LOST is just a four letter word for FATE

As is often the case with LOST, we are left wondering why certain characters meet their demise and what their presence on the show means on a grander scale. To make sense of all of these characters as a whole is a confusing mess. Instead, let's focus on one.

We know now who the Smoke Monster is, but we still don't know why or how. FATE, an underlying theme of the entire series, has been tossed around and I believe that's the determining factor for who lives and dies.

Now, for our example. Let's go back to Season 1, Episode 1. Jack, Kate and Charlie find the pilot on the plane. He's in rough shape and is feeling the effects of a concussion. Before he is ripped from his seat and yanked out of the cockpit window he shares some disturbing information with the gang. He tells them that the plane had lost radio contact six hours after take off, where it turned back for Fiji and hit turbulence. Ultimately, the plane was a thousand miles off course when it crashed.

I believe this information would affect the perception and beliefs of other key characters and affect their predetermined roles going forward. Thus, the MIB acted as a kind of 'FATE corrector' and eliminated a threat.

The flashes of electric light that emanate from the Smoke Monster serve as a scanner. I think this scan allows the MIB to take on all of that person's thoughts and experiences. I also believe it is able to determine whether the current state of the person in question matches up with their future self. In the case of Richard it allowed him to live, but mimicked his wife in an effort to trick him into thinking he was in hell. In the case of the pilot, his information about the plane called for his immediate death.


Who cares about the no name pilot (Seth Norris) from way back in Season 1 you say? Fair enough. Forget the one example. Let's go further.

How about Mr. Eko? He had a fundamental change in his character on the island. The MIB as Eko's brother implored him to admit his past sins. The moment he came to terms with his past decisions and stopped blaming himself, he was altering his predetermined course. A final vision of Yemi led him to his demise.


Now, while the Smoke Monster can be very persuasive we can't give the MIB's most dangerous form all the credit for offing certain character. It's pretty clear that the MIB is responsible for the ghostly appearances of Yemi (who implored Eko to repent), Alex (who told Ben to obey everything UnLocke would say to him), and Richard's lost love (who tried to convince Ricardo he was in hell).

How about Shannon? In hindsight she seemed as though she was interfering with the predetermined course of Sayid's character. Let's face it, he's just not meant to be happy. Plus, her original character would never have gone for a man like Sayid. A vision of Walt conveniently put her in the way of Ana Lucia's line of fire.

MIB definitely wanted Juliet's head on smokey platter of evil justice, she was able to elude it with help from a sonar fence and seemingly saved Kate in the process. Juliet would met her demise eventually, another way. Things don't look so good for Kate at this point and it seems as though the scheming MIB is just using her (and Claire) to get what he wants from the more important characters.

The smoke noises also could be heard and potentially took the form of the spiders who led to Nikki and Paulo's horrendous but well deserved send-off. Who says the MIB doesn't have a sense of humor?

How about Jacob's D-squad of protectors, the rest of the Others, and Whitmore's mercenaries? They were either interfering in the natural course of events or unwilling participants in a grander plan.

The MIB varies up his strategy from seemingly helping, to testing, to ultimately deceiving. Without knowing his full agenda it's hard to understand the balance between smokey carnage and cerebral manipulation.

Why does he need to make sure the candidates follow a certain course? Why does he have mommy issues?

Fortunately, there is an exception to every rule and the writers have given themselves a wonderful out with Desmond, who seems to be able to recognize that altering this LOST induced version of FATE is possible. Even he's not immune to predetermined events though, as Eloise had in fact warned Dessy that the island was not done with him yet.

Thanks, lady. You smell like mothballs.


The problem with theories on LOST is that unfortunately they just don't hold up all the way around. So, I'll allow the loose ends and gaps in this one to provoke more debate.

But why is the wine gone?

The breaking of the wine jug is indicative of not only the MIB's defiance but his determination to find another way - a loophole. Why try to escape out the cork end when you can just smash the bottle? We are starting to learn just how evil the MIB is, but what exactly makes Jacob so good? i find myself being more impressed with the MIB's cunning and persistence than Jacob's passive approach.