Episode 514 - Faraday Fatefully Considers "the Variable."

The Tease

Miles gets outed! Daniel's memory problems explained!! A shocking death!!! All this, plus lots of plot points getting set in motion, in the antepenultimate episode of season 5, "The Variable."



Foreword

There were so many big reveals this week, each of which feeds off the others, that it's helpful to just lead off with the highlights, then delve deeper:

• Charles Widmore is unambiguously Faraday's father, and unambiguosly the man who staged the fake Oceanic 815 crash site;


• Daniel's memory problems were the result of testing his time projecting machine on himself, and the vegetative state of his girlfriend, Theresa, was the result of his mistakenly thinking the self-test went off flawlessly;


• Daniel's purpose for returning to the island was to try to change the future by using Jughead to blow up the energy source under the Swan station to prevent the hatch, flight 815 crash, freighter arrival and time skipping from ever happening; and


• Eloise Hawking's guiding of the destinies of our characters was always designed to send them all back to 1977...even though she knew her younger self would end up killing her son, Daniel.

So with these major points laid out, let's dig deeper, shall we?

1980-something

Poor little Daniel - he wanted to play his piano, and, as a boy, seemed quite good at it. But then in came his mother, a young Eloise Hawking. Eloise, already crying when she entered the parlor, asked if Daniel knows what destiny means, then explains it’s that everyone has a special gift that must be nurtured. She stops his metornome and asks how many beats have gone by since he started, and he dutifully answers, "864." She explains to him that his gift is math and science, and it’s her job to keep him on his path. Unfortunately, there's no more time for the distraction of the piano. He insists he can do both – he can make time. Lamenting, Eloise smiles, "if only you could."

1990-something
At graduation from Oxford, as the youngest doctoral candidate in its history, Daniel introduces his mother to Theresa - the girl he would eventually doom to a vegetative state, kept alive by Widmore money. Elloise offers to take him to lunch, but rudely dismisses Daniel's request to bring Theresa. Dan is not pleased. They go to an Indian restaurant. Mom insists Theresa is just his research assistant, not his girlfriend. She tells him he won’t have time for relationships, and the women in his life will be terribly hurt, then backtracks and says his work will be important. He tells her he got a 1.5 million pound grant from a Charles Widmore. She pauses, recognizing the name, then says she doesn’t want to fight with him. She came to congratulate him. She gives him a present, then says good luck, “and I do hope you know that I did mean that.” He opens it – it’s the journal he would eventually fill with DHARMA facts.

Aside Number 1 - Eloise, who always seems to know what will happen (or at least what "has to" happen), has guided Daniel his whole life to pursue physics, at the expense of other interests (pianos...girls...). She's pushed him, made him the youngest to succeed in his field. It's almost as though he had to accomplish so much by a certain time in history...

2004
In a rehash of Daniel's first flashback from season 4, he sees the footage of the fake Oceanic 815 being discovered, and cries, but doesn’t know why he’s upset. There’s a knock at the door. It’s Widmore. Dan apologizes, and says his condition affects his memory. Charles says not to be embarrassed, they never met, then introduces himself. He lifts and pushes aside an issue of Wired magazine.

Aside Number 2 - the great thing about the internet is that, although it was clear that the Wired issue was significant, I didn't have to do any research to figure out how so. See the following explanation from Jeff Jensen at EW.com: "It was the August 2003 issue of Wired — 'The Super-Powers Issue' — devoted to the plausible science behind far-fetched stuff like invisibility, X-ray vision, and yes, time travel. The cover featured an archetypal superhero blasting white light out of his Cyclops-visored eyes and breaking a link of chain with his Man of Steel bare hands. The headline: 'The Impossible Gets Real!'" Clearly, this issue has plenty of significance to Lost - time travel, mental powers, agelessness...

Daniel tells Charles he wanted to thank him before leaving Oxford, but Charles interrupts, "you mean before you were dismissed?" Daniel explains that he tested the machine on himself before he used it on Theresa.

Aside Number 3 - Ever since Desmond discovered Theresa, we've been made to believe that Daniel breached all sense of ethics and used his girlfriend as a human test subject, wiping out her mind in the process. Now we have the explanation, both for what he did to Theresa, and the hints that his memory wasn't all that great - he tested the device on himself, first. Not finding any side effects, he then tested the machine on Theresa. She ended up badly hurt, and then, only later, did his memory start to go on him. You have to wonder if, deep in his lost memories, there may have been some knowledge about Oceanic 815's real fate before he saw the crash site footage. More on that later...

Widmore says he’s there to offer a new opportunity. Dan says he doesn’t know why the plane crash is bothering him so much. "Daniel," says Charles, "what if I told you they aren’t dead? What if I told you the plane was a fake, an elaborate, expensive fake?" Charles admits (finally) that he staged the crash, to keep others from finding the real crash site, and further admits he told Daniel because he wouldn't remember by the following day, anyway. Charles says he wants to send Daniel to the island, which would further his research, show him things he never dreamed of, and heal his mind and memory (hence the memory tests Charlotte ran with Daniel last season, which indicated he had improved). Daniel asks why Charles was doing this for him. Smiling, Charles says, "because you’re a man of tremendous gifts, and it would be a shame to see them go to waste." (Silently, we all said, "no, Luke, I am your father). Daniel responds, "you sound like my mother." Charles responds, "that’s because we’re old friends" (and I am your father...no wait...didn't say that there).

Aside Number 4 - Great to see the who faked the crash site thing finally resolved. Also kind of cool that it wasn't Ben (potentially redeeming Ben, at least partially), and that Charles may have had a "good" reason to do it himself (potentially redeeming Charles). I'm really starting to like my developing theory that the Charles-Ben conflict is just between them, but is not the great big war that we keep hearing is coming.

Later, Eloise enters while Daniel plays the piano. asks when she got there. She would have called, she tells him, but he would have forgotten. She hears he was offered the job, and came to tell him it’s very important he take up the offer. (Shades of Eloise telling Desmond to forget Penny and go to the island to push the button for three years). Daniel says he can’t, because he doesn’t know how to do what Widmore needs anymore. She says if the story about the island healing him is true, he could go about his work, and urges him on. "Will it make you proud of me?" Daniel asks sheepishly. When she says yes, he says, "then I’ll do it."

Aside Number 5 - five seasons in, and, after all the daddy issues, Daniel becomes the first Lost character with serious mommy issues. Even without knowing, at this point, how the episode ended, however, it's pretty clear that when Eloise Hawking tells you to stick with a plan, you should run the other way.

2007
Returning to Long Beach, after Ben shot Desmond, we see Des rushed to the OR, with Penny and Charlie chasing behind. Hours pass, and Eloise comes to see them. She says Charlie has his father’s hair, then claims it’s her son’s fault that Des was shot. Penny asks if her son is Ben, and Eloise first scoffs at the very notion, then explains her son is Daniel. Penny has trouble wrapping her head around all this. Elly apologizes for Desmond becoming a casualty of conflict that’s bigger than them. For the first time in a long time, she explains, she doesn’t know what’s going to happen next. A nurse comes to get Penny, and says Desmond is fine, and the other nurse will watch Charlie.

Aside Number 6 - for a while it has seemed that, in some way, Ben, Eloise and Charles have had some foreknowledge of the events that have transpired on Lost. Perhaps Daniel had this knowledge, too, but lost it during his memory wipe. Now, for whatever reason, though, December 2007 seems to be the end of the effective range of their clairvoyance. Ben didn't know that Locke would be resurrected. Eloise doesn't know if Desmond would survive (but query her insistence that the island wasn't finished with him). And Charles...when he arrives, it will be clear that he doesn't know if Penny was ok. Indeed, holes in their collective confidence that they knew the future first appeared when Ben was startled to see Alex gunned down, only to mutter, "he changed the rules." All of this suggests that Daniel's theory that "whatever happened, happened" is not quite right, and that the mutable future, for whatever reason, became unknowable at this time - December 2007. So can the past be changed, as well? More on this later...

Penny goes in to see Desmond. She was scared she’d lost him. "I promised you, Penny. I promised you I’d never leave you again." (Every scene these two have together makes me weepy. I'm such a girl). They kiss. Eloise leaves, and Charles greets her. He asks if Desmond was alright, then seems relieved to discover that he is - which is odd, considering his relationship with Desmond. "Your daughter’s in there, too," nudges Eloise. "Why don’t you go in there and say hello?" He says his relationship with Penny was something he had to sacrifice. Angrily, Eloise says, "don’t talk to me about sacrifice." She says she sent her son back to the island, knowing full well...but Charles interrupts her, with the not-so-shocking reveal, "he’s my son, too, Eloise." She slaps him, and leaves in a cab.

Aside Number 7 - We obviously still don't know the outcome, but it's pretty clear, again, that Charles and Eloise have manipulated events to get us to this point in the story. It also seems clear that Charles never really disliked Desmond. He just needed to motivate Mr. Hume to compete in that boat race, landing him on the island (in much the same way Eloise told time-traveling Desmond to continue on that path, even knowing that to do so would leave him trapped in a hatch for three years). At least one reader told me this week that he knew the outcome of the episode, and I figure this must have been the moment when that took place. Me, I just watched, comfortable in the Jack or Locke-like belief that Lost would eventually reveal to me what Eloise meant.

1977
Fresh off the sub, Daniel tells Miles that he came back because of the induction photo showing Jack, Kate and Hurley. He insists Miles take him to Jack. They wake Jack up. Daniel says he was at DHARMA headquarters in Ann Arbor doing research. Jack explains that Eloise was the one who told him to get on a plane. "How did she convince you," asks Daniel. "Did she tell you it was your destiny? I got bad news for you Jack. You don’t belong here at all." (Like I said - when Eloise sends you on a crazy errand, you just...say...NO!!!)

Jack wants to know more, but Daniel heads off the Orchid. Jack goes to see Sawyer. Sawyer says he’d love to trade theories but he’s busy. Juliet makes him invite Jack in. Sawyer explains the Phil kerfuffle, and shows him Phil tied up in the closet.

Daniel flips through his diary at the Orchid. He sees Chang pull up, says they’re right on time, and tells Miles he’ll be back in 10 minutes. He reads his book as he goes down the elevator. This is the opening scene of the season again, this time from Daniel's perspective. Daniel sees Chang's talk with the worker, then grabs the hard hat and canister to blend in. He sees the injured worker, then goes to see Chang. Chang says he remembers his arrival with LaFleur. Daniel says Chang needs to evacuate the island, because the injured man was hurt by the drilling. The same thing will happen, he explains, in 6 hours at the Swan station site, where the energy is 30,000 times stronger, and the accident will be catastrophic. He reveals he knows this because he’s from the future. Dan follows Chang out of the station. Miles overhears Chang insisting Daniel was playing a joke based on overhearing his conversation about time travel with the worker. Daniel shows him the equations that won’t be discovered for 20 years. Miles tries to shut Daniel up, but Daniel reveals that Miles is his son (hello - two Chinese guys named Miles on the same island???) Chang asks if it’s true, but Miles denies it, so Chang tells Daniel to stay away. As he leaves, Miles asks why Daniel outed him, and Daniel says he’s making sure his father does what he’s supposed to do.

Aside Number 8 - For most of the 1977 scenes in this episode, Daniel seems deliberately to be making a mess of things in ways that will motivate actions to be taken. Here, he got Chang thinking about Miles being his grown up son. Later, we'll see him take all sorts of actions that make no sense unless you figure he wanted to bring about the awful results that ensued.

Sawyer assembles the DHARMA-inducted Lostaways, and tells them the party’s over. There’s no choice but to leave. Kate wonders how long before Phil’s missed. Sawyer says they can either commandeer the sub or flee to the jungle. Jin won’t take the sub until Sun is found, and Hurley doesn’t like leaving abruptly after trying so hard to get back. There’s a knock, and it’s Farraday and Miles. Sawyer asks Miles if "Twitchy" is still crazy, and Miles responds, "whole new level man." Farraday apologizes to Jack, for his abruptness then asks the room where he can find the hostiles. Juliet asks why he needs to know that, and Daniel responds, "because one of them is his mother, and she’s the only person on the island who can get them back to where they belong."

Aside Number 9 - not that there was much doubt by now that Eloise and Elly the Other were one and the same. But anyone not following along with a score card connected the dots here.

Jack says they don’t belong there, but Sawyer says "I belonged here just fine until you came along." Jack asks Kate how to get to the hostiles, but Sawyer tries to stop her. "Come with us, Freckles." Hearing this, and knowing now that the party between them really is over, Juliet tells Kate the code for the fence, 141717. She urges her to take Daniel, then tells Sawyer, "it’s over here for us, anyways.: Miles gives Daniel the keys, and Kate and Jack leave with him. Sawyer tells them on their way out, "when you realize you’ve made a huge mistake, we’ll be back at the beach, right where we started." James tells Hurley, Jin and Miles to pack what they can and meet back in 20 minutes. He takes Juliet’s hand.

Kate says they should bring guns, and Jack points out he can get the guns from the locker in the motor pool. Daniel sees young Charlotte on the swing, sneaking some chocolate, and goes to talk to her. “I’m not allowed to have chocolate before dinner," she says, shyly, which explains why this phrase became her dying words later. Daniel says it’s okay, he won’t tell. He says he’s new there, and asks if she knows Dr. Chang. Daniel says "hopefully really soon he’ll tell people to get on the sub and leave. When he does, you and your mommy have to leave. In case what I’m doing doesn’t work, you have to leave. I tried to avoid telling you this. I didn’t think I could change things, but maybe I can."

Aside Number 10 - Obviously, this is the conversation Charlotte remembered at her death, the one that perversely convinced her to return to the island, only to die there. But will she die? Daniel seems oddly confident that this go-around, things may have changed.

As they gear up, Radzinsky pulls up. He wants to know why Farraday isn’t at the Swan site. Daniel's carlessness in letting Radzinsky see he has a gun borders on the intentional, and Radzinsky and his men pull guns on them. A shot rings out, then everyone starts shooting. Daniel and Radzinsky both get nicked. Jack covers them, and Kate and Dan get in the jeep. Jack shoots some fuel cans, then jumps in the jeep. The windshield gets shot out, but they get away. Radzinsky shouts to sound the alarm.

They arrive at the fence. Kate turns it off. Daniel explains they are mortal, because this is their present, and, for the first time, Jack's "let's just watch and see what happens" attitude becomes noticeably more dire. Kate says it’s just a couple of miles in. She asks Jack if he thinks Daniel knows what he’s doing?

Sawyer and Juliet pack. He offers her the chance to say, “I told you so,” and asks if she still has his back. She asks if he still has hers. He pauses, sensing the something more about her question, when, suddenly, the alarm goes off. Hurley, guitar case in hand, asks Jin, "that’s not good, right?" Radzinsky goes to see Lafleur to report what happened, but he hears Phil in the closet. Radzinsky holds his gun on Sawyer and Juliet, and orders them to the ground.

Kate leads them through the jungle. Jack asks Daniel what they have to talk to Eloise about, why she was wrong, why they don’t belong there. Daniel says in about 4 hours, at the Swan site, there will be a release of catastrophic energy; that DHARMA will have to close off the engergy pocket with concrete in like Chernobyl (and Jack's reaction makes clear that he remembers Sayid saying the same thing about the concrete in the Swan hatch basement back in season 2); they’ll then have to build the hatch, and spend 20 years pushing a button, until Desmond forgets to push it once, bringing down flight 815, and leading the freighter to the island. This whole chain of events will start this afternoon. Daniel explains that, after years of study, he spent so much time studying the constants, he forgot about the variables - people, and their innate ability to change their own destinies. Daniel says he thinks, if he can destroy the energy under the Swan, then the hatch will never be built, and their plane will land like it was supposed to, in Los Angeles. Daniel says he can destroy the energy by detonating the Hydrogen bomb.

As they march on, Kate says this is insane, but Jack notes he’s getting used to that after they got yanked off a flying airplane only to land in 1977. They find the Others camp. Daniel says, "wish me luck," then darts off. Clumsily, he holds the Others at gunpoint, then demands to see Eloise. Richard comes out and apologizes that she’s not there right now. Daniel asks where the bomb is. He gives Richard to the count of three, but then Daniel is shot in the chest…by Eloise. Daniel looks up at her, and says, "you knew, you always knew. You knew this was going to happen, and you sent me here anyway." She asks who he is. He says, "I’m your son," and then he dies.

Aside Number 11 - again, Daniel's tactic for heading into the camp looked like suicide-by Others. A lone gunman coming in and acting like a threat, then marching towards an authority figure while not watching his back or flanks suggests he's either an idiot or knew he would be killed. I suspect the latter, and here's why. Before he got too far into the camp, Daniel deliberately dropped his pack, the one carrying his journal. I think Daniel, like Eloise would decades later, came to realize he needed to die here in order to have a chance to change things in the future. When Eloise wished him luck before sending him off to the freighter, I think she meant it. She knew her younger self would kill this Daniel. But I think she wished him luck in his plan to change history. Then, presumably, if there was no hatch, and no plane crash, there would be no freighter for him to board. No freighter means no being on the island when it goes back in time (if, indeed, it ever would), so no being in 1977 to get shot.

Some people mentioned to me this week that, if they were Kate, would they want to change history? Now she's a free woman. If she never became one of the Oceanic 6, she'd still be a fugitive from justice, with no "son" and no story of heroism to win over the public.

But then the question is which of Daniel's theories is right - the Battlestar Galactica-style "all of this happened before, and all of it will happen again" theory (which, I concede, was more aobut history repeating itself than time travel), or the Terminator-style, "there is no fate but what we make?" We know the "incident" is coming, and that it always happened. What if trying to change the future brings it about? Case in point, Charlotte. It's pretty clear Daniel's actions will order at least a partial evacuation of DHARMA, and young Charlotte and baby Miles will be among those to leave. So then didn't Daniel just cause the same things to happen that he claimed he could change?

Then there's the black hole of foreknowledge that is 2007. We still don't know how the Others knew so much about the future (or thought they knew, in the case of Ben's mistake that got Alex killed). It seems the future is open to change, what with their inability to know what will happen next.

Which makes me wonder, what will happen next for Juliet and Sawyer? They do not seem to be in a good place right now. We know a major death is due to happen in the remaining three hours this season, and right now, it can be any of them.

So I'm looking forward to next week, entitled, "Follow the Leader." Internet chatter suggests it will be focused on the ever-mysterious Richard Alpert, which, if true, could be very exciting. Until then, Namaste.

Theories, Odds and Ends

In this off week, I didn't think I'd post anything. But, as it turns our, I have a couple of theories and observations to share.

The Cop Out
As they come close to finishing the season finale, Lost show runners Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse have been giving a lot of interviews, and recording a lot of podcasts lately. One such interview produced a response to a fan question that, I have to admit, I found a little disappointing.

In my mind, one of the more interesting questions Lost ever asked was how Libby ended up in the Santa Rosa mental hospital at the same time as Hurley, and if there was a greater meaning to that coincidence. Now, however, Darlton has recently said that, in their minds, the Libby story has already been told.

This, to me, is a big let down. I wanted some cool Libby/Hurley connection that perhaps also could hae explained her connection with desmond. Now, it appears, we'll never get that story. So what happened? Here's my guess - Cynthia Watros, who plays Libby, may just not be available for any guest appearances. Another possibility is that, with only 17 episodes left to write and shoot, they just can't find the time divert from the main story to tell us more about Libby (though, again, I was hoping Libby's story and the larger story would have been more connected). A final possibility, which ties in to my next point, is that perhaps the character whose story Libby's would have to link up with will soon get killed off...

Death Watch 2009
Another item that has had the internet buzzing lately is the rumor that a major character would die before season's end. For a while, the assumption had been that this death would come in the season finale, but now, the buzz is that we might see that death this week, in "The Variable."

This brings up the question - who's the next one to join the Lost body count?

In my mind, there are three obvious choices. First and foremost, you have to look at Sayid. As I opined a few weeks ago, his story seems to hae come to a natural end, and with DHARMA cunning for him for his shooting Ben, it would seem his days are numbered.

Second of all, there's Desmond. Sure, he beat Ben to a bloody pulp, but only after getting shot in the abdomen. This doesn't bode well for our favorite Scotsman. On the other hand, Ms. Hawking told Desmond that the island isn't done with him, and, since he has yet to go back, he seems a little less likely to go right now.

My third choice is Hurley. As I theorized last week, his head seems to be churning out a plan to sabotage the Swan station to change the future. I suspect Hurley may inadvertently create the "incident" that will ultimately, decades later, bring down Oceanic 815. Given the tremendous power in the area of the Swan station, if I'm right about Hurley's intention, couldn't he be in serious danger?

Finally, my dark horse is Sawyer. Now, I think Josh Holloway's spot as eye candy for female fans and a vital cog in the Jater/Skater/ Jackliet/ Juliyer quadrangle makes his death a bit of a longshot. But given that he's spend season 5 finally living up to his potential, could a heroic sacrifice be in his future? wouldn't that be the kind of shock Lost prides itself in?

The Magic Number
My last theory is a bit out there, so bear with me. Ever since season 1, we've know about the numbers - 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 - which seem to have a recurring importance. The "Lost Experience" alternate reality game from the second offseason told us that the numbers were constants in the Valenzetti equation - a doomsday forumla that predicts the end of the world. We were also told that DHARMA's primary pupose was to change one of the numbers, and thereby avert this armageddon scenario.

(For their part, Damon and Carlton have said in podcasts since then that the numbers will turn out to have had their signficance since long before Valenzetti's equation was written).

Meanwhile, all along, those numbers repeatedly turned up, in various combinations, in the lives of the Lost characters. See, for example, the flight number, 815 (8-15 - get it?). But now, all of a sudden, in season 5, the number "3" has taken on an added importance. The Oceanic Six were off-island for three years. Team Sawyer spent three years in DHARMA before their former companions came back. And the flight that brought Sun, Jack, Kate, Sayid and Hurley back to the island was flight 316 (3-16). Is it possible that, in some way, the time-hopping antics of those who stayed behind may have actually done what DHARMA, by itself, was unable to do before. In other words, might one of the numbers have changed, for example, from 4 to 3? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Well, if I'm right (and I don't pretend to understand this stuff I wrote enough to have a strong sense that I am), we may learn about it this week, in the Daniel Farraday-centered episode entitled, "The Variable."

Until then, my friends, Namaste.

Ep. 513 - "Some Like it Hoth," or How Hurley Would Change Empire Strikes Back to Avoid Luke's Severed Hand

Foreword
Up to this point in Season 5, Sayid, Jack and Kate have wrestled with the philosophical question of, if you could go back in time, could you kill Hitler (or, more apropos, Ben), as a child, and if you could, should you? In the largely lighthearted “Some Like it Hoth,” which focused (at last) on snarky ghost whisperer Miles Straume, his newly acquired sidekick, Hurley, wrestled with an issue that was almost as deep and metaphysical – if you could go back in time and change The Empire Strikes Back so that Luke and Darth Vader just hug it out (avoiding the whole second Death Star and concomitant visit to Ewok village), could you, and should you? Heady stuff for the inner geek inside most Lost fans.

The Tease
Miles’s origins revealed! A new cultish faction emerges!! Naomi returns in too much makeup and a bad wig!!! All of this, plus the early stages of construction of the Swan station, in “Some Like it Hoth.”

Retraction
Earlier this season, I surmised that the Orchid had been built before the Swan because Daniel Farraday, no longer present in DHARMAville as of 1977, was there during construction. This episode clarifies that the Orchid and Swan were being constructed simultaneously in 1977, and, as we’ll see later, the reason for the confusion.

Flashback - 1980s
We open with a woman who astute observers will recognize as Dr. Pierre Chang’s wife from the opening sequence of the season, and her young son (presumably the baby from that same scene) being shown an apartment. The kid is named Miles (aha! Theory confirmed! Miles Straume is Pierre Chang’s kid – what’s with all the name changing fake-outs?) Mom assures the super he’s quiet, so he demands 2 months up front. She gives Miles change for the vending machine, but he starts to get visions of dead people in Apartment 4. There’s a key under a white rabbit statue.

Aside Number 1 – Lost’s fascination with literary allusions runs rampant throughout this episode. As this scene appears to mark the onset of Miles’s strange ability to commune with the dead, I see the white rabbit as an obvious Alice in Wonderland/ Matrix reference. After all, Miles is following the white rabbit to his first visit to a dead body to feel its dying thoughts, into Wonderland/ out of the Matrix, indeed.

Miles calls to his mother, and she comes running with the super. They find a dead body. Miles says he called out for Kimberly. The super says that’s his wife, who died last year. Miles says he’s still talking, covers his ears, and shouts for the body to stop. (Wonder if Mom got the super to approve the lease application in time!)

1990s
A punky Miles with face piercings and skunk-streaked hair goes to see his ailing mother. It’s obvious they’ve become estranged, Miles has hit a rebellious streak, and Mom is dying from cancer (the baldness and hospice care are a dead giveaway – query if the disease itself is a symptom of her time on the island, or just rotten luck).Although Miles apologizes for not coming sooner, she’s suspicious about why he did come. He says he needs to know why he is “this way”, how he does the things he does, and why she never talked about his father. Angrily, she repeats what’s clearly been a refrain he’s heard since early childhood – “He didn’t care about you.” She says he’s dead, and tells him (and us) his father kicked them out when he was a baby, and didn’t want anything to do with them, so the less he knew, the better. She never told Miles so as to protect him. She says his dad’s been dead a long time. Noting the opportunity to do “that thing he does” to get answers from Dad’s remains, Miles asks where the body is. She responds, “somewhere you can never go.”

Aside Number 2 – This explains Miles’ lack of memory of having been on the island. Unlike Charlotte, who left later in childhood, Miles got the heave-ho when he was but an infant. What’s interesting is that the mothers of both Miles and Charlotte seemed dead set against their offspring learning about the island from whence they came. I can’t help but wonder, given what we already know about Chang, and what we see from him in the 1977 portions of this episode, if his forcible ejection of his wife and child was more a product of protecting them from some Hostile or DHARMA inflicted danger, rather than true lovelessness. More on this later.

2004
Miles is hired to help a “Mr. Gray” tell his recently dead son that he loved him, and lets slip that the son’s cremation makes it difficult for him to commune (i.e. no body, no talkie). Of course, this being Miles, he takes the money and walks off, anyway. As he leaves, he’s greeted by Naomi (in an awful wig and too much blush), who says her employers have been monitoring his work for a while. She asks him to join her at a nearby restaurant.

Aside Number 3 – the parameters of Miles’s ability are starting to come into focus. We now know a dead body is part of what he needs to commune with the dead. It’s an interesting limitation – as he informs Hurley later in the episode, when a person dies, the electrical impulses of the brain stop, so there’s nothing left to have a conversation with. So then why does having a body present make a difference in his ability to read them? We didn’t get it in this episode, but I wonder if we will discover whether there is an explanation for Miles having the ability at all, and, if so, if that explanation will clarify the mechanics of it.

Naomi takes Miles to a closed kitchen, where there’s a body (so much for the assumption Miles was getting fed at this meeting). She tosses him money, and asks what he can say about the man. Miles closes his eyes – His name is Felix, he was on his way to deliver something to a guy named Widmore. The delivery was papers, photos, pictures of empty graves, and a purchase order for an old airplane. Confirming he passed her test, she says she’s leading an expedition to an island, looking for a man that’s hard to find. She needs him, because the island has lots of deceased people, and the bodies can help lead the way to the man. Ever the pragmatist, Miles responds, “as much as hunting down a mass murderer sounds fun, I think I’ll pass.” She says her employer is willing to pay $1.6 million dollars. Pragmatism, it seems, has a price.

Aside Number 4 – This scene answered a lot of questions – First, we learned why Miles demanded $3.2 million from Ben in exchange for silence – it was double the offer from Widmore. Also, we learned why Miles was recruited for the freighter expedition last season – based on the belief that the corpses of Ben’s victims would rat out his location. Finally, we learned that Charles Widmore was, in fact, behind the phony flight 815 crash site…

…or did we? After all, the items Felix’s corpse told Miles about ended up in the possession of first Tom, then Ben. Jeff Jensen suggests an alternate explanation, i.e. that Felix uncovered Ben’s plot to fake the crash site, and was on his way to report the information to Widmore, when Tom intercepted him, killed him, and took the evidence. This kind of mutually exclusive binary theorizing is part of what makes Lost so much fun. My gut feeling is that the first explanation is correct. I do think Widmore faked the crash site to keep anyone else from finding “his” island. But since the Ben/Charles pendulum of who’s the bigger bad keeps swinging, I’m open to the fact that, for example, it makes little sense for one Widmore operative in L.A. to be the guy who both purchased the airplane and who dug up the Asian graves used to put all the bodies on board.

At night, men jump out of a van and shove Miles and his just-bought fish tacos in the back. The man up front says he’s Bram, and we recognize Bram as being one of Ilana’s henchmen on Hydra island. He warns Miles not to get on the freighter, and asks him the same silly riddle Ilana would ask Frank three years later, “what lies in the shadow of the statue?” Since Miles doesn’t know the answer, Bram says, he’s not ready for the island. Bram promises that if Miles joins his group instead of Widmore’s, he’ll learn all about his gift, and his father. Miles claims he stopped caring about those things year before, but he does care about money. He demands $3.2 million – the same demand he would later make of Ben. That’s a non-starter, so Bram’s men toss Miles out of the van. Bram says, “you’re playing for the wrong team.” “Yeah,” Miles retorts, “which team are you on?” Bram smiles menacingly, “the one that’s going to win.”

Aside Number 5 – this may have been one of the most important scenes thus far this season. The obvious assumption last week had been that Ilana’s crew were affiliated with Charles Widmore. After all, they seem to be mounting another hostile incursion onto the island, and to have superior knowledge about the island than Frank. Also, her claim to Sayid to be working for the family of one of the men he killed, coupled with Ben’s claim to Sayid that he had been killing Widmore associates, led to the obvious conclusion that Ilana was part of Widmore’s off-island organization.

Except now, Bram came along and tried to convince Miles to join them instead of Widmore. All of a sudden this opens up the possibility that the “war” that’s coming will not be between Ben and Charles, but between the Others and this new, mysterious group of people. Ben and Charles have their rivalry, but it appears to be over who will lead the Others in the conflict to come, suggesting Season 6 will be about something that up to now had been completely unsuggested.

I’m also curious if Bram can actually back up the offer to tell Miles about his ability, an about his father (at least with respect to the latter, as I’ll discuss below, Miles is going to figure that part out on his own). What connection, if any, does the Shadow Statue cult have with Chang and/or DHARMA?

Finally – seriously, what lies in the shadow of the statue???

Miles, packed to leave, goes back to see Mr. Gray, and returns the money. He admits to having lied, and, apparently a bit moved by Bram’s mention of his father, says it would be unfair to Gray’s son to take the money like this, since, if dad wanted his son to know he loved him, he should have told him before he died.

Aside Number 6 – we now know that Miles isn’t really just about the money. He does care about his dad. But I’m guessing that Bram’s intervention at least made it clear to him that the island and his long-forgotten father are in fact connected. Miles being Miles, he’ll take the money, anyway. But I guess he figures he can find his father’s body on the island, and get his answers and get paid $1.6 million for doing it.

1977
Miles gets a radio call from Sawyer, telling him to erase the tape of the security camera feed from perimeter fence 4. Sawyer says he needs to find the escaped hostile (who, Miles pointedly reminds him, is Sayid). Miles pops the tape, but Horace comes in looking for Lafleur. Horace asks if Miles can be trusted, and he gives him a package for Radzinsky, who is in section 334, which Miles comments is in Hostile territory. Horace grimaces, “welcome to the circle of trust,” then says Radzinsky will give him something in return, to bring back and he’s not to look at it. Of course, this exchange makes it impossible for Miles to erase the popped security tape…

Miles drives out toward 334, and Radzinsky, wearing a black DHARMA jumpsuit with the Swan station logo on it, steps out of the bushes and stops him at gunpoint. Miles gives him the sack, and Radzinsky whistles. The sack contains a body bag. Two helmeted workers bring out a body. Radzinsky says the death was an accident, and that the man fell into a ditch. Miles notices the hole in the body’s head, and asks, “that ditch had a gun?” Radzinsky (whose fate as ceiling decoration gets more delicious every time he opens his mouth) says “knowing that is not your job. Your job is to do what I tell you.” The stooges load the body into the van, then depart with Radzkinsky. Miles unzips the bag, and asks the body what really happened.

Back at the security station, Miles finds Horace talking to Chang over the phone. He hears Horace say, “it was caused by electromagnetism, he never knew.” Horace tells Miles to take the body to Chang at the Orchid station. At the motor pool, Miles finds Hurley loading the van (with the body still inside) to take lunch to the Orchid. After some half-assed protesting, Miles is convinced to allow Hurley carpool with him.

Aside Number 7 – with no disrespect to the late Charlie Pace, I’m loving the Hurley/Miles pairing. They make a great buddy comedy team. Both of them have some serious geekiness going on, but Hurley’s is so rosy, while Miles’s is so dark. It makes for some great banter.

Kate comes back to find Juliet, and thanks her for sending James. Roger comes in, nervous, and notices Ben is gone. Juliet says he’s not dead, and pretends not to know where he went. Roger says he’s calling security, and leaves. Juliet turns to Kate and says, “well, here we go.”

Aside Number 8 – I kind of like Kate and Juliet as a pair, too. Kate really hasn’t had much of a girlfriend, other than Cassidey, in two brief appearances. Now that the “don’t mess with my Sawyer” phase is past them, they seem capable of making a good pair.

As Miles drives, Hurley writes in a Pearl station notebook, and asks how to spell “bounty hunter,” then says what he’s writing is personal. Hurley smells something rank, worries it might be his sandwiches, and demands that Miles pull over so he can check if they’ve gone bad. Naturally, he finds the body. Miles tries to play it cool: “that’s traditionally what you put in a body bag.” Miles says his name is Alvarez, he was digging a hole and thinking about his girlfriend, when he felt a pain. His filling got yanked out of his tooth by a powerful magnetic force, and pulled upward through his head. Hurley susses out Miles’ ability to talk to the departed, and assures him, “don’t worry dude, your secret’s safe with me. Want to know why? Because I can talk to dead people, too.”

Aside Number 9 – I guess Miles kind of needs Hurley, and senses that in a way. He does absolutely nothing to prevent Hurley from figuring out the secret about the body, or about his ability.

As for the way that Alvarez died…shouldn’t that right there be a sign that messing with so much electromagnetic energy could be dangerous, i.e. could lead to an incident???

Roger drinks DHARMA beer alone on the swingset. Kate joins him. He says he’s “pretty far from ok.” Kate tries to assure him things will work out, and helps herself to a beer. She says she has a feeling he’ll be ok, and urges him not to give up hope. This makes Roger suspicious, and he wonders why she’s so interested in his kid? When she tries to squirm out of the interrogation, he just gets mad, yells, “if you want help, Kate, why don’t you just mind your own business?” and storms off.

Aside Number 10 – this whole Kate/ Roger thing is a bit disappointing. Isn’t she like the best secret-keeper on the island? Wasn’t she just begging for his suspicions to be raised? Is she trying to deliberately bring the purge about?

As the Hurley/Miles pairing’s bromance is serenaded by “Love will keep us together” on the radio, Hurley tells Miles about his conversations with dead people, how he actually sees them, and how they play chess. Miles scoffs that that’s not how it works, which is all Hurley needs. “A-ha! You wouldn’t know how it works if you couldn’t do it!” Miles admits it, but says it’s just a feeling a he gets near a body. Hurley mulls this over, then insists, “you’re just jealous my power is better than yours.” Boo-yah!

They arrive at the Orchid construction site. Chang comes out to greet them, and asks what Hurley is doing there. Miles’s instructions were to come alone. Hurley says, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about the body. Chang brings down his most threatening look, and asks Hurley, “how do you feel about Polar Bear Feces? Because if you say one word of this, you’ll be sent to the Hydra station, weighing turds for their ridiculous experiments.” He asks if Miles can handle staying there until he comes back, then leads two workers off with the body. Hurley calls Chang a douche, and Miles responds, “that douche is my dad.”

Aside Number 11 – It’s readily apparent that there are multiple layers of what’s going on with DHARMA. Inside the “circle of trust,” there’s Horace, Radzinsky and Chang messing with awesome island powers at the Orchid and the Swan stations. But then there’s the real idealists, who believe the DHARMA hype. They’re apparently the ones staffing the Hydra and similarly innocuous stations. Since we now know we can’t trust the DHARMA videos and films, I wonder just what those people were up to?

Hurley asks Miles how he knows that Chang is his dad. Miles says their third day, his mother ended up in line behind them at lunch, so he kind of pieced it together. Hurley wonders if Chang would let Miles change his own diaper, and, on a more serious note, asks why Miles doesn’t try to save his father from the imminent purge? Miles insists, he can’t save him, no matter what he does, so why bother? Pierre returns and demands a ride to see Radzinsky. Hurley asks what happened to the body, and Chang, shooting that polar bear poop look, asks, “what body?”

Roger finds Jack cleaning a class room blackboard, its ancient Egypt lesson plan still visible. Jack says he thought he’d cover for Roger, who’s obviously upset about Ben. Roger angrily dismisses him. Jack starts to leave, but Roger asks if Jack knows Kate, “’cause she’s got some kind of weird thing for my kid.” He says he suspects her involvement in Ben’s disappearance, and starts to gear up to go to Horace and report her. Jack says he thinks Roger’s had a hell of a day, then got drunk, and that all put weird ideas in his head. He says Kate’s his friend, and she’d never do anything to hurt Ben. Roger says, “sure,” then walks off.

Aside Number 12 – What’s up with all the Egypt references? If the Others built the temple wall, are they Egyptian? If the Others and DHARMA are separate, why does Egyptian culture seep into DHARMA?

Hurley sits in the back while Miles drives Chang to 334. Hurley asks what happens in the Orchid, but Chang gives a harrumph, and says it’s classified. Hurley asks if he’s allowed to tell his wife, or his 3 month old son, Miles. Chang explains they named their kid based on Miles Davis, because his wife is a jazz fan, though he prefers Country. Hurley tries to get Miles and Chang to bond, and suggests they all get a beer later. Chang abruptly orders Miles to stop. He gets out, then pushes open a gate disguised as a wall of foliage. It’s the Swan construction site. Hurley sees the hatch getting marked with the numbers, and mutters to himself that the last one will be 42. Miles asks how Hurley knew that. “Because, dude, they’re building our hatch.” Miles asks, “what hatch?” Hurley responds, “the one that crashed our plane.”

Aside Number 13 – you can almost see the gears in Hurley’s brain turning. He’s always been a fan of the “you CAN change time” theory. As we’ll soon learn, he even believes he can take advantage of his back-in-time jump to improve pop culture. Now, here, Hurley sees the construction of an installation that will one day be responsible for the crash of flight 815, the death of friends like Charlie and Boone, and so much suffering. What if Hurley, for all his optimism about the ability to change the past, decides to try to stop the Swan from becoming operational? Taking this a step further, what if Hurley’s attempt fails miserably, and becomes the “incident” we know is coming?

As they drive off, Hurley starts telling Miles about what’s going to happen at the Swan. Hurley asks if this is awesome, getting to know his dad. Miles stops short. “I don’t want to hang out with my dad,” protests Miles, “I don’t want to know him better, and stuff. He wasn’t around when I was little.” Hurley says he has the chance to get to know him now. Miles grabs Hurley’s note book. It turns out to be the script for the Empire Strikes Back. (the “fury” fists typo was pretty funny, eh?) Hurley suggests, since it’s 1977, and Star Wars just came out, he’ll send Lucas a sequel script, with a couple of improvements. His primary goal? Preventing the Ewoks from showing up and ruining Return of the Jedi.

James returns home, and finds Juliet, and Jack. Jack tells Sawyer that Roger thinks Kate had something to do with Ben’s disappearance. Jack says he thinks Roger isn’t going to say anything to anyone for now. Sawyer thanks him for filling him in. Sawyer/LaFleur is then greeted by Phil, who says, “we got a development. You better come to the office.” Phil says he knows who took Ben, and holds up the tape. Sawyer says he has an explanation. He brings Phil inside, and asks if he’s talked to Horace yet. Phil says no, so Sawyer knocks him out cold with one punch, then tells Juliet to get some rope. As Juliet said to Kate, Sawyer tells Juliet, “and here we go.” (It’s so cute – they have a catchphrase together).

Aside Number 14 – By now, I think, James and Juliet had already suspected that they’d seen the beginning of the end of their idyllic DHARMA life. I wonder if they have a game plan now that Phil, Roger and Radzinsky have all gotten suspicious of them, or are they just going to keep trying to forestall the inevitable?

Miles and Hurley check in the van. Hurley apologizes for saying he was scared to talk to his dad. Hurley says his dad left when he was 10, but best thing he ever did was give him a second chance. Miles says he was just a baby, and he never knew him. Hurley says that was Luke’s attitude, too. But instead of talking about it when he met Vader, he lost his hand. But at what cost? If they had just talked it out, they could have avoided the loss of the hand, the second Death Star, Vader’s death, and the Ewoks. “And let’s face it, the Ewoks sucked, dude.”

Aside Number 15 – okay, maybe it’s because I was 8 the first time I saw Return of the Jedi, but I never thought the Ewoks ruined anything. There, I said it. Jar Jar Binks? Total bantha poodoo.

Miles strolls over towards the Chang’s house, and sees his young self, being read to by his father. A phone call comes in, and Pierre hands baby Miles to his mother. Pierre hangs up and goes outside. He sees Miles, and says he needs him. It’s touching the way Miles, who watched the scene of Pierre and his own younger self, asked, “you do?” as though Chang’s statement had a deeper meaning. But Pierre says he needs Miles to go pick up some scientists who just arrived on the sub from Ann Arbor (do submarines really have a way to get to Michigan). Miles goes the Galaga’s dock, and sees that one of those scientists, wearing a black jumpsuit like Radzinsky’s, is none other than Daniel Farraday. “Hey, Miles,” says Dan to his former colleague. “Long time, no see.”

Aside Number 16 – I had worried that some ill had befallen Mr. Farraday, what with Sawyer’s oblique statement that he wasn’t there anymore. No, it seems, Farraday left, presumably on that first sub out after they first stumbled into planet DHARMA. With his return, hopefully, we’ll get some more exposition, some more explanation. This return of Daniel, coupled with the season's opening scene - in which baby Miles was crying before Chang encountered Farraday in the Orchid construction area - further clarifies that we have not yet reached that teaser moment. The next episode, entitled “The Variable,” looks to be Daniel-focused. Alas, it only airs after a week off (i.e. there’s just a recap special this week). So until then, Namaste!

Ep 512 - Unless You're John Locke, "Dead Is Dead"

The Tease

Ben's judgment passed! Ilana's mystery deepens!! Penny's fate revealed!!! All this, plus some pretty fantastic improvised lying from Ben, all in "Dead is Dead."

1977

The story opens with fairly ridiculously manly Charles Widmore riding into the Others' jungle camp like some bad Joan Wilder romantic hero. He's right peeved at Richard for bringing Ben to the temple to heal and then the camp to convalesce, but Richard shuts him up with the magic words that Jacob wanted him to do it. Charles can't argue with Richard's logic that "the island chooses who the island chooses." So Charles goes in to make friends with young Ben. Ben is apprehensive at the thought of being sent back to his dad, but Charles reassures him, "just because you’re living with them, doesn’t mean you can’t be one of us. You should be dead, but this island, it saved your life."

Aside Number 1 - Not much revealed here, except for the Others/Hostiles' pre-barracks existence as tented nomads, and Widmore's fascination with really bad haircuts. Perhaps the seeds were already being planted here for the extermination of DHARMA, with thoughts of young Ben as the infiltrator they would need. A running theme throughout this episode was that, perhaps, it was Charles, and not the island, who wanted non-Others wiped out. Indeed, we get the sense that it was young Charles who led the charge to kill the army encroachers in 1954. This was who Jacob put in charge?

1988

Ben and young Ethan, sporting ridonculous 80s haircuts, spy on Rousseau’s makeshift camp. Ethan offers to do it for Ben if he wants (and really, for a kid as young as Ethan was to be so bloodthirsty should have been a sign to the Others that he might someday go off the reservation like he did with Claire and Charlie). Ben stalks sleeping Danielle with a Luger, but is surprised to see baby Alex. Danielle awakens and accuses him of infecting her people. As he holds her at gunpoint, Ben takes Alex. He tells Danielle to be grateful she's still alive. "If you ever follow me, if you ever look for me," he warns, "I’ll kill you. And if you want your child to live, every time you hear whispers, you run the other way." With that, Ben is gone.

Aside 2 - There are several interesting things about this scene. First, it's odd that Danielle didn't seem to recognize Ben as the individual who stole her baby when she saw him again 16 years later. Sure, she went pretty bonkers, but would you really forget the last human face you saw before 16 years of isolation?

Also, Ben's acknowledgement of the whispers is quite telling. Again, I'm pretty lost on just what the whispers really are. My theory that they're the time-lost voices of Sawyer's group doesn't seem to work anymore. But at least now we know that they're real, because Ben acknowledged them. And we also know why Rousseau was so freaked out by them.

Finally, we see the first inkling of Ben's one weakness - he has a thing for moms.

Ben and Ethan bring baby Alex to the Others camp. Charles is displeased that Ben didn't kill Rousseau, and less than moved by the "complication" Ben found in Alex. Charles insists every decision he’s made has been about protecting the island, but Ben challenges him by asking if killing Alex is what Jacob wants? If so, insists Ben, then Charles should do it. But Charles just walks off. Richard sees this defiance, and something seems to register for him.

Aside 3 - Richard's role continues to fascinate. Here we see one of several of his slow-burn coups starting to foment. Charles clearly has started to form agendas beyond those of Jacob and the island. But along comes Ben to take his place...

Early 1990s

As Alex grows, Ben pushes her on a swing. Richard says the sub’s about to leave, and suggests Ben doesn’t have to see "him" off, but Ben insists he does. Charles is being escorted off in handcuffs. Ben accuses Charles of leaving often, breaking rules, and having a daughter off-island. Ben says he (i.e. unlike Charles) would sacrifice anything for the island, but Charles immediately challenges that claim by asking if he'd sacrifice Alex. Ben reminds him that he, not the island, wanted Alex dead, and Charles says he hopes Ben’s right, or else Alex will end up dead, and Ben will end up where Charles was there, being escorted off.

Aside 4 - It's now apparent that Widmore lied to Locke about how he was forced from the island. Ben did not, in fact, trick him into turning the wheel. Rather, the Others as a group ousted him, and took him away in their purloined DHARMA sub, the Galaga. It's perhaps little wonder Charles was willing to kill anyone who got in his way when he sought revenge on Ben - clearly, the Others, as a whole, were complicit in his exile.

I'm also struggling to sort out exactly what "rules" Charles changed when Alex was killed. From this farewell exchange, it certainly seemed that Alex's mortality was far from a settled thing. So then why was Ben so shocked that Keamy killed her?

2007

At a marina, Ben calls Charles, and insists he’s returning to the island, just as soon as he kills Penny. He says he’s looking at Our Mutual Friend right now – the name of the boat Penny’s on (and, we know, the only Charles Dickens book Desmond never read, because he was saving it to be the last thing he ever read). As Ben approaches the slip, where Penny is on deck, Desmond, unloading groceries, sees him and shouts. Ben shoots Desmond through a bag of groceries, then goes to Penny. "Don’t move," he orders, "mot another word." Penny pleads that she and Charles have no relationship. Suddenly little Charlie emerges. Penny pleads with Ben not to hurt him. Ben sees Charlie, and suddenly his mommy weakness causes him to hesitate in the one mission he spent the past two years of his life trying to accomplish. Suddenly, Desmond tackles him, and beats him bloody. Des tosses Ben into the water, and Ben, smiling, lets himself float away.

Aside 5 - per this week's podcast, we're not meant to believe that a carton of milk is any way bullet-proof, and Desmond may not be in as good shape as his rage-and-adrenaline-filled attack on Ben made him look.

Of course, the mystery of how Ben got so beaten and wet before meeting Jack at the airport is now solved. Moreover, Penny's fate has been revealed, and I, for one, am relieved that Lost didn't kill her off. You do not mess with Des-Pen. They provide the only bit of hope we've seen thus far on the show.

It's also great to see that, for one brief instant, Ben's soft spot for mommies (probably the result of his never having had one) overcame his baser instincts.

Two Days Later

Adult Ben wakes up to Locke, where we left off last week. Ben doesn't miss a beat. "My God," he shouts, "you’re alive!" Ben insists he knew Locke would return from the dead. When Locke asks why he seems so surprised, Ben insists, "because it’s one thing to believe it, John. It’s another thing to see it." Ben explains he was trying to go back to the main island because he broke the rules, and came back to answer for what he'd done. "I was going back to be judged." When John asks by whom, Ben responds, ominously, "we don’t even have a word for it, but I believe you call it... 'the monster.'"

Aside 6 - Ben's story here would be almost believeable if 1) he wasn't Ben, and 2) he didn't say the exact opposite later this episode...

On the beach, the 316ers, led by Ilana are working on moving a crate. They refuse Ben’s offer of help, and, cheerily, of tells them to "have a great day." He finds some water. Ceasar approaches. He asks about John, and says John said Ben killed him. Seeing his opportunity to cultivate some mischief, Ben feigns shock. "I killed him? Really? Because he looks fine to me." Ben pretends not to remember him from the plane. "What if he was already here, before we crashed?" Ben suggests John may be crazy, deranged, but Ceasar shows him his purloined shotgun, and says he has Ben’s back.

Aside 7 - would Ben even know how to introduce himself to someone without manipulating him or her?

In the Hydra station, John catches Ben retrieving a picture of him with Alex. John, who's gotten rather cocky since his resurrection, says he hopes they can talk about the elephant in the room. Ben insists killing John was the only way to get him and as many of the others as possible back to the island. "If all I had to do was die," cross-examines Locke, "why did you stop me from killing myself?" Ben says it was for the information crucial information Locke had that he couldn't allow to die with him. "Once you’d given it to me, well, John, I just didn’t have time to talk you back into hanging itself." Ben says he doesn’t know where the rest of the 815ers are, but he knows they came, and it was in the best interests of the island that they did. “I was just hoping for an apology,” smiles Locke, mischievously. He says he’s decided to help Ben, to do what he says he was on his way to do. "If everything you’ve done has been in the best interest of the island, then I’m sure the monster will understand."

Aside 8 - even when Ben's lying, there's usually some amount of truth. Here, it seems he was "mostly" telling the truth, i.e., his explanation for why he stopped Locke from killing himself only to murder him one conversation later actually makes a bit of sense. He learned from Locke that Jin was alive on the island, and that the Oceanic 6 were being gathered by Eloise Hawking. We also get the sense, not only that Ben was lying about having an interest in being judged for his transgressions, but also that Locke knows it, but is enjoying making Ben twist in the wind like this.

They uncover one of the outriggers. Ceasar and three others question what they’re doing, and insists they not go. Ceasar demands John sit down and tell them why he knows so much about the island. Ceasar reaches for his gun, but Ben suddenly has it, and he ...shoots Ceasar(?! OMG, WTF?). Ben then insists he and John are taking the boat, and he tosses the gun to John. “Consider that my apology.”

Aside 9 - did Ceasar just get the Nicky-Paolo treatment? Was this really his sole purpose for being in business class with the O6ers, Ben and Ilana? To get shot on the beach? Or is Ben's gun loaded with rock salt or something similarly stunning but non-lethal?

John and Ben paddle over to the pala ferry dock, and tie off. John notices the other boat, and Ben tells John about Sun and Frank having gotten there first. They discuss Ben's injuries, and Ben says, "I’ve found that friends can be significantly more dangerous than enemies." Ben says they’re heading to his old house, the only place he can summon the monster. John says he thinks Ben’s lying, that he doesn’t think Ben cares about rules (i.e. leaders of the Others who leave can't return), and that he really wants to be judged for killing his daughter.

As they approach New Otherton, John asks whose idea it was to move into the barracks, noting it doesn’t seem like something the island would want. They suddenly see a light from Ben’s house, and a shadow moving in Alex’s room. John suggests Ben check it out. Ben enters, and finds things much as they were left after Keamy’s attack, Risk game and all. There is movement in Alex’s room, which turns out to be Sun. Frank shows him the DHARMA initiation photo from 1977. Ben claims not to know Jack, Hurley and Kate were in DHARMA. Sun says Christian told them to come to the house and wait for Locke. Ben tells them to look outside, and they see Locke standing and waving.

Aside 10 - Ben's reaction here seemes markedly less forced than his hasty stories to Locke were. I have to believe he really is surprised about his former adversaries having joined DHARMA (though less so about their being 30 years in the past). Which is odd, because he certainly grew up around several of them. This brings up the whole "lost memory" thing from last week. Is Ben lying here? It's deliciously frustrating how hard it is to tell at any given moment.

Also, there is a clear indication that Ben recognized the name, Christian. What connection does

he have to Jack's dad?

Locke joins them, and there’s a lot of silent staring. John says he doesn’t know how he’s there, but there's a reason (an observation that doesn't soothe Lapidus). Frank urges Sun to go back to the plane with him, but John says finding Jin means staying with him. Frank says he’s leaving with or without her, but she stays. Frank warns her to watch her back, and leaves. John says Ben has something to do first. Ben reluctantly agrees, then opens his double-layer secret passage. He presses into the ancient tunnel, and lights a lantern. Descending, he enters a crawl space, then emerges in a cave filled with muddy water. He reaches into the water, and ...opens a drain? The fluid empties out, and Ben says, into the drain, "I’ll be outside."

Aside 11 - It's hard to imagine that emptying muddy bath water was how Ben summoned smokey before...and yet, there didn't seem to be anything else in that cave to manipulate, and this was where Ben went before calling Smokey to take out Keamy's men...

Ben emerges, and John is gone. Sun says Jack must have lied about John being dead, but Ben assures her he’s sure John died. Sun asks if he knew John would be resurrected, and Ben insists he had no idea. He insists the island has healed the sick, but nothing like this. "Dead is dead. You don’t get to come back from that, not even here. So the fact that John Locke is walking around this island, scares the living hell out of me." Ben wanrs sun to get inside, because what’s coming out of the jungle is something he can’t control. The bushes start to rustle, but ironically (or not), it’s only Locke. Ben says he knows how to summon the monster, but not where it actually is, but Locke insists he knows, and they need to go to it.

Aside 12 - Ben was considerably more believable when he told Sun he didn't know Locke would be resurrected than when he told Locke the coverse earlier. My take is that Ben really did think he pulled off the perfect island crime - exile, murder of the man who usurped him (as he had Charles), and unpunished return. Too bad that Locke fella keeps insisting on a visit to the monster...

In daylight, Ben asks John how he knows where they’re going. John says he just knows. He points out Ben doesn’t like having to ask questions, and blindly following someone, hoping he’ll lead him to where he needs to be. "Now you know what it was like to be me." Ben says he thinks he knows where they’re going, "where they brought me as a child, where the island healed me." Sure enough, they arrive at the temple. Ben says the structure we've seen a few times now is actually a wall his people built around they temple, to keep people like Sun from seeing it. Ben starts to head on to the actual temple, which is about a half mile further along, but John says they’re not going into the temple – they’re going under it. And he refers to the hole Montand had been taken into. Ben, suddenly fearful, asks Sun a favor – if she ever leaves, tell Desmond he was sorry. She asks for what, and Ben says, tearily, “he’ll know.” Ben descends.

Aside 13 - on the last exchange, by this point in the episode, we hadn't actually seen the resolution of Ben's attack on Penny. This left us with the cold thought that Desmond lived, but Penny (or, gasp, Charlie) didn't. Phew!

Now about this notion that the Others built the wall to keep newbies out of the temple. One of three things is at play here - either Ben is lying (always a possibility), or the Others have been there a very, very long time, or the ancient Egyptian decor is pure theatrics.

I'm also intrigued by the notion that we haven't yet actually seen the temple, a place of ever-increasing mythological resonance for the show.

Finally, did you get, as I did, the sense that Ben knew the hole under the wall was where Smokey was, but he was trying to head for the temple to avoid the confronation he was being marched towards here?

Frank returns to the beach. One of the other survivors says Ilana and three others found guns and claimed to be in charge. Ilana and a couple of the others hold Frank at gunpoint. She asks, in one of the most awesome, non-sequitur lines the show has produced, “what lies in the shadow of the statue?” He can’t answer, so she decks him, and tells her companion to get everyone else and tell them it’s time, and Frank’s coming with them.

Aside 14 - Ceasar may have died prematurely, but Ilana is suddenly upping her game. A few weeks ago I suggested she was, directly or otherwise, working for Widmore when she nabbed Sayid. Now it seems we're seeing the set-up for the war both Ben and Charles said was coming. But I have to wonder if Ilana even knows who either of them is? After all, she's had a few chances to take out Ben, but showed no sign of even recognizing him. Could a Widmore operative not know his chief rival? As for Frank, I'm reminded of Ghostbusters, when Bill Murray smacked Dan Akroyd and said, "Ray, when someone asks if you're a God, you say 'yes!'" Here, when someone unexpectedly pulls a gun on you and asks you what's clearly a code phrase, the correct response is to at least take a guess. That tactic saved Bilbo Baggins from Golum. It couldn't be any worse than not knowing here!

Anyone else wonder what does lie in the shadow of the statue? I've seen it suggested online that some thing it's the bomb, "Jughead." But since I think Jughead is buried near the Swan hatch, while the statue was on the shore, I don't think this is right...

Ben tells John he’s right about why Ben needs to be judged. "All I had to do was go out of the house and go with them. But I didn’t do it. So you were right, John, I did kill Alex, and now I have to answer for that. I appreciate you showing me the way, but I think I can take it from here." Ben moves on, without John, and says he’ll meet him outside if he lives. The floor suddenly gives way, and Ben falls through. John asks if he’s okay, and Ben, taking on the role of an Indiana Jones-type hero all of a sudden, says, "never better." John leaves to find a something to help him get out with. Ben hears a blowing sound, then stands up. The room is filled with hieroglyphs, which seems to surprise Ben. Ben seems able to read or make some of them out. He approaches a large placque, appearing to depict the Egyptian god Anubis talking to a fairly formless monster. His torch blows out, and black smoke comes from a vent. It’s electric, and it envelopes Ben. Ben reexperiences much of his past with Alex, in much the same way Eko experienced his past in Africa when faced with Smokey. Ben is in genuine pain as he sees Alex die again, the first sign of remorse we've ever seen on Ben. Then smokey suddenly recedes, and Ben’s torch relights. Alex suddenly appears behind him. He apologizes to her, and says it was all his fault. She says she knows, then shoves him up against a pillar. "Listen to me you bastard," she growls at her "dad". "I know that you’re already planning to kill John again, and if you do, I will hunt you down and destroy you. You will listen to every word John Locke says, and you will follow." Ben swears he will follow John, and cringes…and then Alex is gone. Ben picks up his torch. Locke returns, and feeds him a rope. Ben stares up at John. Locke asks what happened. And Ben says, meekly, “it let me live.”

Aside 15 - and there's the secret - unlike Eko, Ben actually felt humbled when confronted with his past, and even, as I noted before, a little remorseful. It killed him that he defied what might have been the island's wishes in sparing Alex as a child, only to develop such hubris about his actions that he felt it would be impossible for her to die when he put her in harm's way.

It was great to again see Tania Raymonde on Lost. Alex's death was one of the most shocking and unsettling moments I can recall seeing on television. Here's hoping she'll be to Ben from now one what Head-6 was to Gaius Baltar on Battlestar Galactica.

As for what, exactly, this version of Alex is, and why Ben seemed a little less surprised than one might expect at seeing her - she's obviously very similar to Yemi, and, to some extent, to Christian. Is she one and the same as Smokey? I don't know - the monster had receded into a vent at one side of Ben, and Alex suddenly appeared on the other side. Are the monster and the personalized apparation(s) two sides of the same coin, or in cahoots?

I'm also struck by the fact that Ben, our purported villain, in this episode clearly went on the hero's journey (see Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces). Ben was called to adventure (his return to the island), refused the call (tried to avoid smokey), was assisted by a great aider in Locke, and was forced to journey into the underworld (smokey's lair), only to die and be reborn. Folks, if Campbell is right, then Ben just became a hero in the Lost myth, in a sense, following a tragic/heroic story much like Darth Vader, who fell from grace only to be redeemed again at the end of his story.

And with that blatant Star Wars reference, I'll leave you with another - the title of next week's episode is "Some Like it Hoth," a clear wink to the ice planet in "The Empire Strikes Back." The episode appears to (at last) focus on Miles Straume, his ghost-whispering talent, and why it was he went to the island. Until then, loyal Lostophiles, Namaste!

Ep 511 - "Whatever Happened, Happened," Thanks to Kate and Jack

The Tease

Aaron's story revealed! Ben's Fate is Sealed!! Kate's Errand for Sawyer is...Congealed!! (Ok, no more rhyming teases), all this, plus Hurley's theories on time travel, in the extra-trippy "Whatever Happened, Happened."

Flash…forward?

This episode focused on Kate, and solved her three biggest running mysteries - 1) What did Sawyer ask her to do before jumping out of the helicopter; 2) What happened to Aaron; and 3) What made Kate come back to the island?

2005

Kate drives up to a tract house, with baby Aaron in a car seat. She takes him out and sings, "Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket."

Aside Number 1 - if we didn't already know that Kate and Aaron would be separated one day, this would be the first clue - any parent in the Shephard/Littleton extended family who sings this song to a child seems to disappear from that child's life. See - Christian to baby Claire, Claire to Aaron, and even Ethan to Aaron in the creepy Others nursery.

The house belongs to Sawyer's former con victim/lover, and Kate's former partner in crime, Cassidey, who recognizes Kate from their Iowan escapades and Kate's Sixer fame. She can’t believe Kate survived the plane crash. Kate tells her – Sawyer sent me. She brings money, and tells Cassidey the story. "He told me where to find you, and said to take care of Clementine."

Aside Number 2 - first Kate mystery solved. Not that it was a huge surprise - there was only so much unfinished business left for Sawyer off-island, and caring for the daughter he never met was the only real possibility the show gave us. It's interesting to see in this episode how the Kate-Cassidey friendship grew, particularly since it was at the heart of the Kate-Jack breakup. It's also interesting to see that the one member of the Oceanic Six with the best track record for lying actually spilled the beans about what really happened almost immediately upon returning.

Cassidey asks why Kate trusted her, and Kate responds, "because I thought your daughter should know her father cared." (Project much, Kate?) Kate tells Cassidey about Sawyer’s heroics, but Cassidey thinks he was just being a coward, and running away from a possible "real" relationship with Kate, just like he did with Cassidey. (Project much, Cassidey?) Cassidey asks if Aaron is Sawyer’s. For the first time, Kate slips back into lie mode, claiming she was pregnant before the crash. Cassidey calls her on this, and gets Kate to admit Aaron's not her child, and Kate insists she has to lie for Aaron's sake.

2007

Back, for the fourth time this season, at Slip 23 in Long Beach, Kate leaves the Sun/ Ben confrontation, accusing Jack of pretending to care about Aaron. In the car, Aaron says he’s thirsty, and needs some milk. They go to a store, and Aaron says he wants a juice box. Kate ignores a cell phone call from Jack, but then looks up, and Aaron is gone. She sees him holding hands with a blond woman, who looks surprisingly like a fun-house mirror version of Claire.

Kate takes Aaron back to Cassidey's house, where they're greeted by Clementine, who calls her "Auntie Kate."

Aside Number 3 - Once we knew Cassidey and Clementine were the big secret, this was no real surprise - we'd already seen 2007-era Kate get "caught" on the phone with Cassidey by Jack, which led to his getting suspicious and acting jealous over Sawyer, which led to their breakup. Still, it's nice to see Lost's take on what would happen if Thelma and Louise survived and had kids.

Kate tells Cassidey she's planning to join Jack and return to the island, and about losing Aaron at the supermarket. "As scared as I was," says Kate, "I wasn’t surprised. All I could think was it was about time." Cassidey explains it’s because Kate took him. Kate rationalizes that Aaron was the one who needed her, but Cassidey explains she needed him to fill the void Sawyer left. (Seriously, Cassidey, enough with the projecting!)

At night, Kate goes to a hotel, to Claire’s mother. Kate confesses that Aaron is her grandson, and that Claire is alive. She tells her everything, about the lies, and about the other survivors.

Aside Number 4 - Given that Claire had disappeared before the island did, and the fact that three years have passed since Kate left, it might have been needlessly cruel to tell Mrs. Littleton that her presumed dead daughter was still alive, since Kate had no reason to assume that to be true. I'm just saying she should have chosen her words more carefully, so as not to give a grieving mother sudden hope that may then get dashed again.

Mrs. Littleton asks why they left Claire behind, and Kate explains she disappeared, and left the baby behind. "That’s when I started taking care of Aaron." She again rationalizes that she had to protect him, so she said he was hers. "Why did you lie," asks Aaron's grandmother, "and not come to me?" Kate finally admits, to herself as well as to Claire's mother, "because I needed him." Kate hands over a picture, and says Aaron's asleep two doors down. When she’s ready, he’s waiting for her. Kate says she told him she’s his grandmother, and that she's leaving Aaron with Mrs. Littleton to go back to find Claire. Kate cries over sleeping Aaron, then leaves, with a tearful, "good bye, my baby."

Aside Number 5 - and, mysteries 2 and 3 solved simultaneously. Guilt over having effectively snatched Aaron from Claire and left Claire behind got to Kate. So she left Aaron with his family - his real family - and returned to the island to find and rescue Claire, to reunite mother and child. The assumption, I think, had been that Kate, tired of Jack, needed to go back to Sawyer. At least Juliet should take heart that James was not the focus of Kate's sudden mission to return. Of course, given the speculation that Claire may have died and turned into an island-spirit thingamajig last season, Kate may find herself sadly disappointed.

For that matter, in light of the producers' claim that Emilie De Ravin (Claire) would not appear this season, but would return to the show next season, I toss out this query - does Claire make a better character when she's not actually around? Discuss...

1977

Picking up where we left off in "He's Our You," Jin is awakened by Phil's voice on the walkie talkie, announcing Sayid’s escape. Jin calls in and says Sayid attacked him and headed North. Jin rolls Ben over, and Ben moans, “please help.”

Aside Number 6 - even in light of the surprise attack, and the fact that Sayid obviously shot young Ben, I wonder if Jin was telling the truth here, or covering Sayid's escape. I think the former - after all, Jin has lived here for three years, and I see no compelling reason for him to try to help the guy he once spent part of 4 months with who just attacked him and shot a young boy.

At the barracks, Horace gives out instructions like it's a fire drill (well, there is an actual fire). Jack asks if Sayid was locked up, how did he start the fire? Horace, wondering why the new janitor is bothering to talk directly to him, says suspiciously, "somebody helped him, and it must have been one of us."

Roger asks Kate for help winching the once-burning van out of the building, since she’s from the motor pool. He senses she doesn’t know what she’s doing, and creepily bonds with her over their the fact that DHARMA got both of their skill sets wrong.

He introduces himself as Roger Linus, and Kate is a little taken aback. Jin runs over carrying Ben, and Roger, shocked out of his weird firtation, shouts, "that’s my kid!" Kate totally figures it out now - she's just met young Ben.

Aside Number 7 - please, please, please Damon and Carlton - don't have Kate eschew both Jack and Sawyer to end up with Roger. That would just be...wrong.

Sawyer is checking the security cameras for signs of Sayid when Kate comes to see him. She says she knows the kid was Ben, and Sayid shot him. Horace catches Kate in there, and she leaves before arousing too much suspicion. Horace, Jin, Miles and Phil go to the cell with Sawyer. They find a set of janitor's keys in the door, and realize there are only three people with such a set of keys on the island: Roger, Jack and somebody else. Sawyer has Miles put team Jack under house arrest to keep them away from prying eyes while he figures out his next move. Roger asks Sawyer who did this to Ben, and actually seems worried about Ben. Sawyer asks if Roger has his keys, and Roger discovers he doesn’t. Aside Number 8 - We never really got to see the Roger-Ben relationship between 1971 and the moments leading up to the purge. Did this episode actually help repair their bonds? Did Roger, fearing for the first time that he might lose Ben, actually start to care? If so, it makes Ben's act of patricide all the more revolting. On the other hand, Roger seems like the type who, after Ben (we assume) recovers, will come to blame the kid for making him feel worried and anxious over his health.

Juliet works to save Ben as Sawyer looks on. She can’t find the bleeding – she needs a real surgeon. James knows what he has to do.

Miles stands guard over the newcomers. Hurley watches his had to see if he’s disappearing like in Back to the Future. “You’re an idiot," groans Miles, "it doesn’t work like that.” Sayid, he explains, always shot Ben. "The good news is Linus didn’t die, so the kid can’t either." When asked what happens if he's wrong, Miles retorts, "if I’m wrong, we all stop existing, and nothing matters, does it?" Sawyer then comes for Jack, but Jack refuses to help. Kate stares in disbelief. “If you don’t come with me Jack," urges Sawyer, "that kid’s going to die.” “Then he dies,” says a defiant Jack.Aside Number 9 - What is Jack's problem here? For that matter, why is that Ben has now twice turned out to be a blind spot for Jack's hippocratic oath? More on Jack's petulance later...

Kate sees Sawyer go to explain to Roger what’s happening. She asks Jack what he’s doing. He says they can’t change what happened, and that he’s already done this once, and he did it for Kate (and, he suggests, her love for Sawyer). He doesn’t need to do it again. She points out the difference this time is that Ben's been shot because they came back. Jack muses that he's overcoming his old self's need to fix everything, and pulling a Lockian "let's let the island fix things." Kate says she liked the old Jack, who didn't sit around and wait for things to happen. Jack, like a spurned 14-year-old girl, retorts, " you didn’t like the old me, Kate." Kate storms out.

Aside Number 10 - It seems Jack wants to be John Locke in castaways version 2.0, sitting around waiting for a sign for what his purpose is. (Jeff Jensen's recap this week suggests Jack is actually acting like Sawyer did, though I'd like to point out that Jack is actually withholding aid from Ben, whereas Sawyer only let his fellow castaways think he was withholding aid from Shannon). The difference was, though, that Locke, for all his bumbling, saw everything on the island as a possible sign of why he was there, and took affirmative action, even if, in retrospect, his actions didn't make any sense. Jack - a surgeon, thrown back in time to a specific place in the island's history - sees a boy who needs a surgeon, and says he's not helping because the island has its own way of fixing things. Umm...maybe the island's way of fixing things is to pluck a surgeon from the future and bring him back in time?

Jack reminds me of the joke of the devoutly religious man who drowns in a flood after eschewing offers of resuce from a car, boat and helicopter, because he believed God would save him. The man goes to Heaven and asks God why he didn't send help, and God asks why the man ignored the car, boat and helicopter he sent. I have to agree with Kate - new Jack stinks.

Kate shows up at the infirmary and offers to donate blood (a big move in light of her pilot episode claim to be scared of blood). Kate tells Juliet, "if I understood why Jack does what he does, I wouldn’t be sitting here." Juliet asks if something happened off-island. Kate responds, "we were engaged, does that count?" Roger storms in. Kate gets Juliet to let him stay with her, to watch over Ben. Roger knows what happened to his keys. LaFleur asked what happened, but never asks questions he doesn’t know answers to. Roger laments that Ben did it because of him. Roger asks if Kate’s got kids, and she says "no."

Aside 11 - I wonder if, in Kate's mind this represents a lie, or her finally embracing the truth that Aaron is not her child. That said, he spent three years with Kate, and only 3-4 months with Claire, so who is Aaron's "real" mother?

Roger opens up, "I thought I was going to be the greatest father ever. Guess it didn’t work out that way. I tried to do what I thought she wanted me to do, but I guess a boy just needs his mother." The look on Kate's face is again ambivalent - did Aaron need her, or Claire? Or would either one be better than getting dumped on the grandmother who didn't know he existed? Ben goes into shock, and Roger gets shoed out.

Hurley still tries to figure the time travel thing out. Miles explains how all of this already happened, and time isn’t a straight line for them since Ben turned the wheel. Unlike young Ben, they can die, because they’re living in their own present, while Ben is in his past. Hurley asks why Ben didn’t remember getting shot by Sayid when he first got captured, and Miles can’t answer.

Aside 12 - I'll rant more about this later, but I was very unhappy with this exchange. Why would Miles and Hurley presume to know what Ben did and didn't know? Hurley here assumes that Ben - while already impaled with an arrow and yet still maintaining the lie that he was hapless ballooner Henry Gale - would have volunteered remembering Sayid. In a scene in which Miles was calling Hurley out on his silliness, I was even more annoyed that he couldn't see Hurley's mistake...

Juliet sends Roger to the medical station for supplies they don’t have there. Kate overhears the whole thing. Juliet tells Kate she can’t save him, but then realizes maybe there’s something the Others can do. Juliet and Kate wheel Ben out, and lift him into a van. Kate doesn’t want Juliet to come along, to screw things up for her and Sawyer with the DHARMA people. Juliet says she’ll give Kate as much head start as she can.

Kate drives out to the fence. Ben seems to be in even worse shape. He moans to tell his dad he’s sorry he stole his keys. Another van approaches. It’s Sawyer. She says she can’t let that kid die. "Dammit Freckles, I ain’t here to stop you. I’m here to help you." Sawyer turns off the fence, and says he's helping because, according to Juliet, no matter what he’s going to grow up to be, it’s wrong to let a kid die. "I’m doing it for her," James tells Kate, and maybe himself.
Aside 13 - bad news for Juliet - Sawyer just reverted to calling Kate "Freckles." And Kate just became the driving force in the first time Sawyer was willing to do something overtly anti-DHARMA. Sigh. I really liked Sawliet.

Juliet goes looking for Jack, and finds him coming out of the shower. Hurley and Miles clear out. (I Loved Miles's parting line to Hurley as they exit – "hey ask me more questions about time travel.") Juliet stares down Jack. "I needed you," she demands." She explains that it’s up to Sawyer and Kate, now. Jack pleads, "I came back to save you." "We didn’t need saving," insists Juliet. "We’ve been fine here for 3 years. You came back here for you." Jack re-rationalizes, "I came back, because I was supposed to." Juliet demands to know why, and Jack lamely responds, "I don’t know yet." "Well you better figure it out," she snorts. (Again, Jack, when presented with a situation your skill set is uniquely suited to...sigh.)

Kate offers to carry Ben for a while. She confronts James about his asking her to take care of Clementine, then tells him all about her, that she looks just like him when he smiles. "I bet you and Cassidey had a lot to talk about," says a self-important Sawyer. She tells him Cassidey’s theory about why he jumped from the helicopter. Sawyer laments, "you and me would have never worked out, Kate." ("Kate!" There's hope!) "I wasn’t any more fit to be your boyfriend than I was to be a father." Kate points out he seems to be doing fine with Juliet, and he says it's from growing up over the past three years.

Aside 14 - this is one of those missed opportunities on Lost that sometimes drives me nuts. I'm thinking this conversation would have an obvious time for Kate to say, "y'know, funny thing - back while Cassidey was pregnant, I met her in Iowa, and she helped me temporarily ellude capture by the marshall whose euthenasia you subsequently botched." Maybe, once you've been through two plane crashes, incarceration in a polar bear cage, slave labor, a disappearing island, impossible rescue at sea, baby-stealing and time travel, life's little coincidences don't seem all that interesting. But still, it would be cool for the characters to acknowledge their bizarre connections some time.

The Others suddenly appear, guns trained, and say their presence is a violation of the truce. Sawyer admits this, and says if they don’t want a war, they'll take them to Richard Alpert now. Under armed escort, Sawyer and Kate carry Ben through the jungle. In super-duper Han Solo fashion, Sawyer says to Kate, "don’t worry - we got ‘em right where we want ‘em." Richard emerges, and asks if the boy is Ben. Sawyer asks if they know each other, but Richard doesn't respond. Kate asks if he can save his life. "If I take him," says Richard, "he’s not ever going to be the same again. He’ll forget this ever happened, and his innocence will be gone. He will always be one of us. You still want me to take him?" Kate says yes. One of the Others warns Richard that he shouldn’t do this without asking Ellie. If Charles finds out…but Richard cuts him off, and says he doesn’t answer to either of them. Richard walks Ben off alone…to the Temple, and backs inside.

Aside 15 - I've had a few theories die hard during the series, but I'm particularly disappointed at the notion that Ben wouldn't remember Sayid shooting him. It seemed to make future Ben's use and abuse of Sayid seem like happy vengeance. I wonder how far Ben's lack of memory will extend. Surely he'll return to DHARMA at some point, since he's going to grow up there and be part of the purge. Won't he again encounter the 815ers? The notion that adult Ben's intimate knowledge of the survivors came from growing up with them around is kind of cool, and I hope we didn't just lose that entirely, unless Lost is going to give us something better in exchange.

Now, about Ellie and Charles. So it would appear that Widmore really was the Others' leader, but that he and Ms. Hawking had something of a number 1/ number 2 thing going on. She was the buffer between Charles and his people. Given that Ellie was still around, and it's already 1977, could this mean that Farraday was born on the island? For that matter, was Penny? Is Ellie her mom? Is Charles Farraday's father? Could Farraday's disappearance actually be a reunion with his born people? I hope we get to see more of 70s era Others society.

Just what is Richard's relationship to the Others? He always seems to be just off to the side of their current leader, and more than willing to incite a rebellion when he disagrees with whoever's in charge. Perhaps he should wear Jack's tattoo - the one that means, "he walks among us, but he isn't one of us."

Also, about the Temple...so something really seems to change about people who go in there. Rousseau's crew all changed so much that she felt she had to kill them. I'm thinking Cindy and the kids and the other abducted Tailies went in there, which is why they seamingly lost all interest in escaping their captivity. Temple conversion may also explain why some people didn't time travel with the Locke, Sawyer and company. Which begs the question, if going in the Temple makes you really an Other, was Juliet never brought there? If not, why not? Could it be to make sure she would travel back in time, to send Ben to the temple to save his life?

And one final thought on the 1977 events - it seems as though Jack thought, like Sayid, if young Ben died, he would not grow up to become the big bad we all know and love. Now it's clear - the island gave Jack the chance to change the future, but it would have been saving Ben that would have prevented his conversion. Jack's act of not saving Ben is what caused Ben to become an Other, for realsies. Trippy!

Epilogue - 2007
Ben awakens in the Hydra infirmary, and sees Locke sitting by his bed. "Hello, Ben," smiles John, "welcome back to the land of the living."

Aside 16 - When the man you recently murdered, and whose body you stored in a meat locker, says "welcome back to the land of the living" as you wake up from a blow to the head...you gotta wonder, right?

Anyway, that's all for this week. Next week, it appears we'll see what happened to Ben after slip 23, and why he came back to the island, in the ominously entitled, "Dead is Dead." Until then, Namaste!!