I injured a toe today and am stuck at home. I am current in watching Lost and since I'm on "foot rest", I started watching the first four episodes of Lost (1st season) and had a few questions;

The Marshal that captured Kate, he seems overly obsessed in capturing her. I know he wants justice, but did he have any other motive or reason to be that motivated to capture her. Did I forget something that happened later in the series or was that the reason?

In the fourth episode, Walkabout, when Locke is hunting the Boar and Kate and Michael hear the "monster"; was the monster the black smoke.

Oh, watching these earlier episodes, boy does this show has some legs. I forgot how much I enjoyed the show.

I think more of the relationship between the two is explained in one of Kate's later flashbacks (second season?). But, yeah I think just because she's eluded him multiple times.

I've always assumed this to be what it was. Although we don't see the Black Smoke monster until much later on. There is also an episode in the first season when Locke is confronted by the monster, which we never see. I've always thought this to be the Black Smoke as well.

In S3, the episode "I Do" (episode 6 of the season) shows Kate talking to Mashall Edward Mars on a payphone with a kitchen timer. She has been "religiously" calling him on holy days. She keeps asking him to stop tracking her. The more she asks the more intent he seems to get on catching her.

He mentions to Eko in season 3 that he saw the black smoke and asks what he saw since it appears different to everyone. So in a round about 2 years later kinda way, yes he saw the smoke monster in season one.

Noticed a small inconsistency with Charlie's character.

In the beginning of this episode, Jack is sitting on the beach, having a flashback, Charlie gets his attention. He tells Jack someone is drowning and then tells Jack he can't swim. From the Through the Looking Glass episode, he sure learned to swim pretty good.

Not just then but didn't he also try to swim out to save Claire when Desmond predicted she was drowning then predicted that Charlie himself would drown?

By that point Eko himself had already seen the monster in S2. It sort of "scanned" him and as the camera passes through the smoke we see it flashing through scenes from Eko's past.

Yes but when she came to she said it was an undertow that got her which means it could have gotten him as well. As for telling Jack he couldn't swim, during season one he is a strung out rock star who probably didn't want to get involved.

He can swim though because he swam to the underwater hatch.

Plus, one of Charlie's fondest memories it learning to swim with his dad, isn't it?