Lost Theories: Jacob’s Cabin, The Oceanic 6 and The Coffin
by lostofficehero on Feb.05, 2008, under tv
“The Beginning of the End” was the beginning of another set of mysteries surrounding televisions best show: Lost. Even the die hard fans are left scratching their heads after every episode of the show. If you’re a newbie, you’re going to need to catch up (abc.com is streaming in HD). Once you are caught up, you too will be asking: Wait a minute, Jacob’s cabin can fly? Was Christian Shepherd the man in Jacob’s chair? Who are the members of the Oceanic 6? What the heck is the Oceanic 6? What’s the secret that the survivors of the Island are sharing? Who is Hugo hiding from? Your answers are as good as mine, but I put mine in writing, and I encourage you to do the same.
Before I get to who could have been in Jacob’s chair, I have to ask how the cabin found Hugo. First it was in front of him, then behind him. The cabin seemed to have the black box power in its ability to find Hugo, or, more likely, Wizard of Oz power in being swept up by a storm and dropped at various places. This is probably the same power that made Locke and Sawyer see Locke’s father, the same power that made Jack see his father and the same power that evokes the black smoke “security system.” Maybe it’s LSD? Maybe not. I know nothing about that stuff, I swear! OK, so as Hugo is running from “the eye” he falls and looks up to see…John Locke! That leads me to my John Locke dethroned Jacob theory. Locke has always had a special connection to the Island. Could it be that he and the Island finally became one (insert cheesy Spice Girls sound clip: Two Become One) after his father was murdered? Ben had told him that he needed to get rid of his father to be who the Others thought he would be. The Others seem to think of Locke as a god of sorts – maybe he is. Could it be that he learned how to manipulate the black box and he somehow managed to replace Jacob?
That all said, many believe that Jack’s father, Christian, was the man in the chair. That can be seen by the white sneakers and the suit that the man is wearing. And further solidified by the enhanced screen capture to the left (click for larger version). If that is indeed the case, I don’t know that I have an explanation for it. Because I don’t see any connection between Hurley and Jack’s father, unless John Locke is somehow also Christian Shepherd? Or Christian Shepherd is Jacob and this is the beginning of Jacob’s manipulation of Hurley. But that begs the question, whose eye was it that we say? And was that person in the cabin with Christian? In looking at the capture, above, I’d have to say that it’s the Russian, aka Patchy, aka Mikhail. That may be why we only see one eye and even though he must have gotten blown up by the grenade, he seems to be immortal. What was he doing there? Maybe he was getting the lowdown on Ben – after all, he did lose trust in Ben in The Looking Glass.
The premise of this episode is that the castaways are made to choose sides: Jack (the shepherd) or Locke (the philosopher). Quite a few of them chose to go with Locke, the guy who wants to stay on the Island. I found that to be odd – that they’d abandon Jack so easily after trying so hard to help him find the rescue. Jack obviously wants to leave, but we learned in the captivating finale from last season, “Through the Looking Glass,” that he ultimately realizes Locke was right.
That leads me to the theory of double futures. We’ve seen far into the future (a la bearded Jack) and we’ve seen not so far into the future (a la Crazy Hurley). From those two scenes, I’ve now deduced that it’s not Juliette in the coffin as I had previously predicted, rather it’s Hurley. Hurley ends up being the first of the Island survivors (possibly the Oceanic 6, more on that later) to feel the need to return to the Island. When he tells Jack during their game of hoops, Jack yells at him for suggesting the idea. He also wants to know if Hurley will “tell.” My guess is that Hurley does plan to tell, but ends up getting murdered for doing so. No one wants to attend his funeral because either they are 1. Stuck on the Island or 2. Upset with him for having wanted to violate the pact. As much as I want this theory to work, I still believe in my gut that it’s Juliette that’s in the coffin, but I have to go with the clues here.
Who is Hugo hiding from?
Charlie tells Hugo “You’re hiding from him.” I watched it over and over again, and I’m still not sure if he said “”hiding from him” or “hiding from it.” If he did say “him,” then who is Hugo hiding from in the future? John Locke? Ben? Men that are trying to possibly get Hugo back to the Island. And if you believe my theory of Locke dethrones Jacob, maybe Locke is the one manipulating the future so that Hugo sees his dearly departed friend from the Island and persuades him to come back.
The Oceanic 6
What is “The Oceanic 6?” Hugo tells the cops that he’s one of the Oceanic 6. We’re led to believe that they are the people who survived the crash of Oceanic 815, but maybe they aren’t. Maybe the Oceanic 6 are six people that won some kind of lottery. Or maybe not. However, here’s my take on what, and who, the Oceanic 6 are. They are the six people who the world knows about that survived the crash. They are the six people that left the Island and took the fall for everyone else – covered up for them. The identity of the Oceanic 6 is the big secret that the survivors share. Hurley is one of them, Jack is another. I’d have to say that Kate is not. Since she was running from the law prior to the Island, she’s probably got a new identity, so the world wouldn’t know about her. I’d also have to say that the rest would have to be people who have shown positive leadership on the Island, shown the courage to take responsibility for others while sacrificing their own selves: Jin, Sayid, Desmond and…Christian Shepherd. Desmond wasn’t on Flight 815, but I think that’s a deal that will be worked out after they get off the Island. Why not Sun? Or Claire and Aaron like Desmond had predicted? Sun will die during childbirth – she conceived the baby on the Island. Claire and Aaron will be rescued, but their identities will be kept secret by the Oceanic 6. Locke, you ask? Christian Shepherd is Jacob is Locke. You figure it out 
So there you have it, folks. Lots of questions, no real good answers. Tons of easter eggs and just a whole lot of fun. Episode 2 is Thursday, yay!
May 4th, 2008 on 7:58 pm
man you’ve got a couple of good points but you are WAY off on a lot of stuff. First of all, there’s no way its Hurley in the coffin. For one, its way too small. Two, his family would have come to the funeral, and three Jack asks Kate if she went to the funeral and she seems disgruntled that he would suggest that, which is not a reaction one would expect her to have about Hurley.
Also super way off about Kate and her secret identity as shown by the court trial in the future. The Oceanic 6 definitely refer to the people that got off the island.
locke is not christian.
you need some actual evidence for your theories.
I did like the theory that its the russian dude in the cabin. that seems like a good possibility.