Last week’s episode of Lost centered around the most intriguing character in the show—John Locke/Smokie. The “flashes sideways” focused on Locke’s life in the parallel universe and displayed a much less turbulent reality than what Locke had faced before originally landing on the island. Although Locke seems just as angry and frustrated with the world as he was previously, there are some good things present in this universe that weren’t around previously. Locke’s relationship with Helen Norwood is the most noticeable difference between the original time and this new one; he seems a lot happier in this situation than he was before. Back on the island, Smokie, who is now made itself in Locke’s image, leads Sawyer to an unknown place on the island claiming he has answers to to all of Sawyer’s questions, including why he was brought to the island. Once the two arrive at the scene of the cave, one of the island mysteries is uncovered and we learn a little more why everyone was brought to the mysterious destination.

The cave that Sawyer is lead to indeed contains some serious answers. Within it, the names of all the inhabitants that have been on the island are written all over the walls; some are crossed out to represent those that have died while others are aligned next to “The Numbers” that have been so prevalent in the show. These are the same numbers that Hurley used to win the lottery, were on the door of the “Hatch’, entered in the computer at the “Swan” and were supposedly created as an equation to prevent the end of the world. The reappearance of the numbers,  4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42, mark a pivotal moment in the series. In the cave, which Smokie claims belongs to Jacob, reveals that Jacob in fact assigned 6 names to the numbers: 4- Locke, 8 – Reyes, 15 – Ford, 16 – Jarrah, 23 – Shephard, 42- Kwon. An episode earlier in the series shows that Jacob touched those 6 individuals at different moments in their life times. These characters now are in place to play a very important roles leading up to the conclusion of the series. Smokie explains to Sawyer that Jacob had made a list of these names as recruits  to stay and protect the island and urges Sawyer to leave. He then goes on to convince Sawyer that the island doesn’t need protecting, but is he telling the truth? On the way to the cave Sawyer encounters Richard who is terrified for his life. He warns Sawyer not to trust the new Locke and that he trying to kill him and everyone on the island. If we are to believe what Richard is saying and we know the capabilities of Smokie, why are we to believe that Smokie is telling Sawyer the truth?

Its unclear if the cave truly belongs to Jacob, it very well could belong to Smokie and he is using it lure Sawyer to his side. The whole existence of the numbers are still shrouded in mystery, we still don’t know how Jacob uses the numbers and if he is aware of all their other uses. If Jacob is trying  to recruit protectors of the island, then it might be tied in with the fate of the world. As it stands now, it looks as if these six names might be the saviors of the island and maybe humanity.

M. Motif