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In the episode, "The cost of living", after Mr. Eko does NOT repent from his life, the black smoke monster kills him.

I thought that one of the restrictions for the black monster was that he could NOT kill any of the candidates.

How could he do it, then?

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I think it may have been because his name was crossed off of the list. In the Lostpedia (Weaknesses > Candidacy):

The Man in Black also killed Eko, whose name appeared on the lighthouse candidate list, after the man refused to atone for past actions. This suggests a further loophole.

The Candidates page shows the name "EKO" as being crossed off. It is unknown at what point any of the names were crossed off. It could be that because Mr. Eko refused to atone, that Jacob crossed off his name thereby leaving his fate to The Man in Black (ie., the Smoke Monster).

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  • You mean that, the moment he decided not to atone, he was automatically not a candidate anymore? And he got killed THAT QUICKLY after that?
    – Enrique Moreno Tent
    Jun 9, 2015 at 23:24
  • @Dbugger we are talking about a couple of extraordinary beings. The alternative was that it falls into some weird loophole as Lostpedia suggests, the writers made a mistake, or they wrote the character out intentionally in a dramatic way despite the "rules".
    – jwatts1980
    Jun 9, 2015 at 23:32
  • @Dbugger or that his name was crossed of earlier for another reason. Though I think it's more likely that Man in Black used Eko's brother to manipulate him into a course of action that would cause him to fall from Jacob's graces.
    – jwatts1980
    Jun 9, 2015 at 23:37
  • Another black point on this theory would be "If the Black Smoke Monster could kill Eko because he was no longer a candidate at that point, why would the Black Smoke Monster need to kill Eko?"
    – Enrique Moreno Tent
    Jun 10, 2015 at 9:38
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    It's not clear the crossing off meant anything other than a judgment call. I'd say that MiB wanted to use Eko (like he used Locke and Ben later), but when Eko was unwilling to "submit" by confessing his sins, he deemed him useless, and thus killed him. (Late in the show he kills a character named Zoe simply because she wouldn't talk to MiB and was thus useless to him.)
    – Justin Young
    Aug 3, 2015 at 16:03
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This probably isn't what you are wanting to hear but...

From my understanding, the actor who played Mr. Eko wanted off the show around this time. Therefore, they had to modify the plot and "kill off his character". I believe that he was originally supposed to be in the show longer.

Since he is a candidate, you are right in thinking that he should have been protected from the smoke monster.

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    I doubt the creators would have killed him in a way that is not consistent with the mythology of the show.
    – Enrique Moreno Tent
    Jun 10, 2015 at 9:36
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    Well, if said mythology had not been established yet, and we have many reasons to think it hadn't (Jacob isn't even first mentioned until the next episode), then it need not be consistent with what came later. Jack says the Adam and Eve skeletons are ~50 years old, when in fact they originate close to the first century CE.
    – Justin Young
    Aug 3, 2015 at 16:00
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Spoilers ahead......

In season 5, episode 12, "Dead is Dead," Ben Linus is trying to go to see the monster/black smoke so that he can be judged for what he's done on the island. John Locke is talking to Ben and John says that if Ben has done everything in the best interests of the island, then he will understand.

Maybe when Mr. Eko Tunde killed those men and then soon after came into contact with the smoke, the smoke judged him and realized that it was in best interest for the island, therefore deciding not to harm him. hope you understand what im trying to say.

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