512 - "Dead is dead" - recap and comments

An answer-packed Ep which finally confirmed for me that LOST History can be (and has been) re-written and that the Good Aspect of the Island is assembling a team of Super-heros to slug it out for The Good Guys in the up-coming War

Shortly after Richard and Ben have returned from The Temple, Charles gallops into Camp Hostile to confront Richard about saving Dying Ben’s life, asserting that Richard should have let Ben die. It’s only when Richard tells CW that "Jacob wanted it done" and reminds him that "the Island chooses who the Island chooses" (which would include CW himself), that CW accepts Richard’s Jacob-supported decision. Ellie is nowhere in sight.

Note that the Island chose Ben as (future) Leader over Young John Locke - who needed more Conditioning before he could evolve into Ben’s Worthy Successor.

When CW enters the Convalescent Tent, we see that Ben’s wound was where we last saw it. So ... maybe it was only Sayid who "saw" his bullet hit Ben’s heart.

Ben doesn’t remember being shot by Sayid, doesn’t remember the 3-year presence of Team JJJM in Dharmaville, but does remember his Dad and how much he does not wish to return to Dharmaville. His memory has been edited and by the time he returns "home", the Losties have not only disappeared, but were never again discussed in Ben’s presence. I’m certainly looking forward to the upcoming confrontation between the Losties and the Dharmaville Leadership.

Young Man Ben is on a Mission with Teen-Aged Ethan. It’s 1988 - 4 or 5 years before The Purge. Ben the Dharmaville Mole plus Ethan - who may or may not still be living among the Dharmites - have been assigned to "exterminate" Danielle (whom CW apparently considers a Pest). Note that Danielle is not living in the Jungle Dugout where she tortured Sayid in 2004. History has been rewritten. Note also that neither Ben nor Charles knew about Alex. IMO, this is a Character Test for both of them. By Choosing to spare Danielle’s miserable life and the life of her daughter, Ben shows himself to have enough empathy to be promoted to (future) Leader.
Charles, on the other hand, has already shown himself to be too cruel to serve the Island properly for much longer. His comment about killing "it" - uttered in Richard’s presence - is another nail in the coffin of his Leadership.

Ben’s parting instructions to Danielle help explain her subsequent huntress/hermit behaviour. In a frightened, slightly crazy bid to enable Alex to live, she avoids confrontations with the Others, including the Whispers that she hears from time to time. Note that Ben knows about The Whispers.

Danielle subsequently helped the Losties at several key points in 2004 which is why the island couldn’t permit CW’s 1988 Extermination to occur. Note also that she had met Ben in person in 1988 and would therefore have known exactly who was "caught in her net" in 2004. There’s much more to the Ben/Danielle Story than we’ve been shown so far.

Note that CW showed himself to be a blustering Coward who couldn’t bring himself to kill Baby Alex - but had expected a much younger Ben to do so.

The next "Flashback" occurs shortly after The Purge. There are no DHARMA signs around; the dead Dharmites are presumably mouldering in the Pit and Alex looks to be about 6 or 7 years old. CW’s been ordered Banished and the Sub taking him away is about to leave:
"I came to say goodbye," Ben says.
"No you didn't. You came to gloat." True. This is a Character Flaw of Ben’s
"You left the island regularly. You had a daughter with an outsider [Not Ellie, then]. You broke the rules, Charles." Did Ben arrange to Banish Ellie, knowing that Charles would Break The Rules by maintaining a relationship with her and then (even worse) fathering Penny with a different woman?
"And what makes you think you deserve to take what's mine?" Charles doesn’t deny that he Broke The Rules.
"Because I won't be selfish [like you]. Because [unlike you] I'll sacrifice anything for this island."
"You won't sacrifice Alex." [He eventually did]
"You're the one who wanted her dead, Charles, not the island." [Not yet, anyway]
"I hope you're right, Benjamin, because if you're not and it is the island that wants her dead, she'll be dead. And one day, you'll be standing where I'm standing now. You'll be the one being banished. And then you'll finally realize that you cannot fight the inevitable." He takes a step toward Ben. "I'll be seeing you, boy."

Ben was eventually banished from the Island - but only temporarily. His off-Island activities were sanctioned/required by the Island - which permitted him to return. The Island permitted Ben the experience of raising Alex to give him the empathy he needed to balance his ruthless zeal. I also think that Ben (and the other members of the Good Guy team) are trying to "fight the inevitable"

Maybe Ben tricked CW into Exile by timing the Purge to coincide with one of CW’s off-Island trips.

Annie is nowhere to be seen. Her absence, as well as Olivia’s, supports the notion that the Timeline’s been changed.

Ben phones CW, entering 2,3 on John’s cell-phone, I think. If so, he read John’s mind to know the number. He’s once again in Gloat Mode (for which he’ll shortly be paying dearly). The phone will soon be sleeping with the fishes. As most of us expected many weeks ago, he’s intent on murdering Penny in a petty tit-for-tat Vengeance ploy. But the Island has a different Agenda. He shoots (poorly) at Desmond who’s knocked over, but not for long. He then threatens Penny, but changes his mind when he sees Young Charlie. The Island has trained him not to punish an innocent child/grand-child for the sins of his elders. His Desmond beating is Justice for the threat to Penny’s life (and his own). The fact that Desmond did not pursue Ben out of the water and into the Marina Phone Booth indicates that he recognised that Ben was no longer a threat to him or his Family at that point.

Ben’s Choice - to let Penny live - is what permitted his return to the Island. He’s been Conditioned to become a Worthy Island Tool just as much as Sayid, Kate or Jack.
　
Meanwhile, back on Hydra Island:
Given the extensive care lavished on JL’s corpse and the fact that Ben knows "who" "Christian" is, it should not have surprised Ben to see John "alive" again. So ... maybe he’s still lying to John (and subsequently Sun) about how rare Island Resurrection is. If I’m right that some or all of Family Richard are similarly Immortal Non-Living Persons, I guess Ben’s just not yet ready to share this Privileged Info with "outsiders", including us.

And yet, Ben did say that he would "really miss" John. Maybe the John that Ben was going to Really Miss was the Old John - lost, weak and easy to push around.

We learn that Ben intended/intends to return to the main Island to be "judged" - which is not what he’d earlier told Frank and Sun. Interesting that at this point, St John doesn’t yet know (or isn’t admitting to the knowledge) "who" is supposed to judge Ben.
Shocker that Ben knows more about Smokey than he’d previously let on. He knows it’s Smokey who does the Judging.

The following morning, on Ajira Beach, Ben encounters Ilana plus some flunkees working on a metal cargo crate on the beach. How this cargo ended up on the Beach, with the plane intact, is never explained. Ilana seems to want it moved - hence the bamboo poles. It seems that this cargo was pre-planned and had nothing to do with the transportation of Sayid to Guam. Ilana was multi-tasking.

No idea what this might mean, but ... when we first saw Ben lying injured in the Ajira Infirmary, his shirt collar was blood-stained. When we see him a day or so later - wearing that same shirt on the beach - it’s nice and clean.

When Ben encounters Caesar a few moments later - with St John at water’s edge, communing with The Island - Ben shifts into 100% Manipulation Mode:
Caesar: "What do you make of [Locke]?"
"I'm not sure," Ben says. "What has he told you?"
"When you were out cold, he was watching over you. And he said you killed him."
"I killed him? Really? 'Cause he looks fine to me. You know I don't really remember him from the plane. Do you?"
"No, I don't."
"What if he was already here before we crashed? If he thinks I killed him, then he's insane. We may be dealing with a man who is dangerously deranged [the "craziness" theme again]. Then the question is, what are we going to do about it?"
"Don't worry, my friend." Caesar shows Ben the gun he'd found in the building. "I have your back." My best guess is that Ben was simply "smoking" Caesar out ... getting him to admit a willingness to use Ben’s sawed-off shotgun against JL.

Ben is in his Hydra Office, rifling through his papers. When he finds a photo of himself with Alex, he takes it out of its frame. Suddenly, St John is there, asking: "What’s that?"
After Ben folds the photo and puts in his pocket - which is what Desmond did with the Penny/Des pic - he and St John discuss JL’s murder.

Question: why would Ben have a "serious" office on Hydra Island? He didn’t live there, and the Island was mostly just used for "Projects". Another Question: since the distance from Hydra to Otherville is only about half a mile, why in blazes would Team Ben have needed that huge ship to evacuate Hydra after Juliet’s Trial? I guess it was about capacity rather than trip distance.
I loved how St John and Ben switched roles, with John sitting in Ben’s chair, behind Ben’s desk. Karma for both of them.
"[Murdering you] was the only way to get you back to the island, along with as many of those who left as possible. You do remember, John, that's why you left in the first place? To convince them to come back? But you failed. And the only way to bring them together was by your death and you understood that. That's why you were about to kill yourself when I stopped you."
"If all I had to do was die, Ben, then why did you stop me?"
"You had critical information [Jin was alive, had sent his ring to persuade Sun to stay away and - Eloise Hawking was in LA] that would have died with you. And once you'd given it to me, well I just didn't have time to talk you back into hanging yourself, so I took a shortcut. And look at you, John. I was right. You're here. You're back. So are the rest of them. I don't know where yet, exactly, but they came. It worked. And that's why I did it. Because it was in the best interest of the island."

Note that Ben didn’t say anything about the difference between Suicide and Murder. Maybe this issue will crop up again. Having said that, Locke’s suicide did motivate Jack to return more than his murder would have.

I love the new John: serene, self-confident, illuminated with Island Wisdom:
"I've decided to help you, Ben."
"Help me do what?"
"Do what you say you are on your way to do. Be judged ... If everything you've done is in the best interest of the island, then I'm sure the monster will understand. Let's go."
I love how St John has now become Ben’s Benevolent Spirit Guide
　
Ajira Beach: Locke and Ben are preparing to launch one of the outriggers, when Caesar plus three lackeys march over to prevent their departure. As the discussion becomes a confrontation, Caesar reaches for "his" sawed-off shotgun but it has magically teleported into Ben’s hands. Bye, Caesar - I thought you’d play a bigger Role. Note that Ben did the same thing to Karl - just before he shot Charlotte. Note also that despite the "No Killing" rule, that Ben seems quite willing and able to get his own hands dirty - MA (possibly), John and now Caesar.

So - maybe Ben really was trying to protect St John from the Bad Guys who were trying to hurt him per Walt’s Dream. Or ... knowing that he couldn’t kill a Dead Man, Ben’s just "rolling with" whatever St John wants to do.

Next stop - Dharmaville Dock. I think Ben realises that Home Sweet Home looks way worse than it ought to have. He knows that History has been (somewhat) re-written. I loved the Ben/John repartee upon arrival:
Locke: "Looks like we're not the first ones who decided to tie up here,"
"That would be Sun and Lapidus. I showed them where the boats were and Sun thanked me by smashing me on the head with a paddle."
Locke sits on the dock and puts on his shoes. "Is she the one that hurt your arm? I noticed you were favoring it on the way over."
"No. Someone else hurt my arm."
"You just make friends everywhere you go, don't you."
"Well, I've found that friends [like CW] can be significantly more dangerous than enemies, John."
"Is that why you shot an unarmed man in the chest?"
"The man was unarmed because I'd stolen his gun, the gun he was going to use [Telepathy?] to kill you. Couldn't let that happen." Ben told Locke something similar about MA
"No sense in letting me die twice, right?"
"You're welcome."
"We're going to your old house, aren't we?"
"Yes. It's the only place I can summon it, the monster. And once it arrives, I'll either be forgiven, or I won't."
"I think you're lying."
"Lying about what?"
"That you want to be judged for leaving the island and coming back because it's against the rules. I don't think you care about rules."
"Then what do I want to be judged for, John?"
"Killing your daughter." Ben is surprised by JL’s shrewd insight, since John didn’t even see Ben’s folded pic

As Ben and John approach Ben’s house, they chat a bit about the Purge - which "still" seems to have occurred:
"So whose idea was it to move into these houses?"
"Excuse me?" Ben asks.
"Well your people were living in the jungle and then after you murdered the Dharma folk you relocated here. I just wondered if it was your idea."
Ben stops and faces Locke. "Do you disapprove, John?"
"It just doesn't seem like something the island would want."
"You don't have the first idea of what this island wants."
"Are you sure about that?" St John is "turning the tables" on Ben the Great and Powerful.

As Ben re-enters his house, he spots the remains of the "Risk" game that Hugo, James and John were playing just before the Team Keamy attack. The timeline’s similar, but not identical to what it "was". When Sun shows Ben the photo of the 1977 DHARMA recruits featuring Hugo, Jack and Kate, he seems genuinely surprised. His memory’s been carefully edited. When Sun tells Ben (and us) that "Christian" told them to wait for the arrival of St John, it’s clear that The Island/Jacob/Christian can "see" The Future and know that St John will be along shortly. Ben seemed to know who "Christian" was.

Frank’s reactions made me laugh: "As long as the Dead Guy says there's a good reason for it, then I guess everything is going to be just peachy. And forget about the fact that the rest of your people are supposedly 30 years ago, now the only ones that are here to help us are a murderer and the guy who can't seem to remember how he got out of a coffin! Sun, please, let's just go back to the plane and see if I can fix the radio and maybe we can get some help."

Jesus, er St John tells Sun that if she leaves with Frank, she’ll never see Jin again and that he (JL) is all the help she needs. He can see the Future and he has some ideas. Sounds a lot like Ben to me - only kinder and gentler.

After Frank leaves to return to Hydra, it’s time for Ben to (attempt to) summon Smokey. I was a little annoyed with St John’s School-teacher/Parent/Coach attitude toward Ben’s Chore:
"Ben has something to do first. Isn't that right, Ben?"
"Yes, John, that's right."
"Better get to it then." A little too much glee in St John’s new role, but I suppose he’s earned it. Ben too, has earned his Penitence.

We now get to see Ben go through the looking glass and down the rabbit-hole as he pushes open the glyph-encrusted "summon protection" door inside his Secret Closet. After locating and lighting a Jacob’s Cabin-style kerosene lamp, he descends a set of stone stairs - which leads to a narrow earthen tunnel - which opens into an earthen chamber in the floor of which there’s a pool of muddy water. My first thought, when Ben reached into that muddy water, was that Something was going to grab his wrist. It didn’t. However, Ben did locate and turn an underwater dial - which drained the pool, after which Ben announced - to the air - that he’d be outside.

After Ben emerges (dirty again) from the Rabbit-hole, Sun tells him that John had "something to do" (commune with the Island) and during their moment of privacy, Ben enlightens Sun about Locke’s new Status:
"Sun, I had no idea it would happen [Liar]. I've seen this island do miraculous things. I've seen it heal the sick. But never once has it done anything like this. Dead is dead. You don't get to come back from that, not even here. So the fact that John Locke is walking around this island, scares the living hell out of me." And yet, Ben must know that he himself is a Non-Living Person like St John.
They hear a noise in the jungle. Ben says, "You may want to go inside ... because what's about to come out of that jungle is something I can't control."
Locke [whom Ben can no longer control] walks out of the jungle. "Any luck?"

Both John and Ben remember how soon Smokey appeared the "last" time Ben summoned him ... so ... the Timeline’s not too badly disrupted. Yet.

However, since Smokey’s apparently not coming to Ben, it’s time to take Ben to Smokey.
I think I believe Ben when he tells JL that he (Ben) doesn’t know "where it actually is"
I loved how John said: "I do"

As JL prepares the two torches he knows in advance that he’ll be needing, he tells Sun that "I’m the same man I’ve always been." There’s a whopper if I ever heard one. He’s suddenly bold, illuminated, self-confident and The Island speaks to him directly - nothing like the John Locke we’ve seen for Seasons 2 - 5.

As an aside: given the growing likelihood that our Characters are subject to memory and consciousness edits, how would they even know what/who they were previously? I remember the story fragment that Jack read to Aaron - about how impossible it would be to know if one’s personality had been changed overnight, while asleep. The only answer here would be the memories of you held by your friends, assuming you aren’t all in some Collective Dream or other Altered State.

Having prepared his torches, John leads the way to Smokey’s Home.

Meanwhile, back at Ajira Beach, Frank pulls up in his outrigger and is approached by a Redshirt who informs him that "Ilana and three of the others" have found some guns and are currently "in charge". When Frank approaches, Ilana asks him: "What lies in the shadow of the Statue?" This code question reminds me of the Radzinsky/Inman question - intended to differentiate between Friend and Foe. The fact that Ilana asks the question tells us that she doesn’t know who among the Ajira survivors is on her Team. The question itself suggests that Ilana might represent a group of Banished former Islanders whose ancestry extends back to the statue-builders. Charles Widmore might be the leader of this group (despite his English accent) or these folks might be the Third Faction I’ve been alluding to for many months.

Either way, her orders are to "get everyone else and tell them it’s time" and to tie Frank up. He’s scheduled for another canoe ride. I’m guessing that we’ll soon see two canoes heading to Lostie Beach. I’m looking forward to finding out what’s inside that large cargo container. I’m also guessing that Frank’s wondering if he shouldn’t have stayed with Sun, the Murderer and the Dead Guy. I’m sure, however, that he has Work To Do in connection with Team Ilana.

As John confidently leads the way to the Temple which he’s never seen, Ben gets to walk a while in John’s (old) shoes:

"You don't like this, do you?" Locke stops and turns around.
"What?"
"Having to ask questions that you don't know the answers to. Blindly following someone in the hopes that they'll lead you to whatever it is you're looking for."
"No, John, I don't like it at all." Karma leads to empathy for The Other.
"Well, now you know what it was like to be me."
When we arrive at the Temple Wall, we learn that the Temple Proper is (supposedly) a half-mile inside the wall. Assuming the wall is rectangular in Plan View, that would make each of the four Temple walls over one mile long. Pretty hard to swallow - and completely unnecessary. Be that as it may, St John and Ben aren’t going to The Temple - but only into the Cerberus Vent at one corner of the Temple Walls ... and they’re certainly not marching a half-mile or more once they’re underground.

Faced with possible Erasure, Ben asks Sun to seek out Desmond - if she ever leaves the Island - and to tell him that Ben was Sorry - a seemingly sincere but unnecessary, probably unwelcome and wholly gratuitous gesture from a Dead Man. OK then.

While Sun waits outside, John and Ben descend into the same Cerberus Vent in which Montand lost his arm and in which his friends lost their Personalities.
Once underground, Ben has another confession:
"You were right."
"About what?"
"Why I need to be judged. When Charles Widmore's men came, they gave me a Choice. Either leave the island or let my daughter die. All I had to do was walk out of the house and go with them. But I didn't do it. So you were right, John. I did kill Alex. And now I have to answer for that. Appreciate you showing me the way, but I think I can take it from here."

So ... the question is what exactly was Ben’s Choice:
A)Permit Alex to die so that Ben the Coward could live? This is what Sayid believed.
B) Permit Alex to die so that Ben the Island’s Faithful Servant could continue doing his Work?
C) Surrender to Team Keamy in the hope that Alex and the Losties might survive?
It seems as though the Primary Protocol might have resulted in Result C - the peaceful extraction of Ben (unharmed) and the survival of Alex and the Losties under the rule of a Widmore Appointee.

However, Ben did state, and Miles did tacitly confirm that after Ben’s extraction, everyone else on the island (even before the execution of the Secondary Protocol) was to be murdered.
So ... it would appear that Ben’s real choice, despite his own "confession" that he chose Alex’s death so that he himself could live was ... B) that in order for him to continue his Island-appointed role, he had to "let go" of Alex, the way that Kate (and "Claire") had to let go of Aaron. Let us also remember that at the time of Alex’s death, Ben was completely convinced that no matter what he said or did, that Alex could not die. He did not choose her death at all.
"You got it," Locke says. This oft-repeated line suggests that Ben is dreaming this Experience
Ben walks away and says, "I'll meet you outside, if I live--" ... and falls through the floor to a room below. So much punishment for so many Sins

Locke runs over and looks down to Ben. "Ben! Are you alright?"
"Never better." Can’t kill a Dead Guy
"Hang on, I'll find something to get you out of there."
"John, wait." But Locke is gone. No witnesses permitted for Ben’s Vision

Note that John might have been right that he was not in danger when, in S1, he was almost dragged into a CV. But. It would seem to me that S1 John was nowhere near ready to become the Enlightened Leader he now seems to be. The suggestion, therefore is - again - a conflict within the Island itself as to how best to use the Losties. I’m thinking that the Good Aspect of the Island is winning so far.

We now get to see the Temple below the Temple. It’s covered in stone-carved glyphs, the most striking of which is a tableau showing Anubis confronted by Smokey - who is obviously Very Old - as in older than the first Ancient Visitors to the Island. Present-Day Smokey emerges from a set of circular vents below this tableau and quickly envelops Ben.

As Ben’s Trial/Judgment/Vision proceeds, Ben’s torch is extinguished just before the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Ben and us a number of iconic moments in Alex’s life culminating in her heart-breaking death, after which Ben’s "torch" is magically "re-lit".

He then "sees" "Alex" - who at first seems sympathetic to Ben’s sincere Apology, delivered in an unreal "dream-voice". After he says "Oh, Alex. I'm so, so sorry. It was all my fault.", "Alex" sweetly agrees - just before she grabs him by the throat:
"I know," she says. She pushes him up against the wall. "Listen to me, you bastard! You will listen to every word John Locke says. And you will follow his every order. Do you understand?"
Ben nods and she pushes him harder. "Say it!"
"I will follow him. I swear."
She pushes him again and he closes his eyes and begins to weep. When he opens his eyes, she's gone. Imaginary Time is over.
"Ben?" Locke calls from above. Locke puts a vine down the hole so that Ben can climb up. "Ben?"
Ben walks over to look up at JL.
"What happened?" Locke asks.
"It let me live."

The End
　

So ... despite Ben’s Character Flaws, Smokey has again judged Ben to be a Good Person who has (mostly) done (despite great personal pain and suffering) what the Island has wanted him to do. Unlike CW, Ben is welcomed back to the Island, proceeds to the next level of The Game - and gets a New Life. My long-standing belief in Ben’s Goodness is finally vindicated.
Note that the Island has Forgiven Ben’s murders of Abaddon, Locke, Caesar plus all of the (indirect) murders of Danny, Mikhail, Greta, Bonnie, Tom etc., not to mention all the Sayid Assassination Targets.

I’m looking forward to some more clarification as to the extent to which History’s been re-written - and I’m eager to find out what happened to Sayid - let alone Rose, Bernard and the surviving Red-shirts.

I’m expecting to learn sooner or later how Hugo got out of jail and onto Flight316.
I wonder also at the reaction - in the outside world - to the disappearance of The Oceanic Five.

Unless the Outside World doesn’t really exist.

That’s the problem with all the speculation about what’s real and what’s not. We sort of have to take "events" at face value regardless of their reality or unreality.