MIB's Body in Across the Sea by Adam

Much has been said already about MIB's body at the end of 5.15... some fans are claiming, once more, that Smokey and MIB are not the same entity.

On the contrary, this episode only reinforced that point.

1) MIB stated very specifically in Ab Aeterno, "He took my body. My humanity." This is Jacob's brother talking. According to him, thanks to Jacob he no longer has a body. We discover this in Across the Sea. Therefore, MIB's "soul" is inside the black smoke we see leaving the light cave, whereas his body is left behind.

2) MIB stated very specifically in The Last Recruit that he can only take the body of dead people. Many people were confused by the presence of MIB's body at the end of 5.15. This actually CONFIRMS the MIB/Smokey mythology, not denies it. Why? Because MIB is now bodiless. He has no permanent physical form, just as he stated in Ab Aeterno. This obviously leads to the fact that, after Across the Sea, MIB chooses to take the form of his old body.

In conclusion, MIB and Smokey are one and the same. The sad, tragic end to Across the Sea was the death of the humanity of MIB. While his body is laid to decay and rot, his bodiless soul roams the island, unable to leave and only able to take the form of the dead, but never able to secure himself permanently in a new body (until Jacob died, that is). This episode also reinforces the narrative force of MIB's motivations throughout the season... while the writers pulled a long con on us by having the resurrected John Locke actualy be Smokey, I do not see them pulling a similar switch here. MIB is Smokey... this episode built his character and showed his motivations. He is a man without a body.