What They Died For/Theories

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What They Died For

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The Surgery

In the FST, Jack will be performing surgery on Locke at the same time as they are fighting in the OT. During the surgery, Locke will have a near-death experience. Unlike the others, his will be similar to Desmond's in that his OT counterpart will flash over briefly. Because the MiB is in possession of Locke's body, he will experience the flash. He will then realize that it is time for him to let go of as well and allow himself to be killed by Jack.
Jack will be performing surgery on Locke and will have a flash of a battle on the island between himself and Flocke. Then he will return to the present surgery and face a similar scenario to when he was performing surgery on Ben and had to decide if he wanted to kill him or save him.

Flash Sideways is Jacobs Backup

Jacob knew that sinking/destroying the Island was MIB's endgame. He created Desmond and the FST as his loophole. This was proven when he tried to move the pieces sideways in the Senet game. They will have to "Lift it Up" (the Island) in the FST to save the world. They will realize this once they get their 'memories' back.
The FST are becoming more aware of the OT as what's real.
There has been zero inference that the reverse is true.
FST Desmond said "She's not ready yet" about Officer Cortez
Hurley seems to have the same dual awareness that Desmond has (recognising Officer Cortez)

is so that through interaction they will all be awakened.

While the original Losties/Candidates keep ending up dead, their journey is melded with the backup Losties who all get to benefit.
Desmond is bringing Kate to Jack's son's concert.
- At Detective Straume's father's Museum.
  - The one that Hurley donated money to build.
- I think it is more likely that they are going to the Widmore event...Daniel's concert.
  - Very likely, considering that Faraday's special guests were supposed to be.. Driveshaft! Maybe they will strike a magic chord that will fuse the two timelines.

Intermediary

Jacob picked Richard to be an intermediary for him. Likewise, Jack will have to pick an intermediary.

Jack knows that Kate, Sawyer and Hurley all want to go home more than anything and I don't think he would make anyone stay because he needed an intermediary. Jacob didn't have an intermediary for about a couple thousand years before Richard came to the Island, and he only needed one because of the people he was bringing to the Island to find his replacement. Jack isn't going to need an adviser, at least for a while that is.
Jacob did not need an intermediary. He protected the island years (probably centuries before Richard arrived). So Jack is not obliged to pick someone too. Plus Richard was picked, because it was his choice. To because Jacob has to pick somebody.

Kate

Back in The Greater Good, Jack tells Kate that she would be a good intermediary for him. She is easily trusted and is capable of many things.
- Kate is not easily trusted. Time and time again, she does exactly what someone else tells her not to do.

Sawyer

Sawyer wants to find purpose in the deaths that he supposedly caused on the submarine. He will become Jack's adviser because he has nothing to go back to the real world for, and he will feel the need to atone for his sins.
- He has his daughter to go back for.

Hurley

Hurley has previously shown the desire to be a leader, but he knows that he just isn't cut out for it. He still has a strong desire to be liked and to help. Being an adviser would allow him to be a leader of sorts, but without the huge responsibility being Jacob would be.
- Hurley is also "special" in a way that seems important to island-related activities. His ability to commune with the dead would be a very useful skill- especially for talking to the whispers.
- Hurley demonstrated "Richard-like" skills with Sawyer when he told him the survivors were going to vote him off the island. He got James to be nice for the first time.

Desmond

Richard left the Island to bring Juliet and Locke there, and probably other people. Desmond is now serving a similar role in making people aware of the "original" timeline, where the Island exists.
- Perhaps this makes Desmond a likely candidate to be the new Richard to Jack's new Jacob: his uniqueness in conjunction with the Island. Plus, like Richard, he loses a significant love in the process (Penny).

None

Every character listed here, especially Hurley and Sawyer, excluding Desmond expressed explicit disinterest in being part of the Island.
Jacob didn't even need a go between. The only reason he appointed Richard with that task was because he didn't want to interfere with the people directly. As long as Jack doesn't have a personal problem talking with people directly then the position is unnecessary.Rukkis 12:44, May 19, 2010 (UTC)
Jacob only asked Richard to be an advisor because he had a dispute with MIB, one that MIB would interfere with. Jack has no such dispute with another character. Jack isn't a person who expressly believes that people are inherently good and that he shouldn't interfere.

Ben

Ben is lying to Locke. Once he is ordered to kill the other surivivors, he will refuse to do so, ruining Locke's plans. Assuming he survives, he could make for a good person to have on your side as well.

Richard

While it seems MIB killed him, there is no confirmation of this. If Jacob made him immortal, MIB could have jest heaved him into the jungle so he could talk to Ben privately. Richard will probably wake up in a few hours and help with the big whatever in the finale.

Flash Sideways Creation

There have been a lot of thoughts on how the flash sideways came into existence (whether it was Jacob or the Man in Black, or someone else). Jack is now the protector of the Island, and it looks like he may have been the one to create it. This may be his way to make the lives of everyone he came to know on the Island what they should have been.

Flashsideway is actually flashforward. When the islad is destroyed (drown underwater) it will somehow lead to end of the world (Valenzetti Equation comes true) and what we see as alternative story is how the a world looks after after this "reset".
It was created by the bomb, and the presence of two outcomes that resulted in a paradox. But if you want to believe that someone did it, it seems more likely that it was Jacob- if the Flashsideways wasn't there, Desmond wouldn't be the failsafe he is now.

There Is No Need for a Balance of Good and Evil

Jacob revealed to the remaining Losties that the Black Smoke can and needs to be destroyed. Jacob is either unable to kill it based on his mother's rules, or unwilling to harm his brother a second time, and instead tried to keep him on the island. MiB leaving the island would violate the mother's rules, but if MiB is destroyed, no person will be required to take his place to provide balance.

Widmore & Ben ruse

Widmore and Ben are unable to kill each other. Their conversation in Widmore's bedroom in London tells us this. Off camera, the two agreed that if need be, shooting the other to make it appear as if they murdered him would be a clever ruse to deceive the MIB. MIB believes Widmore to be dead. The fact that he is not will pay off for team Ben/Widmore.