Let’s talk about Lost!

// February 25th, 2009 // fun

Tonight was definitely an episode long in the making. Spoilers abound!

I mean it, there are SPOILERS right after this!

Still here? Okay!

The Jeremy Bentham/John Locke story that has plagued us for so long now has finally been told. Not only that, but we get the scoop on Charles Widmore (at least his side of things) and also get to see a lot of Matthew Abaddon. Until he got blown away of course.

I’m curious about one thing though. Without spending a lot of time looking things up, didn’t Ben end up in Tunisia as well? And from what I remember, it certainly looked like it was the same spot. So why are there cameras there now and they weren’t there before? Did Widmore know Ben was back and expected others to come?

I think the big shocker was the beginning of the episode when we see these two new faces exploring some office. Of course, if you actually can remember stuff from week to week, most sayidof you already knew that dude was on the plane next to Hurley and also told Jack in the airport that he was sorry for his loss. I recognized his face, but for some dang reason, didn’t place him until I saw the crashed plane. I know…I suck.

Plus the girl was the one handcuffed to Sayid. Which should prove interesting later on.

I loved the Obi Wan/Luke Skywalker moment when Locke pulls the hood off head to reveal himself to the new survivors. And how he doesn’t hide it from anyone. “The last thing I remember is dying” and “That’s the man who killed me.” Awesome.

But there is a bigger, deeper storyline happening in this episode that deserves some attention. It surrounds this idea that John Locke is “special” and should be back on the island “leading.”

locke-benHere is the big kicker: Both Charles Widmore and Benjamin Linus claim that they are helping John get back to the island for that very purpose: To lead. Yet they essentially are accusing the other guy of being against that idea.

So who is lying? My money is on Ben of course, and that bet is in no small part due to the fact that he’s the one who kills Locke. He obviously didn’t want him returning to the island ALIVE, but he’s fine bringing him along if he’s dead.

And since I just seem to have answered my own question, perhaps Lost itself answered that for us tonight already and I’m just stating the obvious. But I in no way feel like we know just what truly motivates Widmore or Ben.

Here is my little theory, which I thought was going to be the big reveal at the end but was foiled by frakking Benjamin Linus laying in a cot injured:

Charles Widmore was on the plane.

How could he not be? He’s been following everyone, he wants Ben dead, he was working together with Sun and most importantly, he wants BACK on the Island.

That’s just my theory, although I feel less confident after the end then I did when I thought about it early in the episode. But I’m sticking with it and wouldn’t be surprised to see him appear later.

It’s also interesting how the Island “protected” those that needed to return – Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid and Sun were all “flashed away” – while Ben and the pilot crashed with the others. The plane was in much better shape than Oceanic 815 :)

Loved, loved, loved seeing Walt all grown up. That was a great scene, even though Locke didn’t have the heart to tell him Michael was dead. Although I’m not sure if he actually knows or not?

Did Ben know who Eloise Hawking was BEFORE Locke mentioned the name or not? The fact that Locke mentions her seems to have gotten him killed. Either Ben finally had all the info he needed, or he realized Locke was THIS close to getting back himself…alive.

Also, what hatch was that in the beginning with the documents and that awesome shotgun?

What about you guys? What did you think of the episode?

9 Responses to “Let’s talk about Lost!”

  1. Matt says:
    February 26, 2009 at 12:46 am

    If you’ll remember, Charlotte discovered the polar bear in Tunisia at the beginning of Season 4 and we were all like “what?” Charlotte obviously figured out that was the island’s “exit,” and, working for Widmore, gave him that information.

    Ben dropped at that point three years earlier. The hole time shift thing. It was conceivably before Charlotte discovered the polar bear that led Widmore to the knowledge that was the exit door.

  2. Mike says:
    February 26, 2009 at 5:22 am

    Of course, the polar bear. Wow.

    Isn’t it amazing how some of this stuff was known and planned that far ahead?

  3. D.L. White says:
    February 26, 2009 at 7:57 am

    Awesome, just awesome show! And good recap! I like your idea of Charles Widmore being on the plane… That would be interesting.

    We were discussing Widmore and Ben’s motives last night. Both of them think they should be “ruling” on the island. Ben originally usurped Widmore and exiled him, and Widmore’s been trying to go back and reclaim his throne ever since. Then Ben discovered Jacob “chose” Locke and spoke to him in the cabin, and has been threatened by Locke ever since, and has been sour that the island “chose” him as their leader. So, who is the real king of the island? Do Widmore and Ben really want to help Locke take his rightful place? Or are they all still vying for the crown?

    Loved the scene with Locke and Walt. Loved it that Walt was having premonitions of what was going to happen to Locke 4 days later.

  4. adrian says:
    February 26, 2009 at 8:19 am

    Yeah, I’m not sure who we can trust. Ben or Charles or neither. Heck we still don’t know which of them planted the fake oceanic 815 at the bottom of the ocean.

    I would also love to know the exact motive behind Ben killing Locke after he mentions Eloise Hawking.

    One thing I want to know is who was ‘moved’ out of the Ajira flight by the flash and who wasn’t, and why. We know for sure that Jack, Kate and Hurley were flashed out of the plane before it crashed. But what about Sayid And Sun? We don’t know if they were teleported yet. Stange enough, we know from the new crash survivors that the pilot Frank Lapidus was with them. Why didn’t he move with the flash? And who was the woman that went with him on the boat? (Sun?) Why didn’t Locke move with the flash? Maybe because of the whole ‘dead’ thing. But why didn’t Ben move?

  5. Tom says:
    February 26, 2009 at 8:25 am

    “The fact that Locke mentions her seems to have gotten him killed. Either Ben finally had all the info he needed, or he realized Locke was THIS close to getting back himself…alive.”

    I thought Ben’s eyes lit up when he heard Jin was still alive and that changed his mind and hearing about Elouise sealed the deal.

    I only half watched last night, I really didn’t care about the characters off island and blowing off Locke.
    I find it interesting Locke is physical while Christian is a non-physical entity.

    I believe Widmore was ousted by Ben but I don’t think he is being truthful regarding it being a peaceful existence.
    All my theories have been shot, someone on popcandy suggested the island is Sheol not Purgatory or “Hell” either. I don’t think there will be a clear answer to what the island is besides a new creation or mythology of its own.

  6. Matt says:
    February 26, 2009 at 12:15 pm

    I don’t think the island has any spiritual value, at least not in the traditional sense. Any relationship to, say, Dante’s Inferno, are merely literary. The island is a real place in this reality. There is a scientific explanation for its existence and its properties, but you have delve deep into the theoretical, borrowing heavily from the last 100 years of physics, to begin to understand their perspective.

    The island, in the minds of the authors, should be better likened to “Middle Earth” or Narnia — a place the authors intend for you to believe really exists, but where commonly held laws of matter are bent or even broken. It’s a place where we learn about the heart of men. That’s not quite as profound if you impose a religious value on the setting.

  7. Mike says:
    February 26, 2009 at 9:43 pm

    By the way guys, according to a Lost blog I read, the Ajira flight crashed on the OTHER Island, not the main one.

    Crazy!

  8. Melissa Jill :) says:
    February 27, 2009 at 12:47 am

    Good stuff Mike. I’m inclined to believe Widmore more so than Ben. Don’t know if you mentioned this back then but the recap before this season where the producers were talking us through what’s happened up to this point, I noticed they said that Ben was a bad guy but when they talked about Widmore they said something to the effect of “we think he’s a bad guy.” INTeresting.

  9. Mike says:
    February 27, 2009 at 6:24 am

    Yeah, I’m not thinking either man is a “good” guy…they have their own agendas for sure.

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