a chance to redeem yourself....the price of death whether redeemed or not....whether death is planned (being aware of your death coming like Benry) or unplanned (dying by surprise like Colleen)... How will you live.... Can you redeem yourself for the afterlife (Like Eko) ? Can you be reborn?

living to see fate happen? Awaiting for an answer to help us (Benry)? Being the answer. (Jack)..

The cost of living is our death...

Well spoke.

thank you...
I think redemption is a big issue here....

Locke is close to being redeemed it seems also....

Charlie has given up the drugs...

They are next...the cost of their living is their death..........

I think it meant that he killed all his life to survive. To Eko, all the sins he committed were the cost of living, but it wasn't worth it. His body survived but he killed his soul.

I took the cost of living, in Eko's case anyway, as other people's lives lost. Cost of living = killing.

The cost of living is paid with the wages of sin. :undecide:

I thought that the cost of living was obviously Eko's actions throughout his life. But then when I thought about the show's title I wondered if it referenced Ben and his need of Jack in order to live. His cost of living, having to saddle up to one of the Losties in order to survive.

Very interesting observation about his murders being his cost of living. The life he was given was not his choice but he did the best he knew how to do with it. He felt the good of those deaths/murders outweighed the bad...

thank you...
I think redemption is a big issue here....

Locke is close to being redeemed it seems also....

Charlie has given up the drugs...

They are next...the cost of their living is their death..........

***...GL standing with fingers jammed in her ears going, " LALALALALALALALALALANONONONONONONO..."***
Sorry, but I sincerely hope this is not the truth!! :undecide:

To me it was as if "Yemi" (we don't know which Yemi he was - Ecko's Yemi or the Island's Yemi) wanted Ecko to "repent" of his sins. And Ecko basically said, "I didn't sin. I did what I had to do to save my Brother. And if that was a sin, then I don't accept it."

Basically you will have to do that with Kate (I burned my father alive because he beat my mother) or Sawyer (I killed an innocent man I thought was the man who destroyed my family). Each had some type of "extenuating cercumstances" involved with why they did what they did, but it was still wrong.

It is too "trite" to kill "the redeemed" off. Come up with something new!!

The whole idea of Lost is that we have the free will.. We aren't cursed by numbers or born to suffer like Red Sox fans; we suffer because of our own poor choices and the poor choices of others. While Eko likely didn't have a choice as a boy, he most certainly had a choice as a man and he received a second chance after his brother actually sacrificed his life for him. (The idea of Yemi as a Christ figure complete with the "empty tomb" was genius ). Since he didn't use that second chance that Jesus in the guise of Yemi gave him and refused to repent, he was damned.

Yet Eko did the good the island wanted by starting to build the church of the brother...

He took his brothers place as the priest on the island when he said...back in season 2...Now I am a priest.....(or whatever his quote was close to that in the episode I can't remember the name of right now...lol)

His reasons for doing those things made him the person he became today...SO if he had to do it over agan he would...He learned from his mistakes...

I was going to say the cost of living is dying, but now I add that the cost of living is dying regardless your actions in life. We are all going to die, even those who are "good" in heart, will die one day. Therefore, Eko didn't die *because* of his actions. He died because 'we all are headed for the same place' (Locke said this), we all will die someday. The title of this chapter was just telling someone would reach that place.
I think the difference is how we die. We are all free to decide how we -mentally, spiritually if you will- will meet that end. If you're religious, then you'll consider important to die at peace with your God. If you are not, you may consider more important to die in peace with yourself. Eko made his own, free choice.

edited: His reasons for doing those things made him the person he became today...SO if he had to do it over agan he would...He learned from his mistakes...

Interesting :) I agree.

Just add my 2 cents so I can close the thread I mistakenly started on this topic


The cost of living is DEATH. I think this episode showed that well.
If someone lives, others die. If someone dies, it allows others to live.

This was clear in Ecko's flashbacks. If he would not have killed the hitmen, other "innocent" people would have died. Either by being shot, or due to lack of vaccine. The cost of those innocent ones living was the death of the hitmen.

Even though Ecko did not ask for forgiveness, it appears by his body language and looks that he was sorry for having to do some things. He did not view them as sins though, because "the cost of living".

After seeing it again, I feel that Ecko was a good man. He looked so at peace and glad after the black smoke got done with him. Not like he was fearful of dying as a bad person. The fact that Locke wanted to be dragged into the hole by the black smoke at the end of season 1 (he asked Jack to let him go) helps me to come to the conclusion that being killed by Smokey is a GOOD thing.

Perhaps Ecko's death allowed someone else or all the losties to live. The cost of them living was Eckos death....

I think the thing we all have to face is judgement and the cost of living is that your soul may not come through unscathed. Living and surviving exacts something from us....
We all have to face smokey. We better hope to find redemption and change ourselves so as not to meet Eko's fate.

The cost of living is...Dying..... and Everyone has to pay

The Cost of Living seems to be a reference to the concept of "dirty hands." By the mere acts required of living, directly or indirectly, we cause pain. We are all unclean. Our Karma is always out of balance.

This lines up nicely with the Dharma theme, from a religious perspective. Here is good old Wikipedia on the subject:

Broadly speaking, dharma (Sanskrit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit): धर्म) or Dhamma (Pāli (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C4%81li): धमा) means "right way of living" or "proper conduct," especially in a religious sense. With respect to its significance for spirituality (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality) and religion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion), dharma might be considered the Way of the Higher Truths. Dharma is a central theme in religions and philosophies originating in India (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India). These religions and philosophies are called Dharmic religions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmic_religions). The four main ones are Hinduism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism) (Sanatana Dharma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanatana_Dharma)), Buddhism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism), Jainism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism), and Sikhism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism), all of which emphasize Dharma in their teachings. [1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma#_note-0)[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma#_note-1)[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma#_note-2) In these traditions, beings that live in accordance with Dharma proceed more quickly toward Dharma Yukam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma_Yukam), Moksha (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha), Nirvana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana) (personal liberation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation)). Dharma also refers to the teachings and doctrines of the various founders of the traditions, such as Gautama Buddha (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha) in Buddhism and Mahavira (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahavira) in Jainism. As the religious and moral doctrine of the rights and duties of each individual. Dharma can refer generally to religious duty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty), and also mean social order, right conduct, or simply virtue.

It would seem then that all of the Dharma Initiatives, in theory at least, attempt to bring order and balance. The success and justification of these Initiatives is the issue at hand.

The cost of living in this episode in my eyes was standing up for what you believe in and never backing down, Also, *quote Eko* "doing what is needed to survive".

I am soo happy to see more disxcussion about this...This was my utmost favorite topic from this epi!!!!! I was saddened when the thread died...glad it restarted again!!! Thanks spell!!!

Just add my 2 cents so I can close the thread I mistakenly started on this topic


The cost of living is DEATH. I think this episode showed that well.
If someone lives, others die. If someone dies, it allows others to live.

This was clear in Ecko's flashbacks. If he would not have killed the hitmen, other "innocent" people would have died. Either by being shot, or due to lack of vaccine. The cost of those innocent ones living was the death of the hitmen.

Even though Ecko did not ask for forgiveness, it appears by his body language and looks that he was sorry for having to do some things. He did not view them as sins though, because "the cost of living".

After seeing it again, I feel that Ecko was a good man. He looked so at peace and glad after the black smoke got done with him. Not like he was fearful of dying as a bad person. The fact that Locke wanted to be dragged into the hole by the black smoke at the end of season 1 (he asked Jack to let him go) helps me to come to the conclusion that being killed by Smokey is a GOOD thing.

Perhaps Ecko's death allowed someone else or all the losties to live. The cost of them living was Eckos death....

i never thought about the coat of the other survivors lives was Eko's death. Somehomw I think Smoky judged Eko like God would and that he ws actually harsher than God would be....Smoky definately acted like God in his judgement. I feel that smoky however does nogt understand the difference between being forgiven...being sorry...and being regretful...yes he regrets what he did and he is sorry...but he would do it again as it made him the man he is today...

I think the thing we all have to face is judgement and the cost of living is that your soul may not come through unscathed. Living and surviving exacts something from us....
We all have to face smokey. We better hope to find redemption and change ourselves so as not to meet Eko's fate.

I am sure there have been people I haave hurtg along the road of my life.....but I cannot honestly say I would do anything differently as I do like the person I am today. I think of myself as a good person by my own definition...but to some I would be bad....(I wear furs and am a liberal at heart here...some may feel I am going straight to hedouble hocky sticks because of my beleifs but I have nogt hurt anyone with my beliefs so oh well...I think Smoky is harsher than God...
Smoky is man made IMHO or at least could be....based on this there are only so many programs of understanding that smoky can handle...perhaps he cannot see that bad things need to be done for good reasons...

Smoky is man made IMHO or at least could be....based on this there are only so many programs of understanding that smoky can handle...perhaps he cannot see that bad things need to be done for good reasons...

Yeah, it seems closer to Ben's twisted morality..