It's a question that's been on LOST fans' minds since the third season: Who is Jacob?? I've seen speculations ranging from Jack to Locke to Alvar Hanso to Radzinsky to Daniel Faraday to Walt. My personal belief is that Jacob is nobody we are currently familiar with, but that's just me. Nevertheless, I've decided to take this "who is Jacob" question and turn it into a weekly blog series that I call the Jacob Pick of the Week.
("Jacob Pick of the Week" is meant only as a humorous parody. By taking this blog post seriously and/or attempting to engage in a debate over its contents, you accept full responsibility of me thinking you're an idiot.)
For this week's Jacob Pick of the Week, I've chosen...
Thomas -- Aaron's biological father who spontaneously abandoned Claire in the middle of her pregnancy, never to be seen again.
We all know Thomas as the deadbeat dad who got Claire pregnant, convinced her that they could raise a family together, then suddenly changed his mind five months into the pregnancy and walked out on Claire without looking back. All because it would interfere with his painting. The guy really deserves a serious beating, doesn't he? Unless he was "supposed to" father a bastard child, because it's what the Island wanted.
Picture this. Jacob needs a new heir to rule the Island. He also knows that something must be done about the pregnancy issue and the magnetic buildup in the Swan station. So he leaves the Island and goes to Australia, posing as an artist named Thomas, and hooks up with Claire, the daughter of Christian Shephard who is soon to be destined to come to the Island anyway. Five months after getting Claire pregnant, he pretends to be a deadbeat dad, breaks up with her, and returns to the Island. Everything is now set in motion. The fake psychic puts Claire on Oceanic 815, bringing her to the Island, where the Others can experiment on her. It's because Ethan kidnaps her that Locke and Boone discover the hatch while looking for her, eventually leading to Desmond turning the failsafe key and saving the world. All part of Jacob's plan.
Thomas' paintings are, in fact, merely recreations of Jacob's artwork which he began on the Island. Charles Widmore recognizes this at some point and buys the paintings and displays them in his office -- a piece of Jacob, right there on his wall.
All this, of course, means that Aaron is the Son of Jacob. Perhaps he is supposed to be the next ruler of the Island. Jacob might be mad that Kate didn't bring him back. Maybe Claire knew this was bad news and appeared to Kate in a dream demanding not to bring him back. But these are things to be left for other theories.
So, congratulations, Thomas. For neglecting your fatherly duties for the greater good of the Island, you are the Jacob Pick of the Week!