I still don't think of Lost as sci-fi. It has always been a fantasy series for me.

I'll change my sig just because I loved the last episode. Lost really died last night.

True, but coming in 2012 is ABC's new show called FOUND. It looks pretty cool.

I'm satisfied with the finale only in a since that it validates what we knew all along since probably the first season when theories started being thrown about. I always felt they were dead and in an inbetween place. I have accepted the fact they they couldn't answer some of the questions they raised over the years becuase hey you can't have it all and it's leaves us with an unending pool of what if's and make your own theories as to what this or that is or that meant.

Wait wait wait

I think some people are misinterpreting the ending

The finale did not imply that the *island* is purgatory. Everything that happened on the island really happened...the characters did not die in the Oceanic crash in the pilot.

I think the Island as well as the Sideways flashes were all some form of purgatory. Think about it especially in the case of Locke and Rose. Locke could walk and Rose had cancer that disappeared when they were on the island. Also remember Rose and Locke never had a desire to ever leave the island.

I also beleive that leaving the Island was the equal to going back to the real world and in effect "Haunting" which is why Jacob was so against it.

As to the Darma group I believe they were trying to in effect find a way to ressurrect the dead with the island properties. They were kinda like the spirits in ghost stories that are able to communicate with outside world.

I have a lot of thoeries but as you can see I'm a little incoherent right now and really need to do a write up similar to Eagles.

But that has more to do with the island and its self-contained mysteries, not an implication that all of the characters were dead from the outset.

The main significant clue that tells us that only Sideways is a "purgatory" of sorts, in my opinion, lies in the brief conversation Hurley and Ben have outside the church, when Hurley told him he was a great #2.

Which indicates that everything we saw on the island was real, and the sideways world was the place where they could all move on together in death.

But they could have.

Libs,

To your points ... you're totally correct, kind of.

My view on it is that the show took place in it's own little universe, it's own version of reality if you will. We watched and were involved in, as viewers, this one universe the entire time. In this universe, Oceanic 815 crashed, and many of the people on the plane survived. I would argue, however, that there is a very specific reason as to WHO survived, and why they survived. The island chose the survivors, it had to, because otherwise, they'd all be dead.

Anyways, I disagree that the island wasn't purgatory in the way you're conveying it. It wasn't purgatory, per-say, but neither were the sideways flashes. This is why I point to Dante's Inferno, because I believe the writers drew the general concept of a complex 'purgatory' from that canon. There are stages the soul needs to go through to be able to move on, etc.

If you look at certain characters, many of them reconciled their sins on the island. Charlie and his heroin addiction, Eko seeking forgiveness from Yemi, Jack for betraying his father, Saywer for murder, Sun for cheating on her husband, etc. The island doesn't fit the bill as purgatory, but it certainly plays many of the same roles purgatory does. It's more complex than that, it has many other facets, but you can't exclude those.

The same thing goes for the side flashes, they too have some aspects of purgatory, but not all of them, they have their own distinct purpose. It's only in it's entirety that the purgatory theory works.

I agree with Libs.

"Reality": Oceanic 815 crashed on the island. The adventures of the castaways were real. The deaths were real. Sawyer, Kate, etc.'s escape at the end was real.

And the LAX "timeline" was an afterlife neither here nor there.

To believe anything else (i.e. to believe the island was a form of purgatory and/or everyone died in the initial crash) is to ignore what was presented in the episode, IMO. It might be fun to form wild theories based on different sources (Dante's Inferno!), but it's not in the script.

Agree with both of you

I like your theories Eagle, I can see the symbolism with Dante's Inferno. I think that is another reason the episode is so great you a lot to think about and debate.

I never said the adventures, deaths or escapes weren't real. I do believe the island and alternate timeline bond to form something resembling purgatory though, and I think there are far too many similarities to ignore. Doing so is ignoring the script!

I should add, these really are just theories. I'm well aware they could be wrong entirely, or partially. I've already had to modify from what I originally posted, because when I wrote what I did, I was operating under the assumption that the final scene during the credits was everyone dead. It's obvious now that wasn't at all the case.

So I consider it all a living, breathing and growing model, if you will.

I do feel more confident in some aspects than others. For instance, the concept of an Earthly Paradise where a divine light exists, transitioning to a state where you don't remember your past, followed by an event which triggers you to remember so you can then enter paradise. This is all borrowed from the canon of Dante's Inferno and wrapped into the canon of Lost. The concept, design and execution obviously are different, but the high level structure is the same. We can argue how much was borrowed, and how much applies, as that is very open to interpretation, but ignoring that it was borrowed I consider pulling the wool over ones eyes.

If it isn't being a party pooper to ask.. just how do Frank, Miles and friends know what direction to fly in? Overall Miles was my favorite character this season and in the finale. One of the few who seemed real and not just a pawn being moved around a chess board.

As to the final shot of the wreckage, I feel sure that was not meant to be any kind of plot point but was just a picture they put up to have something to look at during the credits.

And there's no godlike powers that would have been worth it to me to drink that muddy water out of that old used plastic water bottle that Jack gave to Hurley.

That's pretty much what I've heard.

Well, you'll recall Frank is a pilot who has flown to the island AND returned to it in the past.

who cares if they didnt answer more questions, Sawyer and Juliet were reunited, best.show.ever. because of that.

Did they/are they releasing the soundtrack for the last season?

I think that the "alt" reality pretty much stole this episode, specially with my three favortie scenes

3.-Shannon/Sayid
2.-Claire giving birth (this would have been my #1 if it werent for my sick love for Suliet
1.-Suliet.- Simply Flaw....less

I know right!! The previous season's soundtrack usually comes out around this time...

EDIT: Oh wait Season 5 was just released May 11. I bet they will by this time next year.

I was let down by the finale. I guess I just wanted some questions answered and the writers decided to leave everything a mystery. Lost has been my favorite series over the past 6 years but now knowing all the questions they raise during the previous seasons never get answered it cheapens the previous seasons.

I guess my biggest problem is with the smoke monster/MIB. All this poor guy wanted to do was leave the island his whole life. I felt bad for him. No explanation was given why he was bad or evil (the devil) and why he would kill anyone if he left the island. If I was being held on a deserted island for hundreds of years by my older brother for no reason I would want to destroy the damn island too on my way out with a double finger salute!

Also anyone have an idea as to whose skeleton Desmond saw when he was close to cork in the water?

Isn't that supposed to be MiB's skeleton? His body went into the hole, reacted with the light and voila! Black Smoke came out!