I think I just had an “a-ha” moment regarding LOST – and I’m wondering whether I’ve had a flash of insight, a flash of misunderstanding, or am just noticing what is obvious to everyone.
We’ve been so focused on the “resurrection” of John Locke this past season, that most fans have failed to connect this with the earlier “resurrection” of Christian Shephard. That the two are parallel or related has been indicated clearly: indeed, taking Locke back wearing Christian’s shoes suggests that Locke’s body being brought to the island is related in some fundamental way to Christian’s body being brought to the island.At the end of the last season, we found that Jacob’s counterpart, the “man in black,” had found a loophole. We also got the impression that he had at some point been limited in his influence by being trapped in the cabin that Ben and most others thought was Jacob’s. But in the season finale it was clear that he had escaped by the circle of ash around the cabin being broken. But we were not told who broke that circle or why.
But there seems to be an obvious answer: Claire did it, because her “father” asked her to. Her “father” Christian Shephard who was now himself a manifestation of the “man in black.” And he did this so that he could be freed to then take on the appearance of John Locke, so as to reach Jacob.
Now if the “man in black” in some sense is the “smoke monster” then obviously he’s been able to roam around the island even while the circle around the cabin was intact. But perhaps the ash circle was a means not to preventing his appearance elsewhere but a means of constraining his influence in some way.
This theory may be problematic, or it may be on the right track – I post it here mainly to solicit thoughts and discussions!
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