2. The Whedon-verse is all connected
Related: There was almost an animated Buffy series this famous fan opening by the talented Stephen Byrne gave us a taste. And there's a unified Pixar theory too.
3. LOST was a psychological experiment. A simulation designed to see how humans would perform and behave outside of their normal environments. How susceptible would they be to the power of suggestion? And so on and so forth.
Of course, the video explaining the theory is gone. So I'll explain. Briefly. This excellent theory claimed origination from cast and crew who worked on season one. No proof was offered. But all the dots connected story-wise. That is, until the series was so successful, it needed to be extended and milked for all it was worth. Along with J.J. Abrams famous "mystery box" philosophy at the heart of the series.
Among other ideas, the psychological experiment theory claimed:
1. the plane crash was a simulation
2. actors were planted within the group of survivors (John Locke was one.)
3. this is why there were animals on the island beforehand, specifically animals anachronistic to the physical environment, hence the polar bear
4. the time travel wasn't real, the controllers just wanted to see if they could get people to accept extremely unlikely circumstances as part of the experiment
There have been countless fan theories, but this is my favorite. The simplicity of it makes sense. It explains the plot holes, the numbers, the significantly named characters, and why things went off the rails story-wise in such non-specific and confusing ways as TV networks knew they had a gold mine to keep...well, mining.
I personally thought God (Jacob) and the Devil (the man in black) had been fighting over mankind's right to exist. In my mind, they were going seven rounds and this was the seventh and final, which is why it was so important.
But back to my theory. Because what kind of writer would I be if I didn't arrogantly assert my own theory?
Each time humanity failed to prove their goodness, God restarted the world. Hence the four-toed statue, as evidence of one of the failed past civilizations. I thought many of the selfless acts of sacrifice, and the many ways people changed for the better, would help Jacob win the final round, allowing the Earth and humanity to continue existing.
Related: My embarrassing TV rants have gotten some of my highest hit counts ever. Here's the tantrum I threw the day after LOST ended, my Medium finale reaction, and my Magnum P.I. rant.