Reposted from the blog #150:

Hate to even suggest this, cause I don't really like the idea, but ...

What if Ben's loss of innocence equates to losing his soul? I suggest this, because of the still lingering feeling I have that HPB's whimpering cry for help to Jin somehow echoes Jacob's cry for help to Locke.

More than simply suggesting that Jacob is Ben, which doesn't seem to work at many levels (for one, RA knew who Jacob was in '54), I'm left wondering if Jacob collectively represents all the people who have lost their souls to the island. Perhaps as far back as Magnus Hanso and the Black Rock, but perhaps back to ancient times as well.

I know it's a stretch (and like I said, I don't really like the idea, because it seems just a bit too theological), but it does present the possibility that Jacob's cry to Locke actually did come from HPB's tortured soul. Maybe this is why Ben really shot Locke ... his now soul-vacant being did not want "redemption" at that time, and feared Locke might put the pieces together. It might also suggest Ben's "I hope you're happy now, Jacob" shout out as he turned the FDW was a sarcastic taunt ... but also set in motion events which might legitimately lead him to seek redemption, perhaps as a result of Alex's death and Locke's resurrection (i.e., Ben feels cheated by the island's version of Mephistopheles [Smokey?], and seeks virtuous revenge).

If this idea is even close to being right (highly unlikely, I admit), then the story will take a Faustian turn ... the looping of time is Ben's second chance to truly redeem himself, and free Jacob's captured souls ... if only the Losties do not interfere.