Originally Posted by SenorRoboto2k5
In honor of all the theories posted, I wrote one down because I was so bored in class.
A few ideas about the smoke monster...
Lost has recently been giving handfuls of indirect clues that relate to the smoke monster that may have been tough to pick up without looking at it from the right angle. It's still impossible to come up with a good guess as to its main purpose and role in the show, but a lot can now be inferred about its origins and functions.
The show has been giving us little pieces about the function of the monster, and it's more than just kill and chase people through the jungle. When Danielle's crew goes into the temple after one of their own, they come out possessed (which Danielle calls the sickness). It's very likely that the crew was killed and then taken over by the monster while they were underground. It's always been believed that the monster is responsible for Yemi, Christian, and other apparitions of dead people on the island, and showing what happened to the French crew was almost a confirmation.
A random thought - think back to the pilot, when the survivors could hear the monster crashing through the jungle from the beach (nobody ever heard it from that far away again); was it searching for Christian, then stopped making such a ruckus when it found his body?
Through the course of the show, the monster has presumably taken hold of Yemi, Christian, and the French crew - all images that it could use to manipulate Eko (into pushing the button), Jack (into finding the water so that everyone could survive), and Danielle (to kill her), respectively. Also recall some of the other apparitions. Hurley saw Dave, who almost convinced him to jump off a cliff. Why doesn't the monster want Hurley around? Does he counter whatever it is that the smoke monster does or wants to do on the island? Was it trying to keep him from seeing Jacob? Think about the targets that it's killed without hesitation, including the pilot of 815, Eko later on, and Keamy's men - it could be that it has no one to use their likenesses against.
The show has also shown us the outside of the monster's home, which is covered in hieroglyphs. It's possible that the monster is an ancient relic with ties to the native people (likely Egyptians) of the island. Richard Alpert is likely one of these people, at least in some form. Perhaps the reason why he doesn't age is because he's some sort of walking "spirit" or Egyptian god. His people in the ragged clothes are probably special too; he comments that the sonic fence can keep some things out, but "not us."
The one thing that's more striking than his age is his interest in the dead body of Amy's husband, Paul. The ankh (which symbolizes eternal life) around his neck was almost too obvious of a clue. Richard obviously has a use for the body, probably in conjunction with the monster. Could it be that the monster will reanimate Paul to later use against Amy and DHARMA?
Now, think of what it was doing to Locke and Eko. It scanned them both without attacking either one. It was probably deciding whether or not these two would be useful in manipulating other people. The reason why it tried dragging Locke through its underground hole was because it wanted to take over his body - as opposed to just smashing him into a bloody mess. It was also trying to get Eko to accomplish something, but when he gave that speech about asking for no forgiveness for his sins, the monster changed its mind and killed him. I think that when Eko whispers his last words to Locke ("you're next"), it's the monster taking over his body to issue John a dramatic threat.
Who was the monster trying to use Locke against? It could be Ben, Jack, Sawyer, anyone. Maybe it even got its wish with Locke's dead body, although he still seemed very Locke-@@%.
Now what is the monster trying to accomplish? Is it on the same side as Jacob? Is it good or evil? Who's exactly good or evil? These are things that have yet to be answered about it.
Any other connections?
