the polar bear. The poor beast has simply disappeared. Could he have stormed off the island after cruelly being denied the flashback treatment by the show’s producers?

Of course, we don’t want all the definitive answers handed to us on a plate. Ambiguity and the beauty of interpretation should not be cast aside just to feed our insatiable appetites for the truth. For if they give us too good a meal then our hunger for the show may dissipate. But a few scraps would be nice… for now at least.