The flash sideways provided us with a look at Locke’s life after 815 landed. Helen never broke up with him and they are engaged, though we never find out why or how. Did his father never come between them? Well apparently, he’s invited to the wedding! He’s still paralyzed, so what happened to him?! Did Jacob ever come into contact with Locke? We find out Locke never went on the walkabout but told his toolish boss he went to Australia for company business. He is fired, which leads to him to fatefully encounter other 815-ers. First he runs into Hugo, who parked his bright yellow hummer next to his ride. Hurley agrees with Locke that Randy (his boss) is a douche and gives him a number to call and tells Locke “I think it’ll all be okay”, with Hurley now the poster child of good luck and optimism. Next, he meets Rose after calling the number (she is a supervisor), and she explains her struggles with terminal cancer and how once she accepted it she could live her life realistically. Finally, after taking a job as a substitute teacher, he encounters... get ready for it... BENJAMIN LINUS. And he is... shockingly enough... a European History teacher who is bitching about coffee filters in the teacher’s lounge. Well played, LOST. Other than that, nothing noteworthy, though Locke is not portrayed as the man of faith we’ve come to know (he tells Helen he doesn’t believe in miracles).
Back on the island, things get weird. Smokie explains to a freed Richard that Locke was a “candidate”, which seems to confuse Richard. Smokie eyes a young boy, which visibly disturbs him (though Richard doesn’t see him). Smokie leaves Richard, who was probably boring him, to find Sawyer, who is partying hard, half naked in an abandoned house with loud music and a bottle of whiskey. Smokie invites him to learn why the ended up on the island. On the way, Smokie sees that same boy (whom Sawyer also sees) and chases him. The boy tells Smokie “You know you can’t kill him” to which Smokie replies “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!”, (oh real John, how we've missed thee). One long journey across the island later, Sawyer and Smokie descend into a cave to find a scale balanacing a white and a black rock. Smokie chucks the white rock and proclaims it to be an “inside joke”, presumably between him and good ol’ dead Jacob (or Locke?). We are immediately treated to one of the most profound shots in recent LOST memory, a large rock with everyone’s name carved on it with a corresponding number. Six are not crossed out: 4 – Locke, 8 – Reyes, 15 – Ford, 16 – Jarrah, 23 – Shepard , and 42 – Kwon. These are the hand-picked candidates to take over Jacob's position as the island's protector/ruler/all-around creeper. However, Smokie says the island is just an island, nothing to protect, and told Sawyer that Jacob manipulated each of them when they were weak and vulnerable. I found this particularly interesting, as Smokie manipulated both Locke and Sawyer (maybe Claire too as Christian?) when they were vulnerable, so kudos Smoke dude for keeping up the manipulation trend! He convinces Sawyer to go with him, all while crossing out Locke’s name. And then there were five?...
So much to ask: Who is the young boy? Why do these numbers become significant and "unlucky"? Why is Kate not a candidate? Which Kwon is 42? Who can’t Smokie kill? Who is “the substitute”? Does the scale serve any non-metaphorical purpose? Why is Smokie stuck in his Locke state (according to Ilana)? Honestly, I’m not sure for most of these. Smokie tells Sawyer he was once human with feelings and such, so I’m gonna change my previous belief and say that the Smoke Monster was actually the guy we see in the beginning of Season 5, and because of something that happened between him and Jacob, the man is trapped in the form of the cloud of smoke, trying desperately to escape. Oddly enough, there are no women who are “candidates”, and Kate, while she was touched by Jacob, is not one. What does Jacob know about Kate? What makes her "flawed" like Mr. Friendly says in Season 3? The logical thing to assume is that Jin is the "Kwon", but being that this is LOST, logical assumptions rarely apply. The young boy is by far the most intriguing aspect of this episode. He tells Smokie that he can’t kill someone. Is the someone Jacob, and if so did Smokie break the rules? I think Smokie is planning to kill or corrupt Sawyer, and planning to have each of Jacob’s candidates killed/claimed one at a time. Maybe Smokie (who can’t kill Jacob), can’t kill his candidates either. Smokie doesn’t believe what he is telling Sawyer about there being nothing to protect on the island. He is manipulating them just like everyone does on the show to convince Sawyer to trust him so Sawyer can be “claimed”. Smokie is already making strides with Sayid, leaving only 3 more after that. I don’t know who the young boy is but from what others are saying, it could be either Aaron or Jacob. People have always believed Aaron to be special. If it’s Aaron, maybe this is like Walt, who was on the island and somewhere else at the same time (astral projections?). And why did the boy have bloodied hands the first time? Is it older Aaron? Is Aaron a religious or Jesus-like figure? With that said, I don’t know. Next week we’ll probably see the return of Claire and team Temple, so hopefully we’ll get some friggin answers!
"I know what you did Smokie!"http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/lostpedia/images/f/fd/Lost604.3.jpg
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