Just after Hurley fired the flare gun, and Des said "Nobody knows we're here!", there was the clickety-click-click sound of Smokey...and Hurley said "Ooops", and soon thereafter, Mikhail appeared.

I'm pretty sure Smokey was in the vicinity, due to the clicking (taxi cab printer sound).

Could Smokey have taken the form of the presumably dead Mikhail?

Very interesting theory TR
I did not hear the clickity-click and will have to re-watch it and pay closer attention.....but your idea never even dawned on me :doh:

I also thought that Mikhail might have been a Smokey manifestation. Anything's possible, I guess we'll see. But although we know Smokey can appear as a person (like Yemi), could it also be solid, like someone you can touch or tackle to the ground? I don't recall a previous confirmed manifestation being touched before to confirm if it was smoke and mirrors or something tangible.

I doubt it...I think it's pretty clear that Mikhael survived the sonic fence and is alive

I don't know anything...just wondering...

And yeah, pace, you had the brill idea in the Spoiler (or Preview) forum earlier today that Mikhail might be Smokey...thanks for that inspiration. :)

I guess we might just have to wait and see, unless re-watchings turn up more clues.

I didn't think of that Tabs. Could be. But I didn't hear the taxi cab receipt sound. Hmm.....
I tend to think that Mikhail just survived the fence, or that the fence really doesn't do what it seems to do. Like, it is only there to keep Smokey out, and doesn't actually cause harm to people--Mikhail was just conning them. But who knows.

I didn't even think of that, wow.. could be. I didn't hear smokey, but I probably just missed it. I wonder if smokey could manifest for that long?

[...] could it also be solid, like someone you can touch or tackle to the ground? I don't recall a previous confirmed manifestation being touched before to confirm if it was smoke and mirrors or something tangible.I think it can be solid, well first when it was manifesting yemi, It had the cross with it (remember the cross of Mr. Eko?), also remember the insane guy in Season 2, the guy that Hurley used to imagine (forgot his name) so I think it can take a solid form, but the real question is, is it Mikhail or not :S, Cool theory though but I'd like it more if it was the real Mikhail back from the dead somehow.

I'm leaning more towards the idea that Mikhail really was Mikhail, and he somehow faked the death, perhaps with a Claire-like implant. I don't think Smokie can literally be other people, just appear as them.

Wow this thread is interesting, I'll have to rewatch and listen for the smokey sounds, I didn't notice them the first time. Too much awesome stuff going on!

When I saw the Preview (before this epi aired), and heard the clicking Smokey sound, and saw the light in the daytime sky (similar to the speculated "light" version of Smokey that might look like the sun in the flat-on-their-backs-waking-up scenes, hehe)...

I wondered if maybe Hurley had inadvertently shot Smokey. But that was before I realized that it was a flare gun, and the light in the sky was the flare. :)

I rewatched that scene, and without question, there was no sign (be it audible, or otherwise) of smokie. That sound you heard was Mikhail running through the brush. On one of the Podcasts, Lindelof and Cuse alluded to the idea of Mikhail not being dead.

Mikhail is alive. When Kate and Juliet were running from Smokie, Juliet turned up the sonic fence and engaged it. When Locke pushed Mikhail thought the fence, all Mikhail had was a seazure and some bleeding from the ears, it did not kill him. If you go back and look at the Mikhail scene you can see him breathing (in most TV death scene's the actor either holds their breath or they use a still photo).

Smokie might be able to take other forms but its my theory the smoke was created as a method of death on the island. The island is Pure and has many powers but death is not one of them. Lightning or acts of nature not associated with the Island could also kill.

I just reviewed it. Sounds more like trees rustling. It's definitely not the distinctive smokey sound.

I definitely agree that Mikhail was breathing in his supposed death scene, which really tilts toward him being alive. Even watching live I thought they were pretty obvious about it.

That being said, I heard the Smokey sound loud and clear during the flare gun shot, as if the shot immediately drew Smokey's attention. At first I wrote it off as the flare soaring upward, but listening again it sounds much more like Smokey--I don't think any flare gun would make a sound like that.

This reminds me a little of the spider scene from Expose, when there were very distinctive Smokey sounds but no obvious influence. What exactly is going on here?

Mikhail did not feel like a manifestation of Smokey at all. In the past all the presumed manifestations of smokey i.e Christian, Yemi, Dave display a distinct pattern. They all act smug,mysterious, all knowing, confident and with a tendency o dissappear. Whereas Mikhail looked kinda scared and flustered. I don't think it is in the nature of smokey to display those characteristics

Plus, Mikhail was wearing the same bloodstained clothes that he was wearing when he went through the fence, with the same blood pattern on them

I thought the clicking sound was Hurley cocking up the flare gun right before he shot it.

I also thought that Mikhail might have been a Smokey manifestation. Anything's possible, I guess we'll see. But although we know Smokey can appear as a person (like Yemi), could it also be solid, like someone you can touch or tackle to the ground? I don't recall a previous confirmed manifestation being touched before to confirm if it was smoke and mirrors or something tangible.

kate (and maybe even sawyer, can't remember) touched the horse didn't she?

i didn't even think about the smoke monster at first, but i hope this theory holds true. it would be cooler than Mikhail surviving a super-sonic seizure.

The Island healed Mikail...he probably crawled off into some weeds for a few hours and popped out good as new...he said the Parachutist would be fine in a day or two...everyone was surprised by that.

I dont think Jin could have beaten smokey in a fight though, we all saw what it did to Mr Ecko

I dont think Jin could have beaten smokey in a fight though, we all saw what it did to Mr Ecko

I don't think it was smokey, but just in case it was....
Smokey beat Ecko while being, well Smokey. When it manifests it could just assume the characteristics of the manifested. So, Smokey itself could take Jin like Superman could take the Flash... but Jin vs. a manifested Mikhail would have a better chance since manifested Mikhail would be bound by the restraints Mikhail himself would be bound by. For one, a serious lack of depth perception.

After reading this thread, doing the 'doh, why didn't I think of that', then rethinking it, I think Mikhail was just Mikhail.

hey tabby !

its a tough call, but i think its more likely that mikhail wasnt quite dead and he got better.
they didnt take the time to check him out very much after he was sonic fenced. it seems that the island can heal many people very quickly ( gunshot wounds and severe trauma not so well ).
we have even seen a few people who should be dead alive again or start breathing.

the main reason why i think it wasnt smokey is that smokey manifests as things from people's memories and none of the losties present had met mikhail ( i suppose the parachutist could have but it's unlikely )

gonna watch again tonight and see if i change my mind

I doubt it...I think it's pretty clear that Mikhael survived the sonic fence and is alive

I agree, maybe not survived but was healed by the island at least

I didn't hear any smokie sounds at all. I think Mikhail came because of the flare. Now, why would he do that? Was he expecting someone?

Hey Tabby


Interesting theory. One thing I noticed was that Mikhail's teeth were severely yellow. I don't recall noticing that before.

That being said, I heard the Smokey sound loud and clear during the flare gun shot, as if the shot immediately drew Smokey's attention. At first I wrote it off as the flare soaring upward, but listening again it sounds much more like Smokey--I don't think any flare gun would make a sound like that.

This reminds me a little of the spider scene from Expose, when there were very distinctive Smokey sounds but no obvious influence. What exactly is going on here?

I wonder if some people's TV sets make a smokie sound on their own.
I have reviewed both the Mikhail running scene and the spider scene
(in Dolby surround and a really good sound system) and are definitely NO smokie sounds in either.

Do we have a reason to believe Smokey has field medical training enough to remove a branch from someone's lung? And what would Smokey do with a satelite phone?

I have to come down on the side that Mikhail was just unconscious from the fence and not killed. He probably just had his eardrums burst and a seizure with accompanying frothing at the mouth. The island healed him quickly and he is now out from under Ben's control and free to pursue his own anarchist agenda. Maybe he was in contact with this Naomi girl from before since he had the flame station technology.

Didn't TPTB tell us that once someone is dead in the narrative sense that they will STAY dead? So how does that fit??? I'm so confused! If they weren't lying, Mikhail MUST be Smokey, or else he's a android or something.

I don't think he did die. We just assumed that he did. Now that we know the true purpose of the fence - keeping smokey at bay, it makes sense that if might not be fatal to humans.

I wonder if some people's TV sets make a smokie sound on their own.
I have reviewed both the Mikhail running scene and the spider scene
(in Dolby surround and a really good sound system) and are definitely NO smokie sounds in either.

I have re-watched both scenes as well. In the spider scene, the smokie sound is 100%, without a doubt, there. (As she is looking around the jungle, before the spiders are on screen) Im listening to it right now as im typing this. If you dont hear it, then you either dont know what to listen for, or there is a problem with your audio channels on your speakers. (it is DEFINETLY there.) The sound in the flare gun scene is definetly not the same sound. There is a quick burst of sound after he shoots it, but before it explodes at its peak in the air. It sounds like they were going for a sound effect of startled birds flying off in the trees or something.

The episode The 23rd Psalm in the second season has without a doubt the best "smokie sounds" available to watch over and over again, obviously in the scene with Eko when he is staring the monster down. The sound has always reminded me of electricity or electrical connections that are severed with a charge coming out of the ends. (altho the new connotation of the taxi-cab receipt printer is very good too)

As for Mikael, I thought it was pretty obvious with his statement that the island heals people quickly, that they were trying to say that he wasnt fully dead, and was healed quickly back to normal.

First off, I must agree with the above poster. There is without a doubt a "smokie sound" in the spider scene. But im not going to be so nice about it;) . If you cant here it in the spider scene, theres probably something wrong with YOU! Its so clear.

I also agree that mikhail is not dead. I think that even if our losties went directly through the gate, nothing would happen. Its a sonic fence, right? Smokie must not like loud sounds or certain frequencies, something like that. That right there could tell us something about the nature of smokie, although I have no idea what.

Smokey is not Mikhail. If he was and he came across those guys in the jungle, he would do what smokey does best, KILL THEM!!!

I wonder if some people's TV sets make a smokie sound on their own.
I have reviewed both the Mikhail running scene and the spider scene
(in Dolby surround and a really good sound system) and are definitely NO smokie sounds in either.
I didn't hear any Smokey sounds in the Mikhail scene either, but there is absolutely the famous 'taxi-cab receipt printer' sound during the Nikki and Paolo confrontation. The sound begins just a few seconds after Paolo says "if you found the diamonds, you wouldn't need me anymore." It lasts for a good 4 or 5 seconds, and then the spiders come After the sound has already faded away. It's pretty obvious that both Nikki and Paolo hear the sound as well from the expression on their faces. Now i'm not trying to imply that the spiders were a manifestation of smokey or anything of that sort, but you can clearly hear the sound...

I didn't hear any Smokey sounds in the Mikhail scene either, but there is absolutely the famous 'taxi-cab receipt printer' sound during the Nikki and Paolo confrontation. The sound begins just a few seconds after Paolo says "if you found the diamonds, you wouldn't need me anymore." It lasts for a good 4 or 5 seconds, and then the spiders come After the sound has already faded away. It's pretty obvious that both Nikki and Paolo hear the sound as well from the expression on their faces. Now i'm not trying to imply that the spiders were a manifestation of smokey or anything of that sort, but you can clearly hear the sound...

Those were normal jungle sounds that are made by jungle insects like cicadas. It is completely different from smokey.

If it was smokey, how come we never saw it? How come it didn't kill or otherwise interfere with N&P?