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Lost: Game theory

An impostor threatens the island, the people, and potentially the world. And the war begins.

 What is the war Charles Widmore warned Locke about? The season finale, "The Incident" shed some light on the matter, and as it turns out, it is religious, complex and  very "Lost-y.

One of the more popular theories going around lately has been the "its a game theory", which basically says that they are all pieces in a game being played by supernatural forces (some think it's aliens, no joke). I've dismissed the idea, but thanks to the last episode, I agree...though not about the aliens. As it turns out, there is more than one thing I have misinterpreted about this show.

Like Smokey and his intentions. I'd always viewed Smokey as a security system who waited to protect and serve the island and its inhabitants and nothing more. No so. Like the hieroglyph in the temple. It depicted an Egyptian god and the smoke monster, and I thought that it showed their relationship or even a partnership between the two that both dealt in death and redemption. Not so either. Actually, Smokey seems to be a cruel and evil being that protects the island because it feels ownership; he doesn't work for Jacob, and when Ben summons it to take out the trash, it does it because it gets joy from it. And that perty picture in the temple? They're fighting each other in a representation of the battle between good and evil; life and death.

Games have been referenced and used in analogies many times on Lost. This season in particular has featured many references to breaking and obeying "rules". So looking back at the first scene (and using the It's a Game Theory as a reference point) we see two men: one in white, the other in black (a reference to the first season backgammon game with one dark side, one light) trading threats over breakfast as their pawns/game pieces linger just offshore in a ship. The dark Mystery Man thinks that outsiders will corrupt and destroy the island, but Jacob, the light, believes otherwise and that the people will in fact thrive and redeem themselves on this island. They are the pawns; the two men are the players, and they just happen to be good vs. evil battling for the world.

Jacob-    He appears to be the good, and representing God/Jesus in the scenario, and he picks his players carefully. In flashbacks we watched him choosing the people who would one day make it to the island, and even helping them along. He indulged Kate's wild side by keeping her out of trouble as a kid. He gave Sawyer the pen with which he wrote his letter and began his journey down the road of revenge. He even helped along Nadia's death in order to bring Sayid back to the island. If you watch, you'll see that in each flashback, Jacob touched every single person he visited almost like he was creating an invisible bond that would one day bring them back to him...

So why would he pick people who were particularly flawed to be a part of his Goodness Army? Was it that they could one day seek redemption and grow into better human beings on the island? For the most part, it has worked out, but occasionally, one will come across Smokey, and be taken away from the world, and also the war.

Jacob also appears to be responsible for the lists which the Others used to pick people for their group. It was always a mystery of why only certain people who seemed "worthy" were chosen, and also the innocent children. We seem to have our answer.

Mystery Man- In the first scene, he vowed to kill Jacob once he found a "loophole". Though we never saw him in that form again, how much do you want to bet that he too has a supernatural side and is in fact the Smoke Monster himself. He roams the island looking for the bad in people, and maybe like in real faith, if they are seeking redemption and improving themselves, they are protected by Jacob.  If not, Smokey claims you for his side of the battle.

While his enemy has the powers to heal and the general support of the people, Smokey has the ability to turn into dead people and manipulate with that ability. It;s how he turned Ben into the sad puppy he's become, and how he is able to impersonate John Locke. In fact, I believe it was his plan all along to take the form of Locke. From the start, Smokey favored Locke who was not afraid, and actually started seeing the monster as a white light. Could Smokey see down the line and know that one day Locke would be in a powerful position that he could use for his own gain? Looking back, it was Mystery Man in Locke's body who told Richard to make Locke kill himself when he got off the island. It was his plan all along.

And yet, the people of the island respect Smokey enough to acknowledge its presence and in some cases, go to it for judgment. They ignore the fact that it really is a dark being, and in Locke's case, he saw its beauty instead. In a flashback, when Jacob was reading at the scene of Locke's building accident, he read "Everything that Rises Must Converge" which explores themes of a sin disguised by modern culture.

The people- As with people in the real world and their views on faith, some whole heartedly believe, while others have their doubts. These themes of faith and destiny have been explored much on the show in the past, but now we are finally confronting the issue directly. In the moment before Ben slaughtered Jacob, he questioned his entire life that he lived to serve the man before him, saying "I do what is written" "I never see you, I never hear you" and so on. He wanted answers, acknowledgment, and he needed to know that he did it all for a reason. But when Jacob could offer none, Ben turned against him in anger. He was influenced by the dark side, the monster, and if you really want to get technical, Satan. Meanwhile, you have Richard who believes that Jacob saved him and made him who he is. He doesn't need to see him to believe that he is great or important to the island and the people, and he can't stand it when others doubt the procedure. Now that Jacob is possibly gone and Locke is impersonating the leader, who knows what will happen in the war next.

John Locke- Of course, the Others shouldn't be fooled as Ilana and her crew brought the real Locke's body as proof that evil is disguised as something good. But if Jacob is really dead, then it might not matter that the people won't be fooled. But since Locke is indeed gone, what does it mean for the war? After all, Widmore did tell Locke that he had to be back on the island or else the wrong side would win. Of course, it's hard to say what side Widmore would be on anyway. He didn't seem to have much faith in Jacob as a young man, and he is against Ben...who was on the right side up until recently.

The loophole- Could it be that the only rule is that the two can't directly harm each other? If so, it's strange that it took Mystery Man so long to find someone to do the deed for him. But I guess generally the people support Jacob on the island, and those who have their doubts aren't likely to kill a man, let alone their leader's leader.

But I'm not convinced that the loophole is real and that Jacob is dead and gone. When Not-Locke and Ben came for him, Jacob didn't put up a fight, in fact, he fulfilled his first scene promise that he'd be "waiting right here" when Mystery Man found the loophole. Maybe he didn't believe he could do it. But looking at religion, when Jesus was to be crucified, He went to His death simply and didn't cower or fight because it was destined to happen; He accepted his fate knowing that there would be a greater benefit for his people. Also, it wasn't the end of the story. As should be the case with Jacob.

Winner takes all- So who will win when it comes time to have the epic battle? The castaways will deal with the fallout of their attempted future changing at the hatch and choose sides. I can't exactly imagine them picking evil, but I think there will be plenty of manipulation from the evil side next year. But more on that later in part three.