Now, hear me out on this - this is going to touch upon a bit of game mythology of the "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona" series, but I think it holds some water in Lost as well.
In the Persona series, there are two primary gods: Philemon and Nyarlathotep. Philemon represents the "good" deity, and Nyar (for short, from here on out) represents "the bad", or evil. While the two gods rarely make appearances in the games, there is one common thread that connects the entire series, and that relates to a sort of bet between the two: "Philemon is conducting an experiment with Nyarlathotep to see if humans can become enlightened being, or if they destroy themselves. While Philemon continues to play by the rules, Nyarlathotep directly manipulates events to insure the destruction of mankind" (http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Philemon).
These are the events that transpire throughout the series: the theme of whether or not humanity can, in fact, surpass their mortal limitations, their fears, their vices and sins. The following are excerpts in the functionalities of the two goes: "Nyarlathotep, also known as The Crawling Chaos, is the counterbalance to Philemon in the Persona series of games. Unlike Philemon, Nyarlathotep is able to operate in the outside world and take an active role. Throughout the series he employs the use of Shadow Sides, essentially clones, of characters to accomplish his goals" (http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Nyarlathotep).
"Philemon is a man, or deity, who wears a butterfly mask. He lives within the realm of the subconscious and he awakens within people the ability to use Personae. Philemon serves as a neutral observer and he watches as things unfold. He cannot directly interfere, however, the party is aided by The Velvet Room, which is filled with his servants" (http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Philemon)"
Some of the intricacies are obviously not relevant; the ability to use Personae, the butterfly mask, etc. But when you examine the other things, it - in a very strange way - makes sense. Nyar can create clones or apparitions of people to do his own dirty work (Smoke Monster, anyone?). Philemon is more of a spiritual/subconscious god. As it says, he has the ability to awaken "Personae," or otherwise hidden potential in people. In "The Incident," we see Jacob visiting the Losties off island, and during every encounter, he touches them. There was large emphasis on this fact, as the camera usually went in for a quick close-up, or there was a moment of silence during it. I believe Jacob was giving the Losties a special gift, a hidden potential.
At the beginning of the episode, there is this conversation between Jacob and the man known as Esau:
Esau: Morning.
Jacob: Morning.
Esau: Mind if I join you?
Jacob: Please. Want some fish?
Esau: Thank you. I just ate.
Jacob: I take it you're here because of the ship.
Esau: I am. (beat) How did they find the island?
Jacob: You'll have to ask them when they get here.
Esau: I don't have to ask. You brought them here. You're trying to prove me wrong, aren't you?
Jacob: You are wrong.
Esau: Am I? They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt. Always ends the same.
Jacob: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that...is just progress.
Esau: You have any idea how badly I wanna kill you?
Jacob: Yes.
Esau: One of these days, sooner or later...I'm gonna find a loophole, my friend.
Jacob: Well when you do, I'll be right here.
Esau: Well, it was nice talking to you, Jacob.
Jacob: Nice talking to you, too.
The conversation between these two men, or quite possibly these two demi-gods, is very similar to the type of bet between the gods of the Persona series: a bet, or experiment, that humanity can surpass their primal instincts for violence and corruption. Esau (Nyar) perfectly exclaims that he does not believe they can do so. Jacob (Philemon) endeavors to prove him wrong. I therefore believe, and am willing to put forth as fact, that Esau is, in fact, the smoke monster, if not just another manifestation of it.
Jacob, on the other hand, is still a bit of a mystery. We can safely assume that he is a sort of demi-god. Likewise, we can confidently confirm that, in the finale, he knew the John Locke that came to visit him was, in fact, the man from the beginning - Esau. Jacob did not seemed frightened by this. If anything, he seemed expecting. When Ben does finally stab Jacob, Jacob does not shout out in pain, in anger, or in betrayal. His dying wards seemed to be a warning: "They're coming." Who *they* are is yet to be revealed, but from this I can conclude that Jacob - all along - knew one day that the man known as Esau would kill him, but it seems he did not try to put up any resistance. Jacob wanted to die. Or...maybe...he needed to die.
Some final notes on the history of the names: both Philemon and Nyar come from the writings of Carl Jung: Philemon represents a "wise spirit guide," and Nyarlathotep is said to be symbolic of the destructive potential of Jung's collective unconscious. Furthermore, Nyar was an entity created by H.P. Love Craft in his Cthulu Mythos featured as an Outer God. As for Jacob and Esau, their names come from the Bible: Jacob and Esau were twin brothers, born from Isaac and Rebekah. The story of these two brothers can be found here: http://www.gotquestions.org/Jacob-and-Esau.html.
In the Persona series, there are two primary gods: Philemon and Nyarlathotep. Philemon represents the "good" deity, and Nyar (for short, from here on out) represents "the bad", or evil. While the two gods rarely make appearances in the games, there is one common thread that connects the entire series, and that relates to a sort of bet between the two: "Philemon is conducting an experiment with Nyarlathotep to see if humans can become enlightened being, or if they destroy themselves. While Philemon continues to play by the rules, Nyarlathotep directly manipulates events to insure the destruction of mankind" (http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Philemon).
These are the events that transpire throughout the series: the theme of whether or not humanity can, in fact, surpass their mortal limitations, their fears, their vices and sins. The following are excerpts in the functionalities of the two goes: "Nyarlathotep, also known as The Crawling Chaos, is the counterbalance to Philemon in the Persona series of games. Unlike Philemon, Nyarlathotep is able to operate in the outside world and take an active role. Throughout the series he employs the use of Shadow Sides, essentially clones, of characters to accomplish his goals" (http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Nyarlathotep).
"Philemon is a man, or deity, who wears a butterfly mask. He lives within the realm of the subconscious and he awakens within people the ability to use Personae. Philemon serves as a neutral observer and he watches as things unfold. He cannot directly interfere, however, the party is aided by The Velvet Room, which is filled with his servants" (http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Philemon)"
Some of the intricacies are obviously not relevant; the ability to use Personae, the butterfly mask, etc. But when you examine the other things, it - in a very strange way - makes sense. Nyar can create clones or apparitions of people to do his own dirty work (Smoke Monster, anyone?). Philemon is more of a spiritual/subconscious god. As it says, he has the ability to awaken "Personae," or otherwise hidden potential in people. In "The Incident," we see Jacob visiting the Losties off island, and during every encounter, he touches them. There was large emphasis on this fact, as the camera usually went in for a quick close-up, or there was a moment of silence during it. I believe Jacob was giving the Losties a special gift, a hidden potential.
At the beginning of the episode, there is this conversation between Jacob and the man known as Esau:
Esau: Morning.
Jacob: Morning.
Esau: Mind if I join you?
Jacob: Please. Want some fish?
Esau: Thank you. I just ate.
Jacob: I take it you're here because of the ship.
Esau: I am. (beat) How did they find the island?
Jacob: You'll have to ask them when they get here.
Esau: I don't have to ask. You brought them here. You're trying to prove me wrong, aren't you?
Jacob: You are wrong.
Esau: Am I? They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt. Always ends the same.
Jacob: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that...is just progress.
Esau: You have any idea how badly I wanna kill you?
Jacob: Yes.
Esau: One of these days, sooner or later...I'm gonna find a loophole, my friend.
Jacob: Well when you do, I'll be right here.
Esau: Well, it was nice talking to you, Jacob.
Jacob: Nice talking to you, too.
The conversation between these two men, or quite possibly these two demi-gods, is very similar to the type of bet between the gods of the Persona series: a bet, or experiment, that humanity can surpass their primal instincts for violence and corruption. Esau (Nyar) perfectly exclaims that he does not believe they can do so. Jacob (Philemon) endeavors to prove him wrong. I therefore believe, and am willing to put forth as fact, that Esau is, in fact, the smoke monster, if not just another manifestation of it.
Jacob, on the other hand, is still a bit of a mystery. We can safely assume that he is a sort of demi-god. Likewise, we can confidently confirm that, in the finale, he knew the John Locke that came to visit him was, in fact, the man from the beginning - Esau. Jacob did not seemed frightened by this. If anything, he seemed expecting. When Ben does finally stab Jacob, Jacob does not shout out in pain, in anger, or in betrayal. His dying wards seemed to be a warning: "They're coming." Who *they* are is yet to be revealed, but from this I can conclude that Jacob - all along - knew one day that the man known as Esau would kill him, but it seems he did not try to put up any resistance. Jacob wanted to die. Or...maybe...he needed to die.
Some final notes on the history of the names: both Philemon and Nyar come from the writings of Carl Jung: Philemon represents a "wise spirit guide," and Nyarlathotep is said to be symbolic of the destructive potential of Jung's collective unconscious. Furthermore, Nyar was an entity created by H.P. Love Craft in his Cthulu Mythos featured as an Outer God. As for Jacob and Esau, their names come from the Bible: Jacob and Esau were twin brothers, born from Isaac and Rebekah. The story of these two brothers can be found here: http://www.gotquestions.org/Jacob-and-Esau.html.
