Lost Season 4 Part Deux

[Sal Paradise]

I don't think it was that small, and that really doesn't fit with Kate's reaction to Jack's showing her the obituary ("Why would I care about him?" or something like that), and her parting words of "I have to get back, he'll be waiting for me." (or something along those lines, taken by me to mean Aaron was waiting for her).

I had this same assessment, and always believed that the occupant of the coffin was Walt. It is bandied about that the kid may have some sort of intuition regarding the island; he appears in ghostly form to inspire Locke; the size of the coffin, coupled with the fact that the director made a deliberate choice of placing the wake in an area populated predominantly by African Americans, leads me to think it's Walt.

Then again, that last point could be an intentional red herring.

[Quijote Light]

I had this same assessment, and always believed that the occupant of the coffin was Walt. It is bandied about that the kid may have some sort of intuition regarding the island; he appears in ghostly form to inspire Locke; the size of the coffin, coupled with the fact that the director made a deliberate choice of placing the wake in an area populated predominantly by African Americans, leads me to think it's Walt.

Then again, that last point could be an intentional red herring.

Although the writers have said that they will rewrite the obit, the original states that the deceased is survived by a teenaged son. This would rule out Walt, but make Michael that much more likely.

[Ran]

I've generally understood it that the newspaper clipping states Jeremy Bentham (likely name) was survived by a teenage son. Doesn't sound like Walt. Also supposed to be from New York, of course.

I don't know. Sounds to me like it's someone we haven't met, or Michael with some new identity for himself from Ben.

[Zulofritter]

Michael makes the most sense given all the circumstances, but that would mean he also makes it back to the mainland secretively (covered up by Widmore's group?), as he isn't generally considered one of the Oceanic 6.

Michael, Desmond, and any of the Others or Freighter Folk could have returned with the O6 without getting counted. Someone else from the plane wanting to avoid scrutiny could also pose as a rescuer, but this would be tougher.

I think the creators confirmed that the coffin was of normal size. It looked small in a specific camera shot.

[Mlle. Zabzie]

I've generally understood it that the newspaper clipping states Jeremy Bentham (likely name) was survived by a teenage son. Doesn't sound like Walt. Also supposed to be from New York, of course.

I am sure this was mentioned in one of the many threads, but I always thought that burying "Jeremy Bentham" was the writers' idea of an "inside" joke (I mean, it may have secondary meaning, but who knows), given that Mr. Bentham's well preserved corpse can still be seen at University College, London.

[Quijote Light]

I don't know. Sounds to me like it's someone we haven't met, or Michael with some new identity for himself from Ben.

I can't remember where I read it, but the writers have confirmed that the deceased is a character we've seen before.

[Sal Paradise]

I didn't realize that the obit had been dissected. Jesus.

Yeah, that would point towards Michael. I would agree with it being Ben, but he has recently proven to be too important to the larger story arc to be killed off this season, don't you think?

[Colder Hands]

I didn't realize that the obit had been dissected. Jesus.

Yeah, that would point towards Michael. I would agree with it being Ben, but he has recently proven to be too important to the larger story arc to be killed off this season, don't you think?

depends, whats his contract status?

[Zulofritter]

depends, whats his contract status?

If anyone posts this, spoiler it.

Locke is taking Ben's place on the island, so it's plausible that Ben dies at some point. Pen could kill him in self defense, or someone else could kill him so that Charles no longer has a constant. (The constant thing is my own speculation.) Or he could be killed because the others are mean. Sayid, harboring a grudge about Shannon, could be saving him for last.

[Jaxom 1974]

Michael in the casket is the obvious choice...seemingly...right now though, who is Michael to Kate? She knows he's the spy on the frieghter, right? But still? She doesn't know that he killed Libby and Ana Lucia does she? (Does anyone?) Right now he's the one who got off the island and abandonded the rest of them. Even still, her reaction about the death in the flash forwards doesn't have the force it should. I mean, she seemed angier about it. Like it's something more than simply Michael...

[Shryke]

Everyone knows he killed Libby and Ana Lucia AFAIK.

[Ran]

Kate was with Jack, Sawyer, and Hurley when Michael was forced to admit he killed Libby and Ana Lucia. Her being angry about that sort of betrayal doesn't seem all that wrong to me.

[Jaxom 1974]

Maybe I'm just remembering wrong. Isn't the first time.

Though I still think her reaction feels wrong if it's Michael in the casket. That and the obvious choice just doesn't seem like something the producers would do. They'll go for something more complicated and makes less sense on the surface.

[Blaine]

That and the obvious choice just doesn't seem like something the producers would do. They'll go for something more complicated and makes less sense on the surface.

Fixed.

[Shryke]

As much as I don't want it to happen, I'm thinking it's gonna be Ben.

Other then that, and my preferred option, is Michael.

[Zulofritter]

The speculation is reminding me of how good the coffin scene really is. Cycling through the choices makes you appreciate how intricate the relationships on the show are; that Jack's response would be appropriate for so many people.

[Werthead]

Tonight's episode looks highly intriguing:

SPOILER: Lost

So are Team Locke actually going to meet Jacob? Are we going to get some definitive answers about him, the Island and the Monster?

Cuse & Lindelof let something interesting slip in the podcast:

SPOILER: Lost

When talking about the DHARMA supply drops, they confirmed that Season 5 will bring DHARMA back in a big way, which really got some wheels turning (more in a sec). Lindelof also suggested that if the food drops were performed at the wrong angle, it's possible the drops might travel through the barrier in an unexpected manner, such as supplies being dropped in 1975 and appearing on the Island in 2005, which explains a lot.

Anyway, my new thought on what happens next year:

SPOILER: Lost

Some kind of freaky time travel takes place. We know the Orchid station has time travel properties, so I'm wondering if that's how the Oceanic Six get off the Island. But what about the others? Well, we're told that DHARMA will be back big time. How about some of the characters wind up in the past, when DHARMA was still on the Island? They end up witnessing the Purge, the original DHARMA experiements and so forth first-hand and the viewers get a lot of the answers they wanted first-hand rather than through exposition. This also negates the need for there to be an on-Island storyline explaining what happens in 2004-07 whilst the Oceanic Six are back home. Could be a very interesting twist on the show so far.

[Jaxom 1974]

Oh. Wow.

[Quijote Light]

In a season full of oh shit moments, we've just had an oh shit episode. Move the fucking island? Awesome. Just awesome.

And Wert, cool idea.

[HokieStone]

Interesting episode, but it felt like a bit of a retcon for Locke. In all his previous flashbacks, nothing was made of him being "special". So, was the teenager who gave birth to him, the crazy lady we saw as his mother in one of his earlier flashbacks? And if he was adopted, how did he still keep the name "Locke" (since the nurse calls his biological grandmother Mrs. Locke). He's been in the presence of Richard on the Island, but neither one of them reacts very strongly to the other. Well, as I recall, Richard helped him pass Ben's "test" when Locke marched into their camp...but nothing that I recall that showed that he'd had a previous interest in Locke. So, anyway...the episode just screamed retcon to me. And if we didn't already realize it...this episode just really confirms that Richard doesn't really age. Or maybe he time travels a lot...who knows. And as for the orderly...isn't he a Widmore guy?

Lots of other questions of course...from what's going on on the boat (what exactly was that strapped to the big guys arm?) to the goings on in the cabin. The cabin thing brings up my biggest pet peeve about Lost again, though...the characters not asking the obvious questions. Or at least, getting dismissed far too easily...like Locke being told to not worry why Claire was there. If I was in Locke's shoes, I think I'd say something like "Uh...no, really...Claire, why are you here, and what's going on?"

Speaking of Claire...did anyone else noticed she looked a little chubby sitting there in the cabin?