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. mirrormattermoon:

Thoughts after "This Place Is Death"
So Ben's an impostor. Anyone too shocked? My hunch is that there was in fact a wheel-turn during or right after the purge. Ben assumed control immediately afterward, just as John did. But when did John adjust/turn the wheel? Right after Ben did? In the past or future? That date has implications for whether or not there is a periodic timeline on the island. good point, we do not know when in the timeline of the island, what year, it is when Locke sees Christian underground & turns the wheel.
As for the monster, I think the Cerberus/native creature dual role still works. [I've finally bid farewell to the underwater cross-world mimicking idea.] If the temple is "The Temple," then perhaps he's guarding the dead. The afterlife certainly plays a prominent role in the identity of the island.
Maybe the Lamp-Post shows the way to the Shadowlands. For C.S. Lewis, the Shadowlands = Earth. Here (for Foot), the Shadowlands = the world of shadow matter (aka mirror matter).
If Locke is returning in a casket, maybe on a plane, maybe with white shoes, did Christian turn the wheel earlier? Perhaps in '56 or '72? The island could very well be a home for the dead; but why return as a corpse wearing white shoes?

It now seems fairly likely that Jack (and maybe the others in the O6) will return to the island in the past, only to effect a series of events that will lead to the crash of 815. No endless loops, no do-overs, no parallel timelines; just a paradox that must be avoided. what's the paradox being avoided, the non-crashing of 815?
My guess is that Jack will create the problem in the Swan that spurs the button-pushing regimen (with the associated build-up of magnetism when the button is not pushed). That will enable and lead to the crash. The departure of the Oceanic 6 was a complication. But fate will ultimately ensure their return.

Funny how that kind of puzzle might constitute the show, yet I care so much more about what the island is.