LOST EXPLAINED PART 2 - JACOB AND THE MAN IN BLACK

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

*ATTENTION! For viewers who take issue with the text-to-speech voice* All of these older videos have been entirely revoiced and remade in better quality (and feature A LOT more detail). They have been combined together as part of a six part video series called The Theory of Everything, which you can watch here: kzbin.info/aero/PL5iTj9psbPrNovFOg4pJJIyxiLAv2WAKB Namaste! 🙏

[@r_r_rye2441]

Rewatching the show and I am seeing The Man in Black in a different light. I can't help but feel bad for and even sympathize with him. He is a prisoner after being lied to by the woman who killed and replaced his mother. He often helped the survivors and never really lied to them either. Even the fact that he must be prevented from getting off the island at all costs is based on the word of Jacob and Mother, who were both fond of cryptic manipulation.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I have heard many impassioned defences of the Man in Black from fans but I disagree very strongly with the notion that he was somehow misunderstood. Yes, he did start off as a victim of circumstances but the choices he made after he became the smoke monster is what turned him from being a victim into a villain. How many innocent people did he murder over the years on the island? We see him indiscriminately kill anyone who isn't a candidate straight away from the pilot in the 'Pilot' to members of Rousseau's team in 'This Place is Death'. He is also directly responsible for the deaths of Mr. Eko, Sayid, Jin and Sun. And hopes to kill every character we have come to know and love in S6. I don't think there ever was a time when he helped the survivors on 815 for altruistic reasons. He wanted them all dead. In 'The End' we see that the only way for the MiB to leave the island was to un-cork The Source and destroy the light, which would lead to the end of everything. And he carried this out not caring about the consequences of his actions. The Man in Black is most definitely a tragic villain because of his past of which we should have some sympathy for, but he is still a villain nonetheless.

[@victorpradha9946]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 I have to agree with your interpretation of MiB. There's another question lingering in my mind: Is the smoke monster really MiB, or did sending MiB, who could NOT be killed per Mother's rule that Jacob and MiB can't hurt each other, into the Source in the Heart of the Island release a certain aspect of the integral energy from the Source. Think if it like Yin-Yang (the dark and the light in perfect balance, forever intertwined with one another). In existence, birth and death are similarly interwined (death nourishes the living which always eventually die). When MiB who cannot die at Jacob's hands per the rules set forth by Mother (as protector of the Island, channeling the Island's energy), and [rules which are] empowered by the Island's special nature, enters the Source these rules force a duality to occur, thus releasing the so called Dark energy of the Island (the Yang component if you will) and imbuing it with MiB's consciousness. This energy which as since the dawn of life itself been intertwined with the Yin component, imbued with MiB's consciousness, now perceives itself as having been trapped all this time. It now also carries MiB's obsessive desire to leave the Island and deep, deep resentment of Jacob. And so begins its millennia long quest to "escape" the imprisonment of the Island. But to do so, it would have to: 1) kill Jacob as the Island's protector; 2) kill all the candidates to replace Jacob; 3) turn off the Island's Source to which it is inextricably bound. And, I believe, this is what we see in the series. The smoke monster is driven to kill Jacob, the candidates, and anyone else who may become a candidate. That's why it kills anyone who doesn't join it. By joining/following it, those individuals can't be candidates. They are no longer a threat to it. But everyone else is either a threat or an obstacle...including the Source at the Heart of the Island itself. Anyway, that's my take on what we're witnessing. And the Yin-Yang together in the Island which has been described as electromagnetism and exotic energy is perhaps how life itself began. Anyone who does a cursory exploration into the theory of abiogenesis (life from inorganic matter) will come across theories of how electromagnetism played a role in drawing molecules together to form the first complex organic molecules and from there self-organizing compounds which formed the building blocks of life. The Source in this way, can be thought of as the Source of ALL LIFE. Destroying it would unravel all life. Charles Widmore said that Penny, Charlie (Desmond's kid) and everyone they've ever cared about would simply cease to be. It's an interesting description because Widmore does not ascribe a moral intention behind the Smoke Monster's actions. Instead it may be a consequence which the Smoke Monster disregards as a lie to keep it bound to the Island.

[@teameta7823]

@@nevets9811 I very much agree with everything you said. When I first saw "Across the Sea" (the most beautiful episode of the entire Lost show), I could not help but sympathize with MiB, because he was a real victim. "Mother" killed his own mother and Jacob literally decided MiB's fate by sending him into the Light, which even Jacob couldn't come to terms with centuries later. "Good" or "Bad" never really existed in Lost. Everyone, including Jacob was manipulative just to get what they wanted in the end.

[@Glennwulf]

@@nevets9811 he killed mr eko because he realized he wouldn’t be able to use him to kill jacob, he was meaningless to him after that. Had Mr. Eko wanted to repent, the MIB would have tricked him into killing jacob. just like he tried with richard. The monster doesn’t really judge anyone, he doesn’t care if they are innocent or not. it’s all his plan to find people to kill jacob.

[@ZdenekMicke69]

I have to agree with everything that has been said here. MIB is clearly a villain, but you have to have sympathy for him. He's practically spent a few thousand years in an afterlife prison that his own brother has cursed him into. After such a long time, he simply did not look at the consequences of his actions and decided to achieve his goal by all available means. There's no indication that he'd be willing to go over the dead bodies back when he wasn't a smoke monster.

[@kevinjoyce9574]

I like to think of Hurley and Ben as Jacob and MIB as they should have been. Like Jacob, Hurley believes in the good of humanity, and like MIB, Ben is clever and manipulative. However, they make a much better team as Island protectors, as Hurley would never show the casual disregard for individuals that Jacob shows in service of the greater good, while Ben, for all his faults, genuinely believes in the Island and will serve its protector loyally when treated right.

[@zenmonk5403]

If we imagine them on the island for thousands of years, like MiB and Jacob were, conflict would probably be bound to happen after a while. You might get along with a friend splendidly, for a human life time, but after thousands of years? It is like Jacob said it to Hurley, he "was killed by an old friend who grew tired of [his] company".

[@danielrafferty4108]

@@zenmonk5403 I think the key difference is Hurley never condemns Ben for his actions. The chocolate bar scene says it all. Hurleys willing to give more to someone who should be eneemy than he does himself. His essential good nature makes it almost impossible to hate Hurley and I'm sure if there ever was a moment that Ben wanted out Hurley would say Bon voyage with nothing but good wishes and intentions. Ben has willingly chose to stay in order to find rendemption. Through choice and intent Ben would never be like the MIB inevitably I don't think as even if he did leave he'd leave the island a better man than he was in the 34 years he did Jacobs bidding. Hurley has a compassion that beyond all the posturing that Jacob never had.

[@official_dee17]

Now you’ve filled in the final missing questions I had. I fully understand the topic of this discussion and how it works, and i can honestly say, you’re without a doubt the most intelligent, highly educated assessor I’ve ever come across. Well done n keep up your great work, cos without you 80% of us wouldn’t have known even half of what you know. So thank you so much for all of your attention to detail and your in depth assessments and knowledge, ive really enjoyed watching your videos n ive only got one more left so its been a pleasure🙌🏼💯

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Thank you, Dale! There is still much more to come though. I've started the FAQ series, which answers specific questions that I didn't have time to fully cover in my broader "Explained" series. And I plan to launch an episode guide in the coming months that explores the episodes one after the other. So, plenty of new content in the works.

[@Choekaas]

"Embodiment of the past" - Yes! Exactly! Love how you phrased this explanation. I've also loved the image of the smoke monster as a physical representation of the past. Of what's gone. He can appear as the dead and scans people's past. The dark cloud that haunts people. It's visual look can remind us of the unwanted mass of smoke after we put out a fire, the gigantic plume of smoke from a volcano or the haunting images from 9/11. If we go through religion and mythology, we can look at it as the Islamic jinni (genie) too.

[@AlternativaRealidade]

I will never forget that the first time Jacob finally appeared, I was pretty sure he was Aaron. The way we were led to believe that baby was so important, made me sure he somehow time traveled to the past and eventually became the protector of the Island. Man I miss these times when we spend hours trying to figure out what was going on

[@spinelessdevil]

i forgot about that but yes I have thought about this back then XD

[@masteric123]

I think Aaron is important just not this series. Its for the sequel series….

[@Kenzie_Hill]

The show had many plot starters but those fizzled out. The writers did well in the end, but the first 2 seasons were full of holes. Aaron, Nicky, Paolo, children survivors rescued from losties and tailies, Cindy, and even Mr Eko.

[@specialagentweener1073]

The sentence about how jacob KNEW he had to have the others create the runway was such a cool detail.

[@acerjuglans383]

I never realized "Mother" was also a smoke monster. Interesting!

[@1981messiking]

Yeah after I watched how she left the village it was pretty obvious.

[@antmansales]

@@1981messiking but that would mean she was never alive when she was raising the boys? She was dead like the MIB? But if that’s the case then how was she killed later? You can’t be both alive and the smoke monster?

[@1981messiking]

@@antmansales since she was there already and there was no light and dark entity, I can only assume she was some kind of grey entity. She was basically both, mortal and immortal, how else was she on the island all alone and also able to trash the village all be herself...

[@thedudeabides3138]

Personally, I don’t buy that Mother was a smoke Monster. Had then village been destroyed, but not set alight, I’d run with it, but the column of smoke that the MiB sees from the beach is from the village having been set on fire, rather than it being Mother in ethereal form, IMO.

[@MatiZ815]

@@thedudeabides3138 She could have destroyed some campfires and lamps.

[@specialagentweener1073]

This video is incredible.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Thank you :)

[@zacharyagler3007]

Thanks for putting these videos together because I am not good with words to express what I saw.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

You're very welcome, I'm glad they are of some help :)

[@rcdune7132]

I always loved How it ends for Ben in both the real world and his afterlife

[@MagicJacket]

Love your videos. They would never do it, but the people who to this day claim that LOST was "made up as they went along" and there was no plan or story to it, should really watch all these videos. You've laid it out in such a precise and feasible way. I have seen the show EIGHT TIMES all the way through and you have made me think about a few things I hadn't considered. Well done.

[@danielrafferty4108]

I think that throughout the first two seasons when the show was finding it's voice they were sort of making it up as they went along, but in doing so they started to make sure everything that came before was linked to everything they had begun to plan out. I also think this is a show that benefited tremedously from Carlton and Damon's dedication to teasing the fan base and entertaning their ideas through their podcasts. I remember listening to those religiously as the show went on and you can almost hear the wheels turrning in their minds as they tried to address fan theories and questions without giving too much away as they were nerds like the biggest die hard fans of the show.

[@NoahNobody]

I would like to know more about the Mother character and whether the two babies were brought to the island with the intention of being candidates, or whether bringing people to the island as candidates was something Jacob came up with. It's not really clear as it seems bringing people to the island was some argument Jacob and the Man in Black was having about mankind.

[@TyroneLT]

Bruh! This explainer is all the things I would think about the show in my head but not be able to explain so clearly!

[@mtagfam5446]

My guy you’re doing gods work with these videos my mind is blown

[@marinabassi3767]

I had never been able to find a reason for the construction of the runway before, thanks !

[@vincentlorusso689]

It's weird that it took a being like Jacob almost 1900 years to be told that he needs an intermediary on the Island like Richard lol.

[@danielrafferty4108]

Lol I think that's because besides all their posturing they essentially spent most of that time alone beyond luring the ocassional survivors to the island. They were locked in their duality because for the most part they only had each other to contend with and played by the rules accordingly. As soon as Jacob actually took outside advice he realised how narrow his thinking was because of this. I think though that this was beginning of the end for Jacob because it was the seed of something he wanted to avoid, a religious fervour inacted in his name something that would eventually be the means of MIB's loophole eventually working. If you could condemn god for the shit hand he dealt you, would you?

[@justincoble1382]

That’s also making an assumption that he wasn’t lying to Richard and had an intermediary multiple times.

[@BossFinale]

Mother raises one as her son and one as her replacement.

[@hyperpotion232]

Does ever occur to you as strange that the MIB, despite witnessing the island many miraculous abilities countless times over, never seems to falter from his preconceived notion of it just being an damned island and not something that has to be protected. Considering he knows that such things cannot occur in the real world beyond the island, a large part of him must suspect that the island indeed special and maybe a necessary component of mankind's existence.

[@edhowell1844]

Just finished lost. Think I got most of it but these vids are awesome just to make sure of a few things

[@casperthegm741]

I think if I watch the series ten more times and then watch this video series ten more times I might start to fully comprehend everything. Probably not, but still love Lost.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I’ve made the mythology more digestible with this playlist here: LOST EXPLAINED - The Theory of Everything kzbin.info/aero/PL5iTj9psbPrNovFOg4pJJIyxiLAv2WAKB

[@majipoorcat]

If mother was the island’s first guardian, how did that happen? She said she came from her mother. Wouldn’t that indicate that her mother was guardian before her? Also if there were bodies found inside the source, why didn’t they also turn into smoke monsters? Was it Jacob’s act and betrayal against his brother that was needed to turn mib into Smokey? Just more mysteries that I never expected Lost to answer. They are for us to answer.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

These are all excellent questions to ask. I am planning a video that addresses "Mother" directly and explores how she became a protector and what her story is likely to have been. When she tells Claudia that she came from her mother, she is signifying two things: the first is that she had a human life before her role as protector (like Jacob and the MiB). The second is that she was likely born on this island to a community that lived there, and she has lived there her whole life. It's not really important who that community was. What is important is that Mother implies she went down into the light at some point and suffered "a fate worse than death"... i.e. became a smoke monster. I touch upon the nature of the cork and the bodies down inside the cave in Chapter One on "The Source", so check that out if you haven't already. It's my first video on this channel. However, I will also be producing a video towards the end of this series on the Egyptians and why they built everything on the island.

[@majipoorcat]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 looking forward to mother video and your thoughts about the Egyptian‘s on the island. Yes I i’ve seen all the videos. Enjoying them immensely as I listen multiple times to the exclamations you have. Watching and listening, they are not necessarily simultaneous activities, I came up with my thought about why the bodies in the source didn’t turn into smoke monsters. lost is just one of those shows that creates more questions and mysteries the more you watch it. That’s why it’s one of my top three all-time favorite shows. West Wing and Boston legal are the others that I watch repeatedly.

[@WorldEverett]

Man, Lost is my favorite tv series and this video is sooo instructive, you solved puzzles I had in mind for 15 years! Like Egyptian connection, it all falls into place, THANK YOU!

[@MatiZ815]

The logistics of MiB becoming a smoke monster and how the mother could be it at as well was something I always struggled with understanding. But once we establish that the Light was the source of life and afterlife it becomes obvious and once again you opened my eyes: MiB was just a soul trapped in limbo, rejected by the light. Also it feels now so obvious that the exact same thing happened to the Mother since she talks about the experience as if she saw it first hand. But I think I missed something: how was she able to pass on the mantle to Jacob if she was a smoke monster? Was she both a Protector and a monster? If she was a monster shouldn't her abilities be turned off in the same way MiB's were? I also like how you compared destiny to Jacob's tapestry. As I understand his great plan ended with Jack becoming the Protector and everything that happened in the finale was beyond Jacob's control. It could also explain Eloise Hawkins' ability to know what's gonna happen and how she suddenly didn't anymore: she must have had some sort of an insight into Jacob's "tapestry" but at some point the tapestry ran out and she was left blind. Just an idea I have right now but maybe you talk about it later. I myself see some plotholes there: like how did she know about the fates of some random people.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I discuss both Mother and Eloise Hawking in detail in later chapters respectively, which should answer all of your questions about them. Hopefully, they will fill in the gaps for you. There is much ground to cover when discussing LOST, hence why I have separated everything into chapters. This chapter is more to give an overview on Jacob and the Man in Black's conflict.

[@harveybombaytiger]

Love this series of videos, well done!

[@matjennifer]

So just to think Charles Widmore was a good guy and knew his role to save mankind

[@jaykay1899]

Wait how? Can you explain

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

@@jaykay1899 I wouldn't say Widmore was "a good guy" by any means, but he was more complex than it may have first appeared. I made a video specifically on Charles Widmore and his motivations/actions throughout the series, which you can watch here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qn64oXyZls2Yadk

[@AK56fire]

Incredible explanation.. awesome work ..

[@Kenzie_Hill]

wow, I never realized Widmore's purpose was to bring Desmond to the island to stop MiB. Now it all makes sense! ❤😊

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

If you would like the full analysis on Charles Widmore, his backstory and his motivations, and overall purpose in the story, I made a video exclusively on him here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qn64oXyZls2Yadk

[@travisc7722]

Deffinetly loving these!! Was a big fan and thinking about it lately. Cool to look up some new theories!!

[@WheatDos]

Maybe the Smoke Monster is a "copy" of MiB's counciousness, which means it is the MiB, just not the "original" (who died). Jacob's mistake therefore was creating a living eletromagnetic copy of everything his brother was feeling at the moment he was killed: Denial, Bargaining, Anger, Feeling betrayed and trapped on the Island. A combination which, after centuries, festers into the character of Fake Locke, who constantly is in denial ("I'm not a what, i'm a who!"), bargains with people, feels betrayed by Jacob (and believes it's human nature to betray) and is obssessed with leaving the Island.

[@alitotti7392]

شكرا جزيلا لك على هذا الشرح . وسأستمر في مشاهدة كل مقاطعك . ابق ضائعا . Thank you very much for this explanation. I will continue to watch all of your videos. stay lost. 🌼

[@oceanic815survivor]

love u so much these videos are my life right now

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Thank you! I'm thrilled to hear you're enjoying them :-)

[@Elijah-Bailey]

The light made his mother appear to Jacob's brother to guide him to fulfill his destiny and become the black smoke. Why did this happen? The light has endangered the island by doing this, and at the same time itself, it is not in its interest, because it wants to be safe, that's why there are protectors.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

It's more complicated than that. Because the time travel creates a causal loop that basically traps The Island in a self-fulfilling prophecy. That's why the compass is such an important metaphor for the series. The Island is predestined to instigate and perpetuate this series of events across all of time to sustain itself, even though it means it must risk its own destruction. I get into these seemingly paradoxical concepts in greater detail as the videos continue.

[@Elijah-Bailey]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Thank you, I will continue the videos to better understand all this

[@rkarashima]

Awesome explanation! Deep, direct and precise! Will definetely use on lost debates =D

[@Saelondo]

So the fundamental question is: was the cosmology of "Lost" dualistic or monistic? I mean, in the course of the show we constantly deal with dualities ("two players, black and white", etc.), but the ending showed us the demise of the "dark" player and, basically, the end of the game, the end of all "movement". In the dualist world view this equals the catastrophe and the ending of life as it is. But in "Lost" it plays out more like salvation. Monism then? The light-and-dark game was just a game, not a cosmic process? The universe works fine - and even better than before - with just the light and no darkness?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

It depends on how you interpret the symbolism of light and dark within the show. Some people view the Man in Black as a literal embodiment of darkness/evil and Jacob the literal embodiment of light/good. Therefore, darkness is completely vanquished in 'The End', or at least a key part of it. But what does this mean for existence? Is there no darkness left in the world? Or in people? Does this notion drain the characters and narrative of their complexity? I think such a simplistic reading raises many problems. However, if you see these two deities as more symbolic representations of light and dark, as I do, then what is truly vanquished in 'The End' is an individual supernatural entity (once a human being) with a nihilistic view of humanity who would have unintentionally destroyed the world in his pursuit of freedom. This reading means that Jacob is not the total embodiment of good either. But it also means that complexity and nuance is restored to the characters and narrative. A video will be released in the very near future that deals with the nature of "good and evil", and what the show is trying to say about them. There is room for debate on it, as intended, but I have drawn very specific, finite conclusions on what it all meant.

[@buddystewart2020]

I kind of feel like the Island/source, needs both a smoke monster and a protector. Sort of a positive and negative side of the battery. Another thing I wondered, which was outside of the scope of the story told in LOST, when the source was turned off, and the island starting being destroyed, do you think similar things were happening around the world at the other pockets of electromagnetism?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I think that while the heart had “stopped” beating beneath the island, its tendrils of light and other energy pockets (aka the other organs) were still alive and beating. It takes time for the whole body to stop working. And Jack resuscitated the heart in time to prevent the death of the body (aka the world). It’s possible that shockwaves began spreading in other geographic regions; the beginning of a cataclysmic and seismic shift across the planet. It might have been cool to see some of that play out and get brief glimpses of off-island characters like Penny, Eloise, Hurley’s parents, Cassidy and Clementine, etc experiencing earthquakes. Just to show the ramifications stretched beyond the island.

[@Incomudro1963]

Just re watched Lost after not seeing it since it aired many years ago. One thing I don't understand is if it was as easy for The Man in Black to kill Jacob as to get Ben to stab him, why did it take centuries for The Man in Black to figure that out? Couldn't he have gotten someone else to do it in all that time?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

The Man in Black did try before 2007. Season six flashback episode 'Ab Aeterno' is all about this. He manipulates Richard Alpert into trying to kill Jacob on his behalf in 1867. After this fails, Jacob goes into hiding on The Island so MiB cannot find him. Before 1867, the Man in Black no doubt tried to kill Jacob himself but was unable to because of "the rules". We also have to factor in the issue of their brotherhood. While the MiB had become a malevolent entity, he might not have found himself ready to kill his own brother for a very long time. The same goes for Jacob. They played their "game" for centuries until MiB could no longer stand losing and decided to find a loophole in the rules. That loophole was getting someone else to kill Jacob for him -- an anti-candidate. And that is what he eventually finds in Benjamin Linus.

[@ljavwa3459]

​@@LOSTEXPLAINED108Jacob went into hiding... by continuing to live in the same statue he always did? That makes no sense.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

@@ljavwa3459 A couple of points. Jacob moved around The Island to different locations - we know he spent time at the lighthouse, we know he spent time in the cabin, we know he spent time in the cave at the cliffs, and we know he spent time in the statue. MiB could never find him again. And it is later made clear that the Man in Black did not know that the base of the statue contained a secret chamber. He is genuinely surprised by its existence.

[@RobertPSmith336]

Hey you really put this together well. Promps to yeah mate

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Thank you :)

[@wazza33racer]

Sucker punch "A great sacrifice and a perfect victory".

[@drewc.4061]

Hi again. You seem to be committed to the idea that the MiB (in "White Rabbit") was leading Jack towards the cave specifically to entice him over the cliff edge. But I've always interpreted the MiB's motives as wanting Jack to see the empty coffin in the cave, thus reinforcing the idea in Jack's mind that what he was seeing (when he saw MiB Christian) was genuinely his "resurrected" dad. Thoughts?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

If showing Jack the coffin was indeed the Man in Black's primary motivation in appearing as Christian then he wasn't doing a good job of executing this plan considering Jack found the edge of a cliff first. Plus, if the MiB wanted Jack to see that Christian wasn't in the coffin then why did he never manifest to Jack as Christian again? I wouldn't say I'm committed to this idea per se, I just think its logical given what we learn later. We know the Man in Black wanted the candidates dead but couldn't kill them directly. So, disorienting Jack while he was alone and vulnerable in the jungle during his first few days on the island was a perfect opportunity for the MiB to kill Jacob's "Candidate 23". Jack finding the caves was predestined and would have happened no matter what.

[@drewc.4061]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 which brings us back to a previous point I made (perhaps this is our own loop 😆). If we accept that the 2004 MiB knew that Jack had been in 1977 (although Jack hadn't experienced it yet) then he would also surely know the futility of trying to kill Jack before that happened. I also think that the main reason that Jack went over that cliff edge was because he rushed towards it and lost his footing. I don't see how the MiB could've expected that. Unless, of course, he just thought it was worth a try in a "nothing to lose" sort of way.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

@@drewc.4061 We don't know that the MiB knew Jack was in 1977, which we have previously discussed. It's unlikely he knew much about Jack until he found Christian's body. The truth is that we can't be 100% sure how much the MiB knew in regards to the time travellers, or when he knew it. The point still stands... Jack chases after Fake Christian in the jungle. Fake Christian keeps appearing and disappearing around him, disorienting Jack. He runs after the apparition head on to catch it. Next thing we know, the apparition is gone and Jack is tripping over a ridge and rolling down a hill. And he would have died if Locke had not been nearby.

[@danielpeters2501]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Lol Mib definitely knew Jack was in 1977... that's why he had all his plans in loops I mean he knew about John Locke in 1954 that's why he continued the loop when he came back to the island as John Locke Also when they were in the barracks he appeared as christian and told Sun and Lapidus that their friend where in Dharma back in 1977 He definitely knew!

[@trogers7312]

I think after a rewatch that MIB and Jacob are Egyption if u look at there really mothers complection and features it makes sense and also the fact that at some point of time Egyptian settlers came to the island and built many structures including Jacobs home and jacob had a deep liking to Egyptian decorations and structures even MIB,s has Egyption themed decorations and structures under the temple

[@drewc.4061]

Very small question today. If Mother only became mortal after "passing the torch", why was Jacob mortal while he was still Protector, and before he'd passed the torch? Was it connected to the fact that Mother was also part Smoke-monster, and if so, what became of that "Smoke-monster" part of her upon dying? Thanks. Another great video, btw. And, no, I'm not watching in order! 😆

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Yes, you hit the nail on the head. Mother was part smoke monster. But unlike the smoke monster we come to know with the Man in Black, she was also a protector. The rules are different for a protector. She could pass the torch of her protectorship onto a worthy candidate without passing on the smoke monster curse. This was the only way for her to "retire", so to speak. Through the transfer of power, she is rendered mortal once again. Or, at least, killable in human form. But her role, unintentionally, becomes split between the two twins. One as protector, the other as smoke monster. Mother did not intend for this to happen as far as we can tell. But The Island still needed a smoke monster in play and guided Jacob and the Man in Black towards this outcome. It's why Claudia's ghost appears to the Boy in Black, to lead him towards his destiny. Both Jacob and the MiB are, in many ways, slaves to the timeline that lies ahead of them both.

[@TJMalana]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 I thought when Claudia appeared to MIB it actually was the real Claudia as a ghost aka “A Whisper”

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

@@TJMalana Yes, Claudia's ghost is "a whisper". But whisper ghosts are always working in service of The Source, aka The Island. They are there to observe until it comes to their specific moment to guide and/or instigate.

[@FLQueerLiberal1982]

5:17 you mentioned Jacob activating candidates. Why did he activate Hugo AFTER their rescue from the Island? Why not earlier in his life like he did the rest of them?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

In my chapter on "The Candidates" I really delve into a lot of this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4DEgpxsa5eDbdk Jacob held off activating both Hurley and Sayid until after they left the island for very specific reasons. He did not want to draw the Man in Black's attention to these guys until the endgame. We know that Sayid is the only reason that the other candidates survive the sub explosion, while Hurley is the dark horse that becomes the new protector.

[@JacobDean88]

I may be forgetting something, but how do we know Morher was the first guardian of the light and the island? In my head, i always imagined a protector of some sort has been there, basically since day one.

[@importantpyg]

I never assumed Mother was necessarily the FIRST protector. Just one of the earliest. But considering the relatively short history of man and seafaring technology, she probably was the first. Either that, or the one who came before her had a very easy job.

[@AatVandelay]

Wonderful video and series. I resist the claim that Jacob is more optimistic about humanity than Mother or MiB though, as his use of human tribes was as instrumental and often mirrored MiB's. They both manipulated the Egypians and Dharma to build on behalf of their agendas. The main contrast in approach is Jacob installed strong heirarchies among followers to prioritize the collective over the individual and was barely accessible to anyone, while MiB appealed to individuality and used their unique perspectives to isolate or divert them from collective interests. Jacob's utilitarian view of humans was also on display during the conversation with MiB when the Black Rock appeared, saying every failure and sacrifice until the end was merely progress.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I recommend you watch my video on “Good vs Evil” which explores the whole Jacob/MiB morality play in great detail.

[@TheFourthAct]

Dude, I figured something out about Claire...Man in Black wasn't sure if he was going to be able to hang on to Ben as his Jacob killer so he woke her up in the middle of the night as her father and brought her to the cabin to turn her into his backup! Think about it: - Just a few hours earlier he had a showdown with Keamy and his crew tearing them apart in the trees when Ben called from the dharma barracks. Keamy walked away unscathed because the island is protecting him (he's not a candidate but he plays an important role in the freighter bomb). So MiB isn't sure he can stop Keamy from taking Ben off the island and replacing him with Widmore (someone who's actually met Jacob). Convincing someone else to stop Keamy would likely be ineffective. - So in a worse case scenario, who better to be the backup than Christian's daughter, Claire. He has all of Christian's memories and, don't forget, Charlie's memories and body as well! His body was likely never recovered and it would've been within the island's bubble. We never saw him use Charlie but in the 3 years he spent with Claire it's likely he did. He would have enough knowledge of the past to know she won't be caught in the time flashes either. Also she has a one track mind: MY BUAYBEY!!! ...take Aaron away and she's EASILY manipulated. By the time we see Claire again in season 6 he's gotten her to a point where all he has to do is lay blame to someone and she's ready and willing to cut them open. Why not Jacob?? I believe Ben returning to the island wasn't something that the MiB knew would happen. So he spent all that time preparing Claire for when Locke returned...he probably was planning on having her kill Locke first tbh. Locke returning as a dead body would've been a surprise to him as well. It wasn't until after he got Lock'es body and memories that he knew what had been happening off the island and what to say to "manipulate" the time loop. So this would've been MiB's plan in the meantime right? What you think?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Brilliant comment! I think that makes perfect sense in terms of him recruiting Claire to become his back-up Jacob assassin. Excellent deductive reasoning there. I always thought he used Claire to break the ash circle so he could physically occupy the cabin, but I think this enriches the whole Claire storyline even further. Love it! As for Ben returning to The Island with Locke's body being a factor the Man in Black wasn't expecting or prepared for, that is harder to determine. We don't know how much he knew or understood of the time loop beforehand. There are many ways he could know more. We've seen that he receives Island "intuition" before. But there are also practical ways he could know about the future. Example: If one of the bodies in the DHARMA pit was Pierre Chang then he almost certainly would have scanned and downloaded the cerebral data about the time travellers, whom Chang interacted with. This would have been a core memory for Chang because his son was involved. Basically, we don't know for sure what MiB knew and when he knew it. From the way he acts with Locke at the cabin, he clearly has some degree of foreknowledge. A confidence about where this is all going. He knows he is sewing the seeds of Locke's demise. And he needs to become Locke to gain access to Jacob, otherwise it's all for nought. Claire would be no use as a back-up killer without Locke dead and his body back on The Island. So, I feel like some part of the MiB knows that these events will happen and that Locke's body will be returned. Whether or not he was prepared for Ben's return is a different story. You could be right there. I'd have to think about that one a bit more. Either way, I love your take on this. Totally makes sense that he was grooming Claire for those three years when Ben was absent. We know he was always looking for back-ups because we saw him trying to manipulate and claim Eko too. Thanks for sharing!

[@TheFourthAct]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 I'm glad you like it! My Finace just finished watching Season 4 so it's been on my mind...light bulb went off in my head lol I'm working on a theory right now about what the MiB knew exactly. I know one of the biggest questions around MiB's time loop plan was "Why would he ask Locke to move the island in the first place if it means he leaves?" I think he definitely has an intuition about candidates that are active within the bubble of the island but I don't totally buy that he intuits that Locke could die off the island..I think he realized that he had to start playing 4 dimensional chess with the island's rules when his first attempt to get what he wanted was thwarted by Locke's previously removed kidney (an obviously uncoincidental chess move by the opposition). I think he realized the time loop needed to happen before anything could happen to Locke and so he decided he'd try to use it to his advantage. But to do that he would've had to have known the wheel would skip and that he'd have a few chances in the future to manipulate the past (4d chess). It occured to me recently though that Charlott'es body would've been left in the past and she would have clear memories of the time skips and of John's objective to stop the wheel's skipping. If the MiB found her body (and I think he would given his intuition), he probably would've known about this for a while seeing as she died in a time before the Orchid was built. With this the MiB would know that somebody would turn the wheel before John but whether he knew that would be Ben or not is in question (maybe that's why he recruited Claire?).This just might be enough information for him to take the risk of sending John to move the island and play a little 4d chess...it's confusing. I also considered that Faraday died in the past too but this happened in front of the others and his very own mother no less. I think it's likely they would've given him an "other's" funeral rendering him useless to the MiB. I'm still working on this one but I'm excited to rewatch Season 5 with my fiance and see if I can pick up on any helpful details!

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Scanning Charlotte's body would unlock a lot of the "how did MiB know so much?" question. I just wish there was more of an implication of that within the show. All it would have taken is for John Locke to come across the monster in 1954 (before rendezvousing with Sawyer and Juliet) and for it to scan him and download his experiences. Then everything looking back and going forward would be easily explained from that one encounter.

[@X-101]

How did Jacob and the MIB end up on the island before the Egyptians? wasn't they roman or greek?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I explain this in detail across two videos. The first is on the Egyptians: kzbin.info/www/bejne/barCcpejZ6trnJo The second is on Mother: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gn6co6unZdhnhMk

[@neillamb6563]

I haven't watched this video yet. But I believe Jacob is the villain while his brother wants to keep others away from the Island. Jacob literally rips people from their life for the Island

[@neillamb6563]

And he cursed his brother to be the Monster. And the Monster helped more than Jacob. Okay to the video. I will be commenting a lot brother

[@goodguynow]

Earlier Jacob said that no one comes into the statue unless he invites them in, but Ben and the Locke (MIB) went into the statue to kill Jacob why would jacob allow them if her knew he was gonna be killed?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I explain a lot of Jacob's motivations when discussing "The Rules" (kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYm6gIqva7uGrMU) and 'The Candidates" (kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4DEgpxsa5eDbdk) on this channel. Jacob knows that his time as protector is coming to an end and that his brother will eventually find a way to kill him, hence why he begins looking for replacements. He also knows that even if someone replaces him they will still have to deal with the Man in Black's reign of terror and attempts to destroy the island, so he sets in motion a plan to kill the Man in Black once and for all. But this plan involves his own potential sacrifice. Jacob knows that he might have to die in order to bring balance back to the island. So, when Ben and the MiB enter the statue, he allows them to because he is setting up the endgame. His death is the catalyst that leads to the MiB's ultimate destruction. I recommend you check out the above videos.

[@AllAboutLaugh99]

Is Jacob God?

[@DaveBjornRapp]

At 9:36 you talk about Jacob's death allows for MIB to infect the waters of the island... literally muddying the waters... Where did you get that from? How did you come to that conclusion?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Lennon says: "The water isn't clear", which implies that murky darkness is not how the spring usually appears. We discover that for the waters to heal wounds they have to run clear, as evidenced by Dogen cutting his hand and dipping it into the spring to test if its healing properties remain intact. When he takes it out, the cut has not healed. So the spring has recently had its properties transformed. Something has caused the water to become tainted. When this discovery is made by the Temple Others, the only significant event that has happened that could cause such a dramatic change in the spring waters is Jacob's death. It is implied that the MiB somehow "infected" the water supply, which allowed him to corrupt Sayid. However, there is certainly room for interpretation surrounding these events. The infection doesn't necessarily have to be a literal infection. It could be more figurative than that. I explore this all more in depth with the remakes of these old videos in The Theory of Everything series, which goes far more in depth into the mythology: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYW9aWubiralgNE

[@DaveBjornRapp]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Thanks for the answer. I thought I was missing something, but I guessed correctly - I just didn't see anything that was spelled out.

[@FLQueerLiberal1982]

So, are the Smoke Monster and the Protector supposed to be one, or should they at least be on the same side with the same goal?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

That's how I see them, yes. They are like a battery: one with a positive charge and the other with a negative charge. I explore this in more detail in the chapter on "Mother".

[@specialagentweener1073]

I have a question you may not be able to answer... how did sayid come back to life after he died in season 6? They made it very clear that once you're dead...on or off the island, you can't come back from that. The only thing that remotely makes that happen is the MIB himself by using dead bodies. But we know that mib wasn't using sayids body? So how after he was drowned in the dark temple pool did sayid get to come back even as a lesser version of himself. They even said he was dead for a while before he woke back up. Is it a power that mib had somehow? Was it an unused ghost power of Jacob? Or was it the dirty water that healed him but started to make him evil?

[@official_dee17]

When the MIB was thrown in to the heart of the island. Did he actually go down to where the cork was, or did he go to some place else, i just don’t get how he can transform from a human to a cloud that fast its kind of annoying me🤦🏻‍♂️

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

His body didn't transform. His body died and came out the other side. What we see coming out of the cave is his soul. The dark parts of his soul anyway. And there was no cork down there in 'Across the Sea'. The Egyptians had not built it yet. The cork was the solution to an "ancient incident". Watch my videos on "The Egyptians" and then "Mother" back to back, and you'll be able to follow what happened better.

[@official_dee17]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Ahh that’s fair enough then. Wish it would have been better to see parts off the MIB in the cloud thou, n i don’t think the smoke monster was sinister either, I think it was because he had been through so much trauma and betrayal, he lost his mind i think which may have corrupted his soul. What do you think??

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I definitely agree that his soul was corrupted. What comes out of that cave are the worst and most negative parts of his psyche. You could argue that the good that was inside of him has already returned to The Source, leaving only the darkness of his soul behind in the living realm. In that darkness was his trauma, his violence, his anger, his hubris. And over the next millennia he absorbed all the negative memories of every person he scanned. I see the smoke monster as an embodiment of all the dark parts of people's pasts.

[@PAL1SANDR]

Smoke monster is like Cerberus in hell. He can transform into the people who died on the island. He’s main target - it’s leave hell/island (he need to kill Jacob, but he can’t do it himself ). So, smoke monster take (transform) body of the Man in Black, then Jack’s father, then John Lock, etc. to realise his plan - kill Jacob.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I go into detail in this video -- kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3OXnKmIrbNqfsU -- why the smoke monster IS the Man in Black and vice versa. They are not separate entities and I list the multitude of evidence as to why. But here's a quick quote from Damon Lindelof from the DVD commentary for 'Across the Sea': "But the real dynamic character in this tragedy is the Man in Black. When you realize that Mother basically manipulated him into killing her so she wouldn't have to do the job anymore, he's every bit as much a victim as Jacob is. And the fact that this guy just wanted to leave the island, but *now that has turned him into this sort of very angry man, who is embodying John Locke in the episodes that follow this one* it's very interesting. If you don't have sympathy for him, at least you have a certain level of understanding." There are multiple quotes like this that essentially confirm they intended for MiB and Smokey to be one in the same. Jacob also says in the penultimate episode of the series: "You call him the monster. But I'm responsible for what happened to him. I *made him* that way."

[@PenniestoDollars]

What was tile that the Kwan’s fulfilled?

[@ggeerrppeess]

You know, I've been watching some LOST vids and came across this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJiqhX2PptmbmNE. There Richard asks Jacob to bring his wife back and Jacob hesitates before saying he can't do that. When Richard asks to forgive his sins, Jacob on the other hand responds immediately. Could it be that Jacob indeed could bring Isabella back to life? From my point of view, Jacob pretty much resurrected John Locke after he fell out of the window.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I think Locke was on the edge of death and Jacob saved him from that. Jacob could heal him in that almost-dead state (like he healed Dogen's son) but I don't believe he could resurrect the dead if their light had returned to The Source. I don't believe there is any reason for him to lie to Richard about that. Isabella was not only long dead, her body wasn't even on the Island. Jacob wasn't a god in this way, he had limitations.

[@bondedcastaway3085]

What was the loophole?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I discuss this in detail in my video on The Cabin. The loophole was the Man in Black finding a way to cheat the rules of their game and kill Jacob by proxy.

[@bondedcastaway3085]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 thank you I will watch that video! I love these btw!

[@Kenzie_Hill]

3:20 explains MiB can only take image of dead people and animals. But after John is shot by Ben at the pit, Walt visits John. Walt is not dead so how did he appear before John?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

We see that the MiB has the power to take the form of a person from a memory capture; images he has downloaded from someone’s mind. We see this with Eko’s warlords and Richard’s Isabella. But he cannot sustain these forms for long. It is also possible that the memory capture can be of someone still living but, again, he cannot hold that form for very long. There is also a debate as to whether or not the Walt we see at the DHARMA pit is the smoke monster or actually Walt. A case can be made for both. I made a whole video on the apparitions on the island that delves into this very issue. You can watch it here: Explaining the Apparitions and Ghosts in LOST - LOST EXPLAINED FAQ kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHzdapxoqLpni9E

[@pirocan1]

how was young MIB able to see his real mother while young jacob couldnt? was his real mother a smoke monster?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Because the Boy in Black was special, in the same way Hurley, Miles and Walt were special. He could communicate with the dead. Jacob had not yet developed any special abilities (not until after he was ordained as a protector). The ghost of their mother -- Claudia -- was really visiting the Boy in Black. She had been summoned by The Island to help guide the boy on his path. This video series gets into the specifics of island ghosts in a later chapter on The Whispers, and gives tips on how to tell the difference between a smoke monster apparition and real ghosts.

[@ComeHonor_603]

DL & CC don't come rite out and say it but I also believe they were telling us Mother was SM.

[@zillagramwiches]

are you sure the original guardian and mother had become black smoke? or knew about the black smoke posibility? im confused at when you said that? these videos are dope though man serious, been rewatching lost recently cause i always felt the ending was taken wrongly and from watching your 5 hour vid I was pretty satisfied with everything. But yeah i slightly disagree with very minor points

[@zillagramwiches]

+also do you think that the incident in 1977 was actually not prevented but caused by them

[@maniacalmatt917]

So is Christian always the MIB or is he sometimes a ghost and sometimes the MIB?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Well, it is confirmed that whenever we see Christian on the island it is the Man in Black. And his appearances are always in service of something that benefits the MiB. However, there is one instance in which Jack sees the real Christian’s ghost off island at the hospital. I discuss this in more detail in my video on The Whispers. There’s a small trick to help you tell when you’re seeing a real ghost versus seeing the Man in Black. Keep watching 👍

[@maniacalmatt917]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 new question, I've had this for the entire series. If the MIB can't have his body because he's a smoke monster, why do we see him taking his old form? He does it MANY times, and I can see why he wouldn't do that to The Others, why didn't he do it to the 815 survivors? The MIB should have walked up to Locke, claimed that he's the reason he can walk again and that he's God, give Locke a gun and say "Go snipe Jacob and you'll be free forever." Boom, he wins.

[@official_dee17]

When the MIB came out of the cave, and knocks jacob over. Why was the MIB’s arm hanging around a tree? the only reason i can think of is that the MIB didnt know how to control the black smoke or something idk😂

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

The black smoke is the MiB's consciousness (his soul). The body that Jacob finds on the tree is now an empty vessel, devoid of MiB's consciousness. Hence why he can lay it to rest alongside Mother in the caves.

[@ffallenaangel]

so your saying that MIB is not pure evil of the world encarante. to you what hapend is that when his councesnes was removed from his body it became darknes because it dindt go back to the Source?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

That's one way of looking at it, yes. But you can also view it this way: the good parts of the Man in Black returned to The Source and only the darkness in him was rejected. It depends on your interpretation.

[@ffallenaangel]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 tyy

[@yamnayaseed356]

Question. Why would Jacob allow The Others to mistreat the Survivors by putting them in cages and so on? I know this was Ben's prerogative but Jacob could stop it if he wanted to. Seems like an unnecessary hostility for people that will one day potentially replace you in the most important job in the world.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Jacob didn’t interfere in the day to day of The Others. He would make lists and give them to Richard with names and/or specific instructions. But his whole philosophy was to let The Island play things out. Because he knew there was a time loop. “Jacob never tells anyone what to do” - a direct quote from Richard in season six. He only steps in when necessary. Jacob even articulates this same point himself. Twice no less. He says to Richard in ‘Ab Aeterno’: “I wanted them to help themselves. To know the difference between right and wrong without me telling them. It’s all useless if I have to make them do anything.” This is the exact reason why Richard gets a job as the intermediary in the first place. Then later Jacob tells Hurley in ‘Lighthouse’: “Sometimes you can just hop in the back of someone’s cab and tell them what they’re supposed to do. Other times you have to let them sit and stare out at the ocean for a while.” This is Jacob’s philosophy. Ben was leader because Jacob let The Others decide for themselves who leads them. And Jacob chose not to host an audience with the man for a very specific reason. He wanted certain causal events to play out. The Island chooses who it chooses and people have to work things out for themselves.

[@theonlylydiayouknow]

Did mother weave as well?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

She did indeed. That’s who Jacob learned tapestry-weaving from.

[@jakobyoung3674]

So you don’t think the Walt that Shannon saw was Man in Black? Interesting. My theory has always been: MIB can take the form of anyone living or dead UNLESS they are a candidate. He can only take the form of a candidate once they are dead (I’m assuming this was one of Jacob’s rules). Think about in The Cost of Living when MIB takes the form of the drug dealers EKO killed in the church, he also takes the form of Daniel the little church boy. Harper appearing to Juliet in The Other Woman I also believe was the Man in Black, the way she appears and disappears just seemed super convenient and she also tries to get Juliet to kill Daniel and Charlotte which in turn would’ve released the gas at The Tempest island wide, killing everyone, which would’ve won the game for Smokey. I’d love any feedback! Loving the videos so far though! Keep it up!

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I'm really pleased to hear that you are enjoying the video series and I always welcome the different interpretations that fans have of the show :) I'd recommend you watch Chapter Ten on The Smoke Monster for more elaboration on smokey's specific powers as I get into this whole issue of which forms he can take on. As for your examples, I would counter them like so: The little boy from Eko's church (and the Nigerian warlords) were manifested by smokey because he scanned Eko's memories in S2. But they are just "impressions" of those people from Eko's past, based on his subjective experiences with them. Smokey doesn't have the boy or the warlords actual memories in the way he does with Locke, Christian, Yemi, Alex, etc. That's why he needs the bodies, in order to convincingly become these people. The only non-dead people that the Man in Black can appear as are extracted from a subject's memory of that person. Another example is Richard's Isabella on the Black Rock. So, I agree that he can appear as people who aren't dead or with bodies on the island, but these "impressions" need to come from a smoke monster scanning session. However, Walt's appearances are non-smoke monster related. It is established that he has psychic powers and can astral project himself. Bea Klugh even asks Michael if Walt ever appeared in places he wasn't supposed to be, and if Michael ever saw him even though he lived on the other side of the world. We see this astral projection happen again with Locke in S3. Chapter Six explores Walt and his powers in more detail. Harper was established as an Other. The Others are known for appearing and disappearing in stealth ways, which we see on multiple occasions throughout the series. Now, I do think this was sometimes portrayed in a slightly implausible way. But Harper wasn't the only Other to demonstrate this sneaky ability. I'd say that your assessment of Harper as a smoke manifestation could be entirely feasible if we had more context. Was Harper dead? Because Juliet never mentions that. Or was Harper manifested from Juliet's memories after smokey scanned her in S3 episode 'Left Behind'? It's totally possible and I wouldn't fully count it out. However, at this point in the Man in Black's plan, killing everyone on the island wouldn't be a helpful goal because it would be unlikely to take out Jacob (The Purge gas didn't reach him last time), and MiB's primary mission is to kill Jacob first and foremost, then to gather and kill the candidates. If everyone on the island got gassed then Jacob would simply start the candidate process over again. And by S4, we see that MiB was already unfurling his plan with Ben and Locke as the main objective. So, I don't discount the possibility that Harper was smokey or that she was simply a sneaky Other, but there is evidence to suggest both possibilities.

[@jakobyoung3674]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Interesting points, I still believe Walt was Man in Black, my evidence for this has two different sources: A) During the shows original run, show runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse hosted a podcast where they would dissect that weeks episode, tease the upcoming episode, and take questions from fans. During one episode of this podcast they played a game where Damon and Carlton would have to identify something from the show as Animal, Vision/ghost, or Smoke Monster. When Whisper Walt was brought up Damon said that he was “Smoke monster related.” B) The Lost Encyclopedia has a passage that speaks of Whisper Walt: “Whether it was really Walt with warnings or the manifestation of the Man in Black remains unknown.” It also explicitly states that Shannon was candidate #31, I just think given that Whisper Walt walks Shannon, a confirmed candidate, into a gunshot, coupled with how similar Walt’s appearance to Shannon mirrored Yemi’s appearance to Eko. Plus Damon himself confirming that Walt was Smoke monster related, I just think it’s safe to say that Whisper Walt was Man in Black in some capacity.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

@@jakobyoung3674 Damon never fully confirmed Walt as a smoke monster apparition. The showrunners often made statements and hinted at things in the early podcasts and interviews that don't necessarily hold up to canon once the series ended and the final rules of everything were established. Why wouldn't the MiB appear to Shannon as Boone? He was dead, with a body on the island, and certainly more meaningful to Shannon than Walt was. To me, it makes no sense. Vincent was drawn to Walt's apparition because it really was Walt. The show also demonstrated that Walt could astral project. As for The Lost Encyclopedia, it doesn't confirm the appearance of Walt in a smoke monster context, merely leaves it open. Furthermore, the book itself is riddled with errors and inaccuracies. It was compiled by people who were not in the writers room and makes claims about the veracity of its information that have never been properly substantiated. There is a whole list of its errors available on Lostpedia that you can look up. So, for this reason, the book cannot really be used as a catch-all source for answers because it has these inaccuracies. It also exists outside of the show. The only thing we can really use to derive canon answers from is the main narrative of the show itself. Or (possibly) anything that the showrunners said during or post the final season (when they had finalized the mythology in its totality). Otherwise, I only use the show as the primary source, and make deductions according to the clues and exposition presented in-universe. For me, there is no real strong in-show evidence to support Walt being the Man in Black, especially seeing as there is a more supported explanation that it was actually Walt.

[@jakobyoung3674]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Sounds more to me like you can’t even fathom the possibility that you’re wrong. Why would Walt act so creepy and walk Shannon into gunfire if it was really him? That sounds less likely than MIB walking Shannon into a trap. Also sure the Lost Encyclopedia has its mistakes, but I highly doubt the people who compiled the information just threw in the possibility of Walt being the Smoke Monster as their own theory, they had access to Gregg Nations who was basically in charge of keeping track of the mythology in the writers room. And if you’re gonna tell me that Damon confirming during Season 3 (over a year later) that whisper Walt was smoke monster related isn’t to be taken seriously? Then I just don’t think we’re gonna see eye to eye on this. Straight out of the head writers mouth and you still want to argue. I can’t do anything for ya. 🤷🏼

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

@@jakobyoung3674 Well, I don't claim to be infallible. My about page more or less states my intentions up front. Nor am I claiming that you are wrong; I just don't think the evidence you cite is actually occurring in-show. I'm simply giving a robust challenge to your ideas in the same way you are doing with mine. Isn't that the fun of LOST? I was just countering the sources you cite and offering up my perspective on them. I don't want to rely on old quotes from the creators (back when the mythology was still in flux) or The Lost Encyclopedia (something that has been demonstrated to have errors) to explain mysteries. Because the only real canon is the series itself. At the end of LOST, Damon and Carlton both said: "We want the show to speak for itself." As in: they want the show to be taken on its own terms and for us to ignore all the contrary information that exists outside of it (and there is a lot of contrary information out there). I will reference items of relevance from external sources sometimes because I won't pretend they don't exist, but I do not use them as a crutch to explain anything. I predominantly use the show. Anyway, I didn't mean for you to take offence. I like to hear other people's takes on the show even if I don't agree with them. It's perfectly fine if we haven't convinced the other. I'm sure our viewing experiences of the show will not be ruined as a result of disagreement. Take care.

[@das9115]

So if mother was a smoke monster, and a smoke monster can take on the form of the dead, then it was mother herself that showed up for the young man in black as his real mother?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

There are two types of "ghosts" on the island. The real souls of those who have died and the apparitions of the smoke monster. In 'Across the Sea', the ghost of Claudia appears to be her real ghost. We know this because she tells contrary information to the Boy in Black that goes against Mother's narrative, and when Mother finds out that the Boy in Black knows the truth about his parentage she desperately asks him: "Who told you that?" Mother did not want to lose the Boy in Black, as he was being groomed to be her replacement one day. Whereas Claudia's ghost was trying to lure him away to join his people on the other side of the island.

[@das9115]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Ah okay that makes sense. But how about looking at the bigger picture of the source ultimately being in control of every event, including how the smoke monster acts, and then thinking of Claudias ghost as the smoke monster because the events of the boy in black had to happen in order for the rest of the timeline to work out? Just a theory though…

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

The Source doesn’t control how people think or makes them do anything. It simply facilitates the choice whilst knowing the outcome of that choice. At this point in the chronology, Mother is the smoke monster. And she had her own plans and schemes for the two boys. She wants to die and be released from her service. She doesn’t want to prolong things any longer than she has to. But the island guides everyone to where they need to be in order to ensure that their choices lead to the outcomes that the future needs. It uses Claudia to instigate a series of events that lead to the building of the wheel and the conflict between brothers and, ultimately, the coronation of a new protector and the creation of a new smoke monster.

[@atiqaly6567]

Why did you say that mother was the first guardian when she said, before her there were many others??

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

She doesn't say anything about previous protectors. The only allusion she makes to her own origins is in the following exchanges: CLAUDIA: How did you get here? MOTHER: The same way you got here. By accident. CLAUDIA: How long have you -- MOTHER: -- Every question I answer will simply lead to another question. You should rest. Just be grateful you're alive. Then later with the Boy in Black: BOY IN BLACK: Where did we come from? MOTHER: You and your brother came from me, and I came from my mother. BOY IN BLACK: Where's she? MOTHER: She's dead. Basically, Mother tells us that she came to the island long ago with her people, including her own mother. And in that time, she became the guardian of the island and her mother died (not necessarily in that order). But that's all we know for sure. We have to assume a lot about the rest of her backstory as we only have small crumbs of information available. I explain why I think Mother is the original guardian (and a smoke monster) in my video about her. Which you can watch here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gn6co6unZdhnhMk

[@atiqaly6567]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 yeah youre right i assumed when she said she came from her mother she meant that her mother was a guardian too.

[@NeoMyers]

"Mother was the island's first protector." I'm not sure this is true. I think she was merely the first protector we see. But it's implied that there were others before her.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Is it implied though? She never references protectors before her. She only mentions that she had a mother who died. Mother being the first protector isn't a hill I would necessarily die on, I just found it an interesting possibility worth bringing up. Because we are never told how this protector lineage began, or how a mortal person absorbed the powers of The Source and became able to pass them on to others. But the idea of cross-pollinating that unknown protectorship origin with Mother going down into the cave and entering the light is what helped me to build a bridge between ideas. I believe she is really, really ancient and that she reigned for longer than Jacob ever did, hence why she was so tired and done with the work by the time we meet her. However, it's not a theory I would argue to be definitive or provable in any way at all. It just makes for interesting speculation.

[@NeoMyers]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Oh, it certainly could be true. And your logic on that and much of the video is pretty solid or at least follows from what we know. It's just that part was stated so matter of factly and I didn't think that leap was justified by what we see. You even note in the first video that there's a continual cycle of repeating events throughout history on the island. I guess I just imagined the Protector to also be one of those things.

[@ggeerrppeess]

What I don't understand is why exactly the Mother was both the protector and the smoke monster, while Jacob wasn't? By passing the power to the Jacob shouldn't she also passed the smoke ability to him?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

It's a very valid question to ask. I am planning on making a video on Mother exclusively in the near future. It's important to note two things. The first is that Mother was not the exact same entity that the Man in Black turned into. She was both smoke monster *and* protector, whereas MiB lacked her protector abilities. Secondly, and more importantly, there was no cork in The Source when Mother was killed. The aperture of light in the cave was fully open and the light flowed out freely without obstruction. In order to die, which is what Mother ultimately wanted, she had to pass on her protector powers to someone else (without the smoke monster curse). But her role ends up inadvertently getting split between the two twins -- one as protector, the other as smoke monster. Jacob being "activated" relieved Mother of her connection to the light and rendered her mortal. Therefore, she could be killed in the same way we see both Jacob and the MiB die later on. I will eventually get into the details of Mother in a separate chapter that elaborates on all of this in greater detail.

[@ggeerrppeess]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 huh interesting. I don't recall the cork being removed when Mother died. How did it happen?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

@@ggeerrppeess The cork was installed *after* the events of 'Across the Sea'. As we see in 'The End', once the cork is in place, no one transforms into a smoke monster when they go down there because the light is being blocked. However, in 'Across the Sea' the light is flowing freely. Hence why the Man in Black is transformed almost instantly and Mother can be killed. The Egyptian rule over the island came later, and was a result of Jacob bringing them there. They caused an ancient incident, which required the installation of the stone cork (hence the hieroglyphs). This whole part of the mythology will also require its own video at some point. It's in the works. I touch upon some of it in Chapter One on The Source. Check it out.

[@MatiZ815]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Dude, that explanation for the cork is brilliant. I always wondered why the Light wasn't as strong in "The End". I assumed it was due to Jacob's death but this makes so much more sense. I never had a good answer as to why Jack or Desmond were safe down there and now I do. But I'm still not quite sure on how the Mother could be killed but MiB could not.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

@@MatiZ815 If you keep watching, there will be specific videos on both The Egyptians and Mother, which will help to clarify the cork and how it affects everything :)

[@tannerclement6251]

If the mib can only take the form of the dead how did he present himself as Walt

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Because we were not seeing the MiB. I address this in the chapter on Walt: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIjPiaNvf6ybeaM

[@emmanuelkin8580]

I still don't understand how Jacob was murdered. Wasn't he still immortal since he had not appointed someone as the island protector?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

A protector is ageless but not invulnerable. They can be hurt and killed. We see all three protectors die of mortal stab wounds -- Mother, Jacob, Jack. The distinction to make is that a protector can only die once the island is done with them (just like candidates), and as long as someone else has been "activated" to take over the mantle. In Jacob's case, he had a whole group of candidates waiting in the wings, each of whom had been activated prior to their arrival. I get into all of this in greater detail in later videos.

[@FLQueerLiberal1982]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 but, if the protector is ALSO the smoke monster like Mother, then would they be immortal until they passed the role of protector on?

[@Jeptheplay]

btw jacob and Mib/smokey monster are 2000 years old,

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I agree!

[@juliepetersen7974]

🤔🤔🤔🤯🤯🤯

[@whysoserious652]

the real villain of the show was the "mother".

[@cyllananassan9159]

Sorry but it is JJ ABRAHAMS........he doesnt have a clue about the series meaning......just like STAR WOKES

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

JJ Abrams wasn't really involved with this show creatively past making the Pilot episode. The real architects of LOST are Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. For some reason, people assume that Abrams wrote the show. He was just a producer in name only.

[@danielpeters2501]

Why couldn't the Man in Black leave?? If he left what would have happened???

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

The Man in Black was connected and tethered to the energy source beneath the island. I discuss this in future videos in more detail :)

[@danielpeters2501]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 okay Pls check.your.notifications I sent you another question after your reply to me before

[@SanteeKlaus]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 how did he visit Michael on the freighter before it blew up? It was so far from the island, I thought he couldn't leave.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I explore this very question in Chapter Ten on the smoke monster. Keep watching 🙂

[@GeraColorz]

I don't think mother was a smoke monster, the Locke monster could not be killed and mother died with an easy knife to the back from his ''son'' how could that be if she was the monster?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I explore this very issue in my video on "Mother" and explain the crucial difference between the two: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gn6co6unZdhnhMk

[@GeraColorz]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 I'll check it out, thank you for your response!

[@sawyerford2191]

I am still confused about MIB. Can you please put it simple words for me. Your Egyptian mythology video was pretty informative nyc work.

[@ayiza8511]

Why is the audio so bad?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

These older videos were made with a text-to-speech voice but are currently being remade with my own voice. You can watch the first part of the remake here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYW9aWubiralgNE It should be more to your liking (cleaner, better audio). Also, the latest 9 videos on my channel all use my real voice for narration, so check out those too.

[@emmess7780]

How could Mother be a smoke monster if TMIB was able to kill her? Jack and Kate were only able to kill TMIB after Desmond uncorked the heart of the Island, aka the source of his powers. He wasn't a protector so the source of his immortality wouldn't have come from that. Jacob is killed by Ben while he's still a protector so that didn't make him immortal either.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I explain this in detail in the video on Mother. There was one big difference between Mother’s era and Man in Black’s era. The cork itself. I recommend you watch the full video for the comprehensive explanation and thesis. If you are watching these videos in order then you will eventually come across it anyway. 👍

[@neillamb6563]

What happened before the supposed Guardians of the Island? Seems they fucked it up hahahaha some guardians xD

[@nathanhawee5373]

I thought Charles widmore was still a good guy

[@paweld.2819]

Mother was not a smoke monster. If she was then MiB would not be able to kill her (like Sayid stabbing MiBLocke). It was also confirmed in the LOST encyclopedia that MiB was the first and only smoke monster.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I explore this very issue in my video on "Mother" and explain the crucial difference between the two characters: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gn6co6unZdhnhMk Remember, the Man in Black was eventually killed by a bullet and kicked off a cliff. There is a very specific reason why he had been un-killable up to that point. Regardless, The Lost Encyclopaedia does not confirm that Man in Black is the first and only smoke monster. It is left purposefully ambiguous within the show for a reason, so this conversation can take place. Both Damon and Carlton are on record confirming this.

[@paweld.2819]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 MIB was killed by a bullet because he lost his smoke powers at the time. Nothing like that happened when mother was killed.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Yes, but ask yourself why was he de-powered? Why had he lost his smoke powers? What is the key difference between his time and Mother's time?... *The cork* It didn't exist in Mother's day. But it was installed after the Man in Black's physical body died by the Egyptians some years later. The light powers the smoke monster, but this cork damned the flow of the light from the cave. This effectively made the smoke monster immortal and invulnerable. He could not be killed as long as there was a cork in the heart of the island. Hence why the island had to be "reset" in order to kill him. I go into great detail about this in the aforementioned linked video. I recommend you check it out.

[@YoHey13]

After I watched the series for the second time, I understood the man in black. Dude just wanted to leave and explore

[@catac83]

Jacobs brother and MIB are NOT the person!! Just like Locke and Unlocke

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

All the evidence in the series points to the Man in Black and the smoke monster as being one in the same entity. The smoke monster is the MiB's disembodied consciousness roaming the landscape looking for empty vessels, aka dead people, in which to inhabit. The notion of "consciousness" as its own separate state of being is heavily entwined within the show's mythology. Human bodies are simply vessels that carry consciousness, all of which comes from The Source beneath the island.

[@catac83]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 The black smoke isn’t Jacobs brother. When Jacob threw his brother into the light the smoke just assumed his brothers memories and identity like he did with Locke because the brother died. Then over time from assuming that identity for so long it basically just became the smoke monster’s real identity like when after being Locke for so long the smoke monster started to develop his mannerisms like yelling “don’t tell me what I can’t do” and whittling the stick a certain way to make the fire. Jacobs mistake was killing his brother and giving the smoke monster a corporal form obviously but the MIB and Jacobs brother are separate entities.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

​@@catac83 The Man in Black directly tells Richard that Jacob took his body and his humanity in 'Ab Aeterno'. Dogen refers to the black smoke as "a very angry man". Fake Locke tells Ben "I'm not a what, I'm a who." There are more examples of this throughout S6. I know what you are bringing up is a much discussed counter theory dating back to 2010, but it has no real supporting evidence in the show. It is a theory that emerged from a general fan disappointment over the smoke monster origin and a need for the smoke monster to be more elemental. And I also believe it mostly a misreading of why the MiB leaves behind a body in 'Across the Sea'. Let's explore the logistics of this theory a bit more. How did the smoke absorb the Man in Black? We already know that the smoke monster needs to scan someone in order to know their memories so how did it "merge" with the Man in Black? What was it doing in the cave in the first place? What was its purpose down there? What was it made of? Why would this smoke keep appearing as the Man in Black centuries later when he had so many other dead people to choose from? I get that it would appear to Jacob as the MiB but why appear to strangers like Richard in that way? It opens up so many potentially unanswerable questions. I do appreciate creative articulation when answering mysteries in LOST, but this theory requires making up too much information we never see demonstrated in the series. The idea that the smoke monster had no origin point and simply always existed is an interesting thing to consider nonetheless. Although it makes little sense in terms of what we learn about The Source within the show and its ultimate meaning behind everything. The smoke monster as its own entity implies the existence of "original evil", which the series goes out of its way to debunk time and again. There is no pure good or pure evil, only symbols and ciphers. People are grey. Morality is a sliding scale. Good guys can become villains and bad guys can be redeemed. Original evil is a contradiction of the core message of the series. And this idea that the smoke monster believes it really is the Man in Black is a negligible way of saying that it IS essentially the Man in Black so that the theory feels less contrary to what we see play out in S6, in which it is demonstrated (almost every episode) that the smoke was once a human being that was deprived of form.

[@catac83]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Nice, your theory makes much more sense, thanks for explaining

[@WheatDos]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Maybe it's a "copy" of his counciousness, which means it is the MiB, just not the "original" (who died). Jacob's mistake therefore was creating a living eletromagnetic copy of everything his brother was feeling at the moment he was killed: Denial, Bargaining, Anger, Feeling betrayed and trapped on the Island. A combination which, after centuries, festers into the character of Fake Locke, who constantly is in denial ("I'm not a what, i'm a who!"), bargains with people, feels betrayed by Jacob (and believes it's human nature to betray) and is obssessed with leaving the Island.

[@user-th4cj8pp3e]

I wish you'd reupload these episodes with an actual voice. The text to speech is horrible.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I’ve been using my real voice on this channel for over a year now. All of these videos have been remade and compiled into bumper videos called The Theory of Everything. Here’s the playlist: m.kzbin.info/aero/PL5iTj9psbPrNovFOg4pJJIyxiLAv2WAKB

[@user-th4cj8pp3e]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 will start watching them. That's so cool, usually the text to speech stuff puts me off completely but I'll watch the newer ones!

[@gmotdot]

There’s no evidence that mother was the island’s first guardian…

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Yes, but there is no evidence to disprove that theory either. It’s a conjecture that I explore more in the chapter on Mother later in this series. A way to explain how the line of power succession started as it had to start somewhere, so why not with a character we were introduced to like Mother. I recommend you give it a watch.

[@TrueLunacy]

Why are you using an AI voice? Please reuplaod with your real voice..

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Already did that years ago: LOST EXPLAINED - The Theory of Everything kzbin.info/aero/PL5iTj9psbPrNovFOg4pJJIyxiLAv2WAKB

[@TrueLunacy]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 thank you

[@piotr78]

Text to speech doesn't automatically mean it's AI

[@mtagfam5446]

My guy you’re doing gods work with these videos my mind is blown