As for the finale itself, there were still a few questions left unanswered which I think from the writers point of view was the right choice. Now people are making their own minds up based on what they think rather than what they saw. This post is basically my theories on some of the open questions or unsolved mysteries from the last 6 years of the show.

The Dharma Inititive and The Island’s Protectors

Wait a minute? We’ve seen plenty of the Dharma Inititive, we know all about them so why do many people want more answers? We it’s quite simple. Everything we know about Dharma just didn’t matter by the end of the show. Jacob and the MiB (aka smokie, the smoke monster, Flocke) were the two most important characters in the islands history. Between them representing light and dark, good and evil etc. But just like anyone else who was brought to the island the DI were all part of a game between Jacob and MiB.
Theory: The island has had many protectors over the last few millenia. We know Jacob was one of them and his mother before him, plus Jack briefly and then Hurley after him and many more i’m sure long after Hurley. The island will always need a protector but it wasn’t until jacob was in charge that the island actually had a real threat. Cue the MiB. Jacob’s brother who killed their mother and because Jacob’s nemesis. Jacob killed him and threw his body into the heart of the island where he became the black smoke monster, able to alter his form into those whose bodies lie on the island, starting with his own. Jacob and MiB couldn’t kill eachother due to a a curse put on them by their mother but Jacob still needed a backup plan. This is where his list of candidates come into it. We know there were hundreds of people over nearly 2000 years who were candidates to take over from Jacob. Jacob had enough to power to bring these candidates to the island and a handful of Dharma members were on his list. It’s speculated that Roger Linus was one of them. It was the MiB who made sure the Dharma inititive were wiped out through the hands of Ben Linus who he manipulated when he was just a boy. The MiB has the power to make dead loved one’s from someones memory appear to them and he did just that with Ben’s mother. Without knowing Ben sided with the MiB believing he was on the side of Jacob. The MiB couldn’t kill the DI himself due to their protection of the sonic fences. When Ben got older he helped kill every member of the DI including his father Roger. Over the years we can assume 99% of jacobs candidates were killed at the hands of the MiB or his manipulation skills. After all only a few were left by the end of series 6.

The Cabin

In series 3 we first witnessed ‘Jacob’s cabin’. This was the the supposed mysterious home of Jacob, the islands leader. We find out at the end of season 5 that Jacob actually lives inside the foot of the statue. This has come up a lot in conversation recently because the writers never explained the deal with it although subtle clues were there. It was Benjamin Linus who first told us this was Jacob’s cabin however he had never actually met or saw Jacob and believed he could only be seen by certain people. We also briefly see that the cabin is infact home to Christian Shepherd (or at least his ghost or image) which we later find out is in fact MiB.
Theory: Ben was again manipulated by MiB in believing this was Jacobs cabin when in fat the MiB was the one who at somepoint was trapped in this cabin. Ben’s hand in helping kill the members of the Dharma inititive was also a well played scheme by the MiB and nothing to do with Jacob or The Others.

Did They All Die in the Crash?

Some people still think the island was purgatory and none of it happened. These are the people who feel robbed by the show but they are so wrong with this theory.
Theory: What we saw was real. yes we saw all our Losties in purgatory at the end but it doesn’t mean they all died at the same time. What about Desmond and Penny? They weren’t on the plane but they were in purgatory. As was Faraday and Charlotte. Christian Shepherd even said that some people died long after Jack did and we know some of them made it from the Island. I believe they went on to live their lives afterwards which we will get into next..

What Happened Next?

We were left guessing on the future of the survivors which I think was a good call. We know Hurley and Ben stayed on the island to protect it. For me I think this is a happy ending for Ben. He loves the island despite not being a candidate he was Hurley’s right hand man and helped to protect the island he loved so dear. Their first task was getting Desmond home which I think they would have used the boat to do. Desmond would have been reunited with Penny, living a happy life with Charles Widmore on his back.
Who knows what reception would have been given to those on the Ajira flight. Kate already had huge publicity as one of the Oceanic 6 so to be found again from another missing flight would bring up a lot of awkward questions. Claire would finally get to raise Aaron, Richard may find it hard to adapt to life but we’ve seen that he has left the island in the past and i’m sure Hurley and Ben and even Ben’s aquaintences would have helped Richard settle. Who knows, with MiB dead he might have came back to visit. Lapidus would just carry on as normal with a few extra friends on his christmas card list, Miles, providing he kept the diamonds he found would live a very fine life indeed. All in all a happy ending for those who survived. And let’s not forget Rose and Bernard…