They did. The island is not purgatory, period.

The smoke monster could still be some form of judge though.

The song Juliet played at the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities was “Petula Clark – Downtown”. I think that’s the song you’re thinking about.

All of the characters on the island were morally “lost” before the crash in one way or another. The island provides a place where everyone’s character is tested and you are either redeemed or not based on how you react to the circumstances on the island. All of the Dharma stuff and electromagnetic business and polar bears and others are just noise. Yes, experiments were run on the island and there are secondary mysteries to solve, but this is all noise and distractions. In the end, Jack will be tested. Will he take Ben’s life? Mr. ecko was tested and in the end he did not regret his sins. Tho it seems like he died for them. By they way, does the smoke monster remind anyone of the devil as represented in the movie GHOST swallowing up peoples souls? Cheesy comparison, i know, but let’s face it, the smoke monster is kinda silly looking. I hate to think of ecko as having gone to hell, but perhaps he did.

I am not so obsessed with the show that I can explain all of the incredibly complex details, but it seems to me this is the bigger picture.

SO in sum, the entire cast is dead and the island is a testing ground aka purgatory for each morally questionable character to prove themselves one way or another. How they react will determine who they really are–a good soul or a bad soul.

In the end, it has to be something this simple. God help us if it is as silly as the Rimbaldi device from Alias! Still smarting over the last few seasons of that insanity.

-doug

I have to agree. I think the joke is on us. I think that there are WAY too many unsolved mysteries that should IMHO be wrapped up soon. I also fear that Lost is treading deep water by introducing MORE mysteries. My spell has been broken but the funny part is I will watch ANYWAY, cuz I could be wrong.