So the TV series Lost is coming to an end. I think I missed the first two seasons but I have watched it the last several years. I am going to take a shot and express what I think the whole concept is actually revolving around.
I believe that Jack, in the real world/real time, is under hypnosis. I think that he is under hypnosis because it is being used as a treatment for a deep, unresolved emotional conflict. The conflict is between him and his father, who he has been at odds with and trying to live up to his whole life.
In the “Lost” realm, there will be a final confrontation between two factions and each side is currently recruiting people for their side. I believe this to be a reflection of how it was in the real world, with Jack feeling that he had to fight for everyone’s belief in him solely because of his insecurity resulting from how his father viewed him. I am not sure how the actual characters fit into Jack’s and his father’s real lives and what roles they played. I suppose that there remains the possibility that they did not exist as actual people in the real world, but are figments of Jack’s imagination in the hypnosis.
One side is led by Jack and the other is led by the man-in-black who took over John Locke’s body (and this entity is actually Jack’s father). In effect, this is a final showdown in Jack’s psyche over his feelings regarding his father. If Jack’s hypnosis is successful, it will result in a resolution of the emotional conflict between Jack and his father (and the confrontation in the “Lost” realm will be reflective of that) that is in Jack’s psyche.
I believe that John Locke is in place of his father because John Locke in the real world was the last person that Jack operated on. I believe this operation was a failure, possibly resulting in John Locke’s death or further injury. As a result, either John Locke (if he survives surgery but is further injured) or (if John dies) someone close to John goes off on Jack about his failure to fix John’s paralysis. In Jack’s mind this event reinforces his father’s view of him that he is not good enough.
This causes Jack to break. At this point he seeks therapy, begins hypnosis and the whole “Lost” story takes place in his head/psyche. One of the final events will be the real world/real time Jack taken out of hypnosis after he experiences the confrontation in the “Lost” realm and we will find out if his emotional conflict is resolved.