SPOILER ALERT – Lost Season 6 “What They Died For”

My Disproved Theory


Well, it looks like “What They Died For” disproved my big Lost prediction. Hurley is not the new Jacob, Jack is. However, in my defense, Jack was my second choice and/or guess, as I explicitly stated despite my certainty that it would be Hurley. I've also spoken of Jack in ways suggestive of his potential Jacob-ness. For example, I’ve spoken less explicitly of how Jack and Hurley both grew to form more well-rounded characters, and about how both Jack and Hurley have leader-like and kingly names. I was correct in that I did state that Sawyer would not be the new Jacob. He once again demonstrated his lack of Jacob-ness when he solipsisticly accused Jacob of ruining his life, with no mention of his friends’ lives. Of course, it’s possible that Sawyer simply doesn’t feel he should speak for other people, but I doubt that those were his thoughts. Clearly, I’m still angry with Sawyer for letting Fake John Locke’s little plan to kill the candidates happen, and thereby killing the Kwons, Sayid, and Lapidus. By the way, the aftermath of that scenario also demonstrates the Jacobliness of Jack and not-so-Jacobliness of Sawyer; Jack reassured Sawyer that he was not at fault for killing their friends, however, Sawyer had no problem in the beginning of this season putting all the blame for Juliet’s death on Jack and wanting to kill him for it.

Getting back to my disproved theory, in my defense, I believe that if no one else had accepted the job of Protector of the Light, Hurley would have, for all the reasons that I thought he would be the next Jacob, and also because he seemed rather relieved when Jack accepted the job. I would have thought Kate would have taken the job if she didn’t have Aaron to care for, for she is also inherently Good and has strong morals. I wouldn’t have thought of her motherhood as a non-Jacobly attribute before Jacob explained that her motherhood was the reason that he crossed her name off the list Beyond Hurley and Jack, I really couldn’t decide who the next best choice in Jacobs would be between Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, and the Kwons (before the latter three died in “The Candidate”). By the way, I was also wrong regarding Kate’s crossed off name, in that I thought perhaps Fake John Locke, rather than Jacob, did it; but as I just said, Jacob did do it.

Despite my disproved prediction, I believe Jack will make a good Jacob, and I think it will be good for him as well. As Jacob stated, the candidates needed the Island as much as the Island needed them, and that is very much the case for Jack. Being the new Jacob will give Jack the purpose he needs, the purpose he couldn’t find in the real world. Jack will be a good Jacob, because he genuinely cares about people, he has strong morals, he is a natural leader, and he has quite a brain. He has learned to let go of his stubbornness, and has supplemented his scientific beliefs with the ability to have faith. He is flexible, and is no longer weighed down with stubbornness like certain Sawyers. Speaking of Sawyer, Jack is forgiving and empathetic. Jack Shephard, the man of science who had to learn to have faith, became a divine entity similar to G-d. He was in search of purpose, and he attained the greatest purpose – a purpose that, in the end, he chose.

The Smoke Monster: Pure Evil or Misunderstood Monster

I previously wondered how the evil Smoke Monster could be the being that inhabited Christian Shephard’s corpse, since he seemed to be helpful. However, as I discussed in a previous blog posting, nothing is purely evil, and so, perhaps there is some Good, even in The Smoke Monster. Alternatively, Fake Christian Shephard could have also been using the people he was helping for his own purposes. Either way, it is clear that he helped Real John Locke with the Wheel at least partially because he built that Wheel, and perhaps also because he does not want people to be trapped there as he is.

There seems to be some confusion regarding The Smoke Monster’s desires and intentions. Jacob has believed from early on that Man in Black and The Smoke Monster want the Light in the greedy ways that Jacob must protect it from. However, it seems like Man in Black/The Smoke Monster aren’t very interested in the Light per se. Man in Black used it to build the Wheel in hopes of leaving the Island that held him captive since he was born. All he’s ever wanted, since he was a young boy staring into the ocean, was to leave the Island. Now, not only does he want to leave the Island, but he also wants to destroy it, which is understandable; of course he would want to destroy the place that imprisoned him for so long. While, like most monsters, The Smoke Monster is misunderstood, he is also evil – let’s not forget that. Even as Man in Black, when he was Good, he had no problem using people as a means to an end, and he continues to do that now with the added evil-ness of having no problem killing anyone who is not useful to him or who stands in his way. The Smoke Monster/Man in Black truly fits well with the pseudonym of the body he is inhabiting (i.e. Jeremy Bentham).

Destiny Directed by Desmond

I was wrong about Desmond in the New Reality/Flash-Sideways. He was not seeking vengeance on Real New Reality John Locke for what Fake John Locke did in the reality we’re familiar with as I previously suggested. While beating the crap out of New Reality Ben, he explains that he is trying to help Locke "let go." In other words, Desmond was simply continuing his mission to help his fellow Oceanic 815-ers find their fate, albeit in a very violent way.

Desmond’s crazy wheelchair-hitting and Ben-beating activities were part of his plans in that after committing these terrible helpful crimes, he turned himself in to the Sawyer and Miles containing LAPD where he was incarcerated with Kate and Sayid, whom he set free and sent on their way to their destinies with the help of Ana Lucia and Hurley. Desmond and Hurley have teamed up to help their friends from another life. It seems as though they have both had more memories of that life, since Hurley recognized Ana Lucia, whom he had not met before in the New Reality.

Desmond's crazy actions and instructions to “Let go” got New Reality John Locke to do just that, and allow Jack to try to fix him so that he might walk again. Of course, Locke and Jack had their standard Fate v. Coincidence argument before Locke stated his fate-driven desire.

A Little Epiphany

I just realized that all the Jack v. Real Locke arguments were foreshadowing the final fight that will likely ensue in the Finale; since Jack is the new Jacob, Jacob v. Smoke Monster has become Jack v. Fake John Locke.

A Bit of Confusion

I wonder who helped Desmond escape from the well. It’s unlikely (though possible) that Sayid did it, since he told Jack he was still in the well before he sacrificed himself. It’s also not likely (though possible) that it was Jack, Hurley, Kate, and/or Sawyer, because (unless I missed something) I don’t believe they found the well yet, and Desmond is not present for the Jacob-ification of Jack. It’s very unlikely (though possible) that it was Fake John Locke or Ben since both seemed surprised that Desmond wasn’t there. Perhaps it was Widmore, Zoe, or one of his other workers.

The Kwons’ Purpose

I think it’s clear that the penultimate episode of Lost is called “What They Died For” because we now see what the purpose is of the deaths of Jin and Sun (as well as the other characters who died) – that is, the purpose according to the Island. Their deaths further fueled the remaining candidates’ intentions of killing Fake John Locke/The Smoke Monster by adding pure vengeance to their motivations. Perhaps that was Sun’s and Jin’s purpose from the beginning, and perhaps that was also why they were separated for so long. Their separation made it clear to each of them that they could not live without the other, which was the reason they died together.

I had previously wondered (thought I don’t believe I wrote about it) if Jin was the Kwon candidate since he landed in the 1970s with the other candidates while Sun landed in present time. However, I partially believed before and now I more strongly believe that “Kwon” represented both Kwons as a unified whole since they are soul mates. I believe they were separated not because of lack of specialness of either, but because they needed to know that he is the yin to her yang, and that their individual specialness was augmented in their union.

Vengeance

Vengeance seems to play a rather large role in Lost. As I discussed above, The Smoke Monster killed Jacob as revenge for Jacob turning him into The Smoke Monster, and as I discussed previously Jacob and his family were all involved in vengeance. The vengeance the remaining characters are seeking against Fake John Locke is only one example of vengeance in “What They Died For.” Ben seems to be seeking vengeance against Widmore. I don’t believe he is helping Fake John Locke for the power that he promises; I believe he is doing it to finally seek vengeance on Widmore for killing his daughter. And vengeance he surely sought; Ben did not lead Fake John Locke to Widmore so that Fake John Locke/The Smoke Monster could kill him. Rather, Ben killed Widmore himself after Fake John Locke got the information he needed from Widmore. I thought it was rather funny in an ironic way that Widmore, the man who named Real John Locke after Jeremy Bentham, a utilitarian philosopher who believed only useful things are good, was killed after he finished serving his purpose as far as the very Benthamian Fake John Locke was concerned. Additionally, as Fake John Locke killed Zoe, he explained that Widmore caused her death by rendering her useless to Fake John Locke when he told her not to tell Fake John Locke anything.

Ben’s Intentions

In addition to his vengeance seeking, Ben has returned to his creepy, evil ways. Michael Emerson explained on The View that it is survival; Ben would surely be killed by Fake John Locke/The Smoke Monster if he didn’t cooperate. After all, it looks like Fake John Locke/The Smoke Monster might have killed the immortal Richard, which doesn’t make sense, since Richard can never die, so perhaps he is still alive.

Since I still believe there is Good in Ben’s soul, I can’t help but think that perhaps he is simply pretending to be going along with Fake John Locke/The Smoke Monster. The only person he has killed for him thus far was Widmore, and he’s been wanting to do that since Widmore caused the death of Alex. Furthermore, I really don’t think Ben was truly interested in the power Fake Locke promised him. If he was, I imagine that must have changed when Fake John Locke told him he could have the island all to himself, but then proceeded to state that he wants to destroy the island.

It’s clear that Ben was destined to be beaten by Desmond, and to be Alex’s father or father figure, since both things happened in the New Reality/Flash-Sideways. Perhaps Ben and Danielle will get married and Ben will once again, adopt Alex. It was cute how Alex jocularly said she and her mother would kidnap Ben if he didn’t accept their invitation; apparently, some form of kidnapping was also in Ben’s destiny.

Jacob’s Views

I was correct in my explanation of why Jacob is such a huge fan of free will. He confirmed that he feels people should have a choice because he didn’t have a choice when the role of Protector of the Light was thrust upon him. Jacob also confirmed the correctness of my explanation for why Man in Black/The Smoke Monster was so eager to kill Jacob; Jacob explained that Man in Black has wanted to kill him ever since Jacob threw him into the Light and turned him into The Smoke Monster.

It’s interesting to think about the differences between Jacob and his adoptive mother whom I’ve been calling Previous Jacob Lady, aside from the distinction of free will (if Previous Jacob Lady believes in free will, she is not overly concerned with its importance as Jacob is). It’s clear that the differences between Jacob and Previous Jacob Lady stem from their differing worldviews. Jacob believes people are ultimately good, while Previous Jacob Lady believes people are destructive. Thus, in this regard, Jacob v. Previous Jacob Lady = Jacob v. Man in Black. Previous Jacob Lady chose, as her replacement, people born on the Island and raised by her, to ensure their purity and loyalty. Jacob, however, selected as his potential replacement unattached, unhappy, deeply flawed people living in the world with no purpose, so that he could give them purpose and make their lives better. Jacob’s selections have already lived across the sea – they already know what lies beyond the oceans; they have already been there and done that. Previous Jacob Lady’s potential replacements knew not of what, if anything, existed across the sea, and the curiosity of one (Man in Black) has plagued him with the unyielding need to venture off the Island. Previous Jacob Lady preferred to keep her replacements educated in only what she felt was necessary to protect the Light, while Jacob understood that such a restricted education and such restricted lives result in restricted people who might feel trapped and thereby cannot protect the Light. Jacob is a better Jacob than Previous Jacob Lady was; perhaps Jack will be an even better Jacob, for he will have learned from Jacob’s mistakes as Jacob learned from his mother’s mistakes.