Well, to be honest, I've thought the exact same thing about the end before, only swap Locke for Sawyer.

The problem I have with the implicaiton that everything is cyclical, that unless something changes this time or implies future success, then it's a fruitless endeavor. Books, movies or games where I realize that what I'm watching is just something that is going to repeat forever frustrate me, because what is the point? There is nothing remarkable about watching a cycle. In the laundry, the red shirt will always spin. I want the story where the laundry has spun for years, and due to some unforeseen circumstance, has stopped spinning. What happens after the cycle is broken.

Besides, Jacob's "It only ends once," makes me think that there is a definitive ending that is being worked towards, and not just the start of a repeat cycle. If it ends with Jack waking up in the jungle because we've just witnessed a loop, I'll be frustrated, and disappointed.

One of the greatest offenders of this to me is

Spoiler


In any case, it's only a few more days. I'm really looking forward to the finale.