Dead is Dead

A few clever cues in this week's Lost have people wondering if the John Locke we saw in Episode 512 "Dead Is Dead" is actually an apparition of the Smoke Monster. The Monster has previously appeared as the dead seemingly come to life on the Island.

This week on Lost, Ben reveals to Sun that even on the Island, "Dead is dead" - the fact that John is walking and talking is a miracle. But it's not entirely true. In fact, John isn't the first corpse to be reanimated. As early as episode 105 "White Rabbit" Christian Shephard's body is missing from his coffin, and he's appeared many times since. I argue that the appearance of Christian in that episode is consistent with the Smoke Monster, even including the sounds made by the small wisps as they travel.

Also, in episode 305 "The Cost Of Living" Mr. Eko's brother Yemi has vanished from the Beechcraft plane, only to appear in a field of poppies and challenge Eko to atone for his sins.

Now John Locke, brought to the Island dead in a coffin as a proxy for Christian Shepard, has been seen walking and talking again. Meanwhile on the beach, there's a locked container from the Ajira 316 cargo hold just big enough to hold a coffin. And this week, Ben used his foolproof method to summon the Smoke Monster to the barracks. The powerful force emerging from the jungle was...John Locke. Now, that was just a moment of humor, a wink from the writers - or was it?

John's behavior on the main Island is interesting. Calling the Others "your people", he asks Ben if it was his idea to move into the DHARMA Barracks. Then, he says they're going underneath "your Temple". Contrast this with episode 503 "Jughead" where Locke stops Sawyer from shooting Charles Widmore, saying "he's one of my people." Could it be that the judgment of Ben starts at the beginning of the episode?

A lot of Locke's dialogue could be construed as a sort of interview of Ben, often putting him in his place. For instance, he asks Ben he if he likes having to ask questions, to put faith in someone else and hope for answers. "Well, now you know what it was like to be me." You could read most of Locke's lines as a stern judge, pointing out Ben's many missteps, and constantly asking about Ben's motivations.

After bringing Ben to the Temple and getting him to crawl underneath, John suddenly disappeared. In John's absence the Smoke Monster appeared and judged Ben, disappearing just before Locke returned. It's like a Scooby Doo villain! He's never around when the Monster is, or he's showing up when you're expecting to see the Monster.

Now, there are so many criticisms of this theory. The Monster hasn't ever been shown to take on a form for a long duration. Also, the apparitions have never claimed to be the dead, unlike Locke who tells Sun, "I'm the same man I always was." Further, the Monster has been shown to have limitations in where it can emerge (Cerberus Vents) and where it can travel - it can't get to high off the ground either. I'm not sure how the Monster could make it to the Hydra Island.

Personally, I really like the idea that the Locke in this episode is Smokey. It would tie into so many ideas, including my theory that Vincent the Dog was also a Smoke Monster apparition. "Reading" the episode that way is enjoyable for me. Is John Locke dead? No way! I really don't expect this theory will hold true, but it's a really fun distraction.