There are two types of time travel in Lost, one involving temporal displacement and the other physically occurring due to The Island. "Whatever happened, happened" is a key rule of time travel in Lost. Changes in the timeline may occur, but the end result remains the same. Time travel in Lost influences the present and the characters' circumstances, even if the timeline corrects for their actions.

Time travel is an important part of Lost's narrative, though it isn't explained until later in the ABC series — and the rules and effects may be confusing even after it's confirmed. Lost drew viewers into its central mystery with ease, following a group of plane crash survivors stranded on a seemingly deserted island. As the group realizes they're not alone — and their circumstances may be more extraordinary than they first imagined — the storyline gets increasingly complex. Lost's constant twists were part of the show's appeal,...