I Voted Saxon!

The redemption of Benjamin Linus

You know, not since I think Gul Dukat in Star Trek, Deep Space Nine, have we had such a well depicted bad guy on a television series. This episode focuses mainly on Ben, and throughout the entire episode I was sitting there thinking that he WOULD actually take the bad route. Right up to the very end, this Machiavellian mastermind loves his control. Throughout the series however, he’s realised his one mistake – Alex. While not technically his daughter, he’s grown to raise her and chose the island over her. Because he thought his faith in the Island, faith in the Jacob will pull him through. In alterna-world, it’s a pretty mundane existence, but with the same Ben. He can have the principal’s job, however Alex’s (in this world, just a gifted student and no relation outside of school) application to college will be thrown in the bin. For a second I thought – “will he do it? he hasn’t had the experiences of the island since a child (the breaking point (so far) of the original timeline..), he hasn’t learnt life’s lessons?” Apparently, the good of the somewhat mundane yet good world has done him the world of good. Oh, and Artz is back as the science teacher. It seems even in this world, all these characters stick together.

We see similar aspects with Jack and Richard. The loss of faith. Jack because he thought the island would fix him. Richard now doesn’t have Jacob to look to. Yet fate is a cruel mistress in the Lost world. They can’t die – maybe they can still age unlike Richard, but the island has much more in store for them. So what do they do?? I almost feel in a way, like I said last time, that it’s a parallel to religion in someways. Jacob the good, yet not providing any answers. Being frank (yet cruel) to Ben when he tells him that he’s not important. When it’s more than an invisible man up in the sky and we truly believe in the island when we can see the mystic happening around, you WANT to know what’s going on. There’s probably a very good reason to why (like us) they’ve been kept out of the loop when it comes to answers. A point to all of this? I don’t want the end to say – “actually, Jacob was wrong. Flocke is fine to leave, end of show”. It would seem a bit of a cop out.

A few other notes -

When did the timeline split? The island is now underwater in Earth-A, yet Ben still went there as a child, and just left with his father. Maybe they evacuated the place when the bomb exploded? End of the island?? (although how could they survive something like that?? I’ll give them a little leeway there…)

Only last week I was saying “I wonder what happened to Charlie” and whether the character was coming back. If he is the person to be returning by Jacob’s hand? Or maybe Jacob had nothing to do with it, and just knew it was going to eventually happen?? He’s very anti-Ben at this point and I have a feeling that he won’t be cosying up to him, even for the good of the island. And also – Does that mean the eventual return of Penny/Des? I hope so. Even though I’d love a happily ever after for those two, you KNOW stuff like that is pretty impossible in the Lost world.

All round, a really good episode. Less WTF moments, but some really well done scenes with Ben and Ilana as she is ready to kill him.