Okay there is a lot of brain hurty time travel stuff here, so try to bear with me. We have already seen two characters who supposedly cannot kill themselves while off of the island, Michael and Tom. Both of these characters died while on the island in subsequent episodes. Now we get to the tricky part: why these characters cannot die. I think that these characters cannot die while off the island because, when they eventually die on the island, the island has jumped and is at a spot PRIOR in time to when they are off the island. Let me give an example. Michael can't kill himself in 2005 because he goes back to the island in 2006, the island jumps to, say, 2004, and he dies on the island. Michael can't kill himself in 2005, because he cannot change the past, as Faraday has pointed out, and he technically has already died in the past! I think it is possible that the island began jumping in time when the hatch blew.! We just didn't notice because the survivors were jumping with the island. Michael and Tom re-entered the island during one of its jumps into 2006, and died during a later jump to some point prior to 2005 when they try to kill themselves. When Ben moved the island, the survivors were somehow re-introduced into normal space time, and they now notice the island jumping around them. I think the fact that Locke was able to die while off the island means that he did not die in the "past" as michael and tom did, meaning he does not die while on the island. I think that Ben realizes this as well, which is why Locke has to come back to the island. This part is important: Whatever the losties have to do when they get back to the island, I believe it will happen in the "past", meaning that the island will be stuck in a jump in the past when everyone re-unites for the "end game" event. We know that Locke can never have died in the past since he has died in 2008. Therefore, Locke must! be alive when all of the survivors re-unite! That is why his ! body is necessary; when there is a time jump, it won't just be a body. This theory can also extend to Christian. His body was brought to the island, the island jumped to a time when he was still alive, and voila, empty coffin. I think that whatever "end game" event occurs that re-aligns the island with normal time happens during a time jump, and so has technically already happened. Even though it technically already happened, the losties in 2008 have no way of knowing this. That's why Locke had to die; the fact that Locke was able to die even though Ben thinks he is pivotal to saving the island was enough to convince Ben that, since the all important Locke must be involved in this "end game" event, it must happen in the past, before Locke's death. The ultimate end to this theory is that the survivors return and set off this end game event, which will put the island back on track, like the needle on a record. The series will then resume from the moment Ben is moved off the island.
Theory by Ivy_driveshaft
Theory by Ivy_driveshaft
