Unanswered Questions: Who, or What, is Jacob?
Perhaps the biggest question raised in the entirety of Lost’s third season is who, or what, Jacob is. Ever since he sort of appeared in "The Man Behind the Curtain," creating one of the creepiest moments in Lost’s history, fans have been circulating theories about his true identity. Some of the theories seem rather plausible while others seem really out there, and now it’s time to dig through them all and decide which is most likely to be true.
Jacob is Vincent: I definitely throw this one in the "out there" pile, but some people are convinced that Vincent must be tied in to Lost mythology in some major way. The theory that Vincent is a manifestation of Jacob came about due to a painting of a dog inside Jacob’s cabin, coupled with the fact that Vincent disappears a lot and knows his way around the island pretty well. I’m in the camp who thinks that Vincent is just a normal dog and nothing more, so I consider this idea to be bogus.
Jacob is an older version of Locke: Now, this idea is a little bit more down to earth, though I still don’t buy it. If there truly are wacky time abnormalities happening on the island, it is possible that Jacob could be Future Locke. Locke does have a special connection to the island, and has made it known that he has no plans to leave in the event of a rescue. However, it seems hard to back this theory up with the evidence we have so far. All I know is that the Jacob we caught a glimpse of had a lot more hair than Locke currently does, and therefore I rule him out. If someone makes Locke a fancy toupee in the near future I’ll reconsider.
Jacob is Christian Shephard: In The Bible it states that Jacob was the first person to be called "shepherd" by God. Considering that Christian is a Shephard, and he was missing from his coffin back in season one, could he really be Jacob? The only way this would be possible is if the island resurrected Jack’s dad from the dead, which is something I doubt could happen, no matter how many close calls Mikhail came back from.
Jacob is Alvar Hanso: Could Jacob be the man who founded the Hanso Foundation and funded the DHARMA Initiative? If so, we have to throw out what we learned from The Lost Experience, which placed Hanso in Norway back in September of 2006. Plus the Others are enemies with DHARMA, so why would they be worshipping Hanso? The timeline problem can possibly be explained away with time travel theories, but I still see no reason why people like Ben and Mikhail would consider Alvar Hanso "magnificent."
Jacob is Enzo Valenzetti: Valenzetti is a character who played a big role in The Lost Experience. He’s a mathematician responsible for creating an equation involving Hurley’s cursed numbers, and therefore rather important to the Lost mythology. He was thought to have died in a plane crash in Europe, but a body was never recovered.
Is it possible that Valenzetti faked his death and went to live on the island? Definitely. However, considering that his research sparked the creation of the DHARMA Initiative, I can again see no reason for the Others to worship him. It’s too bad, because I like the idea of the man behind the numbers playing a bigger role in the course of the series, but I just don’t see it being him.
Jacob is Jack Shephard: As we learned in everyone’s favorite Lost episode "Stranger in a Strange Land," Jack’s tattoo means "He walks among us, but he is not one of us." There’s also the fact that Jack wasn’t on Jacob’s list of castaways to snag. Could that be because they’re one and the same? Throw in Jack’s realization that he was never supposed to leave the island, mix it with some time travel, and Jack could easily be the man behind the curtain.
Though I know there’s plenty to contradict it, I can actually buy this idea. Jack’s need to return to the island could be because a part of him is stuck there in time. The fact that the Others don’t recognize Jack as Jacob makes perfect sense, since Ben claims to be the only one who knows Jacob. And Ben does, in some strange way, look up to Jack. I’m keeping this one in my file of possibilities.
Jacob is Smokey The Monster: The idea that Jacob and Smokey are one and the same is an interesting one. Could the monster be taking the form of a man and tricking Ben into believing he exists? Maybe this is the same thing that’s also taken the form of Eko’s brother, Jack’s dad, Walt, and Ben’s mom. Since we already seem to know that Smokey can take the form of other individuals, I also think this is a strong possibility.
Jacob is a projection from Ben’s mind: When Ben first took Locke to see Jacob, I was positive it was going to be revealed that Ben was loony and Jacob was only in his head. It turns out that wasn’t the case…or was it?
We already suspect that Walt has mind powers, and we know that the Others find Walt to be extremely special. Could Ben be so interested in Walt because he has the same powers? Ben is also the only one who knows Jacob, which leads me to believe that maybe Jacob only appears when Ben is around. It’s quite possible that he could be a manifestation brought on by Ben’s brain power, and that Ben is the real man behind the curtain.
Jacob is just Jacob: What if Jacob isn’t anyone we already know, but entirely his own person and a new character in the Lost mythology? Some people believe that Jacob was a boy with mind powers who was experimented on by the DHARMA Initiative. When the experiments went wrong, Jacob lost corporeal form and became one with the island. His form appeared to age, but his mind and his powers were forever linked to the rest of the island.
I don’t believe there’s much evidence for this particular theory, but I do think we should accept the possibility that Jacob may not be connected to anyone already on the island. He may be his own man with his own story.
These are just some of the many, many theories concerning Jacob. I’m fairly certain that anyone who has ever been mentioned in connection with Lost has been bandied about as a Jacob suspect, but my money rests on Jack, Smokey, Ben, or Unknown New Guy being the true culprit. Who do you think is the real wizard of Lost island?
Tom is… a spirit or enity.. who is contained in the cottage by the ‘ashes’ around it. He is trapped there.. to be controlled. He is one of the Whispers.. he can make himself be seen… which brings me to… perhaps Jacob is a collection of souls/spirits? Maybe he’s unrelated.
But I do believe that he is a ‘power’ that is contained.. possibly against his will to use his force/power for their good.
This is loosly based on the Comic Book that walt was reading.. where a alien being was being kept a prisoner in order to serve the powers of man. And also in ‘the watchman’ which was in influence to these guys… where a psychic energy/power was kept/imprisons, compiles at the south pole. In the watchmen, the plan was to release this ‘power’ that would release a psychic energy that would kill millions of people in New York but would bring the world together thinking that this ‘enity’ was actually an alien. (sounds something like heroes season 1 to me)
Cuse was asked directly in a podcast from last year if Jacob was an imprisoned soul/phycic energy or alien whoes power was being used by others. I believe the response was “he is not an alien” and for the imprisioned part, the answer was “I can’t answer that question”… he could be throwing us off, he didn’t have to answer that question, but it could be that it’s close… and I believe it is. It’s just too close to the comic and to watchmen… etc.
But.. could the visitors.. the rescue ship.. be trying to find the island to use Jacobs powers for their own gain? Could Jacob be trying to manipulate Locke to allow for his eventual freedom? Maybe Jacob is what we call ‘the island’ and he just wants to be free? Perhaps… it is Jacob who needs to escape…. or could the poweder around his ’shack’ be for his protection rather than his prison?
What do you guys thing?
Just some thoughts…
Comment by tom — January 2, 2008 @ 7:59 pm
OOPS! JACOB is… I’m Tom.
Comment by Tom — January 2, 2008 @ 8:00 pm
Haven’t they confirmed like a million times that Christian Shepherd is dead and is not alive and is not Jacob?
Comment by Gary — January 2, 2008 @ 11:37 pm
I believe Jacob and the smoke monster are one and the same…both manifestations of whatever the island is.
Comment by hopsing2 — January 3, 2008 @ 12:54 am
When Locke tells Ben that Jacob said, “Help me!”, Ben replies saying, “Well I certainly hope he helps you, John!”
Walt appears and helps Locke. This makes me wonder about the connection between Jacob and Walt.
Comment by thenumbersarebad — January 3, 2008 @ 4:00 am
Yeah… but he could have far reaching power to generate ‘images’ across the island, despite his imprisonment. It could be that he communicated with Ben, but Ben decided to use his power for his own gain and kept him imprisoned so he’s not longer visible to Ben.. or chooses not to show himself. By asking “help me” apparently he needs Locke to free him.
I do NOT believe that the smoke monster is Jacob… remember how the others use the barrier to protect themselves? Smokey is something else.
I think that Jacob is more likely ‘the island’ than ’smokey’. By ‘the island’ I mean that he is the source of the powers.. or the supernatural ones… not the magnetic principles, though they may work hand in hand, that is, the islands natural properies and Jacob… whatever he is.
Comment by Tom — January 3, 2008 @ 6:35 am
Here is my take about Jack being Jacob. I didn’t write this, but I think this is the best way to explain why it’s not the case.
http://www.lost-theories.com/theories/2007/may/26/jacob-jackare-you-crack/
Comment by sk8rpro — January 3, 2008 @ 8:15 am
In the bible, jacob was a christian shepherd. In man behind the curtain, jacob really did look like christian shepherd (if you looked at the freeze frames online). Now in the new promo for season 4 you can see that hurley see’s christian shepherd sitting in jacobs hut. Christian shepherd has a connection to so many things its unbelievable. Obviously he is jacks father, claires father, anna lucia went to oz with him, he met with sawyer in a bar….in fact, he even had a picture of the island on a wall in his office way back in season 1. If he were dead then why would tptb bring up the subject of him being alive in the future at the end of season 3, or stick him in jacobs hut in season 4? Christian is a doctor, im sure he would know a lot about medicine. What about those spiders that paralyze you - theres no reason he couldnt use the same technique to paralyze himself temporarily to make himself look dead.
OK, so he might not be jacob. But i bet you he isn’t dead either. i think that fact is pretty obvious.
Comment by imjustpassingthru — January 3, 2008 @ 9:07 am
I believe that Jacob is Jack, for if you do a slow-mo on the season 3 dvd of the scene with Lock/Ben/Jacob…the eyes look exactly like Jack’s, in my opinion. I was thinking too that since there are 6 + 1 that get off the island, and since we know the 6, or at least i do, then what if jacob gets free and he’s the 1 extra? Jack’s scraggly beard and Jacob’s kinda look similar too.
just my thoughts…
Comment by Jeff K — January 3, 2008 @ 9:22 am
^^^ Thats funny, so youre saying Christian Shepard purposly paralyzed himself while IN australlia before he knew he would get on 815 DEAD and accidentally crash on the island? thats tough to believe, he was a drunk, he died from alcohol poisoning. TPTB made NO reference in season 3 that Christian might be alive, or I missed it at least.
Comment by justin — January 3, 2008 @ 9:47 am
I think Jacob and Smokey are opposite forces. Ben has Jacob trapped in the cabin against his will and Smokey, in return, acts as their security system. Think about it.
Comment by steeeeve — January 3, 2008 @ 10:10 am
Sometimes I wonder if the island is some sort of God. This God has a trinity like the God I worship. The island is God, Jacob is the island/God in human form, and the Black-Smoke-Monster is the spirit of this island/God and it can take differen’t forms to better communicate with every individual on the island. LoL I highly doubt it but, just what I was thinking the other day in church.. shhhh…
Comment by Dale — January 3, 2008 @ 10:32 am
I think Jacob is a manifestation of the Lodge. You know, the Black Lodge… you don’t? Go find the circle of trees, wait for a full moon, and prepare for madness.
Send my regards to Jacob, Agent Cooper, Bob, and Mike.
http://www.theblacklodge.com
eM htiW klaW eriF
Comment by theonefin — January 3, 2008 @ 10:47 am
Hahaha, good one about the Black Lodge. I’ve been making the same joke!
I suspect that Jacob is the personality of the smoke monster. I think the monster is some type of futuristic artificial intelligence that was created to protect the island. It communicates psychically, and people with certain abilities can communicate with it as well and even manipulate the system. At some point the system went insane and believed itself not to be a piece of technology, but a godlike being. It developed a personality called Jacob, and now protects the island by a very strict moral code. Jacob hates technology because he is a piece of technology. For Jacob’s protection, Ben has symbolically “imprisoned” Jacob’s mind in the cabin, as Ben’s abilities give him some power over Jacob. That’s my theory.
Comment by Paula Abdul Alhazred — January 3, 2008 @ 12:01 pm
The vincent idea IS out there…but Walt was special…right? Vincent was Walt’s dog.
Comment by CraigG — January 3, 2008 @ 12:40 pm
I dont think that the black smoke being vincent is too outhere. I mean if we assume all of these people survived for a reason. For some reason, then why did the dog survive. Vincent also has served as a guide for many people to find certain things, Shannon getting shot, and other events. What if Vincent did die in the plane crash and the Black Smoke took Vincent’s form in order to see what the survivors were up to. Anyone notice that the dog seems to show up a lot right before or after smokie does? Also wouldnt it be crazy if at some point Jack walks through the forest and finds some old luggage and say some cargo area stuff and finds a cage with a dead Vincent in it? That would be pretty wonkie would it not?
Comment by Jalocke — January 3, 2008 @ 1:19 pm
Jacob is LOST’s prop-master!!
If you have the DVD, watch LOST in a Day, which chronicles a typical production day in the world of LOST. Check out the prop-master. That profile, that forehead!He’s in a scene with another art dept guy talking about the arrow that goes through Charlie’s guitar in Catch-22. I truly believe that they used this guy for a temp Jacob until (if at all) they official cast him.
Comment by mattdrum — January 3, 2008 @ 3:40 pm
hey i think jacob is a spirits the form of the ashes which makes him look like smokey. and he makes himself look like everyone like Eko’s brother and Walt
Comment by ryan — January 3, 2008 @ 4:44 pm
Steeeve,
I like the theory of Ben somehow knowing how to keep Jacob in check…it would fit with his manipulative style, and possibly explain…well, you get the picture.
Comment by hopsing#2 — January 4, 2008 @ 1:17 am
before locke heads to jacobs shack he picks up and smells a bizarre powder that surrounds jacobs shack… perhaps a hallucinagin, perhaps nothing. anyone else notice this?
Comment by Jame$ Ford — January 4, 2008 @ 6:45 pm
The first thing that came to my mind when locke picked up the “powder” which seems to form a barrier around the area the hut is in was SALT. Salt is often used in old tales to ward off demons, to create barriers to protect oneself from them, or to create a circle with which to trap them in.
Ben did make an effort to step over the barrier, but was unconcerned when Locke played around in it. Not sure if that is of any significance
Comment by Sirfuzzy — January 4, 2008 @ 9:53 pm
All the natives on the island are dead. Hence, Richard hasn’t aged at all. He can’t, he’s dead. Jacob is really alive which is why Locke can’t see him.
The show has something to do with Hinduist beliefs. I think the others are Bodhisattva’s, those who came back from liberation from karma to help others achieve it. Dharma is a Hindu term, having to do with performing good deeds. (Ben mentions how they’re not all good people. e.g. ‘jack has anger problems’)
Jacob’s list could be the list of people most likely to complete the current cycle of life they’re on to eventually become one with the Brahman.
Isn’t LOST fascinating!?
Comment by kc pronto — January 5, 2008 @ 2:26 pm
i think jacob’s call for help was to protect the island against the people on not-penny’s boat. therefore, i conclude that jacob is the island
Comment by matt — January 5, 2008 @ 4:48 pm
hey whats up. i bought season 3 the day it came out on dvd. i had watched season 3 online after it had happened, but my computer sucks and i could barely see anything. so when i re-watched it, i paused and frame for framed that second you could see a figure of jacob. and especially the forehead and eye structure look a lot like john locke. previous to this i had read blogs and whatnot and thought that jacob being future jack was an awesome idea. but while researching i read that they cast someone to play jacob in season 4. but that doesnt mean they werent already on the lost roster! who knows. it almost isnt even worth trying to figure out this show. not that its not awesome by any means. plus it keeps you busy waiting for new lost!
Comment by Csongei — January 5, 2008 @ 9:38 pm
hey whats up. this may be a little off the subject of the page. but when tom said shephard isnt on jacobs list, is that the same list that whats her face gave michael? including sawyer, kate, and hugo. sawyer and kate are both… bad people being that they have both taken a life in their previous existance. so was hugo solely on the list to deliver the message to the other castaways? because what weve seen of him elseware lead me to believe he is one of the good ones. so does jacobs list consist of bad people? asside from jack to save bens life, and hugo to tell everyone to stay away. also, ive read that we are to come to meet up with michael in season 4. is he on naomis ship? was it in lockes mind, or did he really see walt? and what did he tell him?
Comment by Csongei — January 5, 2008 @ 10:28 pm
Powder = volcanic ashe mixed with some other stuff.. I believe this was mentioned in a podcast.
Jacob is someone we have not seen before.. I believe this was also in last years podcasts.
Christian Sheppard is DEAD and is NOT Jacob as per multiple debunks by the show producers. They put an explanation point in it! Of course, it has to be someone we haven’t seen before.
So that kills the Jack, Vincent, Locke, etc theories. Keep it simple.. Jacob is Jacob.
Comment by tom — January 6, 2008 @ 10:52 am
all I know and love is that my name is Jacob =]
Comment by jacob_lost — January 6, 2008 @ 11:28 am
Hello,
if you take a look at Jacob’s clothes, you can see that they are of a previous century. I believe Jacob is the captain or member of the Black Rock.
Comment by George Tek — January 6, 2008 @ 11:55 pm
I guess i’d have to enlist to the keep it simple group and say jakob is just jakob, most likely a member of the Black Rock crew (as I believe all the original others were), but now that I think of it the awesomly depicted yet painfully fairwelled Richard Alpert is the one that got Ben to join the “hostiles”, guaranteeing his pals a safe key to destroy the dharma initiative,but mostly, let’s not forget it is Richard to secure Locke a wild card to enter the “others” group by showing him who could kill that awful father of his. I believe it is Jakob that wants Locke in to counterbalance Ben’s leadership and this way help himself..
Besides now that richard is gone for good it’ll be helluva lot easier to keep the character by aking him invisible.. Locke could now be his means to communicate..
please forgive my english.. I’m Italian
Comment by Mariothegreat — January 7, 2008 @ 8:36 am
Has anyone noticed that in the episode The Man Behind the Curtain you get a glimpse of Jacob? When Ben takes Locke to the “Cabin” you get a glimpse of Ben and then the camera goes over to Locke, and before that if you pause it you see a man sitting in a chair. I think the man in the chair is an older version of Christan Shepard. Check it Out!!!!!!!!
Comment by Mia — January 7, 2008 @ 6:21 pm
I’m willing to bet that there is more to Jacob than we know…
But seriously, there are A LOT of people that have theories that have been debunked MULTIPLE TIMES by Damon & Carlton - some of these people are even ADMINISTRATORS on this site.
Now, I’m not saying “you suck because you haven’t fact-checked” - but come on - if you love LOST, how could you NOT listen to the podcasts? It’s like the best supplemental material any show has ever had.
Anyone who hasn’t heard every single podcast should stop what they are doing and not post another comment or theory until they listen to all of them. Jacob is obviously none of the above. The last one JACOB IS JACOB, is in the right direction. But this list is so far off the mark it’s actually laughable. And I’m not trying to be a hater.
Seriously, if you listen to what the producers say, you can rule out so much of this nonsense.
Comment by ZebraKiller — January 7, 2008 @ 8:34 pm
I hear you Tom, ZebraKiller and others. Sometimes I am amused reading people suggesting the old debunked ideas, and sometimes it’s frustrating.
To build on something some others have said about the volcanic ash, the first thing I thought of when it first aired was the movie The Skeleton Key. Has anyone seen it? It is about voodoo in New Orleans and in it evil spirits cannot cross a line of brick dust. Obviously this was different b/c it wasn’t specifically brick dust, and I think most people right now do not think Jacob is evil, but it is the same idea b/c Darlton did later say, in a podcast, that it was ash and I think they also said that Jacob may be contained by it (or something like that).
Comment by bmorelost — January 8, 2008 @ 10:33 am
BTW… ‘Smokey the Monster’ is the name of my bong.
Comment by ZebraKiller — January 8, 2008 @ 2:42 pm
http://www.lost.eu/6f993
Comment by are you LOST? — January 9, 2008 @ 6:51 am
In my opinion Jacob could be… Magnus hanso!
Think about it.. the cabin looked like it was built during the 1800″s era
and his grandson alvar hanso searched for him when the black rock disapeared!
On the blast door map, It says that the black rock was the resting place of magnus hanso!
Just my oppinion!
Comment by ?man — January 11, 2008 @ 6:19 pm
On the new Season 4 trailer that is available for download from iTunes, there is a shot at 1:03 in that looks like Jacob’s cabin. In the chair that Locke saw Jacob, Jacks dad is sitting. It may not take place in the cabin, but it certainly looks like it.
Comment by AC Slayer — January 15, 2008 @ 1:13 pm
I will start off by saying I do not think we have seen “JACOB’s” true self to date !! Only what he has wanted them / us to see.
We “first” saw Jacob in his cabin when he appeared in the shadows to Ben & Locke.
It would appear that Jacob is being trapped in the cabin by Ben possibly with the ashes / whatever the dust is made up of.
Ben told Locke that Jacob doesn’t like technology but I do not believe this to be true. I believe that Jacob feeds off energy / electromagnetic energy / something along these lines. This is why Ben says this and uses the lantern as to not give Jacob any strength.
The minute John pointed the flashlight at him was when all hell broke lose and Jacob had his fit.
{Will get back to this later}
I think that Jacob could very well be Smokey, Vincent, not to mention all the visions the losties have seen of those closest to them as well as possibly even pretending to be a lostie to swing a situation in the direction he wanted things to go.
He can take on any shape{shape shifter of sorts}he sees fit so the image of Magnus Hanso {IMHO}that looked like Locke{in the show at some point we will learn that Locke is a decedent of the Hanso’s explaining his connection to the island}will have just been for Locke’s benefit.
As we know of the future image seen in the cabin is yet again another as D& C have mentioned in interviews the depiction of Jacob.
They have said it will be interesting to see how Jacob is depicted on the show.
The only time Jacob / Smokey gets out is when it rains and the ash ring is washed away.Then Jacob heads out, does some damage and when he is all out of energy, when it stops raining, ???? he then retreats back to the cabin where Ben again imprisons him.
Maybe he needs something out of those werid jars in his cabin and that is why he returns home tired and drained.
{getting back to it}
Who is Jacob you ask ?
In the scene in the cabin Ben says something along the lines of you’ve had your fun as if he was talking to a kid playing pranks.
Jacob is a boy.
Jacob is another special boy who was experimented on by Dharma and something went horribly wrong. They created a monster. This boy was a childhood friend of Ben’s.{FB} Jacob gets the worst of the experiments, as test subjects Ben and Jacob are bound together from their childhood.
Comment by Lost_nn_Found@hotmail.com — January 16, 2008 @ 4:19 am
Jacob is Jacob Deyer, one of the crew of the Black Rock. It seems all the major players in this storyline begin with the manifest of the Black Rock (http://widmorelaboratories.com/). We’ve already met Richard Alpert; the guy that recruited Ben into the “Others.” I’m betting that Captain Magnus Hanso, along with either or both 1st Mate, Alexander Widmore, and 2nd Mate, Clifford Widmore got off the island. The Hanso family of the Hanso Foundation found the island again and starting exploring its secrets with its Drama division. The Widmore family of the Wilmore Corporation has been helping the Hanso Foundation, but might be still searching for the island again since Hanso lost the island to the “Others.” New information from Find815.com seems to indicate that the Maxwell Group, a division of Widmore Corporation is looking for the island now.
Comment by Chris Langford — January 20, 2008 @ 8:40 pm
widmorelaboratories.com is a fansite, I don’t know that a manifest of the Black Rock’s crew has been officially released, or ever will be
Comment by Harlequin — January 29, 2008 @ 8:38 am
Lost: Mobisode 13, “So It Begins” Christian Shepard on the island, live or dead
Comment by jlh — February 6, 2008 @ 7:15 pm