'Lost': The man (in black) with the plan, Part 1

Gonna try something a little different this week here on the "Lost" blog this week. I'm going to try and put myself in the shoes of Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and attempt to answer the following question: How did the Man in Black achieve the loophole that led to Ben killing Jacob? It's an ambitious answer, so I'm going to spend this week's worth of entries answering it.

Now, obviously the answer will be a combination of in-show events coupled with theories to fill in the holes, but the goal of this project is not to come up with the single answer to the question. The goal is to show just how well the show as a whole holds up to the scrutiny that question poses. The show's clearly known about Jacob and The Man in Black, at least conceptually, since the start of the show, and this week's all about showing just how strong a presence they have had on the show since the beginning.

Let's start from the first scene with these two figures: the opening of the Season 5 finale, "The Incident." The two talk calmly as the Black Rock sits in the distance. The statue, confirmed on ABC's own website as Taweret, stands fully formed nearby. The Man in Black talks of finding a loophole by which he can do the one thing he wants more than anything: kill Jacob. Jacob pulls his best Kirsten Dunst and tells his adversary to bring it on.

The Man in Black's first move? Weakening Jacob's power. If, as I've theorized before, that the power of these two near-god like figures comes from the people on the Island, then The Man in Black's primary goal is to shake the foundations of belief of Jacob's followers on the Island. This plan contained two steps.  Part one consisted of the destruction of Taweret, who among other things is a fertility goddess. On an Island in which there's an intense connection between psychological status and physical manifestations, the destruction of the statue would impede the ability of its inhabitants to have children.

Note I say "impede," not "prevent," because we have three confirmed on-Island births (Ethan, Alex, and Aaron) after the time at which the statue crumbled, with a fourth (Karl) possible but not confirmed. As of now, we only know that the statue crumbled between the mid-19th century and 1974. Why 1974? Because in "LaFleur," they flashed to a time in which the statue existed fully-formed to a time in which it was no longer in sight. If we go off the "Jughead"-esque notion that something large and destructive introduced to the "Lost" universe will later go boom, let's go with the potentially easiest explanation for Taweret's destruction: a volcanic eruption, referenced in "The Man Behind the Curtain." In other words, The Man in Black used his power to enable a volcano to erupt and destroy this primary source of fertility on the Island. (If Charlie can collapse a cave by screaming, "I'm a bloody rock god!", then the Man in Black can pull this off.)

Now, it's good to destroy the psychology of an entire people, but it's equally important to destroy their figurehead. And in the episode title "Follow the Leader," we get a direct message from the show that The Man in Black targeted Ben and Locke as pawns in his long con. Even in the face of massive struggle, leaders can bond people together in the face of adversity. Live together, die alone. The Man in Black's goal? Infect the mind of the body politic, then lop off the head.

(Quick sidebar: I'd say the third person The Man in Black sought to corrupt, ultimately unsuccessfully, was Hurley. After Hurley's conversation with Jacob in "The Incident," why he's one of the three people that can find the cabin makes more sense. At this point, I'm really, really, really tempted to put Hurley as one of the five most important characters in "Lost" history at this point, and the "Light vs. Dark" series will really shed light on just how much The Man in Black sought to corrupt him. My colleague here at Zap2it, Andy Grieser, has suggested to me that by show's end, Hurley will be the new Jacob on the show. It's a really cool theory and I'm giving him props now so I can continue to rip him off going forth.)

Tomorrow: how Jacob The Man in Black started a war between two would-be saviors, and what Jacob did to try and counter it. Many of you think Ben and Jacob are just pathetic pawns in light of the Season 5 finale, but hopefully I'll show that the finale proved their overall importance more than ever.

Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude. He invites you to join the hundreds already in Zap2It's Guide to Lost Facebook group. He also encourages you to subscribe to the Zap2It's Guide to Lost Twitter feed.

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