(S04E09) What a brilliant episode! At this point, I think all future Lost episodes should be either Ben-, Sayid-, or Desmond-centric. This episode had it all: tons of action, several big revelations, and more questions to ponder. Michael Emerson gave yet another award-worthy performance this week and showed off his action hero side.
Follow this link to join the chat. The full review is after the jump.
Team Jack
A sweet, flirtatious opening scene between Jack and Kate quickly transformed into something disturbing. Jack complained about a stomach bug and went to the supply tent for some antibiotics. Kate followed him and asked for his honest opinion about the freighter situation. As Jack tried to reassure her, Vincent's barking and Bernard's screaming interrupted the moment. A body had washed up on the beach. It was the ship's doctor, Ray; his throat had been cut.
The group decided to try communicating with the freighter via Morse code. Apparently they no longer need Sayid to work his techie magic; Faraday had it covered. Once they had a signal going, Daniel asked the freighter what happened with the doctor. The freighter responded, but Daniel lied to the group about what the message was. Fortunately, Jack finally wised up and had Bernard on hand to decode the message as well. As far as the freighter crew was concerned, the doctor was fine. Unsettling news, to say the least. Either someone on the freighter was lying, or the island's time issues have struck again.
In full-on outrage mode, Jack asked Daniel to be honest about the freighties' intentions. Daniel admitted that rescuing the 815ers was not on their agenda. Suddenly, Jack was stricken with intense abdominal cramps.
Team Locke
You know a Lost episode is good when you can almost instantly forget about a random body washing up on the beach. All the real action happened over at the Barracks. As Hurley, Sawyer, and Locke played an innocent game of Risk, Alex was being held at gunpoint. It was Keamy and his band of mercenaries who killed Danielle and Karl, not the Others. Alex was smart enough to give her father a warning; she typed in a special code that sent an alert to the Barracks via telephone. When the phone rang, Locke answered and heard the phrase "Code 14-J."
After the men informed Ben of the call, he told them what the message meant. They had to barricade themselves inside his house immediately; the war was starting. Sawyer's first concern was Claire. In the short amount of time that he searched for her, three redshirts were shot and killed, and Claire's house was blown up. Miraculously, she survived. Sawyer found her beneath some of the rubble; she must have been out back during the explosion. They were able to make it back to Ben's house in one piece.
Ben was more concerned about Locke's welfare. John needed to stay alive, Ben explained, because they had to pay Jacob another visit. Hurley's recent cabin-sighting made him an integral part of the team as well. Suddenly, Miles rang the doorbell. His colleagues had sent him to bring Ben a walkie-talkie. Miles had more bad news for Ben: Keamy and the others had taken Alex hostage.
What followed was one of the most painful Lost moments I've ever seen. Ben tried his best to work his mind games on Keamy, who held Alex at gunpoint in front of the house. When intimidation didn't work, Ben claimed that Alex wasn't his real daughter and meant nothing to him. Keamy shot Alex in the head before Ben even finished his speech.
It was like a switch went off in Ben's brain. He stood, frozen, for quite a while before whispering "He changed the rules." While the others argued about whether or not to give Ben up, Ben locked himself in his secret chamber. Whatever he did in that room summoned the Black Smoke Monster, who attacked and killed the mercenaries. The rest of the group ran for the jungle while Ben stayed behind to say goodbye to Alex.
Later, Sawyer decided to abandon Team Locke and return to the beach. Claire, Miles, and Hurley wanted to go along, but Locke and Ben insisted that Hurley stay with them. There was a brief standoff, but Hurley ultimately chose to join the search for Jacob's cabin.
Flash-Forward: Ben
We caught up with Ben in the Sahara desert, inexplicably wearing a DHARMA parka. He was wounded, disoriented, and nauseous. Two armed men on horseback rode up to him, and were aggressive towards Ben. While one of the men searched him, Ben hit the man with a telescopic baton and shot his companion with his gun. This scene is definitely in my top three moments of the season.
After riding off on one of the men's horses, Ben traveled to Tozeur, Tunisia. As he checked in to a hotel, he seemed very curious about the current date, particularly the year (October 24, 2005). TV footage of Sayid caught his eye. The Oceanic Six member was trying to avoid the paparazzi as he mourned his late wife, Nadia.
Ben followed Sayid to Nadia's funeral procession in Tikrit, Iraq. He took photos of Sayid and another mysterious man observing the funeral. Sayid mistook Ben for a journalist, and was shocked to see him off the island. After explaining himself, Ben warned Sayid about the mysterious man. His name was Ishmael Bakir, a Widmore employee. He was also the man responsible for Nadia's death.
Later, Bakir caught Ben tailing him. As Ben gave Ishmael a message for his employer, Sayid appeared and emptied his gun into Bakir. Sayid wanted to avenge his murdered wife, and signed on for whatever Ben had planned for Widmore.
Finally, Ben paid Charles Widmore a visit in his London home. The men argued about Alex's death and the ownership of the island. Although he couldn't kill Widmore, Ben declared his intention to kill Penny. He would make Widmore regret that he ever changed the rules. Each man had separate agendas from this point on: Ben was searching for Penny, and Widmore was searching for the island.
Final remarks:
- I'm a little disappointed that Ben made such an error in judgment by sending Alex off into the jungle. When Danielle and Karl got shot I assumed it was part of another diabolical plan of his, but the Freighties had the advantage this time. On the other hand, I was touched to see Ben display genuine emotion after Alex's death. There's a human being behind "those horrible eyes."
- Ben's DHARMA coat had the name Halliwax on it. Edgar Halliwax is one of Dr. Marvin Candle's aliases. Candle calls himself Halliwax in the Orchid station video.
- Widmore still likes MacCutcheon whiskey. He uses it to deal with his recent nightmares.
- There was something adorable about the way Sawyer told Locke to not "harm a hair on [Hurley's] curly head."
- Most haunting line of the night: "Once you let your grief become anger, it will never go away. I know from experience."
- Why can't Ben kill Widmore? Why does Widmore believe he owns the island?
Next week--Jack has appendicitis, Frank Lapidus finds the former members of Team Locke, and Keamy emerges unscathed from his encounter with the Black Smoke Monster. In the meantime, check out additional Lost coverage at AOL.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
4-25-2008 @ 12:58AM
asurroca said...
Ben is fantastic lately... I've always loved Sayid's storylines. Also, even though people get killed off all the time on this show, I didn't expect them to axe that girl from Malcolm in the Middle, whoops, I mean Ben's daughter....
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4-25-2008 @ 1:37AM
Vito said...
Not to second-guess exactly how much they knew what they were doing early on, but how the HELL did they make such a score as Michael Emerson? He's not only perfect for this part, he turned into Indiana Jones in this episode! Man, this show is going crazy places.
Gotta say, I'm not sure what I think about Widmore being a bigger part of the show. I feel as if I don't know him well enough and I don't get the same creepy vibe from him as I do from Ben (or Sun's father, Locke's father, even JACK'S father) at ALL. I'll just have to trust them, I suppose.
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4-25-2008 @ 1:50AM
MacGuffin said...
Tonight's episode had me thinking (for the first time in a long time) that Lost could be one the best shows of all time.
Just think where Lost has gone in the last 4 seasons and where it must be going. This new plot reveal with Benjamin and Charles Widmore makes it much more interesting than I could have ever imagined!
Who even cares about if they get off the island--shit--whatever happens next has got to be something really incredible. Too bad it is going to take another 2 years to get it all figured out.
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4-25-2008 @ 2:14AM
Matt said...
I kind of take Widmores comment about taking the island back as indicating that he could have been the head of the Dharma Initiative. He knows Ben killed everyone and basically took the island away, and now Widmore wants it back.
I don't think any of those were necessarily a surprise, as much as they were an interesting twist.
I also don't think we can assume that what Ben did was summon the monster, as much as do something because he knows how the monster works. I suppose in some ways, that's one in the same, but I just don't think he pressed a button or something, I think it's deeper. I kind of want to think that the hidden chamber is his access to getting to Tunisia, at which point Ben begins a chain of events that causes the smoke monster to correct the universe. I know there's a theory that the smoke monster is an extension of the universe that allows it to correct itself, causing people to die or follow a different path through presenting itself (like with Locke).
Who knows tho!
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4-25-2008 @ 2:33AM
Dan said...
I remember listening to a Season 2 commentary where they discussed the casting of Emerson. He was to come on the show and if not successful they would of passed him off as just a lowly "other". I think the plan was always there to have it be the leader of the others who was caught. They just had a backup plane in case the actor was terrible. They need not have worried. The scene with the Keamy/Ben stand off was amazing.
Also I think the first Sahara scene was the immediate aftermath of Ben traveling from the island via The Orchid. The jacket and disorientation seem to back this up.
Also the "rules" and "pawn" comments seem to sugges this is some kind of Chess game between Widmore and Ben. (Black vs White). And as others have pointed out. A king cannot put another King in check. Hence why they can't kill each other.
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4-25-2008 @ 1:06PM
Jake said...
You have to watch really carefully, but when he is "transported" to the desert, it looks like fog evaporating around him... maybe it ties in with Antartica and why there is a listening post in the middle of the frozen wasteland. If you read that time loop theory, the basic premise makes sense given what happened in this episode. (obviously the theory is full of details that are conjecture).
4-25-2008 @ 1:13PM
Jake said...
You have to watch really carefully, but when he is "transported" to the desert, it looks like fog/water vapor evaporating around him... maybe it ties in with Antartica and why there is a listening post in the middle of the frozen wasteland. If you read that time loop theory, the basic premise makes sense given what happened in this episode. (obviously the theory is full of details that are conjecture).
My interpretation of "changing the rules" means that somehow Widmore changed fate. If you read the time loop theory, one other thing that certainly makes sense is that Ben is able to play mind games/not worry about the decisions he makes because for him, all this has happened before. (sort of like how Desmond flashed before, Ben has seen how everything plays out). So when Alex got shot, he was truly mortified because he didn't expect that outcome. Then he starts muttering that Widmore "changed the rules." and goes and summons the smoke monster, which "corrects" the situation by removing the soldiers because events were unfolding in a fashion that was too different from what Ben knew.
4-25-2008 @ 2:38AM
Jojee said...
Loved it!!
I think it now makes a lot of sense why Ben was so afraid of the Losties in the beginning. Too bad that weren't the "hostiles" like Keamy's team. I was struck by how ruthless they were. Until Ben knew their intentions, he was so right to be weary of the survivors. Infiltrating them. Trying to find out if it was a set-up or a cosmic coincidence.
Welcome back Smokey!
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4-25-2008 @ 3:15AM
SImpression said...
Loved this episode.
Epic. Action. Emotional. And Smokey!
Did anyone else feel bad when Sawyer rescued Claire from the rubble and she said 'Charlie?'. it makes me glad to know that the writers havent forgotten about him and i hope it was the set up for Claire to have some serious mourning in the future (perhaps when she finds the ring now that Miles, Sawyer and Claire are heading to the beach?)
Also, did anyone catch how when Sawyer found clear after her house exploded, she was covered in stuff except for her feet? much like the Wicked Witch of the (East is it?) from Wizard of Oz. (Also to be noted is that the three-hour long season finale is called 'There's No Place Like Home'. Coincidence? Probably not.)
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4-25-2008 @ 8:43AM
Erin Martell said...
SImpression--That's a good catch on the Claire thing. I didn't make the connection the first time I watched it.
4-25-2008 @ 3:43AM
Paul said...
Why were Ben's hands filthy after he summoned the smokemonster? What do you think be did?
Anyone know what the guys on horseback said to Ben?
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4-25-2008 @ 3:05PM
LC said...
Im guessing his hands got dirty because the chamber door he opened in that passageway was old and filthy.
4-25-2008 @ 4:49AM
Paul said...
Ben didn't go "summon the smoke monster" -- he TOTALLY did the whole time-travelling to 2005 thing. His "flash-forward" was a "travel-forward". At least that's my theory. And I definitely think that the whole "Ben's going after Penny, Charles Widmore's going after the island" thing actually happened BEFORE we currently see the freighter coming after the island. I really have no theories as to how all this fits together, but it certainly makes sense to me on the surface.
I also don't think Ishmael Bakir actually was behind Nadia's death. I believe (based both on Ben's selfishness for eventually finding Penny and taking down Widmore, and specifically his smirk after Sayid said it was his war too) that Ben set up that whole series of events, possibly even arranging Nadia's death himself.
When it's all said and done, if they connect the dots properly by the last episodes, this could certainly be considered by many to be the best show of all time.
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4-25-2008 @ 7:24AM
Hank said...
is Charles Widmore Gerald De Groot? That would explain the conflict between Ben and Widmore. The producers have indicated one of the De Groots is still alive. Gerald was off the island during the purge and Ben's takeover. The signal blocking etc would be Ben's efforts to keep Gerald from finding the island again. This would explain Charles contention that is his island and he wants it back. Also why both he and Ben knew Ben couldn't kill him because the island won't let anyone from the island be killed off the island.
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4-25-2008 @ 7:26AM
Steve25e said...
Ben and Sayid are not part of the Oceanic 6. First, Sayid asked Ben how he got off the island, so they obviously did not get off the island together. In fact, we know that Ben traveled in time to get to year 2005 and catch up with Sayid. Then, when Sayid said that he had been looking for Nadia for 8 years only to have one year with her then to lose her, that would suggest that Sayid had traveled back in time from 2004 (when the plane crashed) to 1996. The math works. So, if Ben and Sayid are not part of the Oceanic 6, that leaves room for 2 more....
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4-25-2008 @ 7:46AM
Hank said...
again with this Ocaenic 6 silliness. they have said who the Oceanic 6 are. Ben is not, Sayid is. Sayid is clearly being hounded by the press at the death of his wife. They are hounding him because he is a celebrity, one of the Oceanic 6. And the math works. The plane crashe in Sept 04. they get rescued in late 2004. the scene at Nadia's funeral is October 2005. 10 or 11 months later. Close enough for a grieving husband.
they have said who the Oceanic 6 are.
4-25-2008 @ 12:37PM
Oneiroi said...
Jack, Kate, Hurley, Aaron, Sayid, and Sun.
All confirmed. http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Oceanic_Six
4-25-2008 @ 3:21PM
LC said...
"Sayid said that he had been looking for Nadia for 8 years only to have one year with her then to lose her, that would suggest that Sayid had traveled back in time from 2004 (when the plane crashed) to 1996."
Actually, that would suggest that he was searching for Nadia before he ever got stuck on the Island and continued searching after he got off. He didn't go back in time. He is one of the six. That ship has sailed (pun intended).
4-27-2008 @ 7:18PM
TV Junior said...
Maybe it's just because I'm Australian, but I loved when they were playing Risk and Hurley said "Australia's the key to the whole game". Is that foreshadowing?
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4-25-2008 @ 7:56AM
Jack said...
"And I definitely think that the whole "Ben's going after Penny, Charles Widmore's going after the island" thing actually happened BEFORE we currently see the freighter coming after the island."
Paul, if that's the case, why did Ben say "You killed my daughter?" if it hadn't happened yet? And if it hadn't happened yet, why couldn't he alter the future events?
Steve25e, Sayid has been looking for Nadia since he fled Iraq after killing his superior and being set free by the CIA. That's years before the Oceanic flight. Remember Sayid also went to Paris and Australia. He didn't time travel. The time he started looking for Nadia isn't the moment he left the island. It's years before. And yes, Sayid IS one of the Oceanic 6. They referred to him that way on the television report Ben saw in Tunisia.
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