Jacob meet John by JamesB (*Updated*)

Updated as of "Jughead" - Season 5

John Locke (English Philosopher) - "As people are walking all the time, in the same spot, a path appears."

First thing's first. I'm going to go over my beliefs and the differences between free-will and destiny. A lot of this theory is based on Jacob and his attempts to guide Locke, and manipulate his path. A lot of people have said to me, "If Locke is destined to do these things, why does he need Jacob to guide him?". My answer is - Think of Destiny like a race with a number of checkpoints along the way. To complete the race, you must pass through all of the checkpoints, but you don't necessarily have to follow the path given to you. If you wanted to, you could take a right where you were supposed to go straight on, but soon enough you will end up on the straight path to the checkpoint, it may just take you a little longer to get there. So Jacob is guiding John to speed up the process of Locke reaching his Destiny. Basically, he is trying to minimise the amount of time Locke spends taking wrong turns.

Locke: Me, well, I'm a man of faith. Do you really think all this is an accident -- that we, a group of strangers survived, many of us with just superficial injuries? Do you think we crashed on this place by coincidence -- especially, this place? We were brought here for a purpose, for a reason, all of us. Each one of us was brought here for a reason.
Jack: Brought here? And who brought us here, John?
Locke: The island.

In the beginning, a long time ago, the Island chose John Locke to be its savior. Now I'm not sure exactly how but Locke has some sort of communion with the Island. More so than Ben has ever had, more so than Alpert or Widmore or Walt. The list could go on. The extent of Locke's communion with the Island was not fully realised until last season , when we seen Cabin Fever, the eleventh episode of Season 4, LOST. As the first draft of this Theory was posted on darkUFO the day before Cabin Fever, and the second draft was updated a few weeks later, I've decided to add a few snip bits and tidy it up a little so it's easier for all of us to enjoy during season 5. So lets start off by going over what we know about Jacob/The Island (I believe Jacob and the Island are the same thing so I may refer to either one of them) and the Smoke Monster.

• Jacob can communicate with people through their dreams.
• Jacob can talk through other people, both while they are conscious and unconscious.
• Jacob can take the form of dead people
• Jacob can see events in the future
• Jacob can cure diseases, and cure Locke's paralysis
• Smokey - in some way - is connected to Jacob. We know this because in 4x09 "The Shape of Things to Come", Locke asks Ben what the smoke monster is. Ben replies "You can ask Jacob all about it when we get there."

Alright, so lets start at the beginning. On may 30th, 1956, a certain Emily Annabeth Locke gave birth to a tiny baby boy, 3 months earlier than expected. The baby was wheeled away to the special care unit, then we hear a very familiar quote - "Name him John!" And so it begins...

We now know that Richard Alpert, appears at baby Locke's birth, because he was instructed to do so by John Locke himself. In 1952, Locke travels back in time via the Islands flashes and approaches Alpert with a message.
"Jacob Sent Me.."
Now Alpert, on hearing Jacob's name is genuinely shocked. Just the slightest mention of Jacob's name is enough to convince Alpert that Locke is the real deal. This leads me to believe that before the 1950's the only person Jacob has ever contacted is Richard Alpert. It is this communication from Jacob that Richard uses to keep track of the Islands future leaders.

I think Richard has been Jacob's right-hand man since about 2000BC - or since the Island's "birth". In the beginning, a group of Egyptian settlers found the Island and believed it was of great importance. We have already seen Hieroglyphics numerous times on the show. On Ben's secret door in which he "called" smokey, beside the frozen donkey wheel. As of yet we haven't seen the "Temple" in which Ben and Richard have been talking about. But I can almost guarantee that this temple will be of Egyptian origins. It's possible that Alpert was one of the first settlers to arrive on the Island, and that Jacob instructed him to have his people build the temple - who knows, but one thing is for sure. Richard is of Egyptian origin.

When I first wrote this theory I believed that the journey of John Locke, was a prophecy which originated in the past. To some extent, that is still true - but I think it was future Locke himself that is the origin of the prophecy. In season 1, Emily Locke told John that he was immaculately conceived - of course this is not true. To some extent however, the prophecy of John Locke was immaculately conceived. As Locke flashes out of 1952, he leaves Richard with the idea that Locke has been chosen by Jacob to lead the others in the future.

When Locke was aged 5, Alpert followed up his visit to baby Locke by visiting him in his house, because he believes he is the chosen one. Alpert knows that Locke will one day arrive on the Island and become his leader, because that is his destiny - but he wants to know if he can speed things up by bringing Locke to the island earlier. He notices that little John has drawn a picture of what appears to be his encounter with the smoke monster in the future - Locke can draw these things because he has similar powers to Walt, as they are both special to the Island. He gives Locke a test that is very similar to the test they use to identify the child in which the Dali Lama has been reborn. Richard showed John a series of items - A baseball glove, the Book of Laws, a vial of sand, a compass and a comic book. At first John chose the vial and the compass. Richard seemed happy at these choices. Then little John picked up the knife. Now we all know that in the future, Locke barely ever goes anywhere without his knife. He has it on his belt 24/7. But Richard seems upset, even angry that John has picked up the knife. I believe John knew that the Book was his. But the boy inside him chose the knife, and I think if I was in the same situation I would have done the same thing at that age.

John Locke (English Philosopher) - All men are liable to error; and most men are, in many points, by passion or interest, under temptation to it.

So Richard leaves little Locke telling his mother "He isn't quite ready for our school yet." Locke hasn't yet passed that checkpoint which prepares him for being the Islands Leader. Richard is disappointed because he now knows that he may have to wait a long time before Locke is ready.

When John was 16, Richard tried to recruit him to the island once more through a summer science camp on the Island. But John was having none of it. He was unable to accept his destiny yet again. Now John would be left alone for a long time. But his path is not over yet. A few years prior to the crash of flight 815, he gets a visit from a man named Abaddon. Now we have seen him before, recruiting the scientists for Widmore's boat, and questioning Hurley in the mental institution. He tells Locke that he needs to go on a walkabout. At first Locke dismisses the idea, thinking there is no chance he would be able to do it. But something must have happened. Maybe the idea just played on his mind for a while, but I have a feeling something happened to him soon after this encounter. Something that made him believe the walkabout was his destiny - something that ultimately pushed him towards Australia, where he was finally brought to the Island.

Ms. Hawking: The universe, unfortunately, has a way of...course correcting. That man was supposed to die. That was his path. Just as it's your path to go to the island.
Just like Locke's path is to go to the Island. He needs to fulfill his destiny.

When the plane first crashed, we know that Jacob was instantly on the scene. We know this from "Missing Pieces 9", the short canon clip that shows Christian Shepard talking to Vincent, "Go wake up Jack, he has work to do". Jack isn't the only one who has work to do. Jacob has a plan for Locke too. In fact Jacob needs Locke, he needs help. He knows that John Locke is the only one who can help him. So what does he do? He gives John his dignity back. He gives him the ability to walk.

John Locke (English Philosopher) - Things of this world are in so constant a flux, that nothing remains long in the same state.


Jacob then retreats and lets John settle into his new home. Let's him get to grips with his new found life. For a while anyway. 11 Days pass until Jacob visits John again. On day 11, while Locke is out hunting, he bumps into our good friend Smokey. Smokey approaches Locke, the exact same way it approached Mr. Eko in Season 2. We can assume then that Smokey scanned Locke's memory just like it did to Mr. Eko. In some way, Jacob and Smokey must be linked. Because the memories that it scanned from Locke's head, will be used later on by Jacob in influencing Locke's actions.

So the monster retreats with its new found information and leaves John be for a while. Locke now feels connected to the Island. "I've looked into the eye of this Island Jack. And what I saw was beautiful..". He can predict the weather with astonishing accuracy, on an island that the Dharma Initiative were experimenting with the weather - so something is not right there.

John Locke (English Philosopher) - Reverie is when ideas float in our mind without reflection or regard of the understanding.

He catches bore, helps everyone out that needs it. Then on day 16, he finds a hatch. Locke believes that finding the hatch was his destiny, and so do a lot of viewers. But I disagree. Jacob did NOT want Locke to waste his time on the hatch. Boone and Locke, keep the hatch a secret from everyone. He wastes a lot of time excavating it, and trying to break in. So Jacob makes his first attempt to steer Locke on the correct path.

While Locke is fast asleep, Jacob gets into his head, and talks to him via Boone. Boone in this scene IS Jacob. Here's the dialogue.

Locke and Boone stand beside the excavated Hatch.
Boone: We're supposed to find this. We're supposed to open this right? Then tell me something John. If we're supposed to open it, why the hell haven't we opened it yet!
Locke: The Island will send us a sign.
Boone: (Mocking him) The Island will send us a sign...
Locke:All that's happening now is our faith is being tested! Our commitment. But we will open it! The Island will show us how!
Boone:What kinda sign will the Island send us John?

Mr. Eko's drug plane then flies in overhead, towards a cliff in the background. Then we see Locke's mother Emily, pointing towards the plane. Jacob took Emily from John's memory when he was scanned by Smokey. Then we see an image of Boone covered in blood, just as he was after the plane falls. Jacob is showing John that he needs to go to this area, not to the plane. So Locke and Boone take off the next day, towards where Locke seen the plane in his dream. Sure enough, there it is. But Locke gets the wrong idea. He thinks they were supposed to get up to the plane, and what's inside will help them open the Hatch. This pisses Jacob off, so Jacob does the only thing he can do to make sure that Locke does not climb up to that plane. He takes back his ability to walk. Locke ends up on the floor once again thus forcing Boone to climb the cliff and inevitably, falling to his death. So what was Locke supposed to find at that plane?

Jacob wanted Locke to find the Pearl Station. If Locke had found the Pearl station back in season 1, he would have made it to Jacob a lot quicker. He would have been able to see Patchy in the Flame,which would have led him to Ben, then to Jacob. But Locke misinterpreted the dream and he ended up beating his hand bloody on that hatch door. A few days pass and Jacob tries Locke again. This time its through Walt.
Locke puts his hand on Walt's wrist. Walt looks at Locke's hand and pulls away. "Don't open it!" he shouts. Locke asks what he's talking about. Walt says, "Don't open it, Mr. Locke. Don't open that thing!"

John Locke (English Philosopher) - It is one thing to show a man that he is in an error, and another to put him in possession of the truth.

This is Jacob trying to steer Locke away from the hatch. Locke ignores the warning, and is still determined to get down there. So him and Jack go get the dynamite planning on blowing it open. Due to the extreme circumstances, Jacob is forced into something he wouldn't normally do. He uses Smokey to grab Locke and tries to pull him into one of the many Cerberus vents located around the Island. He was probably planning on having Locke delivered straight to him. But Jack foils the mater plan. He throws the dynamite into the vent, which causes smokey to retreat and leaves Locke all alone.

So John gets into the hatch, and ends up pushing the button. What use is a button pusher to Jacob? Being confined to the hatch every day. In comes Mr. Eko. Jacob has big plans for Eko. In fact, Jacob has already influenced Eko into carving a certain inscription on his stick. "Lift up your eyes and look north" - John 3:05. If you watch season 2 again, you'll notice that after John and Eko first meet, there are many times when Mr. Eko's stick is right there in front of Locke. At one point he actually picks it up and reads it, Unfortunately he doesn't catch on. So season 2 carries on, Locke is stuck in the hatch and nothing is getting him out. Until that is, he sees the map on the blast door. Jacob uses this to his advantage. By this point, Mr. Eko has been scanned by the monster. So Jacob uses Yemi, through Eko's dreams and Locke's dreams to get them to the Pearl Station. This is where Locke finally starts to lose his faith in the hatch. He starts to believe that its all just an experiment which then leads him to destroy the computer, and the hatch is finally gone forever. Locke is once again free.

What's the first thing that happens to Locke after the hatch implodes? He wakes up in the jungle, opens his eyes and what comes flying out the air straight for him? Mr. Eko's stick. Coincidence? Jacob wasted no time at all in getting John on the right path. Jacob took Locke's ability to speak so that John would know he needed to speak to the island. So John builds a sweat lodge, and eats some of his home made LSD. The same stuff he applies to Boone's head in season 1. This gives Jacob another chance to talk to John in person. After a slightly disturbing trip round the airport, Locke makes it up the escalator to a pool of blood. Yet again, Eko's stick is the first thing he touches and Jacob tells John he needs to clean up his own mess. Locke comes out of the tent, and Jacob has given him back his voice.

For some reason, the island still has work for Eko. So Jacob sends Locke off to the polar bear cave, and he pulls through it. He rescues Eko and takes him to safety. Jacob then steps in again as Locke is talking to an unconscious Eko.

Locke:I'm sorry, I'm sorry I ever doubted you. I'm sorry I gave up my faith in the island. I'm mixed up. Now our people are captured. If I'd just listened to you. If I'd just let you keep pushing the button I could have protected them, I could have saved them.
Eko opens his eyes.
Mr. Eko: You can still protect them. You can still save them.
Locke: I don't even know where they are.
Mr. Eko: You can find them. After all, you are a hunter, John.

Charlie walks back and asks if Locke said something. Locke says, "He's awake," but looks back and Eko's eyes are closed. When Eko gets back to the beach, Yemi leads him back to the Pearl. Locke follows and sees Patchy in the flame. He returns to find Eko dead, killed by Jacob/Smokey because he did not confess to the sins he committed - and ultimately he remained a bad guy. Jacob is only interested in the good guys. While battering Mr Eko's stick into his grave, finally John sees the message that was written there for him weeks ago.

John Locke (English Philosopher) - All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.

John follows the compass bearing, North 3:05. This leads him to the flame where he can finally talk to Patchy who lets him in on some of the secrets of the Dharma Initiative. Finally Locke's on the right path. Sayid cleverly finds the map of the Barracks that leads them to Ben.

Now we hit up some important stuff. After having his conversation with Ben, and then blowing up the submarine we come to a very important event in Locke's life. I believe the event that is coming up here is the check point Locke needs to pass in order to become the leader that he is destined to be. He needs to kill his father.

John Locke (English Philosopher) - What worries you, masters you.

Locke: What is going on?
Ben: You tell me John.. You brought him here.

At the time no one really had a clue what Ben meant here. People were thinking about the "Magic Box" - and that Cooper appeared because Locke wanted him to appear. The truth is Locke did bring him there, physically. Or to be more accurate Bentham brought him there. When Locke gets off the Island, he does not get propelled into 2005 like Ben did. I think Bentham is going to end up in around 2004 - after the crash of course. Bentham will be forced to live part of his life again, simply waiting for 2007 to come so he can get the Oceanic 6 back. But he wont be alone. I think this is where Abaddon will come into it. Abaddon will inform Bentham that he needs to play a part in "Island Locke's" life. Bentham and Abaddon need to get Cooper to the Island so that Locke can play out his part as the Island leader. So Abaddon and Bentham locate his father and ram his car off the road. They take his unconscious body and somehow get him back to the Island. I'm not sure yet how this is done, maybe the same way that Alpert get's on and off the Island so easily. Anyway, Bentham delivers Cooper to Locke ( Confusing huh?) and this allows Locke to have him killed, and finally become free.

John Locke (Famous Philosopher) - Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain.

Only once Locke is ridden of his father does Ben agree to take Locke to Jacob, but warns him that he's going to be very unhappy. "Jacob is not a man you go and see. Jacob is a man who summons you". Jacob has been summoning John since the very beginning!

In the cabin scene, it's quite obvious that Ben wasn't talking to Jacob at all. In fact I think Ben had lost contact with Jacob a long time ago. This is why he was so interested in what Jacob said to John.

Jacob:Help me...
John:What did you just say?
Ben:I didn't say anything.
Locke:Yes you did. You said hel..
Cabin starts to shake rapidly as Locke turns his flashlight on.

Ben is very upset that Jacob is now contacting Locke instead of him. It angers him so much that he shoots Locke, leaving him for dead in the Dharma death pit. But there's also another thing Jacob needs help with, and he is not going to let John die in that ditch. He super heals him, gives him the power to leave the ditch and trek half a day across the jungle to Naomi.The island is coming under attack from the freighter, and Jacob needs John to kill Naomi so that the freighter never gets a lock on the islands location.

Walt: Don't John. Put the gun down
Locke: Walt?
Walt: Now get up John
Locke:He shot me and I can't move my legs
Walt: You can move your legs. Now get out of the ditch John.
Locke: Why!?
Walt: Because. You have work to do.

This conversation carries on but unfortunately we don't get to see what else is said. All we know is that Walt tells Locke to kill Naomi, and not to let anyone use that satellite phone.

Unfortunately, John couldn't go through with killing Jack - and he failed to kill Naomi in time. This is the major turning point in the Islands future. Because Locke failed, Jack and the
Oceanic 6 manage to escape the Island.

Locke: "You're not supposed to do this Jack"

Indeed Jack was not supposed to make that call. Jack and the O6 must be on the Island in order for the Island to progress into the future correctly. Jack has changed the timeline by leaving and the only way the Island can continue is for Jack to come back.

We see very little of Jacob contacting John through season 4. Locke has to take on the role of leader to his group of survivors that go with him. As usual - Locke was right in the first place. The people on the freighter are not there to save the 815ers. They are there for Ben, and then the orders are to kill everyone else on the Island. So Ben plays Locke off for a while, and he is left trying to figure out what to do next. Until that is, Locke has a dream.


Just as we've seen before, Jacob contacts Locke through his dreams. This time Jacob takes on the form of Horace Goodspeed of the Dharma Initiative. Horace is building Jacob's Cabin. Maybe Horace was in contact with Jacob just like Locke and Ben. Perhaps Jacob told Horace to build it, only time will tell.

Horace: You gotta find me John. You gotta find me. And when you do you'll find him.
Locke: Who?
Horace: Jacob

Locke wakes up and knows exactly what he has to do. The most interesting part of this scene was Ben's comment. "I used to have dreams". This confirms the fact that Jacob has always used dreams to communicate with the chosen ones. But Locke does eventually find the cabin, and he goes in alone - looking both confident and slightly nervous. Inside he finds Christian.

Jacob has taken on the form of Christian. He tells John there is no time for all the questions he asks, and tells him to ask him the big question.

Christian: John, the people from the freighter are already on their way back. And when they get here all these questions wont matter one bit. So why don't you ask the question that does matter?
Locke: How do I save the Island?
Christian smiles eerily.

When Locke leaves the Cabin to find Hurley and Ben munching on an Apollo Bar, he reveals the one answer that we probably all were not expecting.

Ben: Did he tell you what we need to do?
Locke: He did
Ben: What is it?
Locke: We need to move the Island..

So Locke and Ben make it to the orchid and Ben explains that the reason Jacob didn't tell Locke how to move the Island, is because Jacob wants Ben to do it. When Ben says that whoever moves the Island can never return, he is lying. In fact as soon as Ben delivers his message to Charles Widmore, his next priority is to return to the Island. So Locke leaves the Orchid, finds Richard and his new people and starts to settle in. Then just as Ben turns the wheel Locke is taken from his new home and thrust into time-traveling madness where he finds himself on a new quest - to get the Oceanic 6 back to the Island.

"Even if it kills me".

Jeremy Bentham (English Philosopher) - Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet.

A small note: Where is Locke's scar? It's supposed to be above and below his right eye. There is no indication here that a scar was ever there.

We know from the flash-forwards in season 4 that Locke does eventually get off the Island. Now in the premiere of season 5 Ben told Jack that Locke never contacted him when he got off the Island. As of everything that comes from Ben's mouth this is yet another lie. Locke contacted Ben probably before he contacted anyone else to devise a plan to get everyone back. Locke tells Ben about his conversation with Richard and that Locke has to die to do it. I do think by this point though that Locke knows when his body is returned to the Island, he will somehow resurrect. Remember Abaddon's visit to Locke in the hospital? Abaddon said that next time they meet, Locke will owe him one. This leads me to believe that when Locke gets off, Abaddon is going to find him and help him on his journey of sacrifice. Maybe Abaddon is the one to tell Locke about the Resurrection.

Another theory that has been floating about for a while is that Locke is in fact not dead, and that he has been bit by a Medusa Spider. In the premiere of season 5 we see Ben remove a strange box from his air vent in the hotel room and take it to the van where he is keeping Locke's coffin. Could this box be carefully containing a few Medusa spiders? Straight after this scene we see Hurley's father watching expose on his TV at home. Is this a hint from the writers that the spiders that bit Nicky and Paulo are back for some John Locke nibbles? I don't know - personally I like this idea more than I do of John Locke resurrecting on the Island.

Here's a few predictions of what is to come for John Locke in season 5:

• Locke will get off the island via The Temple
  
• Locke will get off the Island in around 2004, and again lose his ability to walk.
• One of Locke's first tasks off the Island will be retrieving his Father.
  
• Both Abaddon and Ben will help Locke in his plan to get the Oceanic 6 back.
• Ben will promise Locke that he will take care of his body while he is "dead"
• As for the resurrection - I have no idea what is going to happen.

Jeremy Bentham (English Philosopher) - The said truth is that it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I'd like to say thanks to Andy at DarkUFO for posting it and for running the best LOST fansite around, and all the generous people who have voted on this post to take it up so high on the ranks. Please if you have any queries or would like to point something out, post a comment and I will get back to you quickly.

JamesB

Theory by JamesB