The 8 Craziest Lost Theories

When Lost returns for its sixth and final season on Tuesday, February 2^nd, fans will be anxiously watching to see if all of the questions will be answered. In the meantime, in grand Lost tradition, fans have been theorizing and speculating about what is really going on with that island. The great thing about Lost is that, no matter how crazy a theory may seem, there's always a chance it could be right.

Here are the eight craziest (though not entirely improbable) Lost theories:

Crazy Theory: Parallel Universes

If time travel weren't crazy enough, many fans of Lost have suggested that the island is a portal to parallel universes. The theory is that when the island was making "time jumps," the castaways were actually creating copies of themselves in parallel universes that happened to look like different time periods. While this doesn't really mesh with the logic espoused on Lost, it does have interesting ramifications about what really happens when the nuclear bomb exploded at the end of season five.

Crazy Theory: Charlie is Charlie (or Charles)

When it was revealed that Penny and Desmond named their baby boy "Charlie" keyboards across the nation went to work, with fans theorizing any number of things about little Charlie. Many just thought the name was a nice gesture, a way of remembering Charlie Pace. Others thought that Charlie was Charlie Pace. These fans speculate that little Charlie inherited his dad's penchant for time travel, and somehow gets stuck in the past as a child. Once there he grows up into everyone's favorite drug-addled one-hit-wonder, Charlie Hieronymus Pace. Fans say that this accounts for the bond between Desmond and Charlie, and why Desmond can so clearly predict Charlie's death.

Others suggest that little Charlie doesn't grow up to be Charlie Pace at all, but rather Charles Widmore. Of course, that would make him his own grandfather, as well as making Penny both his daughter and his mother. That may seem far-fetched, but with Lost you never know.

Crazy Theory: It's All in Hurley's Head

We know that Hurley has been in a mental institution, both before and after crashing on the island. We also know that he has a habit of seeing things and people that aren't there (Dave, anyone?). So, it probably isn't a huge leap to suggest that the island, its inhabitants, and all the crazy stuff that has happened are all part Hurley's hallucinations. Some fans speculate that Hurley never got on Oceanic 815, never won the lottery, and never even left Santa Rosa. This theory was directly addressed on the show, in the season two episode, "Dave," but that still hasn't quelled speculation.

Crazy Theory: The Island is Atlantis

Here's another crazy Lost theory that actually makes some sense. On Lost we have a mysterious island that can disappear, move through time, and that has the remains of an ancient civilization similar to, but unlike any of the ancient civilizations we're aware of. That does sound a lot like Atlantis. If it turns out that the Atlantians had four toes, we'll know for certain.

Crazy Theory: It's All a Dharma Experiment

When Dharma workers in the Pearl Station were informed that the people pushing the button in the Swan were part of a psychological experiment, a lot of fans started thinking. What if the entire island is nothing more than a Dharma Initiative Experiment? What if the Others are actors, and the island a set? It makes more sense than time travel and smoke monsters, surely. Plus, fans argue, there have been several hints that everything on the show has been nothing but a "long con." But, I doubt the writers would pull a hoax like that, as it would go against all of Lost's internal logic.

Crazy Theory: Vincent is Jacob

Among the crazier (but somehow still feasible) theories on Lost is the one that suggests Vincent, everyone's favorite Labrador retriever, is actually a form of Jacob, the island's spirit/immortal/whatever. Vincent does tend to show up only at opportune times (it was Vincent, remember, that led Jack to the crash site in the pilot). And how does a dog in the cargo hold survive a crash like that, anyway?

Crazy Theory: Walt is Abaddon

Time travel is a favorite component of fan theories, and why shouldn't it be? We've already seen it in play on the show. One crazy fan theory that I can't really get behind is that Walt grows up to become Matthew Adaddon, who travels back in time to make sure that everyone gets on the plane who is supposed to. The only support this theory has is that both Walt and Abaddon refer to Locke as "Mr. Locke."

Crazy Theory: A Wizard/Alien/God Did It

The fan theory that is most espoused is that there are some sort of supernatural forces at play on the island. We already know about a few immortals (Jacob, his friend in black/Smokey, and probably Richard), and it isn't a stretch to think that they may be ancient (Atlantian?) gods. Having everything boil down to a supernatural force is a little too tidy, though, and I don't really think the Lost writers will have the ending be the result of deus ex machina.