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Theories about Jacob

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Theories may be removed if ...

Stated as questions or possibilities (avoid question marks, "Maybe", "I think", etc). More appropriate for another article. Illogical or previously disproven. Proven by canon source, and moved to main article. Speculative and lacking any evidence to support arguments. Responding to another theory (use discussion page instead). This does not include responses that can stand alone as its own theory. Usage of an indented bullet does not imply the statement is a response. See the Lostpedia theory policy for more details.

Contents 1 Identity 1.1 Specific characters 1.1.1 Alvar Hanso 1.1.2 Alvar Hanso's father 1.1.3 Magnus Hanso 1.1.4 John Locke 1.1.5 Walt Lloyd 1.1.6 Author of the Black Rock ledger 1.1.7 Richard Alpert 1.1.8 Enzo Valenzetti 1.1.9 Jack Shephard 1.1.10 Christian Shephard 1.1.11 Charles Widmore 1.1.12 Thomas Mittelwerk 1.2 Non-specific characters 1.2.1 The Island 1.2.2 The Monster 1.3 Other ideas 1.3.1 Origin 1.3.2 Unknowable 1.3.3 Hostage 1.3.4 Psychic Projection 1.3.5 The "Patriarch" 1.3.6 Spirit 1.3.7 Mediator 1.3.8 Prisoner 1.3.9 Wizard of Oz connection 1.3.10 Black Rock connection 1.3.11 DHARMA connection 1.3.12 Locke connection 1.4 Other theories about Jacob 1.5 "Help Me."

Identity

Specific characters

Alvar Hanso

• Pros: Founder of the Hanso Foundation, who funded the DHARMA Initiative, so possibly is idolized in some way by the Others. In addition, the screenshot of Jacob from "The Man Behind the Curtain" bears a striking resemblance to Hanso.
• Cons: In the Lost Experience, Alvar is in Norway in September 2006, and says he has been held as a prisoner in his home by Thomas Mittelwerk. Plus DHARMA and the Others are enemies.
  • But something we have learned both Official Podcasts and Season 4 is that DHARMA can use the properties of the Island to transport beings from there to other remote places, so Alvar Hanso could be held prisoner in his home and in the cabin.
• Conclusion: Alvar Hanso would seem like a reasonable candidate for "Him", but factual information from the Lost Experience does cast some doubt on the theory.

Alvar Hanso's father

• Pros: We have not yet learned the name of Alvar Hanso's father, who would also be Magnus Hanso's son. Jacob is spelled just that way in Denmark. The middle Hanso could have come searching for his father's final resting place, and part of the DHARMA Initiative's purpose on the Island was to either discover what had become of him or exploit what he found on the Island.
• Cons: The middle Hanso would probably be at least 90 years old, and yet Jacob in "The Man Behind the Curtain" appears middle-aged. It is also unlikely that a character unknown to many lost fans (those who have not taken part in the "Lost Experience") would play such an important role.
  • Yet Richard Alpert looks the same age he did when Ben was a little boy, if Richard can age slowly (or not at all) why can't the middle Hanso if he is in fact Jacob?
• Conclusion: The only strike against Alvar's father so far can be explained by the regenerative powers of the Island. The missing Hanso between Alvar and Magnus seems like a strong possibility to be Jacob, but we don't have enough information about either to say for certain.

Magnus Hanso

• Pros: Due to the regenerative powers of the Island, Magnus might have lived this long and taken on some of the stranger characteristics of the Island as a result. Jacob's house has chains hung throughout it, like the Black Rock. Also, Jacob's clothing in the screencap appears similar to that of the young Richard Alpert, and may be 19th century in style. If still alive he would be the one on the Island that J.J. Abrams hinted is over 100 years old. If dead, he could be Magnus Hanso's disembodied spirit.
• Cons: Magnus is probably dead, and his "confirmed final resting place" is a part of the blast door map. Although, the final resting place could very well be his cabin.
• Conclusion: Due to the events of "The Man Behind the Curtain", this is a possible theory to consider.

John Locke

• Pros: The test that Richard Alpert does to the young Locke in Cabin Fever is a reincarnation test. For him to travel to the mainland to test a very young child should imply that the person Locke is supposed to reincarnate is was a very important person.
• Cons: Locke has seen/hear Jacob himself. This doesn't disprove the theory though. The voice may be coming from inside his head (explaining why Ben doesn't hear it).
• Conclusion: It is an interesting possibility that hasn't been explored enough.

Walt Lloyd

• Pros: Walt has been referenced many times in relation to Jacob. Most recently, when Ben shot Locke at the DHARMA Grave, Ben asked what Jacob said to Locke. Locke said that he said "help me". The next episode, Through The Looking Glass, Walt appears to Locke and saves him. As well, we know that Walt is very special and has a unique connection with the Island. Also, Locke was friends with Walt on the Island; both of their had a special connection to the island. Finally, when Walt left the Island with Michael, the same "side effects", could have happened to Walt that happened to Desmond. This could mean that the shift in time allows Walt to be Jacob in his future, while staying in present island time.
• Cons: Walt is much younger than Jacob. Also, Walt is black and Jacob is white. As well, Walt left the island and Jacob is still on the island.
• Conclusion: Due to Walt's appearance in Through The Looking Glass, it is very possible that Walt is in fact Jacob.

Author of the Black Rock ledger

• Pros: If Magnus Hanso was the captain of the Black Rock, then perhaps Jacob was the ship's first mate. He learned the secrets of the Island, including his particular form of immortality, and recorded them in the journal which somehow made it off the Island and into the hands of pirates.

Richard Alpert

• Pros: Richard does not seem to age as evidenced by his appearances directly following Locke's birth, to Ben Linus when he was young on the island, and in the present day. It appears that he was on the island before DHARMA and had a long-established position of authority with the hostiles and with the group that ultimately became the Others. He led the purge and Ben is clearly a believer in Jacob's leadership. Richard was aware that Ben was taking Locke to the cabin, allowing ample time for Richard to get in place. Richard travels freely to and from the island, suggesting both power and potentially a supernatural ability consistent with Jacob's invisibility. His pre-purge clothing and hairstyle are consistent with the image seen in the chair. Richard recruited Juliet to the island, suggestive that he might be responsible for the list of people who belong there. Richard on two known occasions attempted to recruit Locke to the island: first when Locke was very young, but Richard determined that he was not "ready", and second when Locke was in high school and received the pamphlet about the Mittelos Science summer camp.
• Cons: First of all Richard should not need Locke's help to deal with Ben given his power in the Others' structure. Secondly, Richard often questions Ben's orders, which Ben gets from Jacob. If he Richard were Jacob, it would mean that he would be questioning his own orders.
• Conclusion: There is enough about Richard that is supernatural to make this theory plausible (but unlikely).

Enzo Valenzetti

• Pros: Enzo apparently died in a plane crash, but could have actually survived and disappeared to live on the Island. As the founder of the Valenzetti Equation, his research sparked the DHARMA Initiative itself. Valenzetti's connection to the Island's mysteries (e.g. the Numbers) seems quite profound.
• Cons: So far there's been no indication that Valenzetti has been involved with anything that has happened on the Island. In addition to this point, the plane crash he was in occurred in Europe. Rachel Blake's evidence in the Lost Experience suggested Valenzetti didn't die but is hiding, but it also implied that his hiding place is in Italy. There is no reason to believe that the leader of the Others is the man who, in essence, spawned the DHARMA Initiative through his equation.
• Conclusion: No convincing evidence that would support this theory has been presented in any episode.
  

Jack Shephard

• Pros: In "Stranger in a Strange Land", Jack is told in a flashback that he is a "great leader". Jack's name is derived from Jacob, and the fact that he "wasn't even on Jacob's list" may indicate that Jack and Jacob are one and the same. Plus, when Jacob asked Locke to help him, it could be for helping him not to get out of the island, since (future) Jack thinks he was never meant to leave the island. That would explain why Locke killed Naomi, but didn't dare to shoot Jack saying "you're not suposed to do this". Of course, the whole idea of Jack being Jacob would make sense only if we accept the idea of traveling in time as something possible. But as the video on Room 23 says when you play it backwards: "Only fools are enslaved by time and space". Also, Christian Shephard being confirmed in the cabin would be a great actor to play "Old Jack" because he is in fact Jack's father in the series.
• Cons: 'He' was presumably already known to the Others before Flight 815 crashed, so it seems unlikely that a stranger such as Jack - who Ben admitted they were trying to "break" - would be Jacob. However, it is possible that none of the others, including Ben, know Jacob's true identity. Ben's apparent reverence toward Jack may be due to his being grateful that Jack saved his life in spite of them being enemies. Jack was with Juliet when Ben and Locke met with Jacob. This, however, is inconsequential if Jacob is a future post-island Jack who has traveled back in time. Also if Jack is Jacob, he could have done Ben's operation on his spine. Jack tried to kill Locke, pointing gun at him and pulling the trigger, it seems unlikely that Jacob would kill the one person asked to "help me".
• Conclusion: Overall an unlikely candidate, since he seems to be unfamiliar to the Others. But we have to remember that the only one who claims to know Jacob is Ben, so the fact that the Others don't recognise Jack as Jacob is understandable. Plus, the idea of Jack being Jacob would suggest time travelling, so Jack would be much older, what would make him less recognizable.

Christian Shephard

• Pros: In the Bible it is said that Jacob was the first one to be called "shepherd" by God. Because Christian is the first "Shephard" out of the two we see on the show, this could be a possible hint. He also didn't appear to be in his coffin when Jack found it on the island, indicating he's not dead. Hurley saw him sitting in the cabin. Furthermore, it was confirmed in a recent Lost Podcast that Christian Shepard is among those who is classified as "undead" on the show.

• Cons: Jack confirmed Christian's death at the morgue in Sydney. If Christian was still alive then he has spent the last 3 months walking around the island without taking off his tie or jacket while wearing only one shoe. Also, Christian Shephard himself states that he is not Jacob, but can speak for him.

• Amendment: While Jack did confirm his father's death in the morgue in Sydney, it's pretty easy to explain it as being a set-up. Jack finds his father's coffin in the jungle but can't find the body. The 13th mobisode shows him to be very much alive and interacting with Vincent. It could be the black smoke again (a la yemi/mr.eko), but I don't think we can rule Christian out as not being Jacob because of the incident in the morgue in Sydney.

Charles Widmore

• Pros: Possibly member or contributor to the DHARMA Initiative, or had possesion of the Island before Ben came.
• Cons: Has been trying for a long time to find the island, while Jacob has been there the whole time.If Charles Widmore was in fact Jacob he would not have been looking for The Island he would have in fact been there the whole time. We are to believe Ben speaks to Jacob reguarly, this would almost certainly rule out any possibility of Charles being Jacob based on the conversation he and Ben shared in The Shape of Things to Come.
• Conclusion: Charles Widmore seems a very unlikey candidate for being Jacob.

Thomas Mittelwerk

• Pros: Jacob means "the supplanter". Mittelwork supplanted Alvar Hanso as head of the Hanso Foundation and on the board of the Widmore Corporation. When he turned fugitive he left a message that Hanso might have won the battle, but that's all it was, a battle. He added that humanity needed him, more than ever. He said he had the virus and the will, and that he would not fail. (The Lost Experience clues/September 26)

Non-specific characters

The Island

• Pros: Jacob is a metaphorical demon from Ben's past that the Island lets him project into the form in which Ben last saw him. The Island materializes demons that haunts its inhabitants and won't give them any peace until they redeem themselves. That is why only Ben can see Jacob, just like only Hurley could see Dave. Paralleling how Yemi was a materialization of Eko's subconscious guilt and a chance for the older brother to atone for his sins, Jacob is someone from Ben's past that he has to confront - possibly because Jacob is dead and Ben has his life on his conscience. (This plot device has been used in several science fiction novels, most prominently and memorably in Solaris by Stanislaw Lem.)
  • Has the ability to heal inhabitants (e.g. Locke, Rose), and could, as a commonly held fan theory suggests, punish survivors for their sins. The various ways the force of the island lets itself be shown are individually created as to be therapeutic to heal the emotional wounds of the inhabitants.
  • In "Through the Looking Glass", Mikhail and Ben have a conversation about Ben being told to block transmissions emanating from the island (via the Looking Glass Station). During this conversation, Ben and Mikhail talk about what the Island said and what Jacob said interchangeably.
    • Jacob is like the translator for the island. That's why Locke is important, because he also knows what the island has to say.
  • Jacob is a psychic (and occasionally physical) manifestation of The Island's power. As such, Jacob's goal is to protect The Island at all costs, and he uses Ben (and through him, The Others) and Locke to do so because they are both open to belief in the paranormal. (Ben because he has seen his dead mother; Locke because his paralysis was instantly healed upon arrival on The Island.) Because they are trying to uncover, research, and possibly exploit The Island's mysteries and secrets, Faraday's group is a threat to The Island's power, which is why Jacob is using Locke to try to thwart their efforts. For the same reasons, The Dharma Initiative was also a threat to The Island's power, which is why Jacob instructed Ben and The Others to carry out the Purge.
  • Jacob could be some sort of raw incarnation of the powers of the Island, the same powers that DHARMA is trying to use through their technology, as a sort of replacement of Jacob. That would be an explanation for the past tense conjugation in "God loves you as He loved Jacob" and his hatred for technology.
  • Jacob came to the island on the Black Rock
• Cons: The idea that the Others' leader is an inanimate piece of land seems very implausible.
• Conclusion: The Island is undoubtedly unique in a number of ways, but too many references have been to Jacob being a man rather than an abstract concept.

The Monster

• Pros: It was hinted in the Official Lost Podcast that the Monster was visible in Season 2, but perhaps wasn't noticeable. The Monster could possibly be watching the survivors and in contact with the Others. Jacob has unusual qualities as seen in "The Man Behind the Curtain".
  • There is a 'smoke/shadow' hand pushing Ben away in Jacob's cabin in "The Man Behind the Curtain" that extends from the chair that we see Jacob sitting in a split second later.
    • This makes sense, because a smoke monster has the ability to shake the house, throw objects around etc.
  • On closer viewing this is actually just Ben's arm creating a shadow against the wall.
    • Jacob has some dislike of technology and Juliet states that the Monster 'doesn't like our fences' in "Left Behind".
    • Jacob created the monster and controls it
• Cons: Evidence seems to suggest that the Monster is a "security system", perhaps mechanical, so is probably not Jacob himself.
• Conclusion: The Monster itself does not seem likely to be Jacob, but so little is known about it that it is possible it could take human form. It could also be argued that the Monster is controlled by this mysterious individual.

Other ideas

Origin

• Jacob like Desmond was exposed to magnetic energy but was exposed to a much larger amount. Unlike Desmond whose mind was dislodged from time, Jacob's whole body became disorientated in time. Jacob's condition could be the results of direct exposure to the full force of the energies Dharma was attempting to manipulate in the Swan Station. The origin of this energy could very well be volcanic which if true would give greater meaning to the gray ash material surrounding Jacob's cabin. During the commentary for Man Behind the Curtain, producer Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse remarked that the Volcano would be of great importance in the future.

Unknowable

• Nobody knows who Jacob really is, not even Ben. When Locke tells Sawyer who he was taking his orders from in Confirmed Dead, he says he was taking them from Walt. When Ben tells his people who he was taking his orders from, he says Jacob {The Man Behind the Curtain. In Jacob Ben sees someone who is familiar to The Others similarly to how Locke sees someone who is familiar to the Losties as Walt.

---

Jacob is a character that we haven't seen before! The picture looks very much like Dennis Hopper! So, can it be a new character played by Dennis Hopper?

Hostage

• He is Ben's hostage, Jacob is the leader of a group of other inhabitants (who's existence is hinted in Access:granted) and was captured by one of the hostiles/others who tricked the rest of the hostiles/others into believing Jacob is their leader when really he isn't, he is the leader of the other inhabitants. The others/hostiles and the other inhabitants are opposing factions dating back to when the hostiles mysteriously came to the island. When the hostiles/others came to the island they found a group of other inhabitants who had already been living there for a long time, these inhabitants are responsible for the four toed statue and the pillar Anthony Cooper was tied to etc. When the hostiles came their leader met up with Jacob to settle the dispute but when Jacob was unwilling to co-operate the leader of the hostiles ordered the hostiles to ransack their living area/village/town/etc and kidnapped Jacob. Jacob has been held hostage there ever since and even Ben has been fooled into thinking Jacob is their leader. This explains why Jacob asked John Locke to "help [him]". Jacob's list is the list of people who are descendants of the inhabitants who bred with the hostiles and once the hostile found means of getting back to mainland gave birth to them. The pregnancy problem was avoided due to them having Jacob cure them because the babies were of his people's blood. Jacob is helping the Losties by showing them visions that give them clues and aide and warnings so that they can stop the hostiles and free him. The leader of the hostiles could be Richard Alpert or even some minor like Ethan who hasn't had his backstory explained.

Psychic Projection

• Jacob fears technology because he is familiar with The Valenzetti Equation. Given that nuclear proliferation, artificial intelligence, industrially influenced climate change, and other things can all be seen as significant threats to human life, Jacob could have sworn off all technological advancement in hope of changing the Numbers.
  • This could also serve as an explanation for Jacob's superhuman abilities. Jacob transcended into something greater than human when he rejected some or all facets of life that were leading to mankind's inevitable destruction.
• Jacob can project himself so that the apparitions of Yemi, Christian, the horse etc are Jacob taking the form of what he sees when he look into someone's subconscious. He can take the form of any person or animal (such as Kate's horse or Sawyer's boar).
  • Walt has the same abilities as Jacob to project himself to other places and to appear as he wishes to (taller, more mature). This is implied by Ms. Klugh when she asked Michael if Walt had appeared somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. This theory assumes that it really was Walt and no one else that chose to show himself to Locke and Shannon, while Jacob, or anyone or anything else capable of psychic projection, was either unaware of these events or completely passive.
    • Another possibility is that when something mysterious has happened with Walt it has always been Jacob's doing. When Shannon and Locke have been in desperate need of help Jacob let them project their inner vision of Walt as a moral and spiritual guide. If the actions displayed by the projection are controlled by Jacob it would in the case of Locke have been Jacob who told him he had work to do.
      • Alternately, it could be that Jacob helps people that are in distress to see ways to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. He does so by making crucial memories in their sub-conscious resurface and reappear in the present for a limited time. These memories manifest themselves through psychic projections that are real and concrete. These projections ultimately give a new and higher meaning to what the individual that sees them set out to do. In that sense, both Locke's and Shannon's projection of Walt are to be seen as a physical embodiment of his and her faith that good will prevail over evil. In both cases they trust the message in the vision they're having because it blurs the distinction between a lucid waking dream and reality. And because they do so, they both continue the mission they set out on with a reassured conviction that it is worth the sacrifice of risking their life for.
• Jacob is a psychical manifestation of Ben's split personality. Ben, even if he did believe he was looking at Jacob in the chair, was still acting strange, some might say crazy. Ben has a violent split personality caused by a somewhat troubled childhood and the voice saying "Help me" was Ben's other personality Jacob. His split personality Jacob is an extremely powerful and malevolent being that Ben has conjured up to guide him, and because he genuinely believes this person exists he has convinced everyone else that Jacob exists too. Ben however also has some psychic powers like Walt (perhaps amplified by the island) which Jacob sometimes manifests as himself when Ben loses control. In short Ben is actually both psychic and insane.

The "Patriarch"

• Pros: Jacob is the "grandfather" of many of the Lost castaways. It will be discovered that Jacob is actually the father of many of the main characters: Christian Shepherd and The original Sawyer are the two most obvious, perhaps also Boone and Shannon's parent [making him grandfather to 6 right there... Jack, Claire, Locke, and Sawyer, Boone, Shannon]. It will be discovered that some of the other castaway parents were also descended from Jacob as well. A major theme of the show has been surrounding the parent issues and the connections between the characters. The parents of these castaways all seem to have secrets they are keeping. Their children are involved in some sort of complex experiment, originating on the Island many years ago (real time, not island time).
  • This theory is plausible, as the producers have stated that Jacob was given his name for a reason. In the Bible, Jacob is best known as a Patriarch of the nation of Israel. Son of Abraham, and father to the 12 tribes. Could there be a significance to the number 12? Could he actually be father (or grandfather) to 12 different characters that we have either met or will meet from the island? This is all some part of the grand plan, and it will not be revealed until a later season.
  • I had thought that in the Bible, Jacob is the great great grandfather of Aaron. Another indication of some type of lineage between Jacob and our main cast(aways). The lineage proposed here would be.... Jacob, ?????, Shepard, Claire, Aaron. I am not a biblical scholar though, so I may be wrong in asserting this. I only asked someone I know who follows the Bible, and did not conduct this research myself.
• On a further note about "Patriarchs"...John Locke's (the philosopher and economist in RealLife) Treatises on Government directly oppose the patriarchal justification for lineage in societal leadership. Back in the day, rulers claimed to be descendant of Adam thus they were divinely entitled to leadership positions. It was the point of Locke that this is NOT the case.
  • This might not be a Jacob theory though, and perhaps needs to find a nicer spot to live.

OR

• Jacob is Jacob the Biblical Patriarch without parenting the Lost Characters.

Spirit

• Jacob is a disembodied spirit seeking a body to inhabit - hence The Others interest in pregnant women and babies.
• Jacob is no longer alive. His consciousness is present on the Island though, it manifests itself as a whisper.
• Jacob was alive up until some time around Ben meeting Richard. They needed Ben because, once Jacob died, the Others needed him to communicate with Jacob for them.
• Jacob's invisibility is somehow tied into the mysterious whispers being heard out in the jungle. He may not be the only invisible entity on the Island.

Mediator

• Jacob is a mediator between the Others and Naomi's people (Possibly DHARMA). The orders he gives to the Others (Such as the List) are in fact orders from DHARMA, who are trying to get back on the Island, but are somehow prevented.

Prisoner

• Jacob is a prisoner by not being allowed to advance in time or age due to Gerald and Karen DeGroot's solving of the Valenzetti Equation for DHARMA. Read up on the roots of The Valenzetti Equation or The DHARMA Initiative. Basically, DHARMA captured him as the person responsible for their predicted "end of the world" scenario from which DHARMA's goals started. Considering nuclear technology and biological warfare as of 2007, this could be a likely scenario as to who Jacob is, a prisoner or the man who would have ended the world.
• Ben is keeping Jacob "prisoner" and he does this with the mysterious ash-like substance surrounding Jacob's house. This also suggests why Ben was very reluctant to take Locke to see him. Jacob can somehow selectively talk to individuals, hence he was able to talk to Locke without Ben being able to hear. He can talk to people telepathically. Hence, realizing Locke was a good person, asked him for help.
  • Alternately Jacob could be a willing prisoner, and the ash doesn't keep him in, instead it keeps something else out. Ben is helping Jacob but is taking his time out of fear of becoming useless to the Others.

Wizard of Oz connection

• The title of the episode "The Man Behind the Curtain" seems to make reference to the Wizard of Oz. Ben could be the man behind the curtain, using the idea of Jacob to control The Others and remain in power, just as the wizard does to the people of Emerald City.
  • He is a healer -- and considering the line of Wizard of Oz references, it would be easy for a skilled and charismatic surgeon to convince people in need of leadership that he is a mystical healer.

Black Rock connection

• Jacob is a member of the crew of the Black Rock, possibly the captain. His clothing appears to be of that era. This could also explain his aversion to technology.

DHARMA connection

• Jacob's non-corporeal state was caused by DHARMA's incident, hence his hatred of technology.
• Jacob is the main reason why the DHARMA group was on the Island. When key members of DHARMA (Richard) realized what was being experimented on they broke away and became the hostiles. Richard or Ben figured out how to "trap" Jacob in a magic ring of gunpowder.
• Jacob could be the child seen in the orientation video: the one moving objects with his mind. He was "plugged in" to test his abilities, but because of the purge he was "stuck" wherever he was "plugged in" as the ones who knew of him had died. He brings to the island those that he deems fit enough to rescue him and help him.
• The biblical Jacob found a way to become rich after having to flee to what is only stated as a foreign land, he did this by finding a way to make his flocks reproduce more quickly and by making them much stronger than normal livestock, could this have been a start of an ancient Dharama? or could this be the secret Dharma are seeking?

Locke connection

• Jacob is John Locke's real father. Locke is special according to his mother and the rest of the others. Locke was "immaculately conceived" according to his mother. We are led to believe Locke's mother must be crazy since she spent time in a mental hospital, but in reality she is telling the truth, and she was lying when she later said that Cooper had put her up to it.
  • On the contrary, John Locke's con-man father needed him for a kidney because he was a genetic match.
  • The Immaculate Conception is St. Mary. She conceived without sin, not necessarily without an earthly father. Locke's mother was confused, as many are about this idea. The Immaculate Conception does not refer to being conceived without a father present.

Other theories about Jacob

• Jacob may control the Island's fate. As the Island seems to be closely intertwined with Greek mythology, 3 beings called the Fates controlled the destiny of the world. Jacob may be something akin to that.
• Ben controlled Jacob and contained his power some what, but not Jacob's ability to observe the island and (possibly) the power to see the future. When the fail safe went off, he had a few seconds of his power back, during which he gave Desmond his visions. Once the connection was established, it stayed even though Ben continued to control him afterward. He used the first three visions of Charlie's death to observe how he would act. Every time he saved Charlie. He then tested Desmond's intellect by showing him two contradictory visions (Charlie dying, then Charlie helping catch Naomi). Instead he found the Desmond thought that he needed to let Charlie die for the last vision to come true, revealing both a lack of observation and a need to save Charlie every time. Finally Jacob gave Desmond a false vision of Charlie underwater and turning off the jamming device, believing that Desmond would take his place and end up in the Looking Glass but instead Charlie knocked Desmond out to go himself. He was never going to die in that vision.
  • Jacob either knew that it would be Charlie that went down to the Looking Glass or he wasn't concerned who in particular went (although he most likely used the idea of Claire escaping to make Charlie want to do it). The important thing was that someone went down there to try and switch the device off as Jacob needs that to happen in order to be released.
• Jacob is part of 3 dimensions, the 3rd 4th and the 5th, meaning he can manifest himself within the first 2 dimensions of space time, but is not necessarily constrained by the limits they present. The character Mr Mxy exists in the DC comics universe and is very similar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Mxyzptlk). He performs tricks such as making superman believe something is there which it is not (a possible allude to the monster), and create or destroy things on earth simply by thinking about it (hence Jacob, like mxy, could become invisible or say, set fire to a table).
• The red liquid in the jars seen in Jacobs house is blood! The blood is Jacob's, and it was used in a transfusion to fight the cancer in the body of Juliet's sister. This is how Ben was able to keep his promise to Juliet; that he would cure her sister's cancer. The blood is also the basis for the serum Juliet is using on the pregnant women who live on the island.
• Jacob hates technology because becoming dependent on technology makes you less dependent on the island, and less in tune with the powers he derives from living there. This is why Ben got sick, and why, conversely, John Locke seems to recover from his paralysis, gunshot wound and other injuries.
• Jacob is actually a few of the characters we've already met, such as Richard. This possibly will be revealed later to Locke.

"Help Me."

• In "The Man Behind The Curtain," Jacob says "Help me" to Locke because he no longer trusts Ben. This is why Jacob causes the cabin to shake and crash just as Locke is about to repeat the message to Ben. Jacob clearly does not want Ben to know that he has asked for Locke's help.
• Jacob keeps Locke from telling Ben the details of his plea for help because he (Jacob) is subservient to The Island and The Island has decided that Ben is no longer useful and therefore not to be trusted anymore. This is why Ben developed a spinal tumor and it wasn't healed by The Island's powers: The Island wants Ben out of the picture.
  • The Island didn't intend for Flight 815 to crash on it; the plane crashed because Desmond didn't enter the code in time. One of the passengers (Jack) being a talented spinal surgeon with the power to cure Ben was just a lucky coincidence for Ben.
    • It has always been Jacob's intention for 815 to crash on The Island, he steered Locke's life to prepare him for the work he has to do to help Jacob (losing the kidney to save his life, paralyzing him to make him realize he'd come to special place, learning survival techniques, his interest in spiritualism (Sweat lodges, meditation etc.)).
      • In So It Begins Jacob already appears to Vincent as Christian Shepherd with the Losties being on the island a matter of minutes showing that he knew exactly who was coming.
        • If it were Jacob, he would have no legitimate reason to appear as Christian Shepherd to a dog that has never met him.
• Jacob says "Help me" to Locke because, when he meets him, he senses that Locke is stronger than Ben, both in faith and other abilities. We know that Locke is extremely skilled in knife throwing, tracking, and butchering. After being betrayed repeatedly during his life before his arrival on The Island, Locke has become loyal only to himself; Ben demonstrates a similar sense of loyalty. (After the immediate reversal of his paralysis when he awakens from the crash, Locke becomes fiercely loyal to what he calls "the well-being of The Island" and stops at nothing to protect it. ("Eggtown")) Locke is also well-read, cunning, and intelligent (like Ben). Jacob wants Locke to replace Ben simply because Locke is a better version of Ben.
• Jacob says "Help me" to Locke because he knows Faraday's group is coming and they are a threat to him and/or The Island. He chooses to ask for Locke's help instead of Ben's because he knows Ben will be imprisoned by the survivors of flight 815 and unable to do anything whereas Locke is a member of the survivors' group and not perceived as a threat. By using an insider, Jacob has more control over the actions of the survivors of flight 815.
  • Jacob has used this same strategy before, when he used Ben as his insider within the Dharma group before the Purge.
• Jacob tells Locke "Help me" because Jacob is being held prisoner by Ben. Ben has figured out some way to keep Jacob in the cabin and away from The Others, so that he himself is the only one who can communicate with him. This ensures Ben's position as leader of The Others.
  • The circle of ash around Jacob's cabin are preventing Jacob from leaving the cabin.
  • The Others are unaware of this, and follow Ben because they think Jacob has chosen him and will only speak to Ben.