"Nice to see _____ out of those chains, too" by Fandidate

Throughout the series, we have seen many of the Losties in restraints- handcuffs, rope, or otherwise. To see an incomplete list of the numerous occasions our Losties have been tied down, click here: ‘http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Handcuffs’.

Obviously, being fettered disallows our Losties from sufficiently exercising their free will. While that statement is hardly profound, I think the recurring motif of restraints is an important one to dissect, especially after the (presumed) explanation that Richard arrived to the island ‘in chains’.

Of all the Losties who have been ‘chained’, there are 2 that seem be conspicuously restrained more than most: Kate and, the less obvious and therefore more interesting, Jin

Kate
Yall are probably saying duh, of course the fugitive would arrive to the island in chains, like Richard, so who cares? However, the implications of this should probably be examined. Last episode we learned that Richard was in fact ‘touched’ by Jacob. While Richard may (unbeknownst to us) be a candidate, it seems that he vaguely knows why he was touched and it doesn't seem to be because he was a ‘candidate’. Since we now know that Ilana has been tasked to protect the remaining candidates, and since she has already ran into ‘Ricardus’ but didn’t go all bodyguard on him, it doesn’t seem that he needs her protection. However, I think everyone can agree that he has been granted an important role to play by Jacob. Hopefully, we will learn exactly why Jacob touched him, but, learning that he was touched by Jacob and maintains non-candidate status is very important. This may explain why Kate was touched but is not a candidate (to our knowledge). Kate was the first to! be shown being touched. Since Jacob wore gloves to visit his confidant Ilana, it is obvious he does not bestow these magical touches lightly. So, it would seem that Kate is important, even if we assume she is not a candidate. Perhaps, Jacob found someone else to take Richard’s role- and that person is Kate. In addition to arriving to the island as a potential proxy for Richard, Kate is an awful candidate to stay trapped on-island forever like MIB- she consistently runs, even from the people and places she has felt safe. Since we have seen Richard off-island, if Kate took his place, it seems like she would be able to leave, but come back, whenever she pleases. As many people have pointed out, Kate would be an excellent consigliore to both potential candidates Jack and Sawyer… as weird as that would be. However, Kate-centrics often refer to Kate ‘doing’ something. When she is restrained, she cannot exercise her capacity to do all that she wants or is capable of, whic! h is probably the better explanation for why she is often show! n being restrained. Honestly, I think Kate will be the dark horse/the one to sink the island, but I do think she may also have been pegged to be a potential candidate for the new Richard. If Jacob and MIB have many potential candidates to take their place, it is not completely out of the ordinary that there are candidates to take Richard’s place as well.

Jin
We still do not know whether the Kwan candidate is Jin, Sun, both, or even their daughter, but I’d venture a guess that if only one Kwan is a candidate, it is Sun, with Jin being the potential new Richard. Some people claim that because Sun stayed in 2007, without the other Losties, this suggests she does not have candidate status. What I don’t understand about that is if Kate also isn’t a candidate, why would she travel back to 1977? Wouldn’t she have stayed with Sun? I digress…

Back to Jin, Jin has already played a role very similar to consigliore, he acted on behalf of Sun’s dad on numerous occasions and people listened to him as venerably as if he were Mr. Paik. Furthermore, the restraint motif pops up a lot in Jin’s story as well. Even in the sideways-world he is shown trapped in a freezer with arm restraints... seriously, what is up with that?? I am betting that Jin is a front-runner for Richard’s job as well. It would be interesting to see what will happen to Jin if Sun dies… would he seek solace as the middle man for the new replacements? Or, like past events, would he be forced to act as the middle-man once more to pay for some unseen debt? It would be fitting that the man who learned to speak an other(s’) language on the island would then be forced to use that knowledge to communicate the law to the lay people.

It is true that most, if not all of the Losties, have been tied up in some capacity or another. Clearly Sayid, Sawyer, and Ben frequently have been restrained as well. I merely think that Kate is the most obvious candidate for Richard, with Jin being more of a surprise- the fact that someone who rarely resorted to violence on the show also has frequently sported handcuffs is simply a little suspect. My theory is that Jin or Kate will be the new Richard.