Except some “candidates” still exist and as long as they do, I’m guessing they’re acting collectively as stopgap Jacobs, preventing Esau’s release. Meanwhile Esau/MIB/Smocke/Legion is constrained from killing them directly, as he was with Jacob. Therefore one hypothesis is that most of his movements/plans are misdirections, designed only to maneuver potential candidates into being offed in a rules-of-the-island-approved fashion. Only when the last one is eliminated will the gates come down.
Sure it has holes in it, but what Lost theory doesn’t :D?
And in the end, he gave them back, plus. Once Job accepted Elihu’s arguments, and dropped his complaints about G-d’s apparent capriciousness, G-d had declared Job’s righteousness proven and rewarded him above what he had had before.
I don’t know if this has been discussed in previous threads this season, but we’re down to the last six candidates - and based on both the cave walls and the lighthouse, there were quite a number of other candidates who have been eliminated. So my question is, why are there candidates in the first place? did Jacob know that he was going to be killed at some point and that someone else would have to take over? Was he planning ahead, just in case? It would be interesting to know when the list of candidates was first started.
It think it started around Richard’s arrival. The whole white rock/Black Rock thing would fit. And remember the balance scales in the cave.
I think Jacob figured “if he kills me he can escape, so I’d better get working on a backup”…and since it seemed Richard was the first attempt, well, it would all fit.
Of course, if Jacob can’t be killed by Smokey, and Jacob is the one bringing people to the island, well, Jacob kind of seems to be asking for it in that case.
Can someone here please refresh my memory? Why did the Man in Black need Locke’s body (or shape or form or whatever)? except to give the actor more chances to shine that is?
By the way - I agree the actor portraying Richard did a helluva job last night
Best guess from me is that the MIB can’t leave the island because “Jacob took my body”. So, he needed another one.
Now, he’s got a body, and he’s killed Jacob, but it seems he still can’t leave. Whether he knew that or not is a big question, of course. But he seems to know it now, so he’s got another plan in motion.
That’s what I’ve assumed - Locke was crossed off, but we have six left, so we must not have seen all of the names in the cave.
I think we can assume Jarrah is out at this point.
It seems to me that Jacob brings the people in, chooses them for whatever reason he wants and lets them go. Esau either plays with them, kills them or sometimes lets them go. The people he seems to let go, at least as Smokie, are the ones who have killed someone, but are regretful that they did so.
So far I can remember Smokie looking at:
Richard, who he came back and let go.
Eko, who he almost let go but then killed.
Locke, who he did try and get but the dynamite forced him to let Locke go.
We also know that Kate has killed someone, though she had a good reason to. Sayid has killed people, some he was probably regretful about. Jack has most likely had someone die on the table and I’m sure he regrets that. Sawyer killed the guy in Australia, but almost hesitated and was torn up about it, at least for a bit.
That only leaves Hurley and Locke as people we don’t know, or I don’t remember if, they’ve killed someone. There’s also Jin, but we still don’t know, even though they said Sun last night, who threw the guy out the window.
It seems to me that Jacob wants these types of people on the island, and Esau is trying to use them to kill Jacob. Maybe Jacob wants to die, he’s been alive too long, and that’s why he’s looking for a replacement. And since MIB has seen these people will kill he’s hoping they will again.
We also know Richard BSed us last night as he told Jack a couple of weeks ago that Jacob gave him everlasting life, while it was really Richard asking for it.
I love Sayid, and I think of him as one of the few characters on this show who is bright enough to avoid drowning in three inches of water (the secret is to lift your goddamned head, KATE). However, now that he’s gone Dark Side I hope he stays there, rather than having a Reactor Shaft Moment.
I think that’s a distinction without a difference. Richard asked for it, but he didn’t have it until Jacob gave it to him.
I’m really starting to wonder if the rules of the island are very similar to how Backgammon is played.
Several of the numbers are present in the game: 4, 8, 15 (number of chips), 16, (as for 23 and 42 I’m not sure… not much of a player). And the object to win is to Bear Off all your 15 chips.
There’s also the “Jacoby” :eek: rule where: Gammons and backgammons count only as a single game if neither player has offered a double during the course of the game. This rule speeds up play by eliminating situations where a player avoids doubling so he can play on for a gammon.
So, if as has been suggested, the people being brought to the island are pawns of Jacob and Man in Black, then they are following some sort of rules, which has also been strongly written into the show. The game is also ancient, and has its roots in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Can anyone with a better knowledge of the game, draw any comparisons to the rules of the game and how Jacob and his nemesis are manipulating people as chips, as well as being bound to the rules?