I guess they wanted to leave it up to the viewers to decide what they want to believe. Which is why I think he actually was in the real world in the end. Also I think I saw his totem twitch near the last shot, which would mean it would not continue on indefinitely afterwards.

This is definitely a logically sound, well-established theory, but it's sort of missing the point, in my opinion. I don't believe the director/screenwriter at all had in mind what the actual ending; plot's irrelevant at that point, it's just there to present a disturbing, cool enough concept to the viewer. Trying to actually uncover what it meant in terms of plot is sort of futile, isn't it?

For the sake of this, though--

A--I was thinking the same thing.

B--Haha, good call.

C--First of all, isn't one unable to return on your own? Elaborating on that, is it even possible to return to the same dream sculpted by another by just going to sleep? You'd never some sort of sedative or chemical reaction to take place, or something of that sort.

On a more personal level, maybe she believed it'd be too scarring for her lover to understand that he honestly had been dreaming the whole time--confirm the fears he'd always known existed--and that it'd be doubly terrifying that the real world was not worth leaving the dream world for, so she gave up their love out of altruistic for him.

On a cheesy, philosophical level, it's incredible how love can surpass even reality.

D--Well, that's the whole point. You're led to believe that's the absolute, indisputable proof until the end, and then that's only if you take the ending literally in its plot-related sense.

There's a few clues that Cobb is in the real world in the end. For a start, their token girl is called Ariadne, who in Greek mythology was the woman who showed Theseus the route out the labyrinth. And then there's the music. The main Inception theme (that BRUM BRUM....BRUM BRUM) is the backing to Non Je Ne Regrette Rien, but slowed down as though we were hearing it in dream time. Its not present in the ending, and their use of it as a countdown to a wake-up kick implies that Cobb has been given his wake up call

Am I the only one who's part of the "it doesn't matter" camp? To me, it seemed like the entire point of the movie was for Cobb to forgive himself and get back this children. And at the end of the movie he accomplished this. Even if it is a dream, he believes he's in the real world and that's all that matters.

EDIT: Did not read the beginning of Riisiing Moon's point. Obviously I'm not alone.

WE HAVE TO GO

DERPER

that's really all i know about inception, but cool theories, bro