I know it sounds daft but I wondered whether Jacob's brother was Jack from a previous life or something.

Jezzz Esme , its complicated enough dont throw another dice in

LOL - Sorry!!!

ive found it confusing too...

i dont understand what the button, and the dharma initiative etc has to do with it all... and what the light was all about, and why it couldnt go out...

the only bit i am beginning to slightly understand, is that they were dead (but i dont know when they died... did they all die in the plane crash? coz then how did they died and get hurt on the island?) and the LA flash sideway thingys were actually what there lives could have been like (like jack having a son, to prove to him that he wouldnt be the kind of father his dad was to him) so they were ready to move on...

also, did ben live? coz he didnt go into the church, and said he wasnt ready... and did daniel live too? coz desmond said to eloise that daniel wasnt going with him??...

there is too much too it all...

also, with the numbers. i understand that they corresponded to the candidates, but why did they keep showing up... like hurleys lottery numbers, and on the hatch door... coz the hatch was built years before they arrived at the island...

oh, so many questions

Lozzi, they didn't die in the initial plane crash. Everything that happened on the island happened for real. Jack died on the island at end, Hurley became the 'new' Jacob with Ben as his #2, Kate/Sawyer/Richard/Claire etc. presumably left the island on the plane.

The flash sideways was purgatory, not an alternate time-line. They all reunited at the end when everyone had passed over eventually. Ben presumably wasn't ready to 'let go'.

That's how I see it too, was a bit confused about them beign alive or dead on the island, but eventually got the picture. they where alive on the island and died as we saw it.

I wonder though at the very beginning, did they really die in the crash and Jacob bring them back to life to fulfill their destiny's.

Ben did nto go into the church because he still had some atoning to do

so how did the others die? did they die off the island after jack did?

i thought the island was purgatory and the flash sideways were more an imagined thing... like what could have been had none of it happen.

DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN SEASON 6!!

I don't like the word purgatory, I see the flash sideways (when the plane didn't crash) as the afterlife. Christian said at the end that the 'church' was the place they all created (notice the different religions symbolised on the stained glass window) so that they would be together again. Anything to do with the Island was real. I think it was a bit confusing because they showed Jack's death (on the island) after he realised he was dead in the afterlife, as they obviously wanted to end the show with Jack's eye closing (which my money had been on since the beginning of Season 1 so very chuffed!).

The Island is a marvellous place that will never be fully understood and I like that. The Island was the place that they all 'found' themselves, the things that went on just enhanced the story. I think some people (not here, other web chat places and the media) have got too caught up in the little things and have missed the bigger picture which is a shame as IMO it's a beautiful story and i cried LOTS on Monday morning!!

The reason Kate said 'I've missed you so much' is because she flew off the Island on the Ajira plane with Lapidus, Miles, Claire etc and continued her life in the 'real world' until her death after Jack. So she lived maybe a full life without him before they 'found' each other again in the afterlife.

Jack most wanted a son. In his afterlife he could create this. Miles has a good relationship with his father. Claire has a family (Aunty Claire), Sayid has Nadia in his life but in a different way, Alex is alive and happy and Ben is part of her life in a positive way, Kate is innocent, Sawyer is on the right side of the law, Sun & Jin conceive naturally, Hurley is lucky & liked and gets his date with Libby, Locke knew his father, Desmond has a good bond with Whidmore etc etc They all have the things they craved in their lifetime.
I believe Ben was not ready to leave because he wanted to be a 'father figure' to Alex for a while longer before passing over. The scene with him and Hurley goes to emphasise the fact that time is not relevant here and they have both died maybe hundreds of years in the future.

The Island is under water at the start of the season because it's their created afterlife and it didn't exist there. It's only when they meet their 'constant' that they remember their real life and realise that they are dead.

Hope that this helps someone to make sense of season 6! I am a total geek for Lost

Just watched it here, sorry but I faded in about 30mins, OH says the explanation sounds right, to me Lost got lost on me ages ago

Brilliantly explained.

The only bit I stay confused on was "what was the black smoke"

Was it Jacobs brothers bad spirit or something , or something else that took over Jacobs brother in death???

Explain that , and I will be happy