i guess we all see that i kicked yer ass with my intuition, neh?

you owe me $20

no jgabriel if u go to lostpedia.com and look up casket the director/producer state that it is a character who has been introduced to us already. maybe the name jeremy entham was the journalist or the killer.

Alright, first time writing here. Sorry if my "theories" make no sense or sound stupid to you.
What I think is whoever died hasn't been introduced to us yet. At least not formally. It might be someone who's on the "rescue" boat now or someone they'll meet later, once they're "rescued". I don't think the people on the boat are necessarily looking for the island because of the Dharma guys or because they want revenge. They might be aware of the island's powers, and they would love to exploit them. My guess is that they belong to the same group of researchers or whatever they are as the Portuguese-speaking guys shown in the end of the 1st season. Anyway, whatever reasons they have, they want the island, and Ben somehow knows it. All that "they're gonna kill us all" bullshit was pure terrorism, he probably just wanted to talk Jack into not calling the boat because he knew they'd come for his precious island. And they do (I mean, they will in the 4th season). They might be shocked at first - just like Naomi was - when they see so many flight 815 survivors. But maybe they're not entirely bad, and they have no interest in killing Jack and friends unless they start seeing the survivors as a problem. So after some struggle, they might agree to take some of them back home. I don't think everyone will be "rescued", either because some really want to stay on the island (as many people have written here) or just because there isn't enough space on the boat (it's not a rescue boat, theoretically). Anyway, I think Jack will make some sort of pact with these new guys and gather some people to go back to the US with him (like Kate, and probably Claire and Aaron... you know, ladies and children first, and Desmond’s prophecy). Of course he'll promise to the other survivors that he'll be back for them, but then they (Jack, Kate, etc.) might be tricked once they reach the boat. The new guys might be afraid they'll tell everyone about the island they hold so dear and find ways to threaten them. Like "you're not allowed to talk about it... if you do, we'll kill (whoever)". They might give Jack a chance to get back to his "normal" life (threatening to kill his ex-wife or mother or both if he doesn't keep his mouth shut). If everyone really thinks there were no survivors, then Jack's showing up might be the reason why he's now called a hero, and why someone mentions in this episode that he's been a hero twice (for surviving the plane crash and for saving that woman on the bridge). On the other hand, Kate might be given another identity (these people are powerful, don't underestimate them) and a chance to have a normal life out of jail (and that would be her reason for not going public about the island). But maybe they think she's dangerous and that she might do something silly, so they prefer watching her every step. So when she says "he'll start wondering where I am", she could be referring to one of the new guys (let's call them the "rescue guys”) who might be responsible for keeping her quiet. So there's no Sawyer in the story. He might be still on the island, with Locke and the others (or some others), being kept prisoner or fighting for survival (since this is what they love doing).
Conclusion: I think the 4th season will be all about how some of them manage to actually leave the island up to the point where Jack meets Kate back in the States. From then on, I bet they'll be trying to go back to the island (and of course they'll get there eventually). And that's as far as my predictions go.

I think it's Michael. I agree, it's odd for Jack to be crying and ready to commit suicide because of Michael, but I don't think any of the other characters that we know of fit the obituary. And I'm thinking it's someone we know already rather than someone we'll meet.

Ben would be my second guess although that really doesn't fit at all, unless you figure the last name is BENtham and it's some sort of hint at it being Ben. The Jacobian reference supports the argument too. And if Ben does end up being right about everything, it might be believable for Jack to be so distraught. And both Ben and Michael seem like people Kate wouldn't care about dying given her reaction to the news. But Ben only has a daughter that we know of. No son.

Locke would be my third choice for the same reasons Ben is a choice. Locke was basically right and his connection to the island is undeniable. But I find it hard to believe he'd ever leave the island and he doesn't have any children that we know of either. Too many things don't fit for him to be the one who died.

None of the other characters fit, so it's either those three or someone new, which I doubt.

Well after discussing some things with some other people this is another possibility i came up with. Obviously Naomi is lying about why she was looking for the island and she was wearing black in the last scenes so we can assume she is bad. She could be working for people trying to find the island to kill them or hurt them or capture them. This could explain that jack is dreaming or maybe just having a premonition and that last scene of jack and kate at home really never happend and season 4 is them trying to survive against the new enemies they thought came to rescue them. Someone let me know what you think.

First of all, please only respond to this post if you are a true fan and actually own the DVD and have actually put some good thought process into your comments. THANKS.
Ok, immediately I thought it had to be locke in the coffin because he is the only one besides Ben that we know has no family. Which explains no one there for family. His last days on the island of being with the others explains why no one from the lost camp would be there. Also if he was brought back from island and couldnt walk he would be first in line to fit the suicide roll. The paper also says the person is a male. However he has no son that we know about. Also if you watch the last scene carefully you see Locke walking away back into the jungle. So this tells me he did not get rescued. Locke is forsure still on the island. The next candidate would be Michael. Divorced and ex wife dead and has a son. Also was supposively sent home by the others. And hated by the camp for killing so many of them. Also the african american surroundings I believe are probably to make us believe it is him. But jack cries in his car like his mother had been killed and almost jumps off the bridge if it hadnt been for the accident. So i dont see him crying like that or killing himself over michaels death. Next in line would be Ben. No family and obviously would kill himself if he was taken off the island. Has a teenage daughter. This would explain jacks crying also. Jack knowing that Ben was right and the fact that he thinks he cant get back to the island and if Ben is right that means jack killed 40 people. And that better fits the type of crying Jack is doing. Also would help explain the standing on the bridge and suicide thought. If you thought you were the reason for 40 people dying im sure that would go through your head. The only other option is someone we havent met yet. And we will find out next season.
People that say Jacob are just idiots, Kate never even knew of jacob and Jack doesnt know Jacob enough to be that emotional and kill himself over his death. Also we dont even knwo forsure Jacob is a person.
Something that is throwing me off is im almost possitive when jack is asked if hes friend or family while at the wake and everything one thinks he says NEITHER, I believe jack says EITHER. Which we know his only family member on the island would be claire because her father is jacks father but shes female and just not likely. Im pretty sure im the only person to have noticed this so far so please let me know what you think.

why would jacob leave the island? or even locke? jacob could leave anytime he wanted to, so why would he? locke didnt want to leave the island. i doubt they were forced to leave.

Argh. At least to me, it is fairly obvious that it is one and one person only. At first, I thought it was Locke. This was disproved by the last name in the article. So then, I started thinking...J... The only people that we know that make any sense are John, James, Juliet, or Jacob. John Locke makes sense because after leaving the island, he would presumably be paralyzed, be depressed, which would possibly lead to suicide. He has no family or friends (maybe his crazy mother), so it is possible that he might have a funeral in a lower end side of town. Locke isn't family, and after the events that transpire in the Season Finale, their friendship would be questionable at best. I thought that Jack would have realized that all along Locke was right, and that now that he cannot return to the island, he is depressed, explaining attempts at suicide. However, Locke is Locke, not _antham o _entham, so it's not Locke. Juliet is a woman, and it says the deceased was a man, so not Juliet. It wouldn't be James (Sawyer) for so many reasons, most of which are blatantly obvious. This leaves Jacob. People say it cannot be him because it is 'Jeremy'. First, in the image, Jeremy is not clearly there and the only reason people thought that up was because it completes the name. I however think that it reads 'Jacob Bentham', continuing the use of famous last names with different first names (John LOCKE, Danielle ROUSSEAU, Mikhail BAKUNIN, etc.) Perhaps Jacob's name is Jacob BANTHAM? Jack's responses would be similar to it being Locke, with the explanation that some great event transpired between the two between the date of Jacob's death and the arrival of Jack on the island. Perhaps Jack realized that Jacob was right in keeping them on the island, and his death puts Jack over the edge. I'm only posting this because this seems to be the most reasonable explanation and no one has written a lengthly explanation of it yet. I hope this explains a lot, and I am almost 100% sure that Jacob is in the coffin. Also, not that it's related, but Jacob was played by...damn I can't find out who-I don't think they credited him!

jack said he was going to make ben watch everyone get off the island and then kill him. if jack is true to his word (which you can't really ensure) then it's not ben.

ninjarisu..is a geeenious!!. i forgot about kate mayybe being pregnant. it wouldnt be jacks son...it would probably be sawyers...

i think that the person in the casket at the funeral home was michael!!! he would have been disliked also, he left them there .. the person did leave behind a teenage son, walt!!. the neighborhood that the funeral home was in a predominet african american neighbor hood .. its all coming together..mwahahaha. its definetly walt!!!

Jeremy Bentham
Meet Jeremy Bentham. One of 18th century England’s foremost thinkers, he was by most standards a genius, and by all accounts, a pretty eccentric fella. To wit: his will mandated that his body be preserved and stored in a wooden cabinet at University College London, which he founded. It sits there today, at the end of a hall, wearing the same clothes he wore when he was alive. His head, badly damaged in the preservation process, sits in a jar at his feet. The “Auto-Icon,” as it is known, is hauled out for University Council meetings from time to time, at which Bentham is listed on the official register as “present but not voting.”

Found this on mentalfloss.com under the article "Famous Corpses We Have Known."

any chance, after reading lostatsea's theory, that WALT was seeing into the future..if certain events went as planned that would be the outcome???

During the Comic Con podcast, Damon and Carlton invited Harold Perrineau to guess who was in the coffin since he was able to watch the last season as just a regular viewer.

He said the newspaper article said something about the man leaving behind a teenage son, so (laughlingly) he concluded it must be Locke that was in the coffin.

I didn't see anything about the teenage son in the screen caps I've seen, but if that's true, I'm gonna say it Michael.

I have a theroy that I have been trying to prove but recently had to swap out my DVR = lost my lost shows, (can not rewatch them)

I think that last show was a dream, of whos? I don't know yet. Maybe it was just a dream and not an actual event.

What do you think?

its Ben

Actually it's not Juliet. Obviously it can’t be because "A Man was found". Back to the drawing board

Hey, i know im alittle late registering my account. Does anyone ever look at this site on the off season?

I think it is Juliette considering the fact that Kate had now interest in attending the funeral yet Jack was the only one to show up.

dude, its totally Locke. Jack's sad because he spent all his time on the island trying to get off, and now he regrets that. He disbelieved, and even disliked the only person that found something special on the island, and perhaps Jack even made him come when the rescue boat arrived. The character's relationships on the show go back and forth, so I wouldn't be too suprised if Jack and John work together in the future. The gentleman at the funeral parlor asked Jack if he was friend or family, to which Jack replied 'neither'. and 'forgive me' because Locke was dragged off?

I don't know. Maybe its Juliette, neh?

I believe it is someone we haven't met yet, but if it isn't I'm placing my bet on Michael.

From New York, he has a teenage son, he WOULDN'T have his real name based on two reasons: He betrayed a lot of people on the island, or: the other forced him to take on a different name to let him return to society. No one came to his funeral because everyone, even Walt by now, resents him for his decisions.

Just a guess. I started out thinking there's no way it could be Michael. :)

wasnt rousssou (spelled wrong i guess lol sorry) also a philosopher or something along those lines?

I believe someone else has already mentioned this, but the LOST characters are definitely tied to philosophical/sociological counterparts in history. Yet, I do not believe we are meant to completely parallel them with the LOSTIES. Loosely? yes... for prediction purposes?...not as much

yes, John Locke was a philosopher for whom many American ideas were based off of. Most noteably, John Locke pioneered the idea of Natural Human Rights. This is very much what the american ideas of freedom and rights are based off of. Also the refference to naturar right could tie in to LOST's John Locke and his naturalistic habits on the island, wanting to aboandom technology and stay on the island. There are some things that don't uite fit at the same time. But good idea.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Hey Sledge and others,
As it was stated he was a philosopher, if I'm not mistaken , John Locke(spelled the same way) was also a Philosopher whos ideas were the basis for the french and american revolution. Do you see a connection or coincidence?

Hey Sledge and others,
As it was stated he was a philosopher, if I'm not mistaken , John Locke(spelled the same way) was also a Philosopher whos ideas were the basis for the french and american revolution. Do you see a connection or coincidence?

I think that there's a chance that Jack and Kate were the only ones to get off the island. Kate was probably referring to her son when she said he's be wondering where she was, and if Jack was the only person with her in the rescue he could have told them that she was somebody else that had been on the island with them. The body in the coffin could have been Michael and Jack thinks that everyone who escaped from the island is meant to die, so he's worried about his own safety. If Kate doesn't believe this, then she probably wouldn't have wantedto go because Michael killed so many of the survivors on the island.

The body of John Lantham of New York was found shortly after 4 am in the 4300 block of Grand Avenue. Ted Worden, a doorman at the Tower Lofts complex, heard loud noises coming from the victim's loft. Concerned for tenants' safety, he entered the loft and found the body hanging from a beam in the living room. According to Jaime Ortiz, a police spokesman, the incident was deemed a suicide after medical tests. Latham is survived by one teenaged son. Memorial services will be held at the Hoffs-Drawlar Funeral Home tomorrow evening."
courtesy of Doc Arts tailsection.com

-entham unscrabbled is "The Man"

just a thought....

Lostandprofound--I think you put that in my head, I read it somewhere and it finally clicked. thanks, I hope thats how it is, I'll be really disappointed if that is Jacks true future..he is the leader and to see him like that is really disturbing..I think the writers are having a ball trying to "change" the game with the series, so I do expect to see may flash forwards now..I'm just not sure if I'm happy about it

Elise...thats exactly how I felt. Check post #43 in Penny Returns. This is what I said: As for Jack's flash forward...here's how I see it. His future was shown at that point in current time. Now, based on his decisions in the future on the island will change his flash forward. But as of right now, thats how his future looks. I guess that is my hope at least so that he can still have a happy ending. But if there was way for someone to see my flash forward, a year in time from now...I'm sure it will look different tomorrow, based on what I do today. Ok, now I'm confusing myself!

I'm going to have to go with what seems the most logical on this one. We know this:

1) It really upset Jack
2) Jack thought there was good reason for Kate to show up at the wake
3) Jack and Kate knew this person and might have reason to grieve them
4) This is at some point after they get back from the island(either a possible future or THE future)
5) Jack really wants to go back

The what fits the best is it's Locke. Jack grieves him because he's now realized he shouldn't have left and should have listened to Locke. I don't think Jack would ever expect Kate to grieve Ben, but that would fit for Locke. He's maybe hoping that Kate felt the same way as he does(about going back), and also that since he's one of the survivors she might have wanted to stop by at the wake. But the thing is, everybody but Jack probably resents Locke for all the crap he pulled trying to keep them on the island, Kate included.

Well you definitely aren't a calvinist. I like it.

I have finally figured out the Jack/future thing (I think)..lets say today, I'm happily married and have 3 kids..the way I'm going today I am destined to have a certain future in say a year from now..kids growing up etc. but if tomorrow I wake up and leave my husband and kids, I have now changed what my future holds, even though, yesterday I was destined for one thing, but by my actions tomorrow I have altered that future and changed it..anyone agree?

My first thought was that it was Locke who died. But maybe it is Micheal or Sawyer. Just guessing, nothing to really back that up.

LostAndProFound-I had the same thought, but more along the lines of since she was found "dead" in the crash Naomi was talking about, her case/record was probably filed under closed, and when they were found, a double jeopardy thing may have kicked in or something along those lines.

Elise...here's one idea to ponder about Kate and her fugitive status. Whats not to say she is listed as deceased so the feds are no longer looking for. Or, with the way the Others have gotten such detailed info on everyone, maybe they have a way of erasing it as well...far fetched, maybe...but we can't ever count anything out with this show :)

The LA Times discovered that edition that Jack reads on the plane is the real edition of April 5th... of course they added the ficticious news for the show, but the paper itself is from April 5th...

Which shows that Jack is not in a flashback, alternate reality or another dimension of time and space...

It's all real (meaning inside de show), and I like it like that...

Just a thought from a novice user of this or any other site...assuming that lost_and_ found's comment about the obit being correct then the chances are good that it is Michael...someone from New York...who else had a son there? Not to mention the funeral home's locale..wasn't Malibu or the Hamptons was it? And explains why Kate was so adament in her rejection of attending it...traded her for Walt didn't he? But why would Jack care...given the fact that he too made what he thought was a life for an escape decision he'd be in a better position to understand Michael's choice and given Michael was one of the few it seems to have gotten away there goes perhaps as he sees it his final way to get a shot at maybe getting back to the island.

and really if Kate is a fugative she would be in jail..unless she used a different name from someone else that didn't survive but then wouldn't that person have family that would know???

I don't think they would WANT to leave but if people came and took everyone regardless of what they want..

We'll probably have to wait until next year to find out for sure. But, why would ben, or locke even want to leave the island. Rescue can only happen to them that's Lost. Locke and Ben wouldn't want to leave but maybe Jacks' call to the oputside killed the magic. The bad guys?? came to fix things. Dharma people? Looking to get control again? Someone from that group should be worried about it? Don't you think? Kates reaction could of been for Locke or michael, but I don't see Jack getting upset over michael.

Halsfire, this is back tracking a bit, however I didn't get much response on this, in the scene (2 epi's back) where we see Jacob and he has his fit, did you see a long hairy arm hit the glass window right before or after he has his fit??? I would love for someone to go back and look and tell me what that is. also the picture of Jacob looks like he nose is broken or something...anyone?

Halsfire--thanks for clearing that up..I was thrown off by the whole episode. I have followed three seasons pretty well until this season ender..

Or the song went even deeper than that: Clickie

Or the song went even deeper than that: click">Clickie

elise- Ben was implying that Jack would kill everyone if he didn't lsten. He was saying how he made a decision to kill 40 people in the past and if Jack didn't stop he would accidently be making the same decision with the same outcome.

Or it was setting the tone for Jack's actions to committ suicide like Kurt Cobain did because he just couldn't take it anymore... just like the person in the coffin...

See...that was the whole point was to play Nirvana, a song from the mid 90s to make it seem like a flash BACK. Sort of a subtle thing, but when you heard it and thought Nirvana, you think BACK to when they were around. Great psychological add by the writing team.

I thought that was Nirvana. Who would have figured that Jack was a Nirvana fan.

#97: yes, that was Scentless Apprentice by Nirvana, from the In Utero album. :)

Does anyone know what song was played in the car(Jeep) of Jack when he stopped in front of the Funeral home?? Sounded like Nirvana (figurs) to me.

pkg 70, I don't think Jacob would willingly leave..maybe forced off and then dies. I hope this isn't the real future either way and I have a question. What was BEN talking about when he told Jack I made a decision to kill 40 people etc. and now it will happen again or history repeating itself or something like that? did he mean he will kill everyone again? or imply Jack was killing everyone??

Ya, this all being a hallucination would be nice. The futere would suck if it did turn out this bad.

Ok..here's a wild theory...The person in the coffin is JACK. Maybe this isn't his actual future. It would explain why his ex couldn't take him home (either that, or she's dead and he's hallucinating). The whole thing could be pretty much a hallucination. After all, nothing is ever as it seems on this show....

Maybe they didn't reveal who died because the character hasn't been introduced yet...

Elise -- I don't think "Jacob" would ever leave the island... why would someone so reclusive want to join the outside world? He doesn't like electricity, etc. He's not out on the beach looking to be rescued - if he wanted to leave he could; supposedly he's the one who is running the whole operation.

I know you're going to come back at me with "but his message to Locke was 'help me'" -- but i don't think it referred to being rescued off the island - probably more like 'let me out of this area...' he's waaay superstitious and the volcanic ash ring is keeping him in his little cirle and the shack.

While on that topic, I don't think Ben didn't hear what Jacob said to Locke -- I think Ben was testing Locke to see if he would tell him the truth about what Jacob said to him.

pkg70 good theory on all. how 'bout J standing for Jacob?

To add to my theories, I'm also not convinced Kate ended up with Sawyer (note she was driving a Volvo & looked well maintained?? - not a sawyer lifestyle unless they gave him a labotomy)She could have indeed been pregnant with Sawyers child and he blew her off as she only slept with him to get back at the doc - she's found someone new or a past love (a re-connection from the time before everythingbad happened) or the "he" who would be wondering where she was - was in fact her son.

My theories and reasons are as follows:

The first name really does start with a "J' giving us my first 2 options

1. It's John Locke = when they get off the island his paralysis comes back & he slips into a drug/alcoholic lifestyle as he is tormented and consumed about things that "should have happened" or the "powers of the island", or he should have pressed the button. This would explain the seedy neighborhood and him not having any friends or family.

2. Saywer (james) - once a conman and now a cold blooded murderer 2x over, he too cannot re-adjust to the world as he has lived his whole life under an assumed identity with the one goal of making ammends for his parents deaths. That was taken care of on the island and now he has no purpose; Kate used him on the island and he lost her too. He has no family, and as we've seen from his past behavior - he's not the best at making friends.

3. The J is to through us off... could be first name "j" that the person doesn't use that would not be mentioned on the show in conversation or would not be on the flight log (like C. Thomas Howell - F Scott Fitzgerald... they would introduce themselves and say call me F . Scott)or they put the J there to drive us nuts for 3 more seasons.

4. It's Michael - as he really was from new york & got off the island scott free with his boy and didn't tell anyone about his lost friends on the island when he returned to society.

He took a bad turn when he got back to LA & Walt left him to be a boy genius in some school somewhere -- funded by his late mother's estate & Michael was left behind to drown his shame and guilt in alcohol and drugs.

random thought here, but just wondering if any one thought that maybe this 'flashforward' of jack's is actually one of desmond's little flashes of the future. Charlie just died, so maybe Des is being connected to someone elses fate. Refering back to desmonds chance to relive his past, charlie was singing a song with the lyrics "maybe you'll be the one to save me" interesting connection there i thought.

maybe John Locke had to change his name due to hubbub surrounding their return, that would also explain why Kate isn't in Jail...maybe Jack is in the psyche ward at the hospital and they all just humour him..hmmm I don't know if I'll like flash forwards if they go that route next season...we love LOST cuz they are on the island

The funeral took place someplace warm, California perhaps because when Jack is driving to the funeral, palm trees can be seen along the roadside towards the beginning of the scene.

"The body of John Lantham of New York was found shortly after 4 am in the 4300 block of Grand Avenue.

Ted Worden, a doorman at the Tower Lofts complex, heard loud noises coming from the victim's loft.

Concerned for tenants' safety, he entered the loft and found the body hanging from a beam in the living room.

According to Jaime Ortiz, a police spokesman, the incident was deemed a suicide after medical tests. Latham (sic) is survived by one teenaged son.

Memorial services will be held at the Hoffs-Drawlar Funeral Home tomorrow evening."

I feel as if I have to throw my two cents in because I couldn't get online here yesterday. A few people said this, and I have to agree, but the person who died may be someone we have never met. It all depends on how they are going to do the show from now on. Maybe some of it will be on the island, some flashbacks, some flash forwards. I'm not willing to place any bets on this yet. As for the mention of the person that "lives in New York", maybe when the survivors got home, they decided to not live where they were. It is possible that people moved, hell, apparently Kate and Jack live real close to each other. And for whoever mentioned the Oceanic site being shut down or whatever, I'm pretty sure that was a fan site not directly connected to the actual show, if I'm wrong, please correct me.

Interesting John Lantham obituary that was posted recently. This was taking place in New York yet Jack is in L.A.
And it is odd that he had a teenaged son, yet no one came to the viewing. So this man had to be known to Jack and Kate, someone we have yet to meet. Probably someone who was on the rescue boat, someone Jack had hoped could help him return. His tears and crying seemed to be for himself and not for the dead man. Since the coffin appears to be very short, perhaps it was Tatoo, "The plane. the plane..." (you have to be old to get that connection)

I believe Juliette will do whatever she can to get off of the island. She has been wanting to go home to see her sister for what seems to be a few years. Ben won't let her go, and if she sides with the Losties, its a chance to leave. I don't believe she has other motives. Jack, on the other hand, may have been using Juliette for her knowledge of the island. After all, Jack still loves Kate and the kiss between him and Juliette was like a weird grandma kiss. Nothing romantic about it.

John Locke could kill himself if he was paralyzed again, and Jack isn't what I would call a good friend

Hey. That's a "Jo" from #28 varyar's clickie. Notice the font used in the article. If it was an "a" it would look like the one shown here when posting comments, not the traditional "a" with a line on the right side. So, someone named "Jo..." died. Sawyer is not the kill myself type.

Hey. That's a "Jo" from #28 varyar's clickie. Notice the font used in the article. If it was an "a" it would look like the one shown here when posting comments, not the traditional "a" with a line on the right side. So, someone named "Jo..." died. Sawyer is not the kill myself type.

"Researcher" had me believing it was Juliett who died. Kate was never a fan of Juliett. Juliett is not "family" to Jack and depending on what happens off the island (or even on the island), maybe she is no longer considered a friend. Remember, we still don't know what Juliett's intentions are. Is she good or bad? We don't know. And I could be stretching here, but we learned that Ben lead a crusade to kill off darma. At some point he had to have been working with both sides. He maintained his duties with darma, while clearly working with the "hostiles." Could it be that Julitte is the new Ben? It's a stretch, but it is Lost afterall.

Brutus it was not your imagination. It most definately said in bold print Researcher. We need a shot to see if the two obits are the same.

This could be figment of my imagination, but I could have swore I saw "Researcher" as part of the headline when Jack first saw the paper on the plane.

I don't know if someone posted this or not but this is actually what it says

"The body of John Lantham of New York was found shortly after 4 am in the 4300 block of Grand Avenue.

Ted Worden, a doorman at the Tower Lofts complex, heard loud noises coming from the victim's loft.

Concerned for tenants' safety, he entered the loft and found the body hanging from a beam in the living room.

According to Jaime Ortiz, a police spokesman, the incident was deemed a suicide after medical tests. Latham (sic) is survived by one teenaged son.

Memorial services will be held at the Hoffs-Drawlar Funeral Home tomorrow evening."
This was posted over at the Fuselage as a version from someone that they suspect works on the show.

I think that it is Jack Shepard who died.

Can anything be made out of it when he sees the paper on the plane?

Wow awesome theories abound. New to site and must say incredible information here. Just a thought from a newbie: Achara read and marked Jack with "He walks among us but is not one of us". She told him he was a great leader but he is afraid and it makes him lonely. Ironic his name is Sheppard and he tends his flock, almost Naomi suggests, like Moses. He is a "fixer" of people on and off the island. Is it not possible Achara's reading is playing out in the flash forward? I mean he leads them, we presume, to the point of rescue. Off the island he is afraid that he will never feel that sense of greatness and he has nothing or nobody left to fix but himself. Perhaps this is why he wishes to return to the island. There he is whole and complete as a person. It appears he is fulfilling her prophecy. Then again maybe not.

Since Juliet's real motives are still unknown, the whole funeral scene could still make sense with her being neither friend nor family to Jack, and if you watch it again, you'l notice they take great care to never say "he, him, his..." or any other masculine pronoun in reference to the dead person. In fact they go out of their way to do so.
Juliet dying also makes sense because after finding that out Jack attempts to reconnect with his ex-wife "how 'bout a lift? wink-wink" and Kate "how 'bout a smooch?" at a time when he'd be feeling lonely about female companionship.
Perhaps"...antham" is part of her maiden name, which she could have reverted to upon returning to civilization.
However, what was up with Kate's face? It looked like Xavier and Magneto's faces from X-Men 3 when they tried to make the actors look younger. Weird.

the beard is important I think Jack looks like Jacob with the beard now!! anyone???

maybe that is really what happends after they get off the island..maybe now we will see lots of flash forwards..the producers said at the end of the series, we will get the whole idea of who they WERE, who the ARE and who the WILL be! so maybe its as easy as that. we have seen the past, the present on the island and now they will fill in the time from the phone call to get rescued to Jack and Kate at the airport wanting to go back...none the less, I love this show however was baffled by the ending..only other option is Jack has to keep going back and making different decisions until he gets it right?? any other theories, Big lost fan, finally confused..

This is responding to something said quite a ways down the list now, but they interviewed the guy that plays Michael recently and he said they approached him one day and said his character had to go, but if they ever wanted him back he'd be all for it. I don't know if anybody would still be friends with him though after all the people he killed. As for the other stuff, I think the alternate dimension is totally possible, but unlikely. Lost is a very intricate well written show, but at some point they have to draw the line to keep the less intelligent people watching. Somebody said that maybe when they got off the island their injuries from the crash would return, which means some of them might just die when they leave considering how bad the crash was. For all we know, the majority of the survivors were dead from the beginning. I think though that the island's mystery is rooted in Fate. Think about it, the numbers came from the island and everyone that used them to benefit themselves started having bad luck. Maybe it wasn't the numbers that were bad, but the island itself. So if they were supposed to go to the isalnd and stay there but left anyways, they may all be haunted by bad luck.

None of this makes any sense to me. WHEREVER Jack and Kate are, they aren't in the dimension they originally came from. So Kate would not be a fugitive, and Jacks dad wouldn't be dead, and Jack and Kate would be totally different than the people they once were in the original dimension that the plane crash happened. The original dimension I am talking about is the one that was on Bens screen claiming the missing flight. Who knows if they found it in that dimension or not?? We assume Naomi came from THAT same dimension, yet Penny claims she never knew a Naomi or sent a ship. In Scientific American an article was written a few years ago stating that for every choice we could make, we have made, in some universe in some dimension. That would mean infinite choices, and infinite us's! My thought is Naomi was from another dimension and it was her dimension they went through the looking glass to get to. They never went BACK HOME. This makes total sense as to why Jacks dad was still alive, why Jack was an alcohlic and drug addict in this dimension, and Kate seemed and even looked totally different..and was not on the run. Maybe the point Ben was trying to make when he said "you can't go back" wasn't I won't let you go back, it was literally you cannot go back to the dimension you came from. Jack was crying he wanted to go back to the island, but there is no way back. Did anyone ever consider that Jack and Kate never left the island? That Jack was having premonitions of the future the same way Desmond was having premonitions? Jack seemed to have these flashforwards throughout his journey to the tower, maybe they were warnings? We don't know if anyone got off that island..we are assuming from his flashes that he and Kate and whomever in the coffin did. Jack never explained himself and no one ever asked him "hey you were found dead in the plane crash of oceanic 815, how the hell are you back here at the hospital"? Also Jack mentioned he had a gold pass or something like that and he traveled free every Friday to different countries, had a drink, and flew back. If I remember didn't Oceanic according to their website close after flight 815?
Well, in the dimension they all orignally came from maybe. But in this dimension obviously Oceanic is still flying because no other airlines would give him free gold passes. And in thinking about it, they couldn't go to Naomi's dimension either because she said they all died in the crash and their bodies were found and identified. No one seemed to know who Jack was. Maybe Kate and Jack ended up in a dimension they never existed? Someone noted Jack had no grey in his beard. Maybe there is a good reason for that? All Im saying is there is more to this story and the through the looking glass, and it makes absolutely no sense that they could ever go home. Notice Naomi always said "Dont you want to get rescued"? She always seemed to clearly say rescued. I think she knew a hell of alot more than we know. As far as who is dead, it makes no sense it would be Locke because he didn't want to leave the island. UNLESS, it was Locke and he never did leave the island, and he had a totally different name in this dimension.

The Bentham prison invention does make sense actually, remember the hatch where tests of obedience were conducted while secretly observed? Kate didn't say she was married, if it was Sawyer there was no walk down the aisle. It could be that the next three seasons will take place at least in part off the island at different times; that the battle was won by the survivors and a completely different battle begins. Jack's depression is because he was able to be a major hero on the island; his suicide was interrupted by the chance to be a hero (a chance he accidentally created); and in the normal world there are very few chances. He can't complete his mission anywhere else. He's has no function in the real world.

I think there's just too many possibilitis for us to efficiently narrow down who it is. We'll probably just have to wait until next season until thing brgin to reveal themselves further.

I dont think that its downtown loft, im pretty sure its downtown la....would make sense, the obits in the LA times

validuser007
WTF????????!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, this Bentham thing just doesnt make any since. Lets face it, in relation to the show, who is he? But at the same time, I am not what to think. It is just too simple for it to be Locke or Ben...and is Kate married to Sawyer? Now I have to wait till next season to figure this whole mess out!

My daughter and I noticed that the casket was not that long -- that whoever was inside wasn't nearly as tall as Jack. Not by a long shot.

If you focus in on Kate's not wanting to attend this person's funeral, that narrows it down (given what we currently know) to, say, Ben (any Other), Juliet, Mikhail (if he's not dead already), Locke (for all his stunts).

Now if you add on Jack saying he was neither friend or family, that cuts out Juliet as a possibility.

I wondered if Jack's regrets and messed-up-ness (??) stem from perhaps only a handful of them getting off the island. Perhaps Ben is right and these folks who are about to storm the island do kill MOST folks but a handful survive and get off.

And now one of those favored few has died, making their number smaller and serving to remind Jack that Ben was right and he DID end up causing the deaths of all those people. One thing Jack couldn't live with is not having fixed this, of having actually made things horribly worse.

I do, though, like the idea that it was the last person he could have asked to help him find the island again. (He'd been spending time in his apartment trying to find it with maps and then flying around the South Pacific randomly trying to find it too.)

So, if it were Ben in the casket ...

--He's short enough.
--He'd have no one at his funeral.
--Kate wouldn't want to go.
--Jack would say he's neither friend or family.
--Ben knows so much about the island, and was even old enough to remember how he got there or where it was. If he's dead, Jack's chances of getting back are slim to none.

I think it's Ben.

Could Jack be so upset because the man found dead was his lover? Could Jack be gay??

"Man found [dead]" Could always be "Man found [dead woman in] downtown loft"
Looks to me as though it could just as easily be "Ju," and that coffin, you might notice (screencap would be great) was awfully short, especially for Locke. Could be Juliet. Just a thought.

I really think it's Micheal or Locke. They're both people that Kate would never want to go mourn over. Micheal for what he did at the end of Season 2 and now Locke for what he's done at the end of Season 3.

There is also the possiblity if some of them had to take alias when they came back to keep Oceanic quiet and people from raising questions about the plane crash and the island.

I had a thought...perhaps the person who died was a person responsible for their exit from the island. This could cause Jack to get upset and suicidal since he could see no way to get back to the island. Hence, Jack's comment "not a friend or relative" and why Kate would have no reason to go to the funeral. She indicated that she did not want to go back to the island. Just a way to explain the dichotomy of tears and upset, yet not a friend nor relative.

I think it was a flash back of the very last show before the season ends. the name is actually J.J Abrams and they are all ticked off because their writer got killed !! With all the suprises - I seriously wouldnt doubt it. HA HA

1M...If they are rescued, I would think Kate is f'd because her face will be everywhere and the feds would know she was on that plane. The only way she makes it back to the US, is w/o a public rescue and that Jack or whoever would tell the feds she was not a survivor. Thats why its curious as to 'he' is that she referred to and had to get back.

Again, I think the way Jack spoke of his dad was for one, to trick the viewers thinking it was a flashback, but second, when they realized it was a flash forward, they'd go back and analyze it. And I see Jack saying it in a way that his dad is alive, in the sense that his dad was the best doctor in that hospital and everyone knew that, as well as his drinking problems and dismissal. So Jack makes a 'current' comparison of see who's more drunk, because Jack feels he'll never be that bad and his dad was able to pull it off for quite some time. Just my 2 cents!

First Jack was doing oxycontin - the equivalent of heroin - so it's no wonder he thinks his father is alive. He probably saw him in the hall. There was an entire first season episode where he was haunted by him. And the guy in the coffin is likely to be Locke or Ben. I'd think Locke because though he and Jack battle they are soul mates getting conflicting messages from the island. I've never heard this bandied about but the genesis of "Lost" may be Shakespeare's "The Tempest" where two groups of ship-wrecked survivors battle, one of whom has mastered supernatural magic to dominate the group in part to protect his daughter. Caliban would be the smoke monster, though it hasn't shown any erotic interest in Kate to date. Locke maybe.

Oh, and Locke was right about Ben - he's a brilliant poseur, he just imitates the brilliant men he helped slaughter. He doesn't know what he's doing, though he has vague intimations; when in doubt he just kills. Most of the Others aren't very bright. Which is why they lost the Darwinian battle and are greatly outnumbered now. The group on the ship may be another matter.

And thank God Locke survived. The best actor in the cast.

No one has mentioned that Kate clearly was not in jail? I thought was very interesting. If she left the island would she assume the identity of someone else to avoid being found and sent to the pokey herself?

I agree...I think it will be someone we haven't even seen yet...that way its more powerful when something is uncovered at the end and we can say 'Oh, thats why Jack was in shambles over the death'.

let just stop guessing maybe we still havent seen him maybe a new character we will see in 2yrs or 3 lol

I'm guessing here, if the person found dead was on the island with Jack and Kate, and this person was from NY, who we know is from NY?... Michael, Bernard and Rose... just something to think about... make sense to anybody?...

im guessing that jack wants to go back so badly,because he did not realize that he had been injured to from the crash(maybe some nerve damage) but while he was on the island he did not feel it(healed) when they left(wich theres no julliette in sight) he began feeling all the damage from the crash and the pain was to much ,became an addict and thinks the only way to live normal again is to go to the island...thats why he is so upset about (ben or john ) dying , they where the last link to the island(if it was an allias how did jack and kate know who it was...? they would have to know who the alias real name was... ooo i kinda make sense...lol) plus i dont think anyone who was on the beach made it off... hmn.

Regardless, it is an alias name... I'm telling you guys its Michael...look at my reasons on my last post below.

i agree with hansobot in that you are all wrong its not "entham" WITH AN E!!!!!!!
it is clearly "antham" WITH AN A!!!!!!!
SO ALL THIS SPECULATION ABOUT JEREMY BENTHAM IS POINTLESS

i agree with hansobot in that you are all wrong its not "entham" WITH AN E!!!!!!!
it is clearly "antham" WITH AN A!!!!!!!
SO ALL THIS SPECULATION ABOUT JEREMY BENTHAM IS POINTLESS

i agree with hansobot in that you are all wrong its not "entham" WITH AN E!!!!!!!
it is clearly "antham" WITH AN A!!!!!!!
SO ALL THIS SPECULATION ABOUT JEREMY BENTHAM IS POINTLESS

ps. i may have translated more, from this and other screen shots, if it really matters:

Man found dead(?) in(?)
downtown loft.

The body of J- -antham of
New York was found shortly after 4
a.m. in the ---- of Grand
Avenue.

Ted --- a door(?) man at The
Tower -- duplex (?) heard loud
-antham's loft,
notices -- safety, he
Ch------ ---- discovered the
-ntered(?) the -- a beam in the
-- hanging(?)
-
- according

sledge is ever so wise. i am going to say that even if that name isn't Jeremy Bentham it's probably an alias or a new character. The trick is find out who Jack would care enough to cry about, but is "neither" friend or family, as well as Kate would have to know them but not care enough to go herself. We have to figure these flash-fowards are some where in present time assuming the props (the phone) are accurate. This would make it about 2 or 3 years after the crash? Who knows who they could have met in that time.

Yeah, it wouldn't actually be Bentham, and wouldn't necessarily have to go to far into the panoptican - just that it continues a running line in LOST: characters named after philosphers and somewhat inspired by their philosophy. DAVID Desmond HUME, JOHN LOCKE, ROUSSEAU, Edmund BURKE, MIKHAIL BUKININ, etc.

Bentham could be an alias for a character we already know, or a new character we've yet to meet.

It would be to simple if it was Ben...This might be a stretch but I think it might be Michael...he didnt really have any friends. The place Jack was driving through seemed like an African American neighborhood. The person that was helping out in the parlor was African American. Michael was from New York like the article suggests. Walt might be on the island along with some of the other Losties that used to be Michael's friend. Plus, I heard Michael doesnt want to do Lost anymore..so they had to kill him off.

I think it was a another name for Ben, now that Ben is dead, Jack realizes there is no way to get back to the island. Also, that would explain why Kate didn't want to go to the funeral.

Ok, let's say you start at Bentham...then you logically have to go to Foucault who actually invoked the Panopticon and then from Foucault you logically go to Nietzsche (who Foucault is greatly indebted to) and this just spirals out of control. These are high level theorists and although this would be a fun exercise in panoptic theory....it is above the heads of a majority of the viewing public. Unless the writers are forcing people to learn. How would such a story end? How do you really explain Panopticon in a TV drama? Surely not by cheap newspaper articles that only can be viewed in super high resolution and by freeze frame?

However, to progress the theory, could you imagine that Smokie is the "jailer" of this panoptic island? Why would the original Others (the 40 that Ben killed) be watched and who was ultimately watching them?

Found an interesting article (Clickie regarding Foucault and although I have to get some sleep now, I'll be visiting the forums tomorrow and expand on what little I know about Panoptic Theory.

The show is to lacking in the hedons/dolars theme to be bringing JB into the picture at this point. I think it is BL or Walt in there. BL would have been taken off the island in handcuffs and would have become immediately sick without the protective powers.

link = Clickie

Uhhhh......Jacob?!

Also on the Jeremy Bentham wiki - a link to this: Clickie">Clickie

Makes some sense...kidnapping children, Walt, Jacob, the others...

You can't make out anything from that shot on the plane. The camera was too far away to make out any words.

It's Hugo. He's lost weight and changed his name but I'm sure it´s him

why havent we got a shot of the paper in the plane shot????? its what originally drew his attention to sopmmething ..plus its a str8 on shot?

Thanks varyar, we posted at the same time and I couldn't see the link to your photo. I now see the "J".

AUTHOR: Imnotapeck
EMAIL: imnotapeck@yahoo.com
IP: 141.152.167.21
URL:
DATE: 05/24/2007 12:37:54 AM

The link in my post is slightly off, but the capture is from a different and clearer angle than the other ones in this thread.

Trying again: Clickie

I don't see where you are getting the "J" from. From the photo in comment 18, I can read "Man found" and "downtown" and "after 4" and that's about it.

I found a different screen cap (Clickie and managed to piece together a reconstruction of the first two paragraphs. The second paragraph is very much guess work, I admit...

First paragraph: "The body of Jo/Ja -antham of (indecipherable place) was... (found) shortly after 4 (A/P)M in the ... of Grand ..."

The second paragraph is almost impossible to make out. Something like this, maybe? : "(Person's Name, a doorm)an at The (Place... he)ard loud (noises in/from) ...an's loft. (Fearing for someone's s)afety, he (broke/opened the door and) discovered the (body hanging from) a beam."

Well it is a J....antharn of New York.
What about Jacob?

Maybe it's Locke.

Well if it's Ben why would Jack be so sad and feel like killing himself when he finds out?

I mean, NOT put in prison.

If it is Ben and he was found dead, I guess that means that he was put in prison for killing a bunch of people on the island. They don't have any evidence though, I guess...

Yeah I'm going to say its Ben also. Ben doesn't know anybody in the "real world". He would be isolated if he lived outside of the island were he basically grew up in. He knows no one and no one knows him. Ben is different from everyone. He kind of reminds me of John Savage from Brave New World. So maybe Jack blames himself, if he would have listen to him things would have been better? Why else would Jack feel like shit? Something bad happened. There were not supposed to leave the island. There meant to stay there for something BIG. And Jack fucked it up. Maybe they were there to save the world like that old lady said to Desmond. I could see Desmond going back in time making changing and making sure they don’t get off the island. Who knows he could have done it many times before. Kind of like a Marty McFly thing. Boo yahh!

But then again, if that was Ben who died wouldn’t the world make this a big deal and write it all over the news articles instead of a small paper? See where I’m going with this?

It can also be Locke, Locke and Jack never saw eye 2 eye. Locke would probably lose the feeling of his legs if he got off the island. Probably blaming Jack for getting him of the island.

But then again, Locke could still be on the island.

BTW, I'm new here. This site rocks. Please welcome me.

Benjamin Linus!

Clickie

Perhaps it was Ben. Did not Kate say with some disgust "why should I go to the funeral"?

Locke? Also no friends or family. Jack could have been holding out hope that Locke could take him back to the island, and wanted to kill himself when he learned that was never going to happen.

Things I noticed were the funeral home seemed to be in a lower income area. When Jack read the obit, he cried like a baby and wanted to talk to Kate then kill himself. Then when he came face to face with Kate, he told her he went thinking she would be there and she blew it off with a "why would I go" comment. Who would fit that? Definitely the name starts with a J and from another site, seems he (was stated to be a man) hung himself in a loft. So that rules out Juliet. John Locke? James Ford? Someone we haven't met? Hmmmm

I paued my TV on the newspaper and I manages to make out the words The body of J_______ after 4 AM_______ Grand Avenue. I also made out the words "loud", "loft", and "beam in the".

Right there with you about the J. But who was the fella who tried to f#$k it up at the last minute? (maybe last minute)

Who has no family to speak of and has lived in CA before. The way Jack caressed the coffin, the way he only now understood the wisdom of the message. I'm positive it was Brother Locke in there. Jack was not a friend or family. Too late, he sees that Locke was right. None of that reaction works for Sawyer, who was clearly the "He" of the final Jack/Kate flashforward (so pumped to type that word)

and maybe to jack when he said neither friend nor family.. maybe he meant both... or somethign more than those too words... friend/ family

all i saw when the show was airing was "Los Angeles". Im guessing now its Locke. no friends... no family....

isnt it obvious? who was the jerk tonight? the murderer who gets it in the end? if you pause it just right, you see the 1st letter of the deceaseds name. J - for James Ford.

I think it is Ben too.

Did anybody else notice that Jack's ex-wife was pregnant?

I believe it was Ben who died. No friends and no family.

It had to be someone with no/little family. The funeral home was modest (that's a stretch) and the neighborhood was not prosperous.

Actually, probably Sawyer, Juliet or Kate.

is this the least blurry shot we can get?

Vincent

im guessing its Ben. or someone to be announced in the upcoming seasons... alot to be said about this finale...

could it be ben?

Whoever it is, it's someone Jack considers "neither" friend nor family at that time.