I'm betting locke's been od'd with that crazy paolo/nikki spider juice

Didn't Richard tell John that he had to die - so wouldn't that mean that John hanged (i think the proper verb) himself to achieve that goal - but like mentioned below, once back on the island he'll be living and ruling Ben's job... just a thought

Can we get a close up of the pics by the cash register etc.?

Yeah, I think you're right, Shivy. I don't think he died on the island. And I think he's really dead, but will be re-animated when he gets back to the Lost island.

wasn't john found dead in NY by hanging himself? i think he's dead IRL but not on the island.

Two thoughts:

Maybe the island and the people on it are out of sync. Maybe that's why Jacob's house keeps moving.

And maybe Ben Linus is the constant for the island...

I have to wonder if Locke is actually dead or if he has used one of those spiders perhaps to temporarily off himself. I mean some might say then how do you explain formaldahyde etc. but isn't it possible that Ben could have minions at the funeral parlor too as he does in the butcher shop?

I agree, FlipTreeJ. There's just too many incidents throughout the entire series pointing to this to think anything else.

While he's not omnipotent, he is almost all knowing.

I think Ben has traveled through time more extensively than the plot has revealed. He has amassed fortunes throughout his time-traveling, and placed things and resources (like the butcher lady)in key locations so he can access them at whatever point in time he is located at the moment. Like the box from the air vent. I think he placed that there at an earlier point, to access later, when he knew he would need it.

People think Ben is a genius and has mysterious resources beyond everyone's comprehension. I just think he knows exactly what should and what will happen, and he can plan accordingly.

Maybe Locke was never "healed" by the island, and was instead moving slightly through time. Kinda' like Richard (short hair, long hair, remember) Maybe that's Locke's true connection to the island. He has the potential to willingly move through time. If they bring Locke's body back to the island, maybe he and the island will shift to an earlier time, when he is still alive.

Perhaps Locke is dead, but will be alive if brought to the Island because he will be in an earlier time, when he was still alive. This may also be how Christian was dead when arriving on the island, but then showed up alive. Also why Locke wasn't paralyzed and Rose's cancer wasn't an issue. They were restored to their previous condition. Maybe?

8:15 was the time on the alarm clock right at the beginning, and 342 was Ben's customer number. Where were 4 and 162? I missed them.

4 8 15 16 23 42

4 815 162 342 hmmmm

NOT THE NUMBERS!

Jill mentioned another person in her team. Anyone catch that name? I think this scene just confirms Ben's team depth. He had three years to put this all in place. Was Charlie's dad's butcher shop similar used?

We already knew The Others had an extensive network of people on the mainland. They even set up front corporations to recruit people they needed. Like the biotech company (Mittelos?) in Portland where they recruited Juliet. They had the sub that made regular trips between the island and the mainland.

And apparently they had something goning on in Canada too. Remember that Mikail said to the two women in The Looking Glass station, "I thought you two were on assignment in Canada?"

I think Locke is really dead - just like he was really paralyzed after falling 8 stories from a hotel window. But just like with his paralysis, that may not be permanent on the island. I mean it's not like we haven't seen other pretty active dead people on the island before!

Oh man, I forgot about the spider! That could be. But how did he escape embalming by the funeral home?

Mini numbers alert -- Ben took the number 342 from the "next customer" thing -- that's the last three digits of The Numbers.

Ben does appear to have an extensive network of supporters.

The bigger question is whether or not he is really dead. In the conversation Ben and Jack had it didn't appear that way. Did he use a spider to temporarily kill himself? Did he manipulate time?

The familiarity and authority with which Ben spoke to her really makes me wonder *how* extensive Ben's mainland operations are, and *why* he has all that in place.