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Episode 20: The Man Behind the Curtain |
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Written by versed4every1
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Saturday, 12 May 2007 |
 Every Wednesday I sit patiently, or rather impatiently, in front of my television set waiting to hear the words, "Previously on Lost." This past Wednesday was no exception. ABC's Lost, Episode 3x20, "The Man Behind the Curtain" begins with a young woman named Emily surrounded by trees in the throes of labor being coached by a young man by the name of Roger. When something goes horribly wrong during Emily's au naturel delivery of the little boy, Roger carries them both out of the jungle just in time for us to see a truck passing swiftly by on a paved two lane road. The highway sign reads Portland 32 miles and somewhere in the world a group of writers say, "Gotcha!" Emily dies during her delivery of little Benjamin Linus and this plays a huge role in the rest of Ben's life. Roger will always blame Ben for his mother's death, a fact that becomes evident later in the episode, and that is a very hard thing for anyone to handle. This also means that Ben is a liar; which at this point should be news to no one.
Approximately 10 years after Emily's death, Roger and Ben, who now more than slightly resembles Harry Potter, travel by submarine to an island where he has gotten work from the very 1960's looking Horace Goodspeed. Horace and his female companion, Olivia, met Roger when they stopped on the side of the road to help Roger and Emily on the day of Ben's birth. As Roger and Ben make their way onto dry land, they are lei'd by June the ‘Technologist' and Casey the ‘Gemologist'. (Gemologist? Yes, Gemologist. Why a Gemologist? Good question!) While young Potter, I mean Ben, looks around the dock at the lovely scenery, Roger greets Horace, whose label reads ‘Mathematician', and thanks him for opportunity to be part of the Dharma Initiative – Namaste.
Upon entering what appears to be an orientation center, Marvin Candle, aka, Mark Wickmund, drones on via video about a high frequency sonic barrier that is to protect them from the island's "abundant and diverse wildlife." What an interesting phrase! Just as young Ben begins to look less than thrilled to be there, we meet Annie. In her Dharma issued Garanimals, and toting an Apollo bar, she is the first person in his age group that Ben sees on the island. I was almost surprised that she didn't have a label reading ‘Kid'. Roger is insulted that a group which he states is doing experiments that will change the world has deemed the label on his khaki coveralls to be ‘Work Man'. Opal the ‘Nurse', a woman after my own heart, tells him here's your jumper - be happy. Ok, I am paraphrasing a tiny bit but none of this seems to sit too well with Roger.
Back in real time, Sawyer shows Sayid the tape recorder that Locke gave him. Things are about to get interesting! Later, after they find Juliet's tent empty, Kate tells Sayid not only that Juliet has gone with Jack but also that that she told both Jack and Juliet about Naomi. Sayid asks the question that I have been pondering for a week, "And why would you do that, Kate?" "Yeah," I say out loud to no one, "Why did you do that?" Kate's answer that Naomi was hurt and that Jack had the right to know didn't include the small tidbit that she was angry, hurt and jealous and wanted to hurt Jack by making him aware that his friends no longer trust him. But I digress.
Meanwhile, Mikhail, who seems to be a marathon runner of some sort, sprints into Camp Otherville screaming for Ben. Ben, in his characteristic manner, blithely states, "I thought you were dead." It must have been a short mourning period. When Mikhail tries to talk Ben into attacking the Losties immediately, Locke steps in tells them all that is not the plan. Apparently a dinner meeting with Jacob is on the agenda for today. Richard and Tom look stunned by that announcement. When Ben tries to back out of his promise, Locke beats the living daylights out of Mikhail because apparently Mikhail did not get that memo. The most interesting thing about that whole scene is not that Locke beat Mikhail like Mike Tyson on crack, but that no one raised a finger to stop him. As a matter of fact, both Tom and Richard just sat there, with Tom calmly drinking his coffee, and watched the smack down. I guess they did get the memo – dinner with Jacob it is. Enter Alex with a pistol. Now, why on Earth would Locke need a pistol and how does Alex know that he does?
We return to young Ben in class with Olivia the Teacher, who was the female passenger in the car that stopped to help the day of his birth. She has built a baking soda volcano, which was my 6th grade science project by the way, and just as we find out that there is a dormant volcano on the island the whole room begins to shake. Eruption? I asked my TV. Nope. Seconds later we hear a sound that is eerily familiar – like the alarms when the blast doors came down for a food drop, and then gunshots. Olivia retrieves her rifle from a cabinet, instructs Annie to lock the chain on the door and lines all the children up against the wall in what looks like a 1950's nuclear bomb drill. I half expected to hear Olivia say, "Duck and Cover." Annie tells a very confused looking Ben not to worry, it is just the Hostiles. He watches other gun carrying women run by the grated window. I was wondering why those windows had grates!
Later that night Ben and an unnumbered bunny lie awake and listens to Roger argue with Horace about getting caught out in the middle of the firefight. Roger slings a beer can for effect, says that he doesn't give a damn about Ben's education and demands hazard pay. This is the first real indicator of Roger's mistreatment of Ben. Immediately after this altercation, Ben turns and sees his mother at his window. Startled, he falls backwards, hitting the door and getting the attention of his father who is not pleased that he is awake. When Ben looks back to the window she is gone. Maybe there is something to that wishing box after all!
As Locke and Ben make their preparations to go see Jacob, whom Locke seems to think does not exist any more than the Great and Powerful Oz, Ben tells Locke that Jacob is not a man you just go and see. Ben says that Jacob is a man who summons you. Locke replies with his recently rediscovered bravado, "I guess there is a first time for everything." Off they go down the yellow brick road, I mean leaf strewn pathway, to see Jacob; leaving Richard, Tom and Alex watching in wonderment.
Young Ben and Annie sit side by side on a swing and Annie gives him a box wrapped with blue ribbon. Inside are 2 hand carved dolls, one male and one female. Annie says that it is so they will never have to be apart. She takes the male doll and he takes the female one and returns home. His now drunk and belligerent father informs him that it is his fault that his mother is dead – how is that for a birthday present. With tears streaming down his face, Ben runs from the house. As he approaches the fence, we can hear the whispers over head and it appears as though Ben can as well. Ben sees his mother on the other side of the fence. She tells him that it is not yet time for him to cross the barrier.
Returning to the present, Locke and Ben are making their way to see Jacob when they come across what appears to be a circle of ash. Ben is shown making an effort to step over it rather than through. Locke illuminates the gray line that extends as far as he is able to see in both directions. Maybe this is some ancient version of "ash" fence or maybe it is just a ring of salt. Either way, it definitely looks man made and purposeful. The questions remains are they keeping something in or out?
Back at the beach camp, they are having a town meeting of sorts to introduce the newest member of the group, Naomi, to the rest after having kept her a secret supposedly from Jack and Juliet. Sun doesn't seem to think that Juliet is such a bad person until Sawyer plays the tape for them all. Just as it is finished, Jack and Juliet appear. In what, to me, was one of Juliet's strongest statements thus far, she tells Sawyer if he wants to crucify her to go ahead, but first turn over the tape. Ben's voice booms to life and tells them all exactly what his plans are for the extraction. Apparently Juliet has already told Jack about Ben's plan. Maybe that is what Juliet was referring to when she told Jack they should tell Kate … something. With this information the Losties have just over a day to find someway to stop the Others from taking Sun and anyone else who might be in the family way.
Returning to young Ben, he has packed his bags and his bunny and appears to be running away from home. After turning off the power to the sonic fence, he sends the rabbit over first – smart boy. While in the jungle, he once again hears the whispers, but this time it is not his mother that he meets, but an unbelievably unchanged looking Richard Alpert, minus the black eyeliner. Ben tells Richard that he has seen his dead mother out in the jungle. Richard does not seem surprised. He tells Ben that if he really wants to go with them he is going to have to be very, very patient.
Ben and Locke approach a very old, run down shack in the middle of the woods. Ben instructs Locke to turn off his flashlight because Jacob doesn't appreciate technology. They enter the shack and find an empty chair with which Ben proceeds to carry on a conversation. Locke accuses Ben of being crazy, a charlatan, lying to them all. Just as Locke leaves, he hears a voice saying "Help me."
Some people have speculated that it was Locke turning on the flashlight that brought on the wrath of Jacob. But I do not believe that is the case. The flashlight was already on when Locke raised it towards Ben. The onslaught did not start until Locke began telling Ben what it was that he heard. Could it be that Jacob did not want Ben to know that Locke heard him let alone what it was that he said? It is during this scene that we get a glimpse of the most anticipated character on Lost. For a split second, thank God for the DVR, Jacob's figure is visible still sitting in the same chair that Ben said he was in all along! Shocked, Locke ran from the shack and I sat here with my mouth agape and said, "Screencap!" The next morning, while on the way back to Camp Otherville, Locke has decided that Ben was just putting on a show for him. I guess it is easier that way. Ben admits that he is a liar and tells Locke that he wants to show him how he really got to the island.
Next we see a younger looking Ben, back in Otherville as an adult. This time, he is wearing his own version of khakis interestingly missing the Dharma insignia. He is labeled ‘Work Man' just like his now much older father. Once again, it is Ben's birthday and his father has forgotten. In what seemed to be an effort to make amends, Roger offers to spend some time with Ben after they make a supply run to the Pearl Station in a blue Dharma VW van. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
After they arrive at the mesa, and Roger pops the top on a Dharma beer, Ben asks his father if he really believes that it is his fault that his mother died. I guess it is not just the Losties that have 'daddy issues'. At 4 pm it becomes apparent that Ben has come to the end of his patience. He tells his father goodbye, dons a gas mask, opens the tab on a canister and calmly stares into space as his father dies. After sacrificing his father, Ben returns to Otherville. The Purge has obviously occurred. The place resembles Pompeii without the ashes. People have just dropped and died wherever they stood. This is an interesting concept considering that it would have taken massive amounts of gas to kill these people outdoors, but they don't look as though they were aware that anything was happening at all. In what could be described as a sign of respect, Ben closes the eyes of Horace's corpse. A still un-aged Richard Alpert and the other Hostiles enter Otherville. Did anyone else notice that although the "hostiles" were bare foot and wearing tattered clothes, Richard is obviously wearing a nice gold watch? Just how long have the hostiles been wearing disguises?
Ben shows Locke the mass grave of all those who were killed that day – the day of the Purge. Once again Locke turns his back on someone that he should not trust. Ben shoots Locke in the stomach and he falls into the pit, on top of the rest of the corpses that Ben has been responsible for. When Locke asks why, Ben replies that it is because Locke heard Jacob. Obviously, Ben can not let that happen. In my opinion, Ben has attained his position of power in the Others because of his ability to communicate with Jacob. Given the fact that the rest of Ben's group already feel that Locke is very special because of the healing of Locke's paralysis, the fact that he could also hear Jacob makes Locke a substantial threat to Ben's power. This is why Locke must live. Locke is Ben's antagonist, his rival. I can't wait to see the look on Ben's face when a very much alive John Locke walks back in to Camp Otherville. How do you think he would explain that? I, for one, hope we all get to find out.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 14 August 2007 )
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