Analyzing Every Single Candidate - LOST

#LOST NB: SPOILERS

Have you wondered about all those names in the cliffside cave? Or all the crossed out candidates in the lighthouse wheel? I am breaking down every single discernible name. Where they came from, who they were, how the whole "candidate"-concept work and more.

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Additional content:
Exploring the 1950s on the Island

Jacob's Off-Island Journeys

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MUSIC

Thanks to @FringeMusic107 for some additional soundtrack.

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FULL LIST (Chapters)

00:00 Intro
01:00 Sullivan
01:40 Lacombe
01:58 Grobler
02:07 Locke
02:54 Barnes
03:17 Jensen
03:29 Enright
03:54 Reyes
04:08 Gunn
04:42 Mattingly
04:56 Lee
05:35 Foster
05:49 Beckett
06:48 Pryce
07:27 Ford
08:19 Jarrah
08:50 Barnes
08:58 Kueffner
09:24 Nguyen
09:30 Rousseau
10:25 McHenry
10:32 Moorhead
10:37 Shephard
11:54 Kluxen
12:03 Asher
12:19 Bozarth
12:36 Dorrit
13:13 Holland
13:19 Brennan
14:18 Wade
14:23 Toms
14:37 Rutherford
15:15 Novak
15:45 Grimaldi
16:28 Brennan
16:43 Szymanski
17:10 Iorres
17:57 Lindstrom
18:16 Morioka
18:37 Dowsen
18:58 Turner
19:14 Kwon
21:42 Barnes
21:28 Martinez
21:56 Latta
22:08 Osalka/Osaka/Oselka
22:30 Gupta
23:06 Stanhope
23:59 Meyers
24:03 Gowner
24:11 Austen
25:06 Birn
25:12 Driscall
25:27 Olarti
25:46 Kennedy
25:55 Hansen
26:18 Grimault
27:17 Burke
27:45 Suzuki
27:56 Kyser
28:33 Davies
28:36 Inman
29:08 Rutta
29:33 The Lighthouse dial - Auction
30:36 Goldstein
30:49 Eko
33:54 Franetzki
33:58 Troup
34:20 Luttwig
34:30 Cohen
34:33 Pollema
34:48 Greeson
34:54 Pallison
35:04 Horton, Goodson and Bardfield
35:12 Faraday
35:29 Montand
36:09 Horsman
36:16 Lewis
36:41 Prinn
37:15 Sroczynski
37:26 Thomson
37:32 Wallace
40:15 Friendly
40:30 Spotts
40:41 Klein
40:51 Horton
41:09 Worden
41:16 Yamada
41:24 Bargas
41:32 Lambert
41:43 Linus
42:30 Chaver
42:38 Almeida
42:45 Eodriguez
42:53 Nielson
43:02 Freed
43:16 Ling
43:24 Dawson
45:31 Owens
45:36 Renti
45:53 Mora
46:03 Paddock
46:08 Campbell
46:56 Tillmann
47:08 Jackson
47:20 Storm
47:28 Weill
47:38 Gorieta(?)
47:51 Ortiz
48:00 Paris
48:07 Flynn
48:12 Allen
48:17 Costello
48:24 Lewis
48:35 Drummond
48:41 Schaeffer
48:54 Lin
49:04 Mabry
49:11 Baker
49:14 Lord or Lloyd
50:02 Hume
50:53 Straume
51:18 Costa
51:57 Pace
52:20 Sheckler, Harggus and SEX
53:15 Bakunin
53:38 O'Toole
54:10 Carlyle
54:25 Amistad
54:32 Jones
54:48 Yaris
55:17 Hudson
55:32 Garner
55:34 Akalin
56:01 Gale
56:34 Aguila
56:42 Jenkins
56:50 Domingo
57:03 Mars
57:16 Littleton
58:02 Cunningham
58:16 Oldham
58:30 Fernandez
58:40 Henderson
59:03 Martin
59:12 Grant, Davison, Young, Hunter, King, Fischer
59:39 Chang
59:49 Goodspeed
59:52 Pickett
59:59 Reynolds

[dr.candlepun]

Oh boy. This is some insanely impressive/extensive work! There's so much to respond to here, lol. Due to a shortage of time, I think I'll prioritize what I see as some of the more major points:

*LIVING FORMER CANDIDATES*

I really don't think MIB can kill former candidates who are still living. Jacob presumably removes parents (or at least mothers) as candidates so as to not separate them from their child. Removing their protection from MIB would work against this motivation.

I think Jacob choosing to cross out a candidate that is still alive removes MIB's need to kill them in order to escape, but it does not remove their protection from direct harm by him.

Of course, I do believe there is a way for a candidate to be crossed off and no longer have Jacob's protection... And that is if the MIB brings them back from the brink of death by "infecting" them. I believe in doing so, the bit of Jacob's lifeforce that makes a person a candidate and protects against the Man in Black is allowed to die, while Smokey himself brings back the individual with a piece of him inside in an attempt to influence them. This brings me to...

*EKO*


The bottom line is that I believe Eko was a candidate until he was infected at the start of season three, and what we witness in his final episode is Eko's struggle against (and eventual victory over) MIB's influence. In his anger at this failed corruption, MIB lashes out and kills Eko who again is no longer a candidate.

*MONTAND*

Probably not worth mentioning here, but I do think there is a tantalizing possibility that the candidate "Montand" refers to is another mysterious French character whose surname was never revealed, whose backstory we never saw explored, and who seemed to display a particular interest in the history of the island.

In a future video I hope to talk about my interpretation of this character and their connection to the Montand that lost his arm/seemed obsessed with tracking down that numbers broadcast (a broadcast that was mysteriously made audible to the outside world for that brief window of time in 1988).

*JACOB/THE ISLAND PREVENTING SUICIDES*

Also probably not worth mentioning since I have not yet presented my full case for this yet (and would like to save certain points for when I do)... But I strongly disagree with the notion that Jacob would hinder anyone's ability to choose to take their own life. We know he doesn't interfere with candidates deciding to kill other candidates (arguably more evil AND more damaging to his cause), yet we're meant to believe he'd take away their agency as it relates to their own life?

I think in every case where a person seems to be mystically saved from death there is evidence to suggest other explanations... Some of them I feel are extremely compelling...

*DOGEN*

I really don't think Dogen was ever a candidate. His role/purpose seems far more distinct, much like Richard's.

*SUN AND JIN*

Another counterpoint to Jin and Sun both being number 42 is that it also seems to be the opposite of what Jacob says when explaining why he picked the people he did:

"I chose you because you were like me. You were all *alone* ."

And this statement actually adds up in the case of Jin and Sun, considering by the time they get to the island they have become so distant and disconnected, they are each just as alone as any of the other survivors/candidates. They (as individuals AND as a couple) needed the island as much as it needed them.

With that in mind, I agree they were almost certainly both candidates. But I disagree with the idea they shared a candidate number and/or were ever considered as a combination-candidate in Jacob's eyes.

[MJJMayor]

The Lighthouse wheel has haunted me ever since the Lost Auction. The idea that the full list is out there and we can't know it has always bothered me. I remember trying to make the most out of those photos from the auction but they were not enough. Just like you, I actually also reached out to the auction house to see if they had any further information a year or two ago, but I didn't get any more information either. Then I tried turning to the source of the prop itself. I tried emailing Zack Grobler, the Production Designer to see if he had any more information about the list of candidates, but didn't hear back. I then tweeted at Prop Master Rob Kyker to see if he had any info, and he actually replied and said it was the makeup department that did the names on the dial and he also mentioned that there was an interesting backstory to the names.

So then, I emailed Steve LaPorte, but he said "Actually, as Makeup Dept. Head I made a temporary tattoo transfer of all the info on 'Hurley’s arm.' That is probably what Rob was referring too. The names on the big dial were cast down from the writers & probably added to the dial by the art Dept. We had a big staff shop at the studio that cranked out stuff & sets as they were needed. Who knows, many of the names could actually be crew members or office staff if they weren’t specifically from the writers."

So I think if mystery Lighthouse Wheel purchaser refuses to come up with the goods, probably Zack Grobler or one of the writers would maybe be able to provide more info (or even produce the complete list).

[MJJMayor]

I know Damon Lindelof said there were no crew shout outs, but 3-Grobler almost definitely refers to Lost's production designer Zack Grobler!

[LuigiHann]

Thank you for going through this. Really interesting details, especially that last bit about Reynolds

[SamuelDJCox]

My personal favourite touch is that Hurley’s #8 when you turn the number 8 on its side it looks like the infinity symbol.
So the new leader’s number represents something that is not finite to one number but something infinite and all powerful. It’s genius!

[DenisNyashen]

Holy Molly, an hour video? That's incredible dude

[soundwave-]

BRAVO! Damn that was a lost journey if I ever saw one lol

[chrisbaccount]

Insane dedication mate keep up the good work you absolute goat. Respect

[katelyns]

Okay, now that I’ve watched it all through, I only have one thing to say…it’s all worth it for the Efren Salonga shout-out! Incredible.

[JoeAllenD]

I am FEASTING TODAY
Rewatched LaFleur on a whim today and totally forgot we would get another Lost deep dive from you!

[userNULL]

So happy to know I have a spot on the candidate wheel, #9! right after Hurley no less

[ShadowDogProduction]

Lmfao I'm here for ALL this shade towards Lostpedia. Lol

[MichaelJamesActually]

Great work. I've always been confused about whether the candidates were "protected". Is the protection just to keep them from being killed by MiB? Is there another layer of protection that we see being imparted by the island? Is it keeping people alive until they're not needed? Or is that Jacob's doing? For example, Jack isn't able to blow himself up with the dynamite stick. I thought that was because of his candidate protection, but then you also see that Michael can't kill himself either, until his return on the freighter.

Also interesting is Price's line to Kate jn early season 3. That they have these lists, and Kate isn't on it. Initially I thought it was just an early plot idea of lists that was later fleshed out. But seeing how her number is really not included in the 4, 8, 15, etc., I do wonder if she wasn't considered a candidate. And the island was somehow protecting her due to her importance.

So, do you think the island has its own ability to protect? Is it Jacob seeing who needs to be kept alive, regardless of candidate status?

[buklao]

Hi from Czech! We dont use, ,Toms´´ Thomas or somethink like that.
We in Czech Rep. use different variant of that name -> Tomáš.
>To máš< mean Something like here you have.)

[juanitajones]

Chavez is a name of Portuguese or Spanish origin. Chaver, on the other hand, is a Hebrew name.

[katelyns]

I saw you cross-post this on Reddit, and I was like let’s I’ve been anticipating this one like Jacob anticipated the arrival of the candidate set that was gonna make it all turn out 😊

[danielgray]

To me it is clear that there are 2 levels of candidates.

Level 1 - for the vast majority of candidates, which are simply potential replacements.

Level 2 - Candidates touched by Jacob with added protection. Locke, Reyes, Ford, Jarrah, Shepherd, Kwon & Austen.

[henryaggerate]

Why do the numbers correspond to the final candidates? Did Jacob choose the numbers as part of his general fate/synchronicity manipulating powers? Does he even have those powers or is he just manipulating events through global surveillance/networks? Or is that the Island doing those things? Jacob is also an observer of the Numbers same as Hurley? All we know is MiB said Jacob had a thing for numbers, which doesn’t actually explain anything. If he did know the numbers existed and had powers, did be deliberately choose the final six candidates to occupy the numbers? But I thought he wanted the candidates to enact free will to prove the superior candidate/his brother wrong?

[LOSTEXPLAINED]

What a wonderful deep dive into the candidate lists. Something I always wanted to do someday but found a little too daunting to tackle. Honestly, great work here, Choekaas! My personal theory is that the writers developed a workable list of roughly 100 names of characters who had appeared or been referenced in the show (including some more minor parts like Montand and Pryce); names they knew would be highlighted on camera in the cave and the lighthouse. But then they let the production team fill out the rest because those names wouldn't be seen anyway, which is why we get duplicates such as Barnes, Brennan and Lewis. We certainly can headcanon the duplicates as being members of the same family tree, like you say, even though I don't think they were intended to be. They are production errors IMO. I don't believe that Darlton vetted all 360 names, nor had the time to do so, nor would have needed to. They only needed to agree upon a certain number that would be visible onscreen. The other names that are illegible or left out of focus or in complete shadow are the ones that remain of speculative origin. The question then becomes: If the names don't appear in clearly visible screenshots from the show itself can we truly consider them canon? Were the majority of the names intentionally kept obscured? Anyway, stellar effort here! Really enjoyed the video and you coming up with potential origins for the names mentioned of people whom we never got to meet.

[simonjohnwright]

I recreated The Swan in Far Cry Arcade. I'm a huge LOST fan and Subscribe to your channel. Your videos are more accurate than the fan site. Great job on all the names and all your videos that are very explanative. I hope you don't mind me sharing The Swan that I created in the game Far Cry. It's playable with The Others as the enemies. It's not 100% accurate but as a big fan had alot of fun building it.