Three big hints last night suggest no:


1. Ben's avoidance of Jack's question re Locke's corpse...too obvious.

2. Hugo's mom thinking Sayid was dead on the sofa.

3. 'Exposé' on the tube...you know, the spider venom thing

That's exactly what I thought!! As soon as I saw the show "Expose" on the TV, I thought of the spider venom and the appearance of death for Nikki and Paolo. I'm sure Ben knows about this spider and the special qualities its venom has and has been able to refine it enough to choose the amount of time a person would appear dead. I really think Locke isn't dead. If it is the venom, how long would it give the appearance of death? Would it have to be administered again and who would do that? Ben has taken possession of the body so I'm sure he would be able to make sure this is handled.

I think it's a viable theory.

and how did he get off the island, why did he have to "die" to save everyone...seems like they would have done the same things whether he was dead or not. Im sure we will find out.

Totally great observations - don't forget the foreshadowing with Sayid - numerous times his "breathing" is in question, and the fact that Ben never answers the Jack's question seems to seal the deal. Locke only appears dead. These guys are the masters of misdirection!

I think that Locke *IS* dead, but will magically come back to life somehow, when he returns to the island.

Don't forget though guys, the last episode did confirm that the Island is capable of bending the space/time continuum. So Locke could really have passed in the future, but we're gonna have to wait to find out. Just a theory. I totally forgot about that spider's venom... well done.:undecide:

I love this idea that maybe Locke is not dead! The clues are definately in place. This would be classic Lost, at it's finest!!!!!!!!!!

I would not be surprised if somehow they managed to bring Locke back to life, but I'm about 100% positive that he's dead. Dead, as in dead-as-a-doornail dead. Here is a very good screencap that provides some fairly good substantiation for this conclusion:

Locke in the Coffin (http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage.php?pid=120156&fullsize=1)

Notice the formaldehyde jar with the tubes in the background - as if the undertakers had just finished flushing Locke's system out with it. It's not irrefutable proof, and it may just be a red herring to distract us into thinking Locke is dead. But I think it was put there to confirm that Locke is really really really dead.

I think he is only mostly dead and needs some chocolate from Miracle Max...

I think Locke will return to an active state. That is why Ben is taking such good care of the body. No damage, no disappearing.
100%
I would not be surprised if somehow they managed to bring Locke back to life, but I'm about 100% positive that he's dead. Dead, as in dead-as-a-doornail dead. Here is a very good screencap that provides some fairly good substantiation for this conclusion:

Locke in the Coffin (http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage.php?pid=120156&fullsize=1)

Notice the formaldehyde jar with the tubes in the background - as if the undertakers had just finished flushing Locke's system out with it. It's not irrefutable proof, and it may just be a red herring to distract us into thinking Locke is dead. But I think it was put there to confirm that Locke is really really really dead.

Those tubes might be for the guy in the background in the bag, but not for Locke. They use those tubes on *necked* corpses. Lockes been dressed and has make-up/hair done.

Notice the formaldehyde jar with the tubes in the background - as if the undertakers had just finished flushing Locke's system out with it. It's not irrefutable proof, and it may just be a red herring to distract us into thinking Locke is dead. But I think it was put there to confirm that Locke is really really really dead.

I would agree with you that Locke is dead, but there is another body on the table behind Jack that the undertakers could have just enbalmed.
and lets just say that he had been put into a deep sleep/state, how long would that last, 8/hrs, 12/hrs, just for the sake of argument 24/hrs.
That would mean either Ben or the undertaker would have to be in on it woudn't it?
I mean, how long can a person go in that state?

People stay in comas for years. As long as Locke wasn't without water for three days, he'd probably be fine. A little dehydrated, but fine.

I've loved the spider bite theory since I read it on this board last season. It would be a great call back, and Expose on the TV was certainly supposed to remind us of something. Spider bite is a possibility. The other is that the identity of the Cobra is still unknown to us - someone we've seen all along could be the surprise bad guy (Hurley? Maybe Hurley's dad?) Or it could have been as simple as the writers needed something to be on TV.

On the other hand, I also like another theory that I read around here somewhere - that Christian Sheppard and Yemi get to walk around because they were dead BEFORE they arrived on the island. Because of this, SOMETHING reanimates the body and uses it for its own purposes. I don't like that Locke wouldn't really be himself any more if his body was brought back to the island. But I do like the idea that Locke might just be himself and some combiation of the island spirit.

Heck, maybe Jacob's spirit will merge with Locke's for awhile. That could explain the dedication the butcher lady had for the job of keeping Locke's body safe.

Oh boy. The first week of the season, and already we have a BIG THEORY that is just completely ridiculous! It reminds me of how huge the discussion was about whether Locke faked the sinking of the Others' submarine. There are still probably some people out there who believe that sub is still operational...

Folks, Locke is dead. At least for now. For one thing, Terry actually said as much in an interview.

I agree that Locke is dead. For him not to be, Richard would have to have been lying, or wrong, and Ben would need people at the funeral parlor, which would seem to eliminate the need to move John's body to a butcher's shop where it would be safer. That said, I'm sure we'll see him again once they are all back at the island, provided things play out that way.

For those "Locke is dead" folks, why does Ben need to take such good care of the body?

What do you mean take good care?
Other than getting him and taking him someplace to store while they get the rest of the O6 together,
I didn't see any special care being taken.

For those "Locke is dead" folks, why does Ben need to take such good care of the body?

I have no idea. :D I'll also add that I have no idea why John would need to die once he is off the island. I believe John is dead for the reasons that I mentioned, but I cant answer these two things well enough for me to rule out all doubt.

For those "Locke is dead" folks, why does Ben need to take such good care of the body?

See my post above for interesting things that have happened to people that arrive on the island as corpses.

See my post above for interesting things that have happened to people that arrive on the island as corpses.

Thing is, Yemi and Christian's bodies werent well cared for. Christian's went through a plane crash and ended up being thrown out. Yemi's was also in a plane crash, sat there for quite some time, and then was burned. We see both walking around on the island anyway. Not sure why John's would specifically have to be "cared for" unless he wasnt actually dead.

That said, I do actually believe John to be dead. I just cant reconcile this particular point.

may be 70 hours that Hawking mentioned is the time needed for Lock. If Lock suddenly wakes up than guess what happens ?

What do you mean take good care?
Other than getting him and taking him someplace to store while they get the rest of the O6 together,
I didn't see any special care being taken.


Heck, maybe Jacob's spirit will merge with Locke's for awhile. That could explain the dedication the butcher lady had for the job of keeping Locke's body safe.


Thing is, Yemi and Christian's bodies werent well cared for. Not sure why John's would specifically have to be "cared for" unless he wasnt actually dead.

Points well taken.

Okay, I'm one of the "Locke is dead, get over it" folks.

However, there is one, and only one, point that I can see so far that would support the theory that Locke is not really dead. This is the fact that there were other Flight 815 survivors who are dead, and who are not on the Island, namely: Michael and Jin.

So, here's the rationale behind this:

If it is so important to get everyone (living or dead) back to the Island who was on Flight 815, then they would also have to salvage the bodies (or what was left of them) of Michael and Jin from the bottom of the ocean where the freighter blew up and sank. So, if they're not going to include Michael and Jin, then they won't be having a full ship's manifest from Flight 815 back on the Island, and so what gives?

It is entirely possible that Jin is not dead - in fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that such is the case. If the freighter was close enough to the Island when it went poof, perhaps Jin was transported along with the other survivors of Flight 815 (plus the Freighties and Juliette), but is located a couple of miles out to sea. Maybe he's swimming back to the Island right now. Or maybe not.

However, I'm pretty sure Michael is dead. Barring some very unusual circumstance, one simply cannot survive in an enclosed room when 5 tons of C4 goes off.

At any rate, those two bodies are not there on the Island now.

Which brings up Charley... Is his corpse going to pop up from the depths of the sea once he is time shifted into a period when the Looking Glass station doesn't exist?

So, the easiest explanation for all of this would be that, if someone from Flight 815 is dead, then it is not imperative that he or she be present on the Island when the 70 hour countdown takes place. Which means that Locke would not really be dead, since if he was dead, why bother?

There's just too many loopholes for all of this to really make any sense to me... I'm sure I'm not alone...

The best argument for Locke not being dead is that he appears on the "Living" part of the wall in the little video supplied in recent weeks - whereas Michael appears on the "Dead" part.

Don't forget though guys, the last episode did confirm that the Island is capable of bending the space/time continuum. So Locke could really have passed in the future, but we're gonna have to wait to find out.

This is my theory as well. Thanks kalanariel!

And what about Walt?...he was on the flight....though there is no mention of getting him back to the island