TWiL Theory Time: The Monster or Absolute Insanity (Part III)

In the most ambitious week of blogging yet, over the next few days, I will be attempting to branch off of what was revealed in “The Substitute” to compile some HUGE theories on the mythology of the show, primarily the elements of THE GAME. Today’s blog will feature the many faces and roles of the Smoke Monster. The ideas that follow have been influenced by a variety of sources other than the brain of mine: various Lost podcasts and podcasters, primarily Josh of the Lost Flashbacks; all the mind-blowing madness from “The Substitute”; and a rewatch of the Season Five episode “Dead is Dead.”

SPOILERS FOR EPICNESS PRESENTED IN THE SERIES LOST THUS FAR LAY HEREIN. WATCH YOUR STEP WHEN UNDER THE TEMPLE.

Ever see a big pillar of black smoke, makes a ticka ticka sound, looks pissed off?

THE GHOST

Though in the Lost universe, dead seems to be dead (though there’s must to dispute with that statement, which I’ll cover later), dead is rarely dead when it comes to actors reprising their roles on the show. Sure, Boone has appeared in random hallucinations and flashbacks (and –sideways); Ethan always finds his way into a season. But what I’m referring to are those entities of Smokey, the apparitions that we have seen on the show – Yemi Tunde, Alex Rousseau, and Christian Shephard.

Yemi appeared to Eko when he was being judged by Smokey in “The Cost of Living.” He was creepy, menacing; he wasn’t the man Eko grew up with. He disappeared just as fast as he reappeared, running into the bushes only to come back out as the Smoke Monster, who proceeded to pound Mr. Eko to his death.

Alex appeared to Ben after he had been judged in “Dead is Dead.” Like Yemi, she was eerie, ominous, not the daughter Ben raised. She appeared, she disappeared, there only to give Ben the message to follow “John Locke” under all circumstances, there as a voice and face Ben would listen to.

Also in “The Cost of Living” were other Smokey-caused apparitions. Figures from Eko’s scarred past appeared in the jungle, preceded by the tikka-tikka of the Monster, followed by the shadow of the Monster looming over Eko. These are very clearly apparitions from Eko’s past, Smokey-induced hallucinations meant to mess with Eko. Granted, the every other hallucination of the Island has been bearing a message and has occurred in sleep, like Locke’s in “Deus Ex Machina,” or Eko’s in “?”

Christian Shephard has appeared in many an episode. As the creepy man who roams the Island now, his initial appearance was in the Season Four premiere, rocking back and forth in Jacob’s Cabin. Towards Locke, he has seemed to represent the Man in Black’s intentions, pushing Locke off the Island. However, with Sun in “Namaste,” his motives seem very different, as if he’s not representing Smokey. Unless the Sun merely hoping the two timelines converge plays into Smokey’s overall plan, the conversation at the decrepit DHARMA Barracks seems very out of place and not matching with Smokey’s ultimate plan.

Both Yemi and Christian’s bodies went missing, disappearing from the coffins that beheld them. And though Alex’s body was presumably never buried, I firmly believe her to merely be an incarnation of the Smoke Monster, whether a fantasy of Ben or a John Locke style transformation (I’m very much favoring the former). Yemi’s body, however, was charred, something beyond simple healing, a fact that will be proven relevant in the next section. Yemi  and Alex, unlike Christian, are not members of the next division of Smokey. They are not one of–

THE INFECTED

Christian, Claire, Sayid. They all died. They all came back. But no longer were they the people they were before death. A darkness enveloped their soul, spread throughout their bodies. They were claimed.

Now why exactly would Smokey go about resurrecting people via infection? Part of my master theory concerning the game is that any living candidate present on Jacob’s list has hypothetically been claimed by Jacob. Smokey is not permitted to directly interfere with the fate of a candidate; he cannot kill one. The moment one dies however, the person is fair for either side. The piece is neither white nor black, but a healthy grey per se.

In essence, Smokey can claim these people, infect these people, but only post mortem. As candidates, the moment Sayid and Claire drew their last breath, Sayid in the Temple after being drowned and Claire after her house in the Barracks being reduced to rubble by a mercenary’s rocket launcher, Smokey was able to stealthily swoop in and infect these corpses with a darkness, claiming them for his side. Now the infected still maintain aspects of their memories, of their personalities. They walk as a normal human would, they talk as a normal human would. They cannot appear and disappear into thin air – they are human bodies, not apparitions.

The infection begins with an incubation period, a state of consciousness in which the host is often dazed, confused, though very much themselves. Sayid’s lack of accent, Claire’s flying high in “Cabin Fever” – they can both be explained by this state of consciousness as the infection spreads throughout the body, focusing toward the heart.

After the incubation is when the darkness reaches the host’s heart, the point at which Smokey can seize control of the host, and the host’s personality is engaged in a practical reset. Sayid will not be Sayid; Claire is most definitely not Claire. And though they still keep their memories, their experiences, they become entirely different individuals. And though they may not be minions of Smokey 24/7, this doesn’t mean that Smokey can’t give them orders as he may. Christian seems to be to Smokey as Richard seemed to be to Jacob. Yemi acted on the behalf of Smokey, engaging in judgment of Eko. However, when not under order from Smokey, Christian is free to roam the Island as he wishes.

So can they be reverted? There are two options – kill the host, as displayed by Danielle Rousseau when her team was turned, or purge the darkness from the host. Perhaps there was ash in the pill Dogen was going to administer to Sayid in “What Kate Does”? Ash expunges the darkness from the host, the host would remain dead as they were before the infection, and due to ash now within their body, it can no longer be inhabited by the darkness.

There is also a way to prevent getting infected post mortem – burial. Perhaps there is some spiritual aspect about the ritual of burial that prevents Smokey from claiming the dead host. As long as your buried, there’s little chance of your head popping up from that grave of yours, regardless of depth.

In the case of Rousseau’s team, assuming none or few of them were candidates, Smokey is able to claim them at any point. Because they were not on that list, Smokey was free to infect them and give them a shot of crazy.

Interestingly, Christian also manifested himself to Michael in the season four finale, informing him that he “can go now.” To maintain the theory that Christian is a zombie, just like Claire and Sayid, I’ll just say that that was a manifestation of the Island. Or perhaps Smokey is the Harbinger of Death? Hmmmm…

THE JUDGE

Something I find very curious about the Monster in “Dead is Dead,” “The Cost of Living,” and presumably “The 23^rd Psalm,” is his role as a judge. Rolling off my theory above, stating that Smokey may not kill one of Jacob’s candidates, what business did he have judging the fates of Eko and Ben?

Ben requested to be judged himself, it was his decision to atone for his sins, be forgiven in the eyes of the Island. Somehow, Smokey has gained a reputation as judge of the Island, sentencing people life or death based on their degree of repentance. And yet we’ve seen only one other instance of Smokey being a judge, and that is that of Mr. Eko.

To my knowledge, Tunde was nowhere to be found on Jacob’s List of candidates. And this also introduces my second theory:

Smokey is also in need of a candidate. His ultimate goal is to leave the Island, to free himself of his chains and return to the human life he once had. In order to do so, however, his position must be fulfilled on the Island, it must be in balance. Just as Jacob required a candidate for when his time on the Island would come to an end; the role of Jacob’s adversary, of the dark, works just the same way.

So Smokey himself bestowed the role of judge unto himself, to select the person truly worthy of assuming the position of the Man in Black. Because Eko passed the personality the second time around, because he was unwilling to be sorry for his wrongs, Smokey decided that he was no longer a viable candidate, and, enraged by the loss, by the corruption, by another display of poor human morals, he murdered him.

With Ben, I believe Ben would have walked away alive even if he was declared despicable and guilty by the Monster. While Ben’s reparation helped,  Smokey’s true goal was to manipulate Ben into following him (as Locke) and killing Jacob for him.

THE SECURITY SYSTEM

For someone who claims the Island doesn’t need protecting, Smokey seems to protect it from a lot. At the epic beginning of “The Incident,” the Man in Black states that “they come; they fight; they destroy; they corrupt. It all ends the same.” This is someone who has clearly witnessed the destructive human nature time and time again. And again and again, they have come and brought down the peace of the Island. And Smokey has had it.

When Rousseau’s team came, Smokey killed one, ripped Montand’s arm off, and proceeded to infect them with the darkness so they can kill each other off. Perhaps it was in defense of his home, beneath the Temple. And perhaps he’s just pissed.

Seth Norris was thrashed around in the pilot. Before his death, he was about to attempt to make contact with the outside world, possibly revealing the location of the Island and thereby disturbing the peace and tranquility it used to hold as the public pours upon its beaches. Even more people coming to the Island is a no-no for Smokey. And perhaps he’s just pissed.

The Black Rock. It’s in the middle of the freaking Island. How did it get there? Smokey pissed?

Perhaps he’s just playing Sawyer into joining, perhaps he genuinely believes that this Island needs no protection due to its everchanging location. One fact remains however: Smokey hates humans. Throughout history, they’ve displayed nothing but corruption and destruction in his eyes. And he’s got a fair bit of power…

And thus concludes my jumpy analysis of the Monster. Tomorrow I will be discussing the man behind that monster, the one in black. And then hopefully the day after that I’ll finally discuss Jacob’s list. And the game. And other madness, all deriving from the epicness that was and is “The Substitute.” My gosh, I love Lost.

If you have any raging rants on the terrible writing presented above, please comment! Your feedback, negative or positive, is greatly appreciated (unless you’re spam).

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