The Temple

Not to say, I told you so, but I told you so. I mentioned the fact, unfortunately not on this blog, but on my fave Lost Forum (DocArzt) that Richard would have something to do with Ben’s healing and I was right. Now here is my new crazy thought. Locke is Jacob. Hear me out.
Ever since the darn film and literature class in college, I look for things like angles, lighting and so on to aid in telling a story. So when Richard carried Ben off and into The Temple and into the darkness and the scene faded to Ben and Locke sitting in the dark in the station. I thought it was done purposely to show that inside the temple, in the dark, was Jacob-Locke
Ben was “delivered” to The Temple to be saved. Richard’s face makes me think that he was afraid and reverent before going in. He sort of had to brace himself. Something big and powerful in the temple…obviously. Jacob?
We know that Ben was once favored by Jacob, he said so many times. Perhaps he won favor when brought into The Temple as a wounded child. Perhaps Jacob knew of Bens desire to join The Hostiles and get away from Dharma, the people destroying and exploiting his island. So he is healed.
We know how much Locke loves the island, maybe it’s because he was on the island long ago.
When the scene changes From Ben being brought to The Temple and Ben waking up to Locke. Locke says “Welcome to the land of the living “Ben’s first words are those of a desire to repent. Why tell that to Locke and with such urgency?

I immediately thought, “The Man Behind The Curtain.” The great and powerful Oz was not as terrifying as was imagined. I believe Jacob still has the power but without the extravagance.
We often hear, “Jacob told me” “Jacob needs to know” or “Does Jacob know?” but no one ever says, “Let’s go see Jacob”
They have said, “Let’s go to Jacob?” yes, that is often said but never anything about seeing. Even Ben asked Locke if he saw Jacob and Christian said he was the voice of Jacob. No one ever mentioned seeing him. They answer to him, they consult him, they revere him but they’ve never seen him.
So for all we know…

Spoiler Warning- 18 Outlandish Predictions for "He's Our You"

By MsDee

1.Like Eko's brother Yemi ,we will see Sayid's brother just before Sayid's repentance or damnation. Assuming his brother is dead, if he isn't that doesnt mean the smoke monster can't disguise himself as Sayid's brother...right?

2. Many at the DI security will be very disappointed when they find that The Muppet Show will be short lived and cancelled abruptly...no warning. Hearts will definitely be broken. Phil will be distraugh,t especailly since The Critics were his favorite characters. Oops that was Namaste LOL

3. We will learn more about the man from Moscow, the woman in The Economist just as we learned a bit more of the golfer in the sprinklers. (No these are not titles for upcoming episodes of Bones)
According to Ben these people had bad intentions toward Sayid's friends and they worked for Widmore. And yet Ben works for Hawking who many think is Widmore's ex but , I think she is Widmore's sister. Sibling rivalry fits more than nasty divorce.

4. We will continue to see Sayid don numerous hairstyles from geri curls to flat ironed to scrunchied up pony tail. That is, if he isnt killed soon. Who knows maybe if he's lucky Ben will let him use his pimp hat. Wacka chow wacka chow chow lol
A feather from the huge ass Hurley bird will make the hat complete.

5. Horace will find out that Sayid is the Master Interrogator and Torturer and will feel pathetic as he becomes aware of his bad ass shortcomings and how he made a fool of himself in front of the king of bad assery.

6. Suliet will not last, with Jezebel...I mean Bathsheba...I mean KATE living next door. Otherton will become the new Pine Valley, Peyton Place, Wisteria Lane, Somerset or Port Charles. Insert the name of your favorite Soap opera town. But it won't end nicely. As much as it kills me to say, As much as I want this not to be true, *sigh* Sawyer will return to Kate because he has gone back to being his old butthole self. A charming and incredibly handsome butthole but a butthole nonetheless.

7. Sayid, if not killed, will confront Sawyer and it aint gonna be pretty folks.

8. We will find out that Amy killed Paul and will develop a sick, Manchurian Candidate relationship with Ethan as he grows.

9. Hurley will incorporate some sort of Hot Pocket version to the cafeteria menu. Maybe adding a ranch flavored one in there. Hurley will grow this season as more important than he or we think he is and I'm not just talking about hosing down cafeteria trays at the end of the day.

10. Kate is preggers. Her puffy eyes, lack of enthusiasm, moodiness, and idiocy, screams pregnancy or a really bad case of PMS.

11. Jack will realize his new parted hairstyle makes him act like a doofus and will change it and become metro and a bit more cool. I have a feeling Sawyer will mess this up somehow and Jack will be the leader again ...only because I have a feeling it's meant to be that way and no matter how badly Sawyer wants it , its not going to happen for him.

12. Dominicans will not be nice to Sayid when and if he returns to Santo Domingo. He will be known as 'El Hombre que nos dejo sin casa" The man who left us without a home. They will speak of this man for years and whenever a child doesnt finish a school project or a household chore they will threaten them by reminding them of "El Hombre...."
Do you want to be like him nino/nina!?

13. If Sayid survives all of this, he will be having some groovy flashbacks ala acid trip for years

14. Oldman will come out of his teepee soon and introduce his brother Oldman and his other brother Oldman. Think Newhart people

15. Radzinsky will get jumped by all the fifth grade Dharma kids ....just because.

16. Horace will learn about hair conditioner, unfortunately when he is on his way to purchase it...The Purge occurs. Alas he dies with dry and damaged hair.

17. Burning, driver ess vans will become the new headless horsemen.

18.Ben will be rescued by Richard and reprimanded for his impatience, then healed and be pissed off for the rest of his life and play mind games with people.

The End lol

Time keeps on slipping...

Okay. So I don't think I can get away from the whole time travel thing. With Daniel showing up when they were building the Donkey Wheel, and people bloooping all over the place, time is obviously going to be a major issue. Now, this blog doesn't have a spoiler font option, so if you happen to read this in the next 5 minutes, excuse me while I test some things.

Spoiler (click and highlight in the blank space)

Whoohoo! I did it! Let's hear it for background fonts! Okay the spoiler I heard is pretty obvious. Hell, it might not even be a spoiler since just about everyone and their brother is talking about it....

When the 316ers landed on the Hydra, people landed in different times from others on the plane. We know that Ben and Locke seem to be together, and obviously Jack, Hurley, and Kate are in another. The fact that Jin showed up in the snazzy Dharma van makes me wonder if they're in the 70s. If so..... and god do I want this to happen... does that mean I'll FINALLY get some BEN flashbacks??? In an interview, Emerson mentioned that he had some coming up- but that could just be flashbacks to Bentham off-island. Professorstotch on Doc's LOST forums mentioned that he thought he saw the Young Ben being cast in an upcoming episode, but I haven't confirmed that yet. BUT HOLY CRAP ON A CRACKER!!! I think I would be unable to post.... even to formulate thought. I would be a little puddle of clueless goo on my couch gaping at the television screen. (okay okay so I do that anyway.)

Does that mean that the group in the 70s will see some of the Ben/Annie mystery that we've all been dying for? What about Ben taking Alex? Is that key enough to the plot that the writers would give me... er... the audience all that Benry angst queued up on a silver platter? What other things were going on in the 70s.... guessing from Emerson's scene with "Roger Workman" he was killed in the 80s.... so the Purge would have been .. when, exactly?

See the trouble with spoilers is that they just raise more questions!!!

Ben, oh Ben.....

Putting Ben in perspective… (cross-posted)

I do want to preface this by saying that yes. This is pure opinion. (Only… I’m right! :D)

After last night’s completely freaking awesome episode, and the resultant influx of “Oh Ben is so evil!” posts in the chat room, I felt it necessary to defend the guy.

Ben has never claimed to be good. He’s not. No one who has participated and orchestrated so much death can ever claim to be a good person. He is driven by his agenda, (Don’t ask me what his agenda is other than getting back onto and in control of the island) and by what he believes to be right. Just because we, the audience, and the characters he interacts with in the show don’t happen to agree- well. That’s not his fault. He’s operating on his own plan and won’t rest until it’s accomplished.

Ben the people person. Not so much. His mother died in childbirth and he was brought to live on this crazy island with all the hippies. He was certainly neglected, and possibly abused by his father who blamed Ben for his wife’s death in childbirth. He did have one friend, Annie, but we don’t know what happened to her. It doesn’t really matter- he’s not in contact with her anymore. She was taken away from him, either by death or design. He find/takes/rescues Alex from the crazy woman who killed off all her comrades. (That one is completely open to debate, lol.) He raises Alex, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say that he loves her. After his surgery in his house you see lots of little Alex pictures, and let’s face it. Alex grew up to be independent and strong and willing to sacrifice herself to warn Ben and the others (and the Others) that Keamy was coming for Ben. Surely that speaks a little for his parenting skills? Then Ben is responsible for getting her killed. His over-confidence that he could control and talk his way out of every situation resulted in her being murdered before his eyes. He literally could not conceive that someone would cheat at the “Rules,” even though that he does it all the time. Okay…. So Juliet. For whatever reason he believes that she is “his.” At first, I took that to be a creepy stalker ownership thing… and for all I know that is a big part of it. But upon further thought, I really think that he felt that he had given up most of his life for the Island and deserved a … ugh. It pains me to type the word “reward” here…. But yeah. They just should have consulted Juliet first. Probably. Okay, definitely. Ben was so awkward and socially inept while he was trying to win her over- and sooooooo hurt when Juliet chose Goodwin over him. I guess Dharma High School had a very small population when Ben was growing up. So to recap: his mother, Annie, Juliet, and Alex were all taken away from him.

Murderer. Okay, so there’s not much I can do with this one. This whole section will most likely be justification after justification, but bear with me.

His father- Ben killed his father. We know this. We also know that Locke apparently had to kill his own father to prove himself. The only difference is that- Locke had Sawyer do it for him, and then took the credit. Ben actually killed him. I’m not an ethics committee here, but ‘Roger Workman’ was not a very nice person. I can see why Ben would do it, but I don’t think that really excuses him. Killing someone is killing someone no matter whether you physically do the deed, or if you have someone do it for you.

Alex- Yes, Ben is responsible for this. Will he take responsibility for his actions? Was Keamy going to do it anyway? True, he did try to save Alex by trying to convince the mercenary that Alex wasn’t important- but he did say the words. I think that scene with Ben and Alex’s body was completely amazing and Emmy-worthy. It is still probably one of my favorite parts of all the episodes of Lost so far. He feels guilt. He did try- again in his own socially awkward way- to keep Alex safe by sending her back, and again by trying to outthink the crazy man with the gun- but ended up seeing his daughter murdered before his eyes anyway.

The Dharma Initiative/ The Purge. Ben had to make a decision based on Richard’s urging. (And now, we know Widmore and Co.’s urging as well) Dharma was very likely going to take the island into hmm. Popularity? The Public Eye? That couldn’t happen if the Island was to survive. It wasn’t an easy decision. And I believe that when Ben told Jack that he had to make a decision that resulted in the deaths of over 40 people it certainly wasn’t something he was proud of. He wasn’t bragging or anything. But… and I think this is vitally important to understanding Ben, people were allowed and encouraged to leave. We know that Charlotte left, and we’ve had hints that many many other people in the community have left as well. Again, does that excuse his actions if he didn’t actually flip the switch that killed all those people? If he just ordered it?
Jeremy Bentham- Yeah so this one… I’ve only been thinking about for a little while, so it is likely full of holes. Please point them out to me if you catch them okay? I want to say first, and I can not be more clear on this subject… BEN KILLED JEREMY BENTHAM *NOT* JOHN LOCKE! This is where many Lost fans get extremely irksome (and myself included!) They focus on one part of the big picture and merrily forget the rest of what has gone on before! Okay… step by step. We knew that from the way Michael had tried and tried to kill himself, that the Island (or what/whoever) won’t let you die until they’re gosh darn jolly well good and ready for you to. Maybe you can’t suicide and still be allowed back? Locke knew he had to die. It was a test of sorts for him. The fact that Ben popped in right as Locke was willing to give up on everything and kill himself made me think more of a rescue. Remember… course corrections, people! Maybe to use the island to come back you have to have your life taken from you. It can’t “fix” what you do to yourself, and suicide was really Locke trying to take control of his many many failures. (For what it was worth, I think Locke was manipulated into his acceptance of his death. Look for my Locke character analysis coming to a forum near you soon!) I really, honestly believe that this is another situation of Ben having to make and carry out a hard decision. Killing Locke was yet another Emmy-worthy performance and HOW INCREDIBLE IS MICHAEL EMERSON???? Oh where was I? Ohh yeah. Murder. Okay, so if Ben is operating on details that we, the audience do not yet know of, and if he was willing to do whatever it took to get back to the island then maybe his killing of Bentham can be understood, if not forgiven. I guess it depends on your point of view.

Regardless of what you believe or who you believe, I don’t think that you can argue that Ben is one hell of an entertaining guy to watch. Without an antagonist all those protagonists would just sitting around the beach drinking coconut milk and starting at each other.

Spoilers-


Should I spoil? Should I be good and NOT spoil? I was in a chat room recently (yes, that one) and was spoiled for a fairly large spoiler. Not a Charlie-dies kind of spoiler, but big enough for me. And that was the event that sent me on this downward spiral of doooom. I've checked them, I've begged for them, and now I know some.

So do I share? Keep them to myself?

A dilemma.

Who Squealed?

Who Squealed?
I’m trying to figure this whole thing out like the rest of you and so last night I thought I’d go back to the very beginning. The Island. The world is created, I will say that because that is what I believe. With the creation of the world are seas, mountains and islands. Our island is one of the many created from the beginning. This island was special and was endowed with many special qualities. Whose to say that it is the only one who possesses these qualities, but right now let’s focus on this island.
What we know of the story so far is that their has been a group of people who have lived there for a very, very long time. Were they born on the island? Are they indigenous,or are they part of a people who stumbled upon the island and discovered it? Did they stumble or were they brought to the island? Any way you put it, to me Richard Alpert and his gang were there first, whether by force or voluntarily. These original island dwellers discover/notice that there is something about this island. The island in someway (via Jacob?) communicates to the people and lets them know that by no means is this to be shared with the outside world. They and the island are special, unique and are to live harmoniously.
The islanders grow to love and revere Jacob who protects them and so they built a temple and erect a statue of him.
My question is if they stumbled upon the island they would not know the bearings . Their arrival would haveto have been because the island brought them to it, so would the island be concerned whether the current inhabitants would run off and squeal and share the islands specialness and thereby expose it to the outside world?
I digress.
How the secret was exposed to the outside we do not know but someone squealed, that’s for sure and it had to be someone from the original peoples of the island. I’m talking pre- Widmore and Ellie. I’m talking Alpert’s people. Any ideas I’ve had about Alpert being the captain of the Black Rock flew out the window because Widmore is under Alpert (command-wise). I believe Widmore arrived via the Black Rock which is why he knows of the ledger.
We see Alpert’s authority when he reprimands Widmore by the tent area, after he killed the other Other. So, someone from Alpert’s people in some way got out of the island or communicated with the outside world and squealed,and told about the special island getting the attention of the Black Rock people and enticing them to see the island and its specialness first hand, believing that the islands specialness can bring them fortune in some way.
On this ship is Widmore and Ellie and other crew, slaves etc. They arrive on the island and this displeases the island and Alpert, who is sent to introduce himself to the invaders.
After a rough beginning with the visitors, Alpert (with Jacob's authority or permission)decides to teach them the island ways and have them join the island family but there are rules they must adhere to. I have a feeling once Widmore arrived, Jacob or no Jacob, Alpert or no Alpert he was going to find the mother lode and find his fortune through the island. What that Treasure Trove is exactly and how he “bottled it" is another question. But until he got his way , I am thinking, that Widmore was just playing nice and going along with everything until he got what he wanted. Which is why he is now an enemy of the island.
What ever happened to the squealer? Is he still out there? Did he die with the secret before sharing it with anyone again? What benefits did he reap from revealing the secret? Did he return with the Black Rockers and so was killed upon arrival for his betrayal?

Because of the new arrivals the island has to be moved and so Widmore and the rest of the Black Rock gang have no idea where or when they are. The island is safe.
Ahh, but we know that doesn’t last too long, someone else must have squealed or the original squealer left a trail because sometime in the future we find out that U.S. Military arrives on the island and kills some of the inhabitants, runs some test on others, and leaves jughead behind. Why was the military so threatened by the island, enough to kill its people and destroy it? And, if the military knew of the island they must have found out buy their superiors and were sent on a mission to research and destroy it. The superiors would be that of the U.S. Government and so now we know that the government of the United states knows of this island. Doh! Island doesn’t get a break and has to be moved again.
That makes three times so far. (By the way I believe that each time the island is moved it is harmful to the island itself and so the island may be at risk.) So now all that remain are the original inhabitants (Alpert and his gang) and the remaining survivors of the Black Rock who have been taken in and made part of the island. Alpert is the leader, he answers to Jacob who is…the island or someone who serves the island. So the chain of command would be Island,Jacob,Alpert and Smokey would be the security who protects the island. How Smokey became to be is another story.
So far in our story Alpert and the original inhabitants/Hostiles/Others are going on day by day trying to live their lives in peace but that doesn’t last too long.
Now we know that Widmore gets greedy and escapes with Eloise off the island. If he knew about the FDW he probably left that way taking Eloise with him and changing the island location in space and time once again.

A while after, the island gets new intruders when a group of scientists arrive on the island because they hear of its special qualities (How? Another squealer? Or the same one who keeps trying to benefit from the island? Do we even know if the original squealer got away or do we know he/she passed on their secret from generation to generation from government leader to government leader) Either way Dharma people arrive. They poke and prod the island, settle in nicely get the best of the best to study the island but so far, they have been the most respectful of intruders(in a way)to the island so they get to linger a bit until they go too far and the Hostiles begin to attack the Dharma people until all of them are destroyed via the purge. Alpert recruits Ben for this job. Why he didn’t do it himself, is beyond me but that’s how the island wanted it, perhaps.
Another group of scientist arrive,((The timing of this is uncertain to me because I don’t know if Ben had Alex by then but I’m assuming when he killed his dad at the purge his dad knew nothing of Alex so therefore Alex was not taken yet. But I could be wrong )the french, their purpose, if I remember correctly was to find out about the numbers, I may be wrong Im a little fuzzy about Rousseau and the gang. Any way you slice it, they are killed by the island and only Rousseau and her baby survive.
For some odd reason the island just wants the baby and leaves Rousseau behind. They could have killed Rousseau anytime they wanted, they know the island way more than she ever did but they chose to let her live, perhaps because she gave birth to a child on the island which was becoming a problem on the Island and so made her special.
So, intruders so far, Black Rock people, U.S. Military, Dharma and Rousseau and her merry frenchmen. Now all that remain are Alpert, remaining crew of the Black Rock, Ben, Alex and Rousseau running around madly searching for her child. Some of them settle into New Otherton some of them remain with Alpert.
Now is Alpert the leader? If so, he was recruited at one time because he says there is a process in selecting leadership and it begins at a young age or was he never a leader but the leaders helper, head hunter,recruiter?
The remiaining people are trying to live harmoniously, after the island has been moved four times it has created a physical toll on the bodies of the woman whose babies do not survive their first trimester, (first three months, right?)
So head hunter Alpert is sent by the all knowing island to get Juliette by any means and so he does and we all know what happens?
Now on the island we have Alpert, remaining crew of the Black Rock, Ben, Alex and Rousseau running around and now Juliette but what about Inman, Kazinsky and Desmond? They are on the island too. Does anyone know they are there? They are remainders of the Dharma Initutive and living in the hatch that was hidden and out of sight because its location was pretty much a secret but Ben must have known, right?
Then we have our famous 815ers, who crash on the island by fate?
Did the island call them there because the island is running out of resources, and each time the FDW has been turned its effect on the island is felt by the island, and so in order to save it, the island needs that plane and the people on it because the island knows that on that plane is someone very important and special.

I have to do some more research on Desmond, Widmore,the numbers and why our Oceanic survivors are there. Were they pulled onto the island, Was it a consequence of turning the failsafe key? Was it fate?

All I know is that the island would still be in tact. FDW would not be off of its axis if it was not fiddled with by others who care nothing about the island but only have their own interest at heart and it all began with the first squealer and I’m not talking about the wild boars.

Who was the first squealer?
Who started it all?
Who exposed the island, years ago?

Redshirts

I was chatting up a Lost storm with Triangulatedsignal about The Red shirts and I was inspired to write a post about them, our underappreciated accessories on the island. Are they all gone? Did the flaming arrows, coincidentally kill all the RS’s?
I guess sooner or later the writers will have to get rid of them all or start, gradually expanding their roles. We don’t need a sudden Backgrounder to come out of nowhere. We all know what happened to Nikki and Paulo. They were not received well by Lost Viewers, who are very particular of our Redshirts and their conduct. I would even go as far as to say that we can be a bit snooty and understandably so, after all , who do they think they are daring to speak to one of the Main Characters? It would be audacious of a Redshirt to join in on the brainstorming of how to get rescued or defeat monsters. They should know their place and their place is in the background, along with the chirping of birds and tree frogs.
There are levels of Redshirt activities, some walk around aimlessly, some try to muster all their strength to avert their eyes from the camera and some have become quite the thespians. They’ll shade their eyes or exaggeratingly nod in agreement in a crowd scene. Some run, some carry loads of …stuff around. Someare cheering the hero who returns to camp. Some are building with tarps and some are making casual Redshirt conversations with other Redshirts.
If the Redshirts are to be eliminated will we be satisfied with just lush greenery in the background. Will we be comfortable with our Main characters alone on the island, no fillers, will we even miss them?