My theory is Ben is Jacob’s son. I reach that conclusion from the following:
1) It seems the Others have a myth or fable or story (or whatever you want to call it) about a specific person – a “chosen one” or the rightful leader of their camp. As part of that myth, this chosen one is supposed to kill his or her own father. The support for this lies in “The Brig” episode from season three. In that episode, Ben ties up Locke’s father and taunts Locke to kill his father. When he doesn’t, he tells his people that Locke is not who we thought he was. Locke cannot be the one they have been waiting for because he couldn’t kill his father.
2) This is more of a reach but comes from the Incident and the interaction between Ben and Jacob at the end – and how it seems their relationship has been throughout. The interaction, taken at face value, seems to show that Jacob never really thought much of Ben. Of course, taking things at face value with Lost never really seems to work.
What if we invert it and instead assume Jacob thought and cared a lot about Ben. Could Jacob being Ben’s father also explain Jacob’s unwillingness to let Ben meet him? To continually push Ben – to continually TEST Ben? I think it can. Perhaps not the healthiest father/son relationship, but a father/son relationship in which the father is testing/pushing/challenging his son – one where the father expects a lot from his son – on where the father is preparing the son for leadership.
Ben being Jacob’s son also explains what appears to us as Jacob manipulating Ben to kill him. Obviously Jacob knew his comment to Ben would provoke Ben to kill him – he didn’t even try to defend himself. Jacob would know that the “chosen” one will/has to kill his father – after all, it is part of the myth/fable that perhaps Jacob created himself.
3) And, of course, Ben is Jacob’s son in the Bible.
Finally, if Ben is in fact Jacob’s son it would point to Ben ultimately being a “good guy” – perhaps the leader of the “good guys”.
1) It seems the Others have a myth or fable or story (or whatever you want to call it) about a specific person – a “chosen one” or the rightful leader of their camp. As part of that myth, this chosen one is supposed to kill his or her own father. The support for this lies in “The Brig” episode from season three. In that episode, Ben ties up Locke’s father and taunts Locke to kill his father. When he doesn’t, he tells his people that Locke is not who we thought he was. Locke cannot be the one they have been waiting for because he couldn’t kill his father.
2) This is more of a reach but comes from the Incident and the interaction between Ben and Jacob at the end – and how it seems their relationship has been throughout. The interaction, taken at face value, seems to show that Jacob never really thought much of Ben. Of course, taking things at face value with Lost never really seems to work.
What if we invert it and instead assume Jacob thought and cared a lot about Ben. Could Jacob being Ben’s father also explain Jacob’s unwillingness to let Ben meet him? To continually push Ben – to continually TEST Ben? I think it can. Perhaps not the healthiest father/son relationship, but a father/son relationship in which the father is testing/pushing/challenging his son – one where the father expects a lot from his son – on where the father is preparing the son for leadership.
Ben being Jacob’s son also explains what appears to us as Jacob manipulating Ben to kill him. Obviously Jacob knew his comment to Ben would provoke Ben to kill him – he didn’t even try to defend himself. Jacob would know that the “chosen” one will/has to kill his father – after all, it is part of the myth/fable that perhaps Jacob created himself.
3) And, of course, Ben is Jacob’s son in the Bible.
Finally, if Ben is in fact Jacob’s son it would point to Ben ultimately being a “good guy” – perhaps the leader of the “good guys”.
