Alt is showing us why they were candidates - it can't be the end by Leyla79

After tonight, I am even more convinced that it has been "alt all along" (which really just means that seasons 1-5 were time lines manipulated by Jacob and thus prevented from running the natural course). In tonight's episode, there were no moments of recognition/deja vu between any of the island characters on the main land. Even more revealing? Ben was there, well and alive AND in nice guy mode like we've never seen him before. This would mean at least two things: (A), jughead did NOT sink the island because Ben would have died and (B) This is a Ben who never got shot by Sayid. This is an entirely new Ben - one who was not "corrupted" as we have been led to believe happened when Kate and Sawyer took him to the cave.

Then there was the scene between MIBLocke with Sawyer in the cave where he said, what I have felt all along, that Jacob was manipulating them to bring them to the island - that everything that happened after he touched them altered their lives from that point on. Now of course he could be lying to get Sawyer to side with him and Richard is right that he is going to kill everyone, but he is spot on about what Jacob did AND he is finally raising the biggest question of all - why were they brought to the island? The numbers were Hurley's numbers, and they brought bad luck (interesting Kate was missing). As we are seeing on the main land, Jacob's interactions seem to have done these characters no favors. Locke is with his true love, and I suspect we may see him healed by Jack...Rose still has cancer but she has a positive acceptance and I think that is a key character progression.

I also think it was key that MIBLocke offered Sawyer a choice. That's something Jacob didn't do by his actions that led him to the island.

So how do the two converge? Well I think the Losties are going to get a glimpse of their lives as they were - total speculation but in the preview, it looks like they were showing Jack something on some weird instrument and he got really upset. Maybe he is seeing a glimpse of his other life? These scenes will unveil and evolve to show why they were chosen. We will find out through these scenes why they are "candidates" and what Jacob's purpose actually is and they will all have to choose.

I find this to be way more intriguing then the whole let's move the island and time travel some more and reset time again. The island is underwater because someone failed to protect it before and Jacob is trying to fix that in this new time line by bringing the people to the island - and that probably includes Dharma as well.