Jacob and MIB off-island.. and some other tidbits
OK – it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. But, I haven’t been wanting to get ahead of myself what with the last few episodes containing so much.. I had to let the ideas simmer.
I have a few theories about Jacob and MIB in terms of Good and Evil. I know there have been a lot of debates about whether or not Jacob can be trusted and whether or not MIB is actually evil. Alright, so many are convinced that MIB just seems like such a nice guy, he just wants to go home *insert MIB puppy dog eyes.* Not buying it. Smokey has killed many people on the island out of selfish ambition just to get off the bloody island – most likely so he can kill more people off-island. He is manipulating his followers by offering them what they want most.. will they actually be rewarded? Doubtful.
I have a theory that MIB’s name will be revealed as the unabbreviated R. G. – the initials on the bracelets we have seen on a couple individuals. One woman with this bracelet, attempted to kill Sayid. I believe Smokey has off-island agents responsible for killing off any of Jacob’s candidates. He wants Jacob – and anyone who could ever replace him – dead.
I also believe that Richard’s job was to interview the candidates off-island before bringing them to the island to potentially replace Jacob. We know that Richard was weirded out by a young John Locke who went for the knife – this, as well as the picture of Smokey, was a sign that his candidacy was or would at some point become corrupted by the MIB. This is why Richard took off like a shot.
This brings me to Jacob. Many of you don’t trust the man because he has interfered in the lives of the candidates.. making their lives miserable. I once thought so too. But, understanding the MIB helps me to understand why Jacob behaves the way he does. Most of you believe that Jacob is responsible for all the deaths that we have seen on and off island. But, we can’t deny that Smokey has been responsible for most of these deaths – even the ones off island by the hands of the agents working for him. For example – if Jacob hadn’t asked Sayid for directions… Sayid would have been killed by that car along with Nadia. Jacob couldn’t save Nadia.. and I don’t know why – maybe it’s the rules – but he needed to save Sayid as he was a candidate. The candidates also needed these experiences in their lives to shape their personalities and character traits. I don’t believe Jacob creates the evil that shapes them… but… as he weaves a tapestry of lighter threads around the darker ones… he makes his plans around the evil that Smokey creates.
Well.. there you have it! Discuss. Disagree. Go for it.
I agree with you 100%. Jacob had had to do some things with…unpleasant consequences, but it was only because there was no other way to circumvent MIB’s evil plans!
So, does Jacob see into the future? How does Jacob know to be there at the moment that Lock falls out the high rise or when Sayid is going to get killed crossing the side walk? Is this a repeat of past events and since Jacob has seen it before he knows when and where these events will occur? Just curious to get people’s thoughts on the issue.
I don’t think Jacob could see into the future because then instead of brining different groups to the island over all the years, he could have accomplished his goal of “proving” MiB wrong with just one correct group. I think the events probably happened before, so he was able to time his entrance accordingly.
Also, if Nadia were alive, Sayid wouldn’t go back to the island because that would mean leaving her, and he wouldn’t do that after spending countless years trying to find her. Jacob had no choice.
But how do you know? People are making huge assumptions on the back story and motivations of both MIB and Jacob with very little information at all – “But, we can’t deny that Smokey has been responsible for most of these deaths – even the ones off island by the hands of the agents working for him.” you’ve just made that up based on an assumption that you want to make about MIB, none of that has in anyway been shown on the show so we can all very much deny it. I find it really interesting that many people who think Jacob is this wonderful presence of light and goodness will acknowledge his dubious actions and say, ‘that’s ok because his intentions are good.’ we don’t know what his intentions are, we do have his actions and I’ve got to say that both MIB and Jacob are on par with being manipulative, sneaky, a bit self righteous and seem to have no care or concern for the people they are using to play these games (if that’s what’s going on). No matter what the intent, or reasoning how in any way shape or form can Jacob be considered really good? Mother Theresa was pretty close to really, really good, I can’t imagine her doing what Jacob has done to help the poor of India, she didn’t justify unpleasant actions by saying it was for the better good. And by your own understanding – is killing Sayid, a known torturer and murderer such a bad thing, or is it the best for the world to be rid of one more person like him, so maybe the agents were doing the right thing? See how easy it is to twist.
Tas, ease up my friend. Seems to me like everyone is getting wound too tightly around here. It’s JUST a theory. I know I could be dead wrong. But I’m thinking in terms of the writers, how many episodes we have left and how many loose ends need tying up. To me, this seems like a plausible way to explain the R.G. If you have any better ideas, I’d be happy to hear them.
“…you’ve just made that up based on an assumption that you want to make about MIB, none of that has in anyway been shown on the show so we can all very much deny it…” Of course I made it up – that’s what a theory is. I look at what the show/writers have given us, and I’m trying to put two and two together. For example, no one could have ever predicted that Richard came on the Black Rock because there was absolutely no proof until two or three episodes ago. But it’s true now. All I am trying to do is predict what the writers might do. I think that’s the whole bloody point.
Oh, and a little FYI on Mother Theresa. She was, undoubtedly, an amazing woman. But even she admitted time and time again to having serious doubts about her faith and why she was doing what she was doing.
You talk in absolutes in your theory and that’s what I have a problem with, not “I think this could explain rg and therefore this is what could be going on / happen” but that we can’t deny it, well we can and should. All I’m doing is raising issues with your theory, isn’t that what we aresupposed to do? When your theory talks about good and evil then surely you are expcting some passionate responses. And questioning your faith is a long way away from Jacobs conscious choices and manipulations. I’m saying how can you really put Jacob in the same category of ‘good’ as people like mother Theresa, because that’s who he’s with if you say he is as good as you are?
That’s just the way I write – I’ve written a lot of thesis papers in my time.. and there’s no pussyfooting in those. Tas, you raise an interesting question by saying “how can you really put Jacob in the same category as Mother Theresa..” It realy got me thinking.. so I raise the question –> Don’t you think it’s possible that this is the point the writers are trying to get across? They are trying to get the viewers to question what it means to be truly good. How many leaders – small scale or large scale in our society – haven’t we trusted and deemed good even when some of their methods were lacking. We’ve seen ‘the greater good’ emphasized in the show quite often – even with the reference to Jeremy Bentham. Even the characters themselves have differing views on what it means to be good in the goings-on around the island. I think one of the themes of the show is to get viewers to look at this relationship between Jacob and the MIB and see how it reflects what we’ve seen in the real world.
I think this is why the most recent episodes fleshing out the characters of Jacob and the MIB have caused so many debates around the site – they are dealing with the big issues surrounding the show. Of course when it comes to good and evil there is going to be a grey area where people end up choosing different sides. It’s the exact same on the show. It boils down to whether or not we trust Jacob.. or the MIB. It’s quite clear that I’ve sided with Jacob for better or worse. I could be absolutely wrong. Tas, you’ve clearly chosen not to trust Jacob. That’s cool too. The last few episodes (hopefully) are going to be a tell-all.. and it will be interesting to learn either who’s good, who’s evil, who’s right, who’s wrong.. or whether or not we’re all completely LOST.
The way you talk about good in your last comment is my point. As soon as you start to have to weigh up people’s actions and motivations and how they benefit the greater good, but whose greater good, is when you can’t just say this person is good and this one is bad. The grey area isn’t the different sides or choosing to be good or bad, but the colour that makes up our core beings – no one is black or white. That’s why I’m saying that the writers won’t tell us who is right or wrong, partly because they want us to make up our own minds and partly because neither MIB or Jacob will be right or wrong.
I don’t distrust Jacob and trust MIB – I don’t know their story so I can’t choose a side as such, I can judge them at the moment on what they have done, and both are a bit dodgy. What they say doesn’t mean anything. I guess I think this way because I personally have been the victim of and have seen people just taking other’s words for it and they lied, so just because jacob and Dogen talk about evil incarnate, I don’t believe them because I haven’t seen the evidence of that yet. Am waiting for more info before picking a side. This is why the show is so great, there are no answers just ideas to discuss and decide for ourselves.