We won't find the answer to this question on tonight's episode of Lost, but I've been wondering: who is the real bad guy in the Lost power struggle, Ben Linus or Charles Widmore?On one hand, Ben has done so many evil things that it's hard to see him as a good guy, and killing John Locke last week was probably the ultimate proof that Ben-haters have to name him as the bad guy. But he has also helped the islanders at several points (though we still haven't found out if he's doing that for his own reasons), and is it possible that he killed Locke himself because Locke has to die but can't kill himself for some reason? It's going to be interesting to see Ben wake up from his nap on that bed and see Locke alive again (or will he be surprised)?
And then we have Charles Widmore. We've seen the young Charles Widmore snap the neck of a coworker and kill him and he sent the military guys to the island to kill everyone, and he "broke the rules" by killing Ben's daughter. On the other hand, he gave Desmond the name Eloise Hawking and told Desmond to hide Penny from Ben.
It's funny, but I'm more interested in who the bad guy is in this scenario than I am learning all of the island's secrets. It's the most compelling story on the show right now for me.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-04-2009 @ 5:11PM
Sub-Zero said...
Yeah, Ben definitely killed Penny, so I'm thinking that lands him firmly in the evil column.
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3-04-2009 @ 5:16PM
Cyantre said...
This hasn't been confirmed yet, but it is a possibility. I would think that something as huge as that would be shown in an actual episode, not just alluded to.
3-04-2009 @ 5:16PM
cress d said...
Cuse or Lindeloff
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3-04-2009 @ 6:00PM
Ian said...
@Ciantre I suspect that there was a lot that we didn't see in 316 to set up future flashbacks.
The interesting thing about the Ben vs Widmore war is that Michael Emerson is a regular cast member and Alan Dale isn't. We know a lot more about Ben because we see him almost every week.
Charles Widmore, despite what we know, has not been on the show enough, and therefore provides more mystery.
3-04-2009 @ 5:19PM
Matt said...
My guess is that Ben killed Christian Shepard and once Locke mentioned Eloise Hawking he knew he had to recreate that so Locke could be the proxy.
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3-05-2009 @ 1:50AM
ryan said...
OOOhhh I really like that theory
3-04-2009 @ 5:39PM
Kirby said...
I really wanted a fourth option. Nobody on this show is good or evil per writer fiat. They're just people with their own agendas. Willing to go to different lengths to achieve them. As such, I don't think this show has or ever will have a 'bad guy', and it's very likely when push comes to shove that characters we like will end up opposed.
I think this is why it's a good show.
Okay, Hurley's a good guy.
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3-05-2009 @ 10:46AM
cdawg said...
Agreed 100%. It's amazing to realize that not every character on tv is good or evil. The reason the characters on Lost are so compelling is because, with the exception of Hurley, they all have their own flaws. One week you can root for Juliet, and the next hate her. Same with Michael, Jack, Sawyer, etc. Just like people in real life.
I don't think either Ben or Widmore are evil per se. They just have an agenda to further, what they think is right.
3-04-2009 @ 5:43PM
Jax Maxton said...
If the island is ultimately good, then Ben is the good guy. The reason is that everything he does he at least "claims" is in service to the island. Yeah, killing Locke looks bad, but ultimately Locke was SUPPOSED to die to get his friends back to the island.
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3-04-2009 @ 6:34PM
Porchland said...
Every season, Lost has pulled back the curtain to show things that we did not know were going on during the previous season. It is entirely possible that Ben and Widmore are following their own courses to protect the island from someone we have not met yet or have met and don't yet know enough about.
Ben and Widmore could disagree violently about how to defend the island, even if that's what they're both trying to do.
3-04-2009 @ 5:48PM
Gill said...
Both.
/show
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3-04-2009 @ 7:13PM
JoeBrooks said...
I wish they would revisit Libby's past... gah why did they have to kill that character off? She was interesting.
3-04-2009 @ 8:07PM
StillBash said...
I second that.
3-05-2009 @ 1:53AM
ryan said...
@JoeBrooks You do know the show has featured flashbacks, flash-forwards, and Time Travel... right? Libby is quite unlikely to be gone for good, there is too much left unexplained about her.
3-04-2009 @ 8:55PM
izikavazo said...
After last weeks episode these kind of questions are inavoidable. I wrote a similar thing on my blog. I haven't got around to writing about Ben yet, I just focussed on Widmore.
http://ncjl.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/good-vs-evil-charles-widmore/
- izi
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3-04-2009 @ 10:07PM
Michael Moncur said...
I think Ben and Charles are like the Vorlons and the Shadows on Babylon 5 - they both have their own motives, and the Island and everyone else are caught in the middle, and the only way for Jack & co. to ultimately succeed will be to defeat BOTH of them.
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3-04-2009 @ 10:26PM
Scott H said...
Anyone who ties "Lost", today's greatest novel for television, with "Babylon 5", last decade's greatest novel for television and a pioneer in telling a series-long planned story, gets my respect. Nice job, Mr. Moncur. (And you're probably right about the Shadows/Vorlons comparison, although I always thought the Vorlons were just a little less evil than the Shadows. Maybe it was their appearance :-)
3-05-2009 @ 12:32AM
Oz said...
Ben and Widmore were both rejected by the island, i believe. Ben helped the Oceanic 6 get back because that was his best bet of getting back on the island. Widmore helped Locke and Desmond because he was trying to find out the island's new location.
You could say they are both evil because they will do anything to take control of the island, for apparently personal reasons, and not for some higher purpose.
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3-05-2009 @ 12:53AM
bruce said...
Maybe it's the island that's evil, though I hate to ascribe morality to non-living things, it is a TV show, and the island has been shown time and again to take affirmative action. It prevented Michael from being killed (until he did certain things), it is "not yet finished" with Desmond. So, in a sense, the island has a mind, and thus motives/morality of its own.
Maybe Richard Alpert or Jacob (whoever Jacob is, if not Alpert himself) is evil. I don't think so, though. I think Alpert is the island in human form, or "the mouth of the island" a la "the mouth of sauron" in LOTR. Something akin to that.
I do not think either Widmore or Ben has good intentions. One may be willing to cause, or accept, more collateral damage in winning his "war" against the other and acheiving his goal of total island control. That may be the only difference.
The other thing is what they want to do with the island. They both want it, but for what end? What did Ben "do" with the island when he was there? Seems he didn't really use it for anything all that profound (especially when he could have used it for time travel, energy pockets, etc).
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3-05-2009 @ 6:05AM
Joseph said...
@ joebrooks:
I have been calling for the return of Libby for 2 or 3 seasons. They need to bring her back, because that is just too huge of a loose end. Plus, I love her just as much as Juliet (possibly more that juliet isn't playing evil anymore).
@ this entire post:
This show is not about black and white, everything exists in a shade of grey. There are an infinite number of possibilities for these two characters.
I'm actually kind of tired of Ben (although the actor is amazing) and Locke. The spotlight has been on them for far too long. I want to learn more about Richard, Widmore, and Desmond. This is just my personal preference for the story line, not a prediction or anything.
If the writers and producers happen to troll the blog comments on lost: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BRING LIBBY BACK!
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