Dead is Dead

Ben , Ben, Ben…As we watched the flow of Ben’s life as an Other, all I could think was how sad for him. He was saved by the island, clearly marked by Jacob’s favor, but somehow, he lost it, becoming the same kind of man he ejected from the island. But worse, the island is forcing him to follow his successor, the man Ben can’t kill.

It appears that the hardest part about being the leader of the Others is to keep the position. Oh, and to not be arrogant. Or manipulative.

Ben’s Journey

Charles Widmore was the leader when Ben was healed, and he protested when Richard healed him. But a simple four words – Jacob wanted it done – changed Widmore’s attitude. He was almost tender when he met Ben, telling Ben that the island saved his life. But 11 years later, when Ben took Alex from Danielle, Ben openly flouted Widmore’s authority. “You didn’t say she had a child. What was I supposed to do?” Widmore responds, “You might find this difficult to understand, every decision I’ve made has been about protecting this island.” Ben plainly isn’t buying this, demanding to know if Jacob wanted Alex killed, even telling Widmore to kill her.

Around 4 or 5 years later, Ben is pushing his stolen daughter on a swing, to be told by Richard that the submarine is leaving. It’s Widmore, leader no more, clearly angry at his ouster. Why was he deposed? Because he broke the rules, leaving the island too often and having a daughter with an outsider. And what makes Ben think he deserves to take what was Widmore’s? “Because I won’t be selfish. Because I’ll sacrifice anything to protect this island.”

But Ben wouldn’t sacrifice Alex. He argued that it was because Widmore wanted the child to die, not the island. Was that so? More on that later.

So that’s how Ben became Leader. Now, apparently, we’re watching the crown pass from Ben to John. And Ben’s not handling it well.

First, he wakes up to find John Locke, alive and kicking, calm, cool, and clearly in charge. He covers quickly, telling John that he “knew this would happen” and was only surprised because “It’s one thing to believe it, another to see it.” How sincere Ben looked. But later he told Sun that he was as surprised as she was to see John back among the living:

Sun, I had no idea this would happen. Dead is dead. You don’t get to come back from that. Not even here. So the fact that John Locke is walking on this island scares the living heck out of me.

Throughout John and Ben’s journey, John deliberately took Ben’s traditional role. In Ben’s office, John sat in Ben’s chair. John knew where to find the smoke monster. On the way to find said monster, Ben asked John lots of questions, and was obviously dissatisfied with John’s half-answers. Finally, noting that Ben didn’t like it, he added, “Now you know what it was like to be me.”

John, actually, you don’t know what it’s like to be Ben. Ben initially claimed he needed to be judged for breaking the rules by returning to the island, but John saw through that. Ben feels the need to atone for the death of his daughter. The smoke monster showed Ben the moments of his life with Alex, forcing him to relive her final moment. When the smoke then disappeared, Ben looked relieved, and then so happy to see Alex. Who, it turns out, was not Alex. No, the smoke monster can take on the appearance of people, and Alex threatened Ben:

Listen you bastard. I know you’re already planning to kill John again. But if you so much as touch him, I will hunt you down and destroy you. You will listen to every word John Locke says and you will follow every order. Do you understand?

A minute later, Ben tells John, “It let me live.” Ben’s face says he wished it hadn’t.

Some other thoughts:

Ben’s Mother Issues

Ben has issues with mothers. He seemed quite ready to kill Danielle until her child stirred. He hadn’t known the child existed. Seems a little odd to take the child, but it's better than killing the child, I guess. Then, in his confrontation with Penny, he actually lowered his gun after he saw young Charlie Hume. I don’t think Ben can allow another child to grow up without a mother, just like he did. Perhaps that’s why he’s so desperate to get women to carry their babies to term.

Ben’s Memory

Ben’s memory appears to have been altered. He could no longer remember how he was injured, and he seemed genuinely surprised when Sun showed him the picture of Jack, Kate, and Hurley in 1977 Dharma. However, he did remember that he didn’t want to return to this father, and he also remembered as an adult that he had been taken to the Temple to be healed (although it may be that he was told by the Others about the latter event).

Ben’s Hair

Wow. Ben had a lot of bad hair days.

Protecting the Island

Both Ben and Charles insist that their actions are to protect the island. What does the island need protection from?

John

John told Sun, “I assure you, Sun, I’m the same man I’ve always been.” Really John? The same? I don’t think so. We’ve just begun to see the new John. And where was he while Ben was summoning the smoke monster, anyway? And what was the deal with the shoes?

John radiated confidence in this episode. I’ve read other blogs that expressed their belief that John was arrogant. You know, the same way that Widmore and Ben are. Will John become like them, arrogant, manipulative, and selfish?

Caesar

Ben’s ability to manipulate remains intact, and Caesar fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. When Ben later turned around and shot Caesar in the chest, I was truly confused. What was the point of Ben’s manipulation of Caesar? The only goal I can think of was to take Caesar’s gun from him. Bye bye Caesar. We knew you even less than we knew Charlotte.

Ilana and the Guns

So, what is the answer to “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” Did Ilana and her men come to the island prepared to take over once they found their guns or did they become infected by the sickness? Maybe they’ve turned into Others.

Desmond and Penny

I’m so happy that Penny still lives. At least, I presume she still lives. And how strong is Desmond? Shot, I thought, near the heart. Perhaps it was just a flesh wound. Or perhaps it was more, but the island can’t let him die, since we know the island isn’t finished with him yet.

Danielle and Alex

The taking of Alex did not quite match what Danielle told the others in the Season 1 finale, Exodus. She claimed that the day she saw the pillar of smoke, her daughter was taken while she slept at night. We know that there was a pillar of smoke the day that Danielle killed her mates, and she was awakened when Ben was taking her child. Of course, Danielle was telling the survivors this 16 years after the fact, so they aren’t necessarily discrepancies. But now we know where she got one survival skill: “Every time you hear whispers, you run the other way.”

One question we didn’t get answered was whether the island wanted Danielle and Alex to die. If the island had changed her mates into Others, then it might have seen their murders as a punishable crime. Ben told Widmore that it was Charles who desired their deaths, not Jacob. Widmore’s reaction, “I hope you’re right, Ben. You cannot fight the inevitable.” Could the deaths of Alex and Danielle 16 years later have been course correction?

Ethan

Ethan was allowed by the Others to follow Ben, though Ben refused to let Ethan with his mission. Will we learn more about what turned Ethan into an Other? Was it just the worship of a young boy of an older one?

The Temple

Yes, I’m fascinated with the Temple. Hieroglyphs galore, memorials, underground chambers, all kinds of cool stuff. I’m going to keep an eye out for better pictures of that underground room, because I’m sure I missed some of the symbolism.

Sawyer

Absent from this episode. At least this time, I wasn’t at my mother’s house. If the only Lost we watched together were those with nary a glimpse of Sawyer, I think I would be permanently banned.

Is this a lengthy post or what? What did you think? What does the island need protection from? What is lying in the shadow of the statute? Jughead, perhaps?