Jacob the Selfish One by Guest

I have subscribed to the alt all along theory. Here is why, and here is why after tonight I see a bit of a twist on Jacob's character (some of this is really repetitive). The two time travel theories that have been presented are what happened happened, and the variable. The variable is "people", as described by Daniel. At the end of season 5, I believe Jacob was the variable for the major characters. Being as logical as one can be with a TV show, Jacob interacting with each character was not a natural occurrence. He was never meant to be there and he came in and had a purposeful interaction with each of them. He stopped Kate from getting in trouble; he allowed Sawyer to finish his letter; he said something of great meaning and relevance to Sun, Jin, and Jack; he killed Sayid's lady love; and was there right in time to get Hurley to go back to the island. Because of all of this, I formed the opinion that i! t has been alt all along because "what happened happened" was not in fact allowed to happen because a variable came in and made changes.

In the new time line, the island is under water so it's easy to draw the conclusion that something terrible happened and as a result, Jacob was not able to come into their lives and make changes. So, I believe what we are seeing now is "what happened happened" - the original time line without Jacob acting as the variable. I have not yet been convinced otherwise.

Then, I read an interview that stated that the image of the island being underwater was supposed to serve as symbol that one should never change the past and here is what you get when you are selfish - an island sinks and everyone on it is killed. After tonight's episode, I am not convinced it's the Losties who were being selfish.

In tonight's episode, Kate seems to have accomplished off-island exactly what she is trying to do on-island - bring Claire and Aaron together. Kate's interaction with Claire tonight and her telling Claire to keep him may be just enough to convince Claire to do so. Then we find out that Claire on the island has been infected, in the same way Sayid has been. If this is the case, and the only cure is poison, then odds are that Kate will fail to bring Claire and Aaron together. A popular theory on this board has proposed that the off-island scenes are in fact the end and that we will see their issues be resolved despite them having no memories of the last five seasons. But I have a new angle on this that falls in line with the alt all along.

It's Jacob, not the Losties, who was selfish and decided to change time with complete disregard for the effect it would have on others' lives. Something bad happens on the island and he needs to bring the Losties there to stop it from happening. So he sets in motion the chain of events that results in them crashing on the island. Initially, I held the belief that their lives in fact improved on the island - off the island, as MIB said, their lives were pathetic. There was nothing to go back to. But I am no longer convinced that is the case. Claire has gone evil island chick; Juliet died and minus Sawyer, her existence there was miserable; Jack has tried to fix things and now is to blame for Sayid and Juliet, not to mention leaving behind all those people to get himself off the island in the first place; Kate is right back where she started - alone and on the run; Charlie dies in a more positive light, but he still dies; etc. In fact, the only positive thing that has c! ome of the island is Rose being cured of cancer and living happily with Bernard. And out that way, is MIB really the bad guy if he too was brought there and just wants to go home?

So maybe, just maybe, the island is not a good place and maybe it needs to be underwater. Maybe the new time line is going to reveal that Jacob in fact screwed things up because of his interactions. Things will in fact end horribly on the island, and OK off-island. Off-island, Sayid will be with his love; Hurley will be lucky; Sawyer will be content and not a con-man; maybe Jack fixes Locke; Claire doesn't lose Aaron; and Kate herself may not have a happy ending or end up with anyone (Sawyer's comment that some people are meant to be alone may be in fact be more relevant to Kate), but she brought Claire and Aaron together. However, despite all this, I don't think this is "the end" in terms of Jack sinking an island and resetting everything - I think they are showing this as a point of comparison in order to demonstrate the true nature of Jacob and the island and the moral of the story - don't mess with time! It will ultimately answer the question of why they were chosen! in the first place and what the whole point of them being on the island is, but ultimately it will end with them having to deal with the set of cards they have in 2007.

This could also explain why Eloise and Witmore were pushing Daniel to go back to the island where he would be killed. At some point one of them was the "leader" if I recollect, and if Daniel had to be there to serve whatever purpose Jacob needed him to serve, it is likely Eloise and Witmore would assist in this regard (hence Desmond being dragged into all of this to be on the island and cause the crash).

I did notice some moments of recognition with Kate when she saw Jack and heard Aaron's' name. I don't really view that as remembering on-island experiences so much as a tie-in to the destiny themes of the show. It could be, but how long can they wait before these deja vu moments become full on recognition and memory, even if the rumor that there is only one time line by the middle of the season isn't true?