It occurs to me that Sayid purposely DID NOT set the bomb to detonate on impact. He wanted to ensure that everything occured as it had originally (his comment to Jack 'nothing can save me now' was a give away). And the reason he was captured and brought back to the island is that he was killing Jacob's followers - that was his assignment whether he realized what he was doing or not. And bringing him back was Illana's assignment... the 'help' that Jacob requested of her.
I also think, looking at the big picture, that Rose and Bernard are a pretty blatent visual extension of this whole black/white theme running through the show. But their relationship is completely juxtaposed against Jacob/ the 'Other Guy'. That's why they were brought back into the storyline... not for closure but for reinforcement of the core theme.
Other extensions of this same theme... the 'Black' Rock in contrast to Desmond's 'White' sailboat - and the way Desmond always calls everyone 'Brother', just a further extension of his connection to the good side by playing the part of the priest, etc. Also, his strong faith demonstrated by pushing the button for years and years, etc. I'm pretty sure that Desmond will be back in a key role for Season 6.
I agree with the notion that Jacob purposely kept Ben at arm's length because of (1) the way he was healed in the temple, and (2) that Jacob probably knew that he would eventually die at Ben's hand.
Lastly, it seems pretty obvious that the 'loophole' is the notion of Free Will. That's why bad locke couldn't kill Jacob on his own - because it breaks the rules of the game. And eveything that Locke had to "go through to get here" is a nod to everything that Jacob's enemy had to do (across time) to ensure that the cards continued to fall in his favor.
All struggles depicted between good and evil eventually touch upon the notion of Free Will at the core. That's the significance of the 'choice' that Jacob tells Ben he has. It's also the heart of the argument between the Jacob and his 'Enemy'. That, no matter how much Jacob tries to influence people to make the right choice on their own, in the end it's too easy to manipulate them into making a choice based on fear, greed, etc. It's also why everyone on the second plane had to choose to be there - vs. the manipulation of the first go-around.
I also think, looking at the big picture, that Rose and Bernard are a pretty blatent visual extension of this whole black/white theme running through the show. But their relationship is completely juxtaposed against Jacob/ the 'Other Guy'. That's why they were brought back into the storyline... not for closure but for reinforcement of the core theme.
Other extensions of this same theme... the 'Black' Rock in contrast to Desmond's 'White' sailboat - and the way Desmond always calls everyone 'Brother', just a further extension of his connection to the good side by playing the part of the priest, etc. Also, his strong faith demonstrated by pushing the button for years and years, etc. I'm pretty sure that Desmond will be back in a key role for Season 6.
I agree with the notion that Jacob purposely kept Ben at arm's length because of (1) the way he was healed in the temple, and (2) that Jacob probably knew that he would eventually die at Ben's hand.
Lastly, it seems pretty obvious that the 'loophole' is the notion of Free Will. That's why bad locke couldn't kill Jacob on his own - because it breaks the rules of the game. And eveything that Locke had to "go through to get here" is a nod to everything that Jacob's enemy had to do (across time) to ensure that the cards continued to fall in his favor.
All struggles depicted between good and evil eventually touch upon the notion of Free Will at the core. That's the significance of the 'choice' that Jacob tells Ben he has. It's also the heart of the argument between the Jacob and his 'Enemy'. That, no matter how much Jacob tries to influence people to make the right choice on their own, in the end it's too easy to manipulate them into making a choice based on fear, greed, etc. It's also why everyone on the second plane had to choose to be there - vs. the manipulation of the first go-around.
