You could easily explain that, though – just have some throwaway line about how immediately after the flash, a couple of hundred thousand people won the lottery, each getting fuck all in the process, with the lotteries shutting down afterwards. If this actually will get addressed is an entirely different matter, though.
But the planes only crashed in the present, where people blacked out, which nobody knew in advance would happen – in the future, presumably whoever flew a plane then saw themselves flying a plane, nothing more.
In addition to her flashforward being at the Times Square party, she said she went on Mosaic and 500 thousand people had reported the same flashforward.
I’m not overly bothered by the “untainted flashforwards” (not impacted by foreknowledge they were happening,) but I do think it’s a plot hole that isn’t adequately waved away by it being a short window of time. New Year’s is only 1 second but it’s damn hard to miss. The impending flashforward would have more market penetration than New Year’s Eve, opening ceremonies at the Olympics, the World Cup final and the Superbowl all combined, and by a decent margin. The key difference is that the flashforward isn’t just a much bigger event than all of those things combined, but it’s personal to you as an individual as opposed to watching other people do stuff.
Lotteries aren’t directly hurt by having lots of winners; as you say, they simply cut up the pie by however many winners there are and pay them whatever. Same prize money regardless, so even if there are a million different winners, the lottery itself isn’t impacted. I suppose the lottery could be indirectly hurt if a thousand people won every single drawing, preventing a big prize accumulation. After a while of all jackpot winners getting twenty bucks each people might stop playing until after the flashforward, but then again a $20 payout on a $1 ticket is still a nice ROI.
Heh. I hated her intensely when she played the desperately baby crazy woman on Tell Me You Love Me, though the nudity helped a lot. I rather liked her as Penny on Lost, though, and she hasn’t bothered me too much here. Actually, I liked her as Sarah Connors’ ex-fiance’s new fiance on the Sarah Connor Chronicles too. So I guess I’ve become a fan despite the first role I saw her in being one I hated.
I wish they would have a throwaway line though. After the first episode, I was the first one to say its not a plot hole and we just need to give them some time. But I think It’s gone on long enough without mention. They don’t even have to explain it, just make a comment about how they can’t explain it.
There is nothing to explain because there is nothing about the lottery that would be harmed by these flashforward cheaters, and since millions of people would absolutely try it nobody would win anything of substance. Maybe a grand each, tops. What is the lottery plot hole, exactly?
Okay, not necessarily lottery but it doesn’t sound like anyone tried to send a message to the past. It would be a five second conversation to address it.
“Hey, if you knew that six months ago you would see this moment exactly, wouldn’t you try to send a message to yourself? Like ‘Go to this place’?”
“Yeah, I would.”
“So how come nobody did that in their flashforward?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hmm… Ok, lets go track down those Blue Hand guys.”