Like any game there are rules that players must abide by. The conflict between Smokey(just so he has a name) and Jacob I believe is no different.
At the beginning of the season 5 finale, Smokey turns to Jacob and asks, "Do you have any idea how badly I want to kill you?". Instead of attempting to kill Jacob, Smokey heads off into the jungle. Only at the end of the finale, when Ben stabs Jacob does Smokey's "loophole" come to fruition. To understand the loophole we need to define the rules of the game.
Although I won't be able to define everything or completly explicate what the loophole is, there are some rules that are ambiguously alluded to.
1 - Jacob and Smokey cannot directly harm one another or anyone else.
2 - Jacob and Smokey require surrogates(smoke monster, Richard Alpert, Christian, possessed locke)to influence the inhabitants of the island (may not apply to off island)
3 - Jacob and Smokey influence the inhabitants but ultimatly allow them to make choices in an attempt to win (i.e. settle their disagreement on humanity).
Although this is a very crude theory hopefully some of you can add to this.
At the beginning of the season 5 finale, Smokey turns to Jacob and asks, "Do you have any idea how badly I want to kill you?". Instead of attempting to kill Jacob, Smokey heads off into the jungle. Only at the end of the finale, when Ben stabs Jacob does Smokey's "loophole" come to fruition. To understand the loophole we need to define the rules of the game.
Although I won't be able to define everything or completly explicate what the loophole is, there are some rules that are ambiguously alluded to.
1 - Jacob and Smokey cannot directly harm one another or anyone else.
2 - Jacob and Smokey require surrogates(smoke monster, Richard Alpert, Christian, possessed locke)to influence the inhabitants of the island (may not apply to off island)
3 - Jacob and Smokey influence the inhabitants but ultimatly allow them to make choices in an attempt to win (i.e. settle their disagreement on humanity).
Although this is a very crude theory hopefully some of you can add to this.