Why did the Man in Black slaughter all but Richard?

[Xanderman]

I don't get it, if Smokey wants Jacob dead so badly, why just send one man alone? There were multiple survivors he could have used/manipulated, no? But he killed the rest as heard by the screams above deck. Why did he think Richard stood a chance alone, I mean we saw how easily Jacob whooped him? Wouldn't a larger group of attackers have stood a better chance of succeeding?

Also, is Smokey unable to harm "good" people, meaning it's not that he didn't want to kill Richard when he first encountered him, it's that he couldn't? So he decided to use him instead? Maybe everybody else on the ship was corrupt/sinful, unlike Richard who only accidentally killed that doctor?

[WhoRU?]

Ricardo was the only slave/prisoner alive and Smokey knew he could have a better chance to prove the people are inherently evil not good. Whereas the other prisoners seem to be corrupt without saying and the sailors are suspect. Richard had good intent but is also a desperate man and desperate man will show their true intentions of whether they are good or bad. This was MIB intent. To show a man like Ricardo will murder to fulfilled his selfish needs to see his Isabella.

[closetclana]

I don't get it, if Smokey wants Jacob dead so badly, why just send one man alone? There were multiple survivors he could have used/manipulated, no? But he killed the rest as heard by the screams above deck. Why did he think Richard stood a chance alone, I mean we saw how easily Jacob whooped him? Wouldn't a larger group of attackers have stood a better chance of succeeding?

Also, is Smokey unable to harm "good" people, meaning it's not that he didn't want to kill Richard when he first encountered him, it's that he couldn't? So he decided to use him instead? Maybe everybody else on the ship was corrupt/sinful, unlike Richard who only accidentally killed that doctor?

I think you make a good point. My guess it was for the simplicity of the story telling. It would have been more difficult to introduce a bunch of new characters for just one episode (and perhaps expensive?). But there may be something to the fact that he only kept the prisoner alive. Perhaps he thought he would be easier to manipulate?

[McFly]

Richard was the perfect match for what Smokey needed.. RA was already told by the priest he was basically going to hell... And in being that scared of hell and the devil was something the crew of the ship weren't. Richard was so scared of the thought of hell, that if he couldn't have his wife or be absolved of sin.. He just never wanted to die.. Once that other prisoner told him "it's guarded by the devil" Alpert firmly believed he was in Hell. MIB uses that to his advantage like he does to many others we've seen through the seasons..

Side note.. It's funny that technically the 1st "other" RA was NOT brought to the island by Jacob..

[Xanderman]

This was MIB intent. To show a man like Ricardo will murder to fulfilled his selfish needs to see his Isabella.

So you're saying MIB knew full well Richard didn't stand a chance, and his real goal was to simply to "prove Jacob wrong" I guess. And thus perhaps "win the game"? As afterall, the word "rules" came out of the mouth of that weird island boy nobody could love. lol Implying the possibility that what might really be going on here is a "match" between Jacob and Smokey, Good vs Evil, a chess game with human pieces to determine the fate of mankind perhaps. If Jacob proves Smokey wrong, then the Powers That Be (Egyptian gods? perhaps the energy in the island is a life form/god) will perhaps spare or save mankind. And if Smokey wins, he will be free to leave the island and lay waste to the world.

So apparently they aren't allowed to simply kill each other or were forbidden from doing so. But Smokey broke that rule, and judging by the reaction of homeless blond boy, there will be consequences for him (meaning he may have ended up handing over ultimate victory to Jacob).

Anyway, I agree that it's most likely he only spared Richard because he sensed his goodness and so thus could use this "chess piece" to try to check-mate Jacob. This idea is a little flawed however given that Richard was running on "false info" here. He was being manipulated. Killing/murdering THE DEVIL is not really a "bad/evil" thing, not to me. And that's what he was led to believe he would be doing. This lends support to the idea that MIB did indeed want Jacob dead (just like he did when Ben killed him), in which case my initial argument is quite valid, and this was indeed a little plothole-ish, and possibly simply done for reasons such as story simplicity as ClosetClana said above.

Side note.. It's funny that technically the 1st "other" RA was NOT brought to the island by Jacob..

Not sure what you mean....sorry, can you enlighten...

[McFly]

Jacob brings ppl to the Island, yet he didn't know/bring Richard, nor is Richard a candidate.. And Rich was the 1st person to be on team Jacob as the go between.. Making him the 1st "other" or as the DI would say an "indigenous hostile.."

[Xanderman]

Jacob brings ppl to the Island, yet he didn't know/bring Richard, nor is Richard a candidate.. And Rich was the 1st person to be on team Jacob as the go between.. Making him the 1st "other" or as the DI would say an "indigenous hostile.."

How do we know he didn't know about or purposely bring Richard? Jacob admitted (or claimed) he brought the ship to the island. To me he brought that specific ship not by random or by coincidence, but because Ricky Ricardo was on it. Seems to me that Jesus Jacob already knows everything that's going to happen. (Or it could be he's just following the orders of someone/something else himself in everything he does?) As afterall, he seems to know who all the "important people" are, who to "touch", when and where, in order to put them on paths toward coming to the island, etc. This "prophetic" seeming ability is either a true "power" he has, or could be connected to time travel (basically making him John Connor, another Jesus). But given Jacob's other abilities, giving life, extending life, etc, by a mere touch, it probably is an actual power he has. I'm assuming whoever replaces him will be given the same powers he has, either by Jacob, or by the island energy/lifeform/god or whatever if this is who/what endowed Jacob with his abilities.

[McFly]

Alpert was along for the ride, and Jacob even asked what his name was.. Something he didnt need to do when he met Hugo... He already knew it.. And even if he knew RA, still it was Alpert that pointed out the flaw in Jacob's method of not intervening with the ppl he brought allowing MIB to get to them, hence Jacob telling RA all the others that came to the island through the years were dead.. Then BAM Jacob says u want a job? I don't think there was someone in this "job" before Richard.. That's why i say he was 1st on team Jacob and was the first Other, as he would from that point on be involved with all the Others and help the appointed leaders (as the go between) that come and go on the Island. For decades to come.

[Xanderman]

You could be right of course, but to me it's more likely prophetic Jacob was only saying/doing what "needed to be said and done" in order to make sure events unfold as to lead to exactly what we're seeing now with Jack and company coming to the island, right down to the "broken/lost/faith-tested" man Richard had become, etc. "Richard the advisor" is a "piece of the puzzle" that Jacob needed to put into place at this point in time. So, he said and did to Richard what needed to be said and done, as connected to the future he can foresee. I don't doubt there wasn't anyone before Ricardo with his job. But that's simply because it wasn't the right time for it yet. In other words, there was no point for Jacob to become involved before Richard, because he could foresee no positive or worthwhile "outcome" from doing so. It had to be Richard. Just like it had to be all the other specific people Jacob had chosen/brought later on, like John, Jack, Sawyer, and the rest. Jacob is creating his masterpiece.

[WhoRU?]

Jacob may have just decided to find his successor after MIB attempted on his life by Richard and so may have not drawn up a list of candidates.

Jacob's priority objectives:

1.) prove that MIB is wrong about mankind. 2.) stop MIB from leaving the island.

MIB priority objectives:

1.) killed Jacob 2.) leave the Island by removing everyone (either by killing or taking them) expect for one (to remain on the island - to keep it going?)

Maybe it was MIB intention to leave Richard on the Island while he left the island since Richard would be the only person on the island and can take Jacob's place to guard the gateway.

[Xanderman]

I don't think anything Jacob does is random or a shot in the dark. We've seen his prophetic ability at work. To me he brought the Black Rock because it carried Richard, and knew what Richard's future would be.

As for MIB, I think it's all about tricking the island or cheating the rules that he and Jacob were supposed to be playing by. He killed Jacob and understands that the island will now require a new one. And perhaps a change in one requires a change in the other, and MIB understands that. So MIB's next move is to provide the island with a new Smokey. And then he can finally be freed from the island's clutches. This could be what he has planned for Sawyer. Meaning that list of candidates wasn't just carrying the name of the next Jacob, but the next MIB as well.

The island seems to have some sort of instinctual intelligence, where it "senses" things/people, but can be tricked. For example, Smokey taking the form of Locke gives him some sort of advantage, because the island "needs" a Locke, and as a "candidate", lets him do certain things (because apparently, candidates are allowed to do anything they want, as per what Jacob told Hurley to tell Dogen). One of those things probably was being able to enter the temple or whatever that was where Jacob was. So anyway, maybe AU Locke will be brought over from the sideways, and the island can have only one Locke, and then Smokey, who is "stuck" in Locke form, will be destroyed. And AU Locke would become the next Jacob. For this though I'm not sure who the next Smokey would be however as I don't think Sawyer and Locke pair up... Jack and Sawyer pair up better as nemeses, but I'm pretty sure Jack's fate is to die. Or maybe Jack WILL be the next Jacob...who knows. In which case, AU Locke's purpose would be simply to defeat FLocke. Bah, way too many possibilities. heh