SEASON 6 - "Lighthouse" - How the Candidates Being Brought to The Island on "Lost" Is Just Like Conway Being Brought to Shangri-la in "Lost Horizon"

This episode gave us a major download of Lost mythology and thus has now requires me to make a second and possibly my most important blog update for this episode and of all my episode speicific blog entries.

Like many, I have long believed that the characters on Lost were brought to The Island on purpose. Furthermore, I have also strongly believed that one of the major characters was suited to fill the role as leader. And until now that could have been Jack Shepard or John Locke. Now we have confirmation,or at least it is strongly implied, that Jacob is in fact searching for a successor to be the caretaker of The Island.



And it is further implied that since Locke is no longer alive, he is no longer a viable candidate, but that Jack, "has what it takes", and could be the front runner for the job.



However, this is Lost after all and they could throw us a major curve ball or twenty before this thing is over. Those that we think were the most likely candidates may not end up becoming the leader. It could be Hurley and not Jack that should be in charge of The Island. How cool would that be. It would be like, "Duuuuude", as Hurley might say. Heck, the candidates could be candidates for something completely different than leading The Island. For all we know Jacob is just messing with everyone and is actually not such a good guy. You have to admit these are all possibilities.

However, when it comes down to it, I don't believe any of that. I feel the producers of Lost have a clear and concise concept in mind for the show. And whether they admit it or not, I know that said concept is borrowing heavily from the real world legend of Shambala, but more specifically from the fictional world of Shangri-la, as presented in Lost Horizon. Therefore, I further postulate the theory that one of the major characters of Lost is indeed being groomed for to take on the role of Island chieftain to replace the now seemingly dead but amazingly ever-present, Jacob.

Now, in nearly an identical manner to Lost, the plane load of passengers that crashed near Shangri-la in Lost Horizon, were brought there for the exact same reason. A candidate, or in this case a clear winner, Hugh Conway, is intentionally brought to Shangri-la by the ancient dying leader of that place, The High Lama, to become his successor.

And everything we have seen so far appears to imply that Jack is the man for the job on Lost. His character has mirrored that of Hugh Conway in many ways throughout the series. Both were passengers on a plane that crashed in a remote locale.


Both had encounters with Asian lieutenants of the main leaders of their respective worlds. Jack Shepard with Dogen.


Hugh Conway with Chang.


Both were tortured souls who were discontent in their own lives. Both found love in there new worlds. Jack with Kate on Lost.

Hugh Conway with Sondra in the Frank Capra film version of Lost Horizon, and with another woman in the Lost Horizon sequel novel, entitled, Shangri-la.

However, more importantly both were skeptics that became believers and broken men that became leaders with a purpose.

We have already seen this once with Jack. He was a successful spinal surgeon that had it all and could "fix" anything. Then he Lost the woman he loved to divorce and the father he never had closure with. He was, if not broken, at least on the edge of being broken, and could not "fix" himself. Then his plane crashed on a remote island and he had a purpose again. He now had something to fix again. He need to protect the survivors of Oceanic 815 and get them safely off The Island. He may not have saved them all, but he did help save 5 of them. He thought he had "fixed" their lives and maybe even his own.

However, when he realized he was never supposed to leave The Island, he became a broken man once again. No Lost fan will soon forget the bearded crazed Jack that pleaded, "We have to go back Kate. We have to go back!?"

And the Island did convert him from skeptic to believer. Much the same way Shangri-la ultimately drew the bearded crazed, Conway back.


And in the world of Lost Horizon, Conway does indeed become the new leader of Shangri-la. He is given the responsibility of protecting it's storehouse of knowledge and way of life, in order for the ill-fated rest of humanity to be reborn from it's eminent and literal self-destruction.

And in though taking the long way to get there, that is where I believe Lost is ultimately headed. We had Alvar Hanso tells us about mankind's dark fate in the only non-broadcast Canon material in the world of Lost, The Sri Lanka Orientation film.


Before the seeason is over, we will see this all come to light in one way or another, and I believe Jack will show us, he has "what it takes" to protect the Island and thereby save mankind.