Trying to make sense of it all….

Sorry to repeat some stuff I’ve posted in comments but this is something I’ve been kicking around for a while.

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 distain 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