Episode 409 - Rules Change In "The Shape of Things to Come"

An unbelievable death! Smokey's most magnificent appearance yet!! And big clues as to what's really going on, along with two "Holy S--t" moments, two "WTFs," and an "Ah-ha," all in "The Shape of Things to Come."

Foreword
If every episode were a Ben episode, don't you think we'd get much further in decoding Lost? What was amazing this week was not just how Michael Emerson outdid all of his prior performances put together (if he doesn't win an Emmy this year, whoever beats him must have blackmail material on the vote counter), but the extent to which so many characters had a chance to shine. I'll quickly dispense with the fastest of the episode's three plotlines first...

Island Time - Team Jack
As an abdominal problem begins to affect Jack, not even a flirty look from bathing Kate seems to make him happy. Kate then expresses concern over how long it has been since Sayid and Desmond left for the freighter and how long it's been since they have been in touch. Jack remains optimistic, explaining that it's understandable given the wrecked engines on the boat and damage to Faraday's phone. Suddenly, a body washes ashore. It's Ray, the ship's doctor, and he has stitches in his cheek and a slit throat. Daniel says that Ray was fine the last time he saw him, but "'when' is a relative term." He agrees to cobble together what's left of his phone to make a Morse code device. At night, Daniel sends a signal asking what happened to Ray, and gets a response. Daniel says they didn't say what happend, but they'd be returning soon. Bernard, however, knows his Morse code. According to him, the message says, (in one of the WTF moments) "what are you talking about, the doctor is fine?"
Jack has had enough. He grabs Daniel hard and asks, "were you ever going to take us off this island?" Defeated, Daniel replies, "no." Jack is...displeased. Then he starts to wretch.

Random thoughts...ok, so more observations that time is wonky between the island and the rest of the world. But so wonky that a man can be dead in one locale and alive in the other? And how happy do you think Ray will be if the news of his impending death reaches him? Jack's budding illness also seems interesting. Perhaps this will lead to his becoming one of the Oceanic Six (because absent some form of necessity, I can't imagine this Shepherd abandoning his flock). Otherwise, the beach sequences were primarily set-up to whatever is to come in the four remaining episodes this season, and need not receive further discussion here.

Island Time - Team Locke
Keamy and a crew in military garb have Alex is plastic cuffs and order her to turn off the barracks' fence. She pleads with them to spare Aaron before entering a code - not 4-8-15 - which causes the phone to ring in the house Locke appropriated from Ben. Locke answers, and a recorded voice says, "Code 14-J." (Before the phone rang, Locke, Sawyer, and Hurley (holding Aaron) were playing Risk, which we would soon learn is a metaphor for Ben's war with Widmore. During the game, Hurley had one of those throw-away lines only Hurley can deliver - "Australia's the key to the whole game" - that seems eerily as prescient as his comment to Sayid a couple years back that a radio transmission could be coming from "any time.")

Also, a further note on the house formerly belonging to Ben. Some conspiracy theorists online have noted that the picture of the blonde woman holding a hamster that hangs on the wall changed in appearance slightly from last year to this year. I chalked it up to the recreation of a lost prop...until now. If you look closely, it seems the picture has altered - again, only slightly - a third time. What gives? Locke and Sawyer fetch Ben, who is playing piano in his new house. "14-J" startles Ben, who grabs a shotgun out of his piano bench, gives it to Sawyer, and says they need to get to the other house, which has better positions to defend because "they're here." Ben is perturbed they waited five minutes to get him, eliminating what small preparatory advantage Alex's message was supposed to provide. Ben assures Locke it's important he survive even as Sawyer goes to help Claire. Ben, it appears, needs Locke to get back to Jacob (whassup with that?). Ben and Locke start barricading and instruct Hurley to stay away from the window. An extra gets shot, then another, and then a third (weren't there only two in Team Locke?) Sawyer gets pinned down as he tries to fetch Claire but ducks behind a picnic table, then a fence, then a gas grill (which, if he's half the survivalist he claims to be, is not the best place to take cover in a fire fight). A rocket detonates Claire's house!

As if the furious action in this scene would allow us time to contemplate, this was obviously meant to play on the increasing belief that Ms. Littleton is not long for this Earth. Not only was talk of a "spectacular death" leaked before this episode, but given that baby Aaron will call Kate Mommy in the future...

Ben tells Locke only Jacob can help them now, and they need to go together. When Locke notes the cabin wasn't where he thought it would be, Ben says Hurley knows where to find it. Meanwhile, Sawyer finds Claire in the wreckage of her house. She first calls him Charlie before asking where Aaron is. Sawyer runs to Locke's house and passes Claire in through a window Hurley breaks for him, since Ben warned not to open a door for them. The shooting stops, and Miles rings the doorbell. They let him in as he has a walkie talkie given to him by the mercs, who had set him free. Miles tells Ben they have Alex hostage, and he takes the walkie. Keamy, on the other end and visible out the window, promises to hurt nobody else if Ben surrenders. Ben tells him everything he knows all about him, as proof that he will indeed hurt the others. Keamy holds Alex gunpoint and says he'll kill her if Ben doesn't come out right away. Ben, who seems coolly confident that Alex will not be hurt, gives a counterproposal - they turn and fly away. When Keamy is unfazed, Ben says she's not his daughter, she was stolen from Rousseau, and was just a pawn (more of that game imagery, eh?), but she means nothing to him. Keamy then shoots Alex in the head before pulling back (the first "Holy S--t!" moment). Ben stares with a look that seemed more one of disbelief than one of horror or sadness (one of Michael Emerson's finest subtle acting moments to date). Ben mutters, "he changed the rules," then walks briskly past the rest of the group, opens his secret door, then shuts a gate behind him. Behind his clothes, there is another secret door, covered with glyphs, which Ben opens and passes through. (Special thanks to Jeff Jensen of ew.com who took this photo of the door on a recent set visit).
The markings on the door are quite reminiscent of the "underworld" symbols that appeared in the Swan hatch when the button wasn't pushed on time. What gives with the history of this island, and the DHARMA builders' apparent appropriation of things that predated them?

Ben reemerges, covered in soot. "In a minute, we need to run from this house as fast as we can," he tells his group. The house starts to shake, and Smokey erupts past the window. Ben then orders them out. Smokey then infests the trees (the second "Holy S--t!" moment) and shooting can be heard. Hurley asks if Ben called Smokey, but Ben just looks on. Smokey appears to ravage Keamy's group, who are soon silenced. Ben sends the group off to the trees, and says "I have to say good-bye to my daughter, John." He walks over to Alex and closes her eyes, crying, (an even greater moment from the usually stone-faced Emerson). Sawyer and company light torches. Ben returns from the jungle. John says he's sorry about Ben's daughter, then accuses Ben of lying when he said he didn't know what the smoke monster is. "You can ask Jacob all about it when we go to the cabin," responds Ben. "Who the hell is Jacob?" demands Sawyer, who by now has had enough of these two acting as though they're in charge of everything. Sawyer says he is taking Claire, Aaron and Hurley to go back to the beach. Locke pulls a gun on them, and insists that Hurley stay behind. Sawyer holds his gun back at Locke, but Hurley agrees to go with them. "You harm so much as one hair on his curly head, I'll kill you," warns Sawyer. "Fair enough," responds John, and Sawyer, Claire, Aaron and Miles head off for the beach before Ben, Locke and Hurley begin their trek for Jacob's cabin.

This ever-improving friendship between Sawyer and Hurley is one of the best character development bits to happen on this show. Sure, Sawyer could be cruel to Hurley at times, but it's like he's a teasing older brother, and nobody else better mess with his guy. That, coupled with his heroic dash to save Claire when the shooting started, make it all the more tragic that, if I'm right in my prediction, Sawyer will not survive the series finale...

Flashforward - Benjamin Linus

Ben appears in the Sahara desert in a cold-weather DHARMA parka bearing what I assume is the logo for the Orchid station, and the nametag "Halliwax" (seriously, if you haven't seen the Orchid station video on YouTube yet, you're really missing out on the station, its potential purpose, and the name, Halliwax). I say "appears" because 1) although we did not see his arrival, he seemed a little taken aback about his locale, and 2) how far do you think the man could get in the Sahara in a winter jacket without leaving tracks? His arm is cut.

Ben takes off the parka as two armed nomads approach and hold him at gunpoint. Ben goes all James Bond on them, shoots one and knocks out the other before taking their horse and riding off, his wound bandaged with the shumag he took off the head of the dead man.

Later, in Tunisia, Ben, still bandaged, rings a concierge bell at a hotel. It's not his first time in Tunisia, but it's been a while. He's a preferred guest, with a reservation under Dean Moriarty (which gives the woman at the desk pause). Ben confirms it's October 25, 2005, as though he was unsure about the year. He then sees a TV showing Sayid, who says "I just want to bury my wife in peace."

We don't know why Ben came to Tunisia, but hopefully we will at some point. But it's worth remembering that Tunisia is where Charlotte saw the Hydra Station collar on a polar bear skeleton...And Sayid has a wife? What a quick few months he's had!

Next, Ben treks to Iraq. To give you an idea of just how much travel Ben did in these flash-forwards, I point you to this graphic posted by Kristen Dos Santos on E! Online:

In other words, Ben really got around in this episode - very Bond-like, when you think about it.

Ben shows up in a "journalist" land rover, climbs some stairs, then looks down on a funeral procession. We instantly recognize the photo in front of the coffin as Sayid's lost love, Nadia. Ben pulls out a camera and snaps photos of a bald man sipping a drink near the procession. One of the pallbearers in Sayid, who looks up and seems to see Ben. As Ben tries to flee, Sayid ambushes him, thinking at first Ben is just another paparazzo trying to profit off this O-6er's misery. Ben lies about how he got there, saying he took Desmond's boat to Fiji then flew to Tunisia. Ben says he wants to find the man who killed Sayid's wife. Ishmael Bakya, the bald man. Ben says Bakya was last seen five days ago in L.A., speeding away from the place where Nadia was killed, and that Nadia's death is all tied to Widmore.

Later, Ben pursues Bakya, who knows he's being followed and tries to lose Ben. Bakya dips out of sight, then surprises Ben from behind in an alley, holding him at gunpoint. Ben tells Bakya to take a message to Widmore, but then Sayid arrives and empties a full clip of ammo into Bakya. Ben tells Sayid they're finished there, and he should just mourn his loss and live his life. "Once you let your grief be anger," Ben says knowingly, "it will never go away." Sayid responds, coolly, "I spent eight years searching for the woman I love. I finally found her and I married her, and now I buried her. Benjamin - who is next?" The look on Ben's face as he turns and walks away was one of smug satisfaction.

This was our Ah-ha! moment: we learned that, in the months after their return to civilization, Sayid found and married Nadia. We also learned that her death shortly thereafter, apparently at the hands of one of Widmore's agents, was the trigger that turned Sayid from international celebrity into Ben's hitman (a role he would fully embrace before the events of "The Economist). But here's the question - the look on Ben's face, the smug little smile...was he behind Nadia's death, knowing he could manipulate Sayid into joining him? Or did he just take advantage of Sayid's pain to expand his anti-Widmore campaign?

Later, in London, Ben gets out of a taxi and tells the doorman he's expected by the Kendricks. In the elevator, Ben picks the lock to the penthouse, enters, and demands that Charles Widmore wake up. As DocArzt so carefully noted in this photo taken from his blog, Widmore's bed sits under the painting of Black Rock that we saw at auction..."I wondered when you were going to show up," Widmore says coolly. "I see you've been getting more sun." Ben responds, "Iraq is lovely this time of year. When did you start sleeping with scotch by the bed?" "When the nightmares started," answers Charles.

What nightmares are these? Does he really need to self-medicate with scotch that costs more for one glass than Desmond makes in a year? And if these dreams are island-linked, just how effective could the scotch be?

Ben says he can't kill Charles.

Why the frak not? Is this related to the island's ability to prevent Jack and Michael from killing themselves? If so, why on Earth would the island want Widmore alive? Does this suggest Ben is not so much in line with the island's wishes?

Ben accuses Charles of "changing the rules," but Charles insists it was Ben who got Alex killed when he took everything he now has from Charles. In retaliation, under the "new rules," Ben tells Charles he's going to kill Penny. "And once she's gone, once she's dead, then you'll understand how I feel, and you'll wish you hadn't changed the rules." "You'll never find her," boasts Charles, who then changes the subject by insisting, "that island's mine, Benjamin. It always was, and will be again." "But you'll never find it," retorts Ben. "Then I suppose the hunt is on for both of us," snorts Charles, creepily suggesting that even with the stakes so much higher now, their feud is but a game. "I suppose it is," agrees Ben, before signing off with, "sleep tight, Charles."

And, of course, this last scene was the second "WTF" moment. Rules? What rules? Is this entire Linus-Widmore war some sort of bizarre game? If so, who is its arbiter? What are the stakes? And what were the rules before Alex died?

For that matter, will Ben really try to kill our beloved Penny? Will he somehow try to convince Sayid, a one-time comrade of Desmond's, to do his dirty work for him? Will this type of revenge be Ben's ultimate undoing?

How exactly was the island Widmore's? Certainly, ties between Widmore and Hanso have been bandied about in the past, but was Widmore involved in DHARMA? Did he make the island available to Hanso? If it was his, why can't he find it? And, it bears repeating, why can't Ben just kill him?

Meanwhile, how is Penny so hard to find? Is she no longer at 423 Cheyne Walk?

In short, one of the most densely-packed scripts we've seen in Lost's 3-plus-year run, and easily one of the top five episodes ever. Even as answers were spooned out, questions continued to pile up. It had been five long weeks between Lost fixes, but man was this juice worth the squeeze.

So that's all for this week, Lostophiles. Until, "Something Nice Back Home" next week (from which two leaked clips are posted here on the spoilers blog), Namaste.