User:Andfound815/Coffeepot theory
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An Introduction
The Coffeepot Theory is a way of explaining the various connections the survivors of Flight 815 seem to have. The basic idea is that the island takes various elements from each survivor's flashbacks and inserts them into other survivors' memories, most likely as part of a psychological experiment with modified memories.
The name of The Coffeepot Theory came from back in season one, when viewers noticed that a coffeepot appeared in both Jack's break room at the hospital and in Locke's office at the box company. Most viewers put off the coincidence to a prop error, but the Coffeepot Theory asks, what if it was intentional?
What if the island is messing around with peoples' flashbacks, mixing them up and switching various elements around? The island scans someone, via the smoke monster or in some other way, and creates a database of possible flashback elements. Then, these elements are inserted into others' memories.
Examples
- In Lockdown, Locke worked on fixing Nadia's house. According to the Coffeepot Theory, this never happened. Locke, along with his company Welcome Home, fixed the house of some other woman. The island saw Sayid remembering Nadia, and the island inserted Nadia into Locke's memory. This is more likely rather than the other way around, because Sayid has a picture of Nadia.
- Kate's mother didn't actually serve Sawyer. Kate remembered her mother working in a diner, and Sawyer remembered going to a diner. So, when Saywer thought about going to that diner, the island made him see Kate's mother rather than his actual waitress.
- The reason Jin saw Hurley on TV after winning the lottery was because Hurley remembered being on TV after winning the lottery.
- Eko might never have actually encountered the drug plane on the island before. He was involved with drug transport, but a different plane crashed on the island. The island then inserted memories of this particular plane and the necklace around Yemi's neck into Eko's memory.
- Christian Shepard seems to be around whenever there is a parent issues happening. We're lead to believe the guy we all know as Jack's dad, the one played by John Terry, is Christian Shepard. From now on, I'll call Christian Shepard John Terry to distinguish between the actual character of Jack's dad, and the face we think is Jack's dad.
- John Terry is there when James Ford goes out for revenge against the person who killed his family.
- He's there to help Ana Lucia get over her mother's controlling ways.
- John Terry appears as Claire's dad.
- So, the logical explanation for this is that John Terry, the face we know as Christian Shepard, isn't really Jack's father. John Terry is probably alive and well and living on the island, which would explain why Jack saw him in White Rabbit. It would also explain why the body is gone from the coffin. Jack would realize the person he's remembering is a different guy than the one in the coffin.
- Sayid remembers seeing a cat with Amira. This looks like the same cat kept by Mikhail Bakunin at the Flame Station. However, the island probably replaced the image of the cat in Sayid's memory with the one from Bakunin's, to confuse Sayid or to make him think they are the same cat.
- In Claire's tattoo parlor, both Alex and Hurley can be seen in different tattoo designs. These are plants by the island.
- The Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute features in a number of flashbacks. Most likely, none or all of the survivors of the plane crash ever encountered this facility. It is probably run by Dharma, and so when Dharma was on the island, the smoke monster was able to create an entry in its database for this place. Then, it was inserted into the document Locke read explaining that his mother went there. It was placed on the sign in front of the facility Hurley attended. Also, the reason Libby seems to remember seeing Hurley there is because Hurley remembers being in a mental institution.
- When the Swan Station imploded, the database of memories was probably affected. This databse then discharged as well as the electromagnet, sending a large number of flashback elements to Desmond. This resulted in what we saw in Flashes Before Your Eyes. **Claire's boyfriend Thomas's painting was hanging in Charles Widmore's office.
- A variety of Dharma and Hanso-related advertisements appeared in the soccer game.
- Charlie remembered being out on the street at some point, so Desmond remembered him being there.
- The beeping of the microwave was similar to the beeping of the countdown, because Desmond remembered the noise of the clock.
- Various pieces of dialogue were very similar in Desmond's flashback to things that had taken place on the island, because the database discharged them into his mind.
- Carrie, by Stephen King, appeared on Rachel Burke's nightstand in Juliet's flashback because she remembered reading it for the book club in Otherville.
- As explained in The Lost Experience, 4 8 15 16 23 42 are essential numbers in The Valenzetti Equation, used to predict the end of mankind. DHARMA was trying to change these core numbers. They are being broadcast from the island (possibly) and were engraved on the Swan hatch. At any point where a survivor would be remembering a number, it would be simple for the island (if it has the capability of swapping whole people and names) to substitute one of The Numbers in for whatever number was actually in the event when it really took place. This would also explain why certain people (Hurley especially) saw the entire string of numbers at certain random points, like the soccer team or his lottery numbers.
- Kelvin's appearance in Sayid's memory could be explained through The Coffeepot Theory as well. Desmond remembers Kelvin, so the face of the man he remembers was swapped with the soldier Sayid remembers.
- Rachel Carlson's chart, which Ben gives Juliet, seems to indicate that she is a 187-lb male. This possible prop error could be a result of the Coffeepot Theory- Juliet remembers a medical chart probably from Jack's past.
Building The Database
When the smoke "scans" a person, as we saw it doing to Eko in The 23rd Psalm, it's reading all of their memories for possible insertion into other peoples' minds.
WHY?
Why is the island doing this? Most likely, it's a psychological experiment. Those controlling the smoke are trying to see how long it takes before people realize their memories have been modified. How long before they remember that someone's name WASN'T Nadia, or they didn't really look like that? How long before they remember the police car was number 55 rather than 23? How long before they remember their coffeepot was fuschia-colored rather than brownish silver?
