First, allow me to apologize for the stupid punny title.
Second, allow me to apologize for posting yet another blog about the whispers.
Now that that's out of the way, I wanted to forego any personal opinion I have about the not-too-surprising-to-anyone revelation about what the whispers were and just say that we'll get a little more in-depth into them. I believe that the whispers are very much intertwined with some of the bigger secrets of the island, including The Man in Black, the identity of Christian and possibly the very nature of the island itself.
Think of many of the instances in which we hear the whispers. People often mention how they are associated with the Others, but think of some of the other times they've been heard when the Monster appears:
- Eko hears them before seeing the Monster in "The 23rd Psalm."
- They can be heard again during Eko's fateful encounter with the Monster in "The Cost of Living."
They have also appeared frequently around appearances of Christian (who of course may very well be The Man in Black/Monster...or he may be a dead spirit like Michael in last night's episode...)
- Hurley heard whispers when he found the cabin in "The Beginning of the End." We can tell Christian was in the chair, and whether or not you believe it was Christian's spirit or the MiB taking Christian's form it's worth pointing out.
- Sun and Lapidus heard first the smoke monster sound and then the whispers before Christian stepped out of one of the buildings in Dharmaville in "Namaste."
- Michael hears the whispers right before Christian appears to him in "There's No Place Like Home," when he tells Michael that "[he] can go now" and the freighter then exploded. (Curious how Michael died and Christian said he can go, but Michael's still unable to actually move on.)
And then of course there's been the whispers with the bizarre appearances of Walt, who is still alive. See: "Dripping Wet Walt" before Shannon died in Abandoned, and "Tall Walt" when he appeared to Locke when he was on the verge of shooting himself in Through the Looking Glass. (Many people believe these Walt appearances were manifestations of the Monster...and correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't Darlton confirmed that a Walt appearance was the Monster, but has not specifically referenced which one).
Oh, and then there's the many appearances of the whispers when people are in danger (alone in the jungle), or wrestling with their past demons ("It'll come back around").
I guess my point is that several things appear to be intertwined here. We know that the whispers are the voices of these dead people that can't move on. It's been obvious for a long, long time they were connected with death. And I think some people seem a little frustrated by the flip way in which they were answered in last night's episode. However, I think there seems to be a larger picture that the whispers are a small part of. I think why they can't move on might actually be intertwined with the role that MiB plays on the island. Or one of the purposes of the island, perhaps? We know it's a cork, to keep the evil from flooding out into the world. Are these whispering spirits evil?? They are definitely associated with death. Dead people, bringers of death such as the Monster, deadly situations, etc... Is the MiB death personified? And what is their relationship to Christian? Is Christian the dead spirit of Christian or the MiB??
So not really a theory, just some things to think about and hopefully stir some discussion.