The trouble with Eko

[Verix]

Since mid S2 we found ourselves with a much destroyed Locke. His faith in ths island had finally been rocked and he became (IMO) a much uglier character (emotionally). So we were then left with the silent but violent, Mr Eko.

However does it not worry everyone else how Eko acts. I mean he's mysterious which is fine, yet i don't understand his motives, ever. In his first flashbacks he appeared to be, although a violent criminal, a man working for more than just the good of his own bank balance. Yet in later flashbacks we see him as being the complete opposite, a priest but a bored and apparantly law breaking priest.

On the island his actions aren't much clearer. He goes off into the jungle etc on the advice of a dream, fair enough. But even when he's confronted with evidence that the button is a load of rubbish he takes it as conformation that the button is more vital than ever. I admit that in that particular scene i was w00ting for Eko but i still had no idea to why he felt this way.

Basically, I love Locke largely because he 'believes' yet i find it hard to love Eko in the same way because, quite simply, i have no idea how he comes to his sometimes very wacky conclusions.

So what's everyone elses view on the phenomenom that is..... Mr Eko

[D-Roc]

I Love the magnificent Eko..not as much as I love John..but still, Eko rocks imo.

He is indeed a very mysterious man..his layers are often confusing..but peel them back and there lies and ocean of compassion.

I remmeber having many hearty debates about Eko's first flashback over on the now redundant C4 forums..basically i concluded that Eko was a good man even then. Yes he was doing some bad things but ultimately he wanted to do good. He used his position as warlord to do something good for his country. He saw an opportunity to get the evil of drugs out of his homeland whilst living up to his bad boy status. Sometimes, just sometimes good can come through bad..and this is what Eko did with the drug situation..plus he also gave the Church money for the polio vaccines.

Can good and bad co-exist? I perosnaly think Eko was the depiction of that during that stage of his life.

Lets not forget that he was taken away from his family at a young age and sacrificed his innocence by killing that man so that Yemi wouldnt have to. What a sacrifice to make!! Funny how Yemi later cast such daming judgement on Eko - how dare he!He had no right..God is a part of Eko just as much as he is a part of him and as a priest he shouldve known better than to deem his brother a bad person because of his circumstance..afterall it wasnt his fault that he was a warlord.

Anyway, basically i believe that Eko deserves so much respect because even when he was a warlord he still had his heart open to God..he still looked for the signs - "God has given us this chance Yemi" (or words to that effect)..

This is also illustrated on the island, as like you say, he goes in search of the question on the basis of a mere dream. Thats the thing, Eko's faith is so resolute..because without that what else does he have? There is nothing more powerful to Eko than the 'signs'..he went and built a Church because he saw the final image of Yemi's church in the Black smoke..he went in search of the question mark because he had a dream where Yemi told him to. The two most important things in Eko's life are his faith/Christianity and his brother (Yemi)..those are his anchors...for a man who's seen so much violence and bloodshed, these two things are what keeps him on the path to righteousness. If he was to loose his faith, well..i dread to think what would happen.

I believe Eko said it best when he told Charlie(?) - "we are all saved in many ways" (or words to that effect)

Man i love that line! Go Eko!