The Man Behind the Curtain/Theories

From Lostpedia

The Purge

• Ben's requirement of Locke to kill Anthony Cooper in order to join The Others is a reflection of when Ben killed his father to gain acceptance with the "hostiles."
• Ben received leadership because of his role in the purge. Although perhaps he didn't initiate it, Ben made sure he was on the winning side.
• Ben was lying in some way to Locke about the Purge. We can realize about Ben's con when he tells to Locke that DHARMA Initiative people died because of the gas. But this is not true at all (at least it is not true for one of the DHARMA Initiative members) because the killed corpse which Locke is observing in the common grave wasn't killed by the gas but by the shot of a gun (the skull has what looks like a bullet hole on it). Furthermore it seems that Locke realize it. And just after that, Ben shoots Locke before Locke can do anything with his knife.

Annie

Main article: Annie/Theories

• In the last flashback Ben is starring at the doll that Annie gave him in a very sad way, she's probably dead or apart from Ben somehow.

• It's worth noting that the doll that Annie made, aside from the hair color, looks exactly the same as Ben's mother appears to him, in a blue dress. Throughout the flashbacks, you do not see either Ben or Annie wearing these clothes.

• Annie survived the purge and became involved with Ben. Annie died giving birth to their child, and that is why Ben is obsessed with solving the childbirth problem (In "The Brig", Richard tells Locke that many of the Others are tired of focusing all of their attention to this issue).
• Annie became pregnant with Ben's child before the purge. Ben's anger at this was the final trigger to be involved with the hostiles.
• Ben had twins with Annie before the purge, and they are taking refuge in the "Looking Glass" with the older Annie. They are Bonnie and Greta.

• Not likely since Ben had Mikhail kill Bonnie and Greta. Besides, Bonnie and Great look nothing alike. Even fraternal twins are somewhat similar. And they don't need to "take refuge" since the other "Others" know about them (Mikhail thought they were "on assignment in Canada").

Volcanoes

• Jacob is in tune with the volcano. His feelings and emotions cause it to rumble and rupture. In the past he caused it to erupt, killing the real 'original inhabitants' of the Island.
  • Very unlikely - assuming the Island may run similar laws of nature to the real world, the dynamics of volcanic activity would not permit non-stochastic tremors and eruption events.
• The Volcano will become more active in later episodes
  • The lesson in class about volcanoes was simply a set-up for what happened next: a shaking classroom which makes the audience think that a volcano is erupting. In reality, the writers were probably using that as a set-up to introduce the idea of the Hostiles. (Much in the way the episode began with a birth in what looked like a jungle, only to reveal that it was the woods of Oregon.) It's unlikely that the volcano will erupt anytime soon if at all, and it's more likely that the emergency positions the kids took were precautions against gunfire from the hostiles.

It is more likely to be shaking due to problems with the Indident at The Swan or even Orchid than a volcano.

Ghosts

• All the dead people that are seen are ghosts.
• Ghost stories usually revolve the same themes that are associated with appearances of ghosts on the Island:
  • Warning others of impending doom.
  • Attempts to draw others to death, so they can join them in the afterlife.
  • Help in making the transition to the "other side".
• The dirt was that Locke was checking out was part of a "magic circle" surrounding Jacob's shack in order to protect or keep him in. Alternatively, it could keep the other ghosts on the Island out.
  • The substance that was in a circular pattern is likely volcanic ash rather than dirt. The scene where it is found closely follows Olivia's description of the island's volcano (which erupted "a long time ago"), the substance appeared to have a fine texture, a grey color, and judging from Locke's sniffing it, a strong or strange odor.
    • Although it is unlikely that ash would have fallen into a neat line like this substance was arranged

• the ash was most likely arranged there to stop the other "ghosts" from entering his cabin, probably by the others/hostiles or even by jacob hiself. The ghosts are either the smoke monster or jacob's nemesis impersonating the dead to lead people astray.

Jacob's enemy

Jacob's enemy is the person that made the cabin shake. He was the one that escaped when the circle of ash was broken.

Miscellaneous

• The plot element of DHARMA arrivals being assigned their new jobs -- and one being angry about it -- is reminiscent of the protagonist Equality 7-2521 in Ayn Rand's novella Anthem. He wanted to be a scholar, and was in fact a brilliant scientist, but was assigned to be a street sweeper. The society in which he lived was averse to change, and afraid of technology. Equality rediscovered electricity and developed a light bulb, but the society was using candles, and thus rejected his invention. He ran away to an overgrown forest, where he rediscovered the concept of individuality.
• Horace's last name is Goodspeed. Goodspeed is an alternative spelling of the word Godspeed, which is the name of one of the 3 original ships that brought the first settlers to Jamestown. Horace brings Ben and Roger and presumably others to the Island, which is like the Jamestown settlement in numerous ways: it is remote from civilization, it offers the promise of a new life, there are conflicts with the existing inhabitants, etc. While Jamestown was not technically an island, the landbridge between Jamestown and the rest of the coast was often flooded, making it appear to be an island. Jamestown was named for the King James I, who nominally ruled the colony although of course the colonists never saw him and the British crown played little role in their daily lives. James is an English variant of the name "Jacob" who may rule the island, although almost noone ever sees him.