Benjamin Linus: Stone Cold Bad Ass

Sorry about the gap in posts. It has been a pretty busy week to say the least.

I have decided that I am going to do something of a LOST recap the day after the new episode airs every week because I know that many people watch LOST, and I am most certainly one of them.

So, last night was pretty unreal. A basic recap of events would go something like this: On the island, Alex is forced to unlock the crazy sonar fence machine to let the freighter mercs into the DHARMA barracks. The code she enters is a signal to Ben that there are intruders, and as a result Camp Locke prepares for battle. In the ensuing calamity three redshirts (two of whom were wearing actual red shirts) were killed, and Claire was nearly blown up by a rocket launcher. Also Ben's adopted/kidnapped daughter Alex was shot in the head when his bluff that he cared not for her was called. At which point Ben uttered, "He changed the rules." And then he disappeared behind some door with hieroglyphs on it, and when he returned the Smoke Monster was unleashed on the freighter army as Camp Locke escaped. The camp split again, with Sawyer, Claire, and baby Aaron going back to Jack's Camp, and Ben, Locke, and Hurley going to find that oh so mysterious Jacob. It is important to note that Hurley agreed to go so that Locke and Sawyer wouldn't kill each other over who he would go with. I feel like this is what made Hurley sorry about joining Camp Locke over Camp Jack.

In Camp Jack, a body washed ashore that we know is the doctor from the freighter and Faraday confirms as such. In order to see what the hell is going on, Jack makes Faraday convert the broken satellite phone into a workable satellite telegraph. (Important sidebar: Jack is taking pills for some reason). In the communication between Faraday and the freighter, Faraday says that he is told everything is fine and that the helicopter will be returning to the island soon. Bernard was standing nearby listening as well, and because he is an older guy he knows Morse code, and said that the message actually said something along the lines of, "the doctor is fine, WTF are you talking about dude?" Jack gets very upset when he confronts Faraday point blank and is told that they (the survivors) were never meant to be taken off the island.

In the future Ben winds up in the desert in Tunisia, where he wakes up on the ground with no trail around him anywhere. He is confronted by two Bedouins who he subsequently kills and steals one of their horses. He comes to a city where he learns that it is October 24, 2005, and sees a report of Sayid begin hounded by those bastardly reporters who surround celebrities (Oceanic 6 say what!) and says that he just wants to bury his wife (aka Nadia). This leads to a confrontation or two by Ben, and Sayid joining Ben's side in the war against Widmore. speaking of Charles Widmore, at the end of the episode, we see Ben confront Charles Widmore about changing the rules, and Ben promises that in retaliation for killing Alex.

So, there we have it. This was one of the more dense episodes of LOST, which is really nice to have after a several week break. Some interesting things I thought I would mention about the episode:

1. The parka that Ben was wearing when he wound up in the desert had a name on it. That name was Halliwax, which is one of the aliases of DHARMA instructional video man typically known as Dr. Marvin Candle.
2. Ben pretty much just appeared in the desert somehow. We do not know from where (or when) he came. He just showed up, unsure of the year, and went about doing his own secret agentery.
3. Jack has begun self medicating himself. I feel like this plays a role somewhere we have already seen but I am not sure...
4. Widmore made the claim that Ben took the island (and everything Ben has) from Widmore somehow. Widmore was also having nightmares that could only be cured by his most excellent scotch, which is, according to Widmore, worth more than Desmond. Could it be that Widmore was once an inhabitant of the island and Ben either kicked him off, or tricked him into leaving so that he could have the island and all of its people to himself?
5. Ben can summon the Smoke Monster. Something tells me that will be important later.
6. Sawyer is becoming the new Charlie. He is protecting Claire and Aaron, and concerned with their safety. Also he is becoming Hurley's new best friend on the island, and sticking up for him. This is a really great development for the character, as we have seen him grow so much from the beginning of the series.

So, that is it for now. I will be back around soon with more ramblings of whatever I feel like and such. The next week will be somewhat busy because I have exams, but we will see what happens.

Until next time.


You can't stop the signal...