Trying to make sense of it all
I posted this over on TheoriesOnLost but I wanted to make sure I got the opinions of the best Lost posters on the net. So of course I had to post it here as well. Sorry for the duplication and for the sometimes rudimentary observations but I was trying to go back and answer as many of the old questions as I could. Have at it folks!
Having rewatched last week's show I think Jacob and MIB represent a struggle of mankind to follow good and evil. Jacob has faith that mankind will eventually rise above petty fights and become a vessel of good while MIB has decided that we are a lost cause and should be eliminated. The island serves as their laboratory or monitoring station and each time a group is brought to the island it ends in fighting and death. Jacob sees improvement in each test while MIB considers each new test a waste of time. His statement to Ben about how Locke was the only person who saw "how pitiful his life was" speaks of his disdain for mankind. The battle between Jacob and MIB will determine if mankind continues or if Armageddon begins.
I’m now beginning to think that Christian is an entity like Jacob and MIB as well. His purpose was to bring about the “savior” of the island and ultimately to save mankind. I think originally Jack was the intended savior, (hence the statement he has in his tattoo, ‘He walks among us but is not one of us’). But Jack lacks faith which puts him at odds with Christian and as such makes him unsuitable to Jacob. Eventually Claire gives birth to Aaron who takes Jack’s intended place as the island’s hero. Jacob intended for Aaron to be raised on the island to prevent a repeat of the problems encountered with Jack. Meanwhile Jack has seen his dependency on science/technology tested as he battles with his faith and that of Locke. (This could be the foundation of Ben's statement that Jacob hates technology. I also suspect that the reason the children are taken by the Others is to allow their 'true nature' to be seen without the 'worldly' influence.) As for Jack, I think that having a purpose that you can't achieve helps to explain Jack’s inherent desire to “fix” things and his frustration at not being able to do so.
As for Ben, the new 815 survivors on the island causes Ben to find his opportunity to save himself (through spine surgery) but he also faces new challenges to his leadership. Eventually Ben takes Locke to meet Jacob thinking it will cause Locke to more readily accept orders from Ben and help put down the growing whispers that Locke is someone they've waited for on the island. When Locke actually hears Jacob say "help me" Ben is stunned since he himself has never really heard Jacob. He's used the idea that Jacob speaks through him as a control over the Others to ensure they obey his instructions. Now that Locke can really hear Jacob, Ben's ability to lead the Others is in jeopardy. When Jacob tells Locke "Help me", it's not a plea but more of a job offer - as in, "Join me and we can save the world". With Locke endangering Ben's plans to remain as the leader of the Others he shoots Locke and leaves him to die. But Jacob appears to Locke as Walt and helps him recover and regain his place as the leader of the Others.
Meanwhile, Widmore has found the location of the island by tracking Desmond (which is a separate theory I'm working on and haven't quite resolved yet.) In a nutshell I think Widmore knew about Desmond's destiny and used to him to find the island. Widmore had Libby give Desmond the boat which contained a tracking device. The tracking device eventually stopped working but Widmore had a rough idea of where the island was located. He then found a way to track Desmond using Faraday's research. He didn't track Desmond's location, but rather the location of Desmond's consciousness. I think Faraday carried some equipment on the freighter that had a direct affect on Desmond. Once he left the protection of the island it allowed his consciousness to begin to move through time. Originally after the Swan implosion, Desmond had "visions" of Charlie being shot, Naomi in the tree etc. but when he left the island Desmond began to actually leave his 2004 body and reentered his body at some point in his own past. I believe both Eloise and Brother Campbell are associates of Widmore and are working to help him find the island. Hence Hawking's lies to Desmond that he can't change the future (while pleading with him to return to the island so he doesn't destroy mankind. If he can't change the future why is he risking mankind?) I also believe that MIB was able to communicate with Hawking (while most likely while posing as someone else) to have her instruct Ben to bring Locke's body on the Ajera flight. There was no reason at all for Locke to be on that flight other than as a means to allow MIB to assume his identity and con Ben into killing Jacob. (It's possible Jacob communicated with Hawking himself with the end goal of allowing MIB to kill him - thus the reason he didn't fight back as Ben said. Obviously if this is the case it's part of a larger plan by Jacob.
Which brings us back to the cabin and Christian’s appearance to Locke. I think that MIB assumed the form of Christian and appeared to Claire. Claire had previously met her father so seeing him on the island she was prone to listen to him and was soon following his instructions. MIB used her to displace the ash that surrounded Jacobs cabin. (I'm sure you remember they made a point to show that the ring of ash had been disturbed). This also started the events that led to Aaron being moved from the island meaning that the "savior" wasn't on the island any longer. Once the opening was made in the ash, MIB was free to enter the cabin - which likely caused Jacob to flee.
When Locke returns to the cabin hoping to speak with Jacob he meets Christian (MIB) and Claire. Locke doesn’t know Christian but certainly knows Claire. She provides some credibility to Christian who claims to speak on behalf of Jacob. He tells Locke to move the island which not only prevents Widmore from coming there but also sets in motion the events leading to Locke's death. When Ben moves the island instead of Locke it forces MIB to find another means to have Locke leave. He appears to Locke in the cavern telling him again to turn the wheel which sends Locke on the path which ultimately leads to his death and the eventual return of Ben who kills Jacob. With Jacob seemingly gone MIB may think he has the opportunity to end the tests of mankind and return to his own home. His statement "I'm very disappointed in all of you" wasn't about that group of people but rather a statement about mankind. His intent is to enter the Temple and destroy it which will bring about the start of Armageddon.
Of course I could be wrong and this was all a mistake!
Re; MIB in physical form?
Jaz,
Thanks for the comments. Your idea about good vs. evil is intriguing! Can't wait to read the whole theory. One thing that I'm not clear on though is your idea that MIB is taking a physical form while Jacob is using visions. We know that MIB isn't using Locke's body but simply creating an image of him. So when you suggest he has a physical form it would seem to be in a new body. Do you think he's physically human at the time he appears to Ben and the others? Hmm, that's interesting.
I had been thinking of it in the reverse. Jacob taking a physical form, hence he was able to be stabbed, and MIB being a vision - explaining why he's not hurt when Jacob's security team fires on him. He simply vanishes and we see smokie enter the chamber and kill them. If smokie had been there physically when shot, even if he wasn't effected by the shots, when he transformed I would expect the smoke monster to already be in the chamber rather than having to enter the chamber from the door.
MIB's manifestation
Oh yeah, good contrast between Jacob and MIB. And what you're saying about MIB as the fake Locke explains why Richard cautions them not to fire at him--they'd only hit each other.
What I was saying above--I think there's a combination of the fact that I didn't say it quite clearly and I'm not quite conceptually clear yet on that physical/vision difference. Let me take a stab (heh) at describing it again.
I agree with what you're saying about Jacob (he is physical and thus can be stabbed) and MIB as the fake Locke. What I meant about MIB using bodies is that he can only manifest as dead people. He couldn't appear as Locke without Locke being dead. And the dead people have to be physically intact. That's why the burning of bodies. And that he manifests as things--like the crane, like the chain. Jacob as Mind would open the way to contact with other selves in other realities. That's what I think the pool in the Temple has done in the past--allowed contact with a self that is not dying. And maybe that's how the healing aspect works generally. The island opens the mind to a self in an alternative world that does not have cancer--then the mind creates that reality here.
ETA--if this helps clarify--the Whispers speak of things that actually happened or give voice to a thought that that person might actually have had. It is connected to who they were (as mind/consciousness). But when MIB manifests as Locke--there's nothing of Locke there but the physical appearance.
With MIB's appearance as others--I'm just thinking about clothing. As the fake Locke, he isn't dressed as Locke is in the coffin. Also am I remembering that he took the shoes off or that he's barefoot? I wonder what that has to do with the insistence about Christian's shoes being put on Locke's body.
Also Christian--there's an appearance of him in the tux and then later in different clothing when he holds the baby. Are they both MIB, but in the first instance is he more limited in what he can do because he's still imprisoned in the cabin (if that idea is right) and in the second he's been released?
Anyway--I think if bodies are buried on the island--MIB can appear as them. But I think being buried under a tree makes a difference--that the trees take the person into themselves, into the island, into Jacob or Mind. But MIB as Smokie tried to take those bodies to himself--the blowing up of the trees, or to take them out of Jacob's side of the game if you see what I'm saying.
Visions that might be Jacob on Island--I think Locke's vision/dream of Boone. The appearance of Walt to Locke might actually be Walt--but would again be on Jacob's side. Walt's bilocation ability is part of this ability to tap into alternate selves. I'm not sure about Walt's appearance to Shannon.
I also think the pregnancy issues--I think Ben started the whole pregnancy experiment at MIB's behest (thinking it was Jacob). And that MIB was trying to find a way into manifesting not as a vision of a dead body, but inhabiting an actual one--to be born into the world.
Re; MIB
Good stuff Jaz! I'm almost fully into Lost mode now and I can't get enough!! I like this idea and how it plays up a lot of what we've seen. I have some things I haven't quite resolved that also come into question through your theory. We've sort of accepted that smokie/MIB is held in place with water in much the way he/it is with the ash. (Specuation based on Ben draining the water from a pool as a way of signaling smokie.) If that's correct, and it is MIB embodying those who died on the island, how did he appear to Michael on the freighter? Michael had two "sightings" on water - Christian and Abby. If it was MIB and he's bounded by water how could he appear on a boat? Likewise I am confused about Tom's conversation with Michael after he left the island. How did the island prevent Michael from committing suicide? Again if it was MIB his powers would need to cross an ocean. If it was Jacob then the whole idea of MIB as Christian is called into question. Same goes for Hurley's vision of Charlie in the police station.
I guess the simplest explanation is that MIB isn't contained by water at all. But the idea of him needing bodies on the island to manifest as those people hits a speed bump with Hurley's vision of Dave. I want to go back and revisit that scene for a minute. It was clear that Dave was trying to get Hurley to kill himself in that episode. Who would want Hurley dead and why? If anyone has a motive it would seem that it would be MIB. If Hurley is dead MIB can use his form to appear to the other survivors. More importantly Hurley won't be able to help Jacob in whatever way he is (bringing Sayid to the Temple etc.) But how did MIB manifest as Dave? He's the only vision I can remember that isn't a body on the island. As Jethro Bodine used to say, "I'm gonna hafta do a bit more ponderin' on this."
Sightings
I do think that Smokie can't physically cross the water. But I do think he has at the very least an ability to read the minds of those off the island as he reports on Locke's dying thoughts.
My first inclination was to say that the visions of Christian and Libby were Jacob not MIB. But I think I need some help putting together what was going on and who might be doing what. I was just thinking that Aaron being taken off island is a little like Joseph being taken into Egypt and separated from his father (Jacob). And Aaron's sleepiness--kind of like Joseph being a reader of dreams in Egypt.
So Michael prevented from killing himself, etc. that whole plot would be to facilitate the freighter being there--which gets Miles et al. to the island and takes O6 off. Is that in MIB's interest, Jacob's, or both?
Maybe MIB can make people see things off island but can't appear in a sustained way as he does as Locke. I keep thinking that Hurley's vision of Charlie in the police station is a MIB vision (as is the one in the convenience store), but the Charlie who appears to him at the asylum is "real"--an AltCharlie--that would probably be Jacob at work.
Dave...hmm again, not a sustained vision--I don't know. It seems awkward to get Dave's body on the island (awkward in the narrative I mean), but we don't know for sure that it isn't there.
Oh, I went ahead and posted that theory on facebook--a lot of it is cobbled together from various theories here so I think I have to tweak it with links and edits and stuff before it gets posted here. But here's where it is on FB: Certainty/Uncertainty & Trust.
New theory
Smoke and Mirrors :-)
Had an idea about why water acts as a barrier and also a better way of describing Smokie's function in being the fake Locke.
Water as barrier: water can reflect back or it can act to transport you somewhere else (through the looking glass).
Since Smokie's main function is to mirror back (and not to provide a way through to any of the alt realities)--water acts as a mirror/barrier for him/it. Mirroring is also smokie's security function then. Those that see themselves reflected like Eko--do not reach the other side but have their fate imposed on them. Locke, though, sees through rather than a reflection. The beautiful light he sees is a foreshadowing of his death, but suggests that death may not be the end for him and we will see him come back but in a real way.
The fake Locke (smokie) is merely a physical reflection (again nothing of the internal consciousness of Locke there). Smokie can mirror inanimate appearance, but not what animates.
Re: making sense
Hey Jukin!
I'm pretty much in agreement with you on the big picture narrative with some changes in some of the details. Basically--that Jacob/MIB represent faith in mankind to progress on the one hand and disdain for mankind--wanting to bring it all to an end on the other. Also--Aaron as the savior and that there's been a disruption in what should have happened by taking Aaron off the island (there's got to be some reason for the S4 off-island digression, doesn't there? please?).
I've written up something on the identity of these two myself--probably gonna post it tomorrow. But here's one way I'm talking about them that's slightly different. I think MIB represents extremes--the extreme of complete uncertainty (and the fear engendered by it) on the one hand, and the need for certainty to counter it (on the other), while Jacob is the balance between--that is trust. And I think that goes for all the other extremes--so I think MIB is absolute evil, but I think also absolute good. This is probably my own philosophy coming in--that many evil things are done by people to accomplish something good. In fact ridding the earth of human beings since we are a mix of good and evil, could be interpreted as good, as purifying.
But I actually don't see that as far off from what you are saying--these ethical terms get slippery, but one interpretation of good in the way you are saying Jacob is good is just the same as what I'm saying (that he's the balance).
What you're saying about Des is intriguing--do you think he's entering his own body across realities as well?
I do think Locke's body had to be on the plane for MIB. Though not physically there he seems to have been at the scene of Locke's murder in order to report what he was feeling to Ben--so I wonder what kind of off island influence he has. I would guess not physical. I've been thinking that on island--he is using the physical--Christian's Body for instance, while Jacob uses the mind (visions). Perhaps there is an inversion of this off island in which MIB tries to influence minds (Hurley's vision of Charlie in the police station), but Jacob is bringing in the actual physical presence of folks from other realities (Charlie at the insane asylum).
So my thinking about Christian's appearance in the cabin is that that is MIB and that his talking to Locke there is all part of MIB's plan to kill Jacob. I think it's MIB who was in the cabin before the removal of the ash. Which doesn't mean he couldn't appear as Smokie outside the cabin--but that he was under someone else's direction, a servant (like Caliban in the Tempest). The removal of the ash gave him liberty to no longer follow commands. But I'd have to say--this is very up in the air to me--it could just as well be Jacob. My sense of the "help me" plea though is that it is again part of of MIB's scheme.