The candidate isn’t there to replace Jacob.
This is just a quick thought of mine. I don’t necessarily believe what im writing because i am of the opionion that everyone in Lost is in some form or another lying so i don’t really know what’s going on anymore.
ANYWAY, according to Jacob, the candidates are there to replace him and therefore to keep MIB trapped on the Island. i don’t think that this is true for a few reasons. firstly, who was protecting the Island when Jacob was off it seeing Hurley, Jack, Kate etc? Also, i think Jacob would have got someone in place well before MIB indirectly killed him, if keeping MIB trapped was his main priority.
I don’t think its about keeping MIB trapped, i think it’s about proving him wrong (as Jacob stated in the S5 finale). This is what i believe the candidate’s purposes is; to show that even against all the odds, man can remain uncorruptable. Unlike how Claire and Sayid have been tricked by false promises, the Candidate will be the one who will be offered everything but refuses it.
For example, Kate might die (Jack’s main love in Lost) and MIB may offer him things like being reunited with her and a second chance with his father for which Jack will turn down this offer.
IDK, this is just a wild theory on my part written quickly just off the top of my head.
I know you’re not fully invested in this to begin with, but I’d like to add some things anyway.
I completely agree that the candidate’s purpose isn’t to watch over Smokie and protect the world (probably because I don’t trust Jacob). Aside from the reasons you’ve listed, this would be an extremely anticlimactic ending to the show anyway. This would mean that more island drama would simply continue for another century or two, only under the watch of Jack (or whoever) instead of Jacob.
About the “proving MIB wrong” thing that everyone still believes….I still don’t buy it.
I don’t get how everything we’ve witnessed in this show from the beginning has all been a result from a simple argument about how good or bad a human can be. I’m not saying the end of the show wont end in a manner where someone does an extremely “good” or “bad” act. I’m saying that I highly doubt MIB and Jacob really care about showing each other how humans can behave.
Jacob and MIB know how people are by now, they’ve been around for quite a while from we can gather. They talked about humans as if we were inferior beings while they were on the beach looking out at the ship.
Actually, I’m not buying into anything right now, much like yourself. As you said, everyone’s untrustworthy.
We have to ask ourselves. Did the writers suddenly make everyone untrustworthy simply to keep us all guessing until the end? Or did they make everyone a liar for a reason within the plot? I sure as hell hope it’s the latter. If we’ve been getting thrown in eight trillion different directions for no reason when the end comes, there’s gonna be a LOT of unhappy people. I doubt the writers want to put a bad taste in everyone’s mouth when it’s too late to fix it. On the other hand, it wouldn’t be “Lost” if we weren’t lost after a finale.
I’ve always believed Lost is a journey for at least one of the major characters. In the end, something will be resoloved for one/all of them … not necessarily happy – just an internal resolution/acceptance/maturity.
Could be Hurley in the nuthatch, or all of them w/their mommy/daddy/dead issues … but something, with the show being the path through that resolution.
That, or someone on mushrooms or some other psychodelic.
thanks for the comments Chief. the only reason i focused on Jacob proving MIB wrong is because that was relating a conversation they had just between themselves. I don’t think they’d be lying to each other, they were talking honestly (i reckon).
It’s probably more the result of proving MIB wrong that will be the major event. Maybe its something like MIB believes that he can corrupt anybody so he knows eventually he’ll leave the Island. When he finds someone that he can’t manipulate, this person will have the capability to destroy whatever he is.
Once again i’m just wildly guessing here.