LOST Season 5 Episode 7 The Life And Death Of Jeremy Bentham The Seat42f Theory
A Letter To Fellow Lost fans –
It's been far too long and I apologize for my absence on these pages. I decided it was time to end my radio silence and weigh in on the world of Lost. My rules for viewing and hypothesizing remain the same. I watched The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham only once and have yet to venture out to any other theory sites for fear of being led down a different path. As in the past this will be more of a "blue-collar" take on the episode and the characters. My mind has enough Lost to digest without trying to attach literary references or to go exploring Lost too far underneath the surface. In no particular order this is what I saw and learned while watching last night.
The Missing : At this point I'm still assuming Claire is alive, but that whole contract thing is keeping her off the show for all or the bulk of this season. HOWEVER, where the heck are Rose and Bernard? Season 5 is about halfway over and we still don't know where they are in space and time. I'm worried about those two.
Matthew Abaddon : Less than 3 weeks ago I met Lance Reddick at Comic Con New York in the Fringe press room. He had just learned that he was going to be back on Lost and I was ecstatic when I heard the news and for the episode to air. Then WHAMO. He gets shot and we are to presume he is dead. It's Lost after all so I have to tag the word dead with presumed. Either way what a bummer. I'm sitting here watching and thinking " he came back just to let us know he got people to where they needed to be?" Then the bigger picture hit me. As we have seen countless times both Widmore and Linus seem to operate out of playbook they have already seen. My guess is Abaddon's last order of business was to take that bullet knowing it would put Locke in the car and in the accident and in the hospital with Jack. Ultimately, getting Locke to Jack and setting in motion the return to the island. As Christian Shephard told Locke about death.. "that's why they call it sacrifce". My thinking is Abbadon knew his role and put the safety of the island before himself. In retrospect it makes the back and forth between Locke and Abaddon so much more fun. Abaddon knowing the end game yet after each failed attempt poking fun at Locke for not getting anyone to follow him back to the island.
Matthew Fox : Just a quick word on Mr. Matthew Fox. Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn are brilliant as usual but Fox seems to have taken Jack to a new place this year. The character and especially Matthew's acting is top rate so far in season 5. Bravo Matthew Fox – Bravo!
All-Knowing Ben : As I have said previously it always seems like Ben and Widmore have seen the playbook for what is yet to come. Still find it very curious and interesting that more than a few times this season Ben truly has seemed surprised. This week Ben appeared to have no idea Jin was alive until Locke told him and genuinely seemed surprised last week about a few of the revelations Ms. Hawking told the group at the Lampost. What or who is altering the playbook? And how?
Good Vs Evil : Even after tonight I'm still not ready to commit either Widmore or Ben to one side in what we are led to believe is a looming battle on the horizon of good vs evil. As I see it there are four possibilities floating about regarding Widmore and Ben. Ben is evil and Widmore is good. Ben is good and Widmore is evil. They both are good. They both are evil. HOWEVER – I am starting to lean towards the idea that they are both either good or evil. What has me leaning that way you ask? Tonight Widmore tells Locke he knew Locke needed help because his camera in Tunisia was there because "that's the exit" and the camera caught Locke exiting the island and in distress. Widmore has a camera on the exit, but plays along with Locke as if Ben is still on the island? Why lie about that? Wouldn't his camera pick Ben up on his exit as well? I'm not sure if they are both good or evil, but I am SERIOUSLY starting to think they are both on the same side and playing out an extended "good cop – bad cop" drama on our Losties. Both Ben and Widmore are bending our Losties ears about why the other should not be trusted and both Widmore and Ben want the same thing… the losties back on the island. As I said… Good cop… Bad Cop. Until proven otherwise I will now refer to them as Team Bidmore. And yeah, I know Widmore setup the death of Alex. Looking back on it maybe Ben's shock was more of the plan changing without his knowledge and less about losing Alex. Like the theme of this episode…. sacrifice. Alex was sacrificed for the good of the island. The same sort of sacrifice if say someone like Penny were to die. It would most likely be a "sacrifice" for the island to get Desmond to return. Can you think of a quicker way to get Desmond back to the island? Ms. Hawking said Desmond needs to go back. Planting the idea in his ear that Ben killed Penny would seem like a perfect way to get him back there. I should mention when I use the word sacrifice I'm still not sure to what end that word is being used. A sacrifice can be made for good or evil..or both.
Why Does Ben Kill Locke : This is a perfect example of why I can't decide which side of good and evil Ben is on. It's far too easy to say Ben killed Locke and he is evil and truth be told maybe he is? But if Locke had to die, to get back to the island with his friends as Richard told him he did, then doesn't someone have to kill Locke? Didn't we learn the island won't let you kill yourself when Michael tried to do the same thing? Locke was not going to be able to hang himself. "The Island" was not going to let that happen. Richard used the words "you're going to have to die" and not "you're going to have to kill yourself." Locke believes in the island and has faith in the process and is willing to take his life for the island. While I don't think they like the idea, Team Bidmore knows Locke plays an important role in the islands' future. Ben killing Locke, to me, was more of a "someone had to do it" killing. To use a recurring theme in tonight's episode… It was a sacrifice. A sacrifice for the island. A sacrifice Locke was already prepared for.
Walt : Probably the best bit of info we got all night, but it was easy to miss because we were all too busy thinking and shouting WALT!!!!!!!!!! and gasping at how much older he looks. A nice glimpse at the future when Walt says he wasn't surprised to see Locke because he had been having dreams about him in a suit back on the island surrounded by people and in trouble because these people wanted to hurt him. Hmmmm….. That Walt knows all!!!!
The Plane Crash : It appears Frank Lapidus landed the plane safely near the Hydra Station on the smaller island. My gut reaction was that the plane flew into the island "area" and that Kate, Jack and Hurley were "flashed" out of the plane and onto the main island. The best guess is Frank and Sun took the other canoe with hopes of finding Jin and the other Losties. Glad to see Frank back although I miss that beard 🙂 Curious that Ben did not flash and is left injured lying in the Hydra station. Far too easy to think Frank and Sun will get in a canoe and paddle to Jin and the rest of the gang. I'd bet a case of Apollo bars the groups are not in the same time right now.
Richard Alpert And Aging : I've long thought that Alpert is not defying time and Locke's conversation with Widmore about 4 days being years to Widmore gave me more proof that Alpert is just popping in and out of time. A few years back I used an elevator as an analogy for Alpert and I'm starting to think more and more that is not only a possibility, but maybe a reality. Alpert is not on the island all the time. He is popping in and out of time. Back to the elevator idea. Richard gets in on the first floor. On the second floor it's 1955, on the 5th floor it's 1985 and on the 10th floor it's 2004. At close look it seems like he has been on the island since the 50's ,if not longer, but what if he is just getting off at different floors, so to speak. He's the age he is and that is changing slightly, but in a real world rate and not island time. Fifty years of popping in and out could be a few weeks in island time. The bigger question if my theory is right is how is he doing this and to what end? What side is Alpert on and who does he report to if anyone?
Locke Dead or Alive : Until we see more episodes I don't think Locke is like Christian Shephard. To me Christian is 100% dead. My thinking is Locke died in the "real world" but he can't be dead on the island. Plus, I still need to see "where in time" the second plane crashed. Meaning, let's say Locke dies in present day LA and the plane crashes in 2004. Maybe time corrects the fact that Locke should be alive in 2004? Or maybe it is as simple as the island won't allow Locke to die? Smokie couldn't kill him. Ben couldn't kill him when he shot him. I'm not sure I would call it a resurrection at this point. It's semantics I suppose… but to me saying he's not dead on the island is different then saying he's alive again.
I Was Exiled By Him : Again, the mysterious "him". When Widmore says he was exiled by "him" we are meant to believe that "him" is Ben. What if the "him" is Richard Alpert. What if Richard had a hand in exiling Widmore and now has gotten Locke to believe he must leave the island to save the island. Hypothetically Richard tricks Locke into leaving the island.
A few tidbits from previous episodes wandering around my brain :
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Suicide : Wondering why Kate and Jack seemed surprised by the news Locke killed himself. Could have sworn the obit Jack had in his hand said New York City resident Jeremy Bentham aka Locke was found hanging from a beam in Los Angeles. Hanging from a beam always sounded like suicide to me.
Did Danielle Rousseau leave the island at some point? : We saw a VERY young and pregnant Rousseau with Jin earlier this year and we have seen the 16 years later version of Rousseau as well and to me the time line and aging doesn't add up. The Danielle Rousseau we know is most likely early 50s. The Danielle Rousseau Jin meets is probably mid to early twenties. Let's say pregnant Rousseau is 25 and to me that's a stretch because she looked like she could be in High School. That would make the Danielle Rousseau that Sayid meets 41 years old and I'm not buying that. My guess is Danielle Rousseau left the island at some point and "aged" off island. Where did she go? Why didn't she tell anyone about this? Further fuel to this fire was Widmore asking Locke how many days had it been since he saw Widmore last and Locke said four days had passed. For Widmore is had been years and not just four days.
The Gangs All Here : Hawking tells Jack and Co. that they need to recreate the plane crash as close as they can to the original crash or that the results could be unpredictable. We know how Ben, Sun, Locke and Jack ended up on the plane, but who arranged for Sayid, Kate and Hurley to be there as well? More on Kate below. I truly believe that Sayid does not trust Ben and, judging by his reaction, Hurley does not trust Ben either. That leaves Widmore. My guess being Widmore has "hired" Sayid and Hurley as well as Caesar and Ilana. This is more evidence for my team Bidmore good cop bad cop theory. Ben can't persuade Sayid and Hurley to get on the plane, but Widmore can. Did find it neat that Hurley brought Charlie's guitar, Ben excuses himself just before "the second crash" a la Charlie in the bathroom and Sayid is playing the role of Kate this time around. I couldn't help but chuckle and wonder if Ilana knows she's starring in the role of Marshall Edward Mars who died? Hmmmm… A lot more to look into about the plane and how they all got there. Obviously Caesar and Ilana are there for a reason and not random passengers. Both Caesar and Ilana know enough to be poking around the Hydra station, but are left in the dark about how they got there. They know they are a part of the puzzle but seem to have very few of the pieces at ths point.
Kate & Aaron : This was probably my biggest Ohhhhh NO! moment of last weeks episode. Kate lying on Jack's bed and crying and asking Jack to never mention Aaron's name again before kissing him and "sleeping" over. I'm sure the Jaters are going to hate my impression of things, but it seemed obvious to me Kate was only there to make sure Jack 100% got on the plane. Jack returned home and was looking to fix a drink and you could feel his uneasiness about the whole thing and "presto" Kate is there ready to have sex and ready to go back to the island. Jack would follow her anywhere. My guess at this point is that Team Bidmore took Aaron and told Kate he was back on the island thus getting Kate to do anything to get back.They probably "sweetened" the deal by saying if you mention this to anyone you will never see Aaron again.
Beat-up Ben : Over the seasons of Lost one of my biggest pet peeves has been when the obvious question goes unasked. Case in point is when Ben Linus arrives at the last second on the plane with a sling and a face that looks like he went 10 rounds in Sayid's holding cell. Why didn't anyone ask him what happened? Jack was sitting right next to him and didn't raise the question. I'm sure we'll find out eventually, but still very frustrating as a viewer when it seemed like such an obvious question for Jack to pose to Ben.
It's good to be back.
Until next week –
Seat42f
Seat42F February 26, 2009
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Nielsen TV Ratings For 02/26/09