think that the evidence brought to bear in prior episodes and especially in the season finale suggests that our Island is some sort of switching yard between parallel dimensions/alternate realities. Before you poo-poo me, let me lay out my supports. 1) Jack's Dad. He was dead dead dead. In the flash-forward (post rescue) we saw Jack discuss his father as though he was alive ("talk to him upstairs...if he's not more drunk then me, then fire me"). His presence on the island ONLY suggests that Smokey (Jacob?) took Christian's form to judge Jack. He was dead, but after rescue was alive. 2) Naomi told Charlie that all the passengers on 815 were found dead and the Driveshaft was a hugely successful band. Clearly, in our universe neither is true, and it does seem beyond Ben's scope of abilities to create a new set of passengers and a plane. Another Universe would explain this incongruity. 3) Two transmissions were incoming at the same time. Penny's and Kennwolksi's (Namoi's people). This is classic parallel universe stuff. Two events, very similar, but with far different outcomes. Had they recieved Penny's transmission, I think all would have been well. However, Naomi somehow pireced the veil and has led Jack and the rest who get on the copters to a WRONG outcome. 4) Parallel Universe (or PU...heh!) explains how people could be healed of the things that ail them. Locke's paralysis, Jin's setirility, Rose's cancer, etc. If this is a pocket dimension, then in translation, they may be unfettered by disease at least initially. How did Ben get a tumor? A post translation natural occurance, I suppose. Onto some other pet thoughts/thoeries/predictions: 1) Walt=Smoky=Jacob. I think Smoky is an extension of Jacob or the only form he can take OUTSIDE the cabin. Smoky can take shapes (Walt, Horse, Boar, Christian, Eko's Brother as needed to make judgements or test the losties. Jacob, I beleive is an original denizen of the island who is trapped in the pocket dimension. 2) Future Jack is going to find a way to prevent NOW Jack (and Kate and the rest save for perhaps Aaron and Claire) from getting on the helicopters. My guess? THE NUMBERS. He will somehow use the numbers...perhaps by talking to Hugo in the future. The numbers are IMO some sort of equation or probability influncing string that predicts the opening of the pocket dimension that is the ISLAND. That's right...our island IMO is a pocket dimension that serves as a switching station between laternate realities and times. Sound good?

I am not sure if it truly is the future that was depicted in the flashforwards or perhaps an alternate universe. Jack kept makeing remarks that sounded as him his father was still alive which shouldn't be the case since he went to Australia to escort his father's body back to the states. And the body in the coffin? I think in might have been Michael's! And Charlie dead? Are you sure? Yes, we saw him floating in the water but that doesn't mean it's the end. What if he escapes from the blown out porthole and swims to the surface? All in all, I thought it was a great finale...can't wait until next season! LOST is back!

Alternate dimensions/realities are TOO MUCH for the average TV scriptwriter or TV watcher. If your'e a fanatical science-fiction reader, then you know this is an "easy" way of explaingin incongruitites. I like not knowing all the answers - if you did, you wouldn't watch next season, would you?

IF the lost creators are reading: BRING CHARLIE BACK!! I'm gonna miss him!! Also, a friend said that Jacob might be Ben's alter-ego. Maybe his "other" personality. I think I can see that....

Some thoughts......(Sorry if these were already mentioned): 1-Jack's "heroic" car rescue: Could he have rescued Claire and Aaron? 2-Locke: Could Locke be Jacob ... or is he an extension of Jacob? Could this be why he is always sabotaging their efforts to leave? 3-The "Flash-Futures": Could the events in the present (on the island) be the flashbacks? 4-Where did Juliet go when she and Sawyer went to go back to the beach for Hurley and them? I thought they went to get guns? And finally, I swear if some opens a shower door and Bobby Ewing is in there, I'm going to have to hit someone.

Just watch the show when season 4 starts up. this specula-babbling gave me an instant headache. You midwesterners should just relax

I keep hearing the theory that the episode either wasn't a "Flash Forward" (despite the fact that the name of the funeral home was an anagram of just that) or that Jack's father had somehow come back to life. All because of Jack's statement, "Bring my father down here and if I'm drunker than he is you can fire me." By that point in the episode my husband and I had already figured out that these scenes were post-rescue. At no point did it cross the mind of either of us that Jack was being anything but sarcastic with that statement. Jack's point was that yes, he was intoxicated but that even in death Jack's father was a bigger drunk then Jack would ever be. The prescription scene was to highlight the depths to which his drug seeking was falling. Using his dead father's precription pad was a perfect example of this. Of COURSE he didn't want the pharm tech to call his father's office. His father is DEAD. Moving on to Charlie. As my hubby pointed out to me so I'd stop crying - we didn't see Charlie die. We saw him close his eyes and cross himself. The blown porthole looked to be JUST large enough for him to fit through. Who's to say next season won't pull a deus ex machina and have him escape The Looking Glass? The coffin. Okay, so we know the dead person was male with a first name that started with "Je" or "Jo" and a last name that ended with "ntham." We know that he was found shortly after 4am inside some building on Grand Avenue in Los Angeles, but was "of" New York. Gotta love HDTV and the power of freeze-frame. Speculation abounds that this mysterious person is an as-of-yet unintroduced character named "Jeremy Bentham." A name that is an homage to the philosopher who created the idea of Panopticon which is: "The concept of allowing an observer to observe prisoners without the prisoners being able to tell if they are being observed or not, thus conveying a 'sentiment of an invisible omniscience'." No matter what you or I think, it all comes to the same. We shall simply have to wait and see. :)

I agree with Rob from WI - and I would add that I believe that the people who "saved" the Losties took control of the island and it's time-shifting properties, just as Ben feared. As a reward to Jack (and maybe some of the other survivors), they "fixed" his life by changing those things that caused him the most pain - his dad's death and his wife leaving him. Except that when Jack returned to our reality, his life turned out just as messed up before. His relationship with his dad still sucks. His wife still ends up leaving him. At which point he realizes that everything he wanted was actually on the island. I think he'll end up turning to Penny to help him find his way back to the island. Penny is still looking for Desmond, who missed the rescue because he couldn't get out of the Looking Glass Station in time. This leads us right up to the end of Season Two with the hatch explosion, the boat with the scientific equipment on it, and the guy who looked suspiciously like Jack saying "we found it."

Picture this: Jack see's Locke's obituary in the paper, Locke has no friends or family because of how he tried to keep people on the island. Kate marries Sawyer- Thats why "in the future" Jack falls appart. Just an idea...

Could the "flash-forward" have actually been a vision that Locke had which is why he said to Jack "you're not supposed to do this"?

Some good thoughts here but I just can't buy into the idea that Jack was being "sarcastic" when he referred to his father as if he were alive. The phrasing was way too awkward to be a sarcastic reference to a dead person. Furthermore, just because the scenes with Jack were a flash forward, that doesn't preclude the concept of alternate/parallel realities. Many scientists believe that time travel would only be possible because of the existence of parallel realities/dimensions/universes.

The Dr. that was grilling Jack in the "flash forward" was the Chief of Surgery. That would mean that Jack's dad was not Chief anymore BECAUSE HE IS DEAD! Jack si so hopped up on the goofballs that he seems nutty, i.e. the reference to his Dad. That we are seeing a flash forward is correct especially because they took the time to make the name of the funeral home an anagram of the words "flash forward". He might be lying, but in an interview for E! TV Charlie says he is dead and is not scheduled to come back--but things could change. My theory, and it is probably as silly as most others, is that the people who died on the island (Shannon, Boone, Ecko, Charlie) had been "redeemed" from their bad past acts while on the island. Jack is desperate in the future because he and Kate and maybe others who left were NOT redeemed and continue to suffer the consequences of their prior bad acts. Or Jack did not take everyone and feels guilty for leaving people behind on the island. I think the person in the coffin may have been someone Jack thought had a link to getting him back to the island. The stuff about the philosopher could fit in, especially since the historical Brantham was a protege of the real John Locke and the Dharma Initiative sounds quite a bit like the utilitarian society he planned. I thouhgt maybe the guy in the coffin was the real creator of the Dharma project. Well, only nine more months until we find out some more scraps. . .

Personally, it seems to me that Jack's referring to his father as though he was still alive is supposed to be a sign of the psychotic break he has suffered since leaving the Island. He's been completely broken, still showing up at the hospital thinking he's a doctor (clearly the fact that the Chief of Surgery doesn't recognize him implies that he's not working at St. Sebastian anymore), referring to his father as still alive, emotionally unstable and suicidal, etc. He's lost touch with reality as a result of his transition back into the "real world" which leads him to believe his dad is still alive and other such things.

One strange thing...Rousseau said she gave birth to Alex three days after starting her message at the tower. But all mothers who deliver on the island died. Why not Rousseau?

I disagree with the author on one point: "Jack and Kate, and presumably the rest of the gang, have returned to the United States." there is nothing to indicate how many survivors of 815 got off the island by this episode. my initial thought was Jack negotiated to get at least himself and Kate off, and that he is so tormented because he feel like he needs to go back and rescue the rest. Sorry Madison Rob. if this is about parallell universes, they might as well just make it Hurley's dream, because that would be REALLY dumb. Cassie is correct, although I might differ on the sracasm part, he was eating Percosets like Tic Tacs, he was just talking out of his a$$ when he said to bring his father down. Christian is dead.

Steve from Boulder: Only mothers who conceived off-island have healthy babies. Otherwise, Claire would not have had Aaron. And don't you remember a few episodes back when Juliet took Sun to see how far along she was? The whole point of that was to see if the baby was conceived off-island (and would live) or on-island (with Jin, but would likely die).

Is it February yet? :)

Here's an idea. What Jack reads in the paper is about yet another former Lostie or Other dying. Ben, (who took an alias something with a Jo in first name) or a child -- the coffin is small. The reason Jack wants to kill himself is that the Losties who returned began dying after their return. Kate's husband or boyfriend would especially worry if she is gone for very long because of this. Jack wants to get back to the island to somehow change this outcome. That's why Ben said to Jack near the end, "everyone on this island will die." It would include in the future, that everyone would die. Perhpas that is why no one showed up for funeral, because they are dead. Why, who knows? Something to do with alternate reality and the island being found by the people who are off shore? Everything has changed because of their return --even Jack's dad no longer being dead.

No matter what you think of season 3, or the finale, you must admit, that few shows, if any, have succeeded in weaving such an intricate, entertaining and intelligent plot, as the creators of Lost have done. Especially since they basically knew the story arc while filming season 1. No other show on TV is similar to Lost. True many wannabes have tried and failed (mainly on ABC), and the show Traveler is another example of this. Mark my words it will be pulled just as fast as Daybreak was. There is a specific recipe or mix of drama, mystery, comedy, human interest, sci-fi and even learning, that is as enigmatic and closely guarded as the KFC fried chicken recipe or the Coca Cola ingredients. Anyone who says they are turned off by Lost's twists and turns, or the constant flow of new questions and mysteries is not getting the point. THAT'S WHY WE WATCH THE SHOW. Watch grey's anatomy if you want to see people fall in and out of love. Or watch any other show that caters to only 1 type of programming. But please appreciate the beauty and wonder that is LOST. I just spent 45 minutes researching the philosophers John Locke and Jeremy Bentham, and learned quite a bit, all because someone on here in a previous thread mentioned their connection to the show. What other show has that ability? Also, I hadn't really realized it until I watched "Lost: The Answers" a week ago, but they have basically explained most of the mysteries of the first 2 seasons. The smoke monster, strange appearances on the island of people and things relative to the main characters lives pre-island, Jacob, the island's healing abilities, are all not going to be explained until probably the last season. Be glad for that, because it makes watching the show, that much better. Rememeber when polar bears, Rousseau, the hatch and the others were the main mysteries that fans wanted to know. They have all been explained. Almost in such an ingenious fashion, that people who complain about no answers, have obviously forgot that these were once unknown to the viewer. To add my theory to the already long list, here it is. I think Ben, Jacob, the original others and those who have joined up are some sort of secret society hand-picked by the island's mystical entity to protect it from those who would exploit it. Almost like a modern version of the Knight's Templar were for the Holy Grail. Sworn to protect it, with their lives if need be, because of the potential for the power to fall into the wrong hands. This may at times require ruthless and deadly action, which is easy to carry out, if you have already pledged your life to something. Once you pledge your self to the island and it has "chosen" you, there must be some sort of resurrection process that takes place if you are killed unintentionally, in order for the island to maintain this protective force. I cite John, Mikhail and Ben as examples of this. Also, in order to maintain the protective force, the island's ability to heal also keeps people relatively the same age as long as they stay on the island. Aging has recently been classified as a cellular disease, that if ever cured, would allow people to live indefinitely. Obviously a gunshot to the head, or falling off a cliff are not a product of aging, but irreversible acts that could lead to death if traumatic enough. Whether the island is a parallel universe (which is interesting), I do not know. But I am sure I will know, when it befits the story line, so I won't complain about it. Damon, Carlton, if you happen to ever read these, I would like to thank you for making this show for all of us to see. It is in my opinion the best thing on television. I bow to your mastery of story-telling. Thanks.

If you freezeframe the newspaper obit - you can barely make out the person that died is named Jonas Grumby. So here's my theory: Season 4 will focus on "the rescue". I'm betting that it goes awry...causing many of the Losties to be killed (just as Ben says)...and is the cause of Jack's guilt. Jack and some survive (Kate, but not Juliette) only to run into a group of people who have been shipwrecked on the island for many years- Jonas Grumby is a member of that group. By the end of season 4, they together with this new group get rescued. Season 5 - will probably be 'future Jack' trying to get back to the island. Season 6 - Jack makes it back to the island, builds a resort and puts together a charity basketball game featuring the Harlem Globetrotters.

Here is my hypothesis. The "Island" is actually a virtual reality experiment/psychology treatment/thearpy (I'm not a real sci-fi fan, but think holodeck from Star Trek). All of the flashbacks seem to focus on the issues that each person has had to deal with or has encountered in their life. None of it appears to focus on anything else but that. As the seasons have unfolded, it is clear that most everyone has had a connection in flashbacks. It's clear that they all have some type of bond or commonality. Perhaps they all agreed to enter this virtual reality for some purpose and have become "lost". This would explain some of the abnormal things that people have experienced - visions, improbable events, etc. It would also explain why Locke and Ben stated that if they "leave", everyone dies - makes sense from the standpoint that it would be the end of the virtual reality. If you think this through, it seems to make sense on a lot of levels. Julia and her "trip" to the island, the ability to communicate to the "outside world", the mysterious drops of never ending supplies (if the sub is the only real way off the island, then how can supplies be dropped from the air??), etc... I think they all entered, either individually or as a concerted group, into a virtual reality "Island" to achieve something. Jack states that they need to go back... if they were truely rescused and the mysterious island is presumably identified, then what would the sense be of going back? How could you possibly hope to recreate the situations and circumstances in the attempt to change the outcome under real world conditions? Unless you had a way of staging it all again..... Interested in hearing people's feedback on this.

Don't know about y'all, and ya have great theories.. but it's so busy each week and if I miss a week, I am lost! So anyway, after a couple seasons, I look forward to the reruns. And the reruns of reruns. It's a chance to look for things ya missed. Or watch for stuff ya forgot. Reruns are great in this case. Loved the pre-show last night explainng some stuff. There has been so many new charactors with purpose, I can't keep them straight. Can't wait to see reruns now, over and over. To fill in the blanks. It'll make the next season make more sense after we over think it to death. Keep posting, I love it. You are all helping me put the pieces together. Just hope this is not another Twin Peaks! We need closure.

So how come Jack has always had 5'oclock shadow throughout all the seasons, but as soon as he is in the flash forward he has a beard? I also have another question: Who is the dark haired "other" that talks with Ben a lot; the one who helped Ben kill all the original Dharma crew, and who NEVER SEEMS TO AGE? He looks the same as when Ben first came to the island as a kid. Interesting... I was a bit dismayed at Charlie's death because it seemed a little lame. He could have stepped out of the control room and locked the door behind him. Why did he think he had to die? I read an interview he did and I guess he said that he wants to do more in his acting career and that it was time for him to move on. He is still dating "Kate" in real life. Amyway, can't wait till Feb. when it comes back on. Don't shows usually start up again in the fall?

To Bob From Georgia. FYI, Jonas Grumby was the real name (character name) of the skipper on Gilligans Island! Looks like the producers played a prank on you folks who do the "freeze framing"

Good theory that the person who is dead in the "future" is Jeremy Bentham, but alas, it is not. The website http://losteastereggs.blogspot.com/ has some excellent shots of the newspaper and you can blow it up and almost read the whole article. The last name is Lantham, and it appears the first name is John. What also had me a little perplexed about the "flash future" was why was Kate not in jail? She's a wanted felon who has committed murder. Yes, Jack does mention his father, but as previous people have mentioned he may have been saying that because he was on the oxycodone and drunk. I like the idea that Jack doesn't work at the hospital anymore, makes sense. Why's he driving that piece of junk and look all shabby? Who did Kate need to get back too? Sawyer? The season finale was incredible, and I believe the show is completely back on track. It will be interesting what's in store for the rest though, will they get off the island and it takes place back home or will they somehow remain on the island? I can't believe we have to wait until January/February to find out.

Jack's dad; dead. Locke; back from the dead. Charlie; will be rescued by Desmond who has the airtank and will swim by the porthole that Charlie was conveniently by and take him to shore. The person in the coffin, has to be Ben, who in their right mind would go to his funeral, hence the reason Jack did because he isn't in his right mind! Never before has a show entertained and aggreviated me like Lost. My belief, the island, is the island of hope. A chance to have the childlike, 'do over' we all wish we could get! Thanks for giving us viewers that chance!

Lost interest mid-way through the second season. Then the creator "phoned it in" (for real) on Colbert, so I gave it another chance. It is more action oriented, but other than that, eh. The first group of writers didn't seem to have a set framework, so they piled on all kinds of silliness. So now, anything that ties up all the loose ends has to come off as a ridiculous deus ex machina. The big answer to all this unexplainable stuff almost has to be something as lame and cliche as an alternate reality/parallel universe, and that is too bad. A bad ending can ruin the whole effort. Of course, I'll never know. It got to sloppy long ago.

I have to say that I love this show! It's the best thing on TV, no doubt! I love the way that they keep us guess and theorizing and enjoy the exchange of ideas. The only thing that I have to know now is...why the heck is Mikeal still alive?! Is he superman or something?! He is really ticking me off!

I just wish there would have been some continuity to this episode and previous episodes. I still believe the constant changing writers has cause more misunderstandings and incompleteness more than anything. Why did Charlie die? Why does everything ALWAYS focus around JACK! Is no one elses memory flashes important?! Jack and daddy were surgeons and ok they were a disfunctional family...so what! The others on the island also had past that seemed just as intreging as Jack. He was so gullible when it came to Juliette and he was angry when Kate broke into his little house at the "Others Compound"..Jack was about the leave all those people without saying a word. As a Sci-Fi buff...I think the powers that be attempted to cram to much into a short period of time and when they had time they could think to follow-up with anything good. Watching the creator's on the 1 hour special was not helpful they seem to be waiting expectly for whatever writer may have in mine for the next season. The way the network has been leaving shows in the lurch we may not even have a lost "2008".

Has anyone wondered where the "barefooted" Others are? What about the children that were taken or the "tailies" that viewed our losties in the cage? I believe one of them had been a stewardess on Flight 815.

No one thinks that they could be in a different time? Like Desmonds time travel? I thought about that from the very beginning.

First, note that there were communications to the outside world that the Losties sent out: Charlie talked to Penelope, Jack talked to someone on Naomi's freighter, and there was Rousseu's distress signal. Once Charlie turned off the jamming device, there were several iterations of Rousseau's message before they turned it off. So I think that Ben was telling the truth about Naomi's people, but that there was another ship nearby that heard Rousseau's message and sent out help and arrived first. Up by the radio tower, Jack and the other Lostie's were rescued by helicopter, but before they could get to the group down at the beach, Naomi's group arrived and gassed the whole island killing every living person remaining. FutureJack feels guilty because he was the one who called on Naomi's phone, after Ben and Locke both warned him not to. He wants to go back because he hopes that maybe someone survived. Kate doesn't want to go back, because she believes everyone is dead, and she doesn't want to be confronted with Sawyer's remains. The person waiting for Kate is her toddler son, by Sawyer. The dead person in the casket is either Locke or Ben. (Although Ben didn't want to leave the island, he knew what was coming after Jack made the call, so left with the rest of the group.) The other intriguing thing that Jack said at the end is that he's tired of lying. There were so many people who died violent deaths on the island, that I can see the group that was rescued agreeing not to talk about it. If the authorities heard about the deaths, they would all be interrogated endlessly and the media would speculate as to whether any of the survivors committed murder. (It could be argued that all of them were complicit in the deaths of the others that were killed on the beach.) So they all agreed to lie: Shannon, Ana-Lucia, et al, died in the plane crash; there was no war with the Others, maybe no others at all. In order to be resuced, then, Ben took the identity of one of the people that did die in the crash - thus, he is Jeremy Latham mentioned in the article. (Oh, and Jack was just drunk when he mentioned his father upstairs.)

I think that the person Kate has to get back is her son. remember she told Sawyer she ask Juliette to check her as well. I also think the body in the coffin is Sawyer, because when jack first read it he call a number that got an answer machine. He said he just read and was sorry then hung up. He then continued to call that number till he got through to Kate....Just my guess

I,m Lost. Sevearl Questions I also would like to be answered. Slave Ship, where are the slaves, are they the first others? Why would the original Darma People not know that the others took over the island from the original staff? Look at the old guns and the old computers, but they have the best intel and files on everyone. Sometimes the things they do on this Island do not make sence.But thats what is so good about the show.

Tawni in Washington: IMHO, Charlie had to lock himself in the Control Room to keep Desmond from rushing in. Des just heard/saw Penny on the video and was rushing to talk to her. Charlie knew there was no time to stop him and explain before the grenade blew. He didn't lock himself in--he locked Des out. I love that's there's so much to talk about and so many different opinions. I think when we finally get the answer, we won't believe it...or rather, interpret it to fit our own theories.

Hey, I've been with LOST since week one, but even with all the questions this finale raised for me, I'm still not sure about one thing: will I still be interested in nine months? I'm just being honest here. I can wait through the summer, but waiting until February is a long time. By then, there's a very good chance I'll be interested in something else enough that turning on LOST just won't seem so imporatant.

One thing habout the finale that just didn't ring true since it didn't seem to make sense was Charlie's fate. Why did he feel he had to die? One, he had already diabled the jamming signal so the rest of the lost one's could be rescued so why not let the room flood? He had already learned that the "rescue ship" was not sent by Penny. The Pearl station is under water anyway, and he and Desmond would still need to swim out, so again, why not let it be flooded? Second, it looked like Charlie was small enough to simply swim out of the open portal that was blown open...why not just float back up back to the surface? And of course, this is "Lost". Does any character really "die" or go away? Here's another item to ponder. With the rescue iminent, would all of the lost one's want to leave the island? Did Locke really leave the island voluntarily? I thought the obituary in Jack's flashforward could possible have been his, but Locke was bound to a wheelchair before he came to the island, would he want to possible go back to that? And how about Rose? She had incurable cancer. Would she go back to a possible painful death instead of remaining on the island where her cancer seems to have miraculously been cured? I don't think everyone left the island.

Charlie's only drowned if he's dumb enough to not breath the air that's still in the control room. Since air pressure in Looking Glass is in equilibrium with sea bottom, the water pouring in through the window in control window can't possibly reach any higher than the top of the window.

OK, first of all, Charlie is dead. Desmond saw it over and over, and he was always right. To say Charlie swam out of the window or that Desmond rescued him is beyond ridiculous. He's dead. So is Jack's dad. Jack was out of it, and he forged his dad's writing and said he was upstairs but obviously wasn't. That man talking to Jack was the chief of surgery, not Christian. Jack was so out of it he was faking working at the hospital ("Who are you?" the man asked). All Jack was doing was flying around, trying to get back to the island, and looking for the island on maps, and drinking. And the man in the casket, if it's anyone we know now, is Ben. That looked like his diary resting next to the casket. Who else would have no one show up? It's probably not Locke - if he's going to ever die, it'll be on the island. I think when Ben said everyone was going to die if Jack called the ship, he didn't mean immediately. There's some kind of fountain-of-youth quality to the island. Look at the quick healing Locke. Look at the never-dying Mikail. Look at the never-aging Richard. Something protects them, maybe not everyone, but they must know something or be in touch with something on the island - we know Locke and Ben are. Remember when Juliet, back in the U.S., saw the x-rays of a woman's reproductive system? She thought they belonged to a 70-year-old, but Richard said they were those of a 20-something woman. She may be 70-something, but doesn't appear to be on the island. And when the Others had their funeral early in season 3, they (Ben or Juliet, I believe) said something about not a lot of people dying. When people do indeed die, it's because of each other or themselves (the Smoke Monster seems to be judge, jury and executioner - and it's the biggest thing, in my opinion, that hasn't even been touched on in the show). The island isn't purgatory nor another dimension. It's on earth. They're alive. There's just something very unique about it. Locke felt it, and now, after he left, Jack does, too.

Wow you guys have some great theories. Everything I have ever guessed before about LOST has been wrong so I just enjoy it as it moves along. I agree that I don't want all the answers at once. By not telling us it keeps us watching. Plus its a lot of fun. The flashfoward could not have been too far in the future maybe a year or two but of course in true LOST fashion I am sure a lot of stuff has happened to them from the time they left the Island to what ever period the flashfoward brings us too. I did have a few questions though. I was wondering about Jacks beard. It seems fake. It was way to dark almost black in the flashfoward scenes but in the island scenes if you look you can see some (a lot) gray hairs mixed in with his 5 o'clock shadow. Is he wearing a fake beard like the others did in seasons' one and two ?? Also I was wondering as well about Kate and how come she was not in jail.

One possible way to explain why in the future that Kate isn't in jail and Jack's dad isn't dead - that when they are rescued and returned to civilization, they are placed back in time BEFORE Kate kills her stepfather and BEFORE Jack tells the hospital about his father's drinking. Every character seems to have a critical moment in their life that shaped their future; often life/death moments. What if they are given a chance to relive their lives and decide whether to make the same choices???

I just watched the finale today...and it was a nail biter. I was thinking (at the moment i was watching it) that Jack and Kate knew each other before going on to the island...but that doesn't seem reasonable. So to back up the theory about Jack saying to Kate that he must go back...he was also saying that he goes on a airplane every Friday, has a drink, and comes back; AND that every time he does...he wants the plane to crash (at least i thought thats what he said)...maybe on the same island or just to end his life?? I don't know. And i was thinking that the coffin guy was his father...but again...why did he say that statement to the other Chief of Surgery?? Oh and how come Miguel NEVER seems to die. He goes through that electric fence thing=doesn't die. get's shot with an arrow basically in the heart=doesn't die. What the heck. And John Locke...when he woke up, his legs were paralyzed...but then he imagines or actually see's Walt and he can walk again. *sigh* it's all pretty confusing...but that's what makes this show one of the best out there. Thanks writer guys for making it great. Can't wait till next season!

I think LOST is the most fun a TV show has ever been. It's a blast considering all the possiblities and I think it will be the main subject of conversation among viewers for the summer. It might die down, but before it comes back on the subject will heat up again. Anticipation is half the fun. I am happy that Rousseau finally got to be with her daughter again. Seeing Walt or a vision of him was such a shocker and I loved that. When Sawyer shot Tom and said "That's for taking the kid off the raft." I thought that was justice (and pretty cool). Hurley charging out of the jungle in the van was priceless !!! The entire finale was so much fun to watch. I loved it & it rekindled the original spark that LOST started back on the first episode. FUN FUN FUN

Yes, it's a do over. Jack should never have left the island. Now he has to suffer from all his past mistakes with no relief. Those that amended their wrong doings and became selfless and loving while on the island have left this limbo and passed on to better thangs. We saw that as them having died. Ben warned Jack and now Jack is suffering and needs to go back to the island for salvation. And that, folks, is what next season is going to be all about.

Er... parallel universes? Virtual reality? Psycotic episodes? First rule of writing fiction is not to make your story too complicated. I'm new to the Lost phemom. I tend to avoid anything that gets that much hype. But I tuned into the season finale after watching the "our story thus far" show that preceded it, and this is what I came away with.. 1. The island was populated by people engaged in some sort of Noah's Ark scheme. They planned on being the only surivivors of some catyclysm, perhaps that they generated themselves, and start over. (the electo-magnet thingy, why so powerful? Is it a weapon, or a radar jamming shield that hides the island from the outside world?) 2. Ben and the Others decided the Dharma people had to be stopped from destroying the world, and that is why they are the "good guys". 3. Ben decides to start his own utopian society, but can't do that because something is causing the women to die that conceive on the island. Perhaps it has something to do with the Dharma people and their science or technology. He needs the survivors for breeding stock, so they can't leave. 4. Locke is tuned into the same force/entity/spirit that Ben hears. This entity may be good or evil, that hasn't been shown yet. Maybe even an alien? 5. Ben tried to kill Locke because he sees him as a threat to his special relationship to Jacob. 6. Jacob saves Locke (and reversed his paralysis) because Ben is not giving him what he needs. 7. The people on the boat have no intention of rescuing the survivors. Are they connected with Dharma, trying to figure out what went wrong so they can begin again? (Hence the death of everyone on the island, to eliminate witnesses.) Or is it a goverment vessel, who found out about Dharma and determined to destroy the island to eliminate the threat? 8. The meaning of Jack's future echoes? We will have to wait for the next season to find out.

Kathy, the funeral home is in a black area of the city. It's more likely Michael or Walt in the casket (though it strikes strikes me as an odd size: it's somewhere between adult-size and child-size). Dominic Monaghan's said both in print and on talk shows that he doesn't want to "cheat" the audience and pop up alive on the show again, that he's history for real. His contract's done and he wants to do film and theatre.

Kathy, the funeral home is in a black area of the city. It's more likely Michael or Walt in the casket (though it strikes strikes me as an odd size: it's somewhere between adult-size and child-size). Dominic Monaghan's said both in print and on talk shows that he doesn't want to "cheat" the audience and pop up alive on the show again, that he's history for real. His contract's done and he wants to do film and theatre.

Who was in the hospital bed after the car crash? Could it have been Claire? Was the little boy who waved at Jack in the waiting room Aaron?

What is the significance of the graffiti that is under the bridge? Does it say stm cel rsh?

Jonas Grumby is the real name of the skipper from gilligan's island http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skipper see post above by Bob, Suwanee, GA

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