I found a few things interesting about last night's episode. But above all else, I found it fascinating that the island will not allow those who have left it to die. And so, I have a theory that has birthed from this new revelation. (Due to the fact that I have just taken cold medicine and cannot think straight, this one will be short and to the point.)
What I can surmise is that once you find the island and dwell on it for any given amount of time, it won't let you leave permanently. I believe that those who have died on the island live eternally as a part of the island. And the island sends these non-corporeal's out (so far
Madcap or plausible? Discuss...
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I don't know about everyone not being able to die off-island. Just Michael so far. I mean, if what you said was true, who's in the coffin?
Michael didn't die because he still has "work to do". So, maybe whoever is in the coffin has already fulfilled his or her task for the island - which maybe just means dying.
It's not the ISLAND that won't let people die. It's TIME. The ISLAND is an agent of time, or a lynch pin for time.
"the island will not allow those who have left it to die"
Why do you think this is the case? People seem to be jumping to the conclusion that ALL people who leave the island will have the same result as Michael. While it's a possibility, I think it's premature to assume that's necessarily the case.
I believe in what Mike said, and that the non-corporeal people who appear off island are kind of the islands way of bringing people to the island, and I do think that the island also uses corpses as a way of manifesting itself, remember christian? I think that this is the whole story or atleat part of it.
I agree with BlastDoorMap. Time is controlling those who leave. But not sure how...
It's KA. Ka won't let Michael die. When Michael's purpose is over, then Ka will let him die on the island or off the island.
Dark Tower baby!
I really like the idea that the island wont let someone die until their pupose is fulfilled. But I believe the purpose here has everything to do with the island itself and not just their purpose in life. I think the island only has control over the lives of those who have been there. And I think time plays a vital role in this course correction. Once someone, who has visited the island, has fulfilled his/her duties for the island, the island no longer needs them, and so they can die. We may have to go back and test this with those who have been killed off in previous episodes (i.e. Boone, Shannon, Ana Lucia, etc). There are holes, but with enough thought, any hole can be filled.
boobs and milo...
I don't think it's only Michael--think back to Through the Looking Glass. Jack didn't jump, perhaps because he couldn't? It seems, looking back now, that the island created the crash so that Jack wouldn't jump. Or, if he had, he would have survived.
Now what if Kate had gotten the death penalty? They flip the switch and she doesn't die, that would be kinda crazy.
In Doc Jensen's Column, Lindelof specifically said that we would find the reason that Jack couldn't jump. Is it because Jack is trying to kill himself through alcohol, drugs, and suicide attempts, and he can't do it either? What about Sayid's near miss with a fatal gun shot wound, or Hurley racing throught the streets trying to kill himself by hot rodding his camero through mirrors?
Wish I knew for sure who the man in the coffin is. Maybe he could provide some answers.
I can dig the purpose theory.
On the flipside, would that lead to the smoke monster killing people who don't have a purpose, or have already served it? It could also be tied to redemption.
I'll bet we see a flashback about Lapidus, and it will tell us more about the real 815 pilot.
Is islanders cannot die, then what of the original Dharma folks?
Surely they would have a bone to pick (no pun intended) with Ben. As Miles said, "he wants to survive." I could think of no better F-U to Ben than to remerge, undo all his plans, and ensure his physical death and subsequent condemnation to island spirit purgatory.
No of that has happened.
Morevoer, eventually the inhabitants would figure this out. Ergo, the coercion exerted via fear-of-death would no longer hold. Hell you can live forever on the island...not a bad deal.
What of others who had perished on the island and not reappeared? Kelvin, Rousseau's expired colleagues, heck, the inhabitants of the Black Rock? (On that note, Alpert was there before all of them and - as he has shown to Locke - is not a big fan of Ben...plus, wasn't grandpa Hanso at teh helm of the Black Rock, shouldn't he pop up for giggles?).
If it applies at all, it would only be the islands keeps you alive insofar as it has a purpose for you (much like Ben, I guess). Once you have fulfilled your purpose, dust to dust. Michael can't kills himself because of preemptive course correction. He has a role to fill and cannot undo that fate by killing himself. Only once his role of fulfilled can he pass into the underworld.
Okay .. so obviously mostly everyone is in agreement with the fact that it seems that the those who were on the island cannot die . . or until their purpose is fulfilled . . i read this theory (i forget where) that the person in the coffin is not a person from the island . . okay so when jack went to visit the mysterious person in the coffin he said that he wasn't a friend of his . . why did no one attend the funeral? Even if it was michael or sawyer, others would have been there... this theory might sound crazy...but it said that it involved sawyer and the con man...and that jack thought that sawyer was in the coffin but if he had opened it ..he wouldve found someone else? thoughts ?
I am very much a fan of the role of the non corporeals on the show. The first indication I got that non corporeals had an autonomous role outside of appearing as the result of trauma, was in the final mobisode where Christian Shephard appeared to Vincent the dog. This was the first time I recognized an appearance that would not be explained by the guilt of the grieving. I immediately jumped to the idea that those who die live on through the island for some purpose.
The next place my mind went was to the idea that Magnus Hanso is still shifting around and brought word back to his family (Alvar, DHARMA, et al.).
From there it's just one big legion of folks living, dead, undead, time travellers with a purpose, corporate entities, military agencies, and ghost-whisperers all trying to get a hold of this place.
Boobs said:
...On the flipside, would that lead to the smoke monster killing people who don't have a purpose, or have already served it? It could also be tied to redemption....
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Boobs, I like this idea. Though the development of the show has seemed to prove they are not in purgatory or limbo, the remnants of the idea leave one open to the possibility that the axis of judgement for the islands inhabitants still exists within a judeo-christian (redemption)or God/nature (Gaia) as animus of the island. Yet when I watch I still get the feeling that the judgement is being determined by something wholly other than that. Could be a person at the switch. Could be the physics of the Valenzetti equation keeping folks around or knocking them off according to how they fit the doomsday clock. Ultimately I don't know if the ultimate purpose is selfish, world redeeming, or world destroying...
I hope Locke isn't going to die. He hasn't had any "work to do" for a while now. He is beginning to resemble his pre ambulatory days as a scared frustrated man on a mission. It's pretty painful to watch...