Even now, there are multiple theories and thoughts on what happened within the story, and whether or not the end is reality, or in fact, still a dream. Some people wonder if Cobb has finally reached his true children and escaped the world of the dream which held him captive for so long, and others believe he gave in and succumbed completely to it, and in that, found release.
Firstly, the more cheerful and happy prospect, that the end is in fact reality, and he has finally found his way home. The strongest supporting evidence of this claim actually lies in a very small detail, a wedding ring. If one follows the hands of Cobb closely throughout the entirety of the film, he is always wearing his ring while he is in the dream, because of his inability to shake Mal from his memory. Once he is removed from the dream however, the ring is gone, and this pattern can be noted in each seen if attention is closely paid. It is possible that this is Cobb's true totem, it is just unbeknownst to him. Some would say in defiance that Cobb already has a totem, the top, and a person can only have one. However, the spinning top was originally Mal's totem, not his own, and the wedding ring may in fact be a more reliable judge of dream vs. reality, since the totem was not his own to start with.
Another theory revolves around his children, and his interaction with them when he finally returns home. He is able to call out to them at last, and finally after months he is able to see their faces, something he was unable to do all throughout the dream world, and this is certainly a possibility, although the main concern regarded the quick pan away from Cobb's totem in the final moments. The argument for reality regarding the spinning top at the end of the film explores that, while the credits may have seemed to cut away just before we could accurately tell if it fell, it did wobble, and ideally in a dream world, it would continue spinning perfectly.
If we look at the ending from the other standpoint however, that Cobb has finally given in and accepted the glorious untruth of the dream, many of these arguments can be dismissed. The fact that the top at the end that seems to wobble is certainly a valid point, but seeing as Cobb had adapted the totem that was originally Mal's, it may be an unreliable judge of reality. Mal so harshly altered Cobb's perception of dream and reality, and it is possible that although she was no longer with him, her totem could give him a comforting reassurance in the form of a lie about his return to so-called reality.
The wedding ring may in fact also be a projection of Cobb's, and it's absence from his finger in the final scene represents rather his acceptance of the dream's false reality rather than a true return to the real. The larger theory is that Cobb has finally accepted the sweet lie of the dream, and has given in to a world he can no longer escape. The top may in fact have been spinning, but Cobb is too busy finally reconnecting with his children at last, whether they are projections of his desperate mind, or reality.
After much time inside the dream, it is likely that Cobb's memory of his children has faded, and the accuracy of his remembrance is just another clue that the world he has finally accepted is not a true one.
The argument of the reality of the end of the film will not be one that comes to a close soon, and it will likely be a topic of discussion in many blogs and forums such as this. Ultimately, it comes down to what the viewer chooses to believe, the ending and truth which suits them most. In the end, the audience, much like Cobb, must choose the reality they find most fitting.
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