Now this I like. Zap2it wrote their review for The End, and it was great, of course. But hidden in that review was a great theory: Hurley created the Afterlife as a place for everyone to be healed mentally. It’s genius. I would never think of that, but I love it as a theory. I might even believe it.
Here’s a quote from the review:
What does Hurley ever want? For his friends to be happy! So what does he do? Well, he doesn’t build a golf course, he builds a space for them to somehow connect after shuffling off their mortal coil and all end up getting the moments of happiness that eluded them, making connections that had been previously missed, and getting forgiveness once thought impossible.
Check it out here.
– izi
Not Confused Just Lost 
Ok – really I just read your quote — working — but I like the idea – except that Christian said it was a place they had created together…although perhaps it was Hurley that began it…
Did you see that Emerson refers to an epilogue style 14 min scene of Hurley’s Island time post Jack being on the DVD’s??
I hope it’s real.
plus, youre forgetting that Hurley also had to “remember” before he started helping Desmond.
What’s more,when he met Ana Lucia, he asked Desmond if she would be joining them. That doesn’t sound like someone who designed the whole purgatory-matrix. He could be faking it, but that seems like too much of a stretch, especially for Hurley.
I don’t think it would be crazy for Hurley to erase his own memories. Besides, he did get the best story in the Afterlife, maybe he injected a little fantasy in there.
I like it. I don’t think that’s what the writers had in mind, but who cares about that?
Regarding the theory that Hurley created the “flash sideways”:
Most people are disputing this theory because Christian said, “This is a place that you all made together so that you could find one another.”
Have most of you have forgotten that Hurley could see and speak to dead people? So perhaps during the time that he was the “Protector”, and assuming that as the protector he could live a very long life, then he could have conversed with all of the castaways as each one of them died, and he could have created the sideways timeline with input from all of them. Also, they could have all decided to live the sideways life trying to seek happiness and redemption prior to being on Flight 815, staying oblivious to each other and their island life until the last one was finally dead in real life. Then they were to all come together again on the plane and gradually regain their memories before moving on. So you could say that Hurley used his power to help everyone create the place together.
Also some people are wondering why Aaron was a baby in the sideways world instead of being a grownup (if he lived that long). Again if everyone was trying to seek redemption by re-living their pre-Island life, then Claire wouldn’t have given birth until after being on Flight 815. Notice that none of the castaways had aged more than what they were when they were on the original flight regardless of how long they actually lived. Also Sun was newly pregnant in the sideways world just as she was after the original flight had crashed.
One more thing, Ben said he was staying because he had things he still needed to work out. I think that he wanted Alex to remember being his daughter so that he could seek her forgiveness for allowing her to be killed. Also, even though John forgave him, he made life hell for a lot of them so he probably didn’t feel that he deserved to move on with everyone else.
I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the last 6 years of Lost because it gave me something to think about and to discuss every week. I really cared about the characters and I am so glad that everyone came together in the sideways world instead of being left dead and forgotten.