just watched it. it was awesome. i like how they tied everything together. But yea, y wasnt walt and his dad invited? and what is the island and purpose of it? if any purpose at all?

The island is the wellspring of, well, I guess you could even call it the "Force", the power behind everything. "If the light goes out here, it goes out everywhere".

I am a little confused about Walt etc as well though.

well from what ive read and come across Walts dad is still on the island wondering around as a lost soul. They werent already dead some died before jack did and others died long after him. They church seen was a place they created so they could find each other in the after life and move on to " what comes next " together.

Before going to the island, in one way or another all of the people in the series were broken - and they were facing their struggles alone.

Jacob was under the assumption that his mother was right in that the island needed protection - which we saw to be incorrect as hurley leaves (unless he gives linus the job.) So he hand picked people that were alone and flawed to come to this island these are "candidates."

But what the island was really doing was providing these people a way to move on with their lives. The island's purpose was to provide a grounds for the candidates to find themselves, and in turn find true love (thus ending the facing of the problems alone.) When people find themselves and fix their flaws they can then die and leave the island, this is why walts dad is stuck there - he died before finding himself, Jacob found himself in the second to last episode when he found a successor he subsequently disappears forever, this is also the reason Libby never comes to visit Hurley. She found herself and died and got transported off the island.

So, the part where they get off the island is a bit sketchy because technically Libby and the people that died prior to the nuke being detonated had no where to go unless the island is separate from spacetime in which case it doesn't really matter when the nuke goes off. The first time we see the alternate reality is when Juliet is near death and she says "it worked," that doesn't come to fruition until desmond does the same thing in the solenoid shack. For some people it takes a near death experience to bring back the memories (I think that might be if they're dead on the island pre-nuke but maybe not) But for others it comes back just by seeing someone or something that reminds them of the island. This merging of memories corresponds with the person on the island being ready to let go, or fixing their flaws - and it also brings them "ultimate happiness" in a way. When the memories merge the person on the island can then die - and they will live on through the person in the alternate "perfect" reality that they created for themselves via the nuclear blast (notice how everything in the alternate reality is pretty much exactly what you would assume the person would want.) They could continue to live on in this perfect reality like linus chooses to, but instead the lost faggots decided to rip a page right out of Tolkien (which rage should be pissed about) and ship them off to a happier place.

Also Walt and Jacob were not close to the others, they didn't have a connection so there presence at the end was not needed. Like the teacher who blew himself up or any of the other small characters that were there but didn't make a lasting impression to the main characters.

Hooker what are you talking about in Hurly leaving? He takes the job in the end and asks Linus to stay and help. At the church in the end Hurly says to Linus "you were a good number 2" and Linus responds "you were a great number 1" so it shows they stayed and looked after the island. The alternate reality was a construct for the passed on souls to find each other before moving on and letting go of there past lives. Yes they all died, but they all died in the timeline they were supposed to have lived and the souls all meet up after in the construct they all created till they made the connections that bound them together.

My impression of Strange's Titanic review, "The boat F*CKING sinks!"
My impression of Strange's Planet of The Apes review, "There all F*CKING apes!"
My impression of Strange's Sixth Sense review, "He's F*CKING dead!"
My impression of Strange's War of The Worlds review, "They all F*CKING die at the end, F*CKING germs!"

The island is the physical connection between earth and the 'other side'

As for why the island exists for any particular purpose other than why does anything exist wasn't answered. Jacob and those before him believed that the island and the light needed to be protected. There is a scene in the finale in the church where we can see the windowpane with the 6 symbols of major religions all together I believe this and the need to protect the light gives the message that it's important to maintain a certain level of faith and belief in an 'afterlife.' A theme of all paths to "god" surfaces (with the exclusion of Buddhism of course). Locke's attempt to destroy the light caused him to become vulnerable suggesting without the connection/faith to the 'other side' the idea of evil/wrong is no longer eternal and in fact ceases to exist.

As for the 815 survivors who ended up on the island, yea a lot of them were broke but some weren't or the writers didn't go in depth about them enough for us to know what was missing in their lives (i.e. Rose, Bernard, and Boone Carlyle). Rose and Bernard did add to the theme of love and companionship that was illustrated throughout the series.

The // world was a limbo/purgatory/meeting ground between on earth and the 'other side'. They used it as a way to crossover to the 'other side' together when everyone was ready because of the strong relationships they had formed with each other through their experiences. There is no sense of time in this place as was evidenced by some of their comments most notably Kate telling Jack how much she missed him implying that she lived a long time after leaving the island and the conversation between Hurley and Linus telling each other both were good #1s and #2s showing that they also lived on far after Jack died.

Despite viewers crying about the series turning into a statement of god and religion I see very few allusions to it and I believe they did a good job at wrapping things up and balancing the sci-fi vs religion aspect unlike BSG which went too far IMO.

@ Cpt Reynolds

I don't believe they created it. I believe it was always there. Note the presence of Charlotte, Daniel Faraday & his mother. They were all there and hadn't 'discovered' their past, other than Daniel's mom who knew what Desmond and the other's were doing but she wasn't ready to let go of her son.

It stands to reason that everyone ends up in this place and it serves as a place of transitioning and preparation for everyone. It just so happens that the Lost crew wanted to all go together and helped each other find their way.

I like the ending and the series as a whole because their comments on the meaning of life and afterlife were very broad and didn't suggest a 'right' way to live.

VISION FTW!

wait wait why didnt ben go into the church??? and why wasnt walt and michael there??
and was jacob and his brother there??
what about richard??
SO MANY QUESTIONS

Ben stayed to be with his daughter/student some more since he really loved and missed her.

Ben wasn't ready and/or didnt feel comfortable moving on with them. Like Cpt said he probably wants to crossover with his daughter

Walt and Michael weren't there for the same reason others from Oceanic 815 weren't there, they didn't develop the deep relationships with those that crossed over together.

No, jacob and 'his brother' weren't there

I'm interested to know what happened to Richard too but again he did not cross with the others.

hummm ok thanks :)