That's good Yummsh - would kind of explain what Richard meant when he said Ben would never be the same again.

They feel it's their destiny because that's how things are. The guy in black says as much at the beginning of the episode. He says that whenver people come to the Island, it always ends the same. I think something happened with the man in black to trap him, although now he has been set free.

What if Jacob takes over Locke and it's a Locke vs. Not Locke season where they just play backgammon all day?

Far out theory
I don't think Adam and Eve are really Adam and Eve. I think they're Jacob and his black clothing wearing friend. Who else would carry around black/white stones?

It seemed that the meetings Jacob had were very significant. When he met Kate, he tried to steer her right and told her never to steal again. Obviously didn't work. He aided Sawyer in writing the letter, and, if you take what was said in the opening (Jacob brought the ship there) he brought the real Sawyer there to…

That all depends on if they changed the past or not, right?

Is Christian the same thing? His actual body was never found. Locke's was. It makes me think they're different in some way.

That helicooter saved a life or two

I think the loophole is the he can't kill Jacob himself, but can command another to do it. If he did it himself, it would be his choice. But if he tells someone else to do it, he can pass it off as destiny.

Which makes you wonder, who ruined the ash ring?

"He who shall save us all" as Yummsh stated.

Awesomeness of this episode
I thought the finale was great. I thought the first 5 minutes, in which we meet Jacob, was enough to watch over and over again. The casting of Jacob was perfect, and worked especially well for a character we've been waiting three seasons for. I thought the ending was great as well. It was a…

The War
So, Jacob, in white, is free will. He made sure everyone knew they had a choice. The other guy(maybe Smokey, definately Other Locke), in black, is fate/destiny. Maybe this other guy is even the Island. Jacob brings people to the Island to see if they can change, etc. Fate says they can't.
So, basically when…

I think that was just to try to get ratings, since it was straight-up sci-fi from the beginning.

Hugo Reyes
Obviously Hurley is one of the best characters on LOST. From what I've seen though, he seems like a really nice, down to earth guy. I think the coolest thing is that he's genuinely interested in a lot of the stuff the core audience is into, so they can develope Hurley as sort of an audience proxy.

Similar threads
I finally got caught up to Fringe yesterday so I could enjoy the finale last night. Have any other LOST watchers noticed similarities? The whole concept of a war between two distinct sides had me really thinking LOST.

I didn't downgrade the episode, I just was expecting something, and shouldn't have been. Like I said, serves me right for looking ahead.

So, are you thinking Jacob is alive?

I read or heard something about Walt…they were asked a question about him returning and gave a very mysterious answer.

I think it's interesting that Locke was the reason they all were supposed to come back. It really puts a new spin on things. Does this mean they DON'T have a destiny to fulfill?