Benjamin Linus must be one of the more brilliant characters ever to grace a TV show. He’s cunning, malicious, intelligent and knows how to bend the rules like heated steel. But on the other hand, he’s a senstive kid that couldn’t help some of the things that happened to him, things that changed his fate forever. He’s a victim of a loveless life, a ghost in the shell. So, in a way, you can’t help but pitying him – even if he is odious.

The Episode…

The interesting thing about the character, from a dramaturgical point of view, is how they could give him a satisfying end. It was my belief that Ben had done so many things over the last few seasons, that it was nearly impossible to still redeem him. But lo and behold, within forty minutes, he found his redempting without dying. And I believed it.

It was refreshing to see Ben acting like a normal person, a motivated high school teacher, a loving son, a good friend. Sure, he still had the treachery somewhere inside him, but it was to be used for good. And this time, it did save Alex instead of costing her her life. Finally, they interact like normal people. Finally.

I did not expect to see Charles Widmore coming back to the island – I thought that Faraday’s death in Season Five pretty much cleared all of that up: he’s a rich guy with a temperament looking for the island. But in his daughter’s love for Desmond, he saw that he had blood on his hands and redeemed himself. Apparently, I was wrong. The old geezer is back! I can’t wait to see what he’s up to.

I loved the parts with Richard, Jack and Hurley. A normal series would (a thought I already had during the jammed gun scene in “Meet Kevin Johnson” back in Season 4) make the dynamite explode, the boat burn down and have Jack and Richard come out of the flames, action hero style. LOST will have none of that and says: “Less is more, let’s keep it cheap and have the fuse malfunction”. Great. Jack’s creepy motivation made sense backwards, I was put off by it at first but it worked in the end. Is he a believer, or am I being tricked again?

The Questions…

It is certain now: Richard Alpert was on the Black Rock. I wonder if we will still have a Richard flashback? I get the feeling that everything we need to know, has already been said, and the story is told. Would Richard’s story count as a flash sideways, given that it happened before Jughead? It’s complicated. It would be nice to see, as it would shed more light on Jacob and fake Locke – but I’m not sure if they’ll do it.

Frank missed his flight because he overslept. He was probably drunk, too. Damn, I laughed hard at this. Frank rocks.

Next Week…

Next week’s episode is dubbed “Recon”, so it will undoubtedly be about Sawyer. Will we see Juliet again? Whose side is Sawyer really on? I’m excited, but slightly scared he’ll end up with Kate again. It looks like the action’s shifting back to the beach, back to where it all began. Wonder if that’s where the final battle will take place? And what would a final LOST battle entail?

In All…

I think this was the best episode of the season so far. The mythology episodes are awesome, but when the series is done with, it’s going to be the character-driven episodes I will go back to. This one was stellar, Ben’s final scene left me teary-eyed. Stunning performance by Michael Emerson.

Welcome to the team, Ben.

Favourite Quote: Ben: Just let me leave.
Ilana: Where will you go?
Ben: To Locke.
Ilana: Why?
Ben: Because he’s the only one who’ll have me.