Monday, March 02, 2009

S5Ep7 - The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

Hello my dear friends -

We've finally arrived at the episode I saw being filmed when I visited Oahu in October. Could it be any more perfect that it was all about Locke? Had I known that at the time, I would've freaked out even more than I already did -- if that's possible. You can bet that my husband and I were hooting and hollering Wednesday night when we saw how the brief scenes we'd witnessed being shot in downtown Honolulu came together on the show. I've included some additional pictures and a very short video clip from that day at the end of this post.

I've also been saving the picture above for the appropriate moment -- yes, this is a real street sign in the United States, and of course I'm now considering moving just so I can say I live on John Locke Lane. A huge shout-out to the Lost fans at Echo Hills who took this photo and thought to pass it on to me.

Now it's time for the craziness that was "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham." Thanks to everyone who messaged me to ensure that I was OK after watching Locke get brutally strangled. To be honest, the most upset I've ever been over the course of the series was when he was shot by Ben and left for dead in the Skeleton Pit in Season Three, simply because at that point we really didn't know that he'd survive. Whereas in this episode we'd already seen him happily munching away on a mango back on the Island, so I really had no reason to lose another five years off of my life. But don't get me wrong -- I certainly didn't enjoy watching Ben take my main man down in such a horrific manner. It was thoroughly nauseating.

But I'm getting waaaay ahead of myself. Let's start from the point where Locke left the Island.


GOOD TO SEE YOU
GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN
GOOD TO SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN
IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU


In the three years since Ben landed in the desert in Tunisia after turning the FDW, Widmore got wise to the location of the "exit point" from the Island and set up a surveillance camera there in order to be able to nab anyone else who ever materialized. We learned this after it was Widmore himself who met Locke in the poor excuse for a hospital where Locke's leg was reset (talk about a gross scene!).

I thought it was kind of weird that Locke didn't recognize Widmore... not because of their meeting when Widmore was seventeen, but rather because Ben had shown Locke a videotape of Widmore back in "The Other Woman" -- that's how Locke even knew the name "Charles Widmore" in the first place. Here's the exchange between Ben and Locke from that episode:

[Locke inserts the tape into a VCR and he and Ben sit down to watch on an old TV. The tape shows a well-dressed bald man exit a limousine. The video is taken from above, with intermittent occlusion, as if being shot covertly.]
BEN: This is Charles Widmore. This is the man whose boat is parked offshore. This is the man that's been trying to find the Island.
LOCKE: Who's the man in the blindfold?
BEN: One of my people that had the misfortune to get caught.
LOCKE: How does Widmore know about the Island?
BEN: I don't know, but he does.


Ben proceeds to tell Locke that his guess is that Widmore wants to exploit the unique properties of the Island and will do "anything in his power to possess it." He also gives Locke a file containing more information on the mysterious businessman. Obviously, Locke then goes on to witness first hand the havoc Widmore's men (Keamy and crew) wreaked on the Island's inhabitants once they landed -- which included killing Alex.

So... in "The Other Woman," Ben claimed to have no idea why Widmore knows about the Island. But Charles tells Locke a different story. Charles contends that he led the Others for over three decades until his position was usurped by Ben, who then exiled him.

Who to believe?


DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER
I HEARD YOU SAY

This round in The Battle of Conflicting Stories goes (only by a hair) to Widmore. From "Jughead" we saw that he was indeed an Other on the Island. And from "The Shape of Things to Come" -- in the scene where Ben showed up in Widmore's hotel room in the dead of night -- there seems to be at least an acknowledgment between the two men that Ben "took" the Island from Widmore. Therefore, Ben seems to be lying (again) to Locke when he claimed ignorance of how Widmore knew about the Island. Here are just a few lines from the Ben/Widmore exchange last season:

WIDMORE: I know who you are, boy. What you are. I know that everything you have you took from me. So... Once again I ask you: Why are you here?

...

WIDMORE: That island's mine, Benjamin. It always was. It will be again.
BEN: (Turning) But you'll never find it.
WIDMORE: Then I suppose the hunt is on for both of us.


So let's run with the assumption that Widmore had been the leader of the Others for a while, and then Ben took over (I think this is possible, by the way, even if Ben and Widmore didn't ever interact that much or even see each other while both on the Island). Charles at first tells Locke that he was "fooled" into leaving the Island by Ben... but then a few moments later says that he was "exiled" -- which to me sounds like two different things. "Fooled" suggests that Charles left willingly, probably thinking he could return, while "exiled" implies that he was forced out.

Although I believe that Widmore was telling Locke the truth about having once been the Others' leader but then getting pushed aside by Ben, I think he's still hiding a lot. What if Widmore deserved to get kicked to the curb? Let's not forget that Richard chose to work with Ben from the time that Ben was just a young boy and that Ben would eventually complete his transformation into an Other by taking part in The Purge. Further, we have proof that -- at least for a while -- Jacob communicated with Ben. So it's not like there weren't others (pun intended) who wanted Ben to lead. And since we saw how hotheaded Widmore was back in the day, I can only imagine that he might have eventually become very dictator-like and too egotistical for the likes of Jacob, Richard et al. Maybe his banishment was appropriate.

Having said all of that, Widmore did make a pretty convincing argument to Locke, did he not? And while he seemed truly surprised to learn that Locke left the Island by choice and that Richard told him he'd have to die, Widmore offered the help of his right hand man, Abaddon, and also declared that Locke had to eventually get back to the Island or else "the wrong side" would win in "the war" that's coming.

At the end of the Widmore/Locke conversation, I was definitely wondering whether or not Widmore had been wrongly assumed to be the bad guy this entire time. After all, Ben has tried in the past to kill our favorite baldy and is a known liar. Things only got more confusing as the episode went on...


COME WITH ME
WON'T YOU COME WITH ME?
COME WITH ME, AGAIN

I'm going to cover Locke's off-Island escapades a little bit out of order. First, let's talk about his time with Walt. I don't know about the rest of you, but I wish this scene had been much longer -- it felt really rushed. It was like, "Hey, what happened to your leg? Seen my dad at all? I've been having scary dreams about you. Yeah, I grew another foot. OK, bye!"

Here's what I think the three most important things from this scene were:
- Locke told Walt that -- last he heard -- Michael had been on a freighter that was close to the Island. That's truly all Locke knew... since Jin had also been on the same ship as Walt's father and had ended up in one piece on the Island, Locke can't be sure that Michael's dead and therefore would never think of making those claims to Walt.
- Walt's prophetic dreams are most likely going to come true... once Locke's back on the Island, someone's going to be gunning for him. Did Walt have visions of the "war" that Widmore alluded to?
- Since I refuse to believe that Walt's role in this series is done, I think it was important that Locke told Abaddon that he didn't ask Walt to come back with him because "he's been through enough." Perhaps Walt will want to come back on his own in the future?

Abaddon also takes Locke to the grave site of dear Helen, who will always be Peg Bundy to me. Does anyone else get the sense that she might still be alive? When Locke first asked Abaddon to find his lost love, Abaddon basically threw up his hands and said he'd been unable to track her down. But since her name hadn't changed and there would have obviously been records from when she died, that seems like a fishy excuse. Methinks Widmore and Abaddon didn't want Locke to have any reason to delay (or forgo) his return to the Island, and so they made it look like Helen was dead.

The main reason Locke had come back to the outside world in the first place, however, was to persuade Sayid, Kate, Jack and Hurley that they never should have left. These scenes were pretty brief, so I'll just do a quick summary for each person. Here's the gist of their responses when Locke asks them to return to the Island with him:


- Sayid: "Sorry, but I have no time to spare between my work with the Peace Corps, Habitat for Humanity, Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund, the Ronald McDonald House and the Red Cross."
- Kate: "But I'm in lurve... and you're a loser."
- Jack: "What Hippocratic oath? Get your busted ass outta my hospital... and tell Zombie Dad I said that he should go have another drink!"
- Hurley: "I may be crazy, but I'm not that crazy, dude."

Alas, there's one thing that Locke is not, and that's a good negotiator. I mean, he barely tried to convince any of the above four of the need to return -- it was very frustrating to watch. He didn't even mention Sawyer's name to Kate -- or anyone else's name... to anyone. You would think a reminder of those left behind would carry a little more weight than just pleading "You've got to come back!" over and over again. Away from the Island, Locke became easily exasperated and fell into deep despair almost immediately.

Now, before I move on I do want to mention that it's possible we weren't shown all of what transpired during each of Locke's meetings with the four O6 members... or absolutely everything that he did during his time as Bentham, for that matter. In fact, the only person he saw him mention the name "Bentham" to was Sayid... yet everyone -- even Walt -- later knew of this alias And then there's this conversation that took place between Jack and Ben in the Hoffs-Drawler funeral parlor at the end of "There No Place Like Home:"

BEN: Hello, Jack.
[Jack is startled almost off his balance by the voice.]
BEN: Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Did he tell you that I was off the island?
JACK: Yes, he did.
BEN: When did you speak to him?
JACK: About a month ago.


We never saw Locke tell Jack that Ben was also off of the Island. And of course it was going to take a while from Jack to go from looking like this in the hospital with Locke:


to this (after Locke died and he met Kate out at the airport):



So in those thirty days it took for Jack to grow out his hillbilly beard, something motivated Sayid to scrap his do-gooding lifestyle and go get Hurley from Santa Rosa... and Lord only knows what Locke/Bentham could've been up to in the real world during that time. But whatever it was drove him to the point of preparing to kill himself.


EVERY DAY
EVERY HOUR
I WISH THAT I WAS
BULLETPROOF

But before we get to that awful scene, we need to cover Mr. Abaddon's shocking demise. I truly didn't see his death coming -- I almost jumped out of my chair when he was shot as he stood outside the car at the graveyard. Ah, Abaddon... we hardly knew ye.

Fortunately, we learned a few tidbits about the man who "gets people where they need to be" in this episode. While we previously were aware that he worked with Naomi to assemble the helicopter team (Miles, Faraday, Charlotte and Lapidus) that would be along for the ride on Widmore's freighter, there had always been some doubt as to whether or not Abaddon actually worked for Widmore or was instead more of a "free agent." I think we now have some clarity on this issue: Abaddon was definitely on Widmore's side.

In addition, Abaddon straight-up acknowledged the fact that he was the orderly who encouraged Locke to go on the Australian walkabout... which led Locke to be on the fateful Oceanic flight. Besides the psychic who pushed Claire to be on Flight 815 -- perhaps knowing it would crash on the Island and she'd be forced to raise Aaron -- this is the first time we've had proof that others might have known that flight wasn't going to reach L.A.


LISTEN AS THE CROWD WOULD SING,
"NOW THE OLD KING IS DEAD,
LONG LIVE THE KING!"

OK, there's no delaying it any longer. We have to talk about the harrowing scene where Locke dies. From the timeline I referenced earlier, we know that a full month had passed since Abaddon was killed and Locke had first visited Jack.

Now, there John Locke stood, ready to do himself in -- with some cable from Angel's Hardware (of all places), a quick glimpse up at a strange mark on the ceiling (think that meant anything?) and a cast-covered leg looking very much like the four-toed foot statue -- when who busts through the door but Mr. Benjamin Linus. Ben admits to assassinating Abaddon, but reiterates that he did it because it's Widmore who's evil and who's using Locke in order to get back to the Island. Locke responds with some "woe is me" wailing for a bit, but then Ben finally convinces him to step down from the table.

The second that happened, I got a really, really bad feeling. While we all understood that Locke was going to end up in a coffin one way or the other, I still had a glimmer of hope that Ben would whip out some poisonous Medusa spiders and say, "OK, Johnny boy, here's how we're going to trick them into thinking you're dead!" But in my heart I knew that probably wasn't going to happen. Once it became clear that Locke wasn't going to kill himself, I knew that Ben would do the deed, and I knew that it wasn't going to be pretty.

So as Locke revealed that Jin was still alive and explained why he never visited Sun... and then spilled Hawking's name... I braced for the worst. And the worst came. We saw Locke die by strangulation, in the same way that his own father had been murdered by Sawyer. We watched Ben clean up the crime scene and reposition Locke's body to make it look like he'd hung himself. And then we heard Ben say, "I'll miss you, John. I really will."

As I'm sure was the knee-jerk reaction that most of you had, I was hating on Ben with the passion of a thousand burning suns after this scene. Ben is the bad guy... Widmore is the good guy... how could we all have been so blind? Damn you to hell, Ben... I curse the day we ever set eyes on "Henry Gale!"

However, now that some time has passed since the episode aired and we've all been able to better process everything that happened... I know I'm not the only one who's back to believing that Ben had a reason for doing what he did. And the reason is that the Island would not welcome Locke's return with open arms if he had actually committed suicide; it would make him a "bad person" if he had gone through with his plan to kill himself. "Well, what about Locke throwing a knife into Naomi's back? Wasn't that also pretty bad?" you may be asking. And I would say that all that matters in this show is what the Island would deem to be a sinful act... not, say, a mainstream religion. So if Locke truly believed that killing Naomi would result in saving the Island and everyone on it from dangerous intruders... then I don't think the Island would view that particular act of knife-throwing to be an unforgivable move on Locke's part. But to lose faith in yourself and your mission to save the Island and just give up and commit suicide? The Island probably wouldn't like that at all.

Of course there's a good chance that Ben's fooling all of us who keep making excuses for him. It was kind of weird that he said, "I'll miss you, John." That statement doesn't lead me to believe that Ben realized Locke would be reanimated back on the Island. But at the same time, Ben was the one who told Jack that Dead Locke must be on the flight back with them, so you'd think that if he really wanted to be done with Locke forever then he wouldn't have insisted that the coffin be on Ajira 316.

Which brings us to the biggest question that this episode raised: Who's the bad guy -- Ben or Widmore... or neither?


BAD BOYS
BAD BOYS
WHATCHA GONNA DO?
WHATCHA GONNA DO WHEN THEY COME FOR YOU?

In a nutshell, here's what we know about Widmore:
- He was once on the Island as an Other, at the same time as a girl named "Ellie" who we can assume is Eloise Hawking. He claims to have been the leader of the Others for thirty years and that he was pushed out by Ben, but we can't be totally sure he's telling the truth.
- Once off the Island, he became a successful businessman.
- He sent the freighter to the Island and his men, led by Keamy, killed Ben's daughter, which Ben claimed was "against the rules." Faraday seemed very concerned about Keamy's group, which motivated him and Charlotte to disarm the poisonous gas in The Tempest. Miles said Widmore's been searching for the Island for "over twenty years." Captain Gault claimed that it was Ben who faked the Oceanic 815 wreckage.
- He bought a journal from The Black Rock at an auction.
- He monitored the O6 once they returned to the mainland, but never initiated contact with any of them. Once Sun came to him with a plan to kill Ben, he told her that he controlled Oceanic Airlines... and seems to have been the one who sent her a gun in order to off Mr. Linus.
- He willingly gave Desmond the address for Ms. Hawking, but warned him to stay out of the whole mess.
- He stated that Locke was special, but wouldn't say exactly why... just that he needed to ensure Locke was back on the Island so that "the right side" would win in the war that was coming.
- Penny doesn't trust her father and tells the O6 as much.
- Hurley declared Abaddon, Widmore's right hand man, to be "evil" and warned Locke not to trust him. (Let's not forget that "Abaddon" means "Angel of the Abyss/Hell")


And here are a few things we know about Ben:
- He came to the Island as a young boy because his father got a job with the Dharma Initiative. Shortly thereafter, Ben met Richard Alpert. Years later, he helped Richard and the Others execute "The Purge" to wipe out everyone in Dharma. Ben became the leader of the Others, presumably from that point on.
- Ben knows how to find Jacob and claims to have been the only one of the Others who's ever seen or talked to him.
- He became obsessed with finding a solution to the "pregnancy problem" on the Island, much to Richard's chagrin.
- He's pretty much a pathological liar...but some of his people (namely Zeke/Mr. Friendly/Tom) appeared to have actual proof that Widmore staged the Flight 815 crash.
- He shot and left Locke for dead in the Skeleton Pit.
- The child he took from Rousseau who he considered to be his daughter (Alex) grew to hate him. She was killed by Keamy much to Ben's shock and horror.
- While completely alone in the Frozen Donkey Wheel chamber (as in, there was no one to lie to in there...), Ben cried and muttered, "I hope you're happy now, Jacob," before moving the Island. This would lead one to believe that he thought he was doing the right thing. And let's not forget that Zombie Dad, who claimed to be speaking for Jacob, did in fact want the Island moved -- because he/they also felt that it would be disastrous for Widmore to find it.
- He told Sayid that it was Widmore's men who killed Nadia. (This is something I don't entirely believe... Widmore seems to have left everyone alone off-Island-- why would he have Nadia killed?)
- He threw a hissy fit when Jack and Sun didn't appreciate everything he claims he's done to protect and help them.
- He killed Locke and then broke Locke's promise to Jin.
- He may have killed, or attempted to kill, Penny, in order to fulfill his vow of revenge for Alex's death.
- Although he said he knew Eloise Hawking, he seemed surprised to hear that Locke was supposed to go see her... and also seemed surprised when Desmond revealed that Hawking was Faraday's mother. Regardless, Hawking ended up helping Ben determine how and when to get the O6 back to the Island.
- He had echoed Widmore's words to Locke about how important he was and that he must return to the Island because he had "work to do."

So... what to make of all this? Though Widmore and Ben certainly seem to hate each other... they both feel it's crucial to get Locke back to the Island. So there is a chance that they're actually on the same side, so to speak, and just have drastically different ways of going about things. If that's the case, then who is left to bring war to the Island -- who is it that they're both against? Perhaps The Economist? A revival of the Dharma Initiative?

For now, however, I'm going to continue to believe that it's Ben who's looking out for the best interests of the Island -- and at this point -- the 815ers, and that Widmore's the bad guy.


As if all of Locke's off-Island adventures and the questions they raised weren't enough, we also were treated to some damn good Island scenes. On to those...


I AM THE RESURRECTION
AND I AM THE LIGHT
I COULDN'T EVER BRING MYSELF TO HATE YOU
AS I'D LIKE

(Shout-out to reader CuInAnotherLifeBrother who suggested the lyrics for this section's heading!)

You all may remember this dire warning about people in hooded cloaks that I included in my review for "The Lie." Thankfully Locke didn't have his on for very long... but it was still long enough to merit him the nickname "Obi-John" amongst Lost fans.

I have to say that I was very much relieved to see that Locke appeared to be 100% whole again -- not creepy like Zombie Dad, Jacob or Ghost Claire. Everyone can see Locke, he's able to eat food, and so on. I do not care in the slightest how all of this gets explained -- I'm just glad he's back to normal (and hope he stays that way).

We now know that the Ajira flight landed in one piece (when he's sober, Lapidus has skillz!)... but it's on Alcatraz Island (home to the Hydra station, which is where Kate, Jack and Sawyer had been kept prisoner for a while). After learning from Caesar and Ilana that some people seemed to have just disappeared in a flash of light from the plane, and that a few others took off in an outrigger, Locke is taken to see everyone who was hurt. It is revealed that Ben is part of that group. "He's the man who killed me," Locke says matter-of-factly, and Caesar's like, "Whoo boy, Obi-John done lost his mind!"

So what will Locke do when Ben wakes up? I'm calling it right now: nothing. That's because Ben will convince Locke that he had to die -- but not by his own hand -- in order to return to the Island. And Locke will believe him. As much as Locke should be wary of Ben by now, I'm not sure he'll ever sever the weird type of alliance they have... especially since what Ben did worked. Five of the O6 have returned, Locke's alive, Ben's back... but now what? Have the time flashes stopped? And when are they?


IT'S BEEN SO LONG NOW
BUT IT SEEMS NOW
THAT IT WAS ONLY YESTERDAY
GEE, AIN'T IT FUNNY
HOW TIME JUST SLIPS AWAY


Since we got a glimpse of the same outriggers we saw in "The Little Prince," the assumption is that Locke and the group he is with must've landed after January 2005 (when the O6 first left the Island)... and that it will therefore be someone from Ajira 316 who ends up shooting at Sawyer, Juliet and the rest of the time-flashing group in the canoe.

This makes sense, because if the Ajira passengers had landed back in the late '70s/early '80s (which is when we're assuming the rest of the main characters are), I don't think the buildings they're taking shelter in would be abandoned, as that was the height of Dharma's time on the Island. We also had seen Caesar review papers that looked to be from Daniel's journal -- both his map of the Island and some of his crazy equations -- meaning that Dharma would've already had to have taken possession of some of Daniel's documents (or copied them) by the time Caesar finds them. Since we're pretty sure Faraday's currently hanging with Dharma because we saw Jin in a DI jumpsuit in the last episode, I don't think they'd already have his files if Locke and Caesar did indeed land in the same year.

So my guess is that Lapidus and Sun, and possibly even Sayid since we haven't seen him yet, took off in a canoe for the main Island. Eventually, others will take the two remaining boats -- and someone in them will be "bad" and will be who ends up shooting at the Lostaways and Freighties. Obviously the leading contenders are the new people we've been introduced to -- Ilana and Caesar. It's not clear if those two knew each other before the crash... but either way, he's definitely acting the sketchiest, what with hiding the gun and immediately rifling through the Dharma files.

Of course it's also possible that another group comes to the Island in the future, too... or that it could be some of the Others from Richard's group who are the mystery attackers in the canoe.

Finally, I just wanted to be clear that I'm not ruling out the scenario that everyone from Ajira landed in the same period -- the late '70s. Frankly, I hope that's the case if for no other reason than my brain just can't process how everyone could be scattered across the decades and ever reunite.

There was also something Faraday said when his group first discovered the outriggers on the main Island in "The Little Prince" (once again, this was in January 2005 or later as their camp still existed) that was a little odd:

[The group comes across the canoes.]
CHARLOTTE: Where did these come from?
FARADAY: That's a good question. They're pretty old.
MILES: Not that old. [Picking up a water bottle with the Ajira logo on it]

Faraday specifically noted that the outriggers looked old... and that could be a clue that Locke and his group are back in the late '70s and that the outriggers had simply been over on Alcatraz Island for more than thirty years... and that it was a different Ajira flight that arrived in the future from which the water bottle came.

OK, I seriously cannot think about this any longer!



BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE

ABADDON: So that's Michael Dawson's son, huh?

LOCKE: Yeah.

ABADDON: Boy's gotten big.



LOCKE: Hello, Hugo.

HURLEY: So you didn't make it, huh?





A BRIEF PROGRAMMING NOTE


As I write this, there's a ridiculous blizzard swirling outside my window here in Chicago... which makes it all the more sweet that I will be leaving for a warm and sunny vacation destination later this week. Therefore, my write-up for the March 4th episode will be uncharacteristically short and possibly up earlier than usual.

The good news (for me) is that there is NO new episode airing on March 11th, meaning that I can actually relax while I'm on my trip. Lost will be back on March 18th, and I'll be back by then, too -- hopefully refreshed and fully prepared to resume coverage of this marvelous season.

Of course, nothing's ever going to top my visit to Oahu. If you'd like to see a few more pictures from the day we ran into filming for "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham," read on. If not, then I'll see you back here for a mini-post within a week's time.


THE MAGNIFICENT DAY THAT WAS OCTOBER 28, 2008

To anyone who's new to this site, you may want to first check out these two entries before reading the rest of this section:
- My story of meeting Terry O'Quinn
- Pictures from my all-day private tour of Lost locations

For everyone else, here's what else I saw in Oahu that I didn't want to mention until now for fear of spoiling something. The good news is that I really had no idea what I was watching, so it didn't ruin any of the season to date for me.

When we first arrived at the intersection where we'd been told Lost would be shooting, we stood on a corner where we could see three full blocks of filming preparations. It just so happened that we were literally right next to Abaddon's town car (as in, we were on the sidewalk to the right of this picture) and saw them filming its license plate as well as the car's exterior for this shot:


Above, there's a white building with a balcony and columns. You can see the same columns in this shot below, which shows our perspective of Michael Emerson/Ben's scene. Ben is very small and in the middle of the picture below and the filming crew is to the left.


But more on all that in a second. Back to the town car... had no idea that it would end up being Abaddon's ride on the show, nor did we ever see any of the scenes between Locke and Abaddon that took place inside the vehicle. What was clear, however, was that they'd set up this area of Honolulu's business district to look like New York City. The rollover captions explain what each picture is.





The coolest thing we witnessed being filmed was the scene that ended up being Ben observing Locke, Abaddon and Walt from afar. But once again, since all we saw at the time was Ben randomly standing in the middle of a NYC sidewalk and not moving or talking to anyone while others walked hurriedly around him, it didn't spoil the show for us. Here's a twelve-second clip of the shoot... we stood there for about a half-hour watching them do this scene a few times. We were diagonally across the street from the filming... you will see the camera on the left and Ben on the right -- the scene is already rolling.



Here's a still-shot of the scene as we saw it:



And here's how it looked on TV:



Then crew members took pictures of Michael Emerson from every angle... probably to ensure that they could redo his make-up exactly as it was if the scene ended up needing to be reshot.




Next we have a few shots of Michael Emerson after his scene had wrapped and he headed out for the day... crossing two feet in front of us. Yes, I still want to bang my head against the wall for not asking him to take a picture with me! I'll never forgive myself.



Shortly after Ben's scenes were over, we spotted Terry O'Quinn. Below is the uncropped version of my picture with him. As I didn't hang around to actually watch any of his scenes being filmed, I wasn't sure if Murphy's Bar was going to come into play on the show or not, so the picture I've featured on this site for the past four months had the Murphy's sign cut out. Turns out that the bar wasn't in "TLaDoJB"... though its interior has been used before on the series. It's where Charlie met his drug dealer in "Homecoming" and also where Poppa Locke/Anthony Cooper/Original Sawyer met with Locke in "Lockdown."


Terry ended up donning a leather jacket and a cast for his NYC scenes with Walt, but you can see from the episode still below that he's otherwise wearing the same outfit I saw him in. It was nearly ninety degrees out that day, poor guy.



And finally, when we were out at the Kualoa Ranch, we got to walk around inside the school that we saw Sayid building in this latest episode. In the past, this same location had been used as Jin's father's house and the Nigerian cantina where Eko killed two drug dealers. Reader LF from Australia, who took the Lost tour two days before me, narrowly missed seeing Naveen Andrews (Sayid) when she went by this location -- his trailer was still there but the crews were already packing up for the day.

Here's what we saw...



And how it looked on the show:




Our time on "the Island" still feels like a dream; it continues to be a thrill whenever a location we recognize from our tour is shown on the show. And now to know that -- of all episodes -- we saw part of "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" being filmed? It just doesn't get any better than that!

Until next time,
- e

80 comments:

Tori said...

Thanks, e.... had to take an unplanned lunch break at work today to read!
I am still utterly confused about the dueling sides that both appear to want to get everybody back to the island, but it appears you don't know how to interpret it either -- your summary this week makes me feel a little better living in the grey about this particular topic.
Have a fabulous vacation. And thanks for the additional pics from Hawaii -- I am star-struck just knowing that you were there and that I know you! :-)

Erika (aka "e") said...

Here are the songs I pulled from for the section headings:

“Good to See You” by Neil Young

“Don’t Look Back in Anger” by Oasis

“Come with Me” by Zwan

“Bullet Proof… I Wish I Was” by Radiohead

“Viva la Vida” by Coldplay

“Bad Boys” by Inner Circle

“I am the Resurrection” by The Stone Roses

“Funny How Time Slips Away” by Willie Nelson

- e

Zach Dionne said...

Vacation again?! I'm so jealous of you. You travel so much. Wowza. Have fun...awesome post :)

Scott said...

Didn't Mr. Friendly force Kate and Sawyer to work on building a runway back in the day when they were hanging out in the Bear Cages of Love on Alcatraz Island? Before Alex rescued them with the Slingshot of Death?

Erika (aka "e") said...

Scott - Yes... I had thought about that as well... but there shouldn't have been enough time to finish it (I would assume) after that point... IF Ajira 316 landed not too long after the 06 left. A lot of them were killed by the Losties and then went into hiding once Keamy's group arrived. BUT since Juliet did mention a runway to Sawyer, then who knows... perhaps it was actually there. (The shot of the Ajira plane looked to be in the middle of trees, though, and not in a clearing.)

- e

Anonymous said...

This may be your best re-cap yet. I'm loving the behind the scenes info.

It will be interesting to see if Abaddon will be back. Other chess pieces in Ben and Widmore's game have had multiple lives (Patchy and Mr. Friendly). I can only say that I like his choice of cars (Land Rover for Tunisia, Lincoln Town Car for New York and a nice solid, late model Grand Marquis for a gunfight and multiple car collision. That Crown Vic body style will survive anything!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for another great recap! It must be fate that you happened to be right there in Hawaii on the day that this episode was being filmed!

I got the feeling that Cesar and Ilana were on the plane for a reason... sent by someone (Widmore?) to gather intel on the island.

I am thoroughly confused about who is the "good guy" (Ben or Widmore) but one of the things that I've always loved this show is that it makes us question what is "good" and what is "bad" - it's not always so black and white!

Anonymous said...

So it's been driving me nuts that Abaddon's car in NY had the old NY plates. Everyone keeps telling me it was a prop error, but I noticed in your photo's that the taxi's all had the current NY plates. That and the fact that they focused on the plate at the beginning of the scene has me convinced it is some kind of hint. Unfortunately, I can't figure out what it could possibly mean??

Anonymous said...

Quick comment,

Did anyone else think that the woman (quick flash of her) helping set John's leg was Nadia?

I paused and reviewed this scene several times and both my wife and I think it could be. Is she really dead?

Dwane Lay said...

Great writeup, as always, e. I look forward to your recaps each week!

But why do you assume Widmore sent Sun the gun? I'm pretty sure it was Ben for a couple of reasons.

First, he had manipulated everyone else into being at the dock or working with him. Why would he leave Sun alone? And what better way to get her to him than make sure she knew where he was. I'd lay odds the gun wouldn't have fired if she tried to use it. (Who knows if we'll ever find that out, though.)

Second, I'm pretty sure the box had shown up before. Remember when Ben and Jack were in the hotel together, and Ben was slipping a box from hiding into his bag? (I seem to recall a discussion about how it might be a box of Medusa spiders?) I haven't checked screenshots, but I'd swear that was the same box Sun received in her pacakge.

g8er90 said...

Could Penny have been born on the Island? If Widmore really is her father, not like Ben and Alex, and Widmore's story is true, she could have been conceived and born on the Island. If Widmore was in his late teens when we see him in 1954 and he was the leader of the Others for about 30 years, he would have been in his late 40s to early 50s when his reign is interupted by Ben. He has, according to Miles, been looking for the Island for about 20 years. Penny seems to be older than 20. If she is in her 30s she is probably a "Native Islander." To take this a step further, Penny is not much younger than Ben. Could she have known him when she was younger?

What about her mother? Who is she? Is she still on the Island?

It seems all I have is questions.

Anonymous said...

Cesar was the driver from the car that picked up locke in the desert!!! You can look at it again..This may mean he is a widmore spy

Erika (aka "e") said...

E. Porter - God help us all if CARS start time traveling on this show!?! I'm chalking it up to an error, too... just like how the intersections they had for NYC don't really exist, etc., etc...

Dwayne - With the gun came surveillance-type pictures of Ben and Jack at the funeral parlor and whatnot. I don't think Ben would send Sun pics of himself. Also, Ben took a black case from the hotel room, Sun got a white package with a box of chocolates inside that had a hidden compartment. Plus, she MET with Widmore and said she intended to kill Ben. So while it's possible that Widmore didn't send her the gun, I definitely don't think Ben did.

g8er90 - We can't be sure that Widmore's 30 years on the Island started in 1954, though... it might have been earlier. We do not know who Penny's mother is at this point. It is of course possible that she was born on the Island, and also that she's Daniel's half or full sister. But she's definitely at least ten years younger than Ben, so I doubt they would've ever known each other if they were both on the Island at the same time.

Joe - Sorry, I don't think that was Caesar, I did check the screencaps again. Usually if there's a connection like that they definitely make it clear and hold the camera on the person's face for a bit... in this case, it wasn't the same actor.

Thanks for reading, all!

- e

Erika (aka "e") said...

Jim -

Nope, sorry, not Nadia either. : )
I have looked at the screencaps and it is definitely not her.

- e

Mair said...

::applause::

The strange mark on the ceiling - I saw it just as a way to say that there were pipes in the ceiling - something strong enough to hang oneself on...


oh, and e, do you REALLY believe it was "just fate" that you were there "on the island" at that specific time!?!?!?! ;-)

Keep on keeping on!

Unknown said...

Another great recap. Well Done. Oh and By the way, I was hoping for a Medusa spider appearance too. Half because I didn't want Locke to die and half because I wanted that crappy episode to mean something.

Anonymous said...

Why do you think that Penny is "definitely at least ten years younger than Ben"? From what I can see (from Lostpedia), Ben was born in the early 1960s. Penny is first seen in 1994, and she seems to be older than 20.

Also, Widmore claimed that he was the leader of the Others for 30 years - when we saw him in 1954, Richard was clearly his superior. But Richard left the island to follow Locke soon after, so that's probably when Widmore took over.

So what I'm wondering is, is it possible that Penny is Annie? Annie could have been a few years younger than Ben. And since there's no evidence that she was killed in the Purge (nor is it likely that Ben would have killed her), then she probably left the island before that.

Just a theory...

Roland said...

One more tiny bit of evidence to support the Ben is a Good Guy theory:

He was born on or about 12/21 - the traditional birth-date of Dying/Rising Gods and Messiahs.

Lady-in-Gray said...

Hi, Erika! Terrific recap!

I'm new here and I'm thrilled to have found a new recapper with a following who is still enjoying LOST as much as I am. My old recapper went negative and was sucking the joy right out of me...

:-)

Anonymous said...

Hi e,

great backstage photos, just awesome!

With every minute of watching TLDJB I grew more and more convined about my Ben-is-Jacob-theory (BIJT). Widmore claims that Ben "fooled" him. How could he fool him while being a boy?
Well, he could - using time travel capabilities discovered by Dharma - set up some Jacob spirit that starts influencing the Others (including Richard). We know from Horace-the-Builder that Jacob's cabin is somehow influenced by time issues, but at the same time we know that the cabin wasn't there before Ben arrived. I am quite sure that in Season 6 we will learn how Ben learned to control this place to travel through time. We have proof by two quotes:
1. Miles: "I know what you can do" - in the context of: Although you are a prisoner right now I know that you can get me 3.2m within 7 days
2. Widmore: "I know who your are, WHAT you are". I think he tells Ben: "I know WHAT you are: You are a liar fooling us all with a so-called Jacob"

Maybe once upon a time Jacob used to be a real superman/island-controlling spirit. But that's all over. Now it is Ben who plays Jacob.

BTW: When turning the FDW, Ben doesn't name "Jacob" directly. So we still have no proof that Ben himself believes in Jacob.

Cheers
Siggi

Sean said...

Great recap as always, e. It was great to see the extra behind the scenes details from your trip...glad you saved them until after the episode aired. I added a link on my blog (http://sfurfaro.blogspot.com) with a recommendation to direct all my fellow lost fans here weekly!

Anonymous said...

e, I'm surprised you didn't have harsher words for Kate. She was unnecessarily cruel to Locke when he met with her to convince her to go back. Even after he opened up to her, she basically called him a pathetic old man. I never disliked her character until this season, when we found out she basically took Aaron for completely selfish reasons, not to protect him or preserve their lie. This past episode really did it for me though, as I have come to love Locke, maybe not quite as much as you, but still a good bit. Jack was his usual off-island surly self too, but even he was not as icy and holier-than-thou as Kate.

Roland said...

Sometimes I get so mad at the Writers:

While conversing with Ilana (and later with Caesar),St John the Stupid has STILL not figured out when to hold his tongue. Instead of saying the bare minimum until he can figure out who these people are and what their intentions might be, he starts blabbing about remembering his own death. Slow Learner. Given Walt’s Warning, John’s speechifying is even dumber.

Anonymous said...

Widmore never said he was the leader for 30 years. He said his group was on the island for 30 years and that he was their leader. This can mean that he was the leader for a time but not the entire 30 years that darhma was there.

Lula! said...

Seriously...my head hurts.

Brilliant recap, as usual. I cannot wait 'til Wednesday.

Oh, and had no idea there'd be on ep on March 11. Thanks for the heads up.

AmyBethJames said...

I have spent the last five days home sick on the couch, and have used that time to essentially do nothing but rewatch Lost Seasons 2, 3, and now half of 4. If there is one thing that watching all the episodes in succession reminded me, it was that Ben is the lying-est liar that ever lied.

From the very beginning, deceit, coercion, and head games have been his M.O. In your lovely recap, E, you talked about how you thought Locke wouldn't be able to sever his bizarre ties to Ben. Isn't it interesting how we viewers are just the same! We have this sick relationship with Ben where we know he's bad for us but we just can't stop coming back for more. Maybe we have to cut ourselves off! :)

Do Ben's actions occasionally have seemingly positive side-effects for our Losties? Yes. But does he ever truly have their best interest at heart? No. Freaking. Way. Ben cares about himself and maintaining control. Sure, he certainly seems to care about the island, but I'm convinced it is only to the extent that it makes him feel important and, again, powerful. Perhaps at one point he even had some sort of respectful fear of island and/or Jacob's retribution, but I don't even know about that anymore. He was certainly and knowingly acting in opposition to Jacob when he shot Locke and left him to die in the Dharma pit, right?

Our Losties - and us viewers by extension - had to take Ben at his word that Widmore was the real enemy, partly because there wasn't anyone around to offer contradictory information! It only helped Ben's case that we were predisposed to dislike Widmore for coldly trying to break up Penny & Des. In this episode we were at long last presented with a second opinion from Widmore himself.

I found that scene w/ Widmore and Locke extremely interesting, and I have to say it was like a little light bulb went off in my head... Except for Ben's word, what evidence do we really have that Charles Widmore is in fact the big bad guy behind it all? It was Widmore who gave Locke (and Desmond too, actually) the means to find Mrs. Hawking (possible ex-wife/life-mate/baby-mama?) and thus a way back to the island. It was Widmore who was possibly responsible for Locke (and Desmond too, actually...) ever reaching the island in the first place...

Anyway, that just turned into a lot of rambling but my bottom line is, I do not now nor ever have trusted Ben as far as I could throw him. Whether I will trust Widmore remains to be seen. Maybe they're both just as bad as the other.

PenguinJosh said...

Oh my god how lucky you are, Erika!!!

Josh :D

Julie said...

Great recap as usual!

So Abaddon gets people to where they need to be.. If that is so, do you think he knew he was going to die?

He stalled on telling Locke about Helen, but when he finally told him he brought him to the grave yard where Ben happened to be waiting for him. When Abaddon was shot down Locke then took off in the car, got in an accident, ended up at Jacks hospital where they talked and according to Ben that conversation is what led Jack to start flying planes back and forth, which we know he did because he wanted to get back to the island. He had that conversation with Locke about knowing your going to die and what you would do right before he got killed as well.

Can't wait till Wednesday!

Anonymous said...

Everyone keeps saying that Charles Widmore claimed he was the leader of the others for 30 years. His quote was basically, "I was their leader." Then he said (both not exact quotes), "We have been protecting the island for 30 years."

Those 2 sentences could be satisfied by Widmore being the leader from 1 - 30 years.

He can still be "we" and protecting the island without actually being the leader.

Alan said...

I heard this song today, after reading your post. Thought it would be a great song for Lost.

Warning Sign by Cold Play. Maybe it's a song that Jack could sing...
A warning sign,
I missed the good part then I realized,
I started looking and the bubble burst.
I started looking for excuses.

Come on in,
I've gotta tell you what a state I'm in,
I've gotta tell you in my loudest tones,
That I started looking for a warning sign.

When the truth is,
I miss you.
Yeah the truth is,
That I miss you so.

A warning sign,
You came back to haunt me and I realized,
That you were an island and I passed you by,
You were an island to discover.

Come on in,
I've gotta tell you what state I'm in,
I've gotta tell you in my loudest tones,
That I started looking for a warning sign.

When the truth is,
I miss you.
Yeah the truth is,
That I miss you so.

And I'm tired,
I should not have let you go.

So I crawl back into your open arms.
Yes, I crawl back into your open arms.
And I crawl back into your open arms.
Yes, I crawl back into your open arms...

Anonymous said...

I think the gap in time between the meeting with Jack, and John's attempted suicide/murder, was really avoided here.
I told my kids - "Didn't Jack have a shaggy beard when he tells Kate about the funeral?"

Enough time would have to pass for Jack to: 1) grow the beard, 2) lose all control with the drugs and drinking, 3) take multiple trips with the golden ticket (as he tells Kate). Ben tells Locke that Jack bought a ticket...we assume the first one, but what if it is not. What if he just happens to be on a flight that night? Otherwise he would have to take many flights between Locke's death and his meeting with Kate, presumably in a few days time.

OR, weeks pass between Locke's death and the funeral. Not very likely.

I agree with you that everyone seems more annoyed with Locke than one visit might provoke.

I wonder why, if it is Sun that went with Lapidus, she was not flashed out of the plane too???

Having heard that this episode was originally supposed to have aired BEFORE last weeks, I think that explains why 316 felt so out of place. There would have been a lot more surprises if we had been watching this one and wondering who Ceaser and Co. were.

Nice summary, as usual!

Sarah M. in MI

Dr. Gorila Zombie said...

Hi! Thanks for your awesome reviews! I´ve been following them and are just great! I usually check your blog to see if you´ve updated!

My bet is the Locke group is in Present day (i mean, after the 3 years outside island) and Jack´s in 70´s. I´m with the theory that Ben is really evil and that he didn´t expect to find Locke alive again... The end of the chapter suggest it... I think Widmore probably is evil too... as other fans have said, Locke is always a tool in their hands. They tell him he´s special but the don´t really believe it. It´s just a way to use him. But in time, Locke will decide by himself and show everybody that, in fact, he is really special...

Two last thoughts i´ve had these days... Are we really sure Zombie Christian is really dead? I mean, Locke is alive again... Maybe Christian has never been a ghost, maybe he is alive again...

And the last one, if Lapidus had to be in the original 815, maybe that flight had to land withouth crashing (as 316). Any connection with Widmore plans?

Best wishes and again congratulations for your great blog (and Locke-pics!)

Beerage said...

Brilliant recap e. Loving the backstage pictures :)

The second I saw the whole Walt/Lock encounter, I instantly thought this was highly likely the scene you witnessed on your tour. Crazy how close you really were.

I feel that Ms Hawking's name spooked Ben and he had to make a snap decision and thats why he killed Locke, I dont feel he went into that house knowing he was going to do the dirty deed.

Abbadons scenes I always kept thinking he was sneaky and was shocked when he was shot. Although I do believe we will still see alot more of him in the future.

I still feel/hope Ben is still on the good side, some of his choices may have not been the best, but I feel the past 2 seasons we've seen a new side of Ben, a more real and caring side.

No Lost this weekend (Wednesday for you Americans) can't believe it, I've been swamped with work and was really looking forward to relaxing while watching Lost :(

LisaCPhotography said...

Thanks so much for the great recaps...

I was wondering how Ben, Ethan, and Richard got off the island before, for example to recruit Juliet... and how they got back then.

Also, I'm watching an old L&O: CI with Michael Emerson playing a bad guy whose job is supposed to be an Economist... strange

Anonymous said...

I believe caesar is a spy for widmore. Widmore put him on that plane because he knew something was up. Caesar knew what he was looking for in that room.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for another great recap, E! It was a great ep for the Locke-lovers among us.

My two cents:

Both Ben and Widmore are bad guys, and Locke will eventually have to save the island from them both. Having said that, I have recently fallen in love with Ben dispite his badness.

I still think John and Ben are half-brothers. Emily Linus is Emily Locke. We are supposed to believe that E. Linus died when Ben was born, but then why would Ben, even (or especially) in jest say, "My mother taught me" when Jack asked him how he could read.

One other weird theory that came to me when watching Charles Widmore bid on the diary from the Black Rock... it's his diary. I think he was on the Black Rock and that is how he came to be on the island. He didn't age (like Richard) for many, many years, until he was forced/left the island, then he started aging normally.

We don't know how the other-others/hostiles first came to the island. We don't know if they are actually a combination of a number of peoples. I'm thinkin' some were there from ancient times (when people only had 4 toes and were giants, perhaps) and others came on the Black Rock and other ships that crashed on the island.

Anyway, thanks again for giving us a Locke-centeric place to gather!

Elsie

Lady-in-Gray said...

Anon, I wonder if Sun's not "flashing" with Jack, Hurley and Kate might have something to do with her aligning herself with Charles Widmore.

While my gut feeling is that Sun is the woman who took the boat with Frank, we won't know that for sure for a while....

I'm also wondering if Ilana is Ben's operative (he had someone watching Sayid) while Cesar is Widmore's man on the plane. Cesar didn't seem to trust Ilana enough to tell her about the gun that he stashed in his pack....

Anonymous said...

Re: Locke and the hooded cloak comment; ummm... that was an Ajira Airlines towel John had drapped over his shoulders/head. Why? Because when they found him he was standing in his suit in the water.

Also Lapidus did land on the runway (though probably unfinished) on Hydra Island. You can see Caesar and Ilana walking down it in the overhead shot as they pass the plane which came to a stop in the tree line at the edge of the runway.

You mentioned the discrepancies in Locke's meetings with the O6 (Jack's beard/ being called Bentham/ mention Ben being off the island etc) but you failed to mention a few others, being that the timeline in this episode is real screwy compared with what we've been shown previously.

- Ben mentions when he visits/kills Locke that Jack has just started flying over the Pacific, but by the time Jack reads the obituary and meets with Kate he says he's been flying a lot.

- Jack's beard length in the hospital scene indicates a fair amount of time passes between his talk with Locke and him visiting Locke at the funeral home, so there could have easily been another meet between the two (that hasn't yet been shown) with Locke mentioning Ben being off the island and further convincing Jack he needs to go back. This would also give Jack more time to use his golden pass.

- But if this is the case then why does Locke look like he's fresh out of hospital when he gives up and tries to hang himself? His facial injuries haven't healed if a significant amount of time has passed.

- Also he had none of those facial injuries when we've seen him with in the coffin in the past...(err future). That's some damn fine work by Hoffs-Drawlar.

There's got to be more to this than a make-up error. Locke was specifically given injuries by TPTB in the car crash that we can all see and specifically didn't give Jack the full hillbilly beard, both of which denote passages of time to the audience. But how much time?

As mentioned in the recap Jack tells Ben he saw Locke about a month ago, ok was that the hospital meeting or a subsequent meeting and if that indicates the time between their meeting/s how come Locke's facial bruising and scratches didn't heal in the interim??

Did he die a month before his viewing and was kept in storage? That doesn't seem so likely.

Some how I don't think we've seen the last of the life and death of Jeremy Bentham.

Oh one last thing, LA cops in the Lost world are fairly ordinary. The didn't notice the kicked in door in Locke's hotel room. Suicide's don't usual kick their own door in before they kill themselves. Unless Ben stopped by Angel's hardware and picked up a door repair kit while he bought his cleaning supplies.

And what's up with the Other's and their ability to string up men to rafter's and/or tree branches all by themselves. I know Damon in the past has jokingly said Ethan must have worked out a lot, but Ben?

Yes I realise it's just a tv program and am only half serious on those last two points.

Wow that was long-winded, now I kind of know how writing those recaps must feel ;)

...But there's still more...

ABADDON: When you're ready, Mr. Locke... (presses button) you'll listen to what I'm saying. And then when you and me run into each other again... you'll owe me one.

That quote from Abaddon from the Cabin Fever episode sounded so promising. Next time they actually met Abaddon became John's Chauffeur and ended up getting killed for his efforts. But not before Abaddon bluntly reminded Locke about his days in the wheelchair.

Speaking of Abaddon I don't think he or anyone else he is associated with knew specifically 815 would crash as you suggest, I just think he knew that once Locke left for Australia he wouldn't be 'coming back'. Fate dealt Locke the hand that he'd not be allowed on the walkabout and return or attempt to return to LA early.

Anonymous said...

remember when kate and sawyer and hurley were caught by patchy and while they were walking to the others camp and patchy told kate (i think) that she wasn't even on jacob's list... did we ever find out what that list was for?

Mary said...

Great recap! Thanks!

I'm with you on thinking that if there's a good guy, it's Ben not Widmore.

But I'd bet money that Locke is not really resurrected, just time traveling, and that suicide wouldn't have mattered because 'dead means dead'. I think he time traveled to visit the O5 after his death, and that solves the beard/time issues and the things he supposedly said but we didn't see in this ep. I think Ben's also sending a time traveling Christian around 'shepherding' the Losties here and there.

Anonymous said...

Ah Sarah M. in MI beat me to it in regards to some of my observations and much more succinctly too.

Dr. Gorila Zombie Locke's group including Sun and Lapidus is definitely in the present (815 camp is still around, no Dharma at the Hypdra) or future while Jack's group is in the 70/80's. How else are they going to string out the Sun/Jin reunion :)

Christian is dead it's been confirmed http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Christian_Shephard

I don't think he's like Locke at all. He appeard to Jack off-island at the hospital post-O6 and the other doctor didn't see him.

Sharon Rose said...

Just wanted to say thanks for another fun recap. I'm so happy for you. :) Enjoy your trip... I hope you reach the right destination. *grin*

Anonymous said...

I am intrigued by Abbadon's charachter and also feel he will fit into filling in some missing pieces as the show goes on. I think we will find out he has visited many of our other beloved lead players and "influenced" them to get where they needed to be. (maybe flight 815)
I too have been interested in Penny and whether she was born on the island and her role in this. Not sure on all the theories as I think we need more info, but she may have been looking for the island too for more reasons than just Desmond. I think this info also is driving Desmond back to the island regarding Penny, her dad and everything else.
Have a great vacation!

Mary said...

"Locke was specifically given injuries by TPTB in the car crash that we can all see and specifically didn't give Jack the full hillbilly beard, both of which denote passages of time to the audience."

Exactly. Time passed for Jack but not Locke. Jack's beard grew but Locke's face didn't heal because Locke time traveled. The time didn't pass for Locke.

I know Christian is dead but we know there can be two of someone in any given time. There can be dead Christian and pre-dead (live) Christian at any time after his death, including in the hospital. If they can time travel from the island to off-island through the FDW, why not off-island through whatever else they use to travel through time and space?

If the coworker should've seen him but didn't I think they'll say that Christian sightings in the suit (we've seen him twice, I think) are really hallucinations. If he disappeared right as the coworker walked in, they could say he flashed out of there.

I think 'dead Charlie swimming' at the police station was truly a hallucination but dead Charlie at Santa Rosa was Charlie time traveling.

Anonymous said...

First of all, Shave Ezra... I love your name and truly laughed out loud when I read it.

Siggi - Ben DID actually name Jacob when turning the wheel... he said "I hope you're happy now, Jacob". This leads me to believe that Jacob is, in fact, not Ben.

E, as always... your re-caps make my life so much brighter. Counting down 'til Wednesday...

meh~ said...

hi e! ^_^/~

I've been following your entries for quite some time now but I couldn't bring myself to comment until today. It's always a pleasure to read your clever and humorous remarks, and what I love the most is the fact you're not overdoing it with theories or seeing similarities out of nowhere like most of the other recappers do. I can go back to your older entries if I want without having to put up with crap that was proven wrong a month after posting :-P

I would like to comment on the following:
this is the first time we've had proof that others might have known that flight wasn't going to reach L.A.
Maybe we should've seen that coming the moment we assumed that the losties travelled back in the 70's or 80's. I have no idea what you think of it, but it appears to me that we came cross another self-fulfilling prophecy. Thus other details of the show suddenly have a different meaning, eg. the people who weren't on the list because they had other things they were supposed to do, or Ben's coolness at the time of the crash... or not! :-P. We won't know until we find out how much they get to interact with the Dharma people and the Hostiles while they stay there.

Anywayz, keep up the good work and have a great vacation!

Anonymous said...

Siggy,

I think you are definitely on to something. Just like "The Man Behind the Curtain" there was no wizard of Oz, right? Just that guy manipulating behind the curtain. So there is no Jacob, just Ben manipulating things....

MJ

LissBirds said...

Thanks for posting more behind-the-scenes shots and video!!! I wish you had gotten a chance to talk to Michael Emerson! I think I woud've like tackled him if I saw him walking down the street.

I really liked your thoughts on this week's episode. Itwas so intense it was like an hour long anxiety attack for me and there was a lot I missed because I was too busy covering my eyes.

I keep wondering why Ben is always wearing black. He looks like the angel of death and yet he always claims he's the good guy. It's amazing how we're willing to forgive him all the awful stuff he's done and we still believe him.

My Mom (who watches LOST with me) was completely confused as to why Ben killed Locke and your theory makes an awful lot of sense. You can't get into heaven if you commit suicide. Why didn't I pick that up? ;)

Sally said...

Great post "e" thanks a lot for sharing....

Anonymous said...

Glad you liked The Stone Roses lyrics. I liked the use of Oasis and Radiohead as well. I agree with your take on why Ben did what he did in the hotel room. I had re-read your meeting with Terry only last week and thought this might be the ep you bumped into him....yay you!

Anonymous said...

I forgot to ask, are you on twitter?

Anonymous said...

For me, no matter what Ben or Widmore does, we cannot state who is good and who is evil. Only the Island can.

Because the Island doesn't work by our rules, but by its own rules.

A smoke monster decapitating people is here to protect the Island. So in Island Dictionary, Smoke Monster = Good.

A purge whiping out hundred of Dharma Members is to protect the Island, again, Purge = Good.


With that said, I believe Ben is the bad guy (Island rules), because no matter what excuses we give his lies and his actions, nothing can excuse these three moments:


- Ben getting Cancer. [Season 4 Episode 6]

- Ben not hearing Jacob. [Season 4 Episode 11]

- Christian talking bad about Ben to Locke. [Season 5 Episode 5]


While Widmore may have used horrendous methods to get Ben off the Island (hiring Keamy), it still may be for the better of the Island, so he is the good guy.

Paparelli said...

Hi e

Great writeup again. I am wondering about the exit point from the island. Are we sure Widmore discovered it after Ben passed throught but before Locke did? It seemed like those guys Ben killed when he passed through were expecting him or someone, as there was an immediate fight.

With Locke, however, he obviously wasn't expected becuase it took a car all day to get there. This gave Locke time to notice the cameras/warning system that Widmore set up. Just becuase Ben did not notice it does not mean it was not there.

Could it be that Widmore turned the FDW and therefore knew the exit point? Perhaps Richard and Ben decided he needed to be exiled, and tricked him into turning it, which would also explain why Widmore uses both terms.

However, that raises the question as to how Widmore knew Ben would be turning the FDW as to have his men there waiting. Unless he just thought that it may be a poissibility given Ben's off island resources and Widmore feeling Ben may know his search for the island was close to becoming a success.?

Ana Maria said...

...to Anonymous: regarding Jacob's list, I'm rewatching season 3 on the animax channel, and last week I watched the episode where Jack starts to operate on Ben, and these 2 guys were watching the surgery; one of them husband to that woman that Sun shots and later dies...anyway...that guy suddenly decides to go outside to the cages with the intention to kill Sawyer, and as they were heading out the other guy tells him "what about the surgery?", and angry guy responds "the doctor wasn't even on Jacob's list"...so I'm as curious as you are about that list; hope it is addresed on the show again...

Scott said...

e, going back about 80 comments ago (congrats on this traffic, by the way!) As usual, you're probably right. I'm going to hold on to the fact that is the same runway though, just because I think it is awesome the way they are piecing so many things from the past together this season and this would be another cool throwback.

My excuse for the plane being in the middle of the trees is because the runway was not finished so it didn’t have enough room to stop. But I know this is a very insignificant fact in the whole scope of all things Lost.

I also wanted to apologize for not sending my condolences when Ben murdered Locke. I’m glad you are ok. Have fun on your upcoming trip and thanks again for the great recaps!

Unknown said...

This was so cool and the first time I've seen your blog. I am a true Locke fan as well and was very upset when he was strangled- why does he keep trusting Ben? I compare Ben to Arvin Sloane in Alias (also a J.J. Abrams masterpiece). Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed it!

Anonymous said...

great recap, as usual!
I was just thinking, is it possible that Ben, Locke and the other plane survivors have ended up in the future, as in after 2008/09?
That would mean the runway could have been finished, and so the plane would have been able to land safely.

Unknown said...

Hello to the latest anonymous! I have a theory on where they are in time- when Charlotte died, she said someone told her to never come back to the island or she would die and that man was Dan Faraty- that paired with the famous Dharma van that Jin rolls up in at the end of the last show tells us that they are in the past, maybe around the time Charlotte was a child. Thoughts?

Cekma said...

So I'm thinking the psychic and possibly Libby work for Widmore. Richard the psychic got Claire to where she needed to be. Libby gave Desmond her husbands boat for the Widmore race which got him on the island.

Born and raised New Yorker here. Love Lost, think the locations dept nd art depts do a great job creating the world considering everything is done in Hawaii. That said that was not the Upper West Side/NY lol. But a good effort I suppose. There also isn't a w.67 street station!

The Creature Feature said...

Are we certain that Widmore hadn't always had the camera planted there to witness the people who come from turning the FDW? After all, Ben received a much more hostile welcome back crew upon his arrival. Widmore had said that was where he landed when he left the island and I wouldn't put it past him to have a big "WANTED" sign posted so that when Ben arrived, Widmore's minions were sent on a co-op mission to capture Mr. Linus.

Love the posts keep reading!

Nick said...

I think Locke was lying to Widmore in the hospital scene, and that he definitely remembers him (and the tape that Ben showed him). Locke had no reason to tell Widmore that he know of him, since Widmore would likely believe/suspect that Locke could only know of Widmore via Ben. And any "connection" or "loyalty" that Locke showed to Ben at that point might have angered Widmore, for all Locke knew. So he played it safe and faked ignorance, which was probably the right move.

lyly ford said...

congrat and thanks for sharing
can i take some pics and put on my blog ? i'll put a link back and credit you :)
i'm so glad locke is alive it's JOHN LOCKE they can't kill him^^
one day i hope to be lucky as you and share a hug with terry :) thanks again for the summary :)

Ernie said...

With Widmore's timeline, when/where does Penny's birth come in? Do you think she was born on the island or after he was exiled?

I don't think the two groups are in the same time. I think Jack and company are in the 70s and Locke and crew are in present time. Won't it be weird though if Locke or Sun come across a 25 year older Sawyer or Jin on the island? Alas, they probably were killed in the purge ... wrap your mind around that.

Anonymous said...

Hey e,
As usual, you ROCK!! I have a ponderence - did TPTB have Jack put Christian's shoes on Locke to show us the cast on Locke's leg had been removed?!? I do not know if it's common practice for a funeral home to remove a cast (especially on a lower extremity) when prepping a body, but they do slit clothing down the back and tuck it around a body, which means they could have left the cast on. So I’m wondering if TPTB where trying to give us a hint at a timeline...a human bone takes about 8 weeks to mend (I know this a personal fact, as I have broken an arm and a leg). So assuming it is common practice to remove a cast, Locke’s leg must have been mostly mended, because Jack wasn't exactly gentle in changing Locke's shoes in the coffin. If only a couple of weeks had passed since the specialist reset Locke's break, then Jack's rough handling might have looked like he was about to take Locke's leg off (wincing at the mental image). Just something more to think about.

Anonymous said...

Great recap as usual. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Here are my thoughts and confusions:

1)Is it possible that Sun didn't jump because she was in possession of Jin's ring? Like Locke wearing Sheppard's shoes?

2)Charles Widmore never said he was the leader for 30 years. He said he was their leader. And that they protected the island for over 3 decades. They were protecting the island against the US Army and he wasn't the leader then.

3)Richard Alpert... He had short hair in 1954. He had long hair when he met Ben Linus. Short hair during the Purge. And now, he looks like he did back in 1954. Has he died at one point, and came back to the island in a coffin with someone's belongings?

4)Is it possible that Ben was ordering the landing strip to be built so that the flight 316 can land in the future with him in it?

5)Has anyone noticed that Widmore and Linus are working towards the same goal? They were both trying to get Locke to gather all O6 and take them back to the island.

Anonymous said...

Well done as always, Erika.
When I watched a dialogue with Widmore, I thought of the lines "There is a war coming, there is a war coming" from a song by Nick Cave ("Hiding all away").

Anonymous said...

Great recap! I LOVE reading these! Not sure if anyone's already asked this and I don't have time to read through all of them, but...

Why did the Island (if it is the Island) choose to "flash" some of the people (Jack, Hurley, Kate) to a certain location and "not flash" others away (Ben, Sun, maybe Sayid) from the plane crash? Does that even matter? I just think it's interesting...

Unknown said...

Hi Katie!

I was wondering that too... I wonder if it has something to do with who is supposed to return and who isn't. So far, we know that Jack, Hurley, Kate and Locke arrived safely and don't remember crashing- I was thinking maybe Ben was in the actual crash because he wasn't supposed to return and maybe Sun is close by, they just couldn't have her meeting Jin this soon to leave room for suspense and drama. What do you think?

In response to Tanyar's comment about Shepard's shoes- I think it was about tricking the island into thinking it was him in the coffin. Who knows though, it's such a twisty little show. I like how we are learning the answers to all the questions we've had since season one! Is it Wednesday yet? :)

Does anyone have theories on Aaron? I think Kate gave him to Claire's mom but that might be too easy...

Unknown said...

E,

I've been wondering how everyone knows that the Ajira plane landed on the Hydra Island. Obviously there was some sort of clue which revealed that but I missed it and I haven't seen an explanation either. Can you clear that up?

Erika (aka "e") said...

David -

The files Caesar found had the Hydra logo on them, and Hydra is on Alcatraz. In addition, Locke was shown looking out at the bigger Island.

- e

Anonymous said...

Fun recap as usual.

I'm a born lurker but I had to comment on this whole runway thing.

316 had, absolutely HAD to land on the cleared space that Juliet tongue-in-cheekily refered to as a "runway" for "the aliens".

We've been told that the Hydra Station island is "about twice the size of Alcatraz island", right? Is Alcatraz island even a mile long? So let's say that the Hydra island is about two miles long.

Guessing that 316 is a 767, and that it didn't just "materialize" on the Hydra island sans forward momentum and with engines off -since this is something that Ceaser might have mentioned when he spoke of Hurley vanishing- then wouldn't it need nearly a mile of cleared land to make a belly landing?

The beach might be a possibility. But do we really believe that there's that kind of a perfect, uninterrupted and STRAIGHT stretch of beach on the Hydra island?

Even a great pilot -like we have seen Frank to be- can't land a 767 travelling at 500-plus mph in the middle of the jungle on a mountainous island without a hefty, hefty stretch of really flat and clear land.

Even otherwise minor boulders or a few trees hitting the wings would turn 316 into a fireball and Locke would have to ressurrect twice.

My guess: In a future episode we'll either be shown or told about the crash landing of 316. It will begin with the plane suddenly materializing above the Island island. The plane will have serious mechanical trouble -natch- Frank will be desperate, and then he spots a decent stretch of clear land on the Hydra island, goes for it, he gets it down, and then it barely stops in time. Hence it ends up netsled into the trees at the edge of the clearing.

The other option is that all this happens after Ben pops into the cockpit and tells them about the strip.

Once you realize that -short of total sci-fi silliness- landing the plane on the Hydra Island withOUT a "runway" would be impossible, then that sequence with Kate/Sawyer, and that scene with Juliet/Sawyer are revealed for the crazy awesome "puzzle pieces" that they are.

anyways,

/ramble off

Erika (aka "e") said...

Matti -

You guys definitely have me convinced about the runway now... thanks!

But just so as not to confuse anyone... I refer to Hydra Island AS Alcatraz Island in my write-up. They are the same thing.

I just call the main Island where most of the show has taken place "the Island."

I called the smaller Hydra island "Alcratraz" as that's where Kate, Sawyer and Jack were held prisoner and were told they couldn't swim to the other main Island.

Sorry if my nickname was confusing. But what you said about the runway makes sense regardless.

: )

Enjoy the show tonight, everyone! Sorry I couldn't respond to all the comments but I'm swamped getting ready to leave on Friday...

- e

Anonymous said...

I agree that Widmore and Ben may very well be on the same side, but just dont like each other.

Another clue - Widmore says he controls Oceanic. Claire's mom was in LA to pick up money, I believe, from Oceanic. The lawyer for Oceanic seeing claires mom is Bens lawyer (Am I getting the facts right?) Thanks as usual for your insight!

Anonymous said...

Hey Emily,

So I've been a long time LOST fan for the LONGEST time and I always get a kick out of reading your post after each new episode because it gives me something to think about during my busy days at work. There has been something on my mind a lot lately and it has been the design that the Dharma Initiative has used as their company logo. I tried to make some correlation between DHARMA and DARWIN but that never got me anywhere and then it hit me!

I was watching the History channel the other night and I caught this hour long special they had on 2012 (you can buy the episode here: http://shop.history.com/detail.php?a=77314) and the impending doomsday that is supposed to happen. It went over various religious predictions and ancient calendars including the Mayan and one in particular from ancient China. It is called the I CHING and it is a system of telling the future by using 3 coins with tails and heads on their opposing sides. Tossing the coins and reading the layout of the coins will determine what symbol you get and the symbols are either a straight line or a broken line. You really have to watch the episode to get a good idea of what the hell I am talking about but check this out...there are 8 possible Trigrams (combinations of broken and un-broken lines) and every single one of these Trigrams make up the DHARMA INITIATIVES LOGO!!!!!

Don't believe me? Then check out the page on wikipedia that I pulled up showing the 8 Trigrams (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching) and then check out the big picture of the THE LAMP POST Station that you posted on your last blog for 316. In fact, check out all the Dharma Station logos.....they are all there!!!!

Now I KNOW that there is some reason why those were used and I'll bet no one has picked up on this yet so I'm giving you the big scoop. I'm sure you can dig up some facts on all of this and explain it in a better way than I can but at least it gives you something else to research and write about.

Let me know how it goes. It'll be interesting to see how you can relate all of this.

Good Luck,
Matt

Unknown said...

I still hold to the theory that Jeremy Bentham was a shout out to JB... me :)

Anonymous said...

I so cried when Locke was crying in this episode.....

Rebecca said...

Nice recap. I usually read you over on Darkufo, but love your site as well. I am so jealous that you got to meet Terry. I have been rewatching the other seasons and it irritates me how Jack and Kate treat poor Locke. Kate's comment about Locke never being in love made me want to reach through the tv screen and punch her.
She's insane! The most unbelievable plot point is that its Hurley in the looney bin and not that baby stealing nut.
Never been in love? She made out with Sawyer on the helicopter and then put her relationship with Jack in jeopardy to carry out his secret last wish. What about that love? It doesn't make any sense that she wouldnt care at all about going back to the island. Even if there was no Sawyer its inhuman. Even though Jack claims he saved Kate's ass we all know it was Sawyer's jumping off the helicopter that got Kate back home. How quickly she forgets! Maybe Kate is still pissed off that Locke banished her from the barracks last season. Ha.
Anyay I am also elated that Locke has risen from the dead. People are dissing this episode, but I think its only because we have been hearing so much about JBs visits to the O6 for the past 1.5 seasons.
I also agree that there is an unexplained time gap and that it would seem that there is more to it than we saw. But who knows. At this point I just want to see whats going to happen back at the island.
As far as Walt, I also hope we haven't seen the last of him. And I feel like Helen is still alive too. If these people planted a plane full of dead bodies in the Sudan than one fake grave wouldn't be problem. But wait was that Ben?
Have a great vacation, will look forward to future recaps.

Anonymous said...

Rebecca- I completely agree with you about the way Jack and especially Kate, treat poor Locke. I mentioned it several posts above yours. It is very clear Locke is doing what he believes is the right thing to do, and even if he is misguided or being used, there is no reason for them to be so hostile. Kate was so awful to him this episode, and then remember she asked Jack why she would ever go to his funeral? That is cold, even for father-killing, baby stealing Kate.

Maureen said...

I read your blog all the time and really enjoy it. A couple of comments in no particular order.

-The office Caesar is searching through is Ben's office at the Hydra. It's seen in the S3 DVDs in the deleted scene "Alex and Daddy" or something like that. So that sawed off shotgun is Ben's too. Guess a piano bench wasn't available. Why would someone want to search Ben's office?

-Locke killing Naomi: the island told him to do it so it would not then hold him responsible for murder.

-"He's pretty much a pathological liar" Ben only "lies" to promote his agenda. That is not being a pathological liar. Some of the "lies" Ben tells are in response to questions people have no right to know the answers to. I don't feel I am morally obliged to answer every question put to me. Why is Ben obligated to answer any question posed by Locke or any of the Losties? Then we have that big whopper Locke is withholding from Ben and the natives. He has never seen Jacob; he talks to Christian. Christian told Locke to move the island and leave. The island stopped skipping so why is it still necessary to bring back those who left? To sneak someone else in on 316?

-"He killed Locke and then broke Locke's promise to Jin." You can't break someone else's promise to a person. All Ben did was to go against Locke's wishes. He had no moral obligation to fulfill them. (OK he killed John so maybe we shouldn't be talking moral here but still we keep talking in terms of Ben lying and breaking promises when he isn't doing either.)

-We still do not know if Ben kidnapped Alex. The years do not add up and he denied it to Locke.

-"What if Widmore deserved to get kicked to the curb?" Yes. There are only two ways Ben could know about the FDW and that was via Richard or Jacob so one of them wanted Ben to get rid of Widmore. Given what little we saw of him no wonder. Cutting off hands? How barbaric. Ben was only a kid in 1974 and already access to the FDW was closed off. So Widmore must have turned the wheel before 1974 or broke into the Orchid, shorted out the time chamber and broke through the wall like Ben did to reach the FDW. I can't see the latter happening so that part of Widmore's story doesn't add up.

-"I'll miss you, John. I really will." Maybe there would be catastrophic consequences to Locke meeting with Hawking so he had to die. Maybe Ben knew Locke would rise-he did the first time and Ben is not a slow learner. But even so maybe Ben knew he would never see Locke again even if they both made it to the island again. Remember Ben can remember what happened when he was a kid in the barracks. He is the only person who knows what happened to the Losties and what they did back there.

-"Faraday seemed very concerned about Keamy's group, which motivated him and Charlotte to disarm the poisonous gas in The Tempest." Faraday did not do this on his own. Widmore sent Charlotte and Faraday to disable it -that's the reason they were told they were going there. Widmore even gave them the map to find the station. Why did Widmore send two (maybe three) Island babies home? Why did Abanddon care if they were still alive?

Great pics of Michael and Terry! If I got that close to Michael, I would self combust.

Maureen said...

"Now I KNOW that there is some reason why those were used and I'll bet no one has picked up on this yet so I'm giving you the big scoop."

Hey Matt you might want to check out here:
http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/I_Ching

There isn't much Lost fans have not found out by now. After fans first saw the Dharma logo back in season 2 it didn't take long for some to make the connection between it and I Ching.