Christian Shephard/Theories
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Christian is Jacob's Enemy
Jacob's enemy (aka Esau) took Christian's appearance and memories as he did with John Lockes. He uses Christian as a means to further his ultimate goal of killing Jacob. That is why he tells John Locke he must die, because that is the only way he can become him.
- But Christian on the Island is always seen wearing white shoes. Given the significance of white and black to the characterisations of Jacob and his enemy (Jacob - white, Jacob's Enemy - black), it seems more likely it is Jacob taking the form of Christian's body/Christian is somehow associated with Jacob, not his enemy.
- not correct, christian is seen both wearing the suit and white shoes (as seen in White Rabbit when he leads jack to the fresh water) and also seen dressed in casual clothes many times, which suggests to me theres more to him than a vision/apperition or being controlled/used by jacobs enemy.
- And how are Jacob's Nemesis' purposes served by Christian's actions? From the little that we've seen, Jacob's Nemesis is only interested in one thing - killing Jacob as fast as he can, as evidenced by how 'John Locked' pushed Richard to show him where Jacob lives. Christian, on the other hand, shows interest and concern for other people, like Sun (otherwise why would he show her what had happened to her husband) or Michael (whom he released from his debt).
- Christian, like Jacob's enemy as Locke, made Sun believe that he wanted to help Sun find Jin. As with Locke, this is most likely not the case. Christian, who is Jacob's enemy, needs Sun for part of his overall plan. This is why Christian told Sun and Frank to wait for "Locke." Why would Christian have the two meet an impostor who wants to kill Jacob if he is speaking on Jacob's behalf? Wouldn't he at least warn them, since Jacob could tell the impostor from the real Locke. . Additionally, Christian confirmed to Locke that he had to die in "This Place is Death." This was so he could take Locke's form after setting him up as a faux leader of the Others through time travel, which only occured because Christian told Locke to move the island. Christian/Enemy knew that Ben would turn the wheel, causing the island to skip through time and this allowed Locke to make himself important and find out he "had" to die from Richard and Christian.
- Christian has been Jacob's enemy on the Island. Jack chased Christian off a cliff in "White Rabbit." He gets Aaron separated from his mother. He hung out in the cabin which had black ash around it (and was not the home of Jacob). He told Locke to move the island, knowing Ben would move it, causing Locke and crew to travel through time. Jacob's enemy as Locke in 2007 manipulated Locke to believe he was going to die. By having Richard give Locke the watch and allowing for time travel to occur, he set up Locke to be believed as a leader of the Others in 2004/7, when in reality, he wasn't special enough. He then tells Locke to move the wheel to get to the real world so that he can "sacrifice" himself so that he can take Locke's form when he returns to the Island and be believed to be the leader of the Others. Also, in "Namaste," Christian (who seems to always be seen with dark, ominous music) appears in near vicinity of the smoke monster (like with Alex and Yemi). He then tells Sun to wait for John Locke. Why would Jacob's messenger Sun and Frank them wait for the enemy? As for mentioning things about his son, as shown through Locke, Jacob's enemy is able to capture the personality of the person he possesses. This is all part of the "And you have no idea what I've gone through to be here."
- Maybe only some of Christian's appearances are as Jacob's enemy in his form while others are his actual spirit. There is evidence of this. One Christian leads Locke to his death by making him leave the Island; meaning that this is likely Jacob's enemy. However dead Charlie relays a message through Hurley to Jack that he will receive a visitor who turns out to be Christian. This is likely the real Christian as Jacob described Hurley as blessed.
What if Christian had already died long before his body was discovered, and Jacob's nemesis had already taken on his form when he met both Ana Lucia and Sawyer.
- I would say no. The mobisode So It Begins is canon to LOST and if it was Jacob's enemy why would Christian say to Vincent "I need you to go find my son." Also he said to Locke before he turned the wheel back on track, "say hello to my son." I think Christian is a manifestation of himself. No one is taking over Christian's image, but Christian himself. I speculate that he is a "ghost" with limited physical contact with objects. Ghosts in theory need some form of energy to manifest in order to move objects or to visually appear. This energy can be thermal, electrical, or audible. Since the island has a huge amount of electromagnetism, unlike any other place on earth, then it would be easier for a ghost (Christian) to manifest into himself from spirit into the apparitions we see.
- Jacob's enemy can take the memories and the personalities of those forms he takes (as shown with Locke). With Yemi, who was likely also Jacob's enemy, he was somewhat friendly and brotherly to Eko until he was to confess his sins. When Eko failed his island test (and chance to be manipulated by Jacob's enemy), "Yemi" dropped the act and scolded Eko for addressing him as his brother. Asking Vincent to go to "his son" is merely a merging of the personality that Jacob's enemy has stolen and his own plans. Telling Locke to say "Hello to my son" was a key component of Jack losing it and going on planes hoping to return to the island, as he had been seeing visions of his father at the time too.
Three Christians
There are three different Christians;
(1) Christian: the dead one from Sydney
(2) "Christian": the apparition on the island
(3) Jack's hallucination of the former out of guilt over not intervening to help his father before he died.
Evidence for Christians 1, 2 and 3:
- 1), 2) & 3) According to the producers, there is no literal resurrection of the dead on the island.
- 1) We know Christian is dead, he was in the morgue in Sydney.
- 2) When "Christian" is seen on the island by people who did not know Christian Sheperd in life (i.e. Locke, Hurley, Miles), this is evidence that "Christian" is somehow an apparition that exists independent of the memories that anyone has of him.
- 2) The apparition of Christian is a manifestation of Jacob (like "I'm not your brother" "Yemi" was). When he says he "speaks for" Jacob to Locke, that's because he is Jacob. He is only appearing as Christian because Claire is in the cabin with them, and he wants to appear as someone familiar to her to gain her trust so she will do as he asks.
- Counter-evidence for 2) Unlike the Yemi-apparition that admitted not to be Yemi, Christian asked Locke to "say hi to his son" at the end of "This Place is Death" which means that he actually is Christian Shephard. Otherwise Christian's request would have no relevance to the storyline at all since Locke doesn't even know who he is talking about.
- Not necessarily so. If he represents a force protecting the island, then he would do this in order to lure Jack back to the Island in order to save it from whatever danger it's facing.
- Unless he meant someone other than Jack.
- One of the "Christians" we have seen is Jacob's agent or Jacob himself. It may yet be shown that Jacob either possesses the power to actually resurrect humans from death (his encounter with Locke after his fall in "The Incident" hints at this possibility), or to a lesser degree, can also create his own apparitions like the Smoke Monster(Jacob's Antagonist?). This can also be denoted further in accounting for Christian's appearance when dressed in the suit and shoes he was to be buried in, it was either a Smoke Monster apparition or Jack hallucinating, assuming that the "look" and "physical substance" of the Smoke Monster apparitions are limited by the amount of information it can casually observe or "download" from a living person's memories (See more about this in Smoke Monster Theories). Whereas, when we see Christian dressed more casually (dress shirt and slacks), it is an apparition created by an entity which had greater contact with the eventual host. This will be further substantiated if we find that Jacob had some sort of contact with Christian Shepard, off-Island, before Christian's death.
- 2) The apparition of Christian is not Jacob, but Jacob's enemy. Note that, e.g., reincarnated Locke and Christian never appear together.
- 1) / 3) He's dead and the fact that Jack mentions him being alive more than once is a plot element used by the writers to convince you it is indeed a flashback instead of revealing too early that it is a flashforward in Through the looking glass.
- 3) Jack was obviously drunk in the scenes where he mentions his father Through the looking glass, and so would not be in his right mind.
- 3) The excuse for Jack's obvious mistakes in Through the looking glass is that he was messed up and in denial that his father is dead or he is reverting to himself pre-crash.
- 3) It could be that he was not actually saying that he wanted to see his father, he was just comparing himself with him (Through the looking glass).
- 3) He could also have been making a joke, saying to drag him down from "upstairs".
- The writer's make this aspect of the show confusing on purpose, mixing dreams, visions and hallucinations of the same characters. However, if you watch carefully, characters will often specify a reason for why they see apparitions (i.e. stress, dehydration, lack of sleep). The only way to be sure an apparition is "real" in any sense is if that character is confirmed by another character who does not have a history with the person appearing as the apparition (i.e. when Sawyer confirms that Kate's vision of the black horse is real, or when Locke sees Christian in Cabin Fever).
- Locke doesn't know about Christian in the cabin, he tells Jack that his father is dead in Through the Looking Glass part 2
- Christian is not a hallucination. He may be a manifestation or apparition, but there is some physicality to him. Hence how he can pet Vincent or hold Aaron. Though it has been confirmed that there is no resurrection of the dead on the island, it could be the same as Locke now being with the living.
- (1, 2, and 3) Christian is alive. He was bitten by the Medusa Spider (which is NOT native to the island; how would Arzt have known about it?), and was alive when he hit the ground.
- If he wasnt dead and just paralyzed from the bite, then the morgue wouldve figured that out.
- If he was alive when he hit the ground, others wouldve seen him as well as Jack.
- He acted too strange to be 'alive'
- If he is alive, provided he can't teleport, he died into the Kahana explosion.
Angel of Death
Christian Shephard is the angel of death of the Island; he appears to Claire after the explosion at the barracks ("Cabin Fever") and in a later episode on the Kahana to Michael ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3") right before the explosion to take their lives. When he appears to Jack in "White Rabbit," he leads Jack over the edge of a cliff and Jack is only saved at the last minute by Locke.
- Claire Did not die after the house explosion though.
- Actually upon re-watching (and re-watching!) she may have died in that explosion. It's very hard to explain her disappearing in the jungle with her dad Christian, but then leaving the baby otherwise. She could have died in the explosion and then be "seen" by Sawyer and Miles, the same way Locke saw her with Christian in the cabin. She could have been dead the entire time between Sawyer "rescuing" her from the explosion to the time Miles saw her walk away with her dad. Dead, or whatever Christian is/was.
Christian's Body
Christian's body came up missing after the crash, here's what could have happened;
- The reason Christian's body is missing is because he is in it. Christian is not a ghost but reincarnated like Locke
- Counter to the above - reincarnation /= reanimation
- Also, Locke's body is not missing, whereas Christian's is. While their forms may be possessed (for want of a better word) by other things (Jacob's Enemy, Jacob, the smoke monster, etc), which would indeed make them similar in some ways, this does NOT explain why Christian's body is missing.
- Polar bears came and took the body.
- A polar bear couldn't have opened the coffin without damaging it, nor would it have moved the cover rock back over the plane's hatch.
- We've learned that the polar bears on the Island are incredibly intelligent. Most suspect that the polar bears turn the donkey wheel, and also Tom tells Sawyer that the bears figured out the cage trick to get food. So I wouldn't say it's impossible.
- The Others stole Christian Shephard's body.
- Christian's body was taken by the monster so that it could be used against Jack and other people.
- The monster inhabits the body, this is how the apparitions are done through the use of a dead body making it seem like it is brought back to life.
- Presumably Oceanic staff told Jack that he could bring the body on 815 in White Rabbit. Not willing to break the law or policy Oceanic staff never put the body on the plane and it remains in Sydney.
- That would be extremely unethical. How would the airlines explain that upon arrival in LA? Furthermore, what would they do with the corpse in Sydney?
- Locke's body was allowed on the Ajira flight, most airlines have fairly standard rulse about flying
- Jacob is an unembodied consciousness that needs a body to inhabit in order to appear to the survivors. Having been encased in the coffin, Christian's already embalmed corpse would be a good choice. When Christian says that he speaks on Jacob's behalf, he means this because he IS Jacob, but living within the body of Christian Shephard.
- There is a symmetry between death/bodies and bringing Jack to the island. Christian's death resulted to Jack's presence on 815. John Locke's "death" results in Jack's presence on 316.
- The monster is appearing as Christian. It has done so before. As Yemi and even possibly as Rousseau's Team.
- Christian was flashed out of the coffin and thrown back to a point in time when he left the island, similar to Locke.
- Christian was removed from the coffin by Eloise Hawking, who then informed him that the Island decided to resurrect him for some purpose. Eloise then left Christian to his own devices and left the Island.
- Yemi´s body, is still on the beechcraft, decomposing, as Mr. Eko and Locke saw. Although I believe that the 'Security System' embodied itself as Yemi. But as happened to Locke, Christian´s body was never found, after the crashes, Ajira 316 and Oceanic 815, they 'came back to life' somehow.
- In the near future (sixth season) we will see an episode about C
Christian vs. Jacob
- When Christian says he will speak on Jacob's behalf, he is simply lying. As seen previously, Jacob can speak to Locke if he wishes. Knowing Ben would turn the wheel and move the island himself, Christian has eliminated Ben's influence over the island.
- When Jacob said "help me" he was not referring to Ben (that would be the obvious choice) but to Christian, him staying in the cabin makes him a suspect as well.
- Even though the cabin can move (it probably moves to different locations on the island, much like the island itself moves to different locations in the ocean), Jacob is confined to the cabin because of the gray powder/dust surrounding the cabin. If we were to assume Ben put that powder around the cabin to keep Jacob in check and possibly manipulate Jacob at least to a certain degree, this may have been why Jacob wanted Locke to help him. Then this is where Christian comes in. Since Jacob couldn't leave the cabin himself, he appointed Christian as his proxy to act on his behalf outside of the cabin. This was especially crucial when Locke was injured down in the cave below the Orchid and needed instructions on what to do about turning the wheel to stop the island from flashing (and return Locke to civilization). If Jacob didn't have someone to meet Locke in the cave and speak on his behalf, Locke wouldn't have known what to do.
- Although, we learn in the incident 1&2 that Jacob does not live in the cabin, but the 4 toed statue and Ben had never met Jacob until that point. Furthermore, Jacob could leave freely, and even go to the "real world" to meet the passengers of 815 before they came/came back to the island.
- Jacob is not a person, but a group of people (maybe spirits). Jacob is something like a senate for the island. Sometimes a leader or a representative is selected (or decided some other way) among the group. Since the Jacob is not a person, this representative cannot be called Jacob but he or she can represent the Jacob group and talk on behalf of it. The current representative of the Jacob is Christian.
- Ben has told us that Jacob hates technology, and apparently became angry when Locke used a flashlight in the Cabin. However, Christian seems to have no qualms about using a flashlight in "Namaste".
- Jacob's Cabin was not seen in Namaste. That was a DHARMA building.
He has been on the Island Before
- The behavior of Christian right before he dies in Australia was very reminiscent of Jack's behavior after he left the island. So it is possible Christian was on the island before the crash of 815 and manage to leave somehow (Frozen Donkey Wheel...). This way when he returned to the mainland he wanted to go back to the island (for unknown reasons) but he couldn't (this is, perhaps, the main rason he went to Australia in the first place) so he started a drinking problem (just like Jack), the final consecuence of this situation was Christian returning to the island in a coffin, just like Locke a.k.a. Bentham, and now he seems to be working for/with Jacob, much like Locke was last seen.
- He left the island by moving it, as Ben did, which is why he eventually was lead to despair - after all, as he tells Ana Lucia in a drunken state he "can't ever go back." Just like Ben telling John that "He who moves the island can't ever return."
- Christian was the doctor of the pre-Dharma others.
- I have a feeling these theories will be correct. Christian is not literally resurrected on the island, because when 815 crashes, the time on the island isnt the same as outside, nor is it moving at the same rate. The on-island time was years prior to the outside time, thus Christian, in that time-period, is *actually still alive*. As far as appearing off-island, that is an apparition, courtesy of Jacob. I think Christian was sent off island to bear a son and bring him back so he could help save the island, but became disheartened because he knows Jack is a man of science; ironically, the both of them end up on the island anyway.
- Maybe the plane crashes have something to do with dead bodies being aboard. Christian's on 815, Yemi's on the beechcraft, (presumably) Locke's when the O6 return... maybe there's something about certain corpses that... attract them to the island.
- Christian Shepard is actually Richard Alpert, who at some point in time, left the island(for a very extensive period of time), progressively aging without the islands healing properties and changed his name to Christian Shepard. Already knowing the future events that were to occur on the island, he knew he must meet Margo and Carole Littleton to father Jack and Claire. He knew he would have to die the same time Claire was pregnant, so that Jack and Claire both would be on Oceanic 816. Once on the island again he could shift through time to show up at opportune moments, such as when Locke needed help (as he had received from Richard, and was then receiving from Christian) to save the island.
- Dude that would be casting since they're not even the same ethnicity - unlikely
- Eloise Hawking refers to Locke as a proxy for Christian. Locke's mission is to "bring people back" to the Island, through his death. However, he ends up in a different time period from the rest of the individuals on the plane. Likewise, Christian was "bringing people back" to the Island, specifically Jack and possibly Claire and others, through his death. Like Locke, he was resurrected in a different time period in the Island's past. Based on this he was likely on the island in the past, possibly as DHARMA's doctor.
Speaker of the Island
- Much like Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the House, Christian is the Speaker of the Island. Damon and Carlton gave out the word proxy in the Official Audio Podcast Feb. 12, 2009, in definition here via dictionary.com. Christian has been appointed as the proxy for the island and Locke may possibly be the new proxy More evidence into this is when Locke asked Christian if he was Jacob and he replied: "No. But I can speak on his behalf." Hear more on this through the podcast here.
- Exactly. Jacob is something like a senate for the island and Christian is the current leader/speaker/representative of the Jacob.
- The episode "316" Ms. Hawking stated that Locke must be the proxy for Christian, meaning that he must be a substitute for him, and needing something that belonged to Christian in order to do so. Still because the theory above uses a different meaning for the word proxy the theory still fits.
Experiencing Time Flashes
- The wheel chamber, along with Christian and Jacob, are moving through time along the same path as Locke and the rest of those left behind.
- If this were not the case, as soon as the survivors moved to a time prior to Ben's removal of the wheel from its axle or after Locke's repairs, they would no longer experience time flashes.
- Alternatively, if the wheel chamber and Christian were outside of linear time entirely, Christian would possess foreknowledge of Locke's success in returning the Oceanic Six, instead of merely displaying faith in John.
- Christian is a person of faith. He has always relied on his faith in all appearances he has made so far in the show and that's why he uses the phrase; "And that's why the Red Sox will never win the World Series."
- While certain dialogue, such as his comments to Jack regarding the need for hope, can suggest a life of faith, his comment about the Red Sox is more likely spoken for superstitious or humorous reasons.
- Christian is a person of faith. He has always relied on his faith in all appearances he has made so far in the show and that's why he uses the phrase; "And that's why the Red Sox will never win the World Series."
Incomplete Version of Locke
- The Christian apparition is different to the other apparitions - for one, the body is missing and is on the Island and unlike the Yemi one (who isnt realy Yemi) it actually seems to be Christian: he tells Locke that his name is Christian and also tells him to "say hi to my son [Jack] for me".
- Christian serves as Jacobs voice he helps Jacob in comunicating with the people on the Island. This is the role Ben as leader of the others is supposed to serve. Ben however doesnt and disrespects Jacob (Grabbing Jacob and shouting). Locke is supposed to serve the role of Jacob's interpreter and also the role of leader. This is why he can hear Jacob and why Jacob asks him to help him. As Locke isn't ready to lead and as Christian is the next closest thing to Locke (due to the nature of his arrival on the Island and that of Lockes second arrival) Jacob uses Christian instead.
- In season 5 we learn that locke works as a "proxy" for Christian by serving as the body on the plane. We also know that he is "special" and is needed by the Island.
Christian seems to be serving the Island/Jacob as an envoy and is therefore serving the role Locke is supposed to. Locke was ressurected on the Island fully while Christian doesnt seem to be able to intract physically with Locke (Locke asking him to help him up but Christian looks uncomfortable and says he cant) whilst being able to hold Aron and pet Vincent, this is because Christian is serving the same role as Locke and any contact will be catastrophic. He is ressurected because he arrives on the Island the same way as Locke does the second time (in a coffin) and as time/space doesnt work the same way on the Island - Christian got what was meant for Locke but because he wasnt Locke, he came back incomplete.
- His incomplete nature is represented by his shoes - Christian has trainers on (because Jack was too lazy/angry at Christian to get him proper shoes) where as Locke has the shoes meant for Christian - Locke is the complete version of the Island's "Messiah" whose ressurection is complete - Whereas Christian is the imcomplete Messiah who's role is to prepare the Island for when Locke is ready. Considering Locke's specialness (his "special" destiny, his resurection, how Ben refers to a painting of Jesus and Saint Thomas, the bibleJohn 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." and how is is visited by Richard (angel/wise man) at his birth it is safe to assume he is a paralell to Jesus. This makes Christian John the babtist - who works almost as a proto-messiah awaiting for the true messiah.
Locke has come back to life like Christian when they crashed the second time. I think that when Christian meets Locke again he will hand his role over to Locke
Christian Moved the Island
Christian has previously played the same role as Locke now has. Christian was on the island previously and for some reason had to move it. This mean he had to leave the island, but also had to die to come back. The way he got back was by dying. Evidence:
- We know Ben and Locke both successfully moved the island by turning the donkey wheel. They were both kicked off the island but have both managed to return. Both have a strong connection to Jacob and serve a major leadership role on the island.
- At some point during his life, Christian developed alcoholism and started taking a lot of trips - that was when he had the affair with Carole Littleton and had Claire. These trips were his attempts to crash again, just like we've seen some of the O6 try.
- Locke was going to kill himself in order to reunite the O6 to go back to the island. Christian's destructive behavior was his own suicide?
- Locke was responsible for getting the people he needed together to go back to the island - the O6. Maybe Christian's intention was to get Jack on the course that would have him crashing on the island. Not only did he draw Jack in, but Ana Lucia was in Australia because she was being Christian's bodyguard, Claire exists because of Christian (obviously), and he encouraged Sawyer in the bar (get on with whatever business would ease his pain).
- Both Locke and Christian were 'reincarnated' upon crashing and returning to the island.
- Both Locke and Chtistian are special in some way, especially regarding their links to Jacob. Christian is able to speak on Jacob's behalf and Locke is able to see/speak with Jacob.
- This doesn't explain why Ben didn't have to die to get back, but we do know that Ben was pretty seriously injured coming back to the island, so it remains to be seen what the implications of him living to come back are.
- Ben was already injured when he got on the plane, he could have been unconscious due to the crash.
- Locke originally got to the island on Oceanic flight 815? How did Christian originally get to the island?
Christian Shephard´s past
- Chritian´s past is unknown, MAYBE somehow his past is connected to the island, or the hostiles, or Widmore, or Hanso Fundation, or the Dharma Initiative, or even the Black Rock
Now that his father was shown, maybe some light can be put into his past in upcoming episodes.
- That´s the reason why beyond him, those who has the same blood also are special, like Jack, Claire and Aaron.
- Christian Shephard is the Doctor at the Looking Glass that Juliet mentions. It makes sense, as Christian would have a reason to be resurrected, much like Locke, and it would produce sufficient brain explosions in the viewer.
Christian Shephard is alive, a former Other, and on a mission
- As seen in "Whatever Happened, Happened", Ben will undergo an irreversible process to save his life. This process can save one from death, or possible return the deceased from death. Christian has undergone this before (as has Ben, Richard, etc), and is an Other for this reason. The plane was brought to the island because Christian was dead and needed to be resurrected, which could only happen on the Island. When the house Claire is in is attacked by Widmore's men, she either dies or comes close to it. Christian (being her father) chooses to save her by luring her to the temple and performing the same ritual for her. However, not wanting to draw her into "the Others", once the ritual is complete he takes her to the cabin where presumably he can stay with her while she recovers without the Others knowing about it. Claire is noticeably spaced out in this scene because she is recovering from the effects (pharmaceutical or supernatural) of the process. She is now immortal on the island.
- Darlton once said,"Dead is dead." This is important and I think debunks this theory.
- Christian is alive and corporeal, he's not a ghost or manifestation. However he is trying to accomplish something that is directly at odds with Richard Alpert, Ben Linus, and the Others (perhaps to "help [Jacob]"). Because of this, he is putting tremendous effort into flying under the radar so as not to be noticed.
- And crearly blew up with the Kahana unless he can teleport...
- Christian, who can be noted as being a common thread between many of the other original Losties (Jack, Claire, Sawyer, Ana Lucia, more..?), orchestrated all of them arriving on the island. Perhaps he even committed suicide when the time was right, knowing that his corpse would then become like a magnet to the island.
- When Ben sees that John Locke has returned from death, he deduces that Christian Shephard must have as well. This is why he is so clearly shaken, because he realizes that this whole time Christian has been manipulating events and Ben has not been as in control as he thinks.
The island's "Christian" is Jack
Jack never time travels out of the 1970s. He stays on the island, ages 30 years, and appears as "Christian" after Oceanic crashes.
- He wouldn't look exactly like his father, and he probably would not be inclined to go around doing and saying really weird cryptic stuff as soon as his past self crashes.
- Furthermore, this does not explain what happened to Christian's body.
Christian has always been Jack
Jack never time travels out of the 1970s. He and Kate return to America, and assume new identities as Christian and Margo Shephard. They raise Jack as their son. Our original Jack and 1977 Jack (Christian) co-existed in time.
- Ray Shephard, Christian's dad, is also an older Jack. When "Christian" returned to the island, he time traveled as well, and returned to America as Ray Shephard.
- This means that unless Jack can be his own father, someone else in the cast may be Jack's biological father.
Christian, Locke and the "Magic Box"
- He moves through stages in his journey pre-Island when we see him move from saying that Jack "didn't have what it takes" during Jack's childhood. This is a progression from negative to positive opinions of Jack. Over the course of the paragraph entitled "Working with Jack" there's definitely a sense that he starts off with a patronizing attitude towards Jack's ability through many conflicts with Jack that lead him to a true and honest respect for Jack as established in his comments to Sawyer in Outlaws. This is a real journey for him that forces him to deal with all of his own weaknesses (alcoholism) and vices (his extramarital affairs). His self assessment is that "I am weak". His central relationship with his son is the way the writers explored all of Christian's soul pre Island. He reaches a point of total despair and his agenda in Sydney beyond seeing Claire is to (apparently) drink himself to death. Then his dead body arrives in the Island and we see Christian suddenly with a new attitude. Chronologically from "So it Begins" he knows things that would be inconsistent with the character of Christian presented in his pre-Island life. His ability to not just communicate with the Island but to become one with the Island is nothing short of incredible. Sound familiar?
- John Locke's story and Christian Shepard's story have multiple points of comparison but the most significant is where they end up. Locke is about to hang himself and he says "I'm a failure." Then we see Locke get killed by Ben and after that Locke has transformed.
- Although on the surface Locke's transformation is more consistent with information given to us about Locke in previous episodes, I do want to note the dialogue in "Two for the Road":
CHRISTIAN: Maybe fate has just thrown the 2 of us together, you know. Two drinks in an airport bar -- ANA: Why would fate do that? CHRISTIAN: Same reason fate does anything -- so that we can help each other out. You do need help, right? Unless you don't. What I'm doing down there could be a little dangerous and I need someone to protect me -- a bodyguard. It's perfect for someone who stopped being a cop.
How do the two "phenomena" relate? Easily, through the Magic Box. This, to refresh your memory is a way the Island gives individuals what they want or need. Christian's relationship with his son is unbelievable strong in his existence on the Island and although the on Island Christian does not have much dialogue with Jack if you really examine the ways in which he appears in the scene with Jack you can see that it is because Jack is having trouble on his end not because Christian isn't making a huge effort to reach out to him. His interactions with Locke and the role he plays to "speak on Jacob's behalf" works as a bridge between himself and Jack. If you look at the dialogue between Locke and Christian in "This Place is Death" you will see that the idea of bringing back the Oceanic Six originates with Christian. Locke doesn't mention that his goal is to bring back Oceanic Six but Christian says it before Locke can get around to it.
CHRISTIAN: There's a woman living in Los Angeles. Now once you get all your friends together--and it must be all of them, every one who left--and once you've persuaded them to join you, this woman will tell you exactly how to come back. LOCKE: Who is she? CHRISTIAN: Her name is Eloise Hawking. LOCKE: What if I can only convince some of them to come back? CHRISTIAN: I believe in you, John. You can do this.
And of course his much quoted lines "Say hello to my son!"
- Although we see Locke already has this idea in his head the "origin" or this idea comes from Christian.
We also see Christian reunite with Claire and this is part of what Christian has wanted from the beginning. Although I accept that Christian's desire to have his children brought back together is not the ONLY reason why the Oceanic Six are brought back I refer you to Locke's mantra in Season One that "The Island will find a way [to give you want you want]".
- Still don't accept that the Magic Box is actually a major keystone? Well I'll refer you to another part of the story, other characters and another situation: the dialogue between Sawyer and Jack in season finale reinforces this idea. Sawyer asks Jack why he is doing this and Jack begins by saying that Locke was right that it is his destiny but Sawyer doesn't understand that terminology and Sawyer asks "What do you want?" Jack says he wants Kate. Later we see Juliet pretty much say she wants Sawyer. In order for this theory to be consistent the Island will arrange the events to give them want they want.
- This theory also refutes any connection with Jacob's enemy. This theory refers you to multiple episodes and multiple story arcs and is not solely based on any one particular scene or dialogue as is the case with Jacob's enemy. These ideas have been present since first season and do not require any major leaps in logic or interpretation of events or dialogue. It also is consistent with pretty much everything the canon has to offer.
I would even go so far as to say that the Magic box has a dark side. This is what we see in the growth of cancer in Ben, the moments of paralysis in Locke, the on Island events of "Something Nice Back Home" when Jack's appendix bursts, I will cite dialogue below:
BERNARD: All right. Honey, I am sure Jack is gonna be okay. An appendectomy is just about the most common kind of surgery there is. ROSE: That's not what I was thinking about. I was thinking, "Why did he get sick?" BERNARD: Why? It's just--it's just bad luck. ROSE: The day before we're all supposed to be rescued, the person that we count on the most suddenly comes down with a life-threatening condition, and you're chalking it up to bad luck? BERNARD: Well, what are you saying, that--that Jack did something to offend the gods? People get sick, Rose. ROSE: Not here. Here, they get better.
So what we're seeing in Christian and Locke is a clear continuation of their desires and needs.
Oh and finally we can discuss what constitutes a "person". This is a deep philosophical question about identity and who we are not a quick way to bring contradictory evidence together. When Christian or Locke says "I am Christian/Locke" what evidence do we have to refute that? What elements do we need to constitute that person? What elements can be removed without the whole losing its meaning? This issue of "identity" would be a good launching discussion from this theory.
Christian is the same as Fake Locke for Jacob
- Like Locke, Christian was "dead" on the plane and seemingly "resurrected" on the Island. Christian claims he can "speak on Jacob's behalf". At the end of The Incident it is pretty clear Jacob knows he is going to die, so he puts a plan in motion that involved touching all of those he does in flashbacks, and he created Christian Shephard to be his body so that he will live on after he dies.
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