I especially like this theory from JOpinionated (via DocArzt) because I too think that Ilana is a god. I don’t have the required knowledge of Egyptian mythology to name her like JOpinionated did, but I mostly agree with what he has to say.
Go here to read the theory.
(Just to clarify, I think that Ilana is a god, or if not a god she is a spirit being like Jacob, although less powerful. I don’t really care whether she’s Sekhmet or some other unnamed god, I doubt they’ll ever talk about the Egyptian gods by name in the show.)
– izi
Not Confused Just Lost 
While we are trying to figure out exactly who & what Illana / Esau / Smokey / Jacob are, and what their relations to each other are, I would like to retract a little on my previous theory.
I suggested that Esau and all Smokey manifestations (Smokey, dead Christian, dead Yemi, dead Alex, etc) were all one in the same, and the only wildcard was seemingly “dead” Claire. Well, I have found another hole in my theory 😦
It goes a little something like this….
[Ben and “Locke” arrive on the Island via flight 316. “Locke” prompts Ben to return to his house and call Smokey.] Score 1 for my theory.
[“Locke” disappears before Ben calls Smokey. Smokey never arrives, instead “Locke” returns and says they will go to Smokey’s house, the location of which “Locke” now knows.] Score 2 for my theory.
[“Locke” takes Ben directly to Smokey’s house, even underground and to the exact lair/pit. In a complete Clark Kent/Superman move, Ben falls into Smokey’s lair, convenientially meaning “Locke” and Smokey won’t be in the same place at the same time.] Score 3 for my theory.
[It takes a while for Smokey to appear, giving “Locke” enough time to disappear.] Score 4 for my theory.
[Smokey tells Ben to follow “Locke” wherever, whenever, however.] Score 5 for my theory.
[Smokey then disappears, just as “Locke” reappears.] Score 6 for my theory.
So far, so good. Now, we skip along a little while to where “Locke”, Ben, Richard and the Others reach the beach camp. Here is where the hole arises. (I’m paraphrasing btw).
Locke: Hey remember when we first met? We had some good times, didn’t we? Why aren’t we friends? I would do *anything* for you, even kill an unseen God called Schmacob… would you do anything for me?
Ben: Save your jive-talk, Locke. I am your slave. Smokey told me to do whatever you want, so if you want me to kill Jacob, I shall.
Locke: Really? Smokey told you that? Wow, this was even easier than I thought. Okay, let’s drop the pretence, slave. Go kill me a God.
The gist – “Locke” really had no clue what dead Alex said to Ben, meaning that, while both Esau and Smokey seem to want Jacob dead, they are not one in the same… or at the very least, they have two seperate memory banks.
Wildcard Theory – “Locke” was just pulling a Ben, masterly manipulating the ex-Other in case his talk with dead Alex wasn’t enough. Once “Locke” realised his words as dead-Alex had really sunk in, he dropped the manipulation angle and just went straight into Jacob-killing mode.
Thoughts?
i think the wild card theory could be spot on…
i’m also begining to suspect that “locke” has been locke (maybe on and off?) for quite a while now..
I have to strongly disagree with the idea that Ilana “is” a specific Egyptian god “Sekhmet”. The creators have never been specifically referential in the context of the show’s various mysteries. Even the Statute, which was announced to be “Tawaret” was never explained on the show itself, only referenced in some ridiculous coded passage in an interview with JJ Abrams (that casual viewers of the show will never read or hear about). Indeed, for most, the knowledge consists of wow, Sayid found a four-toed foot along his travels, the time travelers saw its rear -end for a split second before landing in 1974, and it turns out that Jacob lives there. The show will not, I suspect, begin to teach us about Egyptian mythology during Season 6.
As for Ilana, while she may end up being “special” in the Richard Alpert sense of the word, based on what we know of her thus far, (her posing as a bounty hunter, seducing Sayid and bringing him on the 315 flight, leading Bram and the Shadow of the Statue crowd once Ben Linus murdered Caesar, and her visit with Jacob) she appears to be part of the “end game” in the same way that any of the others (Others) are.
At the end of the day, Lost is a show about real people, with real weaknesses and moral flaws who land on the Island with a chance to redeem themselves (Tabula Rasa). Season 6 will be about how each character’s role in this Island war will help in that redemption. Walking gods of Egyptian decent will not likely be part of that more important story.
Of course, I could be totally wrong.
Just between you and me, that’s the reason this is a Foreign Theory and not my own. I know that this kind of theory is completely against the reality of the show, it’s just fun to theorize like this.
– izi
My own feelings have been that the more Damon and Carlton took control of the show, the less it has focussed on the characters.
Season 1 was VERY character-centric. The mysteries were only glimpsed at, but even then it was usually in a character’s reaction to the mystery – Sayid pondering the 4 toed statue; Locke, Boone, Jack and Hurley’s reactions to the “hatch”; Locke and Jack’s differing views on the “monster”; even Locke’s paralysis was barely touched upon, it was more focussed on his emotional paralysis.
Season 2 still stuck to the characters, but began to feel bogged down by mystery – the prominence of the “hatch” in most episodes; the Others beginning to show their faces; Benry Gale – but there was still a lot of character in these mysteries, again specifically revolving around Locke.
Season 3, in my opinion, was still very character-centric. We got a lot of time with the Others, we got Nikki and Paulo, etc. But a lot of people didn’t like this – not enough “ANSWERS”. So, here comes the announcement of the ‘end date’, and the beginning of Carlton’s not-so-subtle boredom with the show (shocking? maybe, but all their interviews since then have been about how excited they are to be rattling to the show and discussions about putting the show behind them when they are done – there is less ‘love’ in their voices, imo).
So, Season 4 arrives – FLASHFORWARDS, wow :O; TIME TRAVEL, wow :O; OUTSIDERS (Freight Folk, Penny), wow :O, CHRISTIAN & CABIN, wow :O; UNDERWATER HATCHES, wow :O; RADIO TOWERS, wow :O; DEADLY GAS STATIONS, wow :O; BUNNY CLONES, wow :O, BIG GUNS, wow :O; HELICHOPPER, wow :O; FAKE CRASH SITE, wow :O; FROZEN DONKEY WHEEL, wow :O. But, with the exception of the rush job that was Alex’s death, and the (imo) sub-par quality rom-com that was The Constant, where was the character?
You had Danielle and Karl slain needlessly. Alex’s death was emotional, but again felt forced. Naomi? Who cares?! The freighter crew? Meh. Jin? Not much of a chance of him actually being dead. Michael? Rushed. The Frieghter Four? Who cares (hats off to the actors for making us care about such thinly-written characters, but I’m not critiquing the actors here, I’m critiquing the writers). Lots of crazy, lots of reveals, lots of mythology, hardly any character.
Season 5 – MORE FROZEN WHEELS!! EPIC TIME TRAVEL!! HYDROGEN BOMBS!! 1970s!!! SUBMARINES!!! GHOST WHISPERING!!! GOD REVEALING!!! POWER PLAYERS!!!! But where was the character?
Daniel and Charlotte – thanks to the poor build up of Season 4, it was down to the actors to make us care about this “”””couple”””” (four “s for emphasis). Little Charlie and Little Aaron? Sidelined to about 2 scenes each per season. Still, at least it’s more than Ji Yeon got! Jin and Sun? More forced storylines (Whidmore, “don’t send my wife back”, “have you seen my husband?”). Eloise and Charles? Not enough screen time. Locke? Either dead, confused, or confusedly killing himself. Walt? Ignored. Michael? Buried deeper than Nikki and Paulo. The “Gods”? We don’t even know both their names yet. Illana? Caeser (who?)? Bram? Jack (confused)? Kate (confusing)? Juliet (turned into a second-rate-Kate)?
The only person we really had a reason to care about was Sawyer, but that was pretty much residue from the Season 4 finale… he sure changed back into his old-self quick enough (Kate lusting, anger management, Jack beating).
It is my view that, as TEAM CARLTON have announced full creative control over the series and went so far as to claim they can tidy up the STORY (note – story, not characters) within a short, 17 episode season… the characters have been kicked to the curb to make way for the “bigger picture”.
Season 6 – expect a lot of Egyptian mythology, a lot of Temples, Smoke Monster, death, ghosts, Black Rocks, Whidmores, Shepherds and very little character development. I’m not holding my breathe for a Miles-centric episode, I think Jin and/or Sun’s will be second-rate fan-service, and Desmond and Penny will probably be ripped apart to make way for the bigger picture.
Or maybe I’m just feeling cynical today?
[To clarify, I LOOOOOVE the mythology episodes. I love Ben-centric, Locke-centric, Richard-centric episodes. I can’t stand Jack, Kate or Jin. Miles I can give or take, same goes to Sawyer and Juliet. But I hate it when even the characters I hate get written into corners. The whole scene where Kate told Jack to never ask what happened to Aaron? Hated it. Especially when the phone rang right as they were trying to have a discussion. Cliched to the maximum. I rate Carlton’s STORYtelling very highly, but their scriptwriting and character development skills could use a lot of work. I HOPE there is more Hurley, more Sawyer, some Juliet, more Bram, more Miles and more Charles Whidmore in Season 6. I’m torn between two observation/theories I have – in one, the writers are getting further away from the characters the closer the enddate comes. In the other, the writers are parallelling seasons – 4 with 3, 5 with 2, and hopefully 6 with 1. If this is the case, I eagerly look forward to more character next season.]
God this post was a ramble, wasn’t it? Can we tell it is the hiatus? 😛