The Case For (and Against) Sayid in the Coffin

With Hurley's big "Oceanic 6!" announcement at the beginning of Season 4, one of the chief questions posed by the Season 3 finale - who's in the coffin? - has been put on the back burner. But with each wrinkle Lost throws at us, I keep remembering that some poor soul is eventually going to end up universally hated (so that no one except Jack would go to the funeral) and dead.

Since May, my top three contenders for the position have been Michael, Ben, and Locke - and Michael's my clear favorite. But with the way things have been going on the island, Locke is making plenty of enemies, so it could be him. And this past Thursday, it was revealed that Ben made it off the island, so I can clearly not rule him out. (I feel like I'm Wallace Shawn in The Princess Bride reasoning this out: "As everyone knows, Australia is peopled entirely by criminals...so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you!")

So what about Sayid? He got off the island, and something happened to someone he loved that allowed Ben to coerce him into working for him - and selling his soul, essentially. So, Reasons He Could (Not) Be in the Coffin:

Once the rest of the Oceanic 6 finds out he's working for Ben, nobody would want to talk to him - or go to his funeral. (Then again: are they really that unforgiving? Eh, probably.)

The nature of his work means he could die very easily. (Then again: this is Sayid we're talking about, the one man I would choose as my guide through Mordor.)

Judging from everything we know, he has no friends or family. (Then again: what about Nadia -- or was Nadia the woman who died that made Sayid go to Ben in the first place? My guess is she was. Yeah, I threw you a curveball there.)

The plot continues to thicken...

TAGS: Ben, Coffin, Sayid, Season4, The Economist
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