This is somewhat in response to LostRob's "I lied, That's What I Do" theory (a good one, good job Rob). anyway...
Ben believed he had met with Jacob, but had actually been meeting Flocke. Flocke has been playing Ben since the appearance of his mother.
Jacob generally appears personally to people he wants to talk to or through his lieutenant, Richard Alpert; Flocke (whose fixation with violence and corruption has been seen in the Monster's actions) on the other hand communicates by posing as a trustworthy figure (Rousseau's teammates, Ben's mother, Eko's Brother, Jacob, and finally Locke) to get what he wants.
Notice that Jacob makes personal appearances (Hurley, Sawyer, Kate, Jack, etc.) he gives gentle hints to how he wants them to act; he stresses that these are only suggestions (Hurley technically could have stayed of off 316). Flocke, on the other hand, insists that others obey his orders (demanding that Desmond not enter the boat race, threatening Ben's life as Alex, etc.). This fits with the concept that the Others at some point were duped into believing they still served Jacob when in fact Flocke was The Man Behind The Curtain the whole time.
We have seen that Jacob is a straightforward and forgiving man, and that Flocke is a violent deceiver, "not a forgiving man". We have also seen that Ben habitually lies, and intuit that Ben lied about never meeting Jacob. Put two and seven together and we find a theory that satisfies both concepts:
Flocke began posing as Jacob sometime before Ben became leader, possibly during or even before Widmore's tenure (Ben's surprise and disbelief that "Jacob" would order the kidnapping and murder of babies, Widmore's Fearless-Leader-esque certainty that Jacob is always right and all-powerful). He never had a "face-to-face" meeting with Ben (possibly because he couldn't pose as Jacob for some reason, maybe b/c he wasn't dead -- does this mean Flocke will become Fjacob in season six?), instead relaying all messages through Richard (which brings us to how much he knows or suspects about Flocke and Jacob, whose side is he on) or by remaining invisible.
Ben proceeded to lie to the Others about being unable to see "Jacob" (possibly because he assumed there WAS something "wrong with him" that made him unworthy (plus the fact that he ousted Widmore, possibly without Richard's or Jacob("Jacob"?)'s consent), leading to his paranoia about Locke, the rumored miracle man and rising star among the Others, and further entangling him in his web of lies.), and then to Locke in the Cabin. He tries to lie to "Locke" again, but Flocke knows better of course.
Thus Ben has an enourmous chip on his shoulder about NEVER SEEING JACOB that Flocke chooses to manipulate to kill Jacob. With Jacob now DEAD, FLOCKE CAN NOW POSE AS JACOB.
So we have a problem. Richard and Ilana's team are waiting to attack somebody looking like Locke coming out of the statue. But they're going to be greeted by "Jacob". Having won over the Others and Ilana's party (the only armed folks on the island) "Jacob" will effectively have control of the island.
Except for Ben. Whom nobody trusts because he always lies. So even though he'll realize that "Jacob" is playing everyone, he'll be hard put to stop him.
Season 6 will focus (at least in part, we don't know what happened to Jack and Co.) on Benjamin Linus's hard road to redemption, as he takes leadership of the 316 survivors (with Sun and Lapidus to help, after a fashion?), struggling to conceal his spotted past at the same time as he is arming the 316ers to win back the island.
Ben believed he had met with Jacob, but had actually been meeting Flocke. Flocke has been playing Ben since the appearance of his mother.
Jacob generally appears personally to people he wants to talk to or through his lieutenant, Richard Alpert; Flocke (whose fixation with violence and corruption has been seen in the Monster's actions) on the other hand communicates by posing as a trustworthy figure (Rousseau's teammates, Ben's mother, Eko's Brother, Jacob, and finally Locke) to get what he wants.
Notice that Jacob makes personal appearances (Hurley, Sawyer, Kate, Jack, etc.) he gives gentle hints to how he wants them to act; he stresses that these are only suggestions (Hurley technically could have stayed of off 316). Flocke, on the other hand, insists that others obey his orders (demanding that Desmond not enter the boat race, threatening Ben's life as Alex, etc.). This fits with the concept that the Others at some point were duped into believing they still served Jacob when in fact Flocke was The Man Behind The Curtain the whole time.
We have seen that Jacob is a straightforward and forgiving man, and that Flocke is a violent deceiver, "not a forgiving man". We have also seen that Ben habitually lies, and intuit that Ben lied about never meeting Jacob. Put two and seven together and we find a theory that satisfies both concepts:
Flocke began posing as Jacob sometime before Ben became leader, possibly during or even before Widmore's tenure (Ben's surprise and disbelief that "Jacob" would order the kidnapping and murder of babies, Widmore's Fearless-Leader-esque certainty that Jacob is always right and all-powerful). He never had a "face-to-face" meeting with Ben (possibly because he couldn't pose as Jacob for some reason, maybe b/c he wasn't dead -- does this mean Flocke will become Fjacob in season six?), instead relaying all messages through Richard (which brings us to how much he knows or suspects about Flocke and Jacob, whose side is he on) or by remaining invisible.
Ben proceeded to lie to the Others about being unable to see "Jacob" (possibly because he assumed there WAS something "wrong with him" that made him unworthy (plus the fact that he ousted Widmore, possibly without Richard's or Jacob("Jacob"?)'s consent), leading to his paranoia about Locke, the rumored miracle man and rising star among the Others, and further entangling him in his web of lies.), and then to Locke in the Cabin. He tries to lie to "Locke" again, but Flocke knows better of course.
Thus Ben has an enourmous chip on his shoulder about NEVER SEEING JACOB that Flocke chooses to manipulate to kill Jacob. With Jacob now DEAD, FLOCKE CAN NOW POSE AS JACOB.
So we have a problem. Richard and Ilana's team are waiting to attack somebody looking like Locke coming out of the statue. But they're going to be greeted by "Jacob". Having won over the Others and Ilana's party (the only armed folks on the island) "Jacob" will effectively have control of the island.
Except for Ben. Whom nobody trusts because he always lies. So even though he'll realize that "Jacob" is playing everyone, he'll be hard put to stop him.
Season 6 will focus (at least in part, we don't know what happened to Jack and Co.) on Benjamin Linus's hard road to redemption, as he takes leadership of the 316 survivors (with Sun and Lapidus to help, after a fashion?), struggling to conceal his spotted past at the same time as he is arming the 316ers to win back the island.
