This is my first post, so if this has been stated before, I apologise. It’s also my first theory written down, so please bear with me if it does not really make sense.
The following just crossed my mind yesterday and feels like some of it could actually be accurate. I really would like to hear what you guys here think about it. It’s not really a theory, more an idea of the bigger picture of Lost and what is going on.
To explain what is going on between Jacob and MIB, I will use the metaphor of a board game. Of course what happens in Lost is more than a game, but to look at it like that helps a lot. And remember, games (esp. board games) have always been a topic constantly showing up on Lost (already in the Pilot: Backgammon).
A game has players, a game board, rules, game pieces, a start and an end.
Our beloved characters of Lost (or some of them) are the actual game pieces. This game has two players; one of them is the lead player (Jacob). The lead player is the one who selects the pieces (Jacobs’ visits/touching of the Losties) and/or the start of the game.
The game has two stages, an initial stage, which happens abroad the Island, and the final stage on the Island. The lead player is allowed to affect/take action on the game pieces in stage one (as we saw Jacob) and MIB in the final stage (we never saw Jacob doing anything on the Island, it was always MIB).
Now let’s look at the game board. There are two views to it. The first is to see it like a real game board, so a location. In a first stage it’s the real world, and then at a later stage of the game, the Island. The game pieces move within the limits of a game board. The second view is the time. A fraction of the stream of time has been selected as game board on/within which the game pieces move. This fraction is the timeline that we followed our Losties throughout the last 5 years.
The rules: The exact rules are still a bit of a mystery, but we have heard about rules in Lost several times. One might be that game pieces cannot/must not kill each other, at least at a certain stage. That is why Jack was not able to kill John for example. Or Michael could not kill himself off Island. Another one might be WHH, at least in a modified version. Certain things will or must just happen. The loophole MIB mentioned is another rule (more about that later). I think the rules will become clearer in the final season. Richard is a kind of referee, controlling that the rules are followed. Remember he said “Jacob made me the way I am”. This could be why. I have also noticed that often Richard tries not to interfere with actions/decisions others make.
Let’s look again at the two players and what their goal might be.
It does not really look to me like MIB and Jacob are actual enemies. It’s more like two friends playing a game. Despite the fact that it’s your friend, it’s at the same time your counter player that you try to win against (within the game). I think the reason for the comment of MIB about how badly he wants to kill Jacob (which has to be understood as a metaphor) and why MIB is so pissed is that for so long Jacob has been the lead player and MIB probably thinks, he could do better than Jacob. But at the end I think they have the same goal.
They play the game for a reason. And they play over and over again. MIB said: It always ends the same. So that means, so far, it has never ended as he would like to see it happen. But the same applies to Jacob, he almost comforts MIB by saying “it only ends once, everything before that is progress”, almost like saying “don’t worry, they will get it right sooner or later”. The big question is now: What do they both want to see happening? It sounds and looks to me almost like a test, they perform on a group of people representing mankind. They perform it over and over again. The second big question is of course what happens when the result is finally what MIB and Jacob want to see (so the test is being passed).
That part is what is still very speculative to me; there are a lot of possibilities and I have not thought about it in detail. But some examples:
-The Island is the origin of life on earth (maybe a meteoroid). Jacob/MIB are sentinels, protecting that place (or some sort of consciousness), and once mankind has reached a certain stage and is ready, a higher truth will be shown or something similar.
-For Sci-Fi fans: Maybe MIB/Jacob are aliens or descendants of aliens that have brought life to earth and are watching /controlling how life grows/changes. Once it has reached a certain stage, this truth will be shared and mankind will take over the task of spreading life further.
-It may also have something to do with death/life, or with connections to other realities or dimensions.
-But it may also be something completely different. Something more dark. Especially if you think about the comments of Widmore/Hawking “god help us all”, “the wrong side may win” etc.
As many have noticed before: Duality is an important aspect of the show, probably the most important one. Free will vs. fate; dark vs. bright; black vs. white;
Of course this whole idea/theory is far from perfect and leaves some things unanswered, but somehow I think this is the direction Lost goes to.
I would be happy to get some comments and hear your thoughts.
The following just crossed my mind yesterday and feels like some of it could actually be accurate. I really would like to hear what you guys here think about it. It’s not really a theory, more an idea of the bigger picture of Lost and what is going on.
To explain what is going on between Jacob and MIB, I will use the metaphor of a board game. Of course what happens in Lost is more than a game, but to look at it like that helps a lot. And remember, games (esp. board games) have always been a topic constantly showing up on Lost (already in the Pilot: Backgammon).
A game has players, a game board, rules, game pieces, a start and an end.
Our beloved characters of Lost (or some of them) are the actual game pieces. This game has two players; one of them is the lead player (Jacob). The lead player is the one who selects the pieces (Jacobs’ visits/touching of the Losties) and/or the start of the game.
The game has two stages, an initial stage, which happens abroad the Island, and the final stage on the Island. The lead player is allowed to affect/take action on the game pieces in stage one (as we saw Jacob) and MIB in the final stage (we never saw Jacob doing anything on the Island, it was always MIB).
Now let’s look at the game board. There are two views to it. The first is to see it like a real game board, so a location. In a first stage it’s the real world, and then at a later stage of the game, the Island. The game pieces move within the limits of a game board. The second view is the time. A fraction of the stream of time has been selected as game board on/within which the game pieces move. This fraction is the timeline that we followed our Losties throughout the last 5 years.
The rules: The exact rules are still a bit of a mystery, but we have heard about rules in Lost several times. One might be that game pieces cannot/must not kill each other, at least at a certain stage. That is why Jack was not able to kill John for example. Or Michael could not kill himself off Island. Another one might be WHH, at least in a modified version. Certain things will or must just happen. The loophole MIB mentioned is another rule (more about that later). I think the rules will become clearer in the final season. Richard is a kind of referee, controlling that the rules are followed. Remember he said “Jacob made me the way I am”. This could be why. I have also noticed that often Richard tries not to interfere with actions/decisions others make.
Let’s look again at the two players and what their goal might be.
It does not really look to me like MIB and Jacob are actual enemies. It’s more like two friends playing a game. Despite the fact that it’s your friend, it’s at the same time your counter player that you try to win against (within the game). I think the reason for the comment of MIB about how badly he wants to kill Jacob (which has to be understood as a metaphor) and why MIB is so pissed is that for so long Jacob has been the lead player and MIB probably thinks, he could do better than Jacob. But at the end I think they have the same goal.
They play the game for a reason. And they play over and over again. MIB said: It always ends the same. So that means, so far, it has never ended as he would like to see it happen. But the same applies to Jacob, he almost comforts MIB by saying “it only ends once, everything before that is progress”, almost like saying “don’t worry, they will get it right sooner or later”. The big question is now: What do they both want to see happening? It sounds and looks to me almost like a test, they perform on a group of people representing mankind. They perform it over and over again. The second big question is of course what happens when the result is finally what MIB and Jacob want to see (so the test is being passed).
That part is what is still very speculative to me; there are a lot of possibilities and I have not thought about it in detail. But some examples:
-The Island is the origin of life on earth (maybe a meteoroid). Jacob/MIB are sentinels, protecting that place (or some sort of consciousness), and once mankind has reached a certain stage and is ready, a higher truth will be shown or something similar.
-For Sci-Fi fans: Maybe MIB/Jacob are aliens or descendants of aliens that have brought life to earth and are watching /controlling how life grows/changes. Once it has reached a certain stage, this truth will be shared and mankind will take over the task of spreading life further.
-It may also have something to do with death/life, or with connections to other realities or dimensions.
-But it may also be something completely different. Something more dark. Especially if you think about the comments of Widmore/Hawking “god help us all”, “the wrong side may win” etc.
As many have noticed before: Duality is an important aspect of the show, probably the most important one. Free will vs. fate; dark vs. bright; black vs. white;
Of course this whole idea/theory is far from perfect and leaves some things unanswered, but somehow I think this is the direction Lost goes to.
I would be happy to get some comments and hear your thoughts.
