End of the world in alternative timeline! by Carl H

The island is needed for the world not to end. Some function on the island can prevent this from happening. The story has many references to the end of the world. The DHARMA initiative's main objective was to save the word, or prevent it from destruction. The one that lies in the shadow of the statue is "the one who will save us all". Mrs Hawking was telling Desmond that if he didn't go on a race around the world; "every single one of us is dead" (Remember Desmond was the one responsible for the crashing of Oceanic 815). Mikhail was even lured to the island, by the promise to save the world. It's pretty dumb if this theme is not explored further in the last episodes.

"The One that will save us all" was probably thought to be Jacob. And Jacob, or one of his own, is the one that can prevent the end of the world. But since Jacob knew that his arch-enemy was trying to kill him, he knew that his death was inevitable. He therefore went on looking for "candidates". People who he sought to fill his spot, and to fullfill the mission of preventing the end of the world. He thus looked for candidates, and one of them will be his successor. I don't know why he was chosing the one he did, probably it has something to do with the numbers, but I don't know if that even has a proper explanation.


But why the alternative timeline? One thing we've til now learned from it that is that the people of the crash, mainly the candidates has had better lives in that timeline. This was due to Jacob not interfering or determinating the outcome of their life. He made their lives more negative, so that they would be lured to do his bidding on the island and thus save the world. But without his interference, they live more fullfilling and happier lives!

BUT. In the alternate reality, the island is under water and can't function. This will certainly mean the end of the world!

So the hard struggle and worse-off lives of the island-timeline people is thereby meaningful and worth it. Allthough they have a worse reality in that timeline than in the island-less universe. They will at least save the world! It will be the outcome of all their sacrifices. So my prediction for the finale is that it will have a sideways timeline that will show the end of the world, and an on-island-timeline that will show how the survivors will overcome the end of the world! What a finale it will be (if it happens).

(The motive of Jacob's arch-enemy is unclear, he seems to be cynical about mankind and thus probably doesn't care about the end of the world, or maybe his ascendance to land of the island will mean the end of mankind, as he exterminates everybody, or maybe he is just cynical about protecting the island, which Jacob believes will save mankind, while he does not, and his careless reasoning which opens the island up to the world will mean doom. This is more speculative than the above. )