And to go even further, the fact that Locke is dead is a major reveal (although in 3 its only a reveal to Jack, not the audience) in the season 3, 4, 5, and 6 finales.

My theory was that Desmond saw his reuniting with Penny and just told Charlie he saw Claire get on the chopper because he realized the inevitability, and if this specific death got him off the island and reunited with Penny (and maybe he saw the other Oceanic 6 off as well) he figured this would be the best time. I…

Close he actually rips it from Benard who says it to Eko in SOS which Charlie repeats to Eko in 3 minutes and later to Locke in Further Instructions.

Torture people he knows Jacob brought to the island, too many appositives obscured my meaning there. Early series others are all about how this their island and noone should be allowed to come there, and yet people can only come to the island if brought by their god. It doesn't make any sense. And further, he does…

Then why does Richard advise his people to torture the people he knows, or at least should know, Jacob is bringing to the island for that purpose, just as they were all brought? And why does he ever defer to someone as obviously heinous as Ben, or a "resurrected" Locke given he knows it is impossible to raise people…

Juliet being the cause is the most satisfying to me, but then that begs the questions of what's the deal with Taweret? Why would ancient Egyptians build such a massive statue for such a minor goddess unless it was in hopes of stopping a fertility problem?

Sawyer explains to everyone what he saw later in the episode. He saw the hole that Nicki was digging, he didn't tell them because he wanted to keep whatever she was burying for himself.

Locke did have knowledge of the sub. In Enter 77, Mikhail mentions that they come and go from the island via submarine and they cut to Locke reacting ominously. Its pretty clear Locke's goal from that second on was to destroy the sub.