Poll : Which Reality will the show end on?

[label]

Spoilers through "Happily Ever After"

So, after the last episode it's become very clear that the 2 realities are indeed connected as many have speculated. Characters in the Alt. reality are starting to remember on island events/people so the obvious thing we can draw from this is that whether the alt. reality was caused by the nuke or some other event yet to happen, the Alt. reality was born out of the island reality.

The question really is which reality will exist when the smoke clears (pun intended ) at the end of the show?

My personal opinion now is that the people on island will work to keep Smokey from being able to leave up to and including sinking the island somehow which will protect the Alt. reality which will be the "final" reality when it's all said and done. The only twist is that the Alt. Reality people will get back their full memories.

 

[Plomeek Broth]

Unfortunately I believe it will be the ALT.

 

[label]

Unfortunately I believe it will be the ALT.

I used to dread this possibility as well.....felt too much like a giant reset that rendered the last 5 years moot. However, after this latest episode if the everyone get's their full memories in the Alternate Reality I think that softens the blow for me a bit. My preference would have been that the Island reality wins out and the Alt. Reality goes away, but if that can't happen, then the next best thing would be for the Alt. Reality to contain the island persona's.

 

[Seven of Five]

I've thought all season that the side-timeline was an epilogue after the coming fight. It's turned out to be an actual, concurrant alternate reality, but I still think that it will be the one the Losties end up in.

I agree though that Desmond and Charlie remembering their life on the island is a big can of worms open. Des seemed pretty determined to show the 815ers what he had seen at the end of the episode, so I can see the other Losties gaining their memories.

I hope that the side-Losties don't decide to reverse the actions of the nuke going off. I'd find that as silly as them wanting to set it off in the first place! The new timeline is much better for everybody, and I can envision the island-Losties fighting to protect it or some such.

 

[LitmusDragon]

I like the "bubble" theory someone posed- that the island was protected from the timeline change by it's weird properties, but is still within the same universe that we are seeing in the flash-sideways. In other words, that they are both already part of the same reality somehow. That doesn't really fit any of the options, so I selected "other".

 

[DevilEyes]

Unfortunately I believe it will be the ALT.

I used to dread this possibility as well.....felt too much like a giant reset that rendered the last 5 years moot. However, after this latest episode if the everyone get's their full memories in the Alternate Reality I think that softens the blow for me a bit. My preference would have been that the Island reality wins out and the Alt. Reality goes away, but if that can't happen, then the next best thing would be for the Alt. Reality to contain the island persona's.

That would be the real reset button, rendering the entire season 6 moot. You can guess I'm not a fan of that option.

 

[Hober Mallow]

I've thought all season that the side-timeline was an epilogue after the coming fight. It's turned out to be an actual, concurrant alternate reality, but I still think that it will be the one the Losties end up in.

It's by no means certain that the sideways timeline in concurrent with the, er... prime timeline. Remember, Desmond's consciousness has traveled through time as well. I'd bet money that the sideways stuff will in fact be the epilogue.

 

[label]

That would be the real reset button, rendering the entire season 6 moot. You can guess I'm not a fan of that option.

Well, I'm not the biggest fan of the Sideways reality being the final one either, but if the events of Season 6 are played out so that they cause/protect the Sideways reality then the events of Season 6 won't be moot, they'll be to protect what they have in the sideways reality which for the most part seems like they have better lives (aside from Sayid) and I'm just now realizing this is the longest sentence I've probably ever written so I'm going stop typing no

 

[The Trekster]

I feel like if it has to favor one reality, it has to be the island reality. Because if what their most recent explanation (with the cork) states is true, I just don't think you could never have the island at all unless you got rid of hell somehow. Does that make sense to anyone but me?

Although the most satisfying to me would be for them to keep them both. They could merge into one hybrid timeline, but I just can't see them executing that well...

 

[DevilEyes]

That would be the real reset button, rendering the entire season 6 moot. You can guess I'm not a fan of that option.

Well, I'm not the biggest fan of the Sideways reality being the final one either, but if the events of Season 6 are played out so that they cause/protect the Sideways reality then the events of Season 6 won't be moot, they'll be to protect what they have in the sideways reality which for the most part seems like they have better lives (aside from Sayid) and I'm just now realizing this is the longest sentence I've probably ever written so I'm going stop typing no

And I think you've completely misunderstood me. I don't want the Sideways reality to be wiped out, because that would render the season 6 a moot point - why were we watching those flashsideways for, anyway, if that reality just disappears and has no effect on anything?

 

[label]

And I think you've completely misunderstood me. I don't want the Sideways reality to be wiped out, because that would render the season 6 a moot point - why were we watching those flashsideways for, anyway, if that reality just disappears and has no effect on anything?

Apologies....I did misunderstand you. Yes, I agree that the Sideways reality must be directly connected to the events of the Island and must continue beyond the Island's demise (assuming the Island at the bottom of the ocean represents a finale resting place for the island).

 

[auntiehill]

I think the flash-sideways will continue, but they will have knowledge of the Island time-line. That's how alt-Charlie knows he's supposed to die and alt-Desmond discovers Penny and yet still remembers the sideways-verse when he comes back to the Island-verse. But he only remembers when he comes back because he's the Constant,due to the explosion at the Island-verse Swan. And Eloise is a Constant, like him, for some reason--perhaps because she is connected to her son the way Desmond is linked to Penny.



^Reading that again, I don't know whether to laugh or go get an aspirin.

 

[Warp Coil]

I wouldn't want the alternate reality to win out because, in my opinion, the alternate versions of the characters are "different" from the island versions of these characters that we've been following for the past 6 seasons. The Jack in the alternate universe is NOT the same character as the Jack in the island universe. Their backstories are all different. They haven't led the same lives. Their circumstances are not the same. We've spent so much time learning about who our island characters were before the island - so much time was invested in their flashbacks. I feel more connected to the island versions of these characters. I don't feel the same way about the alternate universe. To me it's a mistake that shouldn't have happened that needs to be corrected. A convergence of the timelines would be one thing, but I don't want the island versions of these characters to disappear, die, or whatever.

 

[Hober Mallow]

The Jack in the alternate universe is NOT the same character as the Jack in the island universe.

Not according to the producers. Lindelof and Cuse have said unambiguously that the flash sideways are not an alternate timeline in any sense, and the characters are the same characters. Beyond that, we can still only speculate. I'm still clinging to the theory that the flash-sideways are going to happen as a result of whatever happens in the finale, so we're actually seeing flash forwards.

To me it's a mistake that shouldn't have happened that needs to be corrected. A convergence of the timelines would be one thing, but I don't want the island versions of these characters to disappear, die, or whatever.

My feeling is that everyone's going to die and no one's going to have a happy ending on the island, and the only happy endings are going to be in the flash sideways.

 

[label]

My feeling is that everyone's going to die and no one's going to have a happy ending on the island, and the only happy endings are going to be in the flash sideways.

I pretty much believe the same thing, but I suspect someone may have to take Jacob's place which might cost one of them their happy sideways-ending....I mean, doesn't there have to be some cost involved in achieving victory?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I'll just use process of elimination here:

1. Both realities will continue to exist and at least some will exist in both - Too inconclusive and a cop out. Won't happen.

2. The Alt. Reality will be the final reality (island reality disappears) - Fans riot after realizing they wasted six years watching an irrelevant reality. Won't happen.

3. The Island Reality will be the final reality (alt. reality disappears) - Fans riot after realizing the final season was pointless filler. Probably won't happen (wouldn't be as aggravating as 1 or 2, so I'll give it some probability.)

4. They end up in some new, merged hybrid of the two realities (a new reality) - The minds of their dopplegangers in the "zapped" reality merge with the minds in the reality that stays so that if Ben learns to be a decent person in Alt-Land, he'll retain that learning in the Island reality. This option is the most likely to happen but the problem is that it's corny and predictable.

5. Some other (specify) - Since I dislike the other four options, I hope this is the one that happens, but I have no idea what it could be that wouldn't be even worse, such as purgatory, hallucination, or other unwelcome notions.

One thought for Door #5: if it somehow included the notion that the 815 crash that Widmore elaborately "faked" was an authentic Flight 815 after all, with everyone onboard (all the characters in one of the realities) dying, that could be pretty cool, depending on how it's handled.

Not according to the producers. Lindelof and Cuse have said unambiguously that the flash sideways are not an alternate timeline in any sense, and the characters are the same characters.

Did they say timeline and not reality? If so, that could be an important distinction.

I'm still clinging to the theory that the flash-sideways are going to happen as a result of whatever happens in the finale

If the flashsideways are the future of a single timeline, then why don't people recognize the famous original survivors of Flight 815? Maybe the characters get amnesia in the final ep, but the whole world can't get amnesia.

The flashsideways could be the future in being the afterlife. That would explain amnesia for the whole world.

 

[Hober Mallow]

Did they say timeline and not reality? If so, that could be an important distinction.

I don't remember for sure, but I think the exact words they used were "alternate universe."

If the flashsideways are the future of a single timeline, then why don't people recognize the famous original survivors of Flight 815? Maybe the characters get amnesia in the final ep, but the whole world can't get amnesia.

I don't know what happens to cause the underwater island sideways world -- whatever it is -- but I have a feeling they've set up all the clues we need in this season's episodes and they're going to pull a big surprise ending like they did with last season. At the end of "The Incident," once it was clear Locke was dead, we could go back and rewatch the season and see all the clues we might have missed that screamed out that Locke wasn't really Locke. I think they're going to do something similar in this season's finale. Once it's revealed what the sideways stuff actually is, we're going to have an "of course," moment.

 

[beneldon]

One thought for Door #5: if it somehow included the notion that the 815 crash that Widmore elaborately "faked" was an authentic Flight 815 after all, with everyone onboard (all the characters in one of the realities) dying, that could be pretty cool, depending on how it's handled.

Not according to the producers. Lindelof and Cuse have said unambiguously that the flash sideways are not an alternate timeline in any sense, and the characters are the same characters.
Did they say timeline and not reality? If so, that could be an important distinction.

And the pilot corpse without the wedding ring Frank saw on TV was in fact him? Creepy...

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I'm gonna go with merged reality on this one. Seems like that is the way things are headed, at this point.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I don't remember for sure, but I think the exact words they used were "alternate universe."

Which means it could be an alternative timeline within the same universe. Or the same timeline within the same universe:

1. The future, in which the whole world has amnesia.
2. The future, in which all the characters are dead and in heaven (which explains the amnesia).
2a. Except for Locke, who has stayed behind on the Island to be the new Jacob (Locke came back to life; everyone else died.)
3. The past, which has been reset.