LOST: What Lies in the Shadow of the Statue? Libby!!

(Author's Note: Please note that this article contains elements which may spoil previous episodes of Lost. Anyone who is up to date on the show will not be spoiled. All others, beware.)

One of the (many) long-unsolved mysteries of Lost is the backstory of Libby, one of the tail-section survivors introduced in Season 2. She was introduced along with Ana-Lucia, Eko, and Bernard, but unlike those other characters, she was never given a flashback episode or much backstory aside from the occasional snippet of information. (She was in the mental institution with Hurley, she bought Desmond a cup of coffee and gave him a boat.) It has long been assumed in Lost fandom that there was more to Libby's backstory than what we had been shown.

In recent episodes of the show, some of the seemingly random survivors of the crash of Ajira Flight 316 (which brought the Oceanic 6 back to the island) have come forward, obviously with some sort of hidden agenda. Their code phrase is "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Among them: Ilana, the bounty hunter who captured Sayid; and Bram, who tried to convince Miles not to board the freighter. There are theories going around that these folks are actually working for Eloise Hawking as a third faction in the battle between Benjamin Linus and Charles Widmore. Remember, Hawking was the one who suggested the Oceanic 6 take Ajira 316. "It has to be this flight," she said. It's very likely that she had planted her own agents on that plane.

Also in support of this theory: When Bram tried to coerce Miles into not getting on Widmore's freighter, he refused Miles' request for money. Instead he offered Miles knowledge about his past and his father, which in turn would answer the questions Miles has had all of his life, and ease his mind of the doubts and insecurities troubling him. Widmore is motivated by money, so it stands to reason that his opposing force (Hawking) would be motivated by something more spiritual, and that her acolytes would share in that belief.

The first time we saw Ms. Hawking was during Desmond's first time trip, after he turned the failsafe key in the Swan station, and his consciousness traveled back to the time where he left Penny. She told Desmond it was his destiny to leave Penny, go to the island, and push the button in the Swan to save the world. And then, who should come along but Libby. She offered him a boat to use in the race around the world, which led to him getting to the island. It makes sense that Libby and Ms. Hawking would be working together, toward the same end. It is interesting to note that Widmore was sponsoring the around-the-world race; it would certainly be representative of the relationship between Widmore and Hawking for her to "stick it to him" by helping Desmond, whom Widmore deemed unworthy, get to the island in Widmore's own race.

It also stands to reason that Ms. Hawking had a vested interest in getting the Oceanic 815 people on the island. Her people could have easily been keeping tabs on them before the crash, which could why Libby was in the mental hospital with Hurley; she was assigned to watch him. This could also explain why she lied about knowing him before the island. Then she was sent on Oceanic 815 by Ms. Hawking to pave the way for Ilana and Bram to come along on Ajira 316, but ended up being killed at random by Michael before her reinforcements arrived. Maybe she did whatever she was supposed to do for them before she died, but we just weren’t shown what she did.

I love this theory, and I would love to think that it's possible. It is certainly more interesting and intriguing than just leaving Libby's story unfinished, and it wouldn't take much time to establish that. A mere mention of her name by Ilana, Bram, or Ms. Hawking would be enough. What do you guys think? Let's hear it!

© Jesse Lunsford 2009.