So, here goes. I have seen some theories in the last few days that helped me come to this conclusion.
I think Daniel Faraday is the sort of "keeper/scribe of the time loop". by that I mean, that originally he plays out his life however it happened. Then he gets to this mysterious Island with all these plane-crash survivors, secret hatches, mysterious "Others", temporal discrepancies, and other weird happenings not to mention "Smokey". Then the Island jumps time, he ends up in 1974 and leaves the Island to go to Ann Arbor, taking his ever trusty journal with him all along the way making notes and observations.(If you all remember in "Lost Time Travel" whatever you have on your person travels with you).
So he gets to Ann Arbor and starts his experiments with time travel, possibly never going back to the Island and living the rest of his days as lets call him "Daniel 1", Assuming the identity of "Brother Campbell". At some point he meets and convinces Eloise to give her son a journal saying that it is very important to the future of mankind and "The Island" and that her son is a "Very Great Man" that has big things to do in the future of the Island. By doing this he seals Daniel 2's fate as the time-keeper/scribe.
Okay so "Daniel 2" lives his life and makes it to "The Island" A La season four. goes through the whole shebang again this time he helps Desmond get out of his time jumping A La the "Constant".In doing this proves to himself that time travel is possible so he makes Desmond his constant. Fast-forward the Island jumps time back to 1974, "Daniel 2" does exactly what "Daniel 1" did this time because of the "Constant" he, as brother Campbell can effect Desmond at the Monastery. As you see he only makes slight changes every time so as to not disturb the fabric of time, but these slight changes have significant effects on the future of the "Island". As for duplicate Brother Campbells, he(Dan 2) show up to himself (Dan 1 Brother Campbell) and convinces him to go get lost and retire somewhere so that he (Dan 2) can finish what he(Dan 1) started, probably saying that he will return in the future to give him (Dan 1) further instructions.
So that brings us to this,(Dan 2) becoming Brother Campbell. He eventually meets Eloise, but this time he fills her in on the whole story of her son and him being one and the same because of the "Island" again he tells her to give her son (Dan 3) the journal and at the same time he gives her his copy of the original journal #1 (so that she can fill (Dan 3) in on everything) in effect making her aware of the whole "Desmond thing" and the immediate future.
So this time (Dan 3) goes to the Island and goes through the motions but under strict orders from his mother via the journals (journal #2 has info from journal #1 added), but one difference, he has to know if this whole time thing is real so he does an "experiment"(the whole synchronized clock thing from season 4). He then takes down this Information in his journal(#2) and is able to formulate an equation that he can use once he goes back to 1974 to find out how to anticipate were the Island will be at in space at any given time. He then sees (Dan 2), explains every thing to him and gives journal #2 to him and says that he(Dan 3) has to go away so that he(Dan 2) can finish what he started.(Dan 2) then designs a time machine in his journal #3 (which comprises journals #1,& 2). He then waits until he(Dan 3) meets (Dan 2) and swaps journals with him and says to build the time machine and go back to 1950's, and then design the Lamp-post so that he can "find the Island" for ! the DHARMA initiative.
This is were it gets interesting. (Dan 2) does exactly that and then goes to the Island with the first DHARMA group taking his journal (#3) with him and designs the "Orchid", then before it can be built uses the Island's electromagnetic properties to build the "Donkey-Wheel" and go back to the time of the Black-rock. I effect moving the island for the first time ever, and getting the Black-Rock stuck in the middle of the Island.
So back to the "Loop" (Dan 3) takes the place of (Dan 2)in 1974 but assumes the identity of Brother Campbell much earlier and lives a life of peaceful bliss with the knowledge that (Dan 2) will finish everything this time around.
Now (Dan 2) then goes back to the Island in 1977 with journal #3,(or as I like to call it, "Super Journal"), And explains to Jack And company the whole "Variable" theory. He then convinces them to lead him to Richard to warn him of the future problems, but gets himself killed by his mother before he can tell Richard anything about the Island skipping time in 04'
This in effect changes every thing for (Dan 3) And Eloise and Richard from that point on. Fast-forward to 1990 Eloise gives (Dan4) a brand new journal (#4),and tells him to go to Oxford, later on, Widmore meets him at his house while he is having bad memory problems (unknown to him [Dan#4]that the problems stem from his sub-conscious being confused by there being too many versions of himself on Earth), and just sees the news about Flight 815 going down in the Ocean with no survivors. The reason for the crying is because his sub-conscious knows he had to die for nothing in 77', but Widmore explains to him that the plane-wreck is a fake and convinces him to go to the Island to,(unknown to Widmore), basically become the final version of Daniel.
Finally an end to all this. Dan #4 goes and does everything that he is "supposed to do", with the knowledge of Super-journal. Of course Eloise knows she will eventually kill him in 1977 but she makes a free will sacrifice,(Variable anyone?) to let this all happen. Richard of course, because of the last version of Daniel, knows about the donkey wheel and uses it to go through time many times to preserve the time line so that the Island will be protected from corruption, thus explaining his never aging. That means that Daniel was an agent of Jacob from the get-go and is his "Loophole", Richard knows this. Look out Black-Shirt. Back to the Daniel story: okay like I said he gets to the Island, blah, blah, blah, time jumps, blah, blah, blah, he gets on that Sub in 74' for the last time goes to Ann Arbor, Waits three years, comes back to the Island, and explains the "Variable Theory" to Jack but this time tells him of all the goings on while they ("The Oceanic 6") were off Island! , that small change is what makes a difference. he goes to Richard, brandishing a gun, gets killed by Ellie, who then joins forces with Jack and Co., (who explains everything to Ellie), and gets Richard to take them to the Bomb to prevent the "Incident" thus ending the time-loop forever changing the future as we the viewers, (and apparently Eloise), know it.
Enter Season 6 "Destiny Found" .
I think Daniel Faraday is the sort of "keeper/scribe of the time loop". by that I mean, that originally he plays out his life however it happened. Then he gets to this mysterious Island with all these plane-crash survivors, secret hatches, mysterious "Others", temporal discrepancies, and other weird happenings not to mention "Smokey". Then the Island jumps time, he ends up in 1974 and leaves the Island to go to Ann Arbor, taking his ever trusty journal with him all along the way making notes and observations.(If you all remember in "Lost Time Travel" whatever you have on your person travels with you).
So he gets to Ann Arbor and starts his experiments with time travel, possibly never going back to the Island and living the rest of his days as lets call him "Daniel 1", Assuming the identity of "Brother Campbell". At some point he meets and convinces Eloise to give her son a journal saying that it is very important to the future of mankind and "The Island" and that her son is a "Very Great Man" that has big things to do in the future of the Island. By doing this he seals Daniel 2's fate as the time-keeper/scribe.
Okay so "Daniel 2" lives his life and makes it to "The Island" A La season four. goes through the whole shebang again this time he helps Desmond get out of his time jumping A La the "Constant".In doing this proves to himself that time travel is possible so he makes Desmond his constant. Fast-forward the Island jumps time back to 1974, "Daniel 2" does exactly what "Daniel 1" did this time because of the "Constant" he, as brother Campbell can effect Desmond at the Monastery. As you see he only makes slight changes every time so as to not disturb the fabric of time, but these slight changes have significant effects on the future of the "Island". As for duplicate Brother Campbells, he(Dan 2) show up to himself (Dan 1 Brother Campbell) and convinces him to go get lost and retire somewhere so that he (Dan 2) can finish what he(Dan 1) started, probably saying that he will return in the future to give him (Dan 1) further instructions.
So that brings us to this,(Dan 2) becoming Brother Campbell. He eventually meets Eloise, but this time he fills her in on the whole story of her son and him being one and the same because of the "Island" again he tells her to give her son (Dan 3) the journal and at the same time he gives her his copy of the original journal #1 (so that she can fill (Dan 3) in on everything) in effect making her aware of the whole "Desmond thing" and the immediate future.
So this time (Dan 3) goes to the Island and goes through the motions but under strict orders from his mother via the journals (journal #2 has info from journal #1 added), but one difference, he has to know if this whole time thing is real so he does an "experiment"(the whole synchronized clock thing from season 4). He then takes down this Information in his journal(#2) and is able to formulate an equation that he can use once he goes back to 1974 to find out how to anticipate were the Island will be at in space at any given time. He then sees (Dan 2), explains every thing to him and gives journal #2 to him and says that he(Dan 3) has to go away so that he(Dan 2) can finish what he started.(Dan 2) then designs a time machine in his journal #3 (which comprises journals #1,& 2). He then waits until he(Dan 3) meets (Dan 2) and swaps journals with him and says to build the time machine and go back to 1950's, and then design the Lamp-post so that he can "find the Island" for ! the DHARMA initiative.
This is were it gets interesting. (Dan 2) does exactly that and then goes to the Island with the first DHARMA group taking his journal (#3) with him and designs the "Orchid", then before it can be built uses the Island's electromagnetic properties to build the "Donkey-Wheel" and go back to the time of the Black-rock. I effect moving the island for the first time ever, and getting the Black-Rock stuck in the middle of the Island.
So back to the "Loop" (Dan 3) takes the place of (Dan 2)in 1974 but assumes the identity of Brother Campbell much earlier and lives a life of peaceful bliss with the knowledge that (Dan 2) will finish everything this time around.
Now (Dan 2) then goes back to the Island in 1977 with journal #3,(or as I like to call it, "Super Journal"), And explains to Jack And company the whole "Variable" theory. He then convinces them to lead him to Richard to warn him of the future problems, but gets himself killed by his mother before he can tell Richard anything about the Island skipping time in 04'
This in effect changes every thing for (Dan 3) And Eloise and Richard from that point on. Fast-forward to 1990 Eloise gives (Dan4) a brand new journal (#4),and tells him to go to Oxford, later on, Widmore meets him at his house while he is having bad memory problems (unknown to him [Dan#4]that the problems stem from his sub-conscious being confused by there being too many versions of himself on Earth), and just sees the news about Flight 815 going down in the Ocean with no survivors. The reason for the crying is because his sub-conscious knows he had to die for nothing in 77', but Widmore explains to him that the plane-wreck is a fake and convinces him to go to the Island to,(unknown to Widmore), basically become the final version of Daniel.
Finally an end to all this. Dan #4 goes and does everything that he is "supposed to do", with the knowledge of Super-journal. Of course Eloise knows she will eventually kill him in 1977 but she makes a free will sacrifice,(Variable anyone?) to let this all happen. Richard of course, because of the last version of Daniel, knows about the donkey wheel and uses it to go through time many times to preserve the time line so that the Island will be protected from corruption, thus explaining his never aging. That means that Daniel was an agent of Jacob from the get-go and is his "Loophole", Richard knows this. Look out Black-Shirt. Back to the Daniel story: okay like I said he gets to the Island, blah, blah, blah, time jumps, blah, blah, blah, he gets on that Sub in 74' for the last time goes to Ann Arbor, Waits three years, comes back to the Island, and explains the "Variable Theory" to Jack but this time tells him of all the goings on while they ("The Oceanic 6") were off Island! , that small change is what makes a difference. he goes to Richard, brandishing a gun, gets killed by Ellie, who then joins forces with Jack and Co., (who explains everything to Ellie), and gets Richard to take them to the Bomb to prevent the "Incident" thus ending the time-loop forever changing the future as we the viewers, (and apparently Eloise), know it.
Enter Season 6 "Destiny Found" .
