Thank you 😊 You stated it even more eloquently than I did!

wall his knowledge is great i think explanations like this would have killed the ahow for some honestly applying my own theorys ro what is and whats going to happen was the best part ... had the sane thibg with game of thornes

Horace goodspeed, smoke monster?

Same and the fact it’s a long one!!!

Same here!

It's a great question! I think there are a couple of factors worth noting here that make the Jacob ghost different from normal ghosts. Jacob might be dead but he is still the last (and sort of current) protector. So that means he isn't your average apparition anyway. He is a special type of ghost. And we see this in how he manifests himself at different ages from his life, perhaps because he once had a controlling influence over and access to the light itself. His afterlife learning curve isn't as steep as the other characters. He already knows how things are in death. The other factor that we should note is that during Season Six there is a power vacuum on the island. And the time has come for one of the remaining candidates to step up to the role of protector. But to do that they need to both see and hear him for the crucial handover of power to take place. And all of the candidates are, in some way, special. Because they have been chosen. Therefore, they are now allowed to see a ghostly entity like Jacob. I'd be remiss not to mention that Jacob's ashes are made a big deal of in 'LA X' and then later in 'What They Died For'. Once the candidates are all gathered around the fire, the scene heavily alludes to the idea that his remains still exert special properties. He says that once the ashes burn out in the fire he will be gone for good (i.e. returned to The Source for rebirth). This helps to further demonstrate the connection between a dead person's remains and their "light" or essence. What happens to the bodies after death can have an effect on manifestations, hence why The Others ritually burn their dead (no doubt under instructions from Jacob). So, there are several extenuating circumstances that make the Jacob Ghost different from all the others we have seen before. And any of the above explanations could be a valid way to interpret how the candidates see him in Season Six. As always, really appreciate your comments and support :-)

Lol, I'm glad you picked up on the Halloween timing!

Hey, it’s October again! How fantastic a time to watch this, then!

Locke Monster seasons

Thank you, Silas! Also, I sent you a message on Patreon regarding your candidacy. 😎

Thank you, Christy :-) I think Locke would front a great Bear Grylls type of show lol. "Running with John Locke" maybe?

That would be my dream job!

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 more lost with lost explained as consultant = 🔥 🔥 🔥

I second this. 👍🏼

"Now he appears whenever he wants, like Obi-Wan Kenobi."

@@kevinjoyce9574 Jack: "I need to know, is Claire my sister?" Jacob: "From a certain point of view"

I’d love to interview them. I’d ask them the questions that those more traditional interviewers never do!

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 A good way to catch them is to raise a funding for a cameo to Terry O’Quinn or Emily De Ravin, if Hopefully if on the cameo request you present your work they could be willing to forward you to cuse/lindelof. There are a lot of “if” in my scenario but you deserve it

Thank you, Mike! Couldn't do it without the support of fans like yourself :-)

Firstly, thank you for the compliments and your own detailed analysis. It's worth noting that I have discussed (in extensive detail) the duality between Jacob and the Man in Black in multiple videos (my most recent one on the channel on "The Ancient Past" delves into a lot of it) and my upcoming video will focus exclusively on "the game" between these two players. I suggest you check that one out next! Secondly, while I respect your own reading of the show, I do disagree with you on a fundamental point regarding Christian's manifestation on the freighter. There is no evidence in the show to suggest that a protector could manifest themselves as a dead person, or that they could specifically summon real spirits. They are conduit to The Source and have their own powers, yes. But those powers are tied to the living world. The dominion of the dead belongs to the Man in Black. Which actually is more reflective of this duality and dichotomy that you speak of between Jacob and MiB. For the purposes of disambiguation, let's call this hypothetical Jacob-related Christian "Light" and the proven MiB-related Christian "Dark". If Christian Shepherd on the freighter was really Jacob in disguise (or even the Real Christian summoned back from the afterlife) then why is he wearing the same clothes that the Man in Black had been wearing in the cabin when Locke first met him? Surely, he would manifest in the suit he died in, or something else? There is no reason for Dark-Christian and Light-Christian to be wearing those same cabin clothes at all. Even just for visual optics it would make more sense for your Light-Christian to look different to MiB's version. Just to help us recognise that these are two different versions. But that's not the case. They dress the same and act the same. Because they are the same. And why would Light-Christian manifest to Michael -- a man he had never met -- to tell him he could now die? Why was the scene played so ominously? Yes, I agree that Michael was a candidate and that only The Island can decide when someone's time is up. And that's what we see happen. Michael's whole purpose was to stave off the bomb long enough so the other candidates could make it off the freighter (because they couldn't die until they served their purpose in the time loop). Michael's purpose in the living world had reached its completion. What we see happening in that moment is the Man in Black appearing to see off one more obstacle to his escape. Also, this bomb exploding in a confined space and killing a candidate is the likely inspiration for MiB's plan to kill the other candidates with a bomb in a confined space in Season Six on the sub. I discuss in this very video how the Man in Black absolutely *can* travel across water and why he lies to Sawyer about that fact. Maybe he can't travel across it as smoke, but we know he can teleport in and around the bubble of the island (something demonstrated more than once). And when Fake Christian appears on that freighter, it's clearly from having teleported. There's no point in me rehashing it all here. But it's worth rewatching that section of the video to hear the evidence and reasoning: 23:26 Another point about that scene on the freighter: it is definitely played as a malevolent moment; the music stinger especially indicates that. It's not a Jacob-style moment at all. Also, Michael's final words to Fake Christian are: "Who are you?". Which echo Mr. Eko's last words to Fake Yemi in Season Three before his death. He says the exact same thing: "Who are you?" And then he dies. That's the real clue to Fake Christian's identity. I remember first watching that freighter scene at the time and thinking "Uh oh, this is definitely NOT Ghost Christian, and he does not have anyone's best interests at heart." And it made it even more worrying because the island had been moved under his instruction. It's the first real moment when we see that whoever is occupying the cabin might not be someone we should trust. Further to this point, it is also worth mentioning that Damon Lindelof discussed in an interview last year that sometimes the smoke monster was actually responsible for whispers too, as he was the equivalent of a "quasi-ghost" and carried the voices of many of the dead on the island. And we hear whispers stir in the room before Fake Christian manifests. Anyway, I like your thoughtful take on all of this. I just don't personally align with this particular part of your interpretation.

Thanks for reading my comment and for the insightful response. To be clear I didn’t mean to suggest that Jacob was masquerading as Christian in Michael’s death scene, rather that it was actually the spirit of Christian himself. I suppose I prefer to think of Christian’s words to Michael at that moment to mean ‘you can go now, you’re redeemed for what you did’, rather than the MIB telling him he can go now because he’s fulfilled some nefarious purpose as part of some evil plan. For me the whole show is about redemption. The only major character that didn’t find it was the MIB himself, for whom I have to admit i had some empathy despite who and what he was. At the end of the day he was a human child who discovered that his real mother had been murdered by his foster mother, who then lied to him and sought to keep him on the island against his will rather than let him rejoin his own people. Jacob was the one that made him what he was. For the MIB the island was a prison, which fuelled his hatred and desire to destroy it. I digress. Our varying interpretation not withstanding, your films are greatly appreciated, thanks for making them.

I’ve discussed Kate’s horse in a previous video on “The Magic Box” but I take your point about the animals having various interpretations available to them. That video might be on the cards at some point!

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Then there's Walt's dog, forgetting his name at the moment. His not an island manifestation or anything, but he always seems at little too smart and involved for just a dog. The island seems to flow though him as if to act as a source of reliable comfort for the losties during trying times.

Vincent was the best! Would have been great to get a Vincent-centric episode to follow him on some of his adventures around the island. Could have been a neat way of answering and expanding upon a few mysteries.

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 If they had one flash back of Jacob interacting and guiding Vincent to Jack after the crash that would just be sooo perfect.

That's wonderful! Thank you for supporting the channel :-) Just creating a post for you in the community membership tab now.

I wholeheartedly agree with your agreements lol! And that deleted portion from the original script is a great reference to use here. The writers were modulating their mythology throughout the writing process and I think the ghosts and whispers and MiB apparitions all developed over the course of the seasons. In Season One, it was anyones game as to what apparitions could be. Like you say, things were in flux. Sometimes the whispers were associated with The Others but other times they clearly had a supernatural shape to them, hence why we hear the recently dead voice of Frank Duckett whisper to Sawyer in ‘Outlaws’. At this point in the show the writers might not have been sure if The Others were going to be supernatural in nature and kept their options open going forward. Season One writer David Fury confirms as much in an old interview. But they added in “back doors” to various mysteries, allowing room for the evolution of answers and to accommodate the ideas of new writers who joined the staff each season. As always, I appreciate your comments and thoughts on the show. 😊

I understand. Nobody likes ads! But they are a necessary evil. The ad revenue generated from them is the only thing keeping this channel alive. I couldn’t afford to make the videos without that financial incentive.

A very good question! You're right. We know that the Man in Black can touch candidates (as long as he doesn't intend harm) and we know that he is corporeal in that scene because he lights and holds the lantern. He is physically there. So, why can't he help John Locke up? In my video on "The Cabin", I explain that the wheel chamber scene between Locke and Fake Christian is taking place in 2007 after Ajira has already come back with John Locke's body. That's the reason why Fake Christian knows about Eloise Hawking and how to bring back the Oceanic Six, because this event has already happened. And he has already scanned Locke's body, learned the relevant info, and turned into the man up top. Fake Christian is therefore repeating the exact movements and words that Real Locke remembered Fake Christian saying to him. The Man in Black is essentially recreating Locke's memory in real time as it happens, if that makes sense? He's following a script in a way. It's part of this causal time loop in which the snake eats its own tail. The Man in Black doesn't help Locke up because that is not what happened in Dead Locke's memory of this event. Furthermore, the Man in Black cannot risk contaminating time travelling John Locke in any way by doing something differently in these time travel meetings. In case that somehow disrupts or alters the timeline in some way. For instance, he couldn't send Ben instead of Richard in the compass hand-off scene by the beechcraft because Fake Locke knows that it was Richard who gave Real Locke the compass in that moment. So, he is following the script, priming Richard with what to do and say, then letting it play out as it did. If he tries to alter the script for some reason, it could blow up his loophole. So, he follows Real Locke's memories of these events precisely. Including not extending a hand of help in the wheel chamber.

It certainly makes that scene more interesting, doesn't it? I was always hardline about Harper being plain old human Harper, but if you subscribe to the notion that the Man in Black *can* appear temporarily as a living person from a memory capture (with the altar boy Daniel and Walt both being possible examples of this) then Harper should also qualify. I think there are definitely two possible solutions to her appearance as a result, depending on how you interpret the MiB's powers.

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 with Harper being such a minor character, I could take her appearance as the MIB as confirmation of her death as well, as opposed to us seeing her die.

Also a fair point! For all we know, Harper could have been killed during the raid on the Oceanic beach camp in the Season Three finale.

I agree with your comment. The logic is sound. But it’s something I only really started to consider recently, hence why I offer two potential solutions. I definitely lean more towards Man in Black in this analysis. As for audio levels, someone else mentioned this to me recently. Not sure why it’s coming through at a lower level. The recording is done with a Rode microphone and edited on Audactiy, and it sounds normal on my computer. It could be because different people have different settings on their computer setups; yours might be better than mine! Or maybe once I add the Audacity tracks to the video editing suite it messes with the mix. Will see what I can do with future edits. 👍 As always, thanks for your feedback and your support. It means a lot 😊

Great explanation! Audio sounds okay to me.

The question I have about the MiB theory for Harper is that his motivation would be to kill various candidates. However, I think it’s been fairly well established that candidates can’t die until they’ve fulfilled their purpose and the island is “done with them” (most notably seen with Michael). I would find it hard to believe that the MiB would not be aware of this fact. He has access to the cliff side cave, so he would know who the candidates are, so surely he would have tried to kill them in the 150 years since Richard arrived, only to be thwarted by the island itself. In my mind, this tends to negate any motivation the MiB would have to manifest as Harper. This is also one of the reasons I have trouble with the “all manifestations of Christian on the island are the MiB” theory (it also requires that you believe the MiB, who has lied to everyone he’s interacted with in order to manipulate them, was telling the truth to Jack just this one time), but that’s a whole different discussion I won’t further discuss here.

I actually discuss this very issue about the Man in Black (and whether or not he can appearing as living people) in this very video when discussing Eko's warlords and John Locke. Not sure if you've watched the whole thing yet but I explore that question, and its solutions within. I don't argue that the memory capture power of living people is definitively fact, only that it is possible due to a couple of ambiguous appearances and quotes from the creators. If those apparitions of living people are unsustainable beyond short periods of time then it would explain why the Man in Black needs people to be dead, otherwise he cannot make anyone believe that he really is that person walking around. Again, I delve into more detail in the actual video itself. As for your questions, Claire doesn't move through time because she never appeared in the past. Only people who appeared in the linear history of the island pre-2004 will time travel after the wheel is pushed. It's the same reason why Sun doesn't travel back in time in Season Five. Because she was not part of the "whatever happened, happened" time loop. Claire stayed in present day time under the Man in Black's tutelage for three years, having various encounters and conflicts with The Others at the temple. I discuss the reason for the Quarantine signs in both my video on DHARMA and my video on Jughead. They are to designate certain sectors as high-risk for electromagnetic activity and possible contamination following The Incident. Areas that DHARMA deemed to be "hot zones", perhaps because they are in close proximity to known pockets of electromagnetic energy, such as beneath The Swan. It's absolutely possible that you're right and Radzinsky is the one who made those signs. We know that he told Kelvin to wear the hazmat suit when going up top for pallet runs, so he considered fallout to be a real risk to some extent, otherwise Kelvin would never have worn it at all.

I think course correction only applies to Desmond in terms of his apparent ability to changes events in the timeline, and even that is open to debate. I agree that Taller Ghost Walt is speaking on behalf of The Island to motivate John Locke, but that whole series of events aren't being "corrected" per se. Because Locke's kidney was removed years ago so he would be able to survive this event. It was all predestined to happen that way. As was Walt's appearance. I absolutely agree with you that Walt did not ask Locke to kill Naomi. Locke simply interpreted it in an extreme way because his zealotism, for lack of a better word, had been validated in that moment.

Yes, you are right. But corrections happened also when Eloise was present. She was the one who launched that term. But actually I must admit that the case I mentioned is not course correction as Locke was not able to kill himself (similar way as Michael off island). Island was not done with him yet.

I have had a couple of people say this recently. I've tried looking into what the cause could be but the volume is whacked up to full on audio tracks in my editing suite. Can't get it to go any higher. And then the sound comes through fine on my computer, so I'm not 100% sure what else I can do to boost the volume further. Any ideas? Are you tech-savvy?

Well, there were most likely boats that The Others used back in the 1950s. Remember, Richard had to recruit and bring some of those Others to the island, like Charles and Eloise. It's likely that he had a sailboat or marine vessel of some kind to come and go from the island, and they traded that up for the DHARMA submarine in the 1980s.

We can read that moment in a couple of different ways. The first and most likely answer is that Sawyer was sick with fever and he was hallucinating. And when he woke up, he didn't see Kate. He saw someone else. Could be his father, or who he imagines the real Sawyer to look like. But it could even be the Other who shot him on the raft, since that bullet almost does kill Sawyer. The point is: Sawyer is delirious with fever and seeing things, and Kate is projecting onto the moment with her own issues. Sawyer reminds her of Wayne already. The second way of reading this moment is Man in Black related. If you subscribe to the notion that MiB could infect and influence people on the edge of death then this scene plays out more like Sawyer being pulled towards the dark side of the scale within himself. The Man in Black is being channelled through him to get to Kate. Now I don't necessarily subscribe to this reading myself but it's certainly an interesting way of looking at the scene if you so wish.

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 bro you are one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. I never thought about it like that but we do project are experiences on to situations. Thank you so much for clearing this up!

@@Booknowlakealmonor You're very kind to say that, sir! Not sure how smart I am, I'm just really into LOST lol.

Totally understandable! 😆

The latest 8 videos on the channel all make use of my real voice so be sure to check them out too :-)

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Ahah don't worry i watched them all by the time i read your comment, i'm eager to watch the remake of the 6hours video though :)

I’m pleased to be able to say that Part One of that remake is coming this weekend 🙂🙏

Do it! Do it! Do it!

Hi Drew! All fair points you make there in regards to Man in Black apparitions (or not, as they case may be). I stay on the fence about Dave because, for me, it's more interesting if Dave is the Man in Black in that episode due to how he baits and manipulates Hurley into an attempted suicide. It just enriches the rather sporadic actions of MiB throughout those first three seasons if he appeared more times in disguise. It's a fun way to look back at certain ambiguous appearances. However, it opens up the need to theory craft a bit too much as I mention in my video. Can MiB scan people whilst occupying other forms? That's a big question. But then another issue with the "Dave is MiB" theory is that we have to workaround the idea that Hurley was not a candidate so, therefore, MiB didn't need to tempt him to kill himself. He could have just killed him. I'll get to your whole take on MiB and the time travel in a bit. The only possible explanation for his tactic is that he knew that the sudden suicide of the happy-go-lucky Hurley -- aka the heart of the Oceanic survivors -- would devastate and demoralise the group beyond repair. Still, we would have to ignore that the showrunners outright confirmed that Dave wasn't smoke-related. And while I don't always use their word as complete gospel, I still lean more to Dave being a hallucination, and I think you summed up the reasons behind that well in your comment. It makes sense. As for Harper, I was always hardline about her being a real person until fairly recently. You and I have even discussed that before as I recall. But if -- and it's a big *if* -- MiB *can* appear as living people temporarily then Harper being a smoke monster manifestation can work nicely, and pays off the "download" sequence in 'Left Behind' when Juliet got scanned. It's way more interesting to me in that context. If he appeared as Goodwin, Juliet would be alarmed and suspicious. Because she knows he is dead. Wouldn't it be better to appear as someone who is still alive but Juliet wronged somehow? Someone that Juliet feels like she owes. But this all comes down to whether or not you believe or subscribe to the notion that MiB could appear in a limited form as still-living people from a memory capture. This is something that I wrestle with to this day. Mainly because of altar boy Daniel's appearance and Damon Lindelof's frustrating sort-of contrary confirmation that Walt's appearances were probably MiB (at least in his mind looking back). So... I think it's only fair to let the question marks remain over Harper and Walt (and Dave) since two possible solutions do exist within the mythology, depending on your own interpretation of the clues and possible powers of Old Smokey. I'm open to the possibilities of both. The place where I disagree with you, or at least dispute your reading in part, is your impression that the Man in Black was aware of the time loop before the Oceanic 815ers crashed on the island. Therefore making him more of a roleplayer in events in which he was simply biding his time until the loop opened up. There is no confirmation nor evidence to back that up. Although nor can I fully refute it. We only know that he became aware of the time loop by 2007, when he shows Frank and Sun the photograph at he barracks. And, by his point, the barracks had been abandoned and accessible to him for three years as the pylons were down and The Others were gone. This gave him more than enough time to explore and study the contents of the buildings and discover the photo. It's worth noting that the Man in Black is engineering his loophole plan in 2007 *backwards* through time. This is not a linear plan. The moments by the beechcraft and down in the donkey wheel chamber are both taking place in 2007, in which Ajira has already returned and the Man in Black already knows what needs to be said and done due to Dead Locke's memories of both these events. It is is like the compass. A self-perpetuating feedback loop. He knows what to do and say because it has already happened. So, he simply follows the script to some extent. He is exploiting this time loop in 2007. Whereas in 2004, his goal is simply to prime Ben as an anti-candidate (which he has been doing for some time) and getting Locke to die, at least so far as we know. He is following the "intuition" from The Island for all of this, but I don't think he accesses future knowledge in the way Jacob does. The smoke monster is more about the sins of the past. It is unknown how much knowledge MiB has of the actual time travelling events before 2007. We can only speculate to what he knew and when. His knowledge of time travel most likely didn't come into full context until after the wheel was turned and fell of its axis in 2004. We see how Fake Locke visibly connects what he is supposed to say and do at the beechcraft with Richard and the Real Locke and the compass. It suddenly all clicks for him. I think he absolutely would have gladly seen Locke die in the pit in 2004. In your reading you claim that MiB wouldn't risk a paradox that could undo reality, but we know he didn't take The Island seriously. He had become so angered and hateful that he saw The Island as nothing more than a prison, which he reiterates again and again. And we know he doesn't care about risking paradoxes or destruction or global annihilation because of what he does in 'The End'. It's uncertain if he even believed that anything bad would happen if The Island was destroyed. So, I don't believe that he cared about paradoxes or upending the nature of fate or time. He literally helps to create a paradox with the compass: his little manipulation of events that becomes baked into history. If we had seen the smoke monster encounter and scan a time traveller in 1977 or 1988 then I would agree with your assessment that he was preparing for all of this for decades and was simply (and knowingly) following a pre-set path. But there is no real evidence of that. There is only evidence of Jacob being aware of the time loop from, at least, the late 20th century and planning for it. I'm going to explore that in more detail in my upcoming redux cuts of "The Theory of Everything".

Thank you, Julian! To answer your question, The Man in Black didn't need to hide Locke's body in Season Five because, technically, the body was already hidden in the cargo hold of the plane. He didn't know that passengers on Ajira were working for Jacob. To him, the chances of anyone actually opening up a dead man's coffin in the cargo hold were highly unlikely. The Ajira passengers might look for other things amongst the cargo, but who would want to desecrate a stranger's coffin? So, he left Locke in there.

All salient points! I agree that the altar boy being dead is a far cleaner explanation. But that also means Harper and any Walt appearances couldn't be MiB either. Again, makes for a cleaner read on smoke monster manifestations and those specific appearances. Harper was just Harper, Walt was just Walt. But I don't think there is any question in my mind that Christian at the barracks was the Man in Black. All island appearances of Christian are MiB as far as I am concerned. Good catch with the Dave/David fabric patterns!

I agree with you that there should have been more episodes, particularly in Season Six. The writers were too eager to cut down the episode orders. It was a conscious choice they made, believing that they only needed so many episodes to tell the remaining storylines. However, I believe they miscalculated. If we could go back in time (and change the past!) and add more episodes, I would add at least four extra episodes to Season Six: An Ilana-centric episode with flashbacks that cover her history with Jacob and The Island (and a scene that would close the outrigger loop once and for all). I always felt she should have had a more honourable death, maybe at the hands of the Man in Black rather than how the show unceremoniously dealt with her. And that could happen in her own episode. A Claire-centric episode that focuses on her and shows us flashbacks as to what happened to her between Season Four and Six, allowing room to explore how the Man in Black and his infection operates. Their relationship unfolding would have been fascinating. An episode that brings back Walt! He should have been on the submarine with Desmond, brought back by Widmore, and a player in the endgame. The on-island story could see him be the one to commune with Ghost Michael and resolve that relationship, so Michael could move on and they could both be in the church at the end, while Walt's flashbacks could show us how he ended up in Santa Rosa before Widmore busted him out. Then a Widmore-centric episode that fits together the final missing pieces of his backstory, particularly in regards to his relationship with Penny and how she came to find out about The Island; the meeting Widmore had with Jacob; and Widmore's change of heart/new purpose. I feel like just four episodes like this could have solved a lot of the complaints that people had about some narrative dead-ends and blindspots in the final season. I imagine if the writers could do it all over again, they would iron out those creases.

It’s the best mango he’s ever eaten! 😆

Indeed

They are going to get even longer in the coming months! 😆

Because MiB had a psychic gift. He was special like Walt or Hurley. Whereas Richard did not have that particular gift and needed a spiritual translator. Most characters could not see or speak to the dead, but there were a few who demonstrated psychic sensitivity throughout such as Jack and Locke.

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 thanks for the quick answer! Since I’m not sure where else to ask, what are your thoughts on the Huth Truth video series? Do you have different views that him?

Ah interesting question! Generally, I try not to feed myself other people’s LOST theories as I feel like it will only pollute my own thought process and I’m happy with where I’m at in interpreting the mythology. That said, I remember watching a few Huth Truth videos back in the early days of building this channel based on a commenter suggestion. I found myself in total opposition to Huth Truth's interpretations on the subjects I watched (not sure if it was just those unfortunate selections or if we really differ that widely on everything). I don’t think we agree on some of the base fundamentals of what was happening in the overall series, which creates a lot of disconnect on the smaller details. He also went a lot further in adding head-canon explanations than I would, whereas my interest lies squarely with taking what was presented and running with that, even the seemingly contrary plot details. However, this also makes us very different as explainers and therefore gives LOST fans more variety to choose from when looking for theories and explanations. I think it leads to a healthy variety of ideas, even if I don't personally agree with the specific ideas he puts forward. And, ultimately, it's all helping to keep a positive legacy of LOST alive and well.

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 i watched a chunk of his videos as well, and I believe he interprets that the island is not its own entity, and that everything we see is either MIB or Jacob. I was kind of disappointed with that view point when I first heard it, and it felt like it made the show less exciting. I’m glad to find your channel as I like your interpretation better

That's good to know! :-) Yes, he seems to dismiss the idea that The Island has its own will, even though it is demonstrated throughout the show time and again. From what I understand, he puts many of these events down to the Man in Black's machinations. While I like that idea of giving MiB more of a overarching role in everything we see happen before he graduates to uber-villain in the final two seasons, it requires diminishing the role of the actual Island and skating over its influence on events. Definitely interesting alternate takes to my own that provide healthy counterpoints for the fanbase, but just not something I can personally get on board with.

I promise you that someday this video will happen!

Judging from the Man in Black's surprised and pained expression after Jack punches him and draws blood, he had no idea he was going to be made mortal again when the light went out.

How about man in black when in John mode just call him Locke Monster just to help eliminate confusion

I think those are all completely reasonable takes to have. 👌

I explore these very questions in my video on Faith and the Supernatural. I start discussing the whispers specifically around the 1:31:00 mark and get into the nitty gritty of how they are presented and how many times they appeared alongside The Others versus alongside supernaturally adjacent events. I go into a lot of detail so you are likely to find some answers there. Follow the link to the video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eq5xish4xJbMgJ8.html

In Season Six episode 'Everybody Loves Hugo', the whispers are ultimately explained as being the voices of the dead on The Island in a scene between Hurley and Ghost Michael. However, the history behind the whispers is a little more complex. It's a misconception that the whispers appeared whenever The Others were around (that only happens a couple of times in the show) when they actually appear more frequently alongside supernatural events involving ghosts, apparitions or the Man in Black. In my next video (due out soon) I actually go through every major whisper scene to analyse them in the context of their origin being supernatural versus coming from The Others. Keep an eye out for it!

I agree that Boone in the dream is not Real Boone. But I don't believe he is the Man in Black either. I made a video about how the dreams work and their likely source being The Island rather than MiB. There are several dreams throughout the show that have that same aloof, uncanny quality to them in which characters don't behave as normal. That's because they are ciphers for a message that The Island is trying to communicate to them. In 'Further Instructions', The Island is trying to get Locke back on track again. If the Man in Black wanted Mr. Eko "saved" so he could judge him or test him later then he could have just extracted Eko from the cave himself. Smoke Monster vs Polar Bear would have been an interesting smackdown lol. Regardless, he didn't need Locke for that.

I totally get what you’re saying. I go back and forth on Walt all the time! And your logic is sound enough. But there are problems with both solutions. So, if he really is Walt then why is he in those clothes and taller and telling Locke to stop the freighter? I mean, the clothes could still be dream-related in that he is wearing what he remembers wearing on The Island. But still, it’s an imperfect solution. I have the same problems with him being the Man in Black though. First of all, why appear as Walt? Why not Boone or Eko or Christian? Someone dead? And if MiB could appear as living people then why did he never use that power outside of these moments? Second of all, we have an in-show confirmation about the rule of MiB only being able to appear as dead people, which annoys me because that was clearly supposed to be an answer yet we have contradictions to that answer with Walt (and potentially Eko’s altar boy Daniel). Also, if Walt is MiB in this scene, why does he want Locke to stop the freighter? MiB needs that conflict on The Island to motivate the wheel turn. There’s just so many things that get thrown up by it. There’s holes and questions that come with both of these interpretations, and I’ve never been able to find an elegant solution to either. I don’t take a hardline approach to either interpretation because of this. I’m actually re-exploring Walt and his powers in the upcoming video, and I shall be addressing some of these notions. 👌

@LOSTEXPLAINED108 If it's Walt it could be the island guiding his psychic spasms or dreams in a way to give Locke further instructions in a moment that he needed it. If it was MiB it could be that he knew at that point that Locke wouldn't die which is in my opinion his main intuition (same way the whispers know that the moment is about to come). At this point he gives Locke instructions to stop the freighter from contacting the island and return to the cabin for further instructions where the MiB would be waiting to instruct him to turn the wheel and get away from the freighter. If they've found the island then they will find a way ashore. I think there are motivations that work both ways but yeah nothing explains why he's taller. And I agree that if it was MiB it would've made wayyyy more sense for him to use Boone. I actually posted a super long comment on your cabin video about my personal theory for how much the MiB knew about the time loop and why exactly I think he sent John to turn the wheel. I'm not sure it ever actually went up in the comments section though. Did you see it? I can resend. Very much looking forward to your next video though. My fiance just started S5 so we're in the thick of it now and I'm buzzing with theories again!

Just imagine if both Shannon and Locke had both seen Boone! Would have solved all of these issues lol. Why Darlton? Why?! 😆 I have another theory as to why Walt might be there at the grave pit but I shall leave that for the video. I feel like what makes these Walt appearances so frustrating is that they are both so close to making sense as being either depending on how you decide to headcanon the explanations. Haven’t seen your comment about the wheel - is this a recent comment? You can re-post it here if you like. You’re on the golden stretch in your rewatch as far as I’m concerned. Season Five is my fave! Is your fiancé enjoying it? How are you feeling about it upon this rewatch?

@LOSTEXPLAINED108 I think it's too long...gonna do two replies lol As for the rewatch my fiance has been pretty invested since the end of Season 3. Shes super anxious to see Jacob and I cant wait to see how frustrated she gets when she sees him die in the same episode that she meets him in 😂😂😂 And I agree... middle of S3 through S5 is imo the gold stretch. I'm having a great time unlocking a new layer of understanding even still as I watch.

@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Ok here goes new MiB theory but it's quite a change in perspective...bare with me. It's always been a challenge trying to explain how much the MiB knew and how he constructed this master plan or why he would've sent Locke off the island unless he knew he was coming back dead or alive. But any answer anybody has ever come up with that I've seen always seems incredibly convoluted or too much of a stretch for me to accept that it was the writers' intentions. Besides the MiB doesn't care about the island, the source, fate, destiny or the "fabric of time/space" so why would he believe any of the instances of the time travelers was something that was destined to happen? He just thinks things happens randomly. There's no evidence through the memories of corpses such as Charlotte or Horace that Locke returns to the island so why would MiB have any interest in causing the loop. If the island is speaking to him, he wouldnt listen or obey unless it's in his best interest...therefore the island wouldnt speak to him. So what if his reason for moving the island wasn't to initiate this grand master plan, but simply to get the island and Ben away from Widmore's people? And what if he chose Locke to do so not because he knew he'd die and/or come back, but because he simply wanted Locke out of the picture? Lemme explain...Yes, his plan from the moment he scanned Locke in Ep4 until the end of season 3 WAS to utilize Locke's time travel legacy to threaten Ben and make him Jealous. He would know about Locke's time traveling legend even though he wouldn't know/care what caused it. When Ben kills Locke he can take his place and push Ben out then demand to see Jacob as we see in Season 5. As you've said, he almost gets everything he wants at the end of Man Behind the Curtain when Ben shoots him and leaves him for dead. But when it becomes clear to MiB a short while later that the island is protecting Locke and he seemingly can't be killed, Locke becomes a threat to MiB's plan. It's almost like Locke has become an unstoppable force of Jacob's will. Locke would inevitably push Ben out of the leadership role and both Ben and Locke in these new positions are of far less use to MiB. If Locke's body can't be taken then MiB can't use it to demand to be taken to Jacob. And if Ben isn't the leader he can never be taken to Jacob either let alone kill him. And while Locke is easily coerced and does have questionable methods he does NOT have a history of genocide or a blinding compulsion to overthrow/kill those who threaten his power so if he ever did meet up with Jacob it would be much more difficult to for MiB to convince Locke to kill him. Locke cares more about being a part of something important and truly believes that everything he does is in the best interest of everyone on the island thus he is NOT a Jacob killer anymore than Richard is. This is why Ben is MiB's ace in the hole. Ben isn't just a proven killer for power, he's also the leader of the others and far more controllable than Locke as it appears. Plus MiB could probably have someone Kill Ben at whatever point and become the leader of the others (something he can't do with Locke). Ben has potential to be both a ticket to Jacob or a Jacob killer and is far less expendable than Locke. Ben was the MiB golden child. He was doing anything he could to hold onto him in Season 4. If you watch Cabin Fever you can also pick up on the MiB's urgency when he gives Locke directions he says rather frustrated "We don't have time for this. The people on the boat are already on their way back." He is visibly uneasy that he may lose Ben. The last thing he wants is Locke or Widmore in charge of the others and Ben gone. So he sends Locke to move the island killing two birds with one stone and concocts a new plan involving Ben and Claire as Claire is an easy target for manipulation. He has her father's body and memories and Charlie's body and memories (we never see him use Charlie on screen but I believe he did) and he knows Aaron is her #1 motivation for anything. If I had to guess his plan was to use Claire to kill Ben, take Ben's place, and then start demanding to see Jacob with Claire by his side.

Hello! This is a fair question and I have discussed this a few times in the comments elsewhere on other threads, so apologies if I repeat the same information from them. There are several problems that I have to address with this theory. I think it is partly based on Eko's popularity as a character rather than any canon proof within (or outside of) the actual show. Lostpedia is a big part to blame in perpetuating this, I feel. It's a superb resource, don't get me wrong, but it's edited in places by various admins who don't always pay due diligence to the details. Yes, there is indeed a picture on there that shows a very, very low-res image of the lighthouse dial. I don't know how anyone makes out any names on that picture tbh. Barely any of the names are legible. Furthermore, no one has been able to source the picture's legitimacy as far as I'm aware. That being said, let's assume that the photo is of the real prop from the actual 'Lighthouse' episode. In its current quality, I can see how one might read the name listed alongside #76 as reading "Eko" since it appears to be a short name beginning with E. Although it looks more like “Elmo” to me. But, regardless, the problem with assuming this reads as "Eko" is that Jacob wrote candidate names on the dial by their *surname* not first name. Yes, he calls himself Mr. Eko (based on his bad ass gangster moniker from Nigeria) but *Tunde* was Eko's surname as Tunde was Yemi’s surname, and Eko goes by Father Tunde once he becomes a priest. Whatever the word is scrawled for 76 it does not look like Tunde. But let's ignore the photo from Lostpedia and look at the show itself. I have painstakingly gone through the screencaps of both the cave wall and the lighthouse dial from the actual show. Frame by frame. And Eko's name is nowhere to be seen on either. Now, this is very interesting. Because it means that his name was omitted by the writers intentionally. They must have known we would have all studied the names on there with eagle eyes, looking for specific names. Especially Eko. So, why don't we see it in the actual show? Well, his name isn't shown or highlighted so it does not contradict the fact that the Man in Black could kill him. And the Man in Black could kill Mr. Eko because he was not a candidate. Once someone is ordained as a candidate they stay a candidate until either they die or someone takes over the island protector role. Jacob confirms as much to Kate in the penultimate season six episode ‘What They Died For’: "It's just a line of chalk on a wall. The job's yours if you want it." What matters is Jacob's touch: that's the protection. And Eko hadn't been "blessed" with that touch... yet. And we know that there are major characters on the island in 2004 who also have yet to be touched and activated as candidates, including whopper characters like Sayid and Hurley. Both of whom are ordained *after* they leave the island in 2004. And Hurley turns out to be the next protector. Anyway, all of this to say that the misconception of "Eko was a candidate" comes from a mixture of fan favouritism, unreliable sourcing, and a misreading of that unreliable source. I might make a bigger video about this (or include it in my redux of old videos) because it comes up a lot and I feel it's worth spreading the word. I hope this all makes sense. Sorry for the essay response to your concise question.

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 ... Fair enough. That sounds reasonable to me. I will give lostpeida some credit for including, "Therefore, whether or not some of the names are canon is disputed." So, they seem to agree there's some question about the validity of the some of the names.

In my latest video -- 'The Theory of Everything Part Two: The Ancient Past' -- I explore this idea a little bit further. What comes out of the cave in 'Across the Sea' is the darkness of the Man in Black's soul: his worst memories, darkest emotions. The most negative parts of who he was. So, we can assume that the light that was within him -- the good part -- was absorbed back into The Source upon his physical death.

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 That makes a lot of sense!

Because turning off the light makes him mortal. That’s how he can be killed. Without the light on, he is made flesh again.

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 gotcha-is there some sort of explanation as to how it works with him going from pure projection to having blood and organs and such? Like do the insides of Locke’s body materialize inside of him? Or is it his own blood from his original body? Or am I being dumb and can it really only be explained by island magic? Follow up question: I’ve watched most of your vids (and loved them) and I might have missed this explanation but why is it that MIB can only take on Locke’s body like Ilana says?

When the light goes out, the power source within the smoke monster goes out too. So Fake Locke goes from essentially being an empty shell manifestation (made up of smoke monster particles) to a fully corporeal, living organism. The smoke monster essence (which presents the illusion of John Locke) has been completely converted into the form it is currently occupying, right down to the atom. I've never actually considered whose internal organs are appearing inside that MiB-Locke shell before lol. However, considering he has imitated Locke's exact form, I would assume that includes the full physiology of John Locke. So, those are John Locke organs getting ruptured and shot right there! As for why MiB is stuck as Locke, I have indeed discussed this in a couple of videos. Basically, MiB and Jacob formed a battery together, of sorts. When Jacob died, the battery was broken, and MiB became limited in some of his powers/abilities. And one of those abilities was shapeshifting into other forms.

The smoke monster could kill Mr. Eko because he was not a candidate. I've discussed this a bit in other videos but the very next video (coming very soon!) will delve into why this common fan-held believe isn't based on anything canon from within the show itself. I'll present all of the evidence in that video. Basically, there is no discrepancy regarding Eko's death and no need for us to theory craft.

I do explain the process at 1:37 in this video under the Ghosts & Whispers section, albeit in a compact way. I appreciate that I throw out a lot of information in these videos so it can be easy to lose a specific thread that you're interested in. I have also explained the sideways in detail in my video on the Flash Sideways here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ntl4g7lnya_Oo4E.html And in even more detail in my FAQ on "Were they dead the whole time?" here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ouBnidZev9Smd4E.html There will be a video this year that will delve into "The Supernatural" side of the island in greater detail too.

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Very much looking forward to that video every time I think about the sideways my head spins😆

I understand that a lot of people have beef with JJ for various reasons and that's fair enough. Although he wasn't really involved with the evolution of LOST as a story beyond the creation of the Pilot. Damon Lindelof led the series with Carlton Cuse. And Abrams was simply a silent executive producer and a cheerleader for them. He didn't contribute to the development or writing of the show past that first episode. So, yes, he is an important part of LOST's creation, but he shouldn't get too much credit overall.

MiB as Locke couldn’t kill Jacob though, he had to get Ben to do it. The rules still applied to MiB no matter who he appeared as. The reason becoming Locke was so important was because Locke was a legend amongst The Others and was destined to be their leader. And that would mean he would be able to get access to Jacob via Richard. Jacob was in hiding for years and only Richard knew where he was, and that the statue had a secret chamber within. You can’t kill someone that you can’t find, so Locke was MiB’s key to finding Jacob.

forgot that it was Ben that killed Jacob, makes much more sense now @@LOSTEXPLAINED108

Isabella didn’t die on the island either but she still appeared to Hurley. The Island can call upon the dead to help the living realm. It’s a gateway to the afterlife. Christian appearing to Jack on the island was the Man in Black. Kate doesn’t see him in time, it’s worth rewatching the scene. He is gone before she looks. The MIB can teleport and appear and disappear in a blink, which is demonstrated several times (Eko’s warlords, Yemi, Alex, Christian, Locke, etc).

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 ok thanks I guess it makes sense if the dead return to the light it doesn't matter where they die. I was thinking about him being able to teleport the only thing that makes me wonder about that is why he used the tunnels, and could he not teleport anymore when he is stuck as Locke in season 6? that's why see him travelling to the barracks in season 6 in smoke form and then changing back into Locke's form instead of teleporting?

We do see him teleport as Locke in the statue at the start of Season Six and then later when he is free roaming as smoke around the island before recruiting Sawyer. The only power he lost was the ability to change form. I think he used the tunnels just for moving around the underworld of the island itself. We also see him walking everywhere as Locke a lot and Ben questions him on this, to which he replies: “I like the feel of my feet on the ground. Reminds me that I used to be human once.”

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 ok that makes sense thanks so much for the replies

The secret is in it, after all.

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 I started my re-watch yesterday. Looking forward to your episode by episode review!

I explore that very question in this video. It's under the section about Eko's Warlords. There are two ways of reading his appearance.

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 oh yeah I know! I watched it, fantastic video by the way! Which side do you come down on? And especially with Libby lol would love to know your opinion on which one she is