First of all I just loved this episode, it lived up to the expectations the producers have been placing on LOST all season so far. It did answer questions and it did have a more similar feeling to season one with the roaming through the jungle. (But truly, nothing will be like season one, but season one). It was very reminiscent to Season 3
when any of our lost friends came back from being captured by the others, when Jack, Hurley and Richard came around that familiar hedge of the beach while Sun was fixing her tent. Back to the start
This was a Ben centric episode and featured his– sideways –flash. Dr. Ben Linus the teacher is much different than the Ben we know on island. He does not share the Machiavellian talents of his island self, he tried too, but he did not have the confidence that Ben Linus on the island has. Much of the episode was set in jungle, the abandon beach camp and Boone Hill, and as a bonus we did get to see the Black Rock again, nice!
Those who can do, those who can’t teach, those who can’t teach, teach Gym
Ben the teacher is very passionate about his job and cares about his students; he has a doctorate in European History and is teaching to High School students. Today’s lesson was about Napoleon and when he was banished to the island of Elba. “He had his title but to be banished with no power he would have been better off dead.” I don’t think the Ben we have known all this time would actually feel this way, since he was banished, and he didn’t wind up dead. Ben in the X universe seems frustrated in the fact that this is all there is, and it never seemed to dawn on him that he could strive to be the principal until Locke mentioned it at lunch. Ben on the island would likely already have become the principal, and thought of some scheme on how to do that. This Ben through the tutoring of his favorite student (who happens to be Alex) came upon some information he could exploit. Ben Linus on the island would have found a way to use this information better to have achieved entirely what he wanted, including getting his Alex into Yale. But this Ben is a bit wet behind the ears, and not so good at it, so when it came down to a choice, he did the right thing. He still got part of what he wanted, he got his club back, and he got to help Alex. Since the principal basically turned around and manipulated him.
The rest of Ben’s life looks also disappointing. He is living with his father who looks ill and is on Oxygen. Their relationship looks much better which is a definite plus, and Roger looks to be less of a douche. Probably the whole dying thing and trying to get in to heaven, but who knows at this point. No sign of any potential Mrs. Ben Linus anywhere. I wonder when was the last time Ben had a date? No indication that he has any kind of love life, or any kind of life outside of school and taking care of his dad. During this we found out Ben is trying to keep his dad healthy by feeding him organic TV dinners, and that they had regrets about leaving the island. Because who knows what Ben would of became. Well, he would not feel that way if he saw what he did become when he was on the island.
Back to the Island
Ilana seemed to have suspicions on how Jacob died and had Miles do his thing on Jacob’s ashes. Where he let Ben’s lie out of the bag. They decide to go back to the main beach camp where the survivors, had survived for those three months years ago, because it is familiar and they could have their backs to the ocean. I imagine Smokey can’t cross the water for some reason. This also puts them near the place they buried Locke, hopefully it will serve some purpose in the future. (No pun intended) Ilana didn’t take the information about Ben killing Jacob too well and eventually had Ben chained and digging his own grave. She was obviously distraught between her job there to protect the candidates, that is not going well; and since she felt Jacob was the closest thing to a father, he was just killed by Ben, not a good day.
Richard wants to go out with a bang
In the Jungle, Hurley and Jack are on their way to the Temple, which Hurly really does not want to head too since Jacob warned him that someone bad is heading there and they should stay far away. But Jack not knowing where else to go decides that is where they should head back. Until Richard shows up from nowhere and tells them everyone there is dead. And he did not see any of their friends so he assumes they made it out. They follow Richard over to the Black Rock in the jungle and he tells us he hasn’t been there since he first arrived on the island. So as many have speculated, Richard is from the Black Rock.
Richard is only going there to blow himself up with the dynamite that was in the ship. He is also fed up with the fact he has devoted all of his life (possibly 200+ years) to service of Jacob, because Jacob told him there was a reason for everything with this and he had a plan. Unfortunately he never told Richard what that plan was, and since he is now dead, Richard feels like he wasted his life and now wants to die since he has no purpose. He confirms for us that he is not a vampire, cyborg, or time traveling and that Jacob made him the way he is, by touching him and giving him some gift, which now feels like a curse. No matter what he does he can’t kill himself (island won’t let him) and this is very similar to what happened to Michael when he was off the island and everything was going wrong. Perhaps this shows some part of “the rules” since Jacob has touched many of our Losties this may explain why they didn’t die when the plane blew apart so high above the island, why so many (Locke, Sawyer, Sayid) have survived gun shots, why Rose is cured of her cancer and any number of other scenarios that did not end in death. Well except for those that it did end for. Jack’s communication skills have improved and with a bit of a gamble he shows Richard that he is special too, and though Richard wanted to blow himself up, he wouldn’t be able to if Jack was there. He explains about the lighthouse and seeing his childhood home, and luckily for Jack the dynamite does not go off.
The Chosen
Locke shows up while Ben was digging his own grave, and Ben was really doing a very terrific job, it was so uniform! Locke lets him know he didn’t want him dead and was returning for him. The relationship between these two has been complex and deep throughout the show. The role of leading and following has changed over a few times, and now even though this Locke is not OUR Locke, he still seems to need Ben for something. He tells Ben he is leaving the island with some other people and of course Ben is the natural choice to take care of the island while he is gone. He does some magic to release Ben from his chains and lets him know he will be at the Hydra station on the other island. Ben escapes, and Ilana fallows in hot pursuit, he could of just done away with her but he had the opportunity to put things right and choose that as opposed to killing, good for him he learned something after all.
But he is the only one that will have me.
Ben’s speech to Ilana was very moving and cry worthy in my opinion. He fully explains his regrets about what he has done with Alex and Jacob, and pretty much that all of his choices were for a man that didn’t care. He also tries to show Ilana he understands the pain she has right now. He didn’t expect her forgiveness because he doesn’t forgive himself. But what proved to me that she is a good person was her response to what he explains too her and that he was going to go to Fake Locke because he is the only one that will have him. The best moment in the episode for me was Ilana’s response “I will have you”. And Ben was surprised and returned back to camp.
They were all reunited at the end of the episode, Jack, Hurly, Sun, Lapidius, Miles, Ilana, Ben and Richard. And while they were hugging or longing for hugs on the beach. (It really looked like Ben and Richard could both use a hug; maybe they should hug each other.) A submarine is approaching with Widmore and crew; I guess he found the island again. I wonder about Widmore’s comments to John Locke last season that he would do everything in his power to prevent John from dying because he needed him on the island or the wrong side would win. Braum mentioned to Miles he was on the wrong side also, which was Widmore’s side. He could have meant that Locke being there was going to help his side win because he is so super awesome, or he could of meant that his mere presence would of allowed his side to win, because Locke really sucks that much. Kind of like having the worst player for a sport being stuck on the opposing team, it’s good for your team. Not saying that as fact, just trying to understand what he meant, and who the hell Widmore really is.
Regrets, I’ve had a few, well on this show too many too mention
One of the things that LOST has always done, is showcase a connection between the island story and the off island story, focusing on an attribute about the character that the episode is centered around. In this show, it was about Ben Linus, his regrets, his choices. This carried over brilliantly to an overall theme of this episode. What would have happened to Frank Lapidius if he flew the plane? I guess he would have been eaten by the smoke monster and someone else would have piloted in Ajiria 316. Roger had regrets about them leaving the island and wondered what would of become of Ben if they stayed on the island (oh just a manipulative mass murderer, who killed his own dad, and chose his power and an island over his daughter) so guess it was for the best…not that they would know that. Richard seemed to regret his choices to the point he wanted to be blown up, well at least he wanted to go out with a bang. Ben though had the biggest of regrets, not just because of what happened to Alex, but for what he did to Jacob. He seemed most regretful to what that did to himself.
Answers given/confirmed
• Richard touched by Jacob gave him this gift
• Richard came from the black rock
• Jacob touches you, you can’t kill yourself
• MIB plans on leaving with people
• there are 6 candidates left ( hurly, kwon, jack, sawyer, Kate, X)
• MIB wants Ben to be in control of the island
• Widmore is the person coming to the island
• Ilana also has daddy issues.
New questions:
• Widmore is coming to the island, how did he find it?
• What wouldn’t we believe about where Richard just came from, when he ran into Jack and Hurley?
• Is Sayid still a candidate or is there someone else since Locke is also dead, leaving 4 names..plus Kate.
So maybe the Flash sideways – could be what happens from the bomb, people leaving the island and never coming there to begin with – a version of what happens when the plane doesn’t wind up there…
OR
Could it be what originally happened, before Jacob intervened…this can explain the connections we have seen throughout the show that seems to make no sense, a few sure, but as many, no way. Makes sense though if they lived in the same town and what not…we get to see their lives, and how they have regrets and wonder what would have happened if they made different choices…Ben staying on the island…which we have seen all along.
If you go to ABC’s site, they plainly state the flash sideways are not a flashback, flash forward (or epilogue to the story) or an alternate timeline and it posits what would of happened if the plane landed in LA. This is false already, since it is not what happened, things are different; the people on the plane aren’t same in both who is physically on it, and how they are as people. It is not as if the plane just landed there and we are taking the story on. I will write up a separate article about this topic.
And one final thought about Jacob and the MIB, maybe they are two halves of the same person (or twins) since Jacob touching someone means they can’t kill themselves. Maybe Locke tossing the rock off the scale as an inside joke was literally an inside joke. Or maybe they couldn’t kill each other because of some Other Code, that has to do with the springs, and this is why Widmore and Ben cannot kill each other either. One thing I do know is this show has consistently shown us the light and dark sides of all of our characters.
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