I think if I had only seen the opening scene of this episode, I think I could have put this entire theory together – that’s how powerful and enlightening the scene was. Of course, the final scene where Jacob is killed adds weight to the theory, but the obvious battle between these two demi-gods was evident after the first five minutes. Jacob’s hand in bringing people to the island was totally contrary to everything I had once believed about him. He always seemed to be portrayed as a protector of the island from outside influences. I know that some people speculated that Jacob and Smokey were on different sides a long time ago, but frankly I’m not sure how they could have arrived at this conclusion based on what we had seen before the season finale. While they were right, it seems as though they were lucky at guessing rather than basing it on anything we had witnessed. I am going to refer to Smokey as Esau! (the biblical twin brother of Jacob) from here on. While I don’t think the writers will go as far as actually calling him this on the show – I think the suggestion is self evident.
This episode casts light on the strange series of events that lead to Locke becoming the leader of the island. Until now, most of us have been intrigued by the self-fulfilling loop that saw Locke profess to Richard in 1954 that he was their leader, only to have this come true as a result of his own suggestions. We now know that this entire series of events was set in motion by Esau. The events begin when Locke visits Jacob’s cabin and is confronted by Christian. This is also Esau, and it appears that he can only take the form of dead bodies on the island (Yemi, Christian, Alex, Locke). He tells Locke that he needs to move the island, knowing full well that Locke will rely on Ben’s knowledge to complete this task, and knowing that it will cause the island to move in time – thus beginning Locke’s journey to power. He tells Richard that he will be their leader in the future, causing Richard to visit him several times over the next 40 years. Unsurprisingly, Richard finds! very little remarkable about Locke (because the real Locke is a loser – always has been, always will be), but comments from Jack in 1977 that he shouldn’t give up on him lead Richard to maintain his interest. Esau understands that in order to kill Jacob, he needs to convince someone else to do it, and it his manipulation of Ben that is the masterstroke in his plan. By manipulating events to ensure that Locke usurps Ben’s authority, Ben is left bitter and disillusioned – leading him to kill Locke. Once Locke’s body arrives back on the island, Esau assumes his form and then all it takes is a visit to Ben from his dead daughter Alex and a few pointed comments from ‘Locke’ and Ben is ready to commit the fatal act. If further evidence that ‘Locke’ is the smoke monster is required, consider that when Ben attempts to summon Smokey in episode 12, ‘Locke’ appears from the bushes. Also consider that when Ben confronts the monster in the tunnels, ‘Locke’ is ! conveniently absent when Alex makes her appearance.
Jacob’s contact with the Losties in the ‘real’ world is also important. All of the people that ended back in DHARMA time were visited by Jacob. I have to watch it again because I didn’t notice at first, but I’m willing to bet that when Jacob turned up at the Kwon wedding, he touched Jin but not Sun, which is why she did not jump back in time with the rest of her crew. It seems that these visits from Jacob somehow lead to their paths converging with the island. But it is also important to note that he visited Locke as well – so he wanted, or needed Locke to come to the island. Jacob seemed remarkably calm with the realization that Esau had found the loophole, and even inflammatory towards Ben with his comments. In short, I believe Jacob wanted, or needed this series of events to play out this way. I won’t even begin to speculate as to why, but I assume it has something to do with the crew he has assembled under the leadership of Ilana, and the almost omniscient ! awareness of what Jack and co are up to back in 77. When Dumbledore dies in the Harry Potter books, at the time it appeared as though evil was having its way. What becomes apparent in the final volume is that Dumbledore had set in motion an intricate chain of events that required his death, and that would ultimately lead to Voldemort’s destruction. I believe the same thing is happening here. If you can look past the shock of Jacob being murdered, you will witness a calm Jacob welcoming his own death, while prophetically announcing ‘they’re coming’ before being kicked into the fire. ‘They’re coming’ could mean anything, but I like to think of it as meaning humankind in general – Jacob’s unwavering belief in the power of the human spirit. More specifically, I think he is referring to Jack and co and their jump back to 2007.
Leading into the season, we were all consumed with discussions on whether Ben or Widmore were the ‘good guy’. These thoughts now seem ridiculous, as all of these characters have been revealed as bit players. Ben has been confirmed as the dunce. Jacob’s comment ‘what about you’ was brutal. But what about Charles Widmore? When we consider what side Widmore is on, we can look at the series of events that lead to the island moving as being part of Esau’s plan. We could view the freighter as the reason for the island moving – so is he on Esau’s side. We could also see Widmore’s influence in getting Locke to the island both on flight 815 and 316 in both a good and bad light. If Jacob wanted Locke there, then perhaps Charles was acting on his behalf. Alternatively, perhaps Charles’ influence was on behalf of Esau. We know from Bram’s kidnapping of Miles that he is not on team Widmore, but perhaps hey just don’t know they are working towards the same thing. I! think it is highly likely that Ben, Charles, and Ilana are on the same side, they just don’t realize it. They know their part in the plan, but only Jacob knows the entire plan. My feeling is that Ben knows nothing of the broader island machinations. He killed Locke out of spite and jealousy, an easy target to blame for his fall from grace – much the same as they reason he killed Jacob once Esau planted the seed. I think Widmore has a greater understanding f the larger scheme than Ben has ever had. I also believe that Charles has met with Jacob whereas Ben never did. Ben’s motivation for keeping Widmore off the island at all costs was always more personal for him – Ben was obsessed with being the chosen one after his lousy childhood. He needed to be special. Charles seems to understand that they are just players in a grand game, and his desire to remove Ben from the island (season 4) was more about removing his main obstacle to returning than anything personal with ! Ben.
So what of the final season. The much hyped war will take place between good and evil. Jacob’s belief that humans can do better versus Esau’s belief that they will destroy themselves. Esau will probably continue to take Locke’s form, and when Jack and co jump back into ‘real’ time, they will be tricked into following Locke (since Jack has a major hard on for Locke at the moment). Eventually, Jack will realise that Locke isn’t Locke at all, and will lead the good guys to victory – thus the triumph of man. We will see that humanity can overcome their limitations. Jacob’s plan (whatever it is) will play out perfectly. Esau thinks that he went to great lengths to exploit the loophole, but he’ll be stumped when he realizes Jacob has always been one step ahead of him, anticipating his every move.
Lost is ultimately about the characters – we hear time and time again from the producers that the mythology of the island is just the medium for telling the story of these flawed characters. The resolution of this program therefore rests with these characters finding themselves and triumphing over their own shortcomings. It ends with these people finding themselves so they are no longer Lost amidst their own doubts, fears, and troubled pasts. It only ends once – everything before that is progress. Exactly how they will find this satisfaction is completely unknown – but I am sure it will be one hell of a ride to get there.
This episode casts light on the strange series of events that lead to Locke becoming the leader of the island. Until now, most of us have been intrigued by the self-fulfilling loop that saw Locke profess to Richard in 1954 that he was their leader, only to have this come true as a result of his own suggestions. We now know that this entire series of events was set in motion by Esau. The events begin when Locke visits Jacob’s cabin and is confronted by Christian. This is also Esau, and it appears that he can only take the form of dead bodies on the island (Yemi, Christian, Alex, Locke). He tells Locke that he needs to move the island, knowing full well that Locke will rely on Ben’s knowledge to complete this task, and knowing that it will cause the island to move in time – thus beginning Locke’s journey to power. He tells Richard that he will be their leader in the future, causing Richard to visit him several times over the next 40 years. Unsurprisingly, Richard finds! very little remarkable about Locke (because the real Locke is a loser – always has been, always will be), but comments from Jack in 1977 that he shouldn’t give up on him lead Richard to maintain his interest. Esau understands that in order to kill Jacob, he needs to convince someone else to do it, and it his manipulation of Ben that is the masterstroke in his plan. By manipulating events to ensure that Locke usurps Ben’s authority, Ben is left bitter and disillusioned – leading him to kill Locke. Once Locke’s body arrives back on the island, Esau assumes his form and then all it takes is a visit to Ben from his dead daughter Alex and a few pointed comments from ‘Locke’ and Ben is ready to commit the fatal act. If further evidence that ‘Locke’ is the smoke monster is required, consider that when Ben attempts to summon Smokey in episode 12, ‘Locke’ appears from the bushes. Also consider that when Ben confronts the monster in the tunnels, ‘Locke’ is ! conveniently absent when Alex makes her appearance.
Jacob’s contact with the Losties in the ‘real’ world is also important. All of the people that ended back in DHARMA time were visited by Jacob. I have to watch it again because I didn’t notice at first, but I’m willing to bet that when Jacob turned up at the Kwon wedding, he touched Jin but not Sun, which is why she did not jump back in time with the rest of her crew. It seems that these visits from Jacob somehow lead to their paths converging with the island. But it is also important to note that he visited Locke as well – so he wanted, or needed Locke to come to the island. Jacob seemed remarkably calm with the realization that Esau had found the loophole, and even inflammatory towards Ben with his comments. In short, I believe Jacob wanted, or needed this series of events to play out this way. I won’t even begin to speculate as to why, but I assume it has something to do with the crew he has assembled under the leadership of Ilana, and the almost omniscient ! awareness of what Jack and co are up to back in 77. When Dumbledore dies in the Harry Potter books, at the time it appeared as though evil was having its way. What becomes apparent in the final volume is that Dumbledore had set in motion an intricate chain of events that required his death, and that would ultimately lead to Voldemort’s destruction. I believe the same thing is happening here. If you can look past the shock of Jacob being murdered, you will witness a calm Jacob welcoming his own death, while prophetically announcing ‘they’re coming’ before being kicked into the fire. ‘They’re coming’ could mean anything, but I like to think of it as meaning humankind in general – Jacob’s unwavering belief in the power of the human spirit. More specifically, I think he is referring to Jack and co and their jump back to 2007.
Leading into the season, we were all consumed with discussions on whether Ben or Widmore were the ‘good guy’. These thoughts now seem ridiculous, as all of these characters have been revealed as bit players. Ben has been confirmed as the dunce. Jacob’s comment ‘what about you’ was brutal. But what about Charles Widmore? When we consider what side Widmore is on, we can look at the series of events that lead to the island moving as being part of Esau’s plan. We could view the freighter as the reason for the island moving – so is he on Esau’s side. We could also see Widmore’s influence in getting Locke to the island both on flight 815 and 316 in both a good and bad light. If Jacob wanted Locke there, then perhaps Charles was acting on his behalf. Alternatively, perhaps Charles’ influence was on behalf of Esau. We know from Bram’s kidnapping of Miles that he is not on team Widmore, but perhaps hey just don’t know they are working towards the same thing. I! think it is highly likely that Ben, Charles, and Ilana are on the same side, they just don’t realize it. They know their part in the plan, but only Jacob knows the entire plan. My feeling is that Ben knows nothing of the broader island machinations. He killed Locke out of spite and jealousy, an easy target to blame for his fall from grace – much the same as they reason he killed Jacob once Esau planted the seed. I think Widmore has a greater understanding f the larger scheme than Ben has ever had. I also believe that Charles has met with Jacob whereas Ben never did. Ben’s motivation for keeping Widmore off the island at all costs was always more personal for him – Ben was obsessed with being the chosen one after his lousy childhood. He needed to be special. Charles seems to understand that they are just players in a grand game, and his desire to remove Ben from the island (season 4) was more about removing his main obstacle to returning than anything personal with ! Ben.
So what of the final season. The much hyped war will take place between good and evil. Jacob’s belief that humans can do better versus Esau’s belief that they will destroy themselves. Esau will probably continue to take Locke’s form, and when Jack and co jump back into ‘real’ time, they will be tricked into following Locke (since Jack has a major hard on for Locke at the moment). Eventually, Jack will realise that Locke isn’t Locke at all, and will lead the good guys to victory – thus the triumph of man. We will see that humanity can overcome their limitations. Jacob’s plan (whatever it is) will play out perfectly. Esau thinks that he went to great lengths to exploit the loophole, but he’ll be stumped when he realizes Jacob has always been one step ahead of him, anticipating his every move.
Lost is ultimately about the characters – we hear time and time again from the producers that the mythology of the island is just the medium for telling the story of these flawed characters. The resolution of this program therefore rests with these characters finding themselves and triumphing over their own shortcomings. It ends with these people finding themselves so they are no longer Lost amidst their own doubts, fears, and troubled pasts. It only ends once – everything before that is progress. Exactly how they will find this satisfaction is completely unknown – but I am sure it will be one hell of a ride to get there.
