Jacob, Elder of the Elders

[snakey]

I like the people who come here to theorize in spoilers so I hope it's ok I put this here. I think Jacob ( I am tempted to nick him Jake) is the oldest islander, he's so old he is losing his corporeal form. He might have been saying 'help me' to Locke because he wants to die and be at peace. If they dont age, I am guessing they dont die from any natural causes or disease, acts of violence will do the trick tho. He could be Magnus Hanso from the Black Rock or not, that might not make him old enough, but since his shack looks like it could be from the 18th or 19th century maybe he is. Richard's clothes in the FB looked like they were from a remake of Billy Budd, tho I dont know why they wouldnt have been rags by the time Ben saw him wearing them. Ben has some kind of dark powers, being manifested in ways such as woman dying at the end of the second trimester just like his mom did, maybe he is forcing Jacob to be stuck in that cabin. I hope you all will add to this or tell me I'm a fruitloop, but I do think it is a possibility for the big J's predicament.

[RicoSlim]

sounds pretty reasonable, I definetly agree with you that Jacob is the oldest or longest inhabitant of the island

[shadyhippie]

I like it, although I would be hesitant to call "FB Richard", Richard at all. He never said "hi, i'm richard" and if ive learned one thing with Lost, it's dont assume you know anything.

[Bunny Frou Frou]

the ring of ash? or whatever locke was looking out reminds me of purity circles (usually sea salt). so instead of warding things away from the cabin, it's trapping jacob inside...?

[Publius]

Bunny- did you happen to watch the 4 AM X-Files rerun on TNT this morning? I was up with the newborn and thought the same thing.

[Frediemac]

the ring of ash? or whatever locke was looking out reminds me of purity circles (usually sea salt). so instead of warding things away from the cabin, it's trapping jacob inside...?

Yes Bunny I agree I think he's trapped inside that circle.

[see you in the next life]

I like the people who come here to theorize in spoilers so I hope it's ok I put this here. I think Jacob ( I am tempted to nick him Jake) is the oldest islander, he's so old he is losing his corporeal form. He might have been saying 'help me' to Locke because he wants to die and be at peace. If they dont age, I am guessing they dont die from any natural causes or disease, acts of violence will do the trick tho. He could be Magnus Hanso from the Black Rock or not, that might not make him old enough, but since his shack looks like it could be from the 18th or 19th century maybe he is. Richard's clothes in the FB looked like they were from a remake of Billy Budd, tho I dont know why they wouldnt have been rags by the time Ben saw him wearing them. Ben has some kind of dark powers, being manifested in ways such as woman dying at the end of the second trimester just like his mom did, maybe he is forcing Jacob to be stuck in that cabin. I hope you all will add to this or tell me I'm a fruitloop, but I do think it is a possibility for the big J's predicament.



you are a hottie for sure.....but not a fruitloop:)

[LPU]

I've been trying to think of and look for all of the collective comments by TPTB in regards to Jacob.

They've said he was hiding in plain sight.

In regards to Ben being The Man Behind The Curtain they first said yes, then maybe.

They've likened him to the Emperor from Star Wars.

What else am I missing here? I know there's more. The whole Jacob thing has me spinning so much I don't know what to believe. I really can't wait for the new podcast. I'm hoping it sheds some small amount of light on the Jacob question.

[9mile monster]

I've said that before in at least two other threads that Jacob could be an ancient island inhabitant that has just faded away physically and is only left with his spirit, energy, soul, whatever, his essence of what is him. So Snakey, I'm on board with what you say. I originally said that because of seeing Richard barely age in 30+ years. It looked to me as though his eyemakeup became more intense though as if covering up something.

[Ahrean]

sounds pretty reasonable, I definetly agree with you that Jacob is the oldest or longest inhabitant of the island


It's a very plausible theory, I could buy into it.

[Noav Sigless]

I like the people who come here to theorize in spoilers so I hope it's ok I put this here.

We do allow speculation and theories in the Spoiler forum, as long it's based on spoiler information.

He could be Magnus Hanso from the Black Rock or not, that might not make him old enough, but since his shack looks like it could be from the 18th or 19th century maybe he is.

This bit of TLE information is the only spoilerish information in your theory. I'm tempted to move this thread to TLE Theories and merge it with already existing Magnus Hanso is Jacob! (http://www.losttv-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35050) thread. However, I know this information is going to come up again and again.

I'm going to leave this here for now but another mod may come along and decide to move it.

[snakey]

Ok Noav but I am not definitely saying he is a Hanso, tptb might make him Fletcher Christian (a jack ancestor?) for all I know, just was speculating and trying to tie in with island mythology. I was at my most boring of boring jobs and thought this, Ben didnt want Locke to have the flashlite because light can rev up old Jake, as we saw, not that he wouldnt like it. Maybe he was trying to kill Ben with that burst of energy brought on from the flashlite. I thought the powder around was gun powder, figured something Rousseau was cooking up.

[RangerMel]

Okay so, i've already posted this in a few of the hundreds of Jacob threads out there, but...what if Jacob's present "condition" is a result of Dharma experiments in electromagnetic radiation ala the Philadelphia Experiment. This experimental research supposedly occurred in the 1940's and some claim it was a hoax, others claim they actually witnessed the events. Basically, the U.S. navy was doing experiments in electromagnetism and made a naval destroyer "jump" or change it's relative position in time and space.

From Wikkipedia:
Synopsis of the experiment
Several different, at times conflicting, versions of the purported experiment have circulated over the years. The following synopsis serves to illustrate key story points common to the majority of accounts.

According to some accounts, the experiment was conducted by a Dr. Franklin Reno (or Rinehart) as a military application of a Unified Field Theory. The theory, briefly, postulates the interrelated nature of the forces that comprise electromagnetic radiation and gravity. Through a special application of the theory, it was thought possible, with specialized equipment and sufficient energy, to bend light around an object in such a way as to render it essentially invisible to observers. The Navy considered this application of the theory to be of obvious military value (especially as the United States was engaged in World War II at the time) and both approved and sponsored the experiment. A navy destroyer escort, the USS Eldridge, was fitted with the required equipment at the naval yards in Philadelphia.

Testing began in summer 1943, and was successful to a limited degree. One test, on July 22, resulted in the Eldridge being rendered almost completely invisible, with some witnesses reporting a “greenish fog” in its place. However, crew members complained of severe nausea afterwards. At that point, the experiment was altered at the request of the Navy, with the new objective being invisible to radar only.

Equipment was not properly recalibrated to this end, but in spite of this, the experiment was performed again on October 28. This time, Eldridge not only became almost entirely invisible to the naked eye, but actually vanished from the area in a flash of blue light. Simultaneously, the US naval base at Norfolk, Virginia, just over 600 km (375 miles) away, reported sighting the Eldridge offshore for several minutes, whereupon the Eldridge vanished from their sight and reappeared in Philadelphia, at the site it had originally occupied in an apparent case of accidental teleportation.

The physiological effects on the crew were profound. Almost all of the crew were violently ill. Some suffered from mental illness as a result of their experience; behavior consistent with schizophrenia is described in other accounts. Still other members were physically unaccounted for— supposedly “vanished”— and five of the crew were allegedly fused to the metal bulkhead or deck of the ship. Still others were said to fade in and out of sight. Horrified by these results, Navy officials immediately cancelled the experiment. All of the surviving crew involved were discharged; in some accounts, brainwashing techniques were employed in an attempt to make the remaining crew members lose their memories concerning the details of their experience.

Hoax or not, it's interesting because it makes a lot of sense that Jacob could be an experiment by the Dharma initiative. OR Jacob could have been accidentally rendered "out of phase" with time and space by the "incident" which must have occurred in the late 1970's. Someone (maybe Jacob) forgot to push the button, and he became altered or phase shifted in some way?

It might explain some things like what happened to Desmond after the hatch was destroyed - he began phase shifting. It might even explain the flashlight setting Jacob off in some way.

In any event, i like my explanation a hell of a lot more than pirate ghosts. In fact i may flip out if that turns to be the explanation by TPTB. Did i mention that i really didn't like this last episode because of invisible Jacob? I felt really let down, and needed to come up with a semi-logical explanation.

What do ya' think?

[Lost_RuNNeR]

I don't approve of crappy invisible ghost pirates!

Neither do I. Your theory rocks imo. I liked the creepy moment, but it would be very cheap to resort to ghosts.

[snakey]

Ranger Mel, I hope you dont think I'm saying he's a pirate ghost, no way. The latest podcast, which I didnt listen to but read the hilights, has hinted that the powder around Jacob's old shack is what is keeping him prisoner. I'm sure when Locke gets reanimated, the king of wacky paste making will have figured out what that powder is.

[RangerMel]

Ranger Mel, I hope you dont think I'm saying he's a pirate ghost, no way. The latest podcast, which I didnt listen to but read the hilights, has hinted that the powder around Jacob's old shack is what is keeping him prisoner. I'm sure when Locke gets reanimated, the king of wacky paste making will have figured out what that powder is.

Hmmm...maybe they should ask Charlie?

[Deadfall]

This is an interesting idea.... I like it, but it's almost not quite amazing enough to satisfy me after so much speculation. But then again, what will satisfy after so much build up?!

[klh]

Okay so, i've already posted this in a few of the hundreds of Jacob threads out there, but...what if Jacob's present "condition" is a result of Dharma experiments in electromagnetic radiation ala the Philadelphia Experiment.
I feel like I've come full-circle. One of the first things I remember reading when I came here (sometime over a year ago) was a thread where someone was insisting that LOST was based on a certain book which described something called the Montauk Project, which was supposed to be some sort of follow-up to the Philadelphia experiment. The guy kept bumping his thread so at the time I figured he was the author of the book or something, just trying to increase sales. It would be fiunny if it turned out ot be correct.

[Shannonigans]

On the whole ghost thing, when rewatching this episode with my dad, I noticed that Jacob only revealed himself and made the house shake when Locke turned his flashlight on. I read a book recently that had a ghost-hunter as a main character, and he mentioned that when people use anything that require batteries around ghosts, the ghosts gain energy to show themselves and to do things visible to the naked eye.

He said help me, there was that circle around the outside...what if Ben told Locke to not use the flashlight not because Jacob dislikes technology, but because he knew Jacob could grow powerful enough to break free if there was technology?

[Lost_RuNNeR]

He said help me, there was that circle around the outside...what if Ben told Locke to not use the flashlight not because Jacob dislikes technology, but because he knew Jacob could grow powerful enough to break free if there was technology?

That's a frickin sweet theory you got there.:Cheers:

[Liz-trouve-verlorene]

RangerMel, I love your theory because of the very reasons you put at the end of your post! ...and because it is real and plausible

[shootingstar05]

For rangermel:

http://www.losttv-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7634

I don't know how long you've been around, but this was a popular theory back in the day. Check out the date! He must've written it after the 2nd or 3rd episode.

[RangerMel]

Wow. ..and here i thought i had an original theory.

Still, i like it better as an explanation than "ghost." I don't think i can deal with that. Plus - a freak magnetic related accident would be more in keeping with TPTB's promise of a scientific or psuedo-scientific answer.

In the most recent podcast, they promised that events would be science fiction, but not supernatural.

[Ahrean]

You guys are putting out some AMAZING things with this thread but I still don't get how all of this could tie in with the "hiding in plain sight" thing TPTB said.

[dumapus]

I like the psuedo scientific explanation as well. If this was a ghost story, I would be a little disappointed.

I also think Jacob is evil. When he starts tormenting Locke, Ben grabs the chair and says, "OK you've had your fun". That comment implys Jacob is "not nice".

Thoughts?

[redwithpurpleflashes]

On the whole ghost thing, when rewatching this episode with my dad, I noticed that Jacob only revealed himself and made the house shake when Locke turned his flashlight on. I read a book recently that had a ghost-hunter as a main character, and he mentioned that when people use anything that require batteries around ghosts, the ghosts gain energy to show themselves and to do things visible to the naked eye.

He said help me, there was that circle around the outside...what if Ben told Locke to not use the flashlight not because Jacob dislikes technology, but because he knew Jacob could grow powerful enough to break free if there was technology?

I was thinking the same thing but did he start flipping out when the flashlight went on or did John turn the flashlight on because he was flipping out? I haven't had a chance to rewatch.

I like where you're going with this but I don't like the term "ghost". I'm hoping it's something more sci-fi then fantasy.

[Ahrean]

Maybe he was flipping out b/c he was trying to break free somehow.

[Publius]

Or, b/c Locke wasn't summoned. Jacob is a great man, a brilliant man. But he's not a forgiving man.

[redwithpurpleflashes]

Or, b/c Locke wasn't summoned. Jacob is a great man, a brilliant man. But he's not a forgiving man.

I think that maybe he was summoned. Ben said in Season 2 that he came for him so Jacob must have known about him.

I'm curious about the "hiding in plain sight comment", I forgot about that. Maybe something to do with the whispers.

[Bridger]

hmm what if we looking at this wrong. what if jacob got upset when he relized locke didnt believe he was the one who said help me.so when locke turned on the flashlight he got enough power to try and prove he was there by making the room go nuts and popping into view for a few seconds not out of anything more then trying to show locke he did exist and not a con job of ben.

[Lost_RuNNeR]

I think that maybe he was summoned. Ben said in Season 2 that he came for him so Jacob must have known about him.


He was looking for Jack, to remove the tumor on his L4'th vertebrae.
He just spinned some bullshit for Locke. He also noticed Locke was walking, and realized he was 'special'. Maybe he tried to take that away from Locke by driving him nuts (Shadow of the genius, The Hatch, ...)

[Shannonigans]

More thinking!! I've put this together and drawn my own conclusions from other people's theories.

Richard looked about the same age when he met Ben as a child. What if the Others don't age, and don't really die, but kind of fade. They could be the whispers in the jungle, and that would relate to my whole energy-from-flash-light theory, too. Maybe they aren't ghosts...but like...scattered energy or something?

[RangerMel]

Maybe Jacob has been "hiding in plain sight" because he's invisible. Also, i could swear i read here in spoilers somewhere that TPTB didn't credit the actor in the brief flash of Jacob in the chair because the actual part hadn't been cast yet.

Of course, if you read some of the 500 or so "Jacob is.." posts in 90% of the people posting are saying he's Locke...which makes no sense and is really annoying.

[JTB06]

On the whole ghost thing, when rewatching this episode with my dad, I noticed that Jacob only revealed himself and made the house shake when Locke turned his flashlight on. I read a book recently that had a ghost-hunter as a main character, and he mentioned that when people use anything that require batteries around ghosts, the ghosts gain energy to show themselves and to do things visible to the naked eye.

He said help me, there was that circle around the outside...what if Ben told Locke to not use the flashlight not because Jacob dislikes technology, but because he knew Jacob could grow powerful enough to break free if there was technology?

I think you're on to something there.