SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

I wrote a birthday post about Jeremy Bentham and his utilitarianism here. Little did I know that he would show up in a coffin on LOST.

It’s nice to see Walt again. My, that boy’s grown.

So Jeremy Bentham is really . . . who? And Hurley’s playing chess with Eko. Cool!

Sun’s going to work with Widmore? Not cool.

“Whoever moves the island can never come back.”

I think Ben is Jeremy Bentham.

And Sawyer and Juliette are going to console one another?

Sayid wants to take Hurley someplace “safe.” I’m not buying if I’m Hurley. Even though I still like Sayid.

So what’s going to happen to Frank Lapidus and to Desmond and Penny. I’m theorizing that Penny and Desmond are in hiding. Where’s Frank?

“All of you have to go back.”

So Ben isn’t in the coffin. Then who? Oh . . .

Added on Friday after a bad night’s sleep and further reflection:

Everybody’s wondering about Claire. If Charlie had to die so that Claire could get on the helicopter, why wasn’t Claire on the helicopter? And why is she so adamant that Kate NOT take Aaron back to the island?

I looked up a little more about Jeremy Bentham:

Bentham dismissed all notions of “natural rights” or “social contracts” as enshrined in Blackstone’s Commentaries and political documents such as the 1776 American Declaration of Independence and the 1789 French Declaration of the Rights of Man. He also dismissed all “ipsedixitisms”, i.e. moral judgments based on criteria such as “sympathy” or “intentions”. For Bentham, only consequences mattered. Actions are to be judged strictly on the basis of how their outcomes affect general utility.

And philosopher John Locke:

Locke exercised a profound influence on philosophy and politics, in particular on liberalism. Most modern libertarians claim him as an influence. He was a strong influence on Voltaire, while his arguments concerning liberty and the social contract later influenced the written works of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and other Founding Fathers of the United States. In addition, Locke’s views influenced the American and French Revolutions.

So is Locke/Bentham dealing with some kind of split personality? Was he a freedom-loving, natural law believing, liberal when he got to the island? And now has he become, or disguised himself as, a utilitarian whose only concern is the “greatest good for the greatest number”? These two namesake philosophers were diametrically opposed to one another in their ideas, as far as I can tell. What that says about John Jeremy, I’m not sure. But I hope he stays dead. Have you noticed that everyone was sad when Charlie the selfish drug addict child endangerer died last season? And I read of people crying their eyes out when Jin the Korean mafia hit man died on the boat. But the death of Locke, who in pre-island life was a fairly good guy, mostly a victim, provokes no grief in anyone on the show or in the audience. Why not? I think it’s because he was always a self-righteous pain who, even when he made mistakes, thought his failures were better than everyone else’s best decisions, especially Jack’s.

Which reminds me. Locke tells Jack he will have to lie when he leaves the island. Jack comes to believe that he and the others of the Oceanic Six must lie to protect the people left on the island. But what was that dig about Jack lying to himself so well? About what? About miracles? O.K., so Jack’s not willing to admit that the island works miracles, but he surely knows about the healing that has taken place. So, how is lying to himself about the existence of miracles supposed to help Jack lie to the world about where they’ve been?

Where is Sayid taking Hurley? To Ben? Is Ben still working his plan, the Man Behind the Curtain, in all of this?

There’s no place like home. Where is home for the LOST survivors? For the Oceanic Six? Except for Kate who’s found one and Aaron who’s with her, all four of the others seem to have lost their homes. Sayid’s a wandering assassin. Jack’s living in a trashed apartment, strung out on drugs, and trying to crash again. Sun’s looking for revenge or justice or something instead of mothering her child. Do they all need to go “home” to the island? And Richard’s words to Locke when he came to the Others Group were, “Welcome home.” Is Locke’s home on the island, leading the Others? If so, then, why does he leave to become Jeremy Bentham?

What’s up with Charlotte S. Lewis? And my new favorite, Mr. Daniel Faraday? And Miles? Could Charlotte have been born on the island? Is Miles a creep, or just sort of creepy because he hears dead people? Of course, half the people have seen or heard from dead people, so Miles is in good company. Did the little boat get taken away with the island? I sure hope so. Faraday and Charlotte are obviously a couple, or at least could be.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to make us wait for more developments until next January. People have short attention spans.