Jack As The New Jacob, and a Few Other Theories For The Endgame by Azriel

Alright I know that Jack has been the main character of the show since the Pilot episode (where coincidently he was originally slated to be the first monster death), but making him the new Jacob just seemed...too much of a given to me from a show that is famous for his twists and turns.

Ergo I have a theory. Jack IS the new Jacob for now but he wont be for very long. With Ben now thoroughly (or so it seems) aligned with Flocke, it would be no big hurdle for him to do away with the good doctor (I mean he killed Jacob...the dudes had practice). Even if Ben hasn't gone completely to the darkside, I think Flocke will have an easy time dealing with Jack. His "mother" made it so that MIB and Jacob could not harm one another. I doubt that carries over to Jack, which means that Flocke can and will try to kill him. I think that we are going to see Jack fulfill his primary duty, giving his life or the Island but that ultimately something else will have to happen to really stop Flocke from destroying it, and the light at the center.

Cue Desmond, our failsafe. We already know that Flocke has his sites set on Des and plans to use him to destroy the Island. Hes planning this based on the desperate words from Charles Widmore, based on the premise that Flocke wont hurt Penny. Okay first off, Charles Widmore is no fool. He said it to Ben the scene before, hes always three moves ahead. Charles knew that there was a chance (or maybe even a certainty) he was going to die when he returned to the Island. His whole life has been about protecting and getting back to it. Jacob wouldn't have gone to fetch Charles if he didn't have the utmost confidence in his abilities. So given all that, Im fairly certain that what Charles whispered into Flocke's ear was what Flocke needed to hear in order to make him do exactly what Charles really wanted him to do. Hes going to use Des and inadvertently cause his own destruction. How will this happen? Des is going to go into the tunnel with the light. Why am I certain about this? Because when Des turned that failsafe key in the Hatch he was submitting himself to that very same light and power we now know is down that tunnel. Hes already turned the key once, now he'll have to do it again except manually.

But if I'm correct and Jack dies, making the failsafe necessary, the Island still needs a new protector. Cue our favorite scoundrel, Sawyer. James has gone from con man to hero in the course of this show, and while hes been seeming to revert back to his rougher ways since Juliet's death, he maintains that heroic nature inside of him. We saw in the last ep that he truly feels responsible for the deaths of Sayid, Jin and Sun, a fact that once it becomes clear that a new hero is going to have to step up to the bat, will drive him to make the ultimate sacrifice as penance for what he feels was his fault. He will take on the mantle of "Jacob", condemning himself to the Island while allowing his friends whom hes come to love and protect over these 6 seasons, their chance at freedom. We've seen him do it once when he jumped out of the helicopter, it seems only fitting that he do it again, giving him that great farewell we always knew he deserved as the show meets its end.