Big Spoilers Ahead! Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You!
Well, that was quite a finale. I’d been in the “Ben’s in the coffin” camp for quite a while now, and it wasn’t until near the very end when I snapped out of it, thinking “Hey! Everything they’re saying points to Ben being in that coffin… There’s no way they’re going to do that! It’s gotta be Locke!” And it turns it out was.
Thinking back on it now, what purpose would there be to having Ben be the one in the coffin? Most (if not all) of the Oceanic 6 would be happy to see him there, sure, but then what? Locke had his chances to try and get them to come back to the island, after things went bad. Now it leaves everything up in the air. What the heck DID happen on that island?
And more importantly, if the island doesn’t want people to die that it has a use for, how did Locke end up dying?
I think that last question is easy to answer: It might have needed Locke up until that time, but when things started to go wrong, Locke became expendable. We saw that when Ben got sick. Not supposed to get sick on the island, right? Well, Ben was probably surprised as anyone when he got sick.
There’s definitely been a lot of manipulation on this show, and it’s likely Locke was manipulated even further after the Oceanic 6 was rescued. We’re almost assured of that, and one of the likely culprits is Matthew Abaddon. Why do I say that? Remember in “Cabin Fever”? Abaddon suggested that Locke go on walk-about, and if he did, that “You’ll owe me one”. What Locke ended up doing in return probably seemed small to him at the time, but it might be what lead to his downfall.
Some random thoughts:
Sure looks like Charlotte’s been on that island before… And from the reaction that Miles had to her, it sure seems like he sensed she was a ghost. Maybe he picked up on that “vibe” when he realized there wasn’t something quite right with Claire.
When Ben and Locke parted ways, why did Ben use the phrase: “Richard and my people” will be waiting? It’s probably nothing, but it struck me as a bit odd that he singled out Richard that way. It’s obvious to everyone now that there’s more to Richard than it first appears, but I thought it was interesting none the less. All it probably means is that Ben is in on Richard’s secret.
The phone call Kate received was a voice speaking backwards. I heard that right away. It said ”The island needs you….You have to go back before it’s too late.” (Hat tip to Jeff Jensen’s column in EW.com for pointing this translation on Friday). Interesting juxtaposition from what Claire said to Kate: “Don’t you dare bring him back!”
I made a lot of wrong predictions in an earlier post, but this was right on the money:
What happens if the device the transports the island is very cold? So cold that have to get into heavy coats just to keep warm while operating the device? And what about that “Frozen Donkey Wheel” code word the writers have been using for this finale? If it’s a very old device, it could be in the shape of a big wheel, the kind of wheel you might see donkeys hooked up with in a mill. Turning that wheel might realign the island in order to facilitate the island’s move.
It was really a great touch at the very end to have Ben tell Jack that he had to go all “Body Snatcher”. It’s pretty obvious that getting Locke back on the island will bring him back, ala Christian Shepard.