SIMPLE THEORY

I came across a very simple theory on the dynamic between Jacob and MIB. It is not my own.

It states that Jacob has gone around "touching" people for centuries in his search for his replacement. MIB's role is merely to "judge" each of the candidates once they reach the island. So far, none of the candidates have been worthy.

It has the motif of an employment agency-HR department: one person interviews a potential new hire, and another person actually closes the deal.

How did MIB at the beach cave know that Jacob liked numbers . . . and the numbers on his cave walls matched the Lighthouse? Unless, they shared information about the candidates. Flocke scratching off Locke's name in the cave was like literally throwing that person's resume (or in this case Life) in the circular file.

If this theory has merit in the end, this show is one abstract dark comedy. Two beings at some sort of cosmic-realm nexus station, like Penny's arctic station spending months trying to find a needle in a haystack. The dynamic would be like Jackie Gleason-Art Carney working a scam from TV series The Honeymooners. The replacement search would mirror the tedious job that Desmond had putting in the Numbers every 108 minutes. It would have Jacob trying to please MIB so he can get some one to cover for him so he can take a break. Like when Desmond stumbled upon the island, Kelvin found his replacement.

Except here, the candidates have no idea they are being interviewed for a job "of a lifetime." Or, that if you fail the interview test, most likely you will die at the hands of a smoke monster.