It's All About Letting Go by Alize

Ok, so this is a little all over the place, but I’ve been trying to stream of consciousness talk through the finale. If you haven't watched the finale yet, don't read this theory because I reference it. Let me know your thoughts. I can’t guarantee I have every fact straight because I don’t remember everything perfectly and its late, so be kind. :)

I’m thinking overall, the entire series was about letting go. Part of their redemption was that they would have to let go of their pre-island lives first? Once they did that, and accepted themselves in that existence, they could create new adventures for themselves, but they would need to let go of their island adventures first.

How did they let go? With Desmond and Hurley’s help. Desmond and Hurley helped them let go of their pre-island lives too-Hurley taught them to let go of old hang ups, and Desmond taught them about new lives. By being in the hatch and pushing the button, he kept them tethered until they were ready to let go. If they let go too soon, without acceptance of themselves and their flaws and how to correct them, the Smoke or darkness takes advantage of that and forces them into that live for eternity. Jacob didn’t accept his brother’s mistakes, and in essence tethered him to the island by not allowing him to let go of his previous life. Smokey probably thought that by killing Jacob and his candidates, it would free him from his previous life, and allow him to let go. He may also have thought that killing Jacob before he had a replacement would leash him to the island forever, thus exacting revenge.

When Desmond hit the fail safe key and destroyed the hatch, he released them from their previous lives. When the freighter comes and the Oceanic 6 leave, Ben turns the wheel and some are left behind, and Ben leaves the island. The ones moving through time have the worst time, as they can’t find a solid “life” to live-they are skipping through time and space. The Oceanic Six realize that this life is the wrong one to be living and that despite Desmond’s release, they are living the wrong life-they haven’t let go of the island. Ben has left behind the island, but manipulates the Oceanic Six to get back to his previous life-he can’t let go.

When they are back, Ajira sends them back because they are still tethered to the island and each other. Some go back to 1977, others still in real time. Some of the castaways try on a new life in 1977, but the Oceanic Six come back and screw everything up because they can’t let go of their previous island lives. Daniel in particular has been unhappy with his life and has been trying to figure out a way to change things, and thinks that setting off the bomb will create a new life for all of them. The castaways often try to get around that whole “whatever happened, happened” concept to avoid letting go, or to re-create their lives, but it never works they way they intend it to.
When Juliet sets off the bomb, the “let go” dead world is created. There’s a flash, things go off, nothing really changes life wise. They jump to 2007, but their lives are still the same.

Widmore comes to the island to try to stop Smokey after he kills Jacob, again another person who can’t let go. When Desmond removes the stone and turns out the light, Smokey is no longer tethered to the island as a smoke monster. However, the island’s previous life is gone too, hence the earthquakes. Jack replaces the stone, resets the light, and has Hurley and Ben take over as protectors. A new life is born for the island and Hurley and Ben both let go of their previous lives.

Desmond becomes enlightened in the electromagnetism experiment when Widmore tells him he needs to make a sacrifice-give up his life with Penny and Charlie. He does, realizing that following death, a whole universe with all the people he loves awaits him. He willing goes with Locke and Jack to restore Smokey to his former life-to redeem the characters in Lost, they need to let go of their prior lives, to kill the Smoke Monster, you need to force him back into his prior life (i.e. humanity).

Jack finally gets to move on when he lets go of his previous island and pre-island lives. Just as his eyes were opened to the island life around him following the crash and the possibilities in front of him, his eyes close to it at the end of the series as he awaits a new life with those most important to him.