Lost can be quite a jumble of events, when you think back and try to reconcile where people where at what time and what they were trying to accomplish so I wanted to try and put it succinctly, and here is all that has happened so far.
Ben manipulated Locke into triggering the hatch failsafe/implosion giving Jack the opportunity to leave the Island.
These are the only important events to have really happened. Everything else is detail. Part of coaxing Jack to leave was in kidnapping Walt, which also led to Michael’s departure who Ben needed to work for him off Island. Finding the caves led to Charlie quitting drugs and thus swimming down to cut off the interference single so Jack could call the freighter. Important, but all detail. The only thing that has happened in 4 seasons is that Jack left the island, and Locke stayed, and Ben set up all of the events that led to this.
But Ben clearly wants Jack to come back, so the secret to learning what is going to happen, is in understanding why Ben would want Jack to leave for the 3 year period and leave the Island floating around in time. What is Ben trying to accomplish by having him leave, only to bring him back?
Quickly let’s just consider that Daniel has said that certain things that have happened will happen, and that Richard is already aware that Locke will travel to the past to meet him. We’ve already seen things like the beachcraft in season 1, which couldn’t have made it to the island unless it had already been moved at the end of season 4, and I’d wager we’ll see a similar event with the Black Rock and maybe even Henry Gales Balloon or other mysterious items (big foot, Rousseau’s crew, Adam & Eve, etc.) The presence of these means the events of getting them there have already happened.
Likewise Michael couldn’t kill himself, because past events had already been altered by what he would do on the freighter in the future (namely freezing the explosive to allow time for Jack and co. to leave)
So the moral is that Ben was aware that most all of these events had happened, but his cowarding demeanor with Mrs. Hawking, along with his loss of Hurley insinuate that he has now gone beyond the realm of any time loop and nothing at this point is guaranteed. The Island will continue to hop around, but details aside, it is going to wind up in the present, 3 years after Jack left the Island, and it is going to do so in 70 hours. The key is that neither Mrs. Hawking, nor Ben were aware of the 70 hour time limit until she calculated it, which means they are not aware of future events. It is not guaranteed that they can get back on.
But what if they do. It was the plan all along to get Jack and the rest of the O6 back, but why? The same question as above, and the only one that really matters.
Let’s look at Widmore. He wants the Island. So did Dharma, but there is little evidence that Dharma was putting the Island to good use. In fact the only thing we’ve seen of Dharma is that they released the energy beneath the Orchid, creating the time loop that we’re currently witnessing. Widmore was after this potential as well, and may have in fact been with Dharma. It doesn’t matter, although Widmore is the one we saw attempting to chop of Juliet’s arm at the end of last episode. Whether he was with Dharma or not, the important part is that he was exploiting the island, and Ben, through communion with the Hostiles, came to realize he had to protect it, thus expelling Widmore and establishing their fued.
So Ben, must want Jack to carry on with the protection of the Island. He knows that while Jack is a man of science, and not prone to believe in destiny, he does know that Jack is a practical man, and if he sees protecting the Island as what must be done, then he will do it. It is interesting then, to determine what Locke, a man of faith, will do. Again, it doesn’t really matter what Locke does from here on out does on the Island. We know he dies off Island and is being brought back. Ben did not acknowledge that Locke was dead, so he must not be, at least in the Christian Shepard sense, and he clearly wants Locke back as well. Why?
Locke is going to be a guide, much as Christian is. With Locke’s death serving as proof for Jack to come back, Locke has served his purpose in the show. Jack is convinced of the need to come back. What makes him special though, is that Jack can change what happens. The reason Ben had to play all of these mind games, is that in the end, Jack can do what he wants, and so Ben must make him want to do what must be done. It is very difficult to make a practical man into a believer. It takes patience and usually a lot of pain for him to be able to break with his logical thought.
Since Ben seeks the purification of the island, and to avoid it being exploited, he must be seeking to avoid the “god help us all” scenario that Pierre Chang proposed. And in order to avoid that, he has to have the one man who has the power to make real what he chooses, and that man is Jack. Jack will either undo, or correct the circumstances that led to “the incident” which was the release of the island energy to detrimental effect. To do this Jack will have to either travel back in time to prevent it all together, to physically fix the problem, or to become some sort of entity that serves as the island’s protector. Take your pick.
Theory by Locke4God
Ben manipulated Locke into triggering the hatch failsafe/implosion giving Jack the opportunity to leave the Island.
These are the only important events to have really happened. Everything else is detail. Part of coaxing Jack to leave was in kidnapping Walt, which also led to Michael’s departure who Ben needed to work for him off Island. Finding the caves led to Charlie quitting drugs and thus swimming down to cut off the interference single so Jack could call the freighter. Important, but all detail. The only thing that has happened in 4 seasons is that Jack left the island, and Locke stayed, and Ben set up all of the events that led to this.
But Ben clearly wants Jack to come back, so the secret to learning what is going to happen, is in understanding why Ben would want Jack to leave for the 3 year period and leave the Island floating around in time. What is Ben trying to accomplish by having him leave, only to bring him back?
Quickly let’s just consider that Daniel has said that certain things that have happened will happen, and that Richard is already aware that Locke will travel to the past to meet him. We’ve already seen things like the beachcraft in season 1, which couldn’t have made it to the island unless it had already been moved at the end of season 4, and I’d wager we’ll see a similar event with the Black Rock and maybe even Henry Gales Balloon or other mysterious items (big foot, Rousseau’s crew, Adam & Eve, etc.) The presence of these means the events of getting them there have already happened.
Likewise Michael couldn’t kill himself, because past events had already been altered by what he would do on the freighter in the future (namely freezing the explosive to allow time for Jack and co. to leave)
So the moral is that Ben was aware that most all of these events had happened, but his cowarding demeanor with Mrs. Hawking, along with his loss of Hurley insinuate that he has now gone beyond the realm of any time loop and nothing at this point is guaranteed. The Island will continue to hop around, but details aside, it is going to wind up in the present, 3 years after Jack left the Island, and it is going to do so in 70 hours. The key is that neither Mrs. Hawking, nor Ben were aware of the 70 hour time limit until she calculated it, which means they are not aware of future events. It is not guaranteed that they can get back on.
But what if they do. It was the plan all along to get Jack and the rest of the O6 back, but why? The same question as above, and the only one that really matters.
Let’s look at Widmore. He wants the Island. So did Dharma, but there is little evidence that Dharma was putting the Island to good use. In fact the only thing we’ve seen of Dharma is that they released the energy beneath the Orchid, creating the time loop that we’re currently witnessing. Widmore was after this potential as well, and may have in fact been with Dharma. It doesn’t matter, although Widmore is the one we saw attempting to chop of Juliet’s arm at the end of last episode. Whether he was with Dharma or not, the important part is that he was exploiting the island, and Ben, through communion with the Hostiles, came to realize he had to protect it, thus expelling Widmore and establishing their fued.
So Ben, must want Jack to carry on with the protection of the Island. He knows that while Jack is a man of science, and not prone to believe in destiny, he does know that Jack is a practical man, and if he sees protecting the Island as what must be done, then he will do it. It is interesting then, to determine what Locke, a man of faith, will do. Again, it doesn’t really matter what Locke does from here on out does on the Island. We know he dies off Island and is being brought back. Ben did not acknowledge that Locke was dead, so he must not be, at least in the Christian Shepard sense, and he clearly wants Locke back as well. Why?
Locke is going to be a guide, much as Christian is. With Locke’s death serving as proof for Jack to come back, Locke has served his purpose in the show. Jack is convinced of the need to come back. What makes him special though, is that Jack can change what happens. The reason Ben had to play all of these mind games, is that in the end, Jack can do what he wants, and so Ben must make him want to do what must be done. It is very difficult to make a practical man into a believer. It takes patience and usually a lot of pain for him to be able to break with his logical thought.
Since Ben seeks the purification of the island, and to avoid it being exploited, he must be seeking to avoid the “god help us all” scenario that Pierre Chang proposed. And in order to avoid that, he has to have the one man who has the power to make real what he chooses, and that man is Jack. Jack will either undo, or correct the circumstances that led to “the incident” which was the release of the island energy to detrimental effect. To do this Jack will have to either travel back in time to prevent it all together, to physically fix the problem, or to become some sort of entity that serves as the island’s protector. Take your pick.
Theory by Locke4God
