Summary

• The Smoke Monster on Lost was a dangerous entity linked to the island's mythology, with motivations left ambiguous.
• Its scanning ability, howling noise, and mechanical sounds added to its mysterious nature but with no clear explanation.
• Unanswered questions remain regarding its plan, its choice of victims, and why it was trapped in Locke's form.

The Smoke Monster was undoubtedly one of Lost's most intriguing mysteries. It was introduced in the first episode as an unseen force and periodically popped up throughout the seasons to torment the Oceanic Flight 815 survivors. Frustratingly, the show didn't give clear answers about its origin until the third-to-last episode of the entire run. And the "answers" that episode gave remain divisive. Some answers are cut and dry, but other aspects of the smoke monster remain ambiguous.

It was considered dangerous when the survivors first encountered the Smoke Monster on Lost. It knocked down trees and killed pilot Seth Norris. Later in the first season, several characters saw the Smoke Monster though the audience didn't for a while. As for what the Smoke Monster in Lost was, it ended up as the main antagonist for the characters, although the eventual revelations left just as many unanswered questions as the ones that it explained.

10 Why Did The Man In Black Turn Into A Smoke Monster?

Jacob Killed His Brother In The Heart Of The Island

In "Across the Sea," the show finally establishes that the Smoke Monster formed when Jacob pushed his brother into the Heart of the Island. A pregnant woman named Claudie was shipwrecked on the island years before and gave birth to two sons, Jacob and the Man in Black. She raised them to be protectors of the island and The Man in Black wanted to leave, but his Mother wouldn't let him, so he killed her.

Jacob killed his brother in retaliation, and when The Man in Black's physical body went into the Heart of the Island, the Smoke Monster emerged with a clangorous roar. However, Lost never explains why this happened. What caused the Heart of the Island to turn The Man in Black into the Smoke Monster? And why? Desmond and Jack go into it and never end up turning into a Smoke Monster, so this remains a frustrating question.

9 What Was The Smoke Monster's Plan?

All The Audience Knows Is That He Wanted Off The Island

The latter episodes of Lost establish that the island serves as a "cork" containing the world's evil. The Man in Black remains perpetually chained to the island for eternity, and he wants this cork removed to destroy the island so he can escape. The Man in Black wanted off the island, but Jacob killed him before he could escape. That explains why he wants to leave the island, but what did he plan next?

Was the Smoke Monster planning to spread worldwide chaos and destruction with the so-called "malevolent evil" the island contains? Did the Main in Black want to leave and live life normally as an indistinct mortal in a post-apocalyptic wasteland? The Man in Black was not always evil, but the Smoke Monster was not just that confused boy who wanted to see the world. What was it planning to do if it escaped its prison?

8 Why The Mechanical Clicking Noise?

The Sound Effects Make No Sense

When the Smoke Monster appeared, it wasn't something that sounded like smoke or a monster. It had a howl that sounded like something automated. It seemed almost mechanical, which made it seem like there was a machine on the inside of all the black smoke. It might have been a security system that attacked to protect something. However, the origin of the Smoke Monster never explains this mechanical sound.

This sound really had nothing to do with the island's mythology, the Man in Black's murder, or anything that has to do with nanobots or other sci-fi ideas. If anything, it was just a creative choice by the showrunners on how it should sound. It was an eerie and creepy sound, especially on an island with seemingly no electronics in the first season. However, its in-universe explanation never revealed any of it.

7 Why Does It Make A Howling Noise?

The Effect Just Made Things More Confusing

Much like the automated clicking sounds, the Smoke Monster also howled when it approached. However, this really didn't make any more sense than the computer sounds. For one thing, this was black, billowing smoke. It made no sense it would sound like an electronic device, but adding in the howling made it even more confusing. Smoke should be able to vocalize.

It is possible to explain this by looking at the origin of the Smoke Monster itself. When Jacob killed his brother, pushing him into the Heart of the Island, the Man in Black not only lost his life, but he also lost his dream of ever escaping the island. This would cause any trapped spirit to howl in anger or pain. While this is the likely reason for the howling, Lost never actually explained if this was the case or if the sounds it made were just there to be creepy.

6 What Is With That "Scanning" Ability?

This Is Never Brought Up Again

One of the most famous sequences involving the Smoke Monster is his iconic staredown with Mr. Eko. During the confrontation, we go "inside" the Smoke Monster and see that it is "scanning" Eko and/or reading into his past. This is what the Smoke Monster has to do to gain their memories and mimic them so it can fool others on the island. It did it early off-screen when it replaced Christian Shephard in the first season.

The Smoke Monster also never does this again on screen

However, Lost never once explains how it does this or even why it has this power. Clearly, the Smoke Monster has to have the ability to read minds, or it couldn't pull all that information from its victims. The Smoke Monster also never does this again on screen, although it is assumed it happens with everyone it mimics. Despite this, it's never explained in-show, and the show never brings it up again.

5 Why Does It Kill Who It Kills?

There Are Some People The Smoke Monster Can't Kill

Throughout Lost, the Smoke Monster represents almost certain death. It chases people, bludgeons people, and, in many cases, kills them without remorse. However, Lost never explains why it does so. The Smoke Monster can't escape the island until Jacob and his candidates are dead. However, most of the people that the Smoke Monster kills have nothing to help him get off the island.

It's also never explained how he decides to kill. It's established that he cannot kill Jacob's candidates, yet he outright kills Eko, who was indeed one of Jacob's candidates. How it could kill Eko, which breaks the rules the show sets, is never explained, and one might assume that the writers had not set these rules in place at this time. However, the reasons for the mass murders are never really explained in Lost.

4 Where Was It Taking Locke?

It Takes Locke For No Reason

In the season 1 finale, Locke is grabbed by the Smoke Monster and taken to a hole in the ground. The obvious belief is that it wants to kill Locke, but it's later made evident that the Smoke Monster cannot kill candidates (even though Eko's murder confuses that rule). So what was it doing with Locke if not trying to kill him? Or was it trying to kill him and ignoring the rules?

Eventually, Locke died, and the Smoke Monster was able to take on his appearance. There is some thought that the Smoke Monster wasn't trying to kill Locke. Could it have scanned him at that time, preparing for the moment when it could replace him? Whatever the reason, Lost never explained what the Smoke Monster was trying to do at that time, and if it was just another moment where the show's mythology wasn't completely fleshed out yet.

3 Where Is Jack's Dad's Body?

Locke's Body Is ed For But Not Christian's

At the beginning of season 1, the Smoke Monster taunts Jack by inhabiting his dead father's body and walking around the island in it. However, Jack never finds his father's body. When the Smoke Monster inhabits Locke, his corpse is there and ed for. The Smoke Monster clearly doesn't require the physical body to mimic someone, so that leaves a pair of unanswered questions.

First, since Locke's body is still there, what exactly is Smoke Monster Locke? It seems the creature can morph into other characters and living beings. It can even turn into animals, such as spiders. The creature also seems to be able to turn from human to Smoke Monster at will but Lost never explains this power at all. On top of that, where is Christian's body if not in the coffin? If the Smoke Monster doesn't need the body to morph into it, why did it take Jack's dad's body?

2 Why Was He Stuck As Locke?

The Smoke Monster Suddenly Loses His Powers

It's made clear throughout the series that the Smoke Monster can transform from people to his smoke self and back to his physical Man in Black form. However, there was no explanation for why he was "stuck" as Locke throughout season six. In that season, John Locke's dead body was returned to the island, and the Man in Black took that form to convince Ben to kill Jacob.

At that moment, the Smoke Monster could not turn into anyone else and was stuck as either Locke or the black smoke. The only thing that changed was Jacob's death, so possibly some magic wore off or his brother's death eliminated much of his power. However, Lost never gives a clear answer. The plus to this moment was that Terry O'Quinn remained on the show even longer, but why the Smoke Monster lost the powers remains unknown.

1 Why Not Go Over The Fence?

Kate Went Over The Fence With No Injury

This sonar fence stops the Smoke Monster in its tracks and causes it to glide away in frustration

The inhabitants of the island have few defenses against the Smoke Monster, but the sonar fence stands out as the most effective deterrent. The Man in Black and Jacob's mother created this technique to find a way to keep the Smoke Monster trapped on the island to protect both the island and the outside world. However, that does not explain why the Smoke Monster can't escape in a different manner.

This sonar fence stops the Smoke Monster in its tracks and causes it to glide away in frustration. However, the fence's effects don't stretch above its height, as evidenced by Kate crawling over and surviving. So why doesn't the Smoke Monster go over it in the same way that Kate did? Lost has many unanswered questions after its finale, and the Smoke Monster is one of the biggest, even for something as small as this.