Serial Watcher – Lost – Episode 3-20

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Before I begin, a short message to fellow writer Matt Basilo: I think the reason the flashbacks have been better lately is that their format changed. We no longer just go back to the lives of the Lostaways before the crash. We now mostly go back either to the lives of the new characters who we don’t know well enough or to more recent events that happened on the island and explain the mysteries.

As for this week’s episode, man, is this one hard to write. It’s been 24 hours since I saw “The Man Behind the Curtain” and I still don’t know where to start. So much happened in this episode, we learned so much and have so many questions to answer that it’s not even funny.

To get the less important stuff out of the way first, we’ll start with what happened on the beach. Sawyer is back and together with Sayid confronts Jack and Juliet. As it turns out, The theory I had last week was right and Juliet told Jack she’s on a mission. Yada Yada Yada, The Others are attacking tomorrow night.

Now that it’s done, it’s time for the main story this week Ben. We get a flashback a very interesting flashback following Ben from childbirth to adulthood. In a somewhat familiar fashion, Ben’s mom (Emily, for those of you looking for connections) died when she gave birth to him, just outside Portland (Again, look for the connection). Her last words were her wish for the baby to be called Ben. Cut to a few years later, and teenage Ben arrives on the island with his dad, Roger. They were recruited to the Dharma Initiative by Horace, the man who tried to help Roger and Emily outside Portland (hmmmm, so was it just a coincidence he just happened to be there?). Unfortunately for Roger, he’s hired as a janitor, or “Work man”. Ben, in the mean time, goes to school on the island and befriends Annie. He learns about the hostiles in class, as they, presumably, attack one day. He also begins to have visions of his mom standing in front of him (Visions of a dead parent, sounds familiar to anyone?).

Would it surprise anyone to learn that Ben has father issues? No, really!!! I’m as shocked as you are. On one of his birthdays, Roger tells Ben he he’s the reason Emily died and that if it weren’t for him, she’d still be alive. Upon hearing this, Ben runs away looking for his dead mom, but instead finds none other than Richard. Richard looks in the flashback just like he does in the present, except a little less groomed. Ben wants to join Richard and the hostiles, but Richard sends him back, telling him to be patient.

Cut to the future, as Ben is grown up and also a work man. It’s his birthday, again, and he goes out with his dad on a joyride and some booze. They’re driving a blue VW van loaded with beer (Is the connection clear yet). After some heart to heart, all the while Ben keeps checking his watch; he suddenly pulls out a gas mask and a canister. He puts on the mask and opens the canister, causing his dad to kill over. Ben returns to the barracks to find all the Dharma members also dead. The hostiles, lead by Richard appear and we learn that this is the day of the purge, the day the Dharma was wiped out and the hostiles took over and buried all the Dharma members in a giant grave, which was never covered. That day Ben was accepted into the hostiles, after he killed his own father (And if you haven’t made the connections so far, you have no business watching Lost).

Back in current island time, Locke joins The Others with his dead dad body. This shocks everyone there, especially Ben. Locke has demands he wants answers, just as Ben promised. First we learn that Ben isn’t the leader he answers to the mysterious Jacob, that Only Ben can see and hear. Locke tells Ben to take him to Jacob, but Ben refuses. As they’re talking, Mikhail arrives at the camp. He tells everyone about Naomi, and explains that he survived the sonic fence because it wasn’t set to a lethal level (Ben seems a bit disappointed by this). Locke takes this opportunity to shock everyone by announcing Ben is taking him to Jacob. They’re all stunned and Mikhail questions this move. Locke answers by beating the shit out of Mikhail, while everyone else watches, even when Ben tells them to break the two up. Despite what appears to be objection from the crowd, Ben breaks and agrees to take Locke to see Jacob. Before they go, Alex gives Locke a gun and tells us it’s Ben’s birthday (Again, that’s his fourth birthday in this episode).

As Locke and Ben arrive in a secluded cabin, Ben tells Locke this where Jacob is. They enter and Ben starts talking to an empty chair. Locke is stunned as Ben talks passionately to the empty chair, until he breaks and accuses Ben of being a liar and making Jacob up. Locke prepares to leave as he suddenly hears a whisper saying “Help me”. He directs his flashlight at the empty chair and suddenly the cabin starts shaking, the walls moves it’s almost like the hatch’s implosion, and suddenly a man flashes for a second in the chair. Ben is suddenly thrown against the wall, a fire starts and stops and then and then the two leave the cabin, all shaken up.

The next day they head back to camp but they take a different route. Ben starts to tell Locke the truth, that he wasn’t born on the island and that sometime he lies to The Others. They reach the mass gravesite of the Dharma members and Ben tells him how he used to be a member until he had to choose sides and decided to join The Others. And then, he coldly say that he made that choice to ensure he didn’t end up in the grave, which makes him smarter than Locke. Locke barely turns around as Ben shoots him and he falls into the grave among the corpses of the Dharma members. Ben finally asks Locke what Jacob told him, and leaves Locke after hearing the answer.

Sooooooooooo, what did we have this week?
– We learned where Ben really came from and that he wasn’t born on the island, as he claimed.
– We learned that both Ben and Locke had to kill their fathers in order to join The Others/hostiles.
– Also, Ben and Locke were both seen as special by the members of the group when they joined.
– We learned that just like the women on the island, Ben’s mother died when she gave birth to him prematurely.
– We learned that there really is a Jacob and that Ben answers to him.
– We learned that the hostiles were on the island before Dharma and that the entire Dharma initiative was wiped out at once during the purge.
– We learned the origin of the beer truck.

Buuuuuuuuuuuut, we also have two new huge mysteries. The first one is Richard and The Others before Ben joined. How old is Richard and why doesn’t he age? Or perhaps the man young Ben saw wasn’t the Richard we know? And if Ben joined the group so late, how did he become the leader? Why isn’t Richard the leader?
The second mystery is Jacob. Who or what is he? How come Ben is the only one who can communicate with him? Ben said you have to be summoned to see Jacob how is he summoned? What was the entire pyro display in the cabin about? Is Ben afraid Locke might replace him as leader since apparently he can also communicate with Jacob, and that’s why he killed him? Was Jacob there before Ben? If so, how did they communicate with him?

As I started writing this week’s review, I was afraid it might come off as the mad ramblings of a hardcore Lost fan and turn out something like ohmygodthiswasawesomeicantbelievethishappenedicantwaittillnextweekwhatthef*ckhappenedthere?!?!?!?!?!
That’s how good the episode was. As it ended I was literally left with my mouth open and couldn’t leave my seat for a minute or two (I’m not kidding). If the upcoming episodes will be like that, I’m afraid it might drive me back to smoking after six clean years, as I’m just too nervous and excited with anticipation to see what happens next. Only six more days until the next episode.

Sir Linksalot: Lost