So what is Smokey, and where does he come from?
Since the very beginning, when he disturbs the beach camp by ripping out trees in the jungle, while hooting, huffing and puffing along, Smokey behaves more as a smart dog, then a man with a plan and a long conned loophole. Last summer a cab started printing a receipt right next to me on 15th Street, and I stopped in my tracks because I thought Judgement Time came for me.
We see Smokey scan people on the Island, most impressive with Eko, and later Ben. He is obviously a mind reader, and he is looking for sins and other human failure in the tortured souls of 815s survivors. He is a manifestation of the flashbacks we see, woosh…
From the mural in the Temple we know he goes back to the time the Egyptians were on the Island, and that he will squeeze out of that grid dispenser, if summoned. Can you imagine 'Esau' behaving like that? I don't.
Titus Welliver, of New Haven, Connecticut, did a great job delivering us with the ultimate Bad Guy on Lost, leaving the impression that he will follow only his own call. We know from The Incident that Esau is a shapeshifter. Maybe it is just an illusion, like a Jedi mind trick, maybe he copied John Lockes body down to the last cell, but I don't believe that Master and Servant share the same ability. Smokey is Esaus big bad dog, but he is not smart or self-motivated enough to appear as Walt, Christian, or even a horse.
After Eko met Smokey the first time, in the The 23rd Psalm, where he stoood his ground, I believe that the the dog did not kill him because his Master, Esau, had sent him to find a fitting sleeve for the loophole. Later, in 3|05 The Cost of Living, after Esau confronted Eko again as his dead brother Yemi, asking him to confess his sins, Eko stood his ground, again. "I ask for no forgiveness, Father, for I have not sinned. I have only done what I needed to do to survive." Esau realised in that instant that he will never use Eko as his sleeve, proven by his angry reply "You speak to me as if I were your brother!". This marks the first time that Esaus mask of total manipulation slips. The same anger swings in "Do you have any idea how badly I wanna kill you?" on the beach with Jacob. Esau is done with Eko, and decides to go for John Locke. He leads Eko back into the jungle, where his dog finally kills the not longer needed Nigerian.
Another example that Smokey and Esau are two different entities appears in 3|15 Left Behind. Juliet and Kate hide behind the Sonic Fence, while Smokey crashed madly into that barrier. Ever tried to teach an very old dog a new trick? Especially a dog that is around since Cleopatra.
No, Smokey is stupid enough to be stopped by a fence that Dharma erected in the 1970s. Why should Esau do such a thing? But my main argument remains that Esau proved by incorporating John Locke that he is the only shapeshifter on the Island. It would make no sense, storytelling wise, to give Smokey and his Master the same abilities.
Update: Okay, I was wrong. Esau is Smokey. Sorry you had to see me like this!
Hey, great start to the blog.
ReplyDeleteI gotta say I still think Smokey is doing all the manifesting before Esau becomes FakeLocke. I'd evidence this by the fact that when Yemi (and many other manifestations) show up pre-"The Man Behind the Curtain," we know that Esau is still trapped in the cabin in a non-corporal form.
You can call Smokey Esau's dog, I'd call it something like his spirit. Anyway, I agree it seems to be doing his bidding.
I'd go so far as to say since we don't see Smokey again after we've learned the ash circle was broken, we can assume Esau no longer needs Smokey to do the leg work.
Smokey is a cloud, spirit-like, somewhat intangible. Once Esau is free he can enact his plot in a much more physical (Locke-like) form.
My main point being I think that throughout most of the series, the smoke and the manifestations are the same entity -- doing Esau's bidding, but not Esau himself.
Good thinking, as always, Dustin!
ReplyDelete4 kegs of Dharma beer should you be right about this…