Is it not quite symbolic that during Jacobs explanation about the bottle and its contents, he also turns the bottle over?

But because the bottle has a cork, the wine does not flow out. ie smoke monster/evil is still trapped.

If the island is like a cork, which he clearly stated, then SLU is like the bottle being turned over. So one ould argue that Jacob is affecting both timelines, not MIB. After all, it was through faith that our Losties blew up the atomic bomb, not through temptation or easy choice. Jack led the way as well, as he believed (had faith in what they had to do).

Anyway, maybe it doesnt mean much, but I believe these two parallel universes are Jacobs doing rather than MIBs. Plus the mirrors we are seeing all over the place in SLU are very similiar to the ones seen in the lighthouse which we are assuming Jacob used?

I had another thought on this whole people/bottle thing…even though it might seem like a tangent. It’s more dissection of the metaphor and how it is at play…

Let me preface this by saying I’m not definitively choosing MIB or Jacob to be good or evil. I’m just trying to weigh out what we’ve seen.

It seems as if MIB/Flocke has a way of looking like he’s telling the truth but then contradicting himself at another time. So the whole statement about Jacob stealing his humanity and his body leaves me wondering what he’s saying and not saying…because there is obviously more to this.

For a moment, lets say that way back whenever, MIB wanted to be more than what he was (power hungry type of thing) and he himself made a trade of sorts (much like he offered Richard and Sayid) that is ultimately what got him to where/who/what he is. (Jacob had the ability to change Richard’s lifespan, so it’s something similar.)

So, was MIB the first candidate who made a ‘deal with the devil’ sort of thing that left him trapped? And ultimately Jacob (good or bad) has the ability or power to create/sustain the environment that keeps the wine trapped and the people coming to the island.

In a way – as we know that “Jacob drives a hard bargain” – it makes sense that MIB might be half-right when he says that Jacob stole his body and his humanity. I just wonder if he willingly traded it, the way that we have seen Sayid and Claire (as well as Dogen and even Hurley) take the bait from MIB and Jacob.

I’m on my way out the door.. otherwise I’d comment. I’ll be back soon.

I agree that the candidate’s purpose(s) will be well beyond simply overseeing the island. Besides, there is nothing simple about that job. Especially if it has to do with replacing Jacob who also doesn’t age, has the ability to bestow ‘gifts’ (albeit limited ability as we learned), and all the other things that we have learned about him. And yes, then of course there is all that is there with the tension of keeping ‘evil trapped’ and such. I think that is why I like the possibility of them being factored into the metaphor.

The other side of that is why wouldn’t they be factored in? Otherwise it is island vs. “evil” and that just seems a bit incomplete. (Much like Faraday’s, “I forgot about the variables…” speech.)

Anyway, yes, the wine itself is worth thinking on, too. Have fun with that!

When he smashed it, that is most likely a metaphor for the island being blown up…. I seem to remember here not too terrible long ago, there was possibly some sort of explosion and we saw the island in ruins under the sea…. I am sure you are getting my hints!

I suspect we’ll get to see exactly what it is that has happened in sidewaysland that has the island under water… then we’ll know for sure what the bottle represents.

I’m also interested in the wine in the bottle. Jacob says it represents evil… I wonder if the “evil” actually exits on the island… or under it. We know of two pockets of energy existing under the island at the sites of the Swan and Orchid stations… I wonder it that’s it. Pure, concentrated evil, right there under the island. I think next week we’ll see a group of time traveling midgets arrive on the island… don’t worry though, they work for Jacob.