It’s already been a decade since the hit ABC series LOST debuted and four years now since it came to a controversial end, but whether you loved or hated the ending there’s no denying that the finale and the show as a whole sparked countless theories and debates on what was going on with that island and the survivors who were stranded there.

One popular theory among fans was that everyone on Oceanic Flight 815 died in the crash, and that the island was some kind of purgatory they were stuck in. This theory seemed even more likely after the finale aired.

Celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the show’s premiere recently, showrunners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof as well as cast members Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Yunjin Kim, Ian Somerhalder, Maggie Grace, Henry Ian Cusick, and Malcolm David Kelley answered some questions. And of course, the top question on fan minds was if the survivors were dead the whole time or not.

Click on over to the other side to the find out the answer, once and for all.