Ep 320 - Getting to Know "The Man Behind the Curtain"

Little Ben (and his first tortured bunny)! The death of Roger Work Man!! Jacob revealed (for a split second)!!! And of course, far more questions than answers in "The Man Behind the Curtain."

As a prologue, last week I noted that too much happened too quickly for me to keep up with my notes, but that I didn't want to rewind for fear of disrupting the viewing experience. This week, it took a couple of rewinds to take everything in, and even then I have some major questions...

Flashback – Ben
Right from the get-go, we learned that Ben's claim to have been born on the island was a lie. His parents, Emily (played by Michael Emerson's real-life wife, Carrie Preston...oedipal, eh?) and Roger (Uncle Rico!) were hiking through a dense forest when she gave birth to Benjamin, almost two months early. Emily, still bleeding, cried out that it hurt, and Roger carried the two of them, through the forrest, up to a road? 32 miles outside of Portland???? As Richard would later tell Juliet, the Others' base is "not exactly in Portland."

A strange couple (Horace and Olivia) pulled over to help. As Emily died on the roadside, her last request was that the baby be called Benjamin.

Some time in the future, young Ben (sporting nerdy round glasses) and Roger arrived on the island via a familiar submarine. They walked along the dock, under a sign that said "Namaste." A bunch of Dharma workers with leis greeted the new arrivals. Among them was Horace Goodspeed, the man from the car on the side of the road when Emily died, now sporting longer hair and wearing an arrow station jumpsuit.

If you have any thoughts on the mythological import of the name "Horace Goodspeed," please, send them my way.

Inside a welcome center, a Marvin Canlde video warned everyone to stay inside the sonic fence, in the barracks. The Dharma mission, said Dr. Candle, is to study the island’s properties for the betterment of mankind. Ben met a young girl, Annie, who gave him an Apollo bar (of which island residents can have as many as they want...)

Thanks to Losteastereggs.blogspot.com for this: the actual text of Dr. Candle's message:

"Welcome to the Island. For your own comfort and safety, we ask that you stay within the confines of your new living quarters. Our barracks are surrounded by a high-frequency sonar fence to protect us from the island's abundant and diverse wildlife. You are now a member of the Dharma initiative. Every morning you will be given a new code which will allow you to cross outside the fences if you so desire. There are properties on this island that exist nowhere else on earth. Our mission is to study these properties for the betterment of mankind and advancement of world peace. Most of you will be working on the mainland. Should you be assigned zoological study..."

Random Aside #1 - From the Lost Experience, we can extrapolate that Dharma was dosing its residents with something through these candy bars. The question is, what? And why?

Random Aside #1.1 - so the code to the fence changed daily? But now it's a subset of the numbers? Did the random assignment of the dangerous numbers cause any of the problems previous island inhabitants faced?

Roger was handed a “work man” outfit. As he believed he had come to Dharma island to better mankind, this really upset him. He could not believe that his assigned role in this utopia was that of janitor.

Random Aside # 2 - I reviewed the Dr. Candle video from the Swan hatch. It appears the community around the barracks may have been the final listed "purpose" for the Dharma Initiative, i.e. an experiment in social utopia. Query: how utopian is it to consign a newcomer to forever being a janitor? And why couldn't Roger then leave? Was Dharma as against departures then as the Others are now?

Ben and Annie went to school under the instruction of Olivia (the other passenger in the car with Horace), where they were learning about volcanoes when a commotion began. Olivia demanded that the class get into position, grabbed a gun, and had Annie lock the door. She said not to worry, it’s just the hostiles, they would be okay.

That night, Ben, with a little bunny (again with the bunnies?), heard Roger and Horace arguing over the natives. Roger demanded more money (he sooo didn't get what Dharma was about!). Ben turned and saw, in the window – his mother? Roger entered and chided Ben for not sleeping. Emily disappeared, leaving Ben to look at her picture by his bedside.

Ben spent part of his next birthday on the familiar barracks swingset with Annie. She gave him carved wooden dolls of them as a gift. Now they would never have to be away from each other. Ben returned home to find Roger passed out on the couch. He took the empty beer can from his dad’s hand, and woke him by removing a shoe. Roger saw Annie’s package, apologized for forgetting Ben’s birthday, and muttered that it was hard to celebrate on the day Ben killed his mom. "Now she’s gone, and I’m stuck here on this island, with you." Uncle Rico, er, Roger passed out, and Ben ran from the house, out to the sonic fence. On the other side he stood his mother. (Does anyone not see dead relatives on this island?) He tried to run to her, but she told him to stop, that it was not time yet. She disappeared into the jungle, leaving Ben behind. Note: Thanks to losteastereggs.blogspot.com for this: In this scene, and the later scene where Ben met Richard, the whispers made their return, and could be heard in the background (no idea what they were saying).

Random Aside #2 - Doc Jensen discussed this in his recap on EW.com today, and after careful consideration, I do indeed like this theory: on the island, it is clear that what goes on in many inhabitants' heads manifests itself physically. This is most apparent in these dead relative encounters (now enjoyed by Jack, Eko, Ben and, in the guise of imaginary friend Dave, Hurley). But what if Ben's dual obsession - the death of his mother in childbirth, and his own self-loathing for having "caused" her death, is somehow the reason women who conceive on the island are killed by their would-be babies before the children can be born? What if, in some way that has yet to be explained, Ben has punished these women for daring to have the family he was denied? If that's the case, somehow I don't think even Ben is aware he has had this effect.

Young Ben retunred in the morning to the fence with a couple of bags. He had a code (not the one we know so well!!!) and turned off the fence. From one of the bags, Ben pulled his bunny, which he ran through to verify the fence was "off," and then he followed after it. Gathering his bunny, he ran towards where his mother disappeared. There, he heard strange noises. Calling out to his mother, he ran, into a clearing. He turned and found…Richard Alpert? Looking very hippyish, but the same exact age we've alwasy seen him depicted! Ben asked if Richard is a “hostile,” to which Richard responded by asking if Ben even knew what that word meant.

Random Aside #3 - So the "hostiles" described in the Flame station video predated Ben on the island, and were apparently ageless. They somehow ended up in mortal combat with the Dharma Initiative, but were held at bay by the sonic fence. Who were these "hostiles" before they were "hostiles?" How did Richard become one of them? And why were they so darned hostile?

Richard asked what Ben was doing in the jungle by himself. Ben explained his mother’s death, and how he saw her in the jungle. Richard seemed particularly intrigued when Ben said he spoke with mother, but told Ben that it wasn’t time yet for Ben to come with him. Richard urged Ben to go home, that he would some day get to go with Richard, but for the time being, to be patient...

Years later, an older Ben put on his own Work Man suit. His Annie doll was still around, and he put it in his bag with a forlorn look on his face. He loaded some supplies into the van that Roger was loading up with beer. It’s another birthday, and Roger again forgot. Roger says he just had to run supplies up to the Pearl station, but then they could have some father/ son time. On the mesa, still in the van, with "the Road to Shambala" playing, Roger cracked a Dharma beer. Ben asked if Roger really blamed him for Emily’s death, all the while looking nervously at his watch. Roger promised to remember the following year, to which Ben responded, "I don’t think that’s going to happen, dad. I’ve missed her too. For as long as I could remember, I’ve had to put up with you, and doing that required a tremendous amount of patience." Ben donned a gas mask and opened a gas canister. Roger started bleeding out of his nose and wretching (the mystery of what happened to "Roger Workman" and how his VW bus was abandoned full of beer has now officially been solved). This was the purge of which Mikhaeil spoke. Ben returned to the barracks, where everyone lay on the ground, blood poured out of their faces, all dead.

Horace lay dead on a bench. Ben did not seem the least bit remorseful, but I could not help but wonder - where was Annie? He still clearly clinged to his memory of their friendship (carrying around her doll), but he did not appear to have even looked to see if she was among the fallen, much less to care if she were...From out of the jungle, hillbilly-dressed Others in gas masks arrived. Richard, now with shorter hair, was among them. He asked if Ben wanted them to collect his father's body, but Ben coldly requested he be left out there (for Hurley to find years later, with an assist to Vincent).

The Jungle
Richard enters Ben’s tent, where he looks at a crude wooden doll (the one Annie gave him as a boy). It’s his birthday, and the doll was a present. “You do remember birthdays, don’t you Richard?” Ben asks, perhaps a dig at Mr. Alpert's apparent agelessness. Ben is agitated that his recorder is missing – he thought Richard was returning it to Juliet, but Richard doesn’t have it, so Ben frantically calls to Tom…when Locke shows up, Cooper’s body in a sack on his back, demanding to learn about the island, from the beginning. Richard and Tom are surprised, but Ben, who clearly thought only he was capable of the patricide necessary for induction into the community, is positively stunned.

Ben pours two drinks and hands one to John, who doesn’t take it. Ben denies that he’s the leader, and insists that he answers to Jacob. Locke wants to see Jacob, but Ben says that's impossible - he’s the only one who talks to Jacob, because he was born on the island (yeah right), one of the last who was. The other Others were brought by Ben, so Jacob only talks to him, only sees him. John thinks Ben is “the man behind the curtain – the Wizard of Oz.” He says if Ben were telling the truth, his hand wouldn’t be shaking.

Mikhail comes running, looking for Ben, who thought he was dead. Mikhail he explains, fortunately, the pylons were not set to a lethal level. He sees John, and wonders what the man who "killed" him is doing here. Mikhail reports Naomi’s arrival, and says they can’t wait until the next day (the planned pregnant women abduction) to deal with this. Locke announces that Ben is taking him to see Jacob, which Mikhail and the others find incredible. Ben tries to tell John their excursion will have to wait, so John attacks Mikhail. Ben tries to summon help, but Tom, Richard and the Others don’t lift a finger. Mikhail knocked out, John turns back to Ben and asks when they leave.

At a stream, Ben says John didn’t have to beat Mikhail. Alex arrives and gives John a gun, saying he’ll need it if he’ll see Jacob. As she turns to leave, she wishes Ben a happy birthday (at least his daughter doesn't forget).

Ben assures John that Jacob is very very real, and that he is not going to like it when they show up. That, he says, is why his hand was shaking, because this is not a man you go to see, it’s a man who summons you. “I guess there’s a first time for everything” snaps John, unimpressed. With the Others looking on, the two disembark.

At night, Ben deliverately steps over a line of what appears to be volcanic ash. John tries to check it out, but Ben urges him on.

Random Aside # 4 - Doc Jensen refers to this line of ash as a symbol in many mythologies, including the symbol of a phoenix, dying a fiery death only to be reborn from the ashes. But what I see is grayish-black particles, the kind that might, when activated, form into a sort of intelligent smoke creature...

They come upon a strange structure. Ben says, "we’re here." He urges John to turn off the flashlight, because Jacob feels the same way about technology as John does. Ben lights a lamp. Kudos to Doc Jensen for noting the fourth-wall-breaking nature of Ben's next line; "Once I open this door, there’s no turning back." As the Doc points out, there is a romance to mystery that must die when we achieve certainty. With that spirit many internet posters, myself included, have flinched at the notion that, once we get Lost's answers, they may never be as satisfying as the questions were thought-provoking. So might it be for John Locke. Ben announces himself and Locke to Jacob. He opens the door, and they enter. Ben puts the lntern on a table. Ben refers to an empty chair as Jacob. "You wanted the secrets of the island, well here they are." John is not amused - "You’re crazy – you don’t know anything about the island. Are you putting on a show for me, or do you really think there’s someone there?" Ben's reply is chilling - "I’m sorry you’re too limited to see." John turns to leave. A voice that is not Ben's says “help me.” John turns back around. Ben denies he said anything. John turns on his flashlight, and building starts shaking, like a poltergeist has attacked. Glass breaks, a fire starts and quickly disappears. And, in case you missed it for a brief moment, (11 frames of video) someone is in the chair.

Ben is flung at a wall, and Jack flees. Ben shouts, "you had your fun, Jacob." Eventually, he rejoins John outside. Locke asks what that was, and Ben replies, tersely, "that was Jacob."

In the morning, Ben asks what Jacob said to John. John denies Jacob said anything, insisting it was Ben. He wants to expose Ben as a fraud. Ben admits there some untruths, like the fact that he wasn’t born on the island. (Yeah, Doc Jensen said this, too, but I swear I independently thought this up - in light of the end of the episode, doesn't Ben's lie seem to have the Ben Kenobi type underlying justification, that "a great many of the truths we cling to depend greatly upon our points of view?") He decides to show John where he did come from.

Ben shows John the mass grave where the Dharma bodies are buried. He says they came seeking harmony, but they couldn’t even coexist with the island’s original inhabitants. "When it became clear that one side had to be purged, I did what I had to do. I did what I had to to make sure I didn’t end up in that ditch, which makes me considerably smarter than you, John." Without warning, Ben shoots John (where his kidney used to be), who falls in the hole. He says he shot John, because John heard Jacob. Ben asks John what Jacob said. John tells him, Jacob said "help me." “We’ll I certainly hope he helps you, John.”


Random Aside #5 - What kind of justification is that? Because you heard Jacob? But as we examine Ben and John, and the parallels between them, some things begin to coalesce. Remember, Richard first told Ben that he could join the "hostiles" after Ben revealed he spoke with his dead mother. In the future, Ben would become the Others' leader, as he apparently was the only one who could perceive Jacob. For whatever reason, the Others accepted this, even as they could not see a man in that chair any more than John could at first. Yes, Ben believed he had overcome his lowly, miserable parentage, killed his own father, and in the process had become sufficiently special in his connection to this island to be the one who could see and hear Jacob. Then along comes John Locke, a man who could out-heal Ben, who could similarly kill his own father to prove his worth, and who, it appeared the Others would chose over Ben. And when this newcomer could suddenly do the one thing that made Ben more special than anyone else, i.e. hear Jacob? He became a threat to Ben. Query how the Others will react when Ben returns alone.

Also, I don't think John is dead (remember the ol' healing ability? and that missing kidney?) but I also don't think we'll learn that fact until a couple of episodes into the next season.

The Beach
Sawyer, in the jungle, has returned. He summons Sayid, who wonders what happened to him. He gives Sayid Juliet's tape recorder.

Sayid and Sawyer look for Juliet. Kate says she left with Jack as soon as Kate told them about Naomi. Sayid is not happy Kate did this, and demands that Sawyer play the tape for Kate.

Sayid presents Naomi to the camp and tells of his suspicions about Jack. Sun stands up for Jack and Juliet, until Sawyer plays the tape (Jin apparently understood that the tape was talking about him, but not that it said he was sterile). Jack and Juliet arrive, and Jack demands to know where the tape came from.

Juliet tells Sawyer to turn over the tape and press play. It’s Ben saying three teams are coming for Sun, and if Kate or anyone else is pregnant, mark their tents, and they’ll take them too. Juliet told Jack what Ben was forcing her to do the night of the ultrasound. Jack claims he didn't reveal the situation to the rest of the beach crew because he hadn’t decided what to do yet. “I think we’ve got some catching up to do.”

Afterthoughts

In the immortal words of Keanu Reeves, "whoah!" It's been no secret that Lost has some ties to Steven King (an avowed fan and buddy to the producers), but how Steven King was that Jacob's hut sequence? And Jacob's sudden appearance? Boo-scary!

A few questions posed by the episode (and I'd love to hear your thoughts):

1. Why doesn't Richard age?
2. What happened to Annie?
3. Who are the Hostiles?
4. What is Jacob?
5. What is the endgame Ben thinks his patience will reward him with?
6. What was that sandy/ ashy stuff?
7. Was the purge what Dr. Candle referred to as "the incident" in the Swan video?
8. If the purge was the end of the Dharma Initiative, how did Kelvin get to the island?
9. Why was the code young Ben used to open the fence not the subset of "the numbers" Juliet would use years later?
10. Just why is John Locke so special, he can hear Jacob?

Well folks, this was a long one, and a long time coming. Hope you enjoyed it!