Dead is Dead…Or is It?
Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 01:25pm by Maggie
The power of the island, in no uncertain terms, transfers from Ben to John and Ben finally knows it.
This was one of the best episodes of the season. I don’t think I could possibly do it justice so I’ll do my best here and then you can have at it in the comments.
After Richard brings Ben-as-a-child into the Others’ camp, Widmore is upset but accepts it because Richard tells him that Jacob wants it. Widmore tells Ben that he’ll be returning to Dharma pretty much as a spy. As an adult, Ben recruits Ethan-as-a-child to help him on his missions. He and Ethan storm onto the beach where Rousseau and her infant are living and Ben steals the baby. He threatens Rousseau that if she wants Alex to remain alive and she to remain sane, she will never come after him and to run the other way if she ever hears whispering. Interesting! Back at the Others’ camp, Widmore is angry that Ben didn’t kill Rousseau or the child, and Ben gives the same reason Richard did years ago…Jacob wants it this way.
Three years post Flight 815, Ben is astounded that John is indeed alive, but says he knew it would happen. John seems confident and Ben is wary of this. Back on the beach, Ben tries to convince Caesar that John is crazy, that he wasn’t on the plane and is probably lying to them all. Caesar says he’s not worried and will protect Ben with a gun in his posession. Ben goes to his former office and finds a photo of himself and Alex. He tells John he needs to go to the main island to face the smoke monster and be judged. They set off together with one of the outrigger canoes, but Caesar tries to stop them. Ben kills Caesar with the gun he stole from him and tells John to consider this act his apology for killing Ben. When they arrive at the dock of the main island, John tells Ben he knows that the judgement he is looking for is really about killing his daughter, Alex.
They arrive at the old Dharma compound where Ben finds Sun and Lapidus in his old house. Sun shows Ben the photo of Jin from 1977, and Ben is surprised to see it. Sun tells him that a man named Christian told her to wait there for John Locke, but she is confused because John is dead. Ben sets her straight and she looks out the window to see him waving at her.
Ben goes to his secret basement to summon the smoke monster, which doesn’t work. John says he knows where to find it and Ben is clearly upset that John seems to know what’s going on and he doesn’t. John takes him to the place where Rousseau’s collegues went crazy years before, which is the same place Richard took Ben-as-a-child when he was dying from the gunshot wound. Ben identifies the area as being the wall around the Others’ temple, but John says they will be going beneath the temple, not inside. Ben seems distraught; he faces Sun who will wait outside, and asks her to please tell Desmond, if she ever sees him again, that he is sorry.
Sorry for what? In the days before the Oceanic 6 return to the island, Ben is in a marina and calls Widmore to tell him that he’s about to kill Penny; an eye for an eye as he feels it’s Widmore’s fault that Alex had to die. Ben hesitates when he sees that Penny has a small child. Before anything can happen, Desmond beats the crap out Ben and tosses him in the water. We don’t see what happens next at that point, but this is obviously the cause of the broken arm that Ben has upon boarding the Ajira airplane.
Beneath the temple, Ben takes the lead and falls through the floor to a chamber adorned with hieroglyphics and an altar with a carving of Anubis and the smoke monster. Smoke emerges through holes beneath this altar and Ben is shown scenes of his life with Alex. He realizes that he is indeed responsible for her death. The smoke dissipates and Alex walks toward him. He apologizes to her for having her killed and she responds by threatening him that he must obey John from this point forward. Once he promises to do so, she vanishes and Ben emerges from the chamber, telling John the monster has let him live.
At some point in the past after Ben has purged Dharma from their compound and taken it over, Widmore is being banished from the island by force. Ben tells him it’s because he’s broken the rules by leaving the island repeatedly and fathering a child with an outsider. They argue about who really has the island’s best interests in mind and Widmore warns Ben that if the island really wants Alex dead, she will die. And we know how that turns out.
In the present, Lapidus has returned to the Aljira crash site and to see that some of the passengers are busy preparing a big crate for some purpose. Ilana is holding a gun and demands to know of Lapidus what lies at the base of the giant statue. I can’t tell if she’s asking earnestly or if this is some kind of code. When Lapidus reveals he has no idea what she’s talking about, she knocks him out and tells everyone it’s time to go and to bring Lapidus with them.
Next week’s episode looks to be just as fantastic!
1. freakgirl said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 1:34 pm )
Alex sure cleans up nice, eh?
How bad-ass is Desmond that he kicked Ben’s ass even after being shot? So bad-ass.
Edited to add that in my fantasy world, the fight between Des and Ben ended there and Ben lost and Des won and Penny lives and Ben just leaves with his tail between his legs. I’m going to be devastated if the story turns out ANY DIFFERENTLY. I am worried!
2. Maggie said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 1:38 pm )
Desmond Hume is my Constant. I love him.
3. anna kathryn said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 1:51 pm )
Desmond! I love you.
I mean, I can see Ben coming to and getting out of the water, but if you were Des and Penny, wouldn’t you have hightailed it out of there by the time that happens? Surely, surely that is what happened. If Ben killed any of the Humes, I will never never never forgive him.
4. freakgirl said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 1:56 pm )
So funny that we’ve all fallen for Ben’s charms and super-evilness again and again — he kills the entire Dharma Initiative, shoots people point-blank in the chest, hangs Locke and we chuckle, “you scamp” — but the minute he goes near the Humes, we’re all, “AW HELL NAW I’LL KILL YOU MYSELF, LINUS.”
Love this show.
5. Bianca said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 2:04 pm )
Nothing better happen to Desmond or Penny. I was scared during the entire scene.
6. GeekBoy said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 2:16 pm )
I’m not clear about why we’d assume that Ben did anything but leave with his tail between his legs. Am I missing something? It seemed like he pretty much had a change of heart (or what passes for Ben’s heart) once he knew the Humes had a kid. It seems like being motherless himself, with an abusive father, Ben is hypersensitive to protecting innocent kids. Which would certainly put an interesting spin on the abduction of the Lostaways’ children in Season 1.
7. Maggie said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 2:20 pm )
Ben doesn’t tend to leave with his tail between his legs, beaten to a pulp or not. I’m not saying he did kill Penny, but I’m saying they’ve deliberately not shown us. Add that to his out-of-character heartfelt apology that he wanted Sun to pass on, and all I can come up with is: maybe he did, maybe not. And we all know how they love to pull the red herring on this show.
But he better not!
8. freakgirl said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 2:22 pm )
Also, he clearly had a broken arm when he arrived on the island this second time, but we never saw it specifically get broken. Plus, it’s Lost and they love to punch us in the gut, so to speak.
Can’t wait to see what happens! Or — hopefully — doesn’t happen.
I miss Faraday.
9. sandra said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 2:24 pm )
How amazing are Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson together? So.
I guess one question is whether or not Ilana (and the other thick dude) is an Other or one of Widmore’s people?
Great episode.
10. Maggie said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 2:28 pm )
I don’t know if they’re either. The way she asked the question about the statue, and the way they were getting their giant gear ready…I don’t know, I think they might be someone else. But if not, and they belong to one faction or the other, my guess is they belong to Widmore.
11. Jack said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 5:40 pm )
It makes me smile to think that Desmond was pummelling Ben, then a day or two later Sun was clocking him with a paddle.
When Alex (aka Smokey) was telling Ben to listen to Locke, did she say something to the effect of she knew Ben was planning to kill John – Did I hear that correctly?
What IS in the shadow of the statue? And I can’t remember which island the statue is even on…
12. freakgirl said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 5:45 pm )
Is it possible Jughead is buried in the shadow of the statue?
13. Jason said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 5:58 pm )
Don’t we know that Ilana is a Widmore person? Wasn’t she picking up Sayid on his behalf (or at least tangentially connected since Ben had Sayid killing mostly Widmore’s people).
I loved the acting in this episode. It felt a little too “explain-y” to me plot-wise (they’ve gone from never explaining anything to explaining everything in actor’s exposition) but Ben getting his comeuppance all episode was well worth it. Although, I have to say that with Emerson’s pouty eyes and sad dog voice when he’s not getting his way, I almost feel bad for him.
I wonder if Locke is in some in between state now that he’s been resurrected (and Ben may not remember but, he was pretty much resurrected too with that gun shot from Sayid). He’s corporeal so he’s obviously not Christian or Jacob style ghostly but his certainty seems otherworldly.
Good good stuff.
14. Amy said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 7:29 pm )
What do we think of the theory that Locke is the smoke monster?
15. freakgirl said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 7:45 pm )
Because dead is dead? Like he’s been reanimated by the smoke monster, like Christian, maybe? Hmmm. I dunno! Interesting to think about.
16. Maggie said ( Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 8:36 pm )
Jason, I guess you could assume Ilana is a Widmore person based on why she was Sayid’s bounty hunter, but you could also assume the opposite…that she’d gotten herself employed by Widmore in order to end up on the island for her own nefarious purposes. Or she’s a double agent. Or she’s a man, man!
17. Dave said ( Friday, April 10, 2009 at 10:23 am )
So, how many times has Ben gotten the crap kicked/beaten/clubbed/tortured out of him during the run of this show? Like him or hate him, you’ve got to admit that he’s not a “lead from behind” kinda guy. The island might not like him anymore, but it must have healed quite a few concussions for him.
18. freakgirl said ( Friday, April 10, 2009 at 3:55 pm )
As they say over on ack-attack, it’s not Wednesday unless Ben is covered in blood.