Smoke monster takes out Richard, Locke makes a deal with Ben

Locke arrives on the main island and sees Zoe and Widmore's gear in an outrigger canoe. He looks at in for a moment then moves on.

The the barracks, Zoe arrives and tells Widmore that they need to go. Widmore tells them that they are going to hide in Ben's secret room. Ben says that he's not going to hide because Locke's going to find him sooner or later.

Miles says that he's going to survive by running through the jungle, but before he leaves, Ben asks for Widmore and Zoe's walkie talkies and gives one to Miles. Before Widmore goes into the secret room, he tells Ben that Locke is going to kill him. Ben says "Then I guess this is goodbye."

Richard then decides that he's going to talk to Locke, since all he wants is for him to join him. As Richard and Ben slowly walk outside, they suddenly hear the sound of the smoke monster approaching. In one motion, the smoke monster catches Richard by the neck and tosses him off into the distance.

Ben is stunned, but slowly sits down in a chair in front of his old house. Locke appears and sits down next to him, ominously playing with his knife. He says that Ben is who he was looking for and Ben offers him some lemonade. Locke tells Ben that he wants him to kill some people, and if he does, he can have the island after he leaves.

Ben hesitantly agrees and then after Locke asks whose outrigger is down at the dock, Ben tells him it's Widmore's. When Locke asks where Widmore is, Ben gives it up that they're hiding in his closet.

We're left wondering the fate of Richard, who is not seen for the rest of the episode. We also don't see Miles again. Ben was quick to give up Widmore to Locke, but Widmore is certainly the one person Ben has no interest in forgiving.

Jacob throws MIB into The Source/The Light, turns MIB into smoke monster

After pummeling the Man In Black at the caves after he killed Mother, Jacob drags MIB through the jungle towards The Source (the tunnel of light/the heart of the island). MIB pleads with Jacob asking him not kill him and explains that she burned his people. Jacob says that he's not going to kill him.

They reach the stream leading to the light and Jacob tosses MIB into the shallow water. MIB looks up at the light and says "She brought you back here?" Jacob says yes because he is now responsible for protecting it. He picks MIB up by the neck and says "You want to find the light? You want to leave this place, brother? Then go."

Jacob then throws MIB into the deeper water and MIB hits his head slams into a rock before floating into the light. Jacob watches as MIB floats into the tunnel and then goes over the edge of the waterfall. Moments later, the ground starts rumbling, the the tunnel gets a little darker and hazy and the tell-tale sounds of the smoke monster can be heard.

The smoke monster comes storming out of the tunnel, knocking Jacob backwards. Jacob stares up in awe as the monster quickly disappears into the jungle.

So this is the origin of the smoke monster. Jacob is the cause of it, and if he hadn't thrown MIB into The Source, a lot of pain and misery for many people could have possibly been avoided. In other words, Jacob's trying to punish MIB for killing mother, ended up making him the powerful creature that he is.

The smoke monster kills Seamus, Jack lets the group out of Hydra cage

As Sawyer and Kate are inside the cages, Sawyer says that it feels like they're going in circles since they're back in there, but this time the gun was pointed at Kate's head.

Close by, Jin and Sun sit and Jin learns that his little girl Ji Yeon is with Sun's mother. He tells her that he saw pictures of her and she is beautiful. Sun then tells him that she has his wedding ring and then puts it back on his hand.

Suddenly, the power goes out killing the lights and the pylons. One guy from Widmore's group says that somebody killed the power and Seamus tells him to get a team to the generator. Then, the signature sounds of the smoke monster can be heard. Hurley says that now they're all going to die.

The smoke monster emerges from the jungle, and as it tends to be the case, Widmore's team attempts to shoot at it. It grabs Seamus and slams him against the cage which kills him. The monster quickly retreats back into the jungle, but can still be heard, presumably taking care of the other guys that were with Seamus.

Kate sees the keys on Seamus' belt and tries to grab them, but her arms are not quite long enough. Frank attempts to kick the cage door open with no luck.

As Kate is still reaching for the keys, suddenly a hand grabs them. We see Jack has come to let them out of the cage. Jack says I'm with him, nodding in the direction of the monster. Everyone then runs away.

Isabella appears to Richard on the Black Rock, smoke monster 'grabs' her + the boar

Chained inside the Black Rock, Richard struggles to loosen a floorboard. It starts raining and he struggles to reach some water to drink, but can't reach it. Later he manages to remove the nail from the floorboard and begins to chip away at the wall where the chains are attached.

Later, Richard wakes up to the sound of a boar nibbling away at one of the bodies. As the board charges at him, he drops the nail just out of reach.

Richard passes out again, and is later awoken by the sound of Isabella's voice. She comes over to him and tells him that hey are both dead and in hell. She says she is there to save him from the devil. Suddenly, they hear the sounds of the smoke monster. Richard tells her to run away and when she heads up to the deck, she lets out a blood curdling scream. Richard calls for her, weeps and falls to his knees.

So here's the big question. Was Isabella the smoke monster? It would seem so because she is dead, but can the smoke monster be her but also appear to be above the ship, essentially in two places at the same time?

The smoke monster kills Whitfield & other officers but spares Richard

The Black Rock is sitting in the jungle during the day. Richard and Ignacio wake up and hear the officers above. One says that Captain Hanso is dead. They call up to the deck for help and Jonas Whitfield comes down.

Instead of helping them, Whitfield kills three of the surviving slaves, including Ignacio. He says that only five officers have survived and they have limited supplies and fresh water. As he's about to kill Richard, Whitfield says that if he doesn't kill him, it'll only be a matter of time before Richard kills him.

Suddenly, we hear the familiar sound of the smoke monster, who ravages the officers on deck. In burst through the ship and grabs Whitfield before slowly sliding back into the ship. It creeps up to Richard and does it's little flashing snapshots, much like it did to Juliet in the season 3 episode "Left Behind." When Richard opens his eyes, he finds that the smoke monster has silently disappeared.

So why at this point does the smoke monster kill everyone but Richard, but in the future, it seems to let a lot more people live? Is it because Jacob's plan and the rules involved have yet to completely evolve, or was Richard specially selected by Jacob for a purpose?

The smoke monster ravages the temple, Ilana helps some escape

It's sundown at the temple and the signature sounds of the smoke monster start to rumble the jungle outside the temple where two others with guns are standing guard. It uproots a tree and then makes it's way inside where everyone is in panic mode.

Smokey ravages the the temple, killing the others and causing damage. Kate and Miles make a break for it but split up. Kate goes to Claire and Miles heads deeper into the temple.

Miles holds up in a room until Ilana, Frank, Ben and Sun force their way in. Ben goes to find Sayid while the rest look for the secret exit.

Kate goes to Claire at the hole and begs her to come with her, but Claire says they'll be much safer there.  The smoke bursts into the room and flies over the hole as Kate hangs on to the ladder. It doesn't even bother them.

Ben finds Sayid by the spring, holding the bloody dagger he used to kill Lennon. He asks Sayid to come with him because there's still time and Sayid replies "Not for me" and flashes an evil smile. Ben, who is clearly creeped out, slow backs away and makes his way back towards Ilana and the rest.

Sun finds out from Miles that Jin was alive and recently left the temple. Ilana finds the same hieroglyphic that Hurley used to leave the temple and they escape seconds before the smoke monster barrels through the hall.

Smoke monster's point of view + Richard Alpert hanging in tree

On the island, for the first time we see the smoke monster traveling across the island to the barracks. He/it stops briefly at Sawyer's house where the song "Search and Destroy" by Iggy and the Stooges can be heard. We can see the smoke monster's reflection in the window of the house.

It then moves on back through the jungle, where it changes back into John Locke once it comes across a machete. He cuts Richard Alpert down, who is hanging in a sack from a tree. Richard looks terrified, which is something we really haven't seen before. Locke tells him that it is "Time to talk."

The smoke monster/Locke kills Bram & 3 others, Ben cowers

At the four-toed statue, Ben is still staring at Locke's body, though his look has changed from utter shock to thoughtful determination. It would seem that he's going to stick with new Locke for the time being, as he tells Richard that if he wants to know what happened inside, he should go in and find out for himself. Bram comes over and grabs Ben, forcing him into the statue. Three other armed guys from Team Ilana join them.

Inside, Locke refers to Bram and the others as Jacob's bodyguards, and tells them that Jacob is dead, that he burned up in the fire. He tells them that there's nothing left for them to protect, so they can go and they're free.

Bram takes a shot at Locke, and others follow as he ducks behind a pillar and disappears. Bram picks up the bullet he hit Locke with up off the ground, so obviously he can't be killed, at least in a conventional way. During all of this, Ben cowers, taking cover in a corner.

As the familiar sounds of the smoke monster fill the room as it enters, grabbing and killing three of the men by slamming two of them around the room while once gets tossed out of the hole in the ceiling. Bram pulls out a pouch of that ash we've seen surrounding the cabin which stops the monster in it's tracks briefly. Smokey is smart though, an manages to knock Bram out of the circle by smashing a portion of the ceiling. He promptly gets tossed through part of Jacob's loom and his chest is skewered by a piece of wood.

The monster quietly disappears and Ben starts to walk towards the door when he turns around to see Locke once again, who creepily says "I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

So this confirms that the new Locke is the smoke monster, but is he also an incarnation of the man in black, or another force on the island all together? Either way, this was the most ruthless we've seen smokey yet and I'd guess he's not done killing yet.

Under the temple wall #3: The smoke monster shows Ben Alex's life and death

This one's a doozy. As Ben is standing and the back of the room, his torch suddenly goes out and we can hear the signature sounds of the smoke monster. The smoke starts to slow seep up through the holes in the grate. As the smoke moves towards him, Ben moves back until he seems to realize there's no where to go. The smoke surrounds him at his feet and then moves up to encircle him. The head of the monster rushes through him and we can see the trademark electrical flashes moving through it.

After a few bright flashes, the monster starts showing Ben his history with Alex. First he's sees the moment where he argues with Charles Widmore about bringing Alex back to the other's camp as a baby. Next he sees himself pushing Alex on the swing. Ben shows a smile very briefly until he's Alex yelling at him saying that she hates him and that she wishes he were dead. Next he sees Alex asking him if the freighter people are more dangerous than he is. Last, he sees Alex begging for her life on the walkie with Keamy holding a gun to her head. We hear Ben's voice say "She's not my daughter. She means nothing to me, so if you want to kill her, go ahead.." We hear the shot and Ben drops his head and weaps.

The smoke monster then starts to go back into the holes in the grate. The big finish is coming up next.

So the monster is judging Ben based on his care and treatment of Alex and his willingness to save her as a baby probably saved his life now. The monster did torment him by making him relive Alex's grusome death though.