And just to clarify: on LOST, they were NOT dead the entire time. They did not die in the series opening plane crash and were stuck in some sort of limbo/Purgatory. They survived the crash and what you saw transpire actually happened, including the escape by 6 of the castaways (and then eventual return) from the island. The flashsideways WERE “the afterlife” in a manner of speaking but everyone died at different stages–some before the series finale, some during the series finale, and some escaped yet again and lived out their lives in relative normalcy before passing away–and simply waited for the others in the gathering place (a “church” that had every religious icon you could imagine) before moving on together because that was the lasting theme of the series–not the mystery and the big questions of statues and smoke monsters–but that you have to live together or else die alone. The lasting legacy of LOST ‘s narrative (which largely stems from people being disappointed in the finale and final season) is that they were dead all along and it was all a big joke or prank from the writers. But that’s simply not true. Again, just to clarify. I spent 6 very beautiful years with that show and it’s one of the ones that has forever made a lasting impact on me.
Such a side note here but I felt compelled to comment. Thank you so much RG. You wouldn’t belive how many people I run into that tell me they were dead the whole time. It really pisses me off. It was made very clear that they survived the crash and what happened truly did happen. I’m glad someone understood that and actually understood the revelations we got in the finale.