Jack the saviour of the others and everything not Locke

[Michelle]

think about it ben saw his dead mom in the jungle and she showed him where he wanted to be i.e with the hostiles on the island

jack in season 1 saw his dead dad in the jungle who showed him where the fresh water supply was when it was desparatly needed

both jack and ben have been shown what they needed for them to become essentially leaders of their respected groups when they needed it. it seems too much of a similarity to not be discussed.

Ben was never a man of faith like locke is. locke believes the island will tell him what to do and show him his path which is all well and good, but ben is a man of science like jack, ben is using science to find out why the pregnant women die, and knows i beieve how the island works. jack is also a man of science and would do the same kind of thing

what if it is jack that is supposed to take bens place and not locke

[cassiel]

That's an interesting thought.

I suspect that the island intended for someone from the wreck to be the new leader/messiah and it was testing several choices; Jack would have been the obvious choice but if he and Ben are so similar as in scientific/logical men, the island may be afraid he'd turn out exactly like him. Which is why maybe he switched to Locke instead; someone whose more of a follower than a thinker, easier to manipulate - you have to admit, it takes a certain type of person to keep getting scammed by the same guy over and over again. Unlike Jack & Ben, Locke is searching for something to believe in, a higher truth, a greater purpose.

[cassiel]

Oh, and congratulations on hitting the big 400, Michelle. Cheers.

[Michelle]

Thanks Cassiel, i didnt even realise id got to 400 hehe!

i thought about jacob choosing Locke because he is a follower without asking 2 many questions, but a follower cant be a leader really

[cassiel]

He'd be more of a figurehead sort of deal. Like the Pope.

[Michelle]

yeah, i suppose he could be, but jack is more of a believeable leader, he never believed he was a natural leader in the beginning, and i think he could be a good servant for jacob aswell as leading the people. whereas locke never explains himself, he knows whats going on but is 2 mysterious for anyone to follow him blindly, in fact hes following something blindly at the moment, and if his time on the island follows life, hes gonna end up following something blindly and then getting screwed over, ben knows his dad did it to him and knows that he could be manipulated if given something to believe in and ben has done exactly that given him something to believe in.

[cassiel]

That's a good point about Locke but even tho he says nothing, the Others seem to look to him as a new leader. Maybe the fact that he has been 'gifted' by the island holds some clout for the people in the know about it. Practically speaking, he's pretty crap at the leadership thing but history has shown that the masses are more inclined to follow the flashier leader than the practical one.

Maybe Locke wants to know the facts before he starts preaching. It's easier to talk about something when you know enough of the facts. That's the only thing that can explain his mystery-man BS. That, or the fact that he's a weirdo.

[Michelle]

I dont think Locke would start preaching at all really, he doesnt seem a preachy kinda person hes more of a expecting people to follow blindly kinda person, actually i cant imagine locke wanting to be the leader of the hostiles he seems more of a loner kind of person, doing what he wants not what anyone else wants and not really i dont think expecting anyone to follow him. i think ultimatly he will free the others of bens opressive rule, but then allow them to govern themselves or to choose their own leader...........i would think it was jack, but possibly not because we can presume jack got off the island....