Finale - Locke, Ben, MiB by Ryan M.

Going into the very last normal episode of LOST forever, there are a couple of things that I cannot stop thinking about and would like to share with you all.

What lies in the shadow of the statue? He who will save us all.

This applies to only two people: Locke and Ben. Locke literally is lying dead in the shadow of the statue, and Ben is lying to Richard about Jacob's well-being and his eventual death. Is the saying above a play on words or is it as simple as it seems? Well, that is the definition of LOST...

Locke has always been a Christ-like figure; he died to bring everyone together. If this is so and if all the similarities between Locke and Jesus aren't just coincidence, then wouldn't it make sense that the "Holy Savior" is resurrected like his biblical counterpart. Walt also tells Locke off the island that he had been dreaming about him. He dreamt that Locke was wearing a suit on the island surrounded by people who all wanted to hurt him. Could that be the real Locke resurrected with the islanders mistaking him as Smoky?

He is arguably the most important character in the entire series. We have seen him go from devote believer to secretive liar to leader to depressive cripple, and now he has become the face of corruption and evil. Throughout much of his life he has been called special (much like MiB) and this could be clearly seen at times during the show. Richard at one point stated that he saw nothing special about him but that seems to me like a typical LOST statement - you cannot say something without its opposite being introduced as well on the show.

There is also some direct correlation between Locke and Smoky. I don't buy the whole we're in one big loop, and special people can get glimpses of the loop even though there not at that stage yet. That is not why young John drew a picture of Smoky. That is not why Locke was the first one shown looking into the jungle when the monster made sounds the very first night of the very first episode. That is not why he is the only one who saw "bright beautiful light" or "the eye of the island" instead of black smoke when confronted by smoky. And that is not why he and MiB share so many characteristics.

There is definitely some connection between Locke, Smoky, and MiB (Smoky and MiB are different beings as seen in Across the Sea). Locke represents Jesus Christ, Smoky represents pure evil / hell, and MiB represents human corruption and cruelty to some extent. Isn't it odd that two extremely different entities share something together.

Quick side-step: why is Locke a Christ-like figure again?

- when he fell in the well and Shepherd told him about sacrifice, the painful walk to the wheel and the turning of the wheel represents Jesus' journey to the cross and his sacrifice (what else was the significance of hurting his leg in that scene)

- his true name is John Cooper making his initials the same as Jesus Christ

- he died so that everyone would come together and believe in fate and the island itself, which is similar to Jesus' death bringing Christianity together

- he's even in the Jesus spot in the LOST Last Supper photo

Hopefully the real Locke does come back to the living cast sometime tonight or this Sunday because many factors all point to this. And just from a public television standpoint, this man has been the catalyst of LOST and a fan favorite, so wouldn't you expect him to continue these two roles.

Smoky, Mother, MiB, and Flocke

There are so many theories on Smoky at this time, so I just have to mention mine. Mother is not Smoky. Maybe she can summon it like Ben did in his closet, but when she was stabbed, her body remained. As for destroying a small village and filling a large well in one night, this is LOST - since when do we ever take things completely literally. Either she managed or had Smoky do it.

Also, Smoky in my opinion is the collective conscience of those that he so chooses, those that are impure / sinful, and those that are of course dead. If you study Flocke, you can really begin to see this. He acts fatherly towards only Claire and Jack - Shepherd's two children, yells things Locke would (don't tell me what I can't do), and of course largely exhibits believes and wants of MiB. Maybe the reason Smoky is so hellbent on going home and believing that man only corrupts is because either there was a lot of evil in MiB heart greatly influencing it (Smoky is the counterpart of the everlasting life light) or maybe just because MiB has been part of Smokey the longest so far.

The collective conscience can be seen when Flocke tells Ben Locke's last thoughts. How can Smoky know things such as this if Locke is six feet under? It would be different if it were just impersonating Locke, but it is not; it is Locke in some regard. As Locke said in the second episode of season one and as LOST has drilled into us since the beginning, there is a good side and evil side to everything, a light side and a dark side. Claire even once had a dream that Locke came to her with one eye white and the other black. What I am trying to get at is this: Flocke or Smoky contains part of Locke, a part I believe to be his evil / dark side or maybe just a side without the piece of bright light that is supposably contained in every man, so maybe his better half is still out there. Maybe that is what will be resurrected and become the eventual savior, or maybe it will be pulled from Smoky himself. Who knows...

Also, Smoky can not just become anybody it wants. It seems those that it kills never become part of it, but those that are killed by other means, slowly do become part of it. Lastly, just because MiB unleashed Smoky doesn't mean that Smoky is completely MiB. Smoky was more than likely trapped and used in a way similar to Ben unplugging the large drain before this by Mother, so once MiB did unleash it, it became partially MiB, but really in no different a manor than with Locke and any other dead islander.

Alright that's it. Let's enjoy our last regular episode in the history of ever tonight.