Child, Jacob, MIB – What to make of this new triumverate…

Written 16th February

I’ve been waiting for some sort of an appearance by a higher power since we were finally shown the two “players” of the “game” in the Incident. If there are rules, then there must be a higher echelon who holds sway over those rules. I think this child represents that higher power. It doesn’t need to have a religious connotation, the kid doesn’t need to be God, and Jacob and MIB don’t need to be Jesus and the Devil. I think we’re seeing a unique vision of the “powers that be” of the universe, dreamt up by the genius team of Damon and Carlton. No matter who you choose to pray to, I think the mysterious triumverate of the island represents the true form of the order of things, and any form of religion is humanity’s attempt to try to understand the universe and an attempt to plug figures into roles that our ancient ancestors thought best represented the innate conflict of the human soul. Good/evil, faith/logic, morality/temptation – every human feels the push and pull residing within, and it can’t be explained how such dualities were coded into our inner minds, into our souls.

Here’s one interesting hypothesis. I don’t care if its right or wrong, but it’s fun to come up with some sort of overarching theory just based on tonight’s awesome episode alone. The child, a manifestation of the supreme architect of the universe, has his eye on earth. Earth is an “Island” within the greater universe, our beloved island but on a much grander scale. In similar fashion to how some people draw parallels between the island and the moving cabin, on a much smaller scale. Perhaps we are not alone in the universe, perhaps there are other worlds we are unaware of, perhaps those other worlds are the infinite number of multiverse slices, under many worlds theory. The child/GOD observes Earth, in the world our losties have occupied for 5 seasons, watches the human race grow and develop after billions of years. He is displeased with the destructive nature of the human soul, and maybe that tendency toward self-destruction is shared by all worlds within the universe, whether that means across space or across the multiverse. He places a special island on earth. Its purpose? To reveal the true nature of man, to determine whether humanity is worth even having around, or whether the book of creation will need to be rewritten, starting from scratch to eliminate the innate flaws of mankind (i.e. Noah’s flood anyone?). Situations have undoubtedly been presented in connection with this special place, situations that allow opportunity for redemption, specific to every one of our losties. The Being places two “judges” on the island, a TEAM of two souls, whose job it is to prove that man is worth saving. They test man’s ability to correct his own flaws (Jack’s need to save, Locke’s blind gullibility, Ben’s immoral manipulation, Sayid’s murderous ways, etc.), to find redemption. Over time, much much time (after all, what’s a few thousand years to a being that has been around since the big bang), MIB sees the endeavor as fruitless and that man never changes his ways and he wants to be shed of this job and be at rest, while his friend and partner in assignment Jacob holds true to the call of the divine assignment. Jacob brings people to the island to continue to search for proof that man is worth saving, that man can be redeemed upon his own free will. The longevity of the assignment eventually polarizes MIB and Jacob from two old friends, to two weary adversaries, to black and white. MIB represents the logical opinion that if their guinea pigs haven’t by now redeemed the flaws of their character, then they never will. The island experiment should be destroyed along with humanity, the island earth should be wiped off the slate of the universe, the MIB can end his servitude and be at peace in the afterlife. Jacob represents continued faith in the strength of the human spirit, that man can change his ways, and that self-destruction is not the inevitable outcome. Every group that comes to the island represents humanity coming closer and closer to finding redemption and avoiding annihilation at the hands of the creator (child). The candidacy refers to Jacob’s need to find a replacement to continue his quest after his death at the hand of MIB’s loophole, as he knew this was an inevitability. Neither “old friend” has proven their desired outcome in the eyes of the creator, and the creator has all the time in the world to wait for an “end.” Any time we perceive is a mere blink of an eye in the grand architecture of the universe.

That theory could be wicked far off base, but I’d definitely watch a show that addresses such heady mythological stuff any day.

ps – That whole anti-religious thing could be for nought. We may be seeing the holy triumverate itself. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Child, Jacob, and MIB (smokey/spirit/tongue of fire connection anyone?).