Does any one else sense that the ffs are mid stories and that the ending will actually be the return to the island? I know this may seem obvious but a lot of focus in the ffs is to getting back and who wants the getting back.

Some stay and some don't. Reasons are not yet known. Those who don't stay predominantly want to return (soon Kate will want to return). What about those that stay. Do they get killed? I doubt it. My guess is that they decide to stay. But do they also want to go home? They either abandon their desire for rescue or still desire it.

The return of the ffs characters would only be to further the abandonment of rescue. I feel this is the end direction.

I totally agree on this....I've heard Darlton say that the last flash forward we saw in the finale was not the end of the story. I think the people who left the island are still there, alive, and they're trying to contact the Oceanic 6 somehow (maybe through hurley?). This gets more interesting by the minute!

I've assumed that they will eventually go back to the island since TTLG.

Interestingly, maybe in the end they will just decide to stay on the island. Who knows, but I think this will go somewhere very interesting. This is the most exciting Lost has been.. maybe ever! Before it was all about "will they be rescued?" (and of course we probably all assumed in the end they would be) and now the story has a whole new dimension. We don't have any idea what will happen!

YES!
I said last night as soon as I realized this FF was way before Jacks in TTLG that the show will end once everyone gets back on the island together!

I totally agree. There is a new part to the story unfolding here about why the "rescued" people want to get back to the island and how they do so. I think, over time, both how and why will be answered and we'll then move on to the "what's next" part of the story.

I can't think of a single story, movie, or novel that would end on such a hopeless note as the hero of the story practically deranged, totally desperate, and alone. Doing so would not only be a fundamental mistake in terms of narrative, but also in terms of human psychology. Who would seriously think the FF's signal how the show will end? Of course they get back to the island. The writers aren't stupid enough to end with Jack in a sorry state. The best narratives end with a mixture of tragedy and uplift. Not slit-your-wrists-hopelessness.

Yup, agreed, I think the FFs are mid-story, and that the true end will come full circle back on the island. Totally.

While I do think that at least some of the O6, or someone, will return to the island, I don't think it is because 'everyone will get a happy ending'. Some of our Losties will NOT redeem themselves. The show is about redemption. It would be unlikely that all would find it. Someone will totally break out hearts. Probably whomever is in the casket that Jack visited, but that person is not likely to be the only one.

So no, I don't think we've seen the end-point of the story, but nor do I think that everyone gets a satisfying, feel-good ending.

I'm thinking that season 4 and 5 will feature flashforwards about them trying to get back. Season 6 will be entirely on island, sans flashes. The big wtf moment will be at the end of season 5 when they get back to the island and encounter themselves something with time and the orchid video