they, along with juliet and everyone else could appear again (and again) depending on how the stories plays out with the explosion. we could see a lot of events repeating. or, things playing out in an entirely different fashion, only to realign the way they did. either way, its just as likely to expect to see them again (and ecko and charlie and michael) as it is to not see them.
I would simply geek-OUT if the final episode of the series has every single living-and-dead LOSTie return or cameo in some way. Boone, Shannon, Ana Lucia, Libby, Michael, Walt, Claire, Charlie, Nikki, Paulo, Mr. Eko, Danielle, Artz, Frogurt, etc., etc. THAT would be so fucking kick-ass awesome...
More likely Jack's lying in the jungle because they're back on the island in the present and the only thing "changed" is that fact.
That's what I'm thinking, too. I also think Rob is pretty damn square-on as to what is happening, overall. Once I saw the finale, it all clicked with me. The Smoke Monster/"Esau"/Jacob's Adversary/The Devil is every appearance of any supernatural character, sans this final episode. Everyone from Locke's dad, to Kate's horse, to every Christian appearance, to Dave (Hurley's buddy from the mental institute), Ben's mother in the woods and daughter in the tomb, Eko's brother, etc., etc. It's fucking brilliant and makes the most sense.
But, in a way, Jacob got at least two them to do exactly the opposite of what he claimed he wanted them to do.
He told Kate not to steal but, by getting her out of trouble as a little girl, set up the idea that she could get away with stealing.
He told Sawyer to move past his parents' death but gave him the pen to finish his "promise" not to.
The Jin/Sun and Jack visits might have been the same thing but I can't figure out how without re-watching some episodes.
It was almost as if he wasn't there to make things better but to make sure that they "became" the people who would end up on the flight.
He gave Jin/Sun the message not to give up on their love or each other. Not to take each other for granted. That's what Jin ends up doing when he was the corporate hitman for her father, and she cheats on him with the bald rich guy. However, his message seems to have also stuck, because they haven't given up on each other all through this. From their initial "distance" with each other, to her cheating and pregnancy, to his "death" and her current search to get back to him, they haven't given up.
Jack's "little push" will probably bear real fruit by the end of the series...
