Totally "Lost": The men on the beach

Post finale analysis: Jacob and Man #2
  One of the most brilliant things in the most brilliant episode of “Lost” ever was the fact that we didn’t have to wait to meet Jacob. He was there immediately and mysteriously, weaving all those threads together in a literal and symbolic way.
  And in what was almost certainly the most important mythological scene in the series, we didn’t have to wait to meet his adversary either, a man who’s been called many things already – Esau (the Biblical brother of Jacob), The Man in Black and Un-Locke among them. However, we prefer the simple nomenclature of his casting (remember, this is a TV show): Man #2.
  Here’s the transcript of that all-important interaction: 

Jacob: I take it you’re here because of the ship.
Man #2: I am.
Man #2: How did they find the island?
Jacob: You’ll have to ask them when they get here.
Man #2: I don’t have to ask. You brought them here. Still trying to prove me wrong, aren’t you?
Jacob: You are wrong.
Man #2: Am I? They come, fight, they destroy, they corrupt. It always ends the same.
Jacob: If it only ends once, anything else that happens before that is just progress.
(LONG PAUSE)
Man #2: Do you have any idea how badly I want to kill you?
Jacob: Yes.
Man #2: One of these days, sooner or later, I’m going to find a loophole, my friend.
Jacob: Well, when you do, I’ll be right here.
Man #2: Always nice talking to you, Jacob.
Jacob: Nice talking to you, too.

  Note there is a very important two-letter word here that we’ve seen missing from some other online transcripts of the interaction. Jacob clearly says “IF it only ends once….” Click this photo to see the scene play out again and hear for yourself:



  Not nearly as important and WHO these two men are is WHAT they are.
  Are they angels and demons? God and Satan? Jacob and Esau? Free will and fate? The human form of the statue and the smoke monster? The masters of the living and the dead? Or merely light and dark, one representing the belief that humans are basically good and the other that they are basically evil?
  In pondering that, we’d first like to return to our big theory about the island from summer ‘07 (which we think has held up very well, thank you): To use those terms to try and describe these men is getting things backwards. The men came first, the religious and cultural mythology followed them. The island came first, it is the cradle of all our world’s mythology. It is Eden, Shambala, Atlantis, Mu, Narnia and Oz. It is the birthplace of Egyptology, Hinduisn, Islam and Christianity. It is the common bond of all mankind.
  With that in mind, here’s what we think about Jacob and Man #2: They are likely twins or one and the same, two halves of one whole, immortal men and mortal enemies, representing the amazing good and unspeakable evil we all are capable of; illustrating that while we have free will to make many choices, we are also floating with the currents of life; and reminding us that while we are now living, we soon will be dead.
  Too cryptic for you? Not specific enough? OK, then. They’re aliens. ;-)
  Other random thoughts and revelations about the men on the beach:
  > The Greek writing on the tapestry in Jacob’s chamber is a quote from Odysseus in Homer’s “The Odyssey”: May heaven grant you all things in your heart’s desire.
  > Although it would make a great Easter Egg if it were true, the fish Jacob caught in the opening scene was NOT a red herring, but rather, a red snapper.
  > The book Jacob was reading while waiting for Locke to fall was “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” a collection of short stories by Flannery O’Connor.
  > It was a nice thought, but the people Jacob touched literally don’t seem to coincide at all with the people whose names are one Jacob’s list. Danny Pickett told us that Jack wasn’t on the list and Mikhail told Kate, Sayid and Locke that they weren’t on the list.
  > A lot has been made of Jacob’s last words – “They’re coming.” – but we feel pretty confident he was referring to Bram and Ilana’s “troops,” along with Frank (who’s a candidate for something). That probably means we're wrong.
  > A lot of people are fretting about the fate of the John Locke character in Season 6, but we’re wondering if now that Jacob’s dead his spirit might not take residence in another body, a body that is very near where he died, a body brought by Ilana who Jacob asked for help. Might Season 6 be the season of TWO John Lockes?