My interpretation of The End, and what the island's purpose was by WUlery

First of all, I wanted to point out that "The End" had a total Lord of the Rings vibe to it. The main story ended, but there were loose ends that end up being tied up. The ring is destroyed, Frodo, Gandalf, etc move on to the gray havens, Sam, Merry, and Pippen live the rest of his life before moving on == Jack fullfills his destiny, moves on, while Kate, Sawyer, Faraday, Claire, Alpert, etc. live longer in the real world until moving on, and Hurley & Ben have a long and good rule of the island, as did Sam and the Shire.

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Now, my take on the ending

The island was totally real. Everything we've been told about it this season is real. It's a literal and metaphorical cork keeping darkness (a.k.a. smokey) at bay. The survivors ended the struggle to defeat smokey, which has been attempted for a long, long time, many iterations. "Mother" attempted, and failed. The protector before her failed. The protector before that failed, etc.

Jacob, on the other hand, figured something out. He carefully set up the playing board, put the pieces into play exactly where he wanted them, but then let free will do the rest. His belief in free will was the ace up his sleeve. These actions eventually lead Jack and Desmond to end the cycle.

They do this by "uncorking" the island, killing smokey, then putting the "cork" back in. They found a loophole that was only possible by making sacrifices to save each other. Each death pushed the game on further, letting it live on.

The Island was all a big test that people have been trying to pass over and over for thousand and thousands of years. They came, they fought, they corrupted. They eventually failed, died, and the leader had to pass the island to the next person. But, each iteration made progress, although they eventually failed. These failed souls became this whispers, wishing to help each new generation progress a little more*.


The 815ers were the first ones to pass. The choices they made build what would become the alt. Their reward was being fixed from the lonely, broken people they were before. Before Jacob saved them, they were destined to die alone. But, because of him, they were able to die together.

*
When these souls were satisfied on a personal level, they were allowed to move on if they made good choices in their life. Jack and Kate, Sawyer and Juliette, Hurley and Libby, etc. found each other, so they were ready to move on. Ben, for example, still had a future life with Danielle and Alex. Michael wants to watch Walt grow up before moving on. Use your imagination. The writers left this open for you to interpret in a way that satisfies you.