Shepherd’s Pie – LOST’s New Mythos

Written 24th MarchT

HE COUNTY FAIR
Remember your local county fair? One of the big things was bragging rights about having the best pie (Shepherds pie perhaps) or pig or art project or whatever, showing off that blue ribbon. So let me quickly get my bragging out of the way and then onto the theory (although my theory comes from my brag!).

I wrote a post last year based on the beach discussion b/t Jacob and MIB. In a nut shell it was pretty much what was revealed last night (yea for me! although I know there are others out there who have said basically the same thing) and that is:
MIB believes man is inherently corrupt and does not have the ability or
“free will” do to good, man can only do what his nature is, man is bound by their corruptness.
Jacob believes the opposite, man is good and has the ability or “free will” to do good, that man can move beyond that corruptness. The entire disagreement is based on this premise and it has been hinted at throughout the whole show: free will verses fate/determinism, etc.
Now onto the rest of the stuff…

SHEPHERDS PIE — PART 1 — Hodge Podge of Beliefs
I love Shepherds Pie, it has all types of ingredients and that’s why I’ve called my theory this. Let’s begin with religion/philosophy/mythology. I believe what LOST has created is a new mythology. They are not trying to retell any story you have ever read, be that Egyptian Mythology, stories from the Bible, etc. Looking for one religion, one story to explain all that has happened just won’t work. As we all know they have borrowed from many ideologies, but no single one can cover it all. Let’s look at a few examples:
-Christianity/Judaism — Jacob & Esau, twin brothers (that didn’t look like twins) who don’t
really like each other, mostly Esau wanting to kill Jacob, mostly b/c of Jacob’s mom favoring
him over Esau (mommy issues for MIB!)
-Christianity — John Calvin, Martin Luther, St. Paul the Apostle all taught that man was
bound by his corruption and cannot (apart from God’s intervention) do good. Jacob
Arminius (note the first name) believed that though man was inherently corrupt, could
choose to good, had free will
-Egyptian mythology — Set (Seth) hated Osiris, killed him, wife Isis pieced him back together,
conceives Horus and puts him on an island, cuts the foundations loose so that it floats and
cannot be found by Set (good job on finding the details of this story, BiNG)
o Set used a box (coffin) to trick Osiris and have him killed. Sounds like what MIB did
w/ Locke’s “coffin/box” to trick Ben to kill Jacob for him
o Both Set & Horus gather people on their sides for one last great battle — The war
that is coming/has come to the island
o Ammit eats the souls of those whose hearts are not light as a feather (good/pure)
and are not allowed to enter the afterlife. MIB has been “eating” lots of people
that he considers evil (big list right?).
o Etc.
-Yin/Yang — Balance of good & evil
o Dogen’s comments to Sayid about not getting them out of balance
o Jacob balances/keeps MIB trapped on the island
I could go on and on, but most of these things have already been covered.

SHEPHERDS PIE — PART 2 — A New Mythos – The Theory
As Jacob told Richard on their little beach conversation in last night’s episode “Ab Aeterno” that MIB is being kept on the island so that he doesn’t escape which would be bad news for mankind as told by Isabella to Richard via Hurley. The island is the door that is shut keeping MIB on the island. Jacob is the door stop keeping MIB from opening the door and leaving. There needs to be a door stop!
Why was MIB sent to the island and by who? Well, I believe this is the new myth that LOST has created. There are gods or deities of some type. Whether they created man and the earth is not the point. The point is Jacob & MIB are likely brothers, MIB has always believed mankind to be corrupt and incapable of doing anything but evil and he has been “hell bent” on proving that.
In order to keep him from destroying mankind or manipulating mankind to destroy each other, he was banished to the island (and yes to him it probably is hell as he confirmed to Richard on the Black Rock, though I don’t believe they are in hell, just Richard in his anger believed that and it feels like that to MIB) by perhaps his mother???
Jacob was commissioned by the other gods or his mother to keep MIB chained to the island. It could be they had some kind of bet “you prove your point I stay, I prove my point, I’m outta here” (though I don’t think this is likely) or the gods set up the rules:
-Only way off the island is MIB gets someone to kill Jacob AND either get Jacob’s
replacements to join MIB’s side or have them killed off by each other
-Only way for Jacob to prove his point, bring people to the island to demonstrate in this
little laboratory that man is capable of doing good and eventually/ultimately prove this by
a candidate willing to take Jacob’s place for all eternity

A Nod to Star Trek TOS
We know the writes love Star Trek. There was an episode in the original series in which a man named Lazarus discovered a parallel universe (anti matter). The Lazarus in the other universe (his twin) went mad and tried to kill him. Problem was if they ever met (according to Star Trek science) face to face in either universe, both universes would annihilate each other, matter/anti matter meeting and canceling each other out in a big explosion. The sane Lazarus informed Capt. Kirk to send insane Lazarus into some sub-space doorway b/t the two universes, then destroy the door trapping them both inside for eternity but saving both universes from being destroyed.
That’s what Jacob is trying to do. Get someone willing to stay behind and keep MIB locked up forever. I DON’T believe that person will just continue to “run the experiment” once they take Jacob’s place. I believe that’s the whole point of Jacob saying, “It only ends one, everything else is just progress.” The experiment ends, Jacob wins when someone is willing to “baby sit” for all of eternity with MIB. That is the ultimate expression of good: willing (free willing that is) to give up their life to protect everyone else by being the door stop. I don’t believe others will ever be brought to the island again, game is over, show is over.

SHEPHERD’S PIE (pun intended) — PART 3 — It’s All About Jack
Jack is definitely the one who will stay behind to take Jacob’s place, it is his pie after all! Think about it:
-Jack was initially against all this mysticism crap! He was a man of science. Now he is a
man of faith.
-Jacob told Hurley he couldn’t tell Jack what to do, he had to “make the choice for
himself” (free will again!)
-Jack has something very important to do, Jacob told Hurley and I believe that is to be
the door stop!
-Jack has on more than one occasion been willing to sacrifice himself for other people
Jacob needed to allow himself to be killed so the MIB would show his hand and the necessity
of someone to take Jacob’s place would happen. It was risky, everyone could have joined
MIB like some at the temple did, but he had faith in mankind, specifically Jack. The Lord is
my Shepherd!

The Other Other
Has does Widmore play into all of this? Well since he was an “other” that got kicked off the island and the fact that he’s been trying to get back for a long time, his role is big, but not in the way you may be thinking. I believe he is nothing more than a catalyst to bring this thing to a head.
He is not on MIB’s side, obviously he sees Widmore as a threat. Why? B/c MIB may be afraid/ may know something we don’t as of yet, in which Widmore becomes yet another door stop. Remember, MIB has to either get all the candidates on his side or have them killed to get off the island now that Jacob is dead. Maybe there’s something behind that locked door that Sawyer asked about that would keep MIB on the island, I don’t know.
Widmore isn’t on Jacob’s side either though. He simply wants to exploit the island for his own selfish reasons. I don’t think Widmore really knows what the flip is going on seeing he was kicked off before any of this all went down.
Somehow Widmore will help facilitate the end process. Ah, just another or “other” ingredient in the SHEPHERD’S PIE.

SHEPHERD’S PIE — Part 4 — The Pie is Done!
With only a handful of episodes left, we’re going to see this all play out. MIB tries to get his last recruits and remove any other potential door stops. This is why they would have to make camp for a couple of days. He can’t leave yet and this of course ticks Sawyer off! Kate also is about to lose it, so MIB had to do some delicate psychology w/ Sawyer (tell him the “truth”) & w/ Kate, tell her some stuff to calm her down. Can’t very well take out the enemy if you have a mutiny on your hands!
Somehow with Widmore’s involvement, MIB & his motley crew will clash with Jack & Friends and everyone will get to leave the island but only b/c Jack is willing to stay, sacrifice himself to be locked up on the island with MIB forever. The LOSTies will get to go home, Widmore will get what’s coming to him, the world will be safe & MIB, though pissed he may be, will have a new roommate.
Show ends!

Okay, that’s enough, thoughts????