Christian Shephard/Theories

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Theories about Christian Shephard

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Stated as questions or possibilities (avoid question marks, "Maybe", "I think", etc). More appropriate for another article. Illogical or previously disproven. Proven by canon source, and moved to main article. Speculative and lacking any evidence to support arguments. Responding to another theory (use discussion page instead). This does not include responses that can stand alone as its own theory. Usage of an indented bullet does not imply the statement is a response. See the Lostpedia theory policy for more details.

Christian is an apparition of Jacob's nemesis

Jacob's nemesis took Christian's appearance and memories as he did with John Locke's. He used Christian as a means to further his ultimate goal of killing Jacob. That is why he told John Locke he must die, because that was the only way he could become him.

• It is impossible to ignore the fact that Christian's body came to island in a coffin, in the exact same way John Locke's body did (wearing Christian's shoes, no less).
• However, Christian's body was missing from the coffin. John Locke's body is still present physically. If we assume Yemi's appearances to Eko were manifestations of the smoke monster/Jacob's nemesis, it is worthwhile to note that Yemi's body was still in the small plane that he crashed on the island in.
• When Jack is visited by Christian, he is drawn out of his office by a beeping smoke detector in the lobby where he hears his father call his name (Something Nice Back Home). This may be a clue that Christian is linked to the Smoke Monster, who is also believed to be linked to Jacob's nemesis.
  • How are Jacob's nemesis's purposes served by Christian's actions? From the little that we've seen, Jacob's nemesis is only interested in one thing - killing Jacob as fast as he can, as evidenced by how "John Locke" pushed Richard to show him where Jacob lives. Christian, on the other hand, has shown interest and concern for other people, like Sun (otherwise why would he show her what had happened to her husband) or Michael (whom he released from his debt).
    • The Nemesis's purposes were served and it led to Jacob's death. Christian orders Locke to move the island which leads to Ben moving the island, which leads to Locke being appointed leader of the Others, the Oceanic 6 being rescued and the island hurtling through time. Christian orders Locke to move the island again and name drops Eloise Hawking. Locke is out in the real world with Ben and is killed by Ben when he says the name...Eloise Hawking. Locke's body is brought back to the island along with the Oceanic 6 to the island which gives the monster the opportunity to pretend to be Locke. The monster later takes the form of Alex to further manipulate Ben. Richard marches Ben fake Locke to Jacob's front door. Ben delivers the death blow that fake Locke cannot himself deliver. So two instances of Ghost Christian's interference led up to Jacob's death and the stuff that didn't is leading to fulfill some other agenda of the monster's.
    • Christian, like Jacob's nemesis as Locke, made Sun believe that he wanted to help Sun find Jin. As with Locke, this is most likely not the case. Christian, who is Jacob's nemesis, needs Sun for part of his overall plan. This is why Christian told Sun and Frank to wait for "Locke." Why would Christian have the two meet an impostor who wants to kill Jacob if he is speaking on Jacob's behalf? Wouldn't he at least warn them, since Jacob could tell the impostor from the real Locke? Additionally, Christian confirmed to Locke that he had to die in "This Place is Death." This was so he could take Locke's form after setting him up as a faux leader of the Others through time travel, which only occurred because Christian told Locke to move the Island. Christian/Jacob's nemesis knew that Ben would turn the wheel, causing the Island to skip through time and this allowed Locke to make himself important and find out he "had" to die from Richard and Christian.
• Maybe only some of Christian's appearances are as Jacob's nemesis in his form, while others are his actual spirit. There is evidence of this. One Christian leads Locke to his death by making him leave the Island, meaning that this is likely Jacob's nemesis. However, dead Charlie relays a message through Hurley to Jack that he will receive a visitor who turns out to be Christian. This is likely the real Christian as Jacob described Hurley as blessed.
  • This theory is supported by the fact that MIB/Jacob's nemesis cannot leave the Island. So when Jack saw Christian in the hospital in 2007, it wasn't the Man in Black.
• Christian may have already died long before his body was discovered, and Jacob's nemesis had already taken on his form when he met both Ana Lucia and Sawyer.
  • Not possible, Jacob's nemesis/MIB can't leave the Island.
  • Counter-evidence: The mobisode So It Begins is canon to LOST, and if Christian was Jacob's nemesis why would he say to Vincent "I need you to go find my son"? Also, he said to Locke before he turned the wheel back on track, "Say hello to my son." Christian is a manifestation of himself. No one is taking over Christian's image but Christian himself. He is a "ghost" with limited physical contact with objects. Ghosts in theory need some form of energy to manifest in order to move objects or to visually appear. This energy can be thermal, electrical, or audible. Since the Island has a huge amount of electromagnetism, unlike any other place on Earth, then it would be easier for a ghost (Christian) to manifest into himself from spirit into the apparitions we see.
    • Jacob's nemesis can take the memories and the personalities of those forms he takes (as shown with Locke). With Yemi, who was likely also Jacob's nemesis, he was somewhat friendly and brotherly to Eko until he was to confess his sins. When Eko failed his Island test (and chance to be manipulated by Jacob's nemesis), "Yemi" dropped the act and scolded Eko for addressing him as his brother. Asking Vincent to go to "his son" is merely a merging of the personality that Jacob's nemesis had stolen and his own plans. Telling Locke to say "Hello to my son" was a key component of Jack losing it and going on planes hoping to return to the Island, as he had been seeing visions of his father at the time too.
• The Nemesis is repelled by the circles of ash. Christian appears in the cabin. Ilana's team discovers that the circle of ash around the cabin is broken, i.e. to enable the Nemesis to enter.
  • It's the other way around. The Nemesis cannot cross the ash, which means that if The Nemesis is inside a circle of ash, it prevents him from leaving, and if he is outside of the ash it prevents him from entering. Bram employs this tactic when he is confronted by the Nemesis, as do the denizens of the Temple. Additionally, Jacob himself never appeared inside the cabin (even though Ben claimed that he did, he later confided that he had never met Jacob to fake Locke). Jacob has never appeared as anyone but himself, whereas The Nemesis has clearly assumed the identity of others (especially those who are already dead when they arrive at the island). Thus, the cabin was actually the home of the Nemesis, and the broken line of ash is what allowed him to escape.
    • But that doesn't fit with the fact that we've been constantly seeing the Nemesis in the form of the smoke monster for the whole series, including in 1988 or 89 with Rousseau's team. One would think that it would be no surprise that the circle was broken if the monster was loose for so long before Ilana got there and it was really being contained in the cabin.

Jacob can also take the form of dead people, Christian Shepard. The circle of ash around the cabin is to keep the Nemesis out of the cabin.

• list of appearances- 1. appears to jack, standing out is his white shoes, and leads jack to water and his disappearing body. Body disappearance occured also with yemi (but later after the crash), which coincided with the appearance of him as the monster. Also noted is that he says that jack has work to do, which is what walt says to locke later.

2. hydra, christian says let it go, though information isnt enough for anything yet, however its most likely not MIB.

3. appears in jacob's cabin in the rocking chair when hurley sees it, with another mysterious man. It is possible the other man is MIB and is somehow taking Christian, though this is unconfirmed.

when re-watching season 4, i noticed something (i recently realized its mentioned above, but would like to explore it anyway), when hurley first see's the cabin, christian appears in the rocking chair (although one could argue it was his corpse as he doesnt appear lifelike), and then while he's rocking the scary face, who is clearly independent from christian, (likely nemesis' face) pops up and scares hurley. so i believe that although he may be affiliated with the monster (which could be the reason why he also told Claire the others had Aaron), he is someone else (not necessarily christian).

4. This is an important turning point, where Christian starts to interact a whole lot more. In Claire's encounter, he wears a dress shirt and leads her away. Later they appear in the cabin, the same one that ilana states has not been lived in by jacob and surrounded by a broken circle of ash, meant to protect against the monster. Due season 6, Claire is infected, similar to Rosseau's team which become sick after encountering the monster (but not Rosseau who stayed away). On the Episode "The Lighthouse" Claire tells Jin that "her father (christian)" and her friend (MiB) told her the others have her baby (which is a lie). This confirms that her apparition was either affiliated or is MIB.

5. Appears to Michael, telling he can go (die).

• it is theorized the the monster cannot touch water, so him appearing on the freighter is interesting

Michael's situation is also interesting as it is known jacob's gift prevents people from killing themselves, in which Michael is unable until the bomb explosion where Christian tells him he can go. This, along with the whispers and the hint MIB cannot cross the water in his true form suggests this may be related to the island itself and the dead who cannot go on.

6. He also helps locke move the island, calling him a sacrifice. The fact he tells him this, and asks to say hello to his son may suggest he is Christian himself. On the other hand Locke's sacrifice was said by MIB as Locke to richard alpert, who told Locke (in a time loop). The Christian in the cabin (most likely MIB as he was with Claire) also told Locke specifically to move the island. Due to the events that followed it may have been MIB's plan to kill Locke and take his form instead of merely being an opportunity. The parallels between Christian's and Locke's body also suggest MIB can disguise himself much the same way.

7. Later appears to Jack in the hospital, it could be nothing but the smoke detector could be a subtle clue. On the other hand MIB hasn't been shown to be able to be outside the island, and this apparition was wearing the previous suit. This can be either Jack's hallucination or an apparition similar to those to Hurley.

8. Appears to Sun after whispers, telling her to wait for Locke, which later Ben is told by MIB in the form of Alex to follow him. The same MIB later tries to convince Sun through her desire to meet Jin. There are parallels in this, but the whispers and MIB's inability to travel water so quickly can also suggest it is Christian himself, though it may be MIB manipulating them to stay.

Interesting enough Christian is the only apparition or dead person that the characters did not know when he appeared to them.

Overall it appears that MIB has at least taken some forms of the apparitions, namely the ones where he interacted more with the people. As a prediction MIB will most likely explain his ability to look like the dead, namely Christian, but Christian himself will appear either through Hurley or to Jack himself. It is also possible that the apparition being MIB depends on the clothes Christian wears- if the original suit with the white shoes it is not MIB and another entity, while the ones wearing the dress shirt like in Claire's apparition is MIB. Whispers being on his appearances also suggest some may be influenced by the dead of the island, the real Christian Shepard, though whether this also relates to the monster is unknown. Another possibility is that Christian is claimed by MIB, but this is also unconfirmed.

Christian is an apparition of Jacob

Since Nemesis is stuck on the island and seeks escape, his appearance as Christian to Jack in Los Angeles cannot be an apparition of Nemesis

Christian is an apparition of either Jacob or Jacob's Nemesis

Christian is dressed differently on various occasions when he appears. Sometimes he wears white shoes and a white shirt under his jacket (Jacob?), sometimes he wears black boots and a dark shirt without jacket (Jacob's Nemesis?). Other than that distinctions may seem difficult as both Jacob and Nemesis may have an interest for Jack to return to the island for different intentions.

Christian has been "claimed" by Jacob's Nemesis

• Jacob's Nemesis has "claimed" Christian in the same way he claimed Claire and Sayid. This explains how Christian came back to life after dying.
  • Supporting evidence: When Hurley stumbled upon the cabin, Christian was seen, along with another man who may have been the MiB. Also, while Claire instantly recognized Flocke as her "friend" and not Locke, she made the distinction between her father and her "friend," implying they were two entities. This may also be how Christian appeared off-island to Jack, since MiB appears to be confined to the island.

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 of the former out of guilt over 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?
• 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 be 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.
• 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.
• Christian in suit doesn't physically interact with people unlike Christian in jumpsuit(interation with Sun and Frank) or black dress shirt(holding Aaron). So there is a split in apparitions, the physical apparition is Nemisis 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 Through the looking Glass, and so would not be in his right mind.
  • 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 confirmed 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

• Polar bears came and took the body.
  • A polar bear couldn't have opened the coffin without damaging it, nor would it have moved the cover rock back over the plane's hatch.
    • We've learned that the polar bears on the Island are incredibly intelligent. Most suspect that the polar bears turn the donkey wheel, and also Tom tells Sawyer that the bears figured out the cage trick to get food.
• The Others stole the body.
• The body was taken by the Smoke Monster so that it could be used against Jack and other people.
• Jacob is an disembodied consciousness that needs a body to inhabit in order to appear to the survivors. Having been encased in the coffin, Christian's already embalmed corpse would be a good choice. When Christian says that he speaks on Jacob's behalf, he means this because he IS Jacob, but living within the body of Christian Shephard.
  • Interesting, but then why does he need to appear in the form we think of as 'Jacob' in addition to appearing as Christian?
  • If that's the case then that means Jacob can teleport - from the Island to Kahana, from the Island to underground (frozen tunnels, time when there wasn't Orchid station nor the well). And also: why did he lied that he's not Jacob? It was said very clearly in "Cabin Fever" - Locke asked "are you Jacob?" and Christian answered "no, but I can speak on his behalf".
    • This Christian wears black shoes and might be a manifestation of the Man in Black, who correctly states that he is not Jacob but incorrectly claims to speak on Jacob's behalf.
• 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 ATL, 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.

Christian is a (the?) Candidate

• Christian could be a candidate and could be the final replacement for Jacob
  • If the timeline where Jack has a son is the future to the current on island activities then those we see off the island could not be the 'winning' candidate. Ben, Kate, Jack, Locke, Ethan, and just about everybody has been shown in this off-island timeline. Christian Sheppard is not seen in this timeline. His body is still missing. Having been dead off the island he truly would have nothing to gain by leaving the island.
  • Christian has been shown consistently in Jacob like roles doing Jacob type jobs.
• The number 23 for Sheppard could represent Christan Sheppard just as Kwon could represent Sun or Jin.
  • The mirrors show Christian Sheppard's home. Jack even states he only lived there as a kid.
    • The mirrors also show the place where Jin and Sun got married and the church where Sawyers parent's had there funeral. This is where Jacob meant these characters. It is possible that Sheppard is referring to Christian. Jacob might have meant Christian at his house. If it was Jack then it should have shown the hospital
• never posted before but this makes the most sense. Take it one step further--> What if Christian IS the new Jacob for the ALT universe? or rather, he is the "candidate" who is ultimately selected to "replace" Jacob? That is why his coffin is missing in the ALT because he was selected in this universe and now governs the island. That would explain how he is someone who can "speak on Jacob's behalf." All the "evil" actions are not really evil at all, but are actions that will somehow culminate in Christian's ascension. Like Jacob said, "it is all progress until" ... well we don't know what until but let's assume it culminates in the selection of the "candidate." Christian is working to further a fixed process (known to Jacob all along). The MiB only thinks he is manipulating events, but it is all "progress." That is how all the remaining "candidate" Losties can exist in the flash-sideways, because it was Christian who was selected.
  • (possible objection: Christian appears while Jacob still "reigns," so how can he be the replacement?)
    • (response:) Who knows what kind of powers Jacob or his replacement has? His normal-timeline apparitions may be a kind of side-ways projection from the universe where he reigns as Jacob's replacement. This could also explain the moving cabin and the question of its occupants. The cabin too could be a projection from the Christian Shepherd is the new Jacob universe. Perhaps the "eye" dude Hurley saw is the MiB or his replacement, guarded by Christian.
  • (possible objection) but we saw the island underwater in LA X, so why should we even think there is a Jacob equivalent in the ALT?
    • (response) this was not actually so new at all. If the Island can be dug up archeologically in Tunisia in timeline 1, than why can't it also be underwater in the ALT?
      • A polar bear with a Hydra collar was dug up in Tunisia, not the island itself (Confirmed Dead). Tunisia is "the exit" from the island, so it is likely that the bear turned the frozen wheel.

Counter Arguments:

• Jacob has directly indicated that "Shepherd" on the lighthouse wheel refers to Jack Shepherd. ("He had to see how special he is." - Jacob)
• MiB has directly indicated that "Shepherd" on the cave wall refers to Jack Shepherd.
• All the other remaining candidates that match with "the numbers" are the main characters we've seen since day one, just like Jack Shepherd.
• The house Jack saw in the mirrors was also significant to Jack's life, the house he grew up in, in fact indicating that Jacob has been watching throughout his entire life.
• Jack also assumed it was him and not his father.
• Candidates who have died have been crossed out, on the cave wall and the lighthouse wheel. Christian died before he came to the island, like Locke did who also got crossed out.
  • All signs point to Jack as being "Shepherd". The only thing, really, linking Christian is the last name.

Christian is the Man In Black's right hand man

• Being a right hand man means that he is a seperate being and not an apparition of the MIB or Jacob.
  • Then there is the question of why Christian and not somebody else would be the MIB's right hand man. This may be related to an earlier loophole in which Christian and not the MIB himself was released from the Island. This would mean that Christian is probably a supernatural being just like the MIB and Jacob, but perhaps a less powerful one. When he left the Island, he lost his supernatural powers and became mortal and had to live out his human life until he died. He may even have forgotten who he really was at that time. His body returning to the Island was part of the second loophole, in which Christian would work to get the MIB off the Island, a deal which was possibly made before the first loophole. When he returned to the Island, he regained his powers and thus his life, but also remembered the human life he had (which was why he told Locke to say hello to his son). One of the first things he did when he got back was breaking the circle of ash around the cabin and thus releasing the MIB so that they both could start manipulating the survivors.
• Christian appeared to have had a major role in manipulating John Locke, so that the MIB could find his loophole to kill Jacob. There is no reason why the MIB would take the form of Christian just to appear to Locke. With all other apparations that have happened, such as Yemi to Eko and Alex to Ben, the form taken by the MIB was of someone they knew. There is no such connection between Christian and Locke.
• Also, it appears that Claire thought of her dad on the Island and the MIB in Locke's form as two seperate beings, and both of them were both keeping her company, thus making it very likely the MIB and Christian are trying to achieve the same goals.

Christian is working for or with the mysterious kid

• He seems separate from both Jacob and MiB, just as the mysterious kid does.
• Both of their appearances have them appearing and disappearing in the same mysterious way, they are phantom-like.