1.a. It was suggested in this thread of conversation that the dead person in the coffin was Michael, because the funeral home was located in an African American neighborhood. I thought this was a great observation. However, the first thing I noticed was how small the coffin seemed, suggesting it was a child. And since Walt (Michael’s son) keeps appearing to people on the island as a ghost of sorts, I think it might be him. Though I can’t say why Kate would be indifferent to his passing.
1.b. Before reading this thread, my prediction was that it was John Locke, and Jack was devastated by his death because he thinks Locke was right about staying on the island, and Kate was indifferent because she doesn’t agree with Jack and is bitter with Locke for creating so many obstacles in getting off the island.
1.c. I’m also holding on to the the possibility that the person in the coffin has not even been introduced to us, that it is someone we will learn about next season.
Which brings me to my two possible predictions for next season:
1. The rescue they are awaiting doesn’t happen right away (or one week on the island stretches out for an entire season. I mean really, in three seasons they’ve only been on the island two months, right? so it’s possible the next season will be a shorter period of time). And instead of providing flashbacks to give clues, we are now going to see flashforwards, and we have to figure out what happened on the island by interpreting how it all shakes out after rescue.
or…
2. They do get rescued, and the majority of the show is seen through their new lives, and we have no idea what happened to them on the island. We will now see a series of flashbacks to the island to give us clues about what happened.
Thoughts?
Great season finale! Definitely some wicked mind games. Haven’t quite figured out where they are going, so it has accomplished it’s goal. That is -keeping me tuned in when the next season starts. I liked the end. I have been reading that the castaways are in some kind of weird time loop maybe. Because remember when Charlie heard that the computer was programmed by a musician? Like some kind of weird Deja Vu?
oooh – thanks for the forum! I couldn’t figure out what to say on my site – easier to postulate here!
My first idea was that it was Ben in the coffin, but I agree it was a small one. Don’t know what to do with that info. I can’t see a child’s passing going unmarked – they’d at least have to have guardians. Maybe next season they meet up with a bunch of Munchkins?…there was that Oz reference…ha ha
I’m totally bummed that Charlie died. He was driving me crazy (and I thought the “Greatest Hits” episode was a smarmy dud), but then he grew on me. I guess I miss the character he might have been, but based on “his” latest episode maybe I’m glad he’s dead because if that’s all the backstory the writers came up with, um, no thanks.
I totally called that Locke would appear out of nowhere to prevent them from leaving the island. I’m so cool.
New theory: is Penny evil? Is she part of the “bad guys”?
Enough already of the Kate-Jack-Sawyer triangle. Let Jack have Juliet. Let Sawyer and Kate be together. Give it a rest.
More Desmond episodes, please brutha!
Also, a follow-up re: Michael, please! If they got home, then someone must know Oceanic 815 had survivors. Could they really just pretend they were the only ones?
AND, in the flashforward, Christian (Jack’s dad) is ALIVE. I SOOO want to see that explained. There’s a theory that he is the connecting link to all the Losties (established with Jack, Claire, Sawyer, Ana Lucia so far).
And WHO is Jacob? Is “he” real? Or are Ben and Locke both different but similar brands of crazy?
Ok, this comment is sufficiently long enough. I’m looking forward to others’ (not Others’ – ha) thoughts.
Also, I love to read http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com for the snark and ideas.
Sorry for busting in here but I saw lost and had to jump in. So my first thought on the coffin was Jack’s Dad (thinking this was a flash back and they were in Australia). Then I thought it was Ben since the person was neither friend nor family. I like the Walt version though and they did SUPPOSEDLY get off the island.
And what’s up with Jack’s dad? The guy is dead dead dead!!!! I think Kate is with Sawyer and didn’t want to be around Jack because of the fact they love each other and she is trying to be true to Sawyer.
I don’t think Penny is evil but I am curious about the ship supposedly being full of evil people. So we’ll see.
About the flashforwards… maybe they do a “Desmond”? You know, how he was on the island and got off and then went back in time and was on it again? Maybe they’ll end up getting off the island, and then all going back in time (like Desmond), and decide to stay on the island because things were bad when they were home. So then there is a happy ending?
Because we all need happy endings.
Coffin: I’m holding to my theory that Ben is in the coffin…he’s a small man and he was with the “losties” when they signaled the supposed off-shore ship…also would explain why no one would show up.
Penny: Penny is not evil or even a co-hort of Naomi’s…I believe Ben when he says Naomi’s one of the “bad guys”
Charlie: Dominic showed more acting chops in the last two episodes than I thought he had! Quite the swan song.
By the way…with all the money they spend housing themselves on Hawaii and the explosions etc…you’d think they could conjur up a beard for Jack that doesn’t look like he bought in the Walmart costume aisle last Halloween.
Bill –
Re the time loop… could be! But I viewed the code-programmed-by-a-musician thing more as a confirmation that it was charlie’s destiny to ‘flip the switch than as a suggestions that he had programmed it previously.
Leah –
Re Michael, I think that may be a reason Kate is indifferent to the death of whoever is in the coffin. Whether it’s Michael or Walt, perhaps she’s pissed because they didn’t send for help. (But I’m still predicting the dead person is someone we don’t even know).
RE Jack’s dad being seemingly still alive – can’t explain that one. Either Jack has gone crazy, or there really is a time loop issue.
ARGH!
I loved this finale! Exciting without being heart wrenching (okay, except Charlie dying which made me shed a tear)…but no children being ripped from their parents….
I don’t get all of the time/space stuff. Like how Locke’s dad ends up on the island – is he real? He seemed real….who is Jacob, is Ben just crazy? I think Jack’s dad is dead – he was pretty drunk and drugged up when he was at the hospital – the doctor he was speaking to looked at him pretty weird when he asked him to get his dad.
So, because I like this idea, I agree with Jen that the code being programed by a musician just made it seem more like it was Charlie’s destiny to figure it out and sacrifice himself, etc.
My prediction for next season is that they will still be being rescued and instead of “flashbacks” we will have “flash forwards” from now on – like the finale. May seem too simple, but they’ll find a way to complicate it.
Also, we don’t know that the people on the boat that were contacted and are coming are really evil. The only person who has said that is Ben and he’s been proven to be a liar, even to his own people. I think he, like Locke, doesn’t want to ever have to leave the island so he will say anything to protect the life he has there.
I’m excited to have more answers to the mysteries of the island – why do people heal faster there? why do mom’s die if they conceive there?? what is the black smoke??? Only 48 episodes left!!!
those were my predictions exactly!! once I saw the razr phone, I kept telling ryan it was a flash forward, but he didnt believe me until Kate showed up. I thought it was Michael in the coffin, due to the neighborhood and I could see why Kate would want nothing to do with him if he and Walt made it off the island alive. EXCELLENT season finale, though!
There are people that the island manufactures. Some of them are good, others are bad. This is why Ben needs to have a totalitarian lockdown on everyone until he can figure out how people operate. Ben knows this because he is so close to death himself. The island has created living versions of people who are dead, and the island has created dead versions of people who are still alive. The reason why the women can’t reproduce is that the island has all the female creation energy. That is also why the men’s sperm count is through the roof – it is a response to too much of the island’s “estrogen.”
People who seem like they are living but who are really dead:
– Ben’s mom
– Locke’s dad
– Walt and Michael both… that’s by Ben let them go, they were already dead and he knew it.
– Penny – that’s why she knew to be on the video phone
– Jack’s dad – just there to torture Jack
People whom the island has made to look dead but aren’t:
– The entire flight of oceanic 815, so the wreckage can be found, burials happen, and the rescue canceled. (Yes, Naomi’s story holds up, even if Naomi’s employer Penny is a ghost-puppet of the island)
– Jacob (there’s a real person in there somewhere)
In the flashforward, we can see that even after his departure, the island is turning Jack from someone who was neutral to someone bereaved of the island as if he had lost a loved one and would do anything to get it back. This is the island’s creative force at work, it is killing Jack so it can complete the cycle by bringing him back to the island in ghost form. The island has no hold on Kate or Sawyer, Sun or Kim, many other characters are simply skipped over as if the island did not deem them worthy for conquest.
People who the island has seized (this is the process of making them dead so they become ghosts):
– John Locke – dead but seems alive
– The priest guy (forgot his name) – dead
– Desmond – was lost before we met him
– Ben – not dead yet but close
– Charlie – dead
People who are island-neutral (the island has no designs on either their life or death):
– Juliet
– Kate, Sawyer, Hugo for some reason, Claire, Sun, Kim, the dentist etc.
– Ana Lucia
– Naomi
The history of the island’s intelligence began with the Dharma project. Because it was the 1960s, they of course bumbled their way into creating artificial intelligence. This had the form of the island at the molecular level and cannot be detected except for, you guessed it, occasional wisps of black smoke that result in the laws of physics being altered for a sliver of timespace. The creative spirit of the island is one of the indicators of successful intelligence being created (the turing test… it likes to play). The island was the reason for their downfall as well, through Ben as we have come to see in this season. The island is playing with Ben like a mouse before eating it. Having so much fun, she may keep him alive for some time.
What I can’t figure out is no one’s facial hair has become unmanagable and no one has lost weight. 40 days on Survivor and they look terrible! They must be lost on a magical island…you never age a day when you get stuck there. Hey…like Gilligan’s Island!
After reading Elizabeth’s response…I realize I am not smart enough to be watching this show! 🙂
Jacks dad is still alive- In the flash forward, jack said, “Go see my dad upstairs, and if he’s more drunk then me, then you can fire me.”
testing, testing….
oh my gosh, Jen… did you see that! it worked! This message brought to you from MY computer girl! (for those of you just tuning in… I have been unable to comment on this blog from my computer before now). It must be the magic of the island!
OK, my two bits for what they are worth. I think Jack’s dad is dead and it was sarcasm telling the other doc to go upstairs and get his dad. Remember there was a flashback before where Jack went in to a surgery and made his dad leave? We don’t know what happened after that with his dad, but I bet he got into big trouble for it and it was probably pretty well known what happened. I think Jack was simply referring back to his dad being a drunk and still working at the hospital…. that his dad was a worse drunk than he was.
Someone made a comment about how there will be flashforwards now and how they will find a way to “complicate it.” One way of complicating it is to do both flashforwards AND flashbacks.
I think Ben was in the coffin.
What is up with Richard not aging!? Remember when Ben was a little boy and he got out of the gate and ran into a “hostile?” It was Richard. And then when they went to current time… Richard hadn’t aged at all.
And what up with the dog! I didn’t see him leave with Walt and Micheal on the boat until I was watching the extras. After watching the extras I noticed the dog wasn’t around anymore so I assumed that he just left with Walt. But every now and then you will see him.
Remember when Boone went out to save the woman and got carried out in the tide, and Jack had to save him, but couldn’t save the woman? Didn’t Charlie say in that episode that he couldn’t swim? Now he is a fantastic swimmer?? I could be wrong on that one. I need to go back and watch that other episode, but I am pretty sure I remember him saying that.
I agree…. Jack’s beard looked horrible.
And just some obvious stuff that no one has mentioned: Why would they stay on the beach? Why not move to the houses that the “others” abandon? Or at least mention that there are actual houses with electricity and cheeseburgers so they could take a vote! Not to mention the protection from the black smoke monster via that nifty fence. Like DUH!
And if the goal was to stop the blocking of the signal, and the “looking glass” was supplying the energy to continue blocking the signal… and how did they find the looking glass?? Oh yes, a big electrical cable that ran down to it…. hmm… seems like another no-brainer to me. Cut the cord!
And Charlie was stupid. He didn’t have to die. He could have just left the room, shut the door, yelling at Des to run like crazy or yell… Bomb!! bomb!! or something.
And I believe Ben is telling the truth about Naomi.
No idea about the other crazy stuff… why Ben got a tumor in the first place when the island has healing power; why women die during pregnancy; why they picked some people to bring back with them and not others; what the black smoke is (but I like the AI theory); who the heck Jacob is or any of that. My son thinks they are in an alternate reality…. that somehow they went over the Bermuda Triangle and disappeared into the alternate reality.
I don’t think we have seen the last of Micheal or Walt. Perhaps we will find that they are in a different time reality and the two have been searching for them for years before finally finding them, which can now happen of course because Charlie flipped the stupid switch instead of just chopping the cable which would have had the same effect.
Well, that is more than two bits I spoze… but I haven’t been able to post from my computer before now so a longer comment is OK I think! 🙂
Elizabeth’s theory blew me away, and I don’t know when I shall recover.
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