Despite a number of Light Moments, this is a "dense" Episode offering a bunch of clues about the true nature of the Island and the Factions competing to control it.
Recap:
An old-style microwave shows the time: 3:16. The Apartment Manager opens it and says, "It comes fully equipped."
Mrs Chang is in the process of renting a "budget" apartment - in what may be the same "Motel Complex" as we’ve already seen used by Anthony Cooper and by Carole Littleton - for herself and Young Miles, who looks to be about 7 or 8 years old. In what may be the first time he exhibits his Gift, he’s drawn to Unit 4 by visions of a Dead Man Lying Down. After he touches his hand to the door, he "learns" that the spare key to the (locked) unit is hidden under the (white) stone rabbit near the entrance.
When his Mom and the Landlord come running in response to his "Mommy!" cries, we discover that Young Miles has learned that the Dead Guy was alone, scared, experiencing chest pain and calling out for Kimberly, his deceased wife. Miles could "hear" him. Despite this freaky occurrence, it would seem that Mrs Chang lived in that apartment complex for the rest of her life.
Miles, like Hugo, Jack, Desmond, Achara etc has a Supernatural Gift and the Island has been busily selecting, training and gathering a Team of Super-Heroes for the Coming War.
Teen-aged Miles returns to Apartment 7, in which his Mother lies gravely ill (like Carole/Claire and Diane/Kate). On the back of his jacket, an upside-down "1". Before she dies, he wants some info:
"I need you to tell me why I'm this way. How I do the things I do. And I need to know why you won't talk to me about my father."
"Because he never cared about us. He never cared about you." He cared enough to take turns waking up early to feed Miles - and to read a Polar Bear book to him.
"Your father kicked us out when you were just a baby. He didn't want anything to do with us. So the less you knew about him, the better." Another Island Child (like Charlotte, Walt, Aaron, Ji-Yeon and maybe even Daniel, James, Jack and Juliet) sent away to Save Their Lives.
"Why didn't you just tell me?"
"Because it was over. Your Dad has been dead a long time." Carole told Claire the same thing.
"Where's his body?" Does Mrs Chang know about The Purge?
"Somewhere you could never go." Despite Dr Chang’s self-sacrificing effort to send his child out of harm’s way, the Island’s Agenda is to bring him back - at the appropriate time. Note that CW is acting (consciously or not) as the Island’s Tool in this Return of the Children - suggesting that Aaron, Clementine, Ji-Yeon and Young Charlie will be coming to the Island in S6. I wonder what Grandma Carole is telling Aaron in 2005 - and what Grandma Paik is telling Ji-Yeon.
2004 Miles has been hired to speak to the dead son of Mr Gray, a Grieving Dad. Unfortunately, there’s no body, since the kid’s been cremated. Needing the money, Miles decides to "improvise" and sitting at a table, holding the Dad’s hands - like Richard Malkin, Isaac of Iluru and Lynn Karnoff - Miles tells the Dad what he wants to hear, that his son always knew he loved him. For me, the implication is clearly that Malkin, Isaac and Karnoff may have "cheated" from time to time, but that their Powers were Real nonetheless. So... Malkin’s prediction that Grave Danger would surround Aaron if he was Raised By Another still holds.
Immediately after the above Fake Seance, Naomi Dorrit shows up to audition Miles - and he demonstrates The Real Thing. We find out that it was indeed Widmore who exhumed those Thai bodies and bought the jet used to fake the 815 crash. Naomi knew this before boarding the Kahana, but did Captain Gault? Once again, Ben was Telling The Truth about who was behind the Fake Crash and Widmore was the Lying Liar.
Note that Naomi called CW her "Employer" - the same phrase that Elsa used. It makes no sense to me that CW could have been Elsa’s Employer, since he knew full well who Sayid’s Boss was, but whatever.
We now learn something true and something false:
"This island has a number of deceased individuals residing on it. And as this man was the one responsible for them being deceased, we believe that you can supply valuable information as to his whereabouts." Finally - Proof that numbers of Dead People are walking around on the Island. I’ve been saying for years that Ben is not human - and finally, here’s some support for that notion. I’ve also thought for a long time that Family Ben/Richard consists of mostly Dead People - the famous Non-Living People mentioned by Ben back in S3. The Lie in Naomi’s little speech is that Ben was responsible for their deaths. In 512 we clearly saw that CW was not Banished until well after The Purge. He was in charge before and during its execution.
Note that MA gathered the intel on Miles, Charlotte, Frank and Daniel, but that Naomi, by "auditioning" Miles, may have been testing him for her own peace-of-mind before signing him up for the Mission. Her offer: 1.6 ("16") Million Dollars, exactly half of what Miles subsequently asked Bram (and Ben) for. I doubt he’ll ever see a penny of this Fantasy Payment.
Next up - a 12/04 conversation with Bram:
"You owe me a fish taco." [Yuck]
"Sorry about that, but your apartment's being watched [by CW?] and we had to try our best to talk you out of working for Charles Widmore."
"I have no idea who that is."
Bram climbs into the back with Miles. "He's the man who chartered the boat you'll be getting on next week. And, my friend [is/was Caesar a member of team Ilana?], you do not want to get on that boat. Do you know what lies in the shadow of the statue?" How could Bram not know that Miles isn’t already part of their Team?
"No, can't say that I do."
"Then you're not ready to go to that island. But if you come with us, all those things you've spent your life trying to find out, you'll know. You'll know who you are, Miles, why it is you have a Gift and most of all, you'll know about your father." Like Old Ben did to Old Locke, Bram is tempting Miles with the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
Note Bram’s use of the word "Gift" - the same word used by Achara. Maybe Achara’s (Thai) people are allied with Team Ilana.
Bram, like Colleen with Sun, was trying to "recruit" Miles to voluntarily join his Team.
"I don't know where you've been getting your intel, but I stopped caring about my father a long time ago. What I do care about is money. So, I'll tell you what, if you want me to pass on going to the island, it's going to cost you double what they offered, 3.2 million."
"We're not paying you anything. All the money in the world isn't going to fill that empty hole inside of you, Miles." Bram, like Ben, is Playing By The Rules; no physical coercion, but offering an "Informed" Choice - and respecting the outcome.
They stop and throw Miles out and Bram says, "You're playing for the wrong team."
"Yeah? What team are you on?"
"The one that's going to win." They drive off. As much as Bram was constrained to Play By The Rules, he still strikes me as a smirking, full-of-himself Jerk. He may not be a backwards-talking blood-thirsty Hater/Killer, but I doubt that he’s a Good Guy.
Bram’s comment about the "empty hole inside" Miles does linger in his brain, though - in a good way.
Note that CW and MA knew about the Gifted Children - Miles, Charlotte and Daniel. I’m still thinking that CW isn’t quite the Bad Guy Enemy he’s made out to be. I think he’s being used by the Island (as it’s using Ben) even if he himself thinks differently.
Note also that if the Island (or some part of the Island) wanted Team Ilana dead, they’d be dead. Maybe the Island will soon be at war with itself - a "crazy", schizophrenic possibility.
Just before flying off to Bali to board the Kahana, Miles decides to revisit Mr Gray and give him back what (compared to 1.6 Million dollars) is now chump-change plus a heart-felt but nonetheless hurtful comment: "If you needed your son to know that you loved him, you should have told him when he was still alive." This advice sounds like something that Christian should have heeded while he was still alive - if "repairing the relationship" was in the cards - which it wasn’t.
At this point in the Series, it’s impossible to know what’s "real", but this (2004) "Flashback" has a strong influence on 1977 Miles’ decision to reach out to his Father - an effort he did not make during his first three years in Dharmaville, but which he might now make within days of his conversations with Hugo. If so, he’d better act fast. Our Losties have to leave Dharmaville before the Return of "Ben".
Island:
Jim and Kate, having handed Dying Ben to Richard, must now return to Dharmaville and try to "cover their tracks". Good luck with that. Jim radios Miles and asks him to erase the Security Tape for Camera 4. Before he can complete this task, Miles is interrupted by Horace, who inducts Miles into the Circle of Trust and sends him to meet Radzinsky in Hostile Territory with an empty Body Bag.
Miles’ Forgotten Erasure of Tape #4 comes back later to haunt the Losties and hasten their departure from Dharmaville. Jack’s Partial Erasure of the blackboards provides a hint about some of the Memory Fragments that seem to have surfaced from Past Lives. It would seem that Tabula Rasa is not always possible on the Island.
After entering Grid 334, Miles is stopped by Radzinsky, who leaps out of the bush seemingly in the middle of nowhere. He whistles for his two lackees to bring out the body and feeds one lie after another to Miles about the circumstances surrounding the death of this Construction Work Man. After they load the corpse into the back of the van and walk away, Miles unzips the BB and asks: "So, what really happened?"
Back in Dharmaville, Horace is on the phone with Dr Chang: "Pierre, if it was caused by the [Swan] electromagnetism, we need to know." Having just arrived back at Dharmaville, Miles is now sent to The Orchid, where Dr Chang will perform an autopsy.
After some back-and-forth with Hugo, the two of them drive off in the same van, with both corpse and job-site lunch in the back.
Hugo: "We're going to the same place. Why don't we car-pool? It will help with global warming, which hasn't happened yet, so maybe we can prevent it." Hugo the Activist, thinking (correctly) that he can change the Past/Present/Future.
So ... the Orchid was built slightly ahead of the Swan.
Infirmary:
Kate returns and thanks Juliet for sending James, when suddenly Roger barges in, having just returned from his Mission to The Staff Station for no-longer-necessary Medical Supplies. Fast-thinking Juliet apologises for less-than-perfect Patient Monitoring and suggests that Ben’s been kidnapped. After Roger storms out in search of Security, Juliet turns to Kate and says: "Well, here we go".
For me, the implication is that Juliet has been through this sequence of events a few times already and knows that her three years of Playing House with LaFleur are over . The alternative explanation is simply that with the arrival of Kate, Hugo, Jack and especially Sayid, there was no way to keep things smoothly rolling along as they had been for three years. And rightly so. The Island has/had no intention of permitting J&J to live happily ever after in the 70's and 80's.
Van:
Hugo asks: "How do you spell ‘Bounty Hunter’ ?" For me, this was a reference to Ilana, as was Hugo’s subsequent comment that Boba Fett was eaten by the Sarlacc - a hint, I guess that team Ilana will eventually be defeated.
Other Important Lines: "Forget it; you’re imagining things" - another reference to the "unreality" of "events" we’re seeing on the show.
We learn that the dead Work Man died when a filling in his mouth was [electromagnetically] pulled out of its socket and right through his brain. This line reminded me of Desmond telling John and/or Jack that whenever he walked by the Swan’s Chernobyl-style concrete wall that his "fillings hurt." When Hugo asks Miles how he knows all this, he displays his Openness to Comic-book style Miracles and Super-Powers. Note that Hugo was the first to identify Desmond’s Super-Power-like ability to see the Future.
I loved how Hugo bulled ahead to say and to do what he thought was Right, regardless of the express wishes of his companion. Note that Miles, like Jack, Kate, Charlie, Sayid and James, is another in a long list of emotionally-wounded and morally-suspect CW Tools that the Island has healed/rehabilitated for its own use.
Playground - in which we learn why 2004 Cindy and her Other colleagues gave away so little info:
Instead of rushing over to Security, as he’d threatened, Roger’s decided to drown his sorrows in Beer. Heart-of-gold Kate decides to share a little Future Knowledge with Grieving Dad - and triggers the Law of Unforseen Consequences. Instead of being comforted, Roger grows suspicious of Kate - and, soon enough - her Friend Jack.
Maybe one of these days, Kate will learn to keep her cards closer to her vest. Or not. In any case, it’s all good. The Losties have to leave 1977 very soon - and the actions/words of Sayid, Kate, Jim, Juliet, Jack, Jin, Miles and Hugo will bring on their collective departure on schedule.
The frustrating but necessary reticence of the 2004 members of Family Ben/Richard is to some extent shared by Juliet - who (still, I think) knows way more than she’s sharing.
Miles and Hugo - in which they each learn about the Abilities of the other. Miles can discern the circumstances of the death of the deceased including their near-death thoughts, whereas Hugo can hold two-way conversations and even play chess with them. Hugo is proud that his "power" is "better" than Miles’. Note that Hugo’s not really aware that his Greatest Power is the Power of Wish-Fulfilment - which is how he revived the dead Dharmavan in 2004.
I had to laugh at how Hugo blurted out to Dr Chang that he knew about the corpse but could keep a secret - a self-contradictory statement if I ever heard one. If Hugo knows, everybody knows. Nevertheless, the threat of weighing Polar Bear shit did seem to make an impact on Hugo - and brought a rare smile to Dr Sarcasm’s face. Note the disdain with which Pierre regarded the work of his Hydra "colleagues". Professional rivalry?
"I don't want to talk about it," Miles says.
"Are you kidding me? How weird is it that your dad is the dude from all those movies? Only back then he was called Marvin Candle. Is that like a stage name?"
"What part of 'I don't want to talk about it' isn't sinking in?"
"Well, if you didn't want to talk about it, why'd you tell me? [Good Guy Hugo can tell truth from Truth] How long have you known he was your Dad?"
"The third day we were here, I was in line at the cafeteria and my mother got in line behind me. That was my first clue." So ... Miles can be in the same time/place as his younger self.
"But all those Dharma dudes end up dead. Don't you want to save him?"
"I can't save him. [Miles has swallowed Daniel’s Passive Kool-Aid] They're going to get killed no matter what I do, so why bother?" This "defeatist" attitude may have been invented or instilled by the Bad Guys ... OR ... whatever Free Will interventions or non-interventions happened, happened.
Class-room:
Jack is erasing (badly) the blackboard, which contains a lesson about Ancient Egypt, including some Symbols and some dates (2000 BC, 1300 BC, 700 BC). The fact that his erasures (like those of Ms Hawking) are incomplete implies that the Memory Edits undergone by our Losties as they go through their various Time Loops are sometimes incomplete. Some memories "leak through" from Previous Lives. Some folks would write this off as Deja Vu.
During his subsequent discussion with Roger, Jack reveals that he and Kate are friends - further connecting the suspicious newbies to each other. When Roger told Jack that Kate had given Ben some blood, I was reminded that 2004 Kate (and James, Michael and Jack) all had blood samples taken from them involuntarily. It may be that these 2004 samples were taken to compare them to some 1977 samples.
Jack’s exposure to his Dad’s drunkenness - as well as his own - led him to "talk down" to Roger about his compromised mental state that day - giving Roger further incentive to remember this conversation.
Pierre, Miles and Hugo:
Hurley: "So, I'm new here, Dr. Chang; what is it exactly you do at the Orchid?"
"It's classified."
"Oh really, you can't tell anyone? Not even your wife?"
"No."
"What about your kids?"
"I have a three-month old son, so, no I haven't told him."
"Three months, wow, congrats! What's his name?"
"Miles."
"Small world," Hurley says. "That's your name too, right, Miles?"
"Yeah," Miles says. Hint, hint, Pierre
"So, you a fan of jazz, Dr. Chang?" Hurley asks. "Like Miles Davis?"
"My wife is," Pierre says. "I like country."
"So you two [Miles only] have been here for three years now," Hurley says. "Must be pretty tight, huh?"
"Dr. Chang and I don't exactly travel in the same circles," Miles says.
"I wasn't aware there were [Time Loop] circles," Pierre says.
Hurley says, "Great! We should all get together for a beer sometime. How awesome would that be?" Hugo is trying to push Miles and his Dad together - not to Save (or Destroy) The World, but to "heal" Miles’ wounded soul.
Swan site:
Pierre opens a Secret Fence - which "conceals" the Swan job-site, complete with Armed Guards. What a joke. The site could be seen from any nearby hill or tall tree ... the Construction noise could be heard from miles around. Willing suspension of disbelief - OK, OK. But, seriously, there’s no way such a Project could be kept secret from Family Richard/Charles, not even counting the fact that moles like Ben, Ethan and (possibly) Amy were in constant communication. The DI were positively asking to be Purged. Note, however, that the Swan was off-limits to 2004 Bea. So ... maybe it was somehow off-limits to 1977 Family Richard/Charles. After all, Radzinsky , Kelvin and Desmond survived there (including Food Drops) for many years undisturbed. Note also that the (completed) Swan was "buried" (how?) with concealed entrances.
Note that a day or so ago, Radzinsky was working on the Swan model. And yet, a day or so later, construction is well under way. Talk about Time Pressures.
Having dropped Pierre off, the Two Musketeers continue their banter/therapy session:
"So your dad," Hurley asks, "was he around, you know, where we came from, the future?"
"No."
"Well then this is kind of awesome for you, huh?"
"How is it awesome?"
"Because you get to hang out with him, you know, get to know him better and stuff. Don't bother thanking me, but he was totally down for that beer, dude. You know, maybe he'll let you hold baby you or you can change your diaper."
Miles slams on the brakes. "Listen up, because we're only going to have this conversation once, okay? I don't want to hang out with my dad. I don't want to know him better, and stuff."
"Why not? Did he beat you up when you were little or something?"
"He wasn't even around when I was little, you dimwit! I never knew him, until now. Why am I even telling you this?"
"Because you're in pain and you need to let it out." Hugo sees to the heart of the matter - just like 2004 Bram did. But 1977 Miles has a unique opportunity to "make contact" before it’s too late.
"I'm not in pain! It doesn't matter. My father is dead. He's dead. He's gone. He never cared about me. And nothing I can do will ever change that." This is the Lie that Miles has been telling himself for three years.
"But he's not gone. We just dropped him off." Hugo wants to Change the Past/Present without regard to what these changes might mean to the Future. This "wonderfully human ability to cheat" is exactly what the island needs to avert Future Disaster.
Then we get a Big Hint about the Reality behind LOST:
Hugo: "It's 1977, right? So Star Wars just came out. And pretty soon George Lucas is going to be looking for a sequel. I've seen "Empire" like, 200 times, so I figured make life easier and send him the script...with a couple improvements."
So ... our Losties have been Observed acting out their Script numerous times - with "improvements" edited into the Script from time to time. We keep talking about The Island, but maybe there are some (competing) DI Scientists Observing and Manipulating events from The Future.
Hugo’s final comment (for now) : "At least I’m not scared to talk to my own Dad"
Casa LaFleur/Burke:
Jim walks in, weary from a long day of Crisis Management. Jack is waiting and informs him that Roger is suspicious of Kate. But that won’t matter for long, because Phil has discovered the not-erased Security Tape, and as soon as Jim does a Ben and finds out that Phil has not told Horace, he knocks him out and orders him to be tied up, sounding like Ilana ordering Frank to be tied up. Next step? Pack up and flee to Family Richard?
Hugo and Miles, having returned to Dharmaville:
"Sorry I said you were afraid to talk to your dad, dude." [The Right Thing to have said]
"Don't worry about it."
"I used to hate my dad, too, dude."
"Yeah?"
"He left when I was 10. But the best thing I ever did was give him a second chance and although I may never see him again, I miss him. And I know he feels the same."
"My dad didn't leave when I was 10. I was a baby. I never knew him. And I don't want to [the same attitude that Claire had toward her Father]. It's not happening."
"That was Luke's attitude too."
"What?"
"In "Empire", Luke found out Vader was his father, but instead of putting down the light-saber and talking about it, he overreacted and got his hand cut off. I mean, they worked it out eventually, but at what cost? Another Death Star was destroyed. Boba Fett got eaten by the Sarlacc [Ilana’s destiny?] and we got the Ewoks. It all could have been avoided if they'd just, you know, communicated." Hugo planting the right seed at the right time. Our heroes have to let go of corrosive emotions like Fear, Doubt and Vengeance
Having been Influenced by Hugo’s comments, Miles looks in from outside on Pierre reading a Polar Bear book to Baby Miles (who’s wearing a DHARMA jumper; talk about Company Loyalty). Miles can see for himself the Affection that Pierre shows to his younger self and, when Pierre - having taken the phone-call informing him that the Sub had just docked - comes out, spots Miles and says: "Miles, I need you" , his love-starved reply: "You do?" had just the right note of wistful hope in it - only to be dashed (or set aside) when Pierre followed up with: "The sub’s in from HQ. I need your help bringing them in."
With Radzinsky signing in the newly arrived Ann Arbour Scientists at dock-side, we see the poignant arrival of Daniel (who’s wearing a Swan patch) : "Long time no see"
Maybe Miles does (soon) reach out to Pierre and therefore helps convince him about the reality of TT, especially with Daniel in the picture too.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
511 recap and comments
Another terrific Ep filled with answers, including What Kate Did, how Ben "survived" an Assassin’s bullet and some more of LOST’s Rules of TT
Kate’s Flashbacks:
With Patsy Kline playing on her car radio ("The only thing different..."), Kate pulls into Cassidy’s driveway with infant Aaron beside her. I guess we’re in early 2005. As she picks Baby Aaron up, she sings "Catch a falling star" to him. Maybe she heard Claire sing him this tune.
Cassidy recognises Kate, welcomes her inside and listens to her explanation of why The Six left and why Sawyer jumped out of the chopper. Cassidy’s interpretation of Sawyer’s (and Kate’s) motives are refreshing reminders that there’s always another POV.
As far as Cassidy’s concerned, Sawyer the coward could not commit to any relationship or responsibility. She correctly guessed (or read Kate’s mind) that the money in the envelope, supposedly from Sawyer, wasn’t. Cassidy’s shrewd conclusion that Kate was lying to her about Aaron’s parentage could be keen intelligence or it could be Telepathy. Cassidy, (like Nadia) may be an Island plant - tasked with nudging Kate into some key actions and conclusions - which she most certainly did in this Ep.
"You don't have to explain it, Kate, you've got the same look on your face as I did when he ditched me. All I have for you is sympathy."
It would appear that Sawyer’s Jail Reward money never did get to Clementine.
After Kate’s 1/05 departure from Long Beach Marina, she stops at a Grocery Store to buy Aaron a beverage. Distracted for a moment by a cell-phone call from Jack, Kate doesn’t immediately notice Aaron wandering off. After some frantic calling for her "son" and running around the store in dangerously high heels, she spots him with a Blonde-haired woman who (from behind) resembles Claire. She snatches him up and exits the store. I guess Aaron never did get his juice.
The very next morning, Clementine opens the door and smiles at her "Auntie Kate". Kate and Cassidy have become BFF starting from before, during and after Kate’s on/off relationship with Jack.
When Kate tells Cassidy that during the previous night’s Panic, she half-expected (thanks to the efforts of Ben and his Lawyer) Aaron to have been snatched, Cassidy’s curiously shrewd answer to Kate’s question: "Why would I expect him to be taken" was: "because you took him". Hmm.
"Claire was gone. She left him. I had to take him. He needed me."
"You needed him. Sawyer broke your heart. How else were you supposed to fix it?"
This insight certainly got Kate’s wheels turning.
She drives to Carole’s motel and confesses that Aaron is Carole’s grand-son and that Kate had been keeping him (despite learning at Christian’s wake that Carole was alive and well) for her own sake. But the Island insists on Honesty - and for Kate’s sake - and Carole’s (and Aaron’s), she hands him over to Carole and reveals that she intends to return to the Island to find Claire (not to reclaim James).
So ... immediately after this emotionally-traumatic but nevertheless voluntary surrender of Aaron to Carole, she drives to Jack’s place, lets herself in, insists that he ask no questions and rapes him. The next day she tells Jack that they are not " together" ... not Jack and her, and not the O5 either. OK, then.
Meanwhile, back on the Island:
Moments after Sayid stumbles off in a northerly direction, (I’m guessing he’ll be captured by Family Richard and confronted by a fully-recovered, no-longer-innocent Ben) Jin is revived by Phil’s voice over the walkie. He spots Little Ben face-down, rolls him over and hears him plead: "Please help" - so he does. The wound in his chest appears to have moved from his heart to the right side of his sternum.
In Dharmaville, Horace’s immediate, correct conclusion is that Sayid was sprung with "inside" help. He naturally suspects newbies Jack and Kate, especially when they draw attention to themselves, and I’m thinking it won’t be long before Team JJJ are confronted and interrogated, tried and sentenced to death.
It’ll be fascinating to see if Team JJJ warns Family Horace about the looming Incident and/or the more distant Purge - or whether they are sent Back to the Future before saying too much. Ben’s miraculous recovery and return to Dharmaville will also be cool to witness.
Kate and Roger share a moment when he asks her to switch on the winch, realises that she’s clueless and extends a little sympathy and friendliness. My first thought was that Roger might be getting lucky tonight - until he introduced himself as "Roger ... Roger Linus", at which point, Kate did a Sayid and choking back her repulsion, managed: "It’s nice to meet you, Roger".
When Roger sees his injured son emerge from the Dharmavan, he enters Temporarily Caring Parent mode, endearing himself a little more to Kate.
As Roger accompanies his son to the Infirmary, Kate decides to check out the Security Monitoring Centre where she finds James, er Jim. Without thinking about how much attention she’s drawing to herself, she’s in "I want to know everything and help everyone" mode. Heart of Gold, but Pain in Ass for the Head of Security.
When Horace and Miles enter the Monitoring Station, he asks Jim why Kate the newbie is down where she has no business being. Quick-thinking and quick-talking LaFleur answers: "I was seeing if she saw anything suspicious, but she didn't." He tells her she can run along and she leaves. Horace lets this go, but I’m sure he’ll remember that the newbies seem a little too familiar with each other and with LaFleur, Juliet, Jin and Miles. This will end up looking like a long-term Infiltration to him.
Next up is the discovery that a set of Dharmaville keys was left behind, further proving Insider help. Horace immediately announces that the keys belong to Roger, Willy or Jack the newbie. More suspicion.
Sawyer takes Miles with him. As they walk, he tells Miles, "Alright I want you to find Jack and Hurley and Kate as quick as you can and put them in a house and sit on them."
"What for?"
"Because I don't want them talking to anybody else. Things are starting to spin out of control here." No shit, Shelock.
Fortunately, LaFleur thinks to ask Roger about his keys and Roger soon concludes that it was Ben who stole them and it was Ben who helped Sayid to escape. I wonder if he’ll be sharing that intel with Horace - or if that will even matter after it’s discovered that newbie Kate grabbed a Dharmavan and drove Dying Ben away - and was followed and helped by LaFleur. There will be a Day Of Reckoning very soon for Team JJJ.
When LaFleur realises that Dying Ben is being treated by Motor Pool Juliet (The Official Doc is out of town, natch) and that she lacks the Med Skills to save her patient, he marches over to Doc Miracle - who’s decided not to save Ben again. Ben has trained Doc M to hate him enough to forget his Hippocratic oath.
I had to laugh when Kate said: "Sawyer is just trying to do his job, Jack." because she’s the very first, in fact she’s already been the very first, to completely ignore any notions of trying to keep a low profile and "blend in".
Next up: some extensive (and exceedingly rare) Explanation:
Hugo: "We came back in time to the island and changed stuff, so if Little Ben dies, he'll never grow up to be Big Ben, who was the one who made us come back here in the first place. Which means we can't be here, and therefore, dude, we don't exist."
Miles: "It doesn't work like that. You can't change anything. Your maniac Iraqi buddy shot Linus. That is what always happened; it's just we never experienced how it all turns out ... The good news is that Linus didn't die, so that means the kid can't either. He'll be fine." Except that IMO, Little Ben does/did die and was replaced by a Smokey Non-Living Person with (seeming) Free Will, memory, autonomy and complete personality plus Special Powers.
Hugo: "Let me get this straight ... all this already happened?"
"Yes."
"So, this conversation we're having right now, we already had it."
"Yes!"
"Then what am I going to say next?"
Miles shakes his head. "I don't know."
"Ha! Then your theory is wrong."
"For the thousandth time, you dingbat, the conversation already happened, but not for you and me. For you and me, it's happening right now." Because "right now" is our Subjective Present.
"Okay, answer me this. If all this already happened to me, then why don't I remember any of it?"
"Because once Ben turned that wheel, time isn't a straight line for us anymore. Our experiences in the past and in the future occurred before these experiences right now."
"I can die because I've already come to the island on the freighter. Any of us can die because this is our present."
"But you said Ben couldn't die because he still has to grow up and become the leader of the others."
"Because this is his past."
"When we first captured Ben, and Sayid, like, tortured him, then why wouldn't he remember getting shot by that same guy when he was a kid?"
Miles thinks a moment and says, "Huh. I hadn't thought of that."
I think that 2004 Ben remembers it quite well, but is following orders and Playing his Part as per the Island’s agenda.
Here endeth the current Time Travel Lesson.
Meanwhile, Jack is going to Just Say No:
"Thirty years from now that boy's going to be a man that locks me in a cage because he needs surgery. And then you're going to come in and you're going to beg me to operate on him because he's threatening to murder Sawyer. I've already done this. I've already saved Benjamin Linus, and I did it for you, Kate. I don't need to do it again." So ... it now appears possible/probable that Jack was subjected to the Hydra Island Conditioning Project precisely so that he would make this exact Free Will decision after being sent to 1977. Ben was training Jack to hate him in the same way that Ben trained Sayid to hate him. Yikes, it sure is tough to be the Island’s Bitch.
"This is our fault. We brought Sayid back. We caused this." Oh, Kate - how is it your fault that the island sucked you off a plane and sent you into the Past? And yet, it’s the "Free Will" choices that Jack, Kate and everyone else make/will make/have made that determine the outcome of Events. And yet, Someone/Something went to great lengths to select, train, educate and condition all the Players to "want" what He/She/It wants/needs them to want/choose.
"When we were here before I spent all of my time trying to fix things. But did you ever think that maybe the island just wants to fix things itself? And maybe I was just getting in the way?" Wow, Jack really has become a Man-of-Faith, thanks to Ben, The Island and St John. This insight would not have been possible for Jack unless he "experienced" all the "events" that "happened" to him in Seasons One through Five.
Having slapped Kate back in the face with: "You didn’t like the old me", my first reaction was: "Go, Jack!" Finally some Emotional Clarity.
Feeling sympathetic to Little Ben (having been exposed to temporary Proxie Motherhood), Kate exits the House Arrest House, does not get shot in the leg by MIles and marches over to The Infirmary to Help. The first Help she offers is her blood (something that Jack did for Boone back in Season One). This Gift buys enough time to deliver Little Ben to Ageless Richard.
Juliet and Kate share a few minutes of privacy, during which Juliet learns that Kate and Jack were (briefly) engaged and that Kate has no idea why Jack does what he does. This is a cute Feminine Bonding Moment and a pleasant alternative to the Love Squabbling that might have occurred. Then Roger bursts in, setting the stage for some more Kate/Roger bonding:
"My son stole my keys so he could bust that animal out of jail."
"Why would he do that?"
"Because of me. You got kids?"
"No" Not since three or four days ago.
"I thought I was going to be the greatest father ever. Guess it didn't work out that way."
"What about his mother? Is she still around?"
"No, she's dead. She died the day he was born."
"I'm sorry." Kate becomes even more sympathetic to Dying Innocent Ben.
"Yeah, me too. I tried to do what I thought she'd want me to do, but I guess a boy just needs his mother." Some excuse, Rog. Where were these noble thoughts when they were really needed? In fact, after the upcoming Return of the Prodigal Son - how much sympathetic understanding will you be offering your wounded son over the next few years before he chooses to gas you to death?
By the way, where’s Annie during Ben’s Near-Death Experience?
As Ben goes into Hypoxic Shock, it occurs to Juliet that Family Richard might be able to "save" Dying Ben’s life. Given what she knows/will know about the nature of Family Richard/Ben, including (I think) the little fact that they are immortal, and what the cost of this Immortality might be ... given what Juliet knows about the role of Choice and Free Will on the Island, I wonder if she’s feeling "pushed/manipulated" into making "choices" that are "willed" by Someone Else.
Kate’s good with the concept of delivering Ben to the Hostile Emergency Hospital/Resurrection Centre and together with Juliet, they transfer Ben into a Dharmavan
Juliet: "Okay, let's go ... I'm coming with you."
"No, no, no, no. If something goes wrong or we get caught, it doesn't matter for me, but you've got a whole life. And besides, if Sawyer knew I got you involved in this, he'd kill me." Thanks for thinking (a little bit) about Juliet and Jim Playing House. Too bad that all your meddling will tear all of you apart anyway, but hey - it’s the thought that counts, right?
Juliet: "Kate, Sawyer's going to find out Ben's gone and when he does, I have to tell him what happened, but I'll give you as much of a head start as I can. Good luck."
Note that this promise sounds much like the one that Kate made to Sun and Jin when they planned to leave Lostie Beach to join Team Locke in Otherville.
As Kate approaches the Sonic Fence and gets out, ready to try and figure out how to disarm it, LaFleur pulls up in his Dharmavan:
Jim turns off the Fence and asks Kate if she'd figured out how she was going to carry Dying Ben out there all by herself.
"The line's just right over there, right? The Others are on the other side?"
"They ain't right on the other side. We better get moving."
"Why are you doing this?" Kate asks. "Why are you helping me?"
"When I found out Ben was gone, Juliet told me what you were up to. I asked that exact damn question, 'Why you helping Ben?' and she said, 'no matter what he's going to grow up to be, it's wrong to let a kid die.' So, that's why I'm doing this." He picks up Ben. "I'm doing it for her." Ahh - James has indeed evolved.
As they trudge ever deeper into Hostile Territory, James and Kate catch up a bit:
"What's she like?"
"Clementine is beautiful. Looks just like you when she smiles. She's growing up fast, already has a little attitude."
LaFleur: "You and me would have never worked out, Kate. I wasn't any more fit to be your boyfriend than I am to be that girl's father."
"You seem to be doing alright with Juliet."
"Yeah. I've done a lot of growing up in the past three years." - Thanks to The Island and especially to Ben
When they are captured by the Hostiles, LaFleur tells them to take him, Kate and Ben to Richard. A few minutes later, Richard steps out of the jungle, knowing telepathically about their Mission. He may or may not have teleported to their Jungle Rendezvous location.
Richard looks at Ben. "If I take him, he's not ever going to be the same again."
"What do you mean by that?" Kate asks.
"What I mean is, he'll forget this ever happened and his innocence will be gone. He will always be one of us. You still want me to take him?" Richard is compelled to Tell The Truth.
"Yes," Kate says. She has Chosen.
Sawyer hands Ben over.
A man steps forward and says, "Richard, you shouldn't do this without asking Ellie. If Charles finds out--" Secrets, always with the Secrets.
"Let him find out," Richard says. "I don't answer to either of them." He walks away.
So ... Ageless Richard can Change Ben into a no-longer-innocent and permanent member of his Family. I’m thinking that this Change occurs after death - after the dead person’s soul has been weighed by the Island’s version of Ancient Egypt’s Anubis. If the Island judges Ben a Good Person, he becomes a Servant of the Light Aspect of the Island. I’m guessing that Bad Persons (possibly including anyone who’s committed suicide) get to serve The Dark Side. When Richard backed into the Temple Wall, my first thought was that he just kinda got sucked through it. Maybe he vibrated through it like The Flash.
Note that Ellie and Charles appear to have become Leaders - possibly in an equal relationship - and that Charles would likely not have approved of Richard’s decision to "save" Young Ben. Assuming that Charles was granted Immortality prior to being tricked off the Island by Ben, it would be no wonder that he wants to "reclaim" it. In 2005 he’s already 70 years old - and he’s suffering from nightmares, afraid that The Wrong Side might win the upcoming War.
Meanwhile, back in Dharmaville, Juliet, having sent Kate off to the Sonic Fence confronts Jack:
"Kate’s trying to save him and I sent James out to help her because they actually care."
"I came back here because I care, Juliet. I came back here because I was trying to save you."
"We didn't need saving! We've been fine for three years. You came back here for you. At least do me the courtesy of telling me why."
"I came back because I was supposed to." Based on the Island turning my life to shit and then Locke committing suicide, followed by Ms Hawking telling me to take a Leap of Faith, followed by my Grandad having a pair of my Dad’s shoes just when I needed them, followed by .....
"Supposed to do what?"
"I don't know yet."
Final Scene: 2005 Ben, having been cleaned up, wakes in the Ajira Infirmary. St John is sitting beside him. When Ben realises where he is and that John is Not Dead, he looks genuinely shocked. Maybe Ben (finally) doesn’t know what comes next. Maybe Ben really thought that he would never see John again after murdering him.
Last line of the Ep: "Hello Ben. Welcome back to the land of the living" That’s rich, coming from a (former) Dead Man.
Kate’s Flashbacks:
With Patsy Kline playing on her car radio ("The only thing different..."), Kate pulls into Cassidy’s driveway with infant Aaron beside her. I guess we’re in early 2005. As she picks Baby Aaron up, she sings "Catch a falling star" to him. Maybe she heard Claire sing him this tune.
Cassidy recognises Kate, welcomes her inside and listens to her explanation of why The Six left and why Sawyer jumped out of the chopper. Cassidy’s interpretation of Sawyer’s (and Kate’s) motives are refreshing reminders that there’s always another POV.
As far as Cassidy’s concerned, Sawyer the coward could not commit to any relationship or responsibility. She correctly guessed (or read Kate’s mind) that the money in the envelope, supposedly from Sawyer, wasn’t. Cassidy’s shrewd conclusion that Kate was lying to her about Aaron’s parentage could be keen intelligence or it could be Telepathy. Cassidy, (like Nadia) may be an Island plant - tasked with nudging Kate into some key actions and conclusions - which she most certainly did in this Ep.
"You don't have to explain it, Kate, you've got the same look on your face as I did when he ditched me. All I have for you is sympathy."
It would appear that Sawyer’s Jail Reward money never did get to Clementine.
After Kate’s 1/05 departure from Long Beach Marina, she stops at a Grocery Store to buy Aaron a beverage. Distracted for a moment by a cell-phone call from Jack, Kate doesn’t immediately notice Aaron wandering off. After some frantic calling for her "son" and running around the store in dangerously high heels, she spots him with a Blonde-haired woman who (from behind) resembles Claire. She snatches him up and exits the store. I guess Aaron never did get his juice.
The very next morning, Clementine opens the door and smiles at her "Auntie Kate". Kate and Cassidy have become BFF starting from before, during and after Kate’s on/off relationship with Jack.
When Kate tells Cassidy that during the previous night’s Panic, she half-expected (thanks to the efforts of Ben and his Lawyer) Aaron to have been snatched, Cassidy’s curiously shrewd answer to Kate’s question: "Why would I expect him to be taken" was: "because you took him". Hmm.
"Claire was gone. She left him. I had to take him. He needed me."
"You needed him. Sawyer broke your heart. How else were you supposed to fix it?"
This insight certainly got Kate’s wheels turning.
She drives to Carole’s motel and confesses that Aaron is Carole’s grand-son and that Kate had been keeping him (despite learning at Christian’s wake that Carole was alive and well) for her own sake. But the Island insists on Honesty - and for Kate’s sake - and Carole’s (and Aaron’s), she hands him over to Carole and reveals that she intends to return to the Island to find Claire (not to reclaim James).
So ... immediately after this emotionally-traumatic but nevertheless voluntary surrender of Aaron to Carole, she drives to Jack’s place, lets herself in, insists that he ask no questions and rapes him. The next day she tells Jack that they are not " together" ... not Jack and her, and not the O5 either. OK, then.
Meanwhile, back on the Island:
Moments after Sayid stumbles off in a northerly direction, (I’m guessing he’ll be captured by Family Richard and confronted by a fully-recovered, no-longer-innocent Ben) Jin is revived by Phil’s voice over the walkie. He spots Little Ben face-down, rolls him over and hears him plead: "Please help" - so he does. The wound in his chest appears to have moved from his heart to the right side of his sternum.
In Dharmaville, Horace’s immediate, correct conclusion is that Sayid was sprung with "inside" help. He naturally suspects newbies Jack and Kate, especially when they draw attention to themselves, and I’m thinking it won’t be long before Team JJJ are confronted and interrogated, tried and sentenced to death.
It’ll be fascinating to see if Team JJJ warns Family Horace about the looming Incident and/or the more distant Purge - or whether they are sent Back to the Future before saying too much. Ben’s miraculous recovery and return to Dharmaville will also be cool to witness.
Kate and Roger share a moment when he asks her to switch on the winch, realises that she’s clueless and extends a little sympathy and friendliness. My first thought was that Roger might be getting lucky tonight - until he introduced himself as "Roger ... Roger Linus", at which point, Kate did a Sayid and choking back her repulsion, managed: "It’s nice to meet you, Roger".
When Roger sees his injured son emerge from the Dharmavan, he enters Temporarily Caring Parent mode, endearing himself a little more to Kate.
As Roger accompanies his son to the Infirmary, Kate decides to check out the Security Monitoring Centre where she finds James, er Jim. Without thinking about how much attention she’s drawing to herself, she’s in "I want to know everything and help everyone" mode. Heart of Gold, but Pain in Ass for the Head of Security.
When Horace and Miles enter the Monitoring Station, he asks Jim why Kate the newbie is down where she has no business being. Quick-thinking and quick-talking LaFleur answers: "I was seeing if she saw anything suspicious, but she didn't." He tells her she can run along and she leaves. Horace lets this go, but I’m sure he’ll remember that the newbies seem a little too familiar with each other and with LaFleur, Juliet, Jin and Miles. This will end up looking like a long-term Infiltration to him.
Next up is the discovery that a set of Dharmaville keys was left behind, further proving Insider help. Horace immediately announces that the keys belong to Roger, Willy or Jack the newbie. More suspicion.
Sawyer takes Miles with him. As they walk, he tells Miles, "Alright I want you to find Jack and Hurley and Kate as quick as you can and put them in a house and sit on them."
"What for?"
"Because I don't want them talking to anybody else. Things are starting to spin out of control here." No shit, Shelock.
Fortunately, LaFleur thinks to ask Roger about his keys and Roger soon concludes that it was Ben who stole them and it was Ben who helped Sayid to escape. I wonder if he’ll be sharing that intel with Horace - or if that will even matter after it’s discovered that newbie Kate grabbed a Dharmavan and drove Dying Ben away - and was followed and helped by LaFleur. There will be a Day Of Reckoning very soon for Team JJJ.
When LaFleur realises that Dying Ben is being treated by Motor Pool Juliet (The Official Doc is out of town, natch) and that she lacks the Med Skills to save her patient, he marches over to Doc Miracle - who’s decided not to save Ben again. Ben has trained Doc M to hate him enough to forget his Hippocratic oath.
I had to laugh when Kate said: "Sawyer is just trying to do his job, Jack." because she’s the very first, in fact she’s already been the very first, to completely ignore any notions of trying to keep a low profile and "blend in".
Next up: some extensive (and exceedingly rare) Explanation:
Hugo: "We came back in time to the island and changed stuff, so if Little Ben dies, he'll never grow up to be Big Ben, who was the one who made us come back here in the first place. Which means we can't be here, and therefore, dude, we don't exist."
Miles: "It doesn't work like that. You can't change anything. Your maniac Iraqi buddy shot Linus. That is what always happened; it's just we never experienced how it all turns out ... The good news is that Linus didn't die, so that means the kid can't either. He'll be fine." Except that IMO, Little Ben does/did die and was replaced by a Smokey Non-Living Person with (seeming) Free Will, memory, autonomy and complete personality plus Special Powers.
Hugo: "Let me get this straight ... all this already happened?"
"Yes."
"So, this conversation we're having right now, we already had it."
"Yes!"
"Then what am I going to say next?"
Miles shakes his head. "I don't know."
"Ha! Then your theory is wrong."
"For the thousandth time, you dingbat, the conversation already happened, but not for you and me. For you and me, it's happening right now." Because "right now" is our Subjective Present.
"Okay, answer me this. If all this already happened to me, then why don't I remember any of it?"
"Because once Ben turned that wheel, time isn't a straight line for us anymore. Our experiences in the past and in the future occurred before these experiences right now."
"I can die because I've already come to the island on the freighter. Any of us can die because this is our present."
"But you said Ben couldn't die because he still has to grow up and become the leader of the others."
"Because this is his past."
"When we first captured Ben, and Sayid, like, tortured him, then why wouldn't he remember getting shot by that same guy when he was a kid?"
Miles thinks a moment and says, "Huh. I hadn't thought of that."
I think that 2004 Ben remembers it quite well, but is following orders and Playing his Part as per the Island’s agenda.
Here endeth the current Time Travel Lesson.
Meanwhile, Jack is going to Just Say No:
"Thirty years from now that boy's going to be a man that locks me in a cage because he needs surgery. And then you're going to come in and you're going to beg me to operate on him because he's threatening to murder Sawyer. I've already done this. I've already saved Benjamin Linus, and I did it for you, Kate. I don't need to do it again." So ... it now appears possible/probable that Jack was subjected to the Hydra Island Conditioning Project precisely so that he would make this exact Free Will decision after being sent to 1977. Ben was training Jack to hate him in the same way that Ben trained Sayid to hate him. Yikes, it sure is tough to be the Island’s Bitch.
"This is our fault. We brought Sayid back. We caused this." Oh, Kate - how is it your fault that the island sucked you off a plane and sent you into the Past? And yet, it’s the "Free Will" choices that Jack, Kate and everyone else make/will make/have made that determine the outcome of Events. And yet, Someone/Something went to great lengths to select, train, educate and condition all the Players to "want" what He/She/It wants/needs them to want/choose.
"When we were here before I spent all of my time trying to fix things. But did you ever think that maybe the island just wants to fix things itself? And maybe I was just getting in the way?" Wow, Jack really has become a Man-of-Faith, thanks to Ben, The Island and St John. This insight would not have been possible for Jack unless he "experienced" all the "events" that "happened" to him in Seasons One through Five.
Having slapped Kate back in the face with: "You didn’t like the old me", my first reaction was: "Go, Jack!" Finally some Emotional Clarity.
Feeling sympathetic to Little Ben (having been exposed to temporary Proxie Motherhood), Kate exits the House Arrest House, does not get shot in the leg by MIles and marches over to The Infirmary to Help. The first Help she offers is her blood (something that Jack did for Boone back in Season One). This Gift buys enough time to deliver Little Ben to Ageless Richard.
Juliet and Kate share a few minutes of privacy, during which Juliet learns that Kate and Jack were (briefly) engaged and that Kate has no idea why Jack does what he does. This is a cute Feminine Bonding Moment and a pleasant alternative to the Love Squabbling that might have occurred. Then Roger bursts in, setting the stage for some more Kate/Roger bonding:
"My son stole my keys so he could bust that animal out of jail."
"Why would he do that?"
"Because of me. You got kids?"
"No" Not since three or four days ago.
"I thought I was going to be the greatest father ever. Guess it didn't work out that way."
"What about his mother? Is she still around?"
"No, she's dead. She died the day he was born."
"I'm sorry." Kate becomes even more sympathetic to Dying Innocent Ben.
"Yeah, me too. I tried to do what I thought she'd want me to do, but I guess a boy just needs his mother." Some excuse, Rog. Where were these noble thoughts when they were really needed? In fact, after the upcoming Return of the Prodigal Son - how much sympathetic understanding will you be offering your wounded son over the next few years before he chooses to gas you to death?
By the way, where’s Annie during Ben’s Near-Death Experience?
As Ben goes into Hypoxic Shock, it occurs to Juliet that Family Richard might be able to "save" Dying Ben’s life. Given what she knows/will know about the nature of Family Richard/Ben, including (I think) the little fact that they are immortal, and what the cost of this Immortality might be ... given what Juliet knows about the role of Choice and Free Will on the Island, I wonder if she’s feeling "pushed/manipulated" into making "choices" that are "willed" by Someone Else.
Kate’s good with the concept of delivering Ben to the Hostile Emergency Hospital/Resurrection Centre and together with Juliet, they transfer Ben into a Dharmavan
Juliet: "Okay, let's go ... I'm coming with you."
"No, no, no, no. If something goes wrong or we get caught, it doesn't matter for me, but you've got a whole life. And besides, if Sawyer knew I got you involved in this, he'd kill me." Thanks for thinking (a little bit) about Juliet and Jim Playing House. Too bad that all your meddling will tear all of you apart anyway, but hey - it’s the thought that counts, right?
Juliet: "Kate, Sawyer's going to find out Ben's gone and when he does, I have to tell him what happened, but I'll give you as much of a head start as I can. Good luck."
Note that this promise sounds much like the one that Kate made to Sun and Jin when they planned to leave Lostie Beach to join Team Locke in Otherville.
As Kate approaches the Sonic Fence and gets out, ready to try and figure out how to disarm it, LaFleur pulls up in his Dharmavan:
Jim turns off the Fence and asks Kate if she'd figured out how she was going to carry Dying Ben out there all by herself.
"The line's just right over there, right? The Others are on the other side?"
"They ain't right on the other side. We better get moving."
"Why are you doing this?" Kate asks. "Why are you helping me?"
"When I found out Ben was gone, Juliet told me what you were up to. I asked that exact damn question, 'Why you helping Ben?' and she said, 'no matter what he's going to grow up to be, it's wrong to let a kid die.' So, that's why I'm doing this." He picks up Ben. "I'm doing it for her." Ahh - James has indeed evolved.
As they trudge ever deeper into Hostile Territory, James and Kate catch up a bit:
"What's she like?"
"Clementine is beautiful. Looks just like you when she smiles. She's growing up fast, already has a little attitude."
LaFleur: "You and me would have never worked out, Kate. I wasn't any more fit to be your boyfriend than I am to be that girl's father."
"You seem to be doing alright with Juliet."
"Yeah. I've done a lot of growing up in the past three years." - Thanks to The Island and especially to Ben
When they are captured by the Hostiles, LaFleur tells them to take him, Kate and Ben to Richard. A few minutes later, Richard steps out of the jungle, knowing telepathically about their Mission. He may or may not have teleported to their Jungle Rendezvous location.
Richard looks at Ben. "If I take him, he's not ever going to be the same again."
"What do you mean by that?" Kate asks.
"What I mean is, he'll forget this ever happened and his innocence will be gone. He will always be one of us. You still want me to take him?" Richard is compelled to Tell The Truth.
"Yes," Kate says. She has Chosen.
Sawyer hands Ben over.
A man steps forward and says, "Richard, you shouldn't do this without asking Ellie. If Charles finds out--" Secrets, always with the Secrets.
"Let him find out," Richard says. "I don't answer to either of them." He walks away.
So ... Ageless Richard can Change Ben into a no-longer-innocent and permanent member of his Family. I’m thinking that this Change occurs after death - after the dead person’s soul has been weighed by the Island’s version of Ancient Egypt’s Anubis. If the Island judges Ben a Good Person, he becomes a Servant of the Light Aspect of the Island. I’m guessing that Bad Persons (possibly including anyone who’s committed suicide) get to serve The Dark Side. When Richard backed into the Temple Wall, my first thought was that he just kinda got sucked through it. Maybe he vibrated through it like The Flash.
Note that Ellie and Charles appear to have become Leaders - possibly in an equal relationship - and that Charles would likely not have approved of Richard’s decision to "save" Young Ben. Assuming that Charles was granted Immortality prior to being tricked off the Island by Ben, it would be no wonder that he wants to "reclaim" it. In 2005 he’s already 70 years old - and he’s suffering from nightmares, afraid that The Wrong Side might win the upcoming War.
Meanwhile, back in Dharmaville, Juliet, having sent Kate off to the Sonic Fence confronts Jack:
"Kate’s trying to save him and I sent James out to help her because they actually care."
"I came back here because I care, Juliet. I came back here because I was trying to save you."
"We didn't need saving! We've been fine for three years. You came back here for you. At least do me the courtesy of telling me why."
"I came back because I was supposed to." Based on the Island turning my life to shit and then Locke committing suicide, followed by Ms Hawking telling me to take a Leap of Faith, followed by my Grandad having a pair of my Dad’s shoes just when I needed them, followed by .....
"Supposed to do what?"
"I don't know yet."
Final Scene: 2005 Ben, having been cleaned up, wakes in the Ajira Infirmary. St John is sitting beside him. When Ben realises where he is and that John is Not Dead, he looks genuinely shocked. Maybe Ben (finally) doesn’t know what comes next. Maybe Ben really thought that he would never see John again after murdering him.
Last line of the Ep: "Hello Ben. Welcome back to the land of the living" That’s rich, coming from a (former) Dead Man.
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