'Lost': Ben Linus gets tough
08:08 AM PT, Apr 25 2008
Lostben After another agonizing month of waiting, we=92re down to the
final five post-writers'-strike episodes of =93Lost=92s=94 spectacular
fourth season. What was originally supposed to be eight hours of
storyline has been condensed to six hours. While we=92ll forever wonder
what subplots were sacrificed, if this episode is any indication of
how things will go for the rest of the season, the missing hours won=92t
be missed for long.
The secondary cast continued to get pruned this week. They're starting
to depart the show so rapidly now, it's like we're watching "American
Idol." Following the brutal shootings of Rousseau and Carl in the
previous episode, we witnessed the murder of Ben=92s daughter Alex at
the hands of Widmore=92s military guys; the off-camera murder of Ray,
the doctor from the freighter; and the 1-2-3-style killing of a whole
lot of disposable Oceanic 815 survivors. (Just how many of these
nameless survivors are left at this point?)
The murder of Alex was definitely the episode=92s dramatic center and if
Ben=92s stunned reaction was as genuine as it seemed, then it was the
act that connected the status quo of the present with the reality of
the post-island flash forwards. But that=92s not just idle speculation
-=96 the episode was titled =93The Shape of Things to Come.=94
What was most shocking about Ben=92s reaction to Alex=92s death wasn=92t
his=
retaliation with the smoke monster -=96 revealing his previously denied
connection to the mysterious creature -=96 but his sorrow. Correct me if
I=92m wrong, but this is the first time Ben has expressed any bit of
remorse for anything. Of course his callous words just before Alex=92s
execution were cause for anyone to feel crummy. =93She=92s just a pawn,=94
he told the gunman, pretty much giving up on his own adopted daughter.
We all knew Ben was intense about his protection of the island, but
that was just ruthless. And his words just after her death, =93He
changed the rules,=94 were even more chilling. We knew the series was
essentially about a battle between Ben and Widmore, but that comment
made it seem as if the whole thing is more of a game. Ben and Widmore
playing a kind of real-life Risk throughout time, like a couple of
Highlanders?
Michael Emerson, the man who plays Ben, may not be a Sean Connery or
even a Christopher Lambert, but his screen presence is so powerful
that he can pull off even the most unlikely of character developments.
He's gone from the conniving wimp we saw in Season Two to what can
only be described as full-fledged globe-trotting super-spy as of now.
The last time he was nominated for an Emmy, he lost out to fellow
"Lostie" Terry O'Quinn. Don't expect a second loss.
Somehow Ben showed up in the middle of the Sahara Desert, disoriented
and apparently cut on the arm. Though he claimed to have taken a boat
off the island, his sudden appearance in another man=92s Dharma-brand
winter parka seemed like it was the result of some kind of
tele****tation. Notice how he wasn=92t sure what year it was -=96 more
evidence of island-time wonkiness. Ben has lied about everything else
on the show, so it wouldn=92t be surprising if he had powers he hasn=92t
revealed yet. The parka belonged to someone named Halliwax, but even
more curious is the Dharma logo visible, a logo for a station we
haven=92t seen yet. It looks like this.
My guess is that it's the symbol for the as-yet-unseen temple. But
answers will no doubt be coming soon. We've been promised that this
season's finale will close the loop that opened with the flash
forwards in last year's season finale.
Ben=92s confrontation with Widmore at the end of the episode confirmed a
lot of suspicions, like Widmore=92s deeper connection to the island, but
it also set up one of the trickiest conflicts we=92re likely to see in
the series. Ben, still mourning the loss of Alex, promised to kill
Widmore=92s daughter, Penelope. The only problem with that plan, as
faithful =93Lost=94 viewers will remember, is that Penelope is the
committed love of island castaway Desmond. Not to mention that she=92s
also his constant Something tells me Desmond won=92t take kindly to
Ben=92s murderous intent towards his lady-love. Knowing the writers=92
love of complications, Ben will probably send his hit man Sayid to do
the dirty deed.
In other island developments, we discovered that Bernard can
understand Morse code and that Farraday isn't as altruistic as he
initially seemed. Under pressure from Jack, he revealed that no, the
plan was never to take them off the island. Since we know that Jack
does indeed get off the island, we can only guess that he does so at
Farraday's expense.
One of the great things about this series is its ability to make you
believe in any given week that the character whose story we're
following is actually the most im****tant character arc of the whole
thing. At various times I've believed that Locke, Jack, Claire and
Desmond were the most im****tant characters on the show. But this week
intensified a long-lingering suspicion that when the final credits
roll on this series, it will be Ben who was the central player in the
entire drama.
Of course, that could all change next week.
--Patrick Kevin Day
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