The Shephards -hmmmmm
I don’t think this has quite been posted before, I had a bit of a look and there were some similar theories, but as we are missing a few months sorry if this is repetitive.
A few things I’d been contemplating and couldn’t quite come to an ok answer with- Christian seems to have had some kind of a relationship with the island (just a feeling, not confirmed) he kind of talks like an other – his conversation with Sawyer, and there must be some connection to explain his appearances. But what? Time and age wise he doesn’t really fit into what we know of the other’s history and leaders. If Jack is mid 30s in 2004 – say born in 1969, and Christian was mid 20s when Jack was born – Christian born 1944. He is too young to be the leader between 1954 and 1977, plus that would be when he would need to be studying to be a surgeon.
BUT, after rewatching the episode with Ray, it struck me as odd that they would a) introduce him as a character and b) his talk of leaving and going where they could never find him screamed ISLAND to me.
Say Ray was 20 when Christian was born, his birth date could be around 1924 – making him of an appropriate age to be leader around the 50s. Was Christian born an other? Is this why Ray disapproved of Jack’s mum, she wasn’t an other?
Interestingly this also fits to possibly answer other questions – Jack and Locke seem to have some kind of connection (would also make sense from a story telling perspective to link them genetically) and Anthony Cooper does seem too young if Locke’s father was meant to be around 30 when he was born. However, Ray would be just the right age. Did Ray do a Widmore and have another family off island? Could Christian and Locke be brothers? Timeline wise it is at least reasonable from what we know.
I don’t think any of them are Jacob or MIB, just think it might go towards linking our two main losties (Jack and Locke) to the island. The Shephard family tree connects many characters and I think it makes sense that it should also play a major in the island’s history. If this is the case, we have two big families involved – The Shephards and The Widmores – the eternal conflict between two families. It’s almost enough to put into a Shakespearean musical.
Well done tas. Master class in theory writing. Just one question. Do you think it’s possible Richard is a sheppard. After all Jack is not just a sheppard by name but one by nature. What does a sheppard do. He leads his flocke. (Pun very much intended.)
thanks, I hadn’t thought about that but it certainly fits name wise (and we know how important they are). Physically I could also buy into that. Have a feeling that we’ll find out that the Shephards have a very strong and complex connection to the island. Theories on Aaron being Jacob would also fit here.
Hey tas do you ever get the feeling that for all the nearly unexplainable stuff, the stuff that’s just outside the limit of our understanding or intelligence, that their could be a continuance of conciousness done through the whole history of the island that one of our losties has travelled but just hasn’t remembered yet. (if that don’t make sense don’t worry. I’m fairly drunk right now and ready to hit the hay. It’s 10 minutes past eleven in the evening in Dublin.)
I personally have a belief in reincarnation so the idea that someone’s consciousness can be in different physical beings – in the right timeline, not just swapping consciousness will nilly – seems completely reasonable to me. There is a big picture reason why two families in particular seem to be disproportionalty represented in the show, I can go with a continued consciousness.
Very interesting. The fact that Locke’s real father has never been known might be a door kept open by the authors to come up with some ending like ”Locke, I’m your father.”.
Tas–yes, yes, and yes!! First of all, I love your comment about a “Shakespearean musical”!! Great sense of humor!
I’ve posted similar thoughts on Jack and his family as comments to theories before, and I’m so glad that someone else has the same thoughts regarding the Shepherd family and their connection to the island. The episode that featured Jack’s grandfather, Ray, was too important to be random. We all know that LOST drops clues that at first seem to be unimportant, then turn out to play a large part in the overall story, and the introduction of Ray is no exception. What if the entire Sheppard family are descendents from the original inhabitants of the Island (whoever they were!)?? And now Jacob is determined to return the control of the Island to its rightful rulers?
Also, yes to the mystery surrounding Locke’s father. I’ve never been convinced that Anthony Cooper was his father. I’ve said time and again that Cooper was a con man from the get-go, and he totally conned Locke and his mother to get the kidney. But who Locke’s real father is remains to be seen. He could also be a descendent of the original inhabitants, and as Tas theorized, could be part of the Sheppard family. Although, if Ray was angry at Christian because he had a relationship with a woman who wasn’t an “other” then why would he have done the same thing?? (Maybe he’s part of the “Do as I say not as I do?” method of parenting!)
Anyway, I also continue to believe that Jacob is on the “good” side in the war, and our losties were brought to the island for a noble purpose, rather than an evil one. Maybe I’m just being simplistic, but I like to believe that the good guys will win in the end, and that the characters we’ve seen since day one will be on the side of good.
A Shepherd is a leader of sheep. The Sheppard’s are catalyst for someone else’s objectives, “Follow the leader” yeah right into my mastermind evil plan boohaha! “Thank the Sheppard boys for herding all the pawns into exacting pivotal points for island domination, while i sit back in my rocking chair chillin with a two-four of Dharma’s best light beer……..Hmmmm this cabin is really really dull looking, perhaps a nice paint job and maybe get me one of those gramophone’s all the cool kids are talking about…..Yep i got time to kill.”
What if Aaron is a Widmore-Shephard? That’s what makes him so important.
Now THAT is a very interesting idea! If Thomas were related to Charles Widmore, and Aaron were a Widmore-Shepherd, then Aaron brings it all full circle. Love it!