'Lost' season finale aftermath

This will take some processing. But here are a few immediate thoughts following the big Season Four finale tonight of “Lost”:

Namely the name Jeremy Bentham. It’s yet another moniker on this show borrowed from real life. Bentham was a philosopher (a contemporary of the real John Locke…yikes) who, according to this early but dead-on “Lost” theory, proposed the idea for the Panopticon, a type of prison:

“The concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) prisoners without the prisoners being able to tell if they are being observed or not, thus conveying a ‘sentiment of an invisible omniscience.’ In his own words, Bentham described the Panopticon as ‘a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example.’ ”

Discuss.

Some other notes:

In the continuation of our original flash-forward, when Kate backs up the car, they speak of Bentham. Kate says to Jack, “You believed him.” Which implies that the impossible must come true in our bleak “Lost” future empirical Jack comes around to spiritual Locke’s way of thinking. It also is further proof that Locke somehow gets off the island. You know, proof other than his corpse…

Lots of spooky whispering tonight. Whispers in the jungle before the Others appear and slaughter the remaining mercenaries. Whispers before Christian appears to dismiss Michael from his duties, and his life. Penance paid, buh-bye!

Miles not only implies that Charlotte had previously been on the island, she herself later remarks that she’s “still looking for where I was born.” Another child possibly born on the pregnaphobic island? She’s at least in her 20s. Who’s daughter could she be?

Hurley playing chess with Mr. Eko. Nice.

Kate’s dream about Claire, who shouts: “Don’t bring him back!” Kate goes in to hold sleeping Aaron’s hand, and she apologizes as if she thinks Claire was chastising her for taking Aaron off the island? Or was Claire warning Kate not to return Aaron to the island in this upcoming journey Ben says the O6 must make back to the island?

Wherever that may be now…