Here Comes the Man in Black

I See Dead People

Maggie and I sat down the other night, to discuss the upcoming final season of LOST (our mutual friend) and its resultant blogging assignments. I made an observation: Maggie and I watch LOST in very different ways. Maggie latches onto more relatable characters – like Jack, Kate, Claire, Sun and Jin – and their more relatable plot elements – love stories and familial struggles. But I gravitate toward the more obscure, fringe characters – your Lockes, Bens, Desmonds, et al. – and their more outlandish storylines – healing powers, Island communion and ESP.

To that end, I recently finished an epic re-watch of the entire series – all five seasons. Needless to say, it was incredible. Especially the last two seasons, and especially season 5. If you’ve got the time, I recommend watching all of Season 5 again before the Season 6 premiere. Watching the elements of time travel and dead-body inhabitation occur in rapid succession made them much easier to comprehend.

Because my mind is geared more to the otherworldly elements of LOST, I got a distinct “Sixth Sense” vibe throughout the experience. If you’ve ever re-watched that movie, the feeling that nags you the second time through is, “How did I not know [giant plot twist at the end] the whole time?” All the clues are there, right in front of you. How did you miss that?

That’s how I felt about LOST upon my re-watching. I believe I’ve seen every episode at least 5 times at this point (I know, I know), and now, watching Season 5, one of last year’s biggest reveals seems all-too-obvious upon further inspection: how did I not know that it was the Man-in-Black who was inhabiting the body of John Locke after Ajira 316 crashed?

Post-Ajira Locke was not shy with clues as to his nature. When Ben asked if John was having an “out-of-body experience” while watching Richard talk to a time traveling version of himself, Locke said, “something like that.” When Sun asked how he came to be alive and what he was doing, Locke said, “I can assure you, I’m the same man I’ve always been.” (That one, by the way, gives credence to some who believe that since birth, Locke has merely been a reincarnated version of the Man in Black. Eerie. And awesome).

So with each little nod, wink or nudge-nudge from Fake Locke, I started thinking more about the Man in Black, and what we may already know about him. Here’s an idea that, if proven true, will save me that “How did I not already know?” feeling this time next year.

The Man in Black is the Smoke Monster

During our only glimpse of the Man in Black in his own human form, he tells his white-clad counterpart Jacob, “They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same,” in reference to a group of outsiders who are about to arrive on the Island via the Black Rock ship. Based on that small amount of information, we are to assume that Jacob (who replies, “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”) and the Man in Black are locked in some centuries-old argument over the basic nature of mankind. Jacob believes they’re good (or at least, progressing), while the Man in Black believes they are inherently flawed.

The idea of fatal characters flaws has been present in LOST since day 1. Everybody’s got their “issue,” and many have opined that the Island is their last-chance opportunity to confront that issue.

Throughout the series, we have seen the smoke monster act as “judge.” Hell, Ben even called him the judge at one point. But think back to the episode where Eko dies. The smoke monster descends over Eko, replaying flashes of his life as Eko desperately searches for his brother Yemi (more on that later). A few scenes later, Eko refuses to repent for the things the smoke monster showed him, and shortly thereafter, Smokey reappears to kill Eko. So think about that. Man in Black believes man is flawed, or evil. When Eko proves himself unrepentant for his flaws, he is killed by Smokey.

In addition, the Man in Black is clad in, well, black – the same color as Smokey. And when Jacob asks him if he’d like some fish, he replies “I just ate.” Just ate what? Methinks an unrepentant, flawed human being.

Multiple times, Smokey has been referred to as the Island’s “security system.” Is that because his judgment of men is essential to ensuring the Island is only inhabited and controlled by people who are worthy of its mystique? Is he “securing” the Island from bad people? I think so. And I also think that…

The Man in Black is All the Ghosts We’ve Seen.

This one may be less of a leap, because we’ve already seen the Man in Black inhabit one dead body. But I think John Locke is not his first human host. We’ve seen plenty of “ghosts” appear on the Island, most notably Christian Shepherd. I believe that all the Man in Black needs is a body. And if you look back at the function our ghosts have served, they are all about directing people on a certain path and making them face and overcome their own flaws and shortcomings. Very Man in Black.

Don’t forget that moment in Season 5, where the Dharma Initiative’s Amy told Sawyer and Co. that they had to bury the bodies, as per the truce with the Island’s indigenous inhabitants. Why? So the Man in Black couldn’t take over their bodies.

Maggie’s got an awesome little tip-in to this theory. Richard said he didn’t age because Jacob “made him that way.” Could it be Jacob needed a human vessel he could trust? Did he make Richard immortal and ageless so that the Man in Black could never take over his body, and Jacob would always have a trustworthy human around? If this were a Facebook status, I would click “Like.”

The Man in Black is Versatile as Hell

Here’s the rub. These two theories (MIB is Smokey and MIB is Ghosts) are not mutually exclusive. Put another way: The Man in Black can take the form of the Smoke Monster and of any dead body that is on the Island. In fact, he has to, in order to really communicate and convince the people he’s judging.

Two moments, I believe, prove this.

The first is the aforementioned Eko death march. For an entire episode, Eko chased visions of his dead brother Yemi (whose corpse, you’ll remember, was on the Island in that Nigerian drug smuggling plane) through the jungle. When he would lose sight of Yemi, Smokey would appear to judge him and show him visions of his past. When Smokey would leave, Yemi would reappear. We never see Yemi and Smokey at the same time, but they’re basically after the same thing: Eko’s repentance. And this all culminates with this exchange:

EKO: Yemi! You say you want to hear my confession! Why? Why now, eh? Show yourself! Where are you! Where!

[Yemi appears across from Eko in a field of waist-high plants with red flowers. Eko walks over to him.]

YEMI: Are you ready, Eko?

EKO: Yes. I am ready, Yemi.

[Eko pulls out the cross and raises it. Yemi reaches out to caress it but does not take it.]

EKO: I ask for no forgiveness, Father. For I have not sinned. I have only done what I needed to do to survive. A small boy once asked me if I was a bad man. If I could answer him now, I would tell him that... when I was a young boy, I killed a man to save my brother's life. I am not sorry for this. I am proud of this! I did not ask for the life that I was given. But it was given, nonetheless. And with it... I did my best.

[Yemi stares down into Eko's eyes. He looks angry.]

YEMI: [Almost in disgust] You speak to me as if I were your brother.

[Eko cringes back from him, scared and angry.]

EKO: Who are you?

See? Eko’s refusal to confess his sins to Yemi angers Yemi enough to almost reveal his true nature as Smokey/The Man in Black. Moments later, Yemi disappears and Eko chases into the jungle. Then Smokey appears and kills Eko.

Still don’t believe me.? How about a more recent example…

When Ben Linus and John Locke go trudging to the Temple in Season 5, so that Ben may be “judged” (his word, not mine) by the smoke monster for allowing Alex to die, we get a front-row seat for the Man in Black of Many Disguises.

When Ben goes to summon Smokey initially, Locke (who at this point, remember, is The Man in Black) disappears into the jungle because there’s “something he needs to do.” He then comes back and tells Ben that Smokey’s not coming, that they have to go find him in the Temple. So they walk through the Temple. Ben falls through the floor into a lower chamber. Fake Locke disappears to go “get a rope” to pull Ben up. Conveniently, the Smoke Monster then fills the lower chamber, where Ben is. Then the smoke clears to reveal a vision of Alex, Ben’s dead daughter (another corpse that was on the Island, and not buried properly). Alex tells Ben:

ALEX: “Listen to me, you bastard! I know that you're already planning to kill John again, and I want you to know that if you so much as touch him, I will hunt you down and destroy you. You will listen to every word John Locke says, and you will follow his every order. Do you understand?”

Why would Dead Alex be so supportive and defensive of Dead John? Because Dead Alex is the Man in Black is Dead John. And that entire entity needs Alive Ben to trust it, in order to carry out its ultimate mission: killing Jacob. Oh, and as soon as Alex disappears, guess who shows up with that handy rope? Yep. Dead John Locke.

What’s This Mean?

I don’t know. Damn, you don’t expect me to wrap this ridiculous post up in a neat little package do ya?

Look, the effects of this theory on the many forms of the Man in Black are contingent on the purpose of the Man in Black. People have debated whether he’s evil and Jacob’s good (too obvious) or he’s good and Jacob’s evil (too easy). In truth, I think the Man in Black and Jacob will be as morally ambiguous as the rest of our characters. I do think they’re engaged in an old, old argument over the true nature of man. I think that Jacob uses personal contact (literally and figuratively) to direct people where he wants them to go, and that the Man-in-Black uses a darker, more deceptive method.

But despite their differing philosophies and methodologies, Jacob and the Man in Black are out to prove something. And the more I watch, I’m not sure they’re out to prove it to each other. As we’ve been reminded throughout the series, “Everyone answers to someone.” And there’s a nagging part of me that says these two opposing forces have a boss of their own. I’m sure if/when we find out who it is, I’ll wonder how I didn’t see it coming the whole time.

Namaste.
Charlie