I know we’re 2 years behind, but we finally watched all 90-100 hours of LOST and I can now offer up this ‘grand unified theory’ to explain the 6-season story. (It’s high-concept modern myth-making; the only other recent show to have done this well is BSG.)
Synopsis: 2,000 years ago, Jacob unwittingly unleashes the Devil (‘Smokey’) upon the Island, which is the physical manifestation of Hell on earth. While Smokey seeks to escape the Island and wreak havoc upon the world, Jacob’s plan is to bring a series of ‘half-damned souls’ to the Island in the hope that they can redeem themselves and each other to somehow defeat Smokey. Even though Smokey finds a way to murder Jacob, his final set of ‘candidates’ – the survivors of Oceanic flight 815 – eventually discover their purpose and succeed at their task at great self-sacrificial cost, and are rewarded by reuniting as eternal friends in the after-life