(S03E20) Ben celebrates his birthday in odd ways, doesn't he? We finally got a glimpse of Ben's personal history with the island and with his father. Yet another Lost character with Daddy issues! I think I would have issues, too, if my Dad was Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite.The Beach
I'm going to get this story line out of the way first since the real action this week was in the jungle. Thanks to Sawyer, the rest of the 815ers were alerted to Naomi's presence and to Juliet's plans. We also got to hear Ben's response to Juliet's latest report. When Juliet told Sawyer to play the rest of the tape, I was expecting its contents to make her appear more sympathetic, not less. I suppose honesty was her only option at that point.
Juliet was, at least, up front with Jack about her involvement in Ben's kidnapping scheme. Was it just me, or did Jack seem to have a bit of an attitude when he admitted withholding information from everyone? He hadn't "decided what to do about it yet?" Really? I don't see much of a gray area where kidnapping is involved. Sun should be furious. If Sawyer's fake kidnapping merited a slap, Jack should get a lot worse. The beach scenes were mostly a tease that ended with the promise of "catching up." I didn't mind the lack of progress with this story line since the Locke-Ben plot brought so much action and so many answers.
The Flashback
Much like the Others themselves, the Others' flashbacks are great at manipulating emotions. Juliet's flashbacks have made me sympathize with her (at least temporarily), and Ben's past was equally sad (for a while). Ben was born off the island to Emily and Roger Linus. Emily's early labor ended up killing her, a fact that Roger used to hurt Ben throughout his life. He was brought to the island by Horace Goodspeed and Olivia, the young couple that stopped to help Roger when Emily died.
Roger Linus took a job with the DHARMA Initiative and was less than pleased with his position as a Work Man. It was interesting to see DHARMA in its heyday, before The Purge. The group was devoted to a life of peace, yet they fought regularly with the Hostiles, the island's "original inhabitants." Ben's early life on the island wasn't all bad, though. He had a little girlfriend named Annie, the only one who remembered his birthday.
The island also helped Ben to see his dead mother, who happened to be wearing the same outfit as the doll that Annie gave him. These visions of dead relatives always seem to come at a meaningful time (Eko's brother, Jack's father), and Ben's vision was no different. His mother led him past the sonic fence to Richard Alpert. Why did Richard look exactly the same age when Ben was a child? Are the Hostiles older than they look?
Ben's patience paid off when the Hostiles' plan was carried out. By cooperating with the Hostiles he betrayed his entire community, his father, and, presumably, Annie. We can only assume that she was gassed along with the rest of the DHARMA members. Ben showed a small amount of remorse when he saw Horace's body, but was cold-blooded when it came to killing Roger. The old man barely got to taste his beer before Ben gassed him in his VW bus. I guess ABC really does frown on drinking and driving.
The Jungle
On to the main event! To start, I am glad that the Mikhail situation was finally explained. He was never dead; the pylons were not set at a lethal level, plain and simple. Patchy showed up at the Others' camp just in time to get a major butt-whoopin' from John Locke. How many 815ers have beaten up Mikhail at this point? Someone should really keep track. Locke was not in the mood to mess around this week. He demanded answers from Ben, and even accused him of being the island's real puppet master. The "man behind the curtain" scene was one of several scenes that made me fall back in love with Terry O'Quinn's portrayal of Locke.
Eventually, Ben agreed to take Locke to Jacob, but not without warning him that Jacob would be angry. Ben may have lied about being born on the island, but he was right on about that anger. Jacob apparently lives Unabomber-style in a technology-free cabin. From what I could see, the cabin contained a painting of a dog, four jars of red stuff, and one very empty chair. I didn't know what to think when Ben started talking to that empty chair, and neither did Locke.
As Locke was storming out of Jacob's cabin, he heard Jacob utter the words "Help me." I must have watched the next minute a dozen times by now, and I still don't know what I saw. Locke's use of the flashlight caused Jacob to throw some sort of telekinetic tantrum. He broke windows, started fires, and pushed Ben against the wall, all from the comfort of his chair. It looked like he was in his chair the entire time, since Ben leaned over the chair just before he was pushed. And please, someone, tell me you saw that quick flash of a man's silhouette after Ben was knocked against the wall! Who was it? A lot of people believe that Alpert is Jacob, and the silhouette didn't look entirely unlike him.
Locke had to leave Jacob's cabin without answers, but he and Ben made one final stop on their way back to the camp. Ben showed Locke the open grave of all the DHARMA members that he helped the Hostiles kill. He had nothing but contempt for the members' inability to coexist with the Hostiles, and believed that he was smart enough to eliminate anyone who stood in his way. Unfortunately, Locke was given the same brutal treatment. Ben shot Locke in the chest, and left him for dead.
Was Locke's ability to hear Jacob that much of a threat to Ben? It was clear that his position among the Others was unstable due to Locke's presence, especially after Richard and Tom ignored Ben's orders during the Locke-Mikhail fight. Even Alex helped Locke by giving him a gun before he went to see Jacob. Was it the same gun that Ben used to kill him? I lost track of it during the scene in Jacob's cabin. I genuinely don't want Locke to be dead; he's the only worthy opponent that Ben has. Will he be saved, or will he go the way of the DHARMA Initiative?
Final comments/questions:
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Emily, Ben's mother, was played by Carrie Preston, Michael Emerson's real-life wife. That's not weird at all.
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Roger and Emily were hiking 32 miles outside of Portland, which is where Alpert claimed that Mittelos Bioscience was located. Strange coincidence, eh?
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Who takes their seven-months-pregnant wife hiking in the woods, anyway?
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Is Ben obsessed with the pregnancy issue because of what happened to his mother?
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As Olivia was teaching the DHARMA students about volcanoes, it was revealed that the island's volcano erupted at one point. Is the volcano dormant now? Locke noticed a weird, sandy powder near Jacob's cabin. Does he live near the volcano?
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"It's kinda hard to celebrate on the day you killed your Mom." Does Hallmark make that card yet?
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It was pretty harsh of Ben to use his pet rabbit to test out the sonic fence. What is it with Ben and white rabbits?
This episode has to get a 7 out of 7. Serious kudos to Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson for their brilliant performances in this episode. I cannot wait for next week's "Greatest Hits."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
5-10-2007 @ 1:30AM
Justin said...
The Other Others' support of Locke over Ben seemed pretty sudden and absolute. It was a great scene though when Mikhail said they had to go now and Locke beat the hell out of him. Poor guy, what's John got against him?
Why would John have needed the gun? Was Alex thinking that Locke would kill Ben?
The whole Jacob's House bit was very Evil Dead. Why did the flashlight freak Jacob out? Did he used to be the leader of the Hostiles? If so, why does he only talk to Ben when Richard was there before?
While we're on it, do people not age on the island? Richard appears to be the same age now that he was when Ben was young. Ben appeared to be pretty much the same age when The Purge happened that he is now. Considering the state those Darma bodies are in, and how young Richard and Ben both seem, it could be guessed that once you start living with the island (ala, not Darma, since Ben grew to adulthood) you stop getting older. Or maybe if you're 'special' (explains the list, explains why Richard was so shocked Ben could see his mom) you don't grow older than adulthood. That could be explained by the super-healing - your body just doesn't wear down.
Maybe the magic of the island is directly corellated to your primal nature and any contact with technology takes away that connection from the island. That would explain Jacob's fear of anything made after the Industrial Resolution, assuming he's really, really old. BTW, we saw Jacob for a split second after he pushed Ben away. Old, bearded man.
Roger Work Man was Ben's father. Who saw that coming? Not me.
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5-10-2007 @ 1:38AM
Justin said...
We saw Jacob for 11 frames. Check them out here:
http://losteastereggs.blogspot.com/2007/05/11-frames-of-jacob.html
There's other caps from the episode there too. The bottles on the shelf (Howard Hughes?) and the dog painting.
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5-10-2007 @ 1:37AM
Bill said...
I've got a rather fuzzy screencap of Jacob's silhouette, and it looks more like Gaius Baltar than Richard Alpert:
http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com/2007/05/wednesday-night-tv_09.html
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5-10-2007 @ 1:37AM
DudeBoyz said...
This turned things on the axis a bit, didn't it? Who are the "others"? Not Dharma as earlier thought, but certainly not the "natives" they are said to be, are they?
Hostiles? If so, why? What is up with that?
First priority - kill Ben. Next priority - get the heck off the island.
How are they going to milk this for 3 more years (16 eps per season) without Locke? Will the island heal him? I sure do hope so. If there is anybody that is key to things now, it's got to be Locke, right? Ya gotta kill Ben. Ya gotta get Locke back to the beach and let the survivors figure out what is really going on.
At least that's my initial take on this. Not sure if it may change though.
Still - how many folks are going to watch 48 more shows if Ben is still alive and in power and Locke is dead?
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5-10-2007 @ 1:56AM
hot zizzy said...
Wow, that was an amazing episode. Seriously, that was awesome. I'll give a full 5/5. Here's my full review:
http://www.arrogantics.com/2007/05/10/lost-season-3-episode-20-the-man-behind-the-curtain-review/
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5-10-2007 @ 1:56AM
Francisco said...
a few things:
1) I kind of don't care if locke is dead, but i think he will somehow live.
2)Apparently Ben loves metaphors, being "born" on the island meaning that he killed the darma people, "magic box" not actually a box
3) so darma on the Island is dead
4) other dharma people are alive too, listen to Ben speech during the episode.
5) personally I think the black dust is the smoke monster, I mean if you can make a cabin move you should be able to move dust.
A few other things though. How did Ben become a powerful person within the group. Also did Darma ever actually abandon the island, as in whoever oversees the the project off the island.
One more thing whats wrong with taking a pregnant woman hiking. Are they suppose to be put into cages until there are ready for labor. I mean she was only seven months pregnant.
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5-10-2007 @ 2:01AM
Tim Dorr said...
I'm only pissed about this episode because we were supposed to learn about how Wickman/Candle lost his arm. In a very violent fashion, apparently. This makes me a sad panda.
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5-10-2007 @ 2:08AM
DudeBoyz said...
Perhaps that grey ash circle is something Ben put there to "Trap" whatever entity he calls Jacob?
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5-10-2007 @ 2:24AM
Gordon Werner said...
all I can think of to say is Whoa!
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5-10-2007 @ 2:24AM
summer said...
1. If all the Dharmas died, why are they still getting food drops? And why didn't anyone from 'back home' come looking for them? I'm guessing that Dharma wasn't secretive about location, cutting family ties, etc. as Mittelos was.
2. So do they all have paintings in their attics? Alpert looked the same to me.
3. I wasn't on Team Locke until tonight, he finally stood up for the viewers and demanded info. But I don't think he will end up dead, like Ben said, maybe Jacob will save him....?
4. WHY did Jacob say 'Help me?'
5. I want to know if Ben had a relationship with Annie beyond their childhood. And I think it's funny that Ben was so quiet as a child, and then when we see older Ben his dad makes a comment about him being a chatty-kathy.
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5-10-2007 @ 2:24AM
lisa said...
If Locke is dead, I am quitting this show. The whole Jacob thing is kinda lame
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5-10-2007 @ 2:23AM
Francisco said...
I forgot a few other things.
1) I think people are looking at the Richard looking the same age a bit too close. I mean people do age on the island we did see Ben grow up.
2) I think the hostiles, during Ben flashbacks, could have some type of communication with the outside world. Look at there guns, I doubt the people at Dharma gave it to them, and there not musket-type guns so it can be from the Black Rock.
2b) they speak modern-day English and not some native language (I say this because I know a lot of people are thinking they are from the Black Rock)
3) It also looks like the hostiles know something about "special people".
4) What exactly did Roger think he was going to do on the island, be a researcher, he doesn't seem to have must professional qualifications.
Crazy new theory for you: Desmond is Jacob stuck in an endless loop of timeshifting. I mean its unlikely but plausible. Ben and Desmond have never meet so he would not know what he would look like.
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5-10-2007 @ 2:26AM
Losties said...
321 greatest hits trailer:
http://www.dharmasecrets.com/forum/index.php/topic,11021.0.html
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5-10-2007 @ 3:13AM
epobirs said...
Does Jacob exist anywhere but Ben's head? Think how upset Norman Bates would be if someone else could hear Norman's mother speak? A Norman who could reshape reality to hid or that of a suppressed personality? Ben could be shaping nearly all of the stranger events on the island but refusing to consciously accept responsibility.
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5-10-2007 @ 2:44AM
McGone said...
I would think Jack hasn't told anybody anything because when you think about it... why the hell would he? They turn to him as leader only to ignore the things he says. Kate has disregarded Jack's "orders" several times and screwed up (been taken hostage) every time. Both Locke and Sawyer have disregarded Jack to pursue their own agendas, Charlie goes along with whatever will benefit him (i.e. kidnapping Sun) and Sayid is extremely narrowminded and quick to judge.
At this point, if I were Jack, I'd figure it out on my own first, and THEN let the other 815ers in on it.
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5-10-2007 @ 2:51AM
Peter said...
In honor of Paris getting jail time I'll keep it simple, that episode of Lost was hot!
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5-10-2007 @ 3:08AM
ockatie said...
I'm betting that Jack ends up getting killed off for the season finale. It's unexpected and he's starting to get tiring and wimpy. About time he takes his cutsy face to another gig anyway. If the island can heal, then I guess they don't really need a doctor anymore. Well, he might knock up Juliette before he goes....
I agree with everyone else that Locke has found his niche and hope he is revived. Otherwise, I don't know about 3 more years.......
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5-10-2007 @ 3:10AM
BigTed said...
Despite the quick view we had of "Jacob," it's still possible that he doesn't exist outside of Ben. Either Ben is crazy or making him up, or he's somehow psychically projecting a force that he thinks of as Jacob. (As for that glimpse of a person, that could just be the island doing whatever it does to materialize people's thoughts.)
The whole thing was reminiscent of a "Twilight Zone" episode titled "The Old Man in the Cave," about a post-apocalyptic town in which everyone takes advice from a man who no one is allowed to see and who only "speaks" to the town leader. In the end, it turns out that the old man is actually a computer. (It also turns out that it had been giving them good advice.)
Of course, this scene was one more example of "Lost" answering a question with an even bigger question. But it was an overall great episode, so I didn't mind.
Meanwhile, John Locke somehow became the coolest dude on TV tonight, beating Jack Bower. I don't think anyone believes he isn't going to survive... and we'd all be super-peeved if he didn't.
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5-10-2007 @ 3:13AM
Dan said...
I think Jacob looked like the Horace Godspeed character seen earlier in the episode.
Also the circle reminded me of a circle of salt. A "magic circle"
"This circle is also believed to be an area which straddles two dimensions or realities. It becomes a sacred space between the mundane world and the otherside. Also known as the "veil between worlds"
-From the Wikipedia entry on a Magic Circle.
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5-10-2007 @ 3:12AM
BigTed said...
Sorry, that's Jack Bauer, of course. No longer even cool enough for me to spell his name right.
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