Dr. Linus

Before I forget, I must express concern for my poor mother. She has had to suffer for three full weeks of a lack of Sawyer. I must admit, I'm missing some James Ford too.

A lack of Sawyer aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this week's episode. Even if it wasn't the best of the Ben-centric episodes, a Ben episode in Lost is one of the best ever to be seen. Ben in the sideways world has a Ph.D in European history and teaches high school. The one class we see him teaching focuses on Napoleon - not his wars or his impact on the law, but his exile on the island of Elba. Ben was telling his rapt students that on Elba, Napoleon faced his greatest challenge - not his exile, but his loss of power. Indeed, Napoleon "might just as well have been dead."

Power, the loss of power, on an island was certainly the theme of tonight's episode, in both timelines. Though I'm taking the metaphor of a school is an island perhaps too far.

Dr. Linus in 2004

Ben is a frustrated teacher. His principal clearly doesn't appreciate him and is stingy on supplies and ways to improve his school. Principal Reynolds is so disrespectful to Ben that he only calls him Linus, not Dr. Linus. But worse than that, he tells Ben that history club, with its five members, isn't for the students but to make Ben feel needed - not a good enough reason for Ben to get out of staffing detention for the week.

Ben's complaining with his best friend at work - Leslie Arzt - about how the principal just doesn't care about the students when he's interrupted by John Locke, suggesting that perhaps Ben should become principal. Who would listen to Ben? Well, John's listening.

I must have nearly fallen out of my chair when I saw who lives with Ben. I was hoping for Annie, but his dad was really cool. Apparently Roger lived just as unhealthy a life in the sideways timeline as he did on the Island. Perhaps Roger's vice here was cigarettes, as we watched a solicitous Ben trade out one oxygen canister for another (here he gasses his father for his health; on the Island, it was to kill). Ben clearly cares for his father, and his father clearly cares for him. As Ben speaks of his frustration with his position, finally noting, "Maybe I'm more of a loser than any of them (the students in detention)", Roger looks wistful: "This isn't what I wanted for you, Ben." That doesn't sound anything like the Roger we knew and ... well, I can't say loved. But then the other shoe drops - this pair had been to the Island in the DHARMA Initiative. And for reasons unknown, they left, clearly before it sank. And Roger believes that Ben could have been so much more had they stayed: "Who knows what you would have become?" Well, Roger, if his father on the Island had been as good as you, maybe he wouldn't have become the power-hungry killer he turned out to be.

Then we meet one of Ben's students, a bright young thing named Alexandra Rousseau. Apparently, she is one of Ben's most promising students, but her mother works two jobs and can't afford to send Alex to the college of the girl's dreams - Yale. However, Principal Reynolds is a grad (he didn't get far himself, now did he?), and a letter of recommendation from him would be worth gold. Ben clearly cares about Alex, and wants her to do well. But it's not until we see Dr. Linus' attempt at blackmail that we realize how much. Yes, the principal has engaged in an extramarital affair on school property. But, he quickly regains the upper hand. Reynolds can resign and suggest Linus as his replacement, or Reynolds can write a glowing letter of recommendation for Alex.

Lost tricks us into thinking that Ben chose power over Alex, but instead, Ben changes what he wants. Alex gets the best letter of recommendation she could have gotten, and Ben gets out of detention. Off the Island, Ben finally does what the on-Island Ben failed to do, pick a person over his own aggrandizement. Yes, he's still a frustrated teacher, but now he knows he's done the right thing.

Yes, yes, Principal Reynolds really had nothing to hold over Ben's head. All Ben had to do was wait until after the letter was written and then use those incriminating e-mails to oust the principal. I know it was a weak point in the writing. Suspend disbelief, however. It is a symbolic victory in the character of Ben Linus.

Ben in 2007

Ben tries to sustain the lie - he works very hard, though not very convincingly, to convince everyone that notLocke killed Jacob and Miles is lying. But Ilana is having nothing of it, rebuffing Ben's first attempts to "make nice" and then forcing him to dig his own grave.

I think there is no crueler torture than to force someone to dig his own grave. He tries to do it slowly, and tries to bribe Miles into releasing him, but nothing works. He even learns from Miles that Jacob did care about Ben, and had hoped that Ben would do the right thing up to the second that Ben stabbed Jacob. Ilana interferes. Keep digging Ben. So he does.

But then the tell-tale sound of the Smoke Monster, and sure enough, notLocke shows up. And he offers Ben not just freedom, but what Ben has spent decades seeking - leadership over the Island. Claire is offered a reunion with her son, Sayid a reunion with Nadia, and Ben power on the Island. notLocke knows his people.

Except he doesn't. Ben is far more complicated than that. He wants power, or he did, but he also wanted his leadership to have meaning, he wanted Jacob to find him special, and more importantly, there is Alex.

And we became witness to one of the two best scenes of the night, if not of the season so far. Holding Ilana at gunpoint, not killing her, he tells her that he knows just what she's feeling.

I watched my daughter Alex die in front of me, and it was my fault. I had a chance to save her. But I chose the Island over her. All in the name of Jacob. I sacrificed everything for him. And he didn't even care.
Yeah, I stabbed him. I was so angry, confused, I was terrified that I was about to lose the only thing that had ever mattered to me - my power.
But the thing that really mattered was already gone.
I'm sorry that I killed Jacob. I am. And I do not expect you to forgive me because I can never forgive myself.

He tells Ilana that he wants to join notLocke "because he's the only one that will have me." And suddenly Ben hears something that he had been desperate to hear from Jacob for so many years, "I'll have you."

First, here's Michael Emerson's Emmy nomination reel. The expression on Ben's face as he registered what Ilana was offering him, and as he took his gun, following her back to the beach, told novels of what is going on inside Ben. I do think that Emerson could read the phone book and make it compelling. This was masterful.

So why did Ben follow Ilana instead of going to the Hydra Island? I honestly think it was those three little words: I'll have you. Three seemingly simple words filled with power and hope for Ben. If Jacob's bodyguard could forgive Ben for killing someone who was like a father to her, then perhaps Jacob could have forgiven him, and perhaps he can forgive himself. Perhaps there's hope for Ben yet.

Alex in 2004

Of course, Alex is not Ben's daughter in this timeline, because the Other-in-training never kidnapped her from her mother. Instead, she lives in LA (as does everyone it seems) and is a student at the same school where Ben teaches. She's a student of great promise and dreams of Yale, but her mother is poor and has to work two jobs to make ends meet. I guess life isn't easy for Danielle in either timeline. She's also disgusted by the thought of a principal having sex with a nurse. As a typical teen, perhaps she should hook up with David Shephard?

Frank Lapidus in 2007

After wryly noting that Ben doesn't make friends easily, Frank spends his time on the beach building a fire. He reveals that he had been scheduled to pilot Oceanic 815, but overslept (is that another word for "had a hangover?"). He then wonders, "Imagine how different my life would be had that alarm gone off." Ben points out, "How different would it have been? The Island still got you in the end. Didn't it?"

Hurley in 2007

I have never dreamed of cheese curds, but I guess it is not surprising that Hurley would. I got the feeling that Hurley had fallen asleep while Jack stared out into the ocean, and this was the first communication between the two of them since the end of The Lighthouse. So I understood why Hurley didn't just come out and tell Jack they shouldn't return to the Temple. But he's such a bad liar. Oh, Hurley.

Hurley's great moment came while quizzing Richard on his agelessness. "Are you a cyborg? A vampire?" Sadly, Richard sidesteps all Hurley's questions. All we really get is that Jacob touched Richard, and thus, Richard is ageless. But now, Richard wants to die. Hurley wants nothing of it, and seems shocked as he watches Jack seemingly help Richard with his plan. When he realizes that Jack is staying with Richard, Hurley turns to leave, "I'll be about a mile away."

How pleasant to see Hurley return to the beach, reuniting with Sun and Miles. His hug with Miles just about made my night. Go Hurley!

Ilana in 2007

Jacob's body guard is now the protectoress of the six remaining candidates for Jacob's replacement. She finally forces the issue of just who killed Jacob, and asks Miles to do his thing. When it is revealed that Ben was indeed the murderer, her face said it all, but her words drove them home, "Jacob is the closest thing I ever had to a father."

Once on the beach, she forces Ben to dig his grave. She follows Ben when he escapes. notLocke had said she wouldn't hesitate to shoot Ben, but I think she does. And when Ben confesses, and apologizes, she accepts. She lets Ben return to the beach with her, as one of her group.

We still don't know this woman very much, and I don't know that we ever really will. But I do think that Ben made a mistake in lying to Ilana in the first place. I understand why he did lie, but it hurt him in the long run, clearly. I think all she needed to hear from Ben was the truth, the whole truth, something he is rarely capable of doing. My affection for Ilana grew when she accepted Ben into her group. And it made me really feel for her as she sobbed over Jacob's ashes.

Jack in 2007

Who is this guy and what did he do with Jack? Finally, the man of action and science has melded with the man of faith. And he's finally asking questions like he should (though he's not always good with the follow ups - I guess he's taking baby-steps). When he lit the dynamite for Richard, I was curious, but then he sits down as the lit fuse heads to explosion, "Now, let's talk."

Unfortunately, the talk is more about Jack than getting answers out of Richard, but we learn a lot. So much so, that this is the second great scene of the episode. First, Jacob, unlike notLocke, knows his candidates. notLocke thought Ben wants power over the Island. But as Jacob knew, Jack learning that Jacob has watched him all these years brought a new clarity to his purpose on the Island. And Jack knows it is not to be blown up in The Black Rock. As the fuse gets closer to the dynamite, Jack closes his eyes. The fuse, of course, goes out. Just as Jack knew it would.

So Jack leads Hurley and Richard back to the beach, where he is reunited with Sun, Lapidus, Miles, Ilana, and Ben. Hugs and handshakes, and then Jack takes a measuring look at Ben. What is he thinking? Is he remembering beating him up after Ben ordered Mr. Friendly to kill Sayid, Jin, and Bernard? Or is he remembering that he refused to operate on the 12-year-old Ben? Whatever, it is certainly an understandable stance.

The only thing that annoyed me about Jack this week was his own annoyance at Hurley's stalling. He finds it irritating that Hurley is clearly stalling returning to the Temple. Why didn't he just come out and ask Hurley why? It's not until Richard explains that all at the Temple are dead that Jack realizes Hurley knew.

Leslie Arzt in 2004

I guess we'll never get rid of this man, will we? Didn't he die in the first season? He's the gift that keeps on giving. However, it was pleasant to watch Ben and Arzt interact in their nerdy ways. Ben on the Island was extremely friendless (well deserved, mind you). But in the sideways timeline, he has a friend and confidant. And if someone asked me to break into someone's e-mail account, I think I'd ask for something better than a parking spot. I'm just saying.

Miles in 2007

How nice to get more Miles again! I guess Ken Leung didn't have a secret DUI after all. Miles gets to do his "hearing the dead mojo", not just once but twice. At first he taunts Ben with his "uh oh" after Ilana finds out Ben killed Jacob, but he's also nice to Ben, offering him food. However, Ben's bribe is pointless to Miles at this point, since he knows where a cache of diamonds are buried.

After Ben rejoins the group, we see Miles pondering a big diamond. I wasn't as bothered by that as some others on the blogs were. Yes, Miles has changed a lot in the past three years, but he's still Miles, and it's not like Nikki and Paolo need the diamonds anymore. What I think the commentators missed was something that made me almost laugh with joy. Did you see the hug Miles gave Hurley? Now, that is progress for Miles.

notLocke in 2007

Yes, John Locke showed up in 2004, and it was really cool when he told Ben that he was listening to him. But his one scene was more about Ben than John. However, notLocke's appearance was more substantial. I am convinced that he released Ben not because he wanted Ben to take over leadership of the Island once notLocke left but because he wanted Ben to kill Ilana. He warns Ben not to hesitate because Ilana certainly wouldn't (though I think she did). But notLocke misjudges his man. Ben didn't want to kill Ilana, he wanted atonement.

Richard Alpert in 2007

I thought that Richard was running like a rabbit in the jungle to escape from notLocke, but I guess he was also running from himself, and his own despair that now that Jacob is dead, his own long-lived life was pointless. Like Ben, this belief was devastating.

Instead of just telling Jack and Hurley about the events of the Temple, Richard takes them to The Black Rock. He handles some chains (perhaps the ones that once imprisoned him?), then manhandles some dynamite. It turns out that Jacob's touch has prevented Richard from killing himself. However, someone else can do it for him. Unfortunately for him, Jack has a plan for Richard as well. So he follows Jack with Hurley to the beach. More to come, I'm sure.

Sun in 2007

Sun continues to ask all the questions and focus on Jin. Nothing much else for her to do right now. She asks Ilana a bunch of questions, and who can blame her? She or Jin are candidates? For what? And what does replacing Jacob mean?

But at the end of the episode, her joy is palpable as she is reunited with Hurley and Jack. Of course she hugs Hurley, but it is nice to see her hug Jack too. She and Jack had not left on very good terms last season.

On a side note, I was really happy to see William Atherton as the ruthless Principal Reynolds. I understand that Atherton has been in tons of movies, but I know him from the mini-series (24 hours worth of mini-series) Centennial, which aired in 1978-79. He played such a nice character. I think it may have been the only time he's ever played a nice character. Oh,well.

So, any thoughts?