Well, in true Sherlock Holmes fashion, let's start with the obvious which can't be the answer. And once we remove it, we'll see what's left.
It can't be Jack or Kate in the box, unless we're dealing with time travel or alternate intersecting (not parallel) universes. But let's assume for the sake of this post we're not.
It can't be Jack or Kate in the box, unless we're dealing with time travel or alternate intersecting (not parallel) universes. But let's assume for the sake of this post we're not.
The crumpled newspaper clipping in Jack's hand may say "J... ....tham" - according to a screen shot all over the Web. Jeremy Bentham was one of the founders of the Utilitarian philosophy in the 19th century - the path to goodness consists of finding or doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Bentham developed this philosophy with James Mill, whose son, John Stuart Mill, refined it (JS Mill argued, correctly I think, that there are qualitative differences between goods - saving someone's life is worth much more than giving someone $100 as charity). This philosophy is certainly not irrelevant to the castaways, and the whole story of Lost.... Bentham is also known for devising the Panopticon prison - a design which allows the prison guard to observe all prisoners, who are unaware that they're being observed - a state also not exactly alien to Lost.... In any case: if the name in the article is indeed Jeremy Bentham, this would be consistent with major characters in Lost having the complete or partial names of great philosophers - John Locke, Hume, Rousseau.
But this of course wouldn't tell us who the person in the coffin is - that corpse could either be of a new character, to be introduced after the last scene we saw on the island, or an alias being used by a character we know.
Intriguing possibilities, both. But let's look at some other alternatives:
Michael: This is supported by the funeral home being in an African-American neighborhood. That's about it for evidence.
Locke: The "J" in the newspaper clipping could as easily be the first letter of John as Jeremy.
Juliet: Same logic as above. But the crumpled article indicates that a man died - which would rule out Juliet, as well as Claire, Rose, and Sun ....
Here's another factor: Kate seems to care less about this person than does Jack ... who from the island would Kate dislike and Jack not? Almost impossible to say at this point, because of the time that has passed since we last saw the two on the island.
So, I'd say we need to know much more to constructively guess who's in the box ... which of course is what the producers intend .... Anything I've overlooked?
*Note added 27 May 2007: Some people think they see an "a" as the second letter of the last name. If that's indeed what it is, maybe it's a typo...:)
**Note added 29 May 2008: And the body in the coffin was revealed in the Season 4 finale ... here's my review and analysis ...
Useful links:
Lost New Questions1. How Far in the Future? ... 3. Who's Waiting for Kate? ... 4. Who Is Naomi's Boss? ... 5. Is Mikhail Immortal? ... 6. What Constitutes Reliable Evidence? ... 7. Are the Flashforwards Desmond's Flashes?
Lost Season 3 Finale ... Flashforwards
Lost: Keys to What's Really Going On
And see also Lost's Back Full Paradoxical Blast: Season 4 Episode 1
Utilitarianism and Other Essays John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham
The Plot to Save Socrates
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book
67 comments:
Jacob, and James are also possiblities. Also, it may not be a man. The newspaper clipping just says "man found" - it could mean: Man found dead body... Pretty ambiguous.
Good points, especially about Jacob and James....
All we really know for sure is that the body is not Kate or Jack (and, again, that assumes no time travel or alternate universes).
Paul I still have to go with Ben. Jack went thru so much with him yet not a friend or family. Kate hated him which is why she had her responses. If it was Ben then Jack wanting to go back could be his realizing Ben was right about dieing off the island. Anyway stopped by to say have a nice weekend
I was also along the Ben route but do like the Jacob possibility... Was it just me or did that coffin appear to be rather small???
dawn - I agree that, in many ways, Ben fits the bill better than anyone. Jack would indeed feel guilty about not following his advice. And Kate clearly hates him - that's why she said to Jack on the island, why didn't you kill him...
The only contradicting piece is that "B" doesn't look like "J". But this raises the important question: how much credence should we give the sharpened screen cap of the newspaper clipping? Clearly it's a clue that the producers knew we Lost fans would be carefully examining ... but it could have been something to throw us off :) paradox of the liar again....
Steph - the coffin seemed, maybe, a little smaller than usual - not snall enough for a child ... I guess that would support Ben ... but, I'm no expert about this, but are there different sizes in coffins? Do short people get smaller coffins than tall people? I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that other than children v. adult, the sizes of coffins are pretty much the same...
LOST question 3:
who the 'he' that kate mentions?
I thnk its sawyer cuz it was like jack-love-kate-but.kate-love-sawyer-more-kinda
thing
Here is a quandry:
Who, having died in New York, would be moved out to be buried in Los Angeles? (Thats what happened right?)
Also, Paul, I think it is worthwhile to consider that the ID used was false, therefore it could be anyone, who since leaving the island changed their name for some purpose?
muneeb - that's a good question - I'll definitely put up a post about it in the next few days ... and I think Sawyer's the best answer... (here's the wildest answer I came across somewhere - Kate's baby son ... not impossible...)
Ben - Rose and Bernard come from the Bronx ... and Michael was in New York, at some point...
Yes, the ID could definitely be false ... which could likely be the case if the name is indeed Jeremy Bentham...
The key factor, I think, is Kate's attitude. She wouldn't have had it, unless something really changed, about Rose and Bernard. But she certainly would have had it about Ben...
Jeremy BENtham...maybe it was Ben lol keepin me on edge for a very long time, cant wait for the new season
anon - Ha - good pseudo-pick-up, Jeremy BENtham = Ben ...
(Especially appealing as an addition to this dialogue because the letters B E N aren't even visible in the newspaper... :)
I don't think Ben would have chosen to left the island, if they were rescued, so I didn't think it would be him.
Paul - I found your blog after you commented on Gina's... always fun to read more about LOST!!!
Beth - I agree!
Good to have your comments here... keep 'em coming!
But refresh my memory - which blog is Gina's? :)
Nice Blog!
I still don't want to rule out Sawyer being the one in the coffin, although the length of the casket is throwing me for a loop.
The last time we saw Kate and Sawyer together, it wasn't exactly on the best of terms. As we've seen already, their relationship so far isn't exactly rosey. It's alot more lust than love.(the sleeping at night together issue) What if Kate is pregnant with Sawyers child, and he pulls the same crap he did with Cassidy? Or worse, making her abort the child. In my book that is enough reason for Kate to dislike Sawyer not enough to go to his funeral. Plus Jack is a way more forgiving man. He is severly depressed and could have played a role in this scenario, and harbors deep guilt.
Paul,
You assume Kate wouldn't go to the funeral because she doesn't like the deceased.
Perhaps she couldn't go because she is still on the run ?
dave@vrona.com
Thanks, Lerky - welcome to Infinite Regress!
I agree that we shouldn't rule Sawyer out.
Interesting trajectory: (1) Sawyer's the most obvious. (2) Therefore it likely isn't him. (3) But then it would also be a counter-surprise surprise if it was him, so we shouldn't rule him out (and there are still all the reasons in #1 in his favor)...
Excellent point, Dave - I hadn't thought of that.
Also, there definitely is pain on Kate's face when she first looks at the newspaper clipping, which at very least is inconsistent with just plain hating the deceased.
I just assumed it was Locke in the Coffin. Jack feels guilty, because he realizes that Locke was right. If he had listened to Locke and not answered the cell phone, things would not have gone so wrong. That remark about absolutely no one showing up for the casket viewing seemed like a big clue. Locke didn't really have any friends before he crashed on the island. Possibly, leaving the island caused his legs to stop working. So he went back to his old pathetic self, and Jack knows he's to blame. Kate was never close to Locke and has nothing to feel guilty about, hence she wasn't as affected as Jack.
I wonder why no one else mentioned Locke. Am I overlooking an obvious reason to exclude him as a possibility?
Gina's blog is "thisisgina"
I am glad to have found another source for Lost info and theory... I'm going to need them to keep me going until Feb!
I suspect it could be Locke in the coffin as well. Something to keep us talking about all summer!
Beth - thanks - Gina's thisisgina is a nice blog! (I should've guessed that - but I was reading the blog name as this insignia :)
Tvindy and Beth: Yes, it certainly could be Locke.
But if the guiding criterion is no one cared enough to show up - meaning, no family and friends - or whatever, we have lots of candidates in addition to Locke:
Ben: no family or friends, anywhere, not to mention that he's hated...
Bernard: if Rose dies. In their flashback episode in Season 2, when Rose says she wants to stay on the island, she says that she and Bernard have no family other than one another.
For that matter, who would come to Jin's funeral in LA, if Sun suddenly died?
So, all in all, I think we need to go with hate or extreme distaste as the reason no one showed up...
And that suits Ben best, and maybe Locke second...
I'm thinking Rose was in the coffin. And the fact that no one else showed would mean that Bernard, too, is deceased.
It would explain Jack's emotional outburst. Had Rose not left the island, Rose would have survived (her cancer coming back only after they returned home).
Jack feels guilty ...
jack was asked by the funeral director if it was a friend or relative and he said neither. It therefore has to be an 'other' so the obvious answer is Ben
Tracy - but Jack might consider Rose a friend, and the newspaper clipping suggests a man...
anon - I doubt that Jack would consider Michael a friend, either...
Hi, I am new to your blog. Found it from a link in someone's comments from Digg. I enjoy reading your theories.
Just wanted to throw something out there that I vaguely remember from either late in Season 1 or early in 2. I recall a scene with Michael and his wife when she was pregnant and they were shopping for baby stuff (cribs, etc). I thought I remember them talking about "Jeremy" as a name for the baby (which is now Walt). Does anyone else recall this? It was such a short scene and so long ago. I don't have any of the DVDs of past seasons to check.
I could be completely wrong about this.
Beck, I think you might be onto something. What is their last names? This would make sense. But Walt was one of them. Something bad must have happened for them to all turn their backs on him.
I don't think it's Locke, like they mentioned earlier. Locke's ex-girlfriend I would think would come pay her respects. And lets not forget if they did get off the island, we don't know of his other relationships since.
Beck - glad you found your way to Infinite Regres...
I don't recall that scene, but I have a DVD of season one, so I'll see if I can track it down in the next few days...
maracuchia - welcome here, too - agreed about Locke...
Maybe I am just confused ... Everyone keeps assuming it was someone from the island.
But we know that Jacks dad died. BEFORE he crashed ... Also , he had the beard and the pain killer addiction during the funeral of the unknown. It was the sametime the woman crashed on the bridge.
While he was talking to the new chief of surgery in the hospital , jack said " Go upstairs and bring my father down. If im drunker than him you can fire me. "
Seems to me his father is still alive during the funeral so I would assume this was before the island.
Meh. I was wrong. Wasted $1.99 at iTunes to find out. Oh well. It would have been a good twist though, huh!? I still cannot help but feel I have the name Jeremy stuck in my head from another episode.
Sorry for the false alarm.
Interesting information... and without over-analyzing, my initial response was that it made me lean more toward it being Ben in the coffin. Here's why:
1)The Utilitarian philosophy stuff totally fits with his actions and explanations. "Everything I did I did for the island". And Michael Emerson just said this of Ben in an interview: "I believe he has a mission and an agenda that he hasn’t shared with us yet. The survival of the earth may depend on Ben’s work, so it justifies his ruthless behavior."
2) The characters with the philosopher names all seem to have the deepest/most mysterious ties to the island itself. John Locke... Desmond... Mikhail... Rousseau (at the very least she's been there a long time - and I think there is more to her back-story than we yet know). Of all the other characters we know of, the one with the strongest island-ties would be Ben - so it would make sense that he ought to be in the philosophers' club.
3) Jeremy BENtham. Seems rather intuitive.
Hope this spurs some discussion!!
While I'm at it, I'll add a #4:
It was just a few weeks ago that Ben had everyone speculating, with his "magic box" speech to Locke. He even said something like "don't you want to see what came out of the box, John?" if I remember correctly. IMO, it would fit the writers' style to tie that in with the new "who is in the box" mystery by having Ben in the coffin.
ermmm hasn't anyone figured out this is probably just a desmond style fastforward ??
Jack's father being alive in the future may indicate that the Lostees' memories may have been mucked with. Perhaps Jack's father never really died, and that was all just a false memory. This would go a long way toward explaining all the flashback coincidences.
anon 1: but we don't know that Jack's father is still alive - and, if anything, evidence points against it (we didn't actually see Jack's father in the LA scenes).
Beck - would have been a very good twist. And if you have this feeling, you may indeed have picked up a valuable insight of some sort about this question ... keep nursing it...
anon2: Good analysis. At this point, having thought about all this for a few days, I'd rank Michael and Ben as neck and neck for first place (under alias names), with someone we don't yet know right after...
dave: could be a Desmond flash, but I think it's more major and crucial to the story than that (not to take away anything from the importance of Desmond's flashes)...
tvindy - see my above for Jack's father not dead ... (by the way, I was going to mention you in my Light On Light Through podcast about Lost last night, but my mike shorted out ... will get you in next week...:) (everyone else:tvindy replied to a contest)..
Way back beth said "Ben would never choose to leave the island" implying it couldnt be him... but to look past that, he would never WILLINGLY leave the island... so there is just as much possibility of it being him.
Paul, yeah, Rose, Bernard and Michael all have ties to NY, but why would their coffin be shipped out to LA after they died? Especially if they have no friends of family taking an interest in them to ask for such a request to be carried out...
Ben - agreed on all accounts...
Paul, no problem. Actually, I didn't expect to be mentioned anyway, since not one of my many predictions turned out to be true. :)
I'm still betting that Jack's father is alive and never died. I'll even go out on a limb here and speculate that Kate's stepfather is still alive. She never killed him and went on the run.
EXACT WORDING OF NEWPAPER CLIP -
"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."
The name of the funeral parlor, Hoffs/Drawlar is an anagram for, ready for this? 'Flashforward'
anon - thanks - but that's not what I see in the screen cap ... do you have a better screen cap with that? ... and, if not, where did you get that wording? :)
i dont think it is desmand style flases that havnt happend yet... because i heard that theyre doing alot of filming in newyork instead of the "island", and as for the person in the coffin, it's too much of a difficult question to answer! As for jacks dad, i didnt watch series one, but if im not mistake... wasnt he bringing his dads coffin from Australia to La when the plane crashed on the island ... who knows ... ressurection .... and again i say that i never watched first series and half of second, so im not sure about that fact!
Managed to read , los angeles man found (space)downtown.
of the newspaper clipping.
think it may be ben, could the book next to the coffin be bens diary rather than a bible, as you see him writing at the start of the season end.
remember also john lock will not leave but jack may make ben leave, as he has him prisoner.
Those are two very good points, Chris - welcome to Infinite Regress.
Yes, the book next to the coffin could be Ben's diary - which will no doubt play an important role in Lost in some way in any case.
And you're completely right that, as of the last we saw on the island, Locke would be less likely to off-island in LA than Ben...
If I had to choose between Ben and Michael, I would at this point, by tiny margin, go with Ben in the coffin...
Here's an enhanced screenshot of the newspaper clipping.
Thanks, Tvindy - that's even a little sharper than the one I have in my post....
You know, it still looks to me as if Jeremy Bentham could be a contender...
Hi Paul!
Now I'm not only posting in response to your Sopranos bloggings, but also in the Lost thread and as always it’s an enormous post – so once again I’d like to ask you to bear with me and my ramblings… I find the question of the flash forward very interesting as well, since I don’t think either that it is a mere premonition of what might happen, but rather an actual snippet from the future that is going to be integrated into the fabric of the Lost storyline (but then I also thought that in Heroes New York would explode despite all the implications this might have in an american series…).
Be that as it may, I have my doubts about the “Jeremy” bit, since the clipping seems to show an “a” or an “o” as the second letter rather than an “e”. My bet still goes with Jacob as he seems to be the one who can phase in and out of the island – or at least appears to be of a different dimension as seen in the hut with Ben and Locke. Consistent with the recurring names of different philosophers it could well be that he is named Bentham, which would fit brilliantly with the panopticon and the idea of the all-seeing (being)…
In this theory could lie also the explanation for Kate and Jack being away from the island, since it might be in his power to get them to LA but not to get them back there. Maybe he is reluctant to get them to LA in the first place and then doesn’t want to take them back – which might explain why Kate – as a possibly pregnant women or mother (depending on how far in the future we are) – doesn’t try to go back, while Jack has realised that life on the island has much more to offer him than the life in LA which is bereft of everything he once loved… It would also explain why Jack is so upset about his death and Kate isn’t.
On another note, it could also be speculated that Jacob can not only transport them anywhere but also any-when, which would be consistent with the tendency of the recently developed series to treat time not as a linear entity but as a cyclical/spiralling complexity – as is the case with Heroes, Battlestar Galactica and also to a lesser extent with Six Feet Under. It would also be a means to resolve the grim future we saw in the season finale into a more satisfying ending (the classic Happy End) since the end of the series wouldn’t necessarily end where the timeline reaches its termination. The last images could be happy images from a time on the island, even if the viewers know of the rather grim realities lying ahead for some of the Losties. It would also make it possible for Jack to maybe go back to the past time on the island and maybe change the outcome – see Heroes…
Your thoughts on this matter would be much appreciated, even if the thread isn’t the newest anymore…
Sincerely,
Sven Weber (Weimar, Germany).
P.S.:
Maybe the fact that Jacob (if it was him...) hung himself (?) from a beam, could then be the reason for his nature as a being of in-between-ness in regard to space and time. That would be another facet that could close a loop of sorts...
the (now registered) Sven.
I just discovered this excellent blog, so I am not sure if this comes a bit too late (and my English is a bit wacky since I'm no native speaker), but -
as countless websites claim the name in the newspaper is John Lantham at first - and John Latham in the end. Now I found a pretty large screenshot of that thing and I still can't see it (the first name up there definitely ends in "-ntham", I can't see any second name), but if it's true, I find it interesting - since it points to (real world) conceptual artist John Latham, who worked with the terms "flat time" and "event structure".
(wayback machine archived his flat time website here.)
Now that would fit in the scheme of using crucial "real life" persons' names (philosophers, as you pointed out) - even if that name in the newspaper is just a pseudonym (for Jacob, Ben or anybody else we might or might not have already met).
I have to add that I got this idea from another LOST blog - but since it wasn't mentioned here, I thought I should share it.
p.s. - this is the largest screenshot I found. it looks like "Jo...Lantham". At first I thought it is "Je...", but when you compare it to the o in "body" - it could well be an o.
But maybe I should just go to bed now...one more thing -
I know I said it before, but: this blog is fantastic! Thank you.
I just finished watching that episode last night.
While people here are going on about who might have been in the coffin, there seems to have been an essential point that's left out.
Right after learning of the death of this person, Jack goes into such a phase of mourning that would eventually lead him to the bridge where he attempted suicide.
Now we don't know if Jack wanted to kill himself because this person has died or if the person represented something significant about island that would trigger such a reaction. Nonetheless the departed has to be someone who has a more profound role in Lost. After all, Jack wasn't suicidal when Boone, Anna Lucia, or Libby died.
It was Ben. Jack, after getting off the island, finally agreed that being saved was a mistake. Kate still thinks he's an evil bastard.
u should pay attention to the size of the coffin: take a good look between jack's body and the space the coffin uses. It's much shorter than him...
Hey everyone, Paul, AMAZING blog!! Certainly keeps me busy during my dull hours at work!
I'd like to say that most of what everyone says can be valid to an extent, some of them a FAR REACHED extent..so I can add my remotely valid theory too..
I'm guessing that the body in the coffin is Juliette's! Why? Well..here are my facts:
1. Kate hate's her, thus explaining why she wouldn't go to the funeral.
2. Jack, is probably greatful for her, because she helped them off the island, and cared for him throughtout season 3, so theres an emotional attachment..which leads me to number 3.
3. When Jack and Juliet were on the island, they were obviously emotionally bonding..did they sleep with each other? Maybe..MAYBE juliet got pregnant on the island, and jack, feeling guilty goes on a drinking rampage, almost commiting suicide, because she died because he impregnated her, which maybe explains why jack wanted to operate on that woman from the car accident, because she had a child - jacks fatherly instinct kicking in maybe?
and Kate, resenting juliet for both being one of the "Others" AND stealing Jack..would obviously not want to go to her funeral.
4. just thought of a fourth one! Jack, having lost juliet now, turns to kate for emotional support, thats why he called her!
Jack is in the coffin
I beleive that in the future we will see Sawyer shoot a Con-Job on Kate, or that he was playing her all along. When she discovers this, it erases any good feelings she ever had for him and replaces them with disgust.
Then she will move on with CHRISTIAN SHEPHERD, who just happens to be....JACOB!
Sawyer is in the coffin.
going with the size of the coffin it could be walt inside, but this would not fit with the newspaper article.
walt may be the only link to get back to the island....this may be why he tried to kill himself?
sorry for trebble posting , another question......why don't the original others age?
Hello Mr. Levinson,
I have been looking at your posting re: Lost. My number 1 Lost buddy is my dauhter and is away at school, so I am busy searchng the net for like minded TV lovers!
Here are a couple of theories on who is in the coffin
1. Ja... James (Sawyer) perhaps something big happens which is why Kate won't go but Jack does
2. Ja...Jack We see there is some trickery with Baby (Toddler) Aaron and made up stories, so perhaps someone is pretending to be Jack... also some time warp thing is happening (with the very "Back to the Futue" scene on the beach with the guy checking the watch from the missile, only to notice.."Great Scott! the times were different!") (I know a weak theory)
3. J...Jin? He would have to have a greater role coming up for it to be that dramatic.
4. Ja... But the biggest Ja....perhaps would be Jacob...
My computer wouldn't let me answer on the other site...
Thanks
Carrin Mahmood
Great comments, folks -
Chris - I think the Others not aging is likely tied to the amazing recuperative powers of the island (Locke getting up and walking, Mikhail not being killed, etc)...
Tariq: Juliet's a good guess ... and it fits with the J...
Carrin - good list.
I'm still thinking it's Ben - Jack feels bad because Ben was right about not leaving the island...
But Ben could be using an alias with J - like Jacob...
Whoever's in the coffin has to get Jack feeling guilty and bad, but not really Kate... I don't see how that could be Jin...
But James Sawyer or John Locke would also fit the bill...
Great season 4 so far...
I believe it could actually be Kate's Mom in the coffin. We know she is in ill health. She made a comment about having 6 months to live for the past 4 years. Maybe rather than just being lucky we are dealing with a time anomaly between the island and the "real world".
I'd also like to add that it doesn't seem conclusive that there is a man in the coffin. It seems just as possible that the headline could have announced that a man found the deceased.
i'm coming into this late, but isn't it probable that it is eric in the coffin. My guess is that what ultimately separates Kate and Jack also forces her to abandon Eric. Perhaps Jacks drug condition either caused erics death, or he was staying with another while Jack sorted himself out.
I don't think it's necessarily someone Kate hates, just someone she has disassociated herself from.
My signif other just complemented me on knowing this since the day of the wake. But what happened to Sawyer after he watched the smoke from the explosion? I had to do something when that happened.
OMG!!!OMG!!!!
Season 4 finale WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!
LOCKE IS IN THE COFFIN?!?!?! ALL THE OCEANIC 6 ( AND LOCK ) NEED TO GO BACK TO THE ISLAND?!?!?!?!?!!!!
i CANT WAIT UNTILL SEASON 5!!!!!!!
... I cant believe the ship blew up and Jin, Michael, and the others were on it.....
They probably will come back somehow...
......... does Sayid still work for Ben???..... It will be so long until the next new episode....
A new ending for the season four finale comes on tommorrow on cnn!
Let's not forget that Jeremy Bentham is also an autoicon, sitting in the halls of University College London, in a glass box, watching all, with the glass eyes he carried around in his pockets for 20 years before his death.
ITS TRUE LOCKE IS IN THE COFFIN AND THE ONLY WAY JACK CAN RETURN TO THE ISLAND IS BY HAVING ALL THE OCEANIC 6 GO WITH HIM AND LOCKE WHO IS DEAD!!!!
Good point, Kristen - and that raises the possibility that it was not Locke in the coffin, but a lifelike wax figure of him...
John Locke is in the Coffin
I DONT KNOW HOW OR WHY BUT IT IS DEFINETLY HIM THERE (THE VERY LAST SCENE OF LS4 SHOWS THIS
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