I kind of felt underwhelmed by this episode and for the first time I started to really feel like things were getting a little too cheesey.
Maybe, it's the fact that it hasn't been on in awhile, but my initial reaction is pretty unimpressed ... and that makes me kind of sad.
It would suck to survive on a creepy island all that time and then die in a hail of bullets when you were walking around outside, because nobody really cared to warn YOU about an impending attack.
How many people went with Locke to the Barracks in the season premiere? It had to have been more than the three people the Freighter commandos shot. When Hurley gets around to it, I'd like another Island census because I've totally lost track of how many Oceanic 815ers there still are on the island, especially after the attack on the Barracks.
The Ben and Widmore final scene just about rocked my world. That was like Lex Luthor barging into Dr. Doom's bedroom and announcing he was going to kill his daughter, er... Doombot. Whatever.
So looking at the big picture as it is now, the castaways of Oceanic 815 had the misfortune of crashing on Lost island and getting caught in the middle of an elaborate game of island keep-away between two super villains.
I'm even more confused than ever. So 'why' can't Ben kill Widmore and vice versa? Is it because, ala Michael, the Island won't let them?
Poor Sayid. And poor background characters. And poor doctor with his throat slit ear-to-ear (I blame McGarnigle), so god knows what's happening to Sayid, Michael and Desmond out on the boat.
“How is it that I am a good actor? What I do is I... pretend to be the person I’m portraying. You’re confused. Case in point: in Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson comes to me and says ‘I would like you to be Gandalf the Wizard,’ and I said ‘You are aware that I am not really a wizard?’ and Peter Jackson said ‘I would like you to use your acting skills to portray a wizard for the duration of the show.’ So I said ‘Okay’ and then I said to myself ‘Mmm.. How do I do that?’ And this is what I did: I imagined that I was a wizard, and then I pretended, and acted, in that way on the stage. How did I know what to say? The words were written down for me in a script. How did I know where to stand? People told me where to stand." -- Sir Ian McKellen, Extras
Villain or not, Ben just became my favorite character on the show. And Kate batting her eyes at Jack, while pretty, was very annoying since she was just with Sawyer a few days ago.
Speaking of Sawyer, nice of him to show Hurley a little love there.
I've always hoped, since the Season 2 finale, that it will come to pass that indeed, Ben is "one of the good guys" in all of this. I can't help thinking that him lying to Sayid about how he got off the island is a very bad idea. Apparently, the island was done with Alex, but not Claire?
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoSo, are we to think that Ben set up Sayid's wife to be killed to get him on board? That's the way I'm leaning.
I think it's more that he used her death to manipulate Sayid into killing one of Widmore's people so he could firmly entrench him on his side of the war. He didn't appear to be interested in finding Sayid until he saw him on tv talking about his wife being dead, and judging by his parka he wasn't expecting to end up in the Middle East...
Was I just hearing things or has Ben started calling Sawyer "Jim" instead of James?
I think we're seeing the beginning/reason for Jack's pill addiction.
Glad Bernard got something to do.
I wonder if the Ben/Widmore "game" is going to tie in with the whole black/white theme thats been running through out the show ever since Locke gave his oh so spooky explanation of backgammon, like on an actual "we are fighting over the fate of the universe" level.
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoSo, are we to think that Ben set up Sayid's wife to be killed to get him on board? That's the way I'm leaning.
The only evidence That Guy killed Nadia was Ben's photograph. The only proof That Guy has any connection to Whitmore is Ben saying so. Ben could be telling the complete truth or Ben could be capitalizing on Nadia's death. Who knows? It's Ben.
It'd be tough for Ben to set up the murder itself - that opening scene was the as interesting anything else. Ben's apparently left behind on the island when the Oceanic7 leave - how does he suddenly (and somewhat traumatically) appear in the middle of the Sahara desert while wearing a winter coat?
The fifteen seconds of Ben's life immediately before this episode are probably pretty interesting and will be closing an episode or season off sooner or later.
I wonder if the Ben/Widmore "game" is going to tie in with the whole black/white theme thats been running through out the show ever since Locke gave his oh so spooky explanation of backgammon, like on an actual "we are fighting over the fate of the universe" level.
The lightning in the last scene, with both men half in light, half in dark, makes me think we're not getting a definite good or bad side out of it.
If Claire can survive a rocket launcher attack, she should be the new leader. Or a video game character. Perhaps a tease, because we are now expecting her to die because of the Aaron/Kate reveal?
I am also beginning to believe the theories of Ben turning out to really be the good guy in the end.
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Originally posted by thecubsfan It'd be tough for Ben to set up the murder itself - that opening scene was the as interesting anything else. Ben's apparently left behind on the island when the Oceanic7 leave - how does he suddenly (and somewhat traumatically) appear in the middle of the Sahara desert while wearing a winter coat?
Well, the polar bear got to the desert somehow a few episodes ago, so maybe there's some sort of a transporter in a colder climate. That was my first thought.
I enjoyed the episode. I really enjoyed the return of the monster, and loved Sawyer looking out for Hurley. Anytime Sayid gets to be a badass, I'm there, as well.
I'm starting to really like Ben. It's probably a swerve of some sort, but I'm starting to believe that he's not truly evil.
When the guys' were playing "Risk," I thought Hurley said something that may be foreshadowing for the future: Something like, "Australia is ALWAYS the key, man." Considering the flight took off from Australia, that quote got stuck with me.
This really starts to put the show into perspective, as far as Alex being hinted at in season one, introduced in season two, developed in season three, and now her death is pivotal in the nature of the escalating conflict.
So that's twice since the end of last season Ben's made some major miscalculation that completely screwed him. For someone regarded as such an evil genius, Ben's track record of late isn't that good. The only person he seems to constantly be able to manipulate is Locke, but at this point, I'd expect Aaron to be able to out-manipulate Locke. (And I say that as a Locke fan...)
Who would have thought that the difference in surviving (at least, thus far) during the split between Jack and Locke was going with the group that didn't have Ben? I guess we can pretty much write off all the extras that went with Locke. I have a feeling that the only people who are going to survive on the island are the characters we've been following all along. The rapid-fire offing of the extras as they ran out of the house was... entertaining. I enjoy having the excuse of 'the island won't let him die' as a rationale for why Sawyer could hide behind a picnic table, a fence post, and a grill, and not get hit by gunfire.
I look forward to finding out why Ben can't kill Widmore. Count me on board as being intrigued by the impending Ben vs. Desmond conflict. I also look forward to finding out just what Ben's relationship with Smokey is. I knew it was making an appearance this episode, so as soon as Ben said "we don't want to be anywhere near them," I jumped out of my seat. I also look forward to finding out the procedure for traveling from the island to Tunisia. Ben waking up on the ground like he just fell out of the sky is reminiscent of Jack from the pilot. It will be fun to see why he was wearing the Halliwax parka and how he cut his arm.
You believe me, don't you? Please believe what I just said...
The October date that Ben found out it was, does anyone know how it fits into the timeline of other dates we are sure of? Is this earlier than the Jack flash forward or Hurley in the ward?
I wasn't particularly partial to his work, especially the stuff that got major recognition (i.e., M*A*S*H*), but he was a significant voice in film history. I did enjoy McCabe and Mrs.