Gary Troup's Novel: About Jacob/MIB? by nroma250

So I assume you all remember Gary Troup, the published author who was unceremoniously sucked into the turbine of 815 in the pilot episode?

The title of the novel, published after his death on the island, provides possible insight into the conflict between Jacob and MIB, especially given the fact that, in "Everybody Loves Hugo," we're shown a dark-haired version of the young boy that many assumed to be a young Jacob, but now assume to be a young MIB. Which brings me to my theory on why the two boys looked alike, and where this whole thing is going. The title of Troup's novel?

"Bad Twin"

And the only way you'd know it is from Sawyer reading the manuscript in "The Long Con," followed by Jack's unceremonious burning of the last pages before Sawyer could read the ending in "Two for the Road."

Here's the plot synopsis, via Lostpedia:

"Sometimes evil has a familiar face...

Paul Artisan, P.I. is a new version of an old breed -- a righter of wrongs, someone driven to get to the bottom of things. Too bad his usual cases are of the boring malpractice and fraud variety. Until now.

His new gig turns on the disappearance of one of a pair of twins, adult scions of a rich but tragedy-prone family. The missing twin -- a charismatic poster-boy for irresponsibility -- has spent his life daring people to hate him, punishing himself endlessly for his screw-ups and misdeeds. The other twin -- Artisan's client -- is dutiful and resentful in equal measure, bewildered that his "other half" could have turned out so badly, and wracked by guilt at his inability to reform him. He has a more practical reason, as well, for wanting his brother found: their crazy father, in failing health and with guilty secrets of his own, will not divide the family fortune until both siblings are accounted for.

But it isn't just a fortune that's at stake here. Truth itself is up for grabs, as the detective's discoveries seem to challenge everything we think we know about identity, and human nature, and family. As Artisan journeys across the globe to track down the bad twin, he seems to have moved into a mirror-world where friends and enemies have a way of looking very much alike. The P.I. may have his long-awaited chance to put his courage and ideals to the test, but if he doesn't get to the bottom of this case soon, it could very well cost him his life.

Troup's long-awaited Bad Twin is a suspenseful novel that touches on many powerful themes, including the consequence of vengeance, the power of redemption, and where to turn when all seems lost."

I'm not going to actually get into the plot of the novel, since the actual author of the real novel incorporated elements that Carlton and Cuse did not intend, and so it's only semi-canonical. In fact, for the purposes of this theory, only the brief synopsis is canonical, since it appears to have been divined by Darlton themselves, irrespective of how the novel eventually turned out. It is perhaps their displeasure with the finished novel that explains why we haven't seen or heard more about it in some meta-context within the show. But that remains to be seen. Although, strangely enough, the novel contains tons of elements familiar to the show, such as the Widmore Corporation (the twins themselves are Widmores), Paik Industries, Oceanic Airlines, The Hanso Foundation, Wittelwerk, Mr. Cluck's, and the numbers. So at least check out the Lostpedia article if you get the chance. The full plot summary is there. Or you could just buy the novel. Or something.

Anyhow, let's go through this bit-by-bit.

"The missing twin -- a charismatic poster-boy for irresponsibility -- has spent his life daring people to hate him, punishing himself endlessly for his screw-ups and misdeeds."

This sounds like a vague description of MIB, insofar as he could be considered a "poster-boy for irresponsibility" given his reckless disregard for the lives of others, and his ill-informed attempts to outmaneuver Jacob. He doesn't seem to be trying to get people to hate him, although this could be a reference to whatever prior life MIB alluded to, and could be the reason for his present condition/imprisonment. And while we have no evidence that he's punishing HIMSELF, it appears clear that he IS being punished.

"The other twin -- Artisan's client -- is dutiful and resentful in equal measure, bewildered that his "other half" could have turned out so badly, and wracked by guilt at his inability to reform him."

This would be Jacob, the brother who is attempting to reform his twin, in a way, by showing him that humans are redeemable. Perhaps something happened in their childhood and Jacob is responsible for MIB becoming evil. To atone, he is attempting to reform MIB by showing him that humanity is worth saving. Barring his success in reforming MIB, Jacob will atone by simply keeping MIB away from the real world. Either way, there is a measure of guilt to Jacob's actions. He is certainly dutiful, although we cannot say how resentful he is, if at all.

"He has a more practical reason, as well, for wanting his brother found: their crazy father, in failing health and with guilty secrets of his own, will not divide the family fortune until both siblings are accounted for."

This mirrors the Biblical story of Jacob and Esau. Esau was to receive his father's blessings ("fortune") but the father was deceived by Jacob and so the blessing went to Jacob, rendering him master over his brothers, including the older Esau.

At a more connective level, the "crazy father" idea mirrors Flocke's speech to Kate about his having had a "crazy mother." Perhaps Darlton, at the time of this tie-in book's conception, had it in mind that Flocke's speech would be about his "crazy father," but decided to change the gender of the parentage because...

a) The audience might think Flocke was referring to the real John Locke and his tempestuous relationship with Anthony Cooper.
b) Everybody seems to have daddy issues, and so the theme is a bit overplayed.
c) Having the parent be the father makes the parallel to the Biblical Jacob and Esau too obvious.

"As Artisan journeys across the globe to track down the bad twin, he seems to have moved into a mirror-world where friends and enemies have a way of looking very much alike."

The "mirror-world" line is very telling. Darlton have said that they only devised of the ALT timeline this season, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility that they're either working us, or it was a discarded idea from the beginning that they decided to re-work into the storyline. In this sense, the concept of these twins are directly tied to this "mirror-world," which is perhaps a hint that Jacob or MIB or even both are the cause of the ALT and not, as has been theorized, the detonation of Jughead. But how, I'm not sure.

"Troup's long-awaited Bad Twin is a suspenseful novel that touches on many powerful themes, including the consequence of vengeance, the power of redemption, and where to turn when all seems lost."

The themes of vengeance and redemption tie into the Biblical motif, if we're to superimpose the tale of Jacob and Esau onto Jacob and MIB. To this end, I theorize that Jacob and MIB were twins, and that their mother, due to some event or other, went crazy, causing Jacob to become the favored son. The resentment and desire for vengeance is what caused the MIB to seek out a way to get back at Jacob, and it is perhaps this lust for revenge that brought him into contact with whatever process turned him into Smokey. In effect, his quest for revenge brings about his imprisonment, as now he possesses a power that is controllable only on the Island. Were he to be out in the real world, he would not be able to control his abilities, and would essentially wreak havoc on the world at large.

How does all of this tie into the endgame?

Let's say Widmore uses that crazy electromagnetism machine to turn Desmond into another Smokey, so that he can defeat the MIB. Desmond destroys the MIB but, essentially, fills the MIB's role.

Jack is somehow chosen and revealed to be the protector of the island, and he is now tasked with keeping Desmond on the island, while Desmond simply wants to go home and see Penny and little Charlie again.

Granted, if Des wants to see Penny and Charlie again, he won't have centuries to get off of the island, given that Penny and Charlie aren't exactly immortal. But Des will be forced to stay on the island because, even though he isn't evil, the powers he gets from becoming Smokey are what's dangerous, and only on the island could he actually have any kind of control over such powers. He'd be too unstable out in the real world to be allowed off the island.

This endgame would be a new iteration of the Jacob/MIB conundrum. It doesn't even have to be Jack and Desmond that become the new Jacob and MIB, it simply has to be under similar circumstances, with the new MIB desperately wanting to leave, and the new Jacob being forced to confine him.