After watching tonight's episode (The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham), I wondered for a while about why Ben would kill Locke after he mentions Ms. Hawking, right after he goes through all the trouble of convincing him NOT to hang himself.
I think that Ben must have realized that Locke's death was necessary, and the fact that Locke new about Hawking triggered this realization. So here is my theory:
Ben realized that Ms. Hawking is the one who tells people how to get back to the island. He realized that in order for Locke to know who Ms. Hawking was, Jacob/Richard/Christian must have talked to him.
I think that this is not the first time that Ms. Hawking has helped to organize a flight that was supposed to emulate an earlier one. In other words, 815 was NOT the original flight, but simply one of several that have crashed or landed on the island throughout history. On flight 815, Christian Shepard (who I think was a leader at one time, just like Ben, Widmore, and Locke) had to go back in a coffin, and was resurrected on the island. Ben must have known this, or known that it had happened to someone before Christian (Jacob? Richard? Ben himself?), and realized that if the island wanted Locke to see Eloise, he must be playing the role of the dead leader on this particular instance of the flight. Widmore probably knew this too, and wanted Locke to live because he doesn't really want Locke to be the leader; he just wants Locke to help him become leader again by gathering up all the ones who left for him (which also explains why Abaddon was only concerned about getting ev! eryone together, and didn't really seem to care about Locke's personal life.)
In other words, Ben knows that Locke could not know about Ms. Hawking unless Jacob/the island told him, and that if Ms. Hawking is involved, someone special has to be dead because they will be returning on one of the flights that is determined by Ms. Hawking at the Lamp Post station. Obviously, this person is John Locke.
This is the only explanation that I can come up with. Clearly Ben wasn't trying to get rid of Locke completely, as he is sure to bring Locke on the plane and seems to know that he will come to life on the island. Theory by A-Frame
I think that Ben must have realized that Locke's death was necessary, and the fact that Locke new about Hawking triggered this realization. So here is my theory:
Ben realized that Ms. Hawking is the one who tells people how to get back to the island. He realized that in order for Locke to know who Ms. Hawking was, Jacob/Richard/Christian must have talked to him.
I think that this is not the first time that Ms. Hawking has helped to organize a flight that was supposed to emulate an earlier one. In other words, 815 was NOT the original flight, but simply one of several that have crashed or landed on the island throughout history. On flight 815, Christian Shepard (who I think was a leader at one time, just like Ben, Widmore, and Locke) had to go back in a coffin, and was resurrected on the island. Ben must have known this, or known that it had happened to someone before Christian (Jacob? Richard? Ben himself?), and realized that if the island wanted Locke to see Eloise, he must be playing the role of the dead leader on this particular instance of the flight. Widmore probably knew this too, and wanted Locke to live because he doesn't really want Locke to be the leader; he just wants Locke to help him become leader again by gathering up all the ones who left for him (which also explains why Abaddon was only concerned about getting ev! eryone together, and didn't really seem to care about Locke's personal life.)
In other words, Ben knows that Locke could not know about Ms. Hawking unless Jacob/the island told him, and that if Ms. Hawking is involved, someone special has to be dead because they will be returning on one of the flights that is determined by Ms. Hawking at the Lamp Post station. Obviously, this person is John Locke.
This is the only explanation that I can come up with. Clearly Ben wasn't trying to get rid of Locke completely, as he is sure to bring Locke on the plane and seems to know that he will come to life on the island. Theory by A-Frame
