THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS! STOP READING IF YOU DON'T WANT THE FINALE RUINED FOR YOU!


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SERIOUSLY, STOP READING THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT THE SHOW SPOILED FOR YOU!


Okay, here are my theories (and these are just initial thoughts and reactions to just seeing the show end)

1- the island does indeed exist
2- everything we see in the flash sideways world is merely a time-independent "holding pattern" place
3- this place gives the people who were connected to each other on the island a real life after they die

That's pretty much all there is to how the show actually ended. As to what everything means, it takes a little longer to discuss. In the end, they didn't really say what happened with the island, just that it was safe. But we know that Hugo looked after it, we just don't know for how long. It could have been a couple years, it could have been two millennia. We just know that for part of it, Ben helped him out. Even there, it could have been until Ben lived out his natural life, or Hugo could have made him like Richard.

All we know is that everyone on the island eventually moved on to the next phase together. It seems like a nice idea to me.

Questions left open:

1- did the plane leave and land safely?
2- in the flash sideways, what about all the other people who were on the island? Rousseau? Alex? Etc...
3- most importantly, WHAT HAPPENED TO VINCENT????

My own answers:
1- I think they landed safely and lived out their lives
2- I think they just weren't woken up. Not sure why Desmond left them like that, but I guess he had his reasons.
3- Two words: doggie heaven


In the end, they simply left a lot of things open, and I think they did it perfectly. They never said specifically what the island was or how it came to be. For instance, who created the statue? Who created the temple? Who created the great bathtub drain plug of evil? They didn't say and frankly I don't think it matters, at least not to me.

I liked it. I thought it was a fantastic ending.