Lost Discussion Group: Locke Box

Bend it like Bentham. / ABC

So Locke is dead. Or "dead." Or... do we need to coin an adjective for the sort of dead-but-possibly-not, well-maybe-actually-dead-but-nonetheless-having-a-big-part-in-the-story state of being that is becoming common on Lost? Dëd, maybe?

In any case, we can all agree that the producers will not be foolish enough to deny Terry O'Quinn a major role in season 5, can't we? So what happens with Locke next? Present and past: do Jack and Ben literally box him up and take him on the road to the Island? Does he stay dead (or "dead," or...) once he gets there? Will he, as they said on Monty Python, "get better"?

Or is he in fact—as they also said on Monty Python—stone dead, a stiff, bereft of life, resting in peace? In which case, does he get a substantial chunk of backstory, as season 5 fleshes out his Island-leader / Jeremy Bentham days?

And just what did go wrong back on the Island on his watch? Take your time answering; he's not going anywhere. I think.