"Every question I answer will simply lead to another question." - 'Mother', basically summing up Lost
SPOILERS (In fact everything on my blog Lost related needs a spoiler warning; so for you readers who start reading Lost stuff and don't watch Lost, just keep the Spoiler warning in mind)
A recurring element on Lost is that the majority of the characters have bad fathers. Jack's/Claire's dad: a cold alcoholic/adulterer; Kate's dad: an abusive drunk; Sawyer's dad: suicide case; Hurley's dad: ran out on his family (but made amends); Sun's dad: crime lord; Sayid's dad: proud, agressive and unsymapthetic; Ben's dad: abusive drunk; Penny and Daniel's dad: Charles Widmore, nuff said; Locke's dad: yeah, that's pretty much all you need to say. I think the only ones who had good dads were Charlie and Jin. But no one really ever looks at the mothers. Plenty of characters had mother issues. Jack's mom: estranged and blames Jack for what happened to dad; Kate's mom: betrays her for murdering her abusive husband; Sawyer's mom: adulterer; Jin's mom: blackmails her own son's wife; Locke's mom: insane; Ben's mom: dead; Daniel's mom: led Daniel to his death by her own hand; Boone's mom/Shannon's stepmom: selfish bitch. So there are a helluva lot of mother issues too. Almost enough to match the number of father issues. I'm surprised mother issues aren't referenced as much, considering the most important actions of the show's two most enigmatic characters are inspired by their own mother issues. Issues that shaped them into the men that would cause all of things that happen on the show to happen. I am of course talking about Jacob and The Man in Black's Mother.
Though 'Across the Sea' was not an overly compelling answer episode, or Lost episode for that matter, I was still very intrigued by the lives of the two boys who would become the two men behind everything that happens. But even more interesting was the woman who raised them, the woman who claimed to be their 'Mother.' Over (what most estimate as) two thousand years ago, Mother was the current Protector of The Island. She found a pregnant woman stranded on The Island. After helping the woman deliver her two sons, Mother killed her and raised the boys as her own. Then of course as a kid, the very curious Man in Black (The Boy in Black, if you will) was guided by the spirit of his real mother to mistrust Mother and try to side with the other stranded people on The Island. Eventually The Man in Black was able to figure out how to get off of the Island, but when he did Mother destroyed his means of escape and killed his entire castaway camp. This led him to kill Mother in a fit of rage. All of this could have flown easily together if it hadn't been for Mother's last words to her prodigal son: "Thank you..."
That last line made me wonder if everything that happened to Jacob and The Man in Black since childhood was according to plan. Mother's plan. When Jacob was born, Mother was happy mainly because she has found a successor to protect The Island. She looked a little unsettled though when the second baby came. I think after that she had a different plan for him. I think maybe her plan for The Man in Black was to drive him to kill her. Why? Because I think she was the first Smoke Monster. Whenever Mother talked about The Heart of The Island, she had a bittersweet way about her. When she said what happens to those who go into the Heart is "worse than death" it seemed like she was speaking from experience. Also, I agree with others when I say that it does strike me as a little odd that one middle age stuck woman could sink in an entire well, destroy a village, and kill dozens of able bodied men singlehandedly. Compare the aftermath of The Man in Black's massacre at The Temple in "Sundown" with Mother's village massacre and it looks exactly the same. Also, being Protector of The Island can make you immortal and powerful but certainly not invincible, both Jacob and Jack were skilled fighters but they were both killed very easily. After Mother slaughtered the villagers, she didn't look like she had even been scratched, or even broken a sweat. She was a Smoke Monster. Of course my theory is kind of nullified by the fact that a Smoke Monster cannot be killed by a simple knife through the heart. Maybe there were different rules back then.
Anyway, yes I think Mother's plan for The Man in Black all along was to manipulate his feelings until he eventually ended her life. She knew Jacob was too good natured to ever do it, and plus he was the obvious choice to be Protector. It started out with little things like using the Senet game box to peak his interest about places beyond the sea and encouraging questionable behavior such as lying. Phase two, Mother appeared in the form of MIB's real mother to make him completely mistrust and even hate her. Finally the opportunity arose to send MIB over the deep end when he found a way off the Island and she totally ruined it. After that, she quickly gave Jacob his Protector inaugeration just before the other son came back to get revenge. I do believe she wouldn't let The Man in Black leave because she loved him, but she was also tired and I imagine being an immortal monster would become a heavy burden after awhile. I think she loved Jacob and The Man in Black very much, but as it has been proven before, by Jacob and then in the future with Ben, that when it comes to the Island some people are willing to sacrifice everything, even love. Oh to be a Protector of The Island. Although I don't think Hurley will stand for things like that to happen. Not in a million years. He had a good mother.
This has been another of and one of my last Lost analysis' from Your Modest Guru. Thanks for reading.
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