The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

My mother may never watch Lost with me again. Two weeks in a row with nary a glimpse of Sawyer. A role in the previews for next week does not count, I assure you.

Unlike last week’s episode, Jeremy Bentham was an exceedingly difficult episode to watch. As you may know, John Locke has always been one of my favorites. It was his shamanic role in the first season that solidified my affection for him, as his comments gave his cohorts insight into their lives and circumstances. I’ve also been fascinated by his search for his destiny.

But clearly, off the island, John is miserable, no matter which philosopher’s name he bears. As Jeremy Bentham, he finds himself crippled again, depending on a wheelchair and an uncanny driver (one question was answered for me – I had wondered if John would return to paralysis once he left the island. Apparently his spine is healed. However, his body clearly does not heal as quickly off the island as it did on the island. A few more thoughts on that later.). Off the island, John is disabled, helpless, and at the mercy of others. John left the island with a mission – to bring the Oceanic 6 back to the island. Usually, John responds with passion and alacrity to any mission. But in Jeremy Bentham, he is weak, unpersuasive. None of the Oceanic 6 believed in him, and he spoke with no messianic fervor. He seemed half the man he once was.

However, upon awakening on the Hydra Island, his leg wound appears healed – John walks with no assistance. I cannot remember – if you do, let me know – whether John also recovered from the wounds he sustained from the car accident. And of course, John was healed from the biggest wound of all – strangulation.

Some remaining thoughts:

• How frustrating is it that no one ever asks the right questions? John had numerous opportunities to ask questions , of Widmore, Abaddon, and Walt, yet he failed to.
• Most disappointing scene: John with Walt. Remember the connection between Walt and John in the first season? John sensed something special in Walt, something that Michael never seemed to pick up on. And who can forget how Walt saved John in the third season’s “Through the Looking Glass”, reminding Locke of how much work John still had to do? The only sign of this in Jeremy Bentham was John’s wave toward Walt. John seemed to have forgotten Walt’s connection with the island, and seemed to ignore Walt’s dream as just a dream (really John? Just a dream? Is anything on this show “just a dream”?). But the most disconcerting issue of all for me was the lack of continuity. In last season’s “There’s No Place Like Home,” Walt visits Hurley who is in the mental hospital, asking why none of the Oceanic 6 never looked him up. He added, “Do you know who did come see me? Jeremy Bentham. ..” In the scene we saw in Jeremy Bentham, John never told Walt his alias. Was there another meeting we haven’t seen yet? Or is this yet another dream of Walt’s? And I must agree with Brian – the actor who plays Walt could use some acting lessons.
• One of my favorite scenes – John with Hurley! I loved how Hurley figured John was just another poltergeist visiting him. When John, justifiably confused, asserts that he still lives, Hurley asks the staff if they see him talking with a guy in the wheelchair. When he gets a yes from the staff, then Hurley gets upset.
• My other favorite scene – John with Jack. Jack engages in what may have been his last stand against John’s belief in destiny. Indeed, Jack looks dissipated, bloated, and as weak as Jeremy Bentham was. And how shocking for him to learn that John knew Christian.
• I have come up with a timeline for Sayid. Assuming that the Oceanic 6 have been off the island a full three years, Sayid was married to Nadia for nine months, worked as an assassin for Ben for 2 years, and therefore, has been involved in the pseudo-Habitat for Humanity for three months. Give or take. I also love that Sayid is working in Santo Domingo as atonement for his “work” with Ben.
• Kate either really hated her on-island life or loves her off-island life. She seems remarkably uncaring about those left behind, though she actually might think that John is delusional.
• How cool that John honored his promise to Jin. I almost want to take back what I’ve been thinking about Locke – he really is a better man than Ben.
• I was surprised by Abaddon’s early demise. I thought he might have a similar role as Richard Alpert. I hope that we see him again, even if only in flashback.
• I almost believed in Ben. I thought he really did care about Locke, and believed that John’s continued survival was necessary to the survival of the island. But Ben continues to surprise. So, what made him do it? John’s mention of Eloise Hawking sparked Ben’s murderous behavior. But why? Was it the one piece of knowledge that Ben needed to return to the island? Or was it the reminder that John has communication with Jacob and has supplanted Ben? Or maybe Ben believes that he can return to his place of prominence if John is eliminated? Or maybe all or none of the above. Who really knows with that recalcitrant Ben?
• Neither Ben nor John “flashed” onto the main island. Neither did Lapidus or “a woman”. Could that woman be Sun? We’ve seen Jack, Hurley, and Kate on the island, but no Sun or Sayid.
• Ben certainly doesn’t seem to heal on the island like John does. He doesn’t deserve to.
• Who is Caesar? Who is Ilana?

These last two episodes have felt like placeholders for me. I feel like next week we should return to the rocking ride that will have our noses bleeding again. I’m really looking forward to it.