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Main Article Theories about
Christian Shephard
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Three Christians[]

There are three different Christians;
(1) Christian: the dead one from Sydney
(2) "Christian": the apparition on the Island
(3) Jack's hallucination out of guilt for not intervening to help his father before he died.

Evidence for Christians 1, 2 and 3:

  • 1), 2) & 3) According to the producers, there is no literal resurrection of the dead on the Island.
    • Is that why Sayid died and then came back to life later? Is that not a resurrection?
    • The MiB resurrected him, not the Island.
  • 1) We know Christian is dead, he was in the morgue in Sydney.
  • 2) When "Christian" is seen on the island by people who did not know Christian Shephard in life (e.g. Locke, Hurley, Miles), this is evidence that "Christian" is somehow an apparition that exists independent of the memories that anyone has of him.
    • Counter-evidence for 2) Unlike the Yemi-apparition that admitted not to being Yemi, Christian asked Locke to "say hi to his son" at the end of "This Place is Death" which means that he actually is Christian Shephard. Otherwise Christian's request would have no relevance to the storyline at all since Locke doesn't even know who he is talking about.
      • But it is clear that the Man in Black takes on a part of the personality of people he assumes. For instance, the MiB impersonating Locke shouts "Don't tell me what I can't do!" to the young Jacob apparition.
  • One of the "Christians" we have seen is Jacob's agent or Jacob himself. It may yet be shown that Jacob either possesses the power to actually resurrect humans from death (his encounter with Locke after his fall in "The Incident" hints at this possibility), or to a lesser degree, can also create his own apparitions like the Smoke Monster (Jacob's nemesis?). This can also be denoted further in accounting for Christian's appearance when dressed in the suit and shoes he was to be buried in, it was either a Smoke Monster apparition or Jack hallucinating, assuming that the "look" and "physical substance" of the Smoke Monster apparitions are limited by the amount of information it can casually observe or "download" from a living person's memories (See more about this in Smoke Monster Theories). Whereas, when we see Christian dressed more casually (dress shirt and slacks), it is an apparition created by an entity which had greater contact with the eventual host. This will be further substantiated if we find that Jacob had some sort of contact with Christian Shephard, off-Island, before Christian's death.
105-christian-03

'Christian Shephard' on the Island

  • Christian in suit doesn't physically interact with people unlike Christian in jumpsuit (interaction with Sun and Frank) or black dress shirt (holding Aaron). So there is a split in apparitions, the physical apparition is Nemesis and the spirit apparition is either Jacob or actual spirit of Christian.
    • The apparition of Christian is not Jacob, but Jacob's nemesis. Note that, for example, "resurrected" Locke and Christian never appear together.
  • 1) & 3) He's dead and the fact that Jack mentions him being alive more than once is a plot element used by the writers to convince you it is indeed a flashback instead of revealing too early that it is a flashforward in Through the Looking Glass. Jack was obviously drunk in the scenes where he mentions his father in this episode, and so would not be in his right mind.
  • 3) Jack's hallucination of Christian off the island is MiB who possesses the power, like Jacob, to physically leave the island. This may also explain the apparitions of Charlie that Hurley sees off the island. This leads to the presumption that when MiB says that he wants to "leave" the island that he's not just speaking of physically leaving the island, but is referring to crossing over to the afterlife as the losties refer to "leaving" in the final episode.
    • The writers make this aspect of the show confusing on purpose, mixing dreams, visions and hallucinations of the same characters. However, if you watch carefully, characters will often specify a reason for why they see apparitions (e.g. stress, dehydration, lack of sleep). The only way to be sure an apparition is "real" in any sense is if that character is backed-up by another character who does not have a history with the person appearing as the apparition (e.g. when Sawyer confirms that Kate's vision of the black horse is real, or when Locke sees Christian in Cabin Fever).

Christian's Body[]

1x05 Christian'sDeadBody

Christian's body soon after death in a Sydney morgue

  • During the crash, Christian´s body was ejected from the coffin. The ultimate evidence is the sport shoes (possibly Jack´s) we can see hanging in a tree, in the first scene of the pilot. MiB must have found both the body and the coffin. He made Christian´s body disappear but kept the coffin knowing that he would be able to drive Jack mad (or, at least, to spread a lot of doubts) thanks to it. His plan worked: MiB appeared as Christian at the end of "Walkabout" and during the next episode, "White Rabbit". Jack got completely disturbed by the ghost and even more by the empty coffin. MiB's trick was perfect.
  • The Others stole the body.
  • The body was taken by the Smoke Monster so that it could be used against Jack and other people.
  • The body was "claimed" as Sayid's body after his death.
  • Christian's body never made it to the island (815 was carrying an empty coffin), just like in the FSW, where it never made it to LAX (we learned in Lighthouse that his body was probably stuck in Berlin). Eloise Hawking probably knew that, which is why, when she insisted that all the Losties that left go back to the island (in "316"), and that they recreate the conditions of flight 815, she was just fine with using Locke's body as a proxy.
    • In the episode "White Rabbit", Jack is told by the check-in desk clerk in Sydney that they cannot check the body in as he does not have the proper documentation. It's possible, however unlikely, that Jack's speech about needing to bury his farther did not have it's intended effect, but did instill enough emotion in the check-in desk lady to remove the body from the coffin in the hopes that it would not be opened from that point onwards (plausible, as Jack says he will have a hearse waiting at LAX to take him straight to the cemetery to bury him), thus fooling Jack.
  • The best explanation is that the MIB stole the body of Christian when the plane crashed so that he could pull off being christian sheppard
  • Christian is an analogue for Jesus, and his body was physically resurrected as Jesus' was, unlike Locke's body.
The vision of Christian

Christian Shephard in White Rabbit

Appearances[]

  • MiB, How was he able to masquerade as Locke while simultaneously meeting Sun and Frank at the Barracks?
    • MiB had not taken Locke's body until after he was Christian. We never see him as Christian after he becomes Locke. He didn't become Locke right when the Ajira plane crashed on Hydra Island. He first instructed Sun and Frank to wait for Locke (as Christian), then took Locke's body (and became "stuck" as Locke). It was never simultaneous. Case closed.
      • Also, it has been shown that the MiB can split itself up, as both smoke form (several times it has been shown traversing the jungle in multiple segments) and impersonating people, such as the three dead gangsters who Eko sees.
        • He can split and impersonate 2 or more people like the above comment says. He can split half smoke half person (like smoke monster and Claudia).
    • But didn't we see the smokemonster entering the barrack through the door while Christian was speaking to Sun and Frank? It is not the only time we see Christian and another entity, who is normally identified with MiB: What about Hurley and the cabin? We see Christian AND the man at the window.
  • Before Christian appears to Sun and Frank ,whispers are heard. So,using a logical reasoning,if those whispers are the dead people of the Island ,that Christian is most likely the real Christian(dead ,of course).
      • I dont remember Smokey ever being present around Sun and Frank, other than as Locke or Christian.
      • Yes, we do see Christian in the window (you're talking about in The Beginning of the End, right?). I remember reading an article about stuff that never got to happen on LOST (Google it...) and Darlton, while writing the beginning of Season 4, originally wanted Hurley to see Christian in the chair, then to see HIMSELF looking back---ABC nixed that idea stating that it was too weird and too confusing...(right, because a being made of smoke that takes the form of dead people, a pirate ship in the middle of the jungle, Polar bears, Time Travel, the whole idea of the button, and a four-toed statue is clear as water.)
  • How was Christian able to appear to Jack in Los Angeles?
    • Locke tells Jack that if he leaves the island, it will drive him mad and at some point bring him back. We see in Jack's flash-forward (FF) that he's with Kate after the trial and it's starting to go bad for him (i.e., breaking up with Kate, taking pills, and telling a doctor: "I will get my father down here" knowing that he's dead, etc.) Now, what if Christian's appearances in the hospital in Jack's FF is the Island's way of getting Jack back?
  • Hugo told Jack that someone is going to visit him. Soon... Like Charlie visited Hugo and told him that, Christian appeared to Jack to remember that he must return to the Island (same thing in the Kahana). Christian in the Island is the Man in black and outside the Island is the real Christian (an apparition).
  • It could have been Jack hallucinating. He had earlier talked to Hurley and Hurley told him someone was going to visit him too. It could have been his mind playing tricks, but more likely, it was the Island guiding him back.
  • Here are the basics: Before 815 crashed, smokey was only able to take the form of his former corporeal body, the smoke itself, or anyone else whose dead body was on the island. Right after 815 crashed, he immediately investigated to see who had died, found Christian, hid the body, downloaded the info, found Jack, saw his chance with the Man of Science, took his form, and told Vincent to wake up Jack in the jungle. (So It Begins). <<5 seasons later>> Hurray! Locke's dead, and smokey has a new body/pawn! He now switches back and forth between Christian and Locke depending on who he's with. Remember Dead is Dead? Flocke leads Ben to the temple, Ben falls down the hole, Flocke "goes to get help," switches into Smokey, comes out the holes, does the whole "Hey Ben! You're an ass! Here, let me show you all the horrible things you've done!" in order to weaken Ben, Smokey leaves and comes back (now as Alex Rousseau) tells Ben to listen to Locke (Flocke), Alex disappears, goes back above, turns into Locke, and helps Ben out, who now is going to follow Flocke's every command. All of that, just to get Ben to eventually kill Jacob. It isn't until Jacob is dead that MiB is stuck looking like Locke (The Substitute).
  • As far as appearing to Jack off the island, there's no way it could have been smokey, otherwise smokey would have been up and gone MAD long ago. Auditory and visual hallucinations due to lack of sleep, stress, and being a candidate, FTW.
    • That is, of course, if by "Home" he meant "The Afterlife."
      • If he meant "The Afterlife," why not have someone kill him? Why go through all the trouble of waiting to become mortal (The End) to be killed? He definitely didn't seem willing to die when he was fighting Jack!
        • He couldn't have meant the afterlife, because think about it: he arrived inside Claudia, she gave birth, Mother raised them on the island, and all 2000+ years later, he still never left...never got to see what lies Across the Sea.

Appearance on freighter[]

  • It's not that the MiB is unable to leave the Island as a land-mass. The MiB is unable to leave the "snow globe" that contains the Islands. Since the Kahana was close enough to feel some of the time-dilation of the Island, it was close enough that the MiB could just barely reach it.
4x13 Kahana

The Kahana

  • No, that's precisely the point, the time dilation shows that the Kahana was outside of the Island's radius, further proved when it is no longer there after the time flash. So it can't be to do with the radius of the Island, but it is possible that the MiB can travel over water, only not for long distances (as shown by his need for a plane to escape the Island,) or can project himself visually but not physically off the Island.
    • After the explosion, the only thing keeping the boat in place was the current. It's possible that the freighter was inside the "snow globe" and the current pushed it out. If that's true, MiB could have made it to the freighter.
  • In "The End" Christian appears to Jack as some kind of Psychopompos (guardian of the souls through afterlife), so why shouldn't he be some kind of supernatural entity all along. Well, his human body may have died like MiB's body did, what made it possible for MiB to took his form (some point, who has never been proved - we only have the word of the most untrustable character of the whole series - but let's say some appearances of Christian have been MiB/Samuel), but if Christian was a Psychopompos all along, he would never die totally. The most notable Psychopompos of all mythologies was ANUBIS who is shown on the relief with the monster in the room under the temple, where Ben is confronted with Smokie in Alex' form.
  • When Christian appears on the freighter we hear whispers. It is explained in the series that those whispers are dead people who died on the Island. Many times when whispers are heard someone who died on the Island appears, e.g. the others psychiatrist appears to Juliet and Jack. So, it is the same case with Christian. Another reason why this appeareance of Christian can not be Smokey is because smokey can't leave the main island, he says so to Sawyer when he(Smokey) says he is going to hydra island on a boat to get Jin back(Season 6 episode 10 "The package") and Sawyer tells him "What do you need a boat for? Why don't you turn your ass into smoke and fly over there?"and he answers he can't do that;therefore, he can not go to the freighter either.

Also Anubis is connected to jackals an dogs ("You have to wake up my son. He has got work to do." - or whatever Christian says to Vincent - by the way: "So it begins" would not make much sense, if Christian would have been MiB). It would also explain how Christian could go into the chamber with the wheel: MiB can't enter it, because of the electromagnetism. How should he travel through time and space, wait there for Locke and go so close to the electromagnetic field of the wheel? If he would have been able to do that, all his efforts to leave wouldn't make sense either. The electromagnetic field of the Source and the water around the Island kept him there, so he had to become mortal again to be able to leave. To do that, he needed Desmond to destroy the Source.

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