The island WAS purgatory in Season 1...
OK, I have posted this elsewhere, but thought it should have its own thread.
There is a big divide among fans about the end - some who believe the island was purgatory and some that say only the ALT was.
The ALT'ers use the fact that Darlton said the island was NOT purgatory to bolster their argument, along with what Christian said about their experiences being REAL. (Good arguments.)
The Island Purgatory Fans (IPF's) use a large amount of evidence that was seen in early seasons to say that the Losties actually died in the 815 crash and that the island was purgatory.
What is the truth?
The truth is that the original story of
LOST WAS that the Losties died in the crash and that the island was purgatory. Season 1 was produced with that story, but TPTB realized that:
1. People already guessed the purgatory idea.
2. People expressed extreme disapproval of the idea.
So what to do?
TPTB did something quite interesting. They decided to change their original story. Not enough to change the ending or the core idea of the show - in fact care was taken to preserve that. After making the decision - they could then in all honesty state that 'The island is NOT purgatory' and the Losties are NOT all dead.
They then crafted a way to 'move' purgatory from the island to an ALT time-line, a way to keep fans in the dark so the end could be as it was supposed to be - a surprise to the fans.
The change meant that some inconsistencies appeared - especially after Season 1. On the positive side, it allowed the introduction of new characters that were never planned in the original story, and they were real and we as fans related to them and invested in them.
The original story was primarily Jack's story - his redemption. The new story allowed it to be much more - it was now the story of all the characters and their own redemption.
It was well executed and delivered the ending that was written from day one.
So - no need to argue - in a way - you were both right.