Locke Has Always Been MiB - Analyzing MiB's Previous Attempts at Loopholes by nyoe_Shephard

In the first episode, we witness Locke wake up, looking at his feet. After reviewing season 1, I've come to realize that, although he wakes up and we assume he's in shock because he's not expecting to be able to walk again (obvious first impression), after a second viewing he gives off more of an impression like he's just discovered that an unpredictable experiment worked (MiB's loophole). When Ben is about to kill Jacob, Jacob says to Locke, "so you've finally found your loophole."

Locke's response? "You have no idea what I had to do to get here."

I think this statement refers to the fact that he had to live through Locke's life, which was a miserable existence, until he finally got to the island. There are various instances that point to Locke being the MiB early on:

-When Jack is chasing Christian in the jungle, and nearly falls off of a cliff, who's there to save him seconds after Christian disappears? Locke.

-In Hearts and Minds, Sayid is startled by someone sneaking up on him, and as he hears Locke approach, he whips his knife out and says, "I didn't hear you." What does Locke say? "I'm sneakier than I give myself credit for." Not only could this be interpreted to mean that he's just sneaky because he can float around quietly and morph directly into physical form wtih ease, but it could mean that he's extremely shifty because he's, at that moment, still undercover going through with his plan/loophole, disguised as Locke, to kill Jacob.

-In this same episode, Locke gives Boone a hallucinogenic via open wound, and Boone explores the inner depths of his mind, which enable him to come to the realization that Shannon was hindering his progression as a person, and holding him back. How else could Locke have known that this precise method of psychotherapy would, at that moment, help Boone, if he hadn't scanned him for information already, and his previous memories? An even better question: How, if Boone has never seen the monster, was he able to hallucinate and imagine it, without ever actually witnessing it? Well, we know that the monster, with Richard, was able to make Richard believe that his wife (appearing to him as a hallucination) was being killed by the monster, so I believe this is the same exact case. In order for Boone to fully trust Locke, Locke had to prove to him that he didn't need Shannon anymore. Remember how Boone was the "sacrifice the Island demanded?" Perhaps it was the sacrifice that M! iB/Locke demanded, because, since Boone Carlyle (Candidate 226) is a Candidate, he can't kill himself, and had to willingly choose to go into that plane so that he could crash and die. If Locke is actually MiB, maybe the reason Locke became paralyzed was because MiB knew that Locke would be able to save Boone if he had the chance, but, because he wants the candidates dead, he subconsciously/momentarily took Locke's walking ability away so Boone can lead himself to his demise. Remember, the Candidates can't intentionally kill themselves, they can only "accidentally" do it.

-I've also always been curious as to how, someone with no actual physical experience in the wild, is seemingly so experience as Locke. Just because he mentally prepared for his walkabout doesn't mean he was physically prepared, like being able to throw knives so precicely, and do all the other wondrous things he does to make concoctions that serve importance in the jungle.

-Locke has always been the person who didn't want to get off of the island, and although it may be the case that MiB is saying he wants to leave, I believe that he can't leave until every candidate is dead, and dead on the island. Therefore, he wouldn't want Sayid to find a transmission in Season 1 (thus, he knocks him out and destroys the equipment), and he wouldn't want Naomi to get them off of the freighter, and would do various other things, such as potentially convince Walt to destroy the raft, to keep them from leaving.

This brings me to my next point: Locke/MiB has been trying to kill off the candidates since the second he got off the plane. However, he was unaware that candidates could not kill themselves, unless they make a choice that inadvertently leads to their death. I've come to believe they are unable to willingly kill themselves. Here are just a few examples:

-Christian appears to Jack, leading Jack to almost falling off of a cliff and killing himself (as discussed before, right before Locke shows up to save him).

-Dave appears to Hurley and tries very hard to convince him that he is insane, and should kill himself so that this "reality" would end. Again, Hurley wouldn't be able to kill himself even if he tried, but regardless: Dave was MiB.

There are probably a few more examples of this, but I think that it's important to realize how possible it is that these hallucinations are the root of MiB's loophole, and that everything we saw on the beach with Locke waking up may have been all a front. He was so happy that he had gotten up, and realized he could walk, and although he seemed surprise, it could have just as easily been a "wow, it actually worked!" kind of surprise, such as when Ben knew that Locke had to die in order to come back to the island, but was still surprised when he saw him standing again.

Another note:

I believe that the subconscous is a way for MiB to tap into one's mind, and I think that's the reason drugs play such an important role in this show.

-Richard Alpert, in real life, is the man who supported Psilocybin Mushroom Use/Mind Expansion, and helped reveal their power as a hallucinogen.

-The peyote that Locke used on himself/Boone both helped them lead to realizations, that we believed the "Island" showed them.

-And finally, the most interesting, but mainly overlooked example: Sayid was given LSD on a sugar cube by the torturer in the Dharma Initiative "Oldham," and tripped hard. What happened when he came to? He said he knew what he had to do now. Perhaps MiB had influence over him, and considering the fact that Ben is a candidate, MiB subconsciously told Sayid to murder him as a boy. Another possibility is that MiB knows that in order for Jacob to be killed by Ben as an adult, he MUST be healed by the pool in the temple, perhaps to be claimed, or for other reasons, and the only way for that to happen is to subconsciously tell Sayid to kill him.

I said it first, so yeah, discuss.