Lost Ending Explained: Were the Already Dead?

Lost had one of the most controversial series finales, leaving viewers either amazed, disappointed, or completely puzzled.

The show, which can now be streamed on Netflix, became an instant success after it premiered in 2004. The first episode follows the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, which crashes on a strange tropical island in the South Pacific.

What began as a typical survival story soon became more complicated as the series went on. By the sixth season, a new narrative device called the flash-sideways was introduced, adding even more confusion and questions, especially the big one that still gets asked today—were the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 on Lost dead the whole time?

The creators of Lost are aware of the mixed reactions to the finale and admit they didn’t answer every question.

In a 2023 interview with Esquire, Lindelof talked about the ending and said that while he knows it was controversial, he wouldn’t change a thing. He explained: “It seems arrogant to say I would change nothing, but it’s the truth.”

Lost ending explained: What’s up with the ‘flash-sideways’ timeline?

Like the rest of the show, the finale switches between events on the island and in the flash sideways—a different timeline where Flight 815 never crashes.

This alternate timeline was created by Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell), who, because of a time shift, had become stuck in the 1970s. With many factors in play, including her love for Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Juliet decides to destroy the hatch on the island. Her thinking was that this would prevent the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, and in turn, stop all the events of Lost from happening.

In the series finale, the characters in the flash-sideways slowly begin to remember their time on the island through their interactions with each other. This builds up to the major twist that still leaves fans in awe, confusion, or frustration, depending on their perspective.

The twist is that the characters are all dead in the flash-sideways. This alternate timeline serves as an afterlife where they come together to move on from their time on the island and their experiences. This led to confusion among viewers, who wondered if the characters were dead the entire time.

The answer is: no, they weren’t. The events on the island—the pain, the joy, the love—were real, and so were the relationships they built. The flash-sideways timeline is something the survivors created to help them process their experiences.

As Jack Shephard’s (Matthew Fox) father, Christian (John Terry), says: “The most important part of your life was the time that you spent with these people on that island.”

The finale’s ending on the island, where some characters die and others survive, may seem even more confusing. However, the final flash-sideways scene in the church adds a meaningful layer to the story.

It’s a beautiful portrayal of the afterlife, showing how the bonds between the characters remain even after death. It’s a place where they wait for each other before moving on to “whatever comes next” together.

What happens on the island at the end of Lost?

While the flash-sideways part of The End often confuses viewers, there is still a lot that happens on the island in the final episode.

The story on the island mainly focuses on its protector, Jacob, and his enemy, the Man in Black. Their story comes to an end when Jack kills the Man in Black. Jack also convinces Hurley (Jorge Garcia) to become the new protector of the island.

In a meaningful scene, Hurley, unsure of what to do next, asks Ben Linus (Michael Emerson) for help, and Ben agrees without hesitation.

This moment is especially touching in the flash-sideways, where Hurley and Ben share a moment outside the church, remembering the good things they would go on to do together for the island.

Were they dead the whole time?

No, as explained earlier, while many fans thought the characters might have been dead from the beginning, that’s not true.

While the characters are dead in the flash-sideways timeline, they didn’t die in the plane crash. Everything that happened on the island was real.

Who lives and who dies?

There are two key deaths in the series finale. First, the Man in Black dies after being shot by Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and then pushed off a cliff by Jack.

But the most significant death is Jack’s. He dies on the island in a quiet, emotional scene that echoes his first appearance on the show, where he’s lying in the bamboo forest, looking up at the sky as the other survivors escape.