Hanso & Mittlewerk = Jacob & Man in Black ??

Hey folks, just some random Lost thoughts for you guys. I was wondering why we didn't get to see Magnus Hanso, the captain of the Black Rock. His name was mentioned long ago on the Blast Door map, where the Black Rock was listed as the "known last resting place of Magnus Hanso". And then Whitfield, one of his officers, told Richard this episode that he now belonged to Magnus Hanso. So I was surprised when we didn't get to meet Magnus himself. Why haven't they shown his face?

We know that Jacob is responsible for bringing everyone to the island. Does that mean Jacob IS Magnus Hanso? At first I thought maybe so, but if that's the case how was Jacob on shore watching the Black Rock at the end of Season 5 and not on the boat itself? (By the way, the producers have confirmed in the official podcast that a storm kicked up right after the conversation on the beach in that episode.) I think, instead, it's more likely that Hanso works for Jacob, just like Richard.

And does Magnus have eternal life like Richard? We also know the name Hanso from its connection to the Dharma Initiative. Rumored to be a distant relation of Magnus, Alvar Hanso was shown in the Dharma film in "Orientation" as the CEO of the Hanso Foundation, and friend to the DeGroots, who started the Dharma initiative. The Hanso Foundation, interested in showing benevolence to mankind (not unlike Jacob) even funded the Dharma Initiative, making it possible for them to come to the island. Which had to be Jacob's will, knowing what we know now. Here's a pic of Alvar:



I think that both Magnus and Alvar Hanso are the same person. Like Richard, maybe Hanso was touched by Jacob and allowed to live for a long time in order to help Jacob defend the island. I don't think he really died on the Black Rock as was indicated on the Blast Door map, because otherwise we would have seen it happen this episode. I think he's still in service of Jacob, helping him bring people to the island to keep the world safe from the man in black.

Here's where it really gets interesting. During the alternate reality game between seasons 2 and 3 entitled "The Lost Experience", a woman named Rachel Blake tried to expose the Hanso Foundation as a corrupt company that claimed to be doing research about extending people's lives, but secretly were doing murderous tests on human subjects. But the shocking twist to that story was that Hanso was actually a good guy, who had been taken prisoner by a evil man named Thomas Middlewerk, who was now running the company with his nefarious intentions in Hanso's place. Rachel tracked down Hanso at his home, planning to confront him for his evil deeds only to learn this truth. Their conversation makes a lot more sense in now that we're deep into Season 6. Check out this part, in particular:

TRANSCRIPT:

Alvar: The men you see here, work for the Foundation, they do not work for me. Their job is to keep me inside. To keep me from talking to anyone of importance. I’m a prisoner…

Rachel: No! You are not dodging the blame.

Alvar: No. I’m not. I am to blame. For training Thomas Werner Mittelwerk. For grooming him to be my successor. For giving him all the tools he needed to do the awful things he has. He cannot kill me, but he can keep me locked up while he kills millions of what…

(Rumbling from outside the room spooks both Blake and Hanso, and Rachel has to momentarily cover the camera)

Alvar: ..he is the one who has done all of the things that you have exposed. And much worse, all in my name.

END TRANSCRIPT.

Pretty crazy. Sounds like Hanso was training up his own "candidate" to be his successor: Mittlewerk. But Mittlewerk rebelled and started killing people under the name of the Hanso Foundation. And, for some reason, Mittlewerk was not able to kill Hanso, so instead he trapped him and made him a prisoner. Sounds like the opposite of the Jacob/Man in Black saga to me. Here's a pic of Mittlewerk, who's obviously evil:


Also interesting is what exactly Mittlewerk was up to. He was apparently testing a deadly virus on people in Sri Lanka. Was that test in order to later spread that same virus all over the earth, killing everyone, carrying out the will of the man in black?

Is this what happens when Smokey is unleashed into the real world, the "going to Hell" that Hurley warned us about? If not, why the similarities? It can't be an accident.

Or, Is everything happening on the island a reflection of this actual struggle going on in the real world?

Read the full transcript here (where, lamely, Hanso also turns out to be Rachel's dad ala Star Wars).

One more thing.

Who is The Economist? Remember when Sayid went on a shooting spree for Ben off the island as a member of the Oceanic Six? Ben said he was killing people that were a threat to Sayid's friends on the island. I've always assumed that Ben was actually having Sayid kill off his own personal enemies, or Widmore's guys, and I'm sure that's part of what was going on, but was Ben also telling the truth a little? Was The Economist someone who was out to hurt the folks on the island, someone who worked for the Man in Black? If that's the case, I'd say that The Economist could be Thomas Mittlewerk, Hanso's enemy.

Okay, I'm on the borderline of confusing myself, so I'd better stop. But I think I may be on to something. Or, I'm just going insane. Thanks, television! This is my last TV show for a while.