A new theory on Jacob and MiB
Cross-posted to lost_theories:
I may be abandoning my Cain and Abel theory. I've been mulling over Smokey's words last night about Jacob having stolen his body ans his humanity. And I've been wondering... what if at one time, Jacob and Smokey were the same being? Maybe that's why we've never learned Smokey's name - maybe his name is Jacob.
The Jacob we met in "Ab Aeterno" was very different from the Jacob we had met before. He was violent and aggressive, and seemed genuinely surprised that Smokey had tried to kill him (maybe a hint that their conversation in "The Incident" actually hadn't happened yet?). So here's a crackpot theory for which my Googling has failed to find me any basis in mythology or literature, though I know I've read the idea somewhere and now it's driving me crazy:
Jacob ripped out a part of his soul.
Jacob, whoever he may have been, underwent some manner of epiphany (maybe similar to Richard's last night), and became disgusted with the potential for malice present in all of us. But instead of reconciling with his imperfection, he found a way to remove it from himself, and ripped out all the parts he found unworthy. But then he got something he didn't count on - an adversary. Those parts of himself that he rejected formed themselves into a being that would oppose and disdain him. A being that would ultimately punish his arrogance. A being devoid of true empathy but possessed of a talent for deception, with no value for life, with only revenge and self-actualization as goals. A being with half a soul. (Maybe this ties into Sayid's soulless thousand-yard stare - "infection" shuts down those pieces of you that Jacob kept for himself.)
And so we meet Jacob, reeling from what he's done and not yet accustomed to his new situation, and confronted with an assassin sent by what's become of his former self. Now I know what you'll say: if he carved out his cruelty, etc., how could he beat the crap out of poor Richard like that? Because he failed.
Ultimately we can't remove what makes us imperfect. Greek mythology is heavy on the concept of hubris and the punishment thereof. Maybe Jacob did an incredibly arrogant thing and thereby gave birth to his own punishment - a being made up of all he hated about himself which he must now guard and imprison for all time.
I know. That's probably crazy. So here's an alternate version: maybe they were twins.
The Yoruba in Africa (found predominantly in Nigeria - paging Mr. Eko) have a belief that twins share a soul. If one twin dies, a model is carved and is to be treated as though it were a living child, especially by the mother. Darth Mocke told us last week that his mother was crazy. Is it possible he feels that way because after he was robbed of his corporeal form, his mother set to worshipping an idol (or idea) of him while neglecting the true form he had taken?
Egyptian mythology has a few sets of note-worthy twins: Geb and Nut, twins who formed the earth and sky, birthed a few sets of twins, including Set and Osiris:
Osiris, by different accounts, was either the son of Re-Atum or Geb, and king of Egypt. His brother Set represented evil in the universe. He murdered Osiris and himself became the king. After killing Osiris, Set tore his body into pieces, but Isis rescued most of the pieces for burial beneath the temple. Set made himself king, but was challenged by Osiris's son - Horus. Set lost and was sent to the desert. He became the god of terrible storms. Osiris was mummified by Isis and became god of the dead. Horus became the king and from him descended the pharaohs. They were worshiped by all!
There's a lot of argument over whether Jacob is really the "good guy" in this scenario. My first crazy theory up there wouldn't suggest that he is, and if we go by the Set/Osiris myth I don't think it looks good for Jacob either. If we can believe Smokey (and nothing says for sure that we can!), then Jacob "stole his body." Set tore Osiris' body to pieces and separated them all, denying Isis the ability to give Osiris a proper burial. So here's a theory: Smokey could maybe have been resurrected at the Temple, if there had been a body to resurrect. Instead he is stuck taking on the forms of the Island dead until he can find a way to free himself. He took his revenge on his brother by destroying his body as well, thereby denying him a rebirth (ironic since Jacob lived in the statue of a fertility goddess).
I suppose they could still be Cain and Abel under this theory. Honestly at this point I doubt they will be any concrete characters from any pantheon. Instead I think we'll wind up with original creations built out of bricks borrowed from different foundations. Which ties into a theory I had about the Island forever ago: that the Island is Eden, Nod, Snagri-La, and every other mythological place humanity has invented. In reality it is none of these things; it existed outside of them all, but we as people need to label things and make them make sense, so as people arrived they applied their own beliefs to the things they saw and experienced in a strange place (temples, statues, even Dharma stations devoted to the worship of science).
OK, that got a lot longer than I expected. And it probably made no sense anyway. Sorry 'bout that.
I may be abandoning my Cain and Abel theory. I've been mulling over Smokey's words last night about Jacob having stolen his body ans his humanity. And I've been wondering... what if at one time, Jacob and Smokey were the same being? Maybe that's why we've never learned Smokey's name - maybe his name is Jacob.
The Jacob we met in "Ab Aeterno" was very different from the Jacob we had met before. He was violent and aggressive, and seemed genuinely surprised that Smokey had tried to kill him (maybe a hint that their conversation in "The Incident" actually hadn't happened yet?). So here's a crackpot theory for which my Googling has failed to find me any basis in mythology or literature, though I know I've read the idea somewhere and now it's driving me crazy:
Jacob ripped out a part of his soul.
Jacob, whoever he may have been, underwent some manner of epiphany (maybe similar to Richard's last night), and became disgusted with the potential for malice present in all of us. But instead of reconciling with his imperfection, he found a way to remove it from himself, and ripped out all the parts he found unworthy. But then he got something he didn't count on - an adversary. Those parts of himself that he rejected formed themselves into a being that would oppose and disdain him. A being that would ultimately punish his arrogance. A being devoid of true empathy but possessed of a talent for deception, with no value for life, with only revenge and self-actualization as goals. A being with half a soul. (Maybe this ties into Sayid's soulless thousand-yard stare - "infection" shuts down those pieces of you that Jacob kept for himself.)
And so we meet Jacob, reeling from what he's done and not yet accustomed to his new situation, and confronted with an assassin sent by what's become of his former self. Now I know what you'll say: if he carved out his cruelty, etc., how could he beat the crap out of poor Richard like that? Because he failed.
Ultimately we can't remove what makes us imperfect. Greek mythology is heavy on the concept of hubris and the punishment thereof. Maybe Jacob did an incredibly arrogant thing and thereby gave birth to his own punishment - a being made up of all he hated about himself which he must now guard and imprison for all time.
I know. That's probably crazy. So here's an alternate version: maybe they were twins.
The Yoruba in Africa (found predominantly in Nigeria - paging Mr. Eko) have a belief that twins share a soul. If one twin dies, a model is carved and is to be treated as though it were a living child, especially by the mother. Darth Mocke told us last week that his mother was crazy. Is it possible he feels that way because after he was robbed of his corporeal form, his mother set to worshipping an idol (or idea) of him while neglecting the true form he had taken?
Egyptian mythology has a few sets of note-worthy twins: Geb and Nut, twins who formed the earth and sky, birthed a few sets of twins, including Set and Osiris:
Osiris, by different accounts, was either the son of Re-Atum or Geb, and king of Egypt. His brother Set represented evil in the universe. He murdered Osiris and himself became the king. After killing Osiris, Set tore his body into pieces, but Isis rescued most of the pieces for burial beneath the temple. Set made himself king, but was challenged by Osiris's son - Horus. Set lost and was sent to the desert. He became the god of terrible storms. Osiris was mummified by Isis and became god of the dead. Horus became the king and from him descended the pharaohs. They were worshiped by all!
There's a lot of argument over whether Jacob is really the "good guy" in this scenario. My first crazy theory up there wouldn't suggest that he is, and if we go by the Set/Osiris myth I don't think it looks good for Jacob either. If we can believe Smokey (and nothing says for sure that we can!), then Jacob "stole his body." Set tore Osiris' body to pieces and separated them all, denying Isis the ability to give Osiris a proper burial. So here's a theory: Smokey could maybe have been resurrected at the Temple, if there had been a body to resurrect. Instead he is stuck taking on the forms of the Island dead until he can find a way to free himself. He took his revenge on his brother by destroying his body as well, thereby denying him a rebirth (ironic since Jacob lived in the statue of a fertility goddess).
I suppose they could still be Cain and Abel under this theory. Honestly at this point I doubt they will be any concrete characters from any pantheon. Instead I think we'll wind up with original creations built out of bricks borrowed from different foundations. Which ties into a theory I had about the Island forever ago: that the Island is Eden, Nod, Snagri-La, and every other mythological place humanity has invented. In reality it is none of these things; it existed outside of them all, but we as people need to label things and make them make sense, so as people arrived they applied their own beliefs to the things they saw and experienced in a strange place (temples, statues, even Dharma stations devoted to the worship of science).
OK, that got a lot longer than I expected. And it probably made no sense anyway. Sorry 'bout that.