Why is MIB keeping Claire alive ?

[rasalghul]

I don't know if this has been discussed but I wonder if MiB has a reason to keep Claire alive.

At the beginning of the season, I thought that MIB just wanted to have on his side to "recruit" Jack. But now that Jack and the candidates are sure that MiB is "bad", Claire is no use to him so it's really weird, at the end of episode "The Candidate" that he would just leave her and go alone to finish the job.

It is because he still needs her to get to Aaron, the latest member of the "Shephard", a potential, future candidate ?

But if aaron can become a candidate after the death of all the current candidates, MiB still won't be able to leave since Aaron is not on the island.

Finally, how can Aaron be a candidate since he's never been given the 'Jacob's Touch" ?

[spinaltumor]

I don't think Aaron is important.

He may just want Claire to act as a manipulator for Jack, the top contender for the Jacob position and Claire's brother.

[markedman]

I guess another way of looking at it is to say, "Why kill her". There doesn't seem to be anything to be gained, and she may be useful later.

[Denny]

Jack said Locke couldn't kill them himself so he was trying to get them to kill each other right? Well MIB did tell Kate that he once had a crazy mother and that now Aaron had a crazy mother too. Seems to me like MIB is trying to influence Kate to kill Claire. Kate is not a candidate anymore, I'm pretty sure MIB could kill *her* but he doesn't, he need her alive to maybe kill Claire?

[witheyesclosed]

Or maybe he feels sympathetic with Claire considering he never got to meet his mother. Maybe it's smokeys compassionate side in saying, hey I don't know aaron but I know I'd like to be with my real mom.

[spinaltumor]

Or perhaps Claire reminds him enough of the mother who raised him, so he feels the need to be around her.

[markedman]

I don't know how much compassion MIB has. In the limited times we've seen him, it's all been about him.

[ForTheIsland]

Maybe his scale will tip