Well, they were dead all along. My gut reaction after having watched it is that I feel suckered. The line "we can all move along" seems like a bitter message to "the fans," a giant :thefinger from Lindeloff and Cuse to the fans.
I actually really liked where the finale was going until the last 10 minutes or so. I started to realize what was going on when Jack gave Hurley the water and said, "Now you're like me." I thought, wtf Jack that was bullshit.
They basically answered every question with this ending. The answer to all the unanswered questions is: It never mattered. They were dead the whole time, and the show was just an interesting way to make people realize they're dead. Sort of the inverse Matrix, I guess.
Was this the "easy" way out? Didn't Lindeloff and Cuse say in an interview back in Season 2 time period that it was not a purgatory show? I will go see if I can find a link to an interview because I could swear they "promised" in an interview that it wasn't a purgatory show.
So, I'll ask again. Was this the easy way to end the show?