Candidates

Candidates, according to the Man in Black, are individuals chosen by Jacob to possibly replace him in his job of protecting the Island. ("The Substitute") They also seem to enjoy a special protected status among the Others. ("Lighthouse")

Who candidates are

Locke's name as a candidate crossed out by The Man in Black on the cave wall.

Following Jacob's death, the Man in Black, in the form of John Locke, brings Sawyer to the cliffside cave, showing him dozens of names and accompanying numbers scrawled on the walls and ceiling. He explains that these individuals are candidates chosen by Jacob to take over his role as protector of the Island. Further, Jacob had intentionally brought each candidate to the Island, by intervening and manipulating their choices at critical times in their lives.

The Man in Black explains that each candidate (or at least Sawyer) has three options:

1. do nothing and see how things play out (and his or her name may be crossed out);
2. take over as protector of the Island;
3. leave the island and move on with their lives.

As he explains this, he slowly crosses out Locke's name, implying that if Sawyer does not join him, his name might be "crossed out" too.

Relationship to the Others

Candidates seem to have a special protected status amongst the Others.

When Dogen confronts Hurley about poking around in a restricted area of the Temple, Hurley retorts that he is a candidate and he can do what he wants ("Lighthouse"). Dogen backs off, begrudgingly.

Candidate list

A list of candidates has been seemingly written down in one location:

• on the walls of the cliffside cave

The poor lighting conditions in the cave revealed only a few names clearly.

Crossed-out names

Most of the names on the cave wall have been crossed out. It is not yet clear what this indicates.

In many cases, the candidates have likely died (Rousseau, Rutherford, Goodspeed, Troup). In other cases, the candidates are likely still alive (Linus, Straume, Littleton), but it is unclear why their names are crossed out.

Five names are clearly not crossed out: Ford, Reyes, Shephard, Jarrah, and Kwon (probably either Jin or Sun). Each of the numbers next to these names corresponds with the Numbers.

Jacob has not been shown creating or using the cave list. So far, the Man in Black is the only one shown crossing out a name.

There is also some ambiguity as to whether Linus and Rousseau refer to Alex (Ben's fake daughter). That would give a plausible explanation to why Ben says, he broke the 'rules' when Alex died and why Linus is crossed out.

Candidates pointed out by MIB

Wall Posting	Picture	Name	Number	Status	Information
		John Locke (LOCKE)	4	Deceased	He met Jacob when he was thrown out a window by his father. Jacob touched his shoulder and said he was sorry that happened to him. Was crossed off the list by the Man in Black.
		Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (REYES)	8	Alive	Met Jacob upon release from prison, and was talked into booking passage on Ajira Flight 316. Jacob touched Hurley's chest when emphasizing the importance of the flight.
		James "Sawyer" Ford (FORD)	15	Alive	Met Jacob as a child at his parents' funeral. Jacob touched Sawyer when he handed him a pen, which Sawyer used to write his letter. Identified as a candidate by the Man in Black. Has currently chosen the third option: Leave the Island.
		Sayid Jarrah (JARRAH)	16	Alive	Met Jacob when his wife Nadia was murdered. He touched Sayid's shoulder briefly. Identified as a candidate by the Man in Black.
		Jack Shephard (SHEPHARD)	23	Alive	Met Jacob at the hospital where he worked after his first successful surgery. Jacob offered Jack an Apollo Bar that he had unsuccessfully tried to dislodge from the vending machine. Their fingers touched as Jacob passed the bar to Jack. Identified as a candidate by the Man in Black. Could also refer to Christian Shephard who has often been seen in Jacob's cabin. On the wheel in Jacob's Lighthouse, Shephard's name is written in a darker black ink and different handwriting than the names surrounding his. There are also several small punctures in the surface around his name and a few of those below it.
		Jin or Sun Kwon (KWON)	42	Alive	MIB mentions that he's not sure if it refers to Jin or Sun. Jacob touched both at their wedding.

Complete list of candidates

Number	Name	Source	Information
2	LACOMBE	Cave	Probably the Lacombe from the science expedition.
4	LOCKE	Cave	John Locke.He met Jacob when he was thrown out a window by his father. Jacob touched his shoulder and said he was sorry that happened to him. Was crossed off the list by the Man in Black
8	REYES	Cave	Hugo Reyes. Met Jacob upon release from prison, and was talked into booking passage on Ajira Flight 316. Jacob touched Hurley's chest when emphasizing the importance of the flight.
10	MATTINGLEY	Cave	Probably the US army soldier whose uniform was stolen and used by an Other in 1954.
14	PRYCE	Cave	Probably Ryan Pryce, an Other who Hurley ran over with a DHARMA van.
15	FORD	Cave	James Ford. Met Jacob as a child at his parents' funeral. Jacob touched Sawyer when he handed him a pen, which Sawyer used to write his letter. Identified as a candidate by the Man in Black. Has currently chosen the third option: Leave the Island.
16	JARRAH	Cave	Sayid Jarrah. Met Jacob when his wife Nadia was murdered. He touched Sayid's shoulder briefly. Identified as a candidate by the Man in Black.
20	ROUSSEAU	Cave	Probably Alex Rousseau or Danielle Rousseau.
23	SHEPHARD	Cave	Met Jacob at the hospital where he worked after his first successful surgery. Jacob offered Jack an Apollo Bar that he had unsuccessfully tried to dislodge from the vending machine. Their fingers touched as Jacob passed the bar to Jack. Identified as a candidate by the Man in Black. Could also refer to Christian Shephard who has often been seen in Jacob's cabin.
29	BRENNAN	Cave	Probably the Brennan from the science expedition. In the lighthouse, "Brennan" appears with the number 35; this could be a different Brennan, or it could be a production error.
31	RUTHERFORD	Cave	Probably Shannon Rutherford or her father, Adam Rutherford. In the cave, the name appears with the number 31.
42	KWON	Cave	Sun-Hwa Kwon and Jin-Soo Kwon both met Jacob when during their wedding when he congratulated them and advised them to keep their promises. Both were touched by Jacob simultaneously notably on their shoulders. The Man in Black indicated one of them was a candidate but was unable to identify which one. KWON may also refer to Ji Yeon Kwon, the daughter of Sun and Jin, who was conceived on the Island.
58	Burke	Cave	Probably Juliet Burke. Could also be her late ex-husband, Edmund Burke.
64	GOLDSTEIN	Cave	Unknown.
73	COSTA	Cave	Unknown.
77	FRANETZKI	Cave	Unknown.
90	TROUPE	Cave	Probably Gary Troup, a deceased Oceanic survivor and author of Bad Twin
101	Faraday	Cave	Probably Daniel Faraday.
108	Wallace	Cave	Unknown.
115	BARGAS	Cave	Unknown. Possibly spelled "Barqas" or "Vargas".
116	LAMBERT	Cave	Unknown.
117	LINUS	Cave	Probably Ben Linus, or his father Roger Linus.
119	Almeida	Cave	Unknown.
120	Rodriguez	Cave	Unknown.
124	Dawson	Cave	Probably Michael Dawson.
140	LEWIS	Cave	Probably Charlotte Lewis, or her parents David and Jeanette.
171	STRAUME	Cave	Probably Miles Straume.
195	PACE	Cave	Probably Charlie Pace.
197	SHECKLER	Cave	Unknown
202	HARGGUS	Cave	Unknown
222	O'TOOLE	Cave	Unknown.
226	CARLYLE	Cave	Probably Boone Carlyle.
231	AMISTAD	Cave	Unknown.
233	JONES	Cave	Probably the US army soldier whose uniform was stolen and used by Charles Widmore in 1954.
251	YARIS	Cave	Unknown.
272	ORALINGO	Cave	Unknown.
282	AGUILA	Cave	Unknown.
285	JENKINS	Cave	Probably Steve Jenkins, a survivor who died in the flaming arrow attack.
291	DOMINGO	Cave	Unknown.
301	MARS	Cave	Probably Edward Mars, a survivor who died shortly after the crash.
313	LITTLETON	Cave	Probably Claire or Aaron. Not Likely Carole.
317	CUNNINGHAM	Cave	Probably the US army soldier whose uniform was stolen and used by an Other in 1954.
321	FERNANDEZ	Cave	Probably Nikki Fernandez who was on board Oceanic Flight 815 but later killed.
335	HENDERSON	Cave	Probably Rose Nadler, the only known Henderson (maiden name).
337	MARTIN	Cave	Probably Karl Martin, the "Other" who was dating Alex Rousseau.
346	GRANT	Cave	Unknown. Probably 346 if the compass goes from 1 to 360.
	CHANG	Cave	Probably Pierre Chang or Lara Chang. Miles is separately listed under Straume.
	DAVISON	Cave	Unknown.
	GARNER	Cave	Unknown.
	GOODSPEED	Cave	Probably one of the many Goodspeeds, who include Horace, Amy, Olivia, and Ethan.
	PICKETT	Cave	Probably Danny Pickett or Colleen Pickett.
	REYNOLDS	Cave	Unknown.
	SULLIVAN	Cave	Probably Sullivan, a survivor who most likely died when the remaining survivors got separated while the Island traveled through time.

Trivia

• As stated in Jorge Garcia's podcast "Geronimo Jack's Beard", the script for "The Substitute" mentions that there should be "over a hundred names" written on the cave.
• Justin says that Jin "is one of them" when Aldo is about to kill him, to which Aldo replies that "he may be one of them," possibly referring to him as being a candidate. ("What Kate Does")
• Cued by Jacob, Hurley asserts his status as a candidate and his right to do as he pleases. ("Lighthouse")
• Of all the known candidates from the Oceanic Flight 815 survivors faction, Sawyer (and Jin, if he is a candidate) are the only ones who have not returned to the mainland since coming to the Island.
• Jack's number, 23, corresponds to his seat number on Oceanic Flight 815, 23B.
• No one from the tail section of 815 was shown to be on the cave's list.
• Assuming Linus means Ben, Brennan means the science expedition member, and that all other surnames mean the most obvious (what is assumed in the table above), and counting Burke and Linus as Others and the people from the freighter who were on the Island as DHARMA kids as freighter people, there are fifteen passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 on the walls, four Others, three freighter people, three members in the French team, three members of the U.S. Army, two DHARMA members, and fourteen completely unknown people there.
• Frank was not seen to have met Jacob or to have his name on the wall, but was indicated by Bram as a "possible candidate".
• Kate was seen to be touched by Jacob but her name was not identified as being on the wall. It was, however, written on the Lighthouse wheel.
• It is possible that Ilana (who was specifically recruited by Jacob) is on the wall, as we do not yet know her last name.
• There are several references to some of the characters written on the cave who are previously referred to as not being on Jacob's list:
  • In "I Do", Danny Pickett mentioned that "Shephard wasn't even on Jacob's list".
  • In "Par Avion", Mikhail states that Kate is not on the list because she is "flawed"; Sayid is not on the list because he is "weak and frightened"; and Locke is not on the list because he is angry.
• The list includes two inside jokes for numbers 197 and 202. Sheckler and Harggus are two characters portrayed by American stand up comedian Jim Norton on the Opie and Anthony Show, heard on Sirius/XM Radio. The show is heard on Channel 197 on the Sirius platform and Channel 202 on the XM platform.

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Candidates/Theories

• Why did Jacob write the names on the cave wall?
  • Is MIB manipulating Sawyer into believing it's Jacob's cave?
• What makes a person a candidate?
• Why would Jacob need a replacement?
• Why did Jacob compile this list of candidates?
  • Was everything the Man in Black said about the candidates truthful?
• Why does the Man in Black disapprove of Jacob's "interference" in the candidates' lives?
• How is it determined whose name is crossed out, and when?
• Why aren't Charles Widmore & Eloise Hawking listed on the wheel or in the cave?
• Is the MIB's name listed on the Wheel or Wall?