The Whisper Theory That Would Have Changed Everything On Lost
Of all the event television that aired during the 2000s, it's hard to argue that "Lost" wasn't one of the biggest. A mystery show that centered around an ensemble of characters that survive a plane crash only to deal with strange and paranormal events that take place on the island they crashed on, "Lost" ran for 6 seasons and achieved fairly high ratings for network ABC. "Lost" was notable for its ability to create large mysteries that would often lead to fan theories ranging in the dozens during, and even after, its series run.
However, the "Lost" series finale divided fans and critics alike, with some defending it fervently (per Digital Spy) and others calling it a monumental failure (via Deadspin). Most of the criticism leveled at the show's conclusion was the way it wrapped up several of the series' central mysteries, with some believing that it failed to answer them in a satisfactory way or in any way at all. With that in mind, there are fan theories out there that some believe are either still entirely possible, or that some believe are better than the answers viewers eventually got. For the latter, there's one particular theory about "the whispers" that the survivors would hear on the island that certain fans think was superior to the canonical answer.
Fans thought the whispers were actually future versions of the survivors
"Lost" eventually offered the answer that the whispers that the survivors heard were the ghosts of those unable to move on to the next plane of existence — a fate that Michael Dawson (Harold Perrineau) was sentenced to due to his many crimes on the island. Like many answers that "Lost" provided, this mystery's conclusion was divisive at best. However, according to a fan theory that circulated around the internet (per Screen Rant), some believed that the whispers were actually the voices of the future versions of the survivors themselves, warning them about "impending danger. "
Again, it's important to note that this did not ultimately turn out to be the cause of the whispers, but it's clear that some fans prefer that theory. Still, some fans have theorized that the ghostly whispers could still be tied to time travel in some way. On the r/lost subreddit, in a post discussing the origins of the whispers, u/Petrichor02 wrote, "I like to believe that the Whispers really are the voices of the ghosts, but they're able to be heard when someone distorts spacetime. We know that teleportation is a thing in the world of Lost, and almost every time we hear the Whispers they're accompanied by someone appearing or disappearing."
While there's no evidence to support this, it's clear that even years after its divisive finale, fans are still enjoying speculating and theorizing over "Lost."