I was fascinated to watch when Ben was lying and when he was telling the truth. I think, in general, Locke is someone who tells the truth, and Ben is someone who lies. But Ben was honest at points….
When Ben first looked at Locke when he woke up, he was scared sh*&tless. Then he briefly glanced down before he began speaking to Locke, and I believe that’s all the time it took for him to gather himself and begin lying to Locke. Although I’d wished otherwise, I believe Ben genuinely didn’t think Locke would live. Maybe he suspected it, but I don’t think he wanted him to live, he perhaps was very confident that he would not.

This is supported by the fact that the monster-turned-alex told him they knew he was planning on killing Locke again, which shows Ben is still the snivelly manipulator he is.

I think the journey in this episode was to show that Ben is losing his capacity to manipulate Locke, and can no longer control him (hence the funny reference when Locke came out of the forest). When Ben said outright “I knew this would happen”, it sounded so….wrong, such a wrong thing to say…usually the writers will give text that has subtext, and an interesting way to play things is to mean the opposite of what you’re saying…but that was such an obvious, straightforward line, that I don’t believe Ben meant it. He was lying. But he’s not very good at lying to Locke anymore.

I do think, though, that there’s something more to Ben choosing to kill Locke after he heard about Eloise Hawking….What IF….the folks who traveled on 316 flight (Ilana, etc.)are not Widmore’s crew, but Ellies??? And if Ben allowed Locke to go to Ellie, after having also met with Widmore, then he would’ve lost Locke to the wrong side. Food for thought.

I don’t believe Locke is smokey, but I think he may’ve woken up with some understanding the island gave him.

Here’s another thought – Locke knew where the hole beneath the temple was because Jin told him about his experience with Rousseau, et. al. during his time travel, and Locke isn’t using any new intuition at all, he’s just going by something he already knew.

Back to Ben: he chose the island over Alex. He wouldn’t give himself up, because he also knew the mercenaries would kill everyone on the island as well, and he made a choice. Granted, he was so confident that Alex was supposed to live (either that the island meant for her to live, OR he was just 100% believed in his negotiation abilities) that he was shocked when she was killed, but he DID make a decision to choose the island over his daughter. Ultimately, he’s willing to sacrifice the only person who ever loved him (other than his mom & maybe annie), in order to keep the island safe, and in that respect, he’s on Locke’s team. I hope they continue to work as a motley crew, and am looking forward to seeing Ben second in command – but also using his manipulative skills for good rather than evil.

Finally, I was watching the scene with Desmond again, and noticed that, although it looked like the bullet hit Desmond in the groceries and far to his right side (like it may’ve grazed his chest), when he was beating up Ben, he was using only his left hand. I think Desmond got shot in the right arm, which was why he wasn’t using that arm, and also why Desmond wasn’t dead. Hopefully he’ll be alright.

Look forward to your feedback!

z

It’s really a combination of two things, both references to something really really important and still hidden (so far). First was Ilana’s question for Lapidus, “what lies in the shadow of the statue?” Unlike everyone else, I don’t think this is a reference to the well, which we know is at the Orchid and well enough known by lots of folks. I think it’s a reference to the temple, and more specifically something important inside the temple wall.

Why? Because of what Ben said. As they approach the temple, Ol’ Bugeyes tells Locke that they’re just at the wall, and that it was built to keep people from seeing the temple. This is the important statement that everyone seems to have overlooked. Why hide the temple from sight with a big obvious wall? Why does it matter if people see it? I mean, they’ll probably know where it is thanks to that big wall, you know? I think there’s something big, important, and visually obvious about the temple, and that that’s going to be huge to the show.

We’ve spent five seasons building to one reveal: The temple. And I agree that we’re building to a big light/dark battle between Widmore and Linus over the island. And it has everything to do with the temple, which is the heart of the island. I’m betting that the 815ers will be the deciding factor, that that they’ll eliminate both sides in that battle, just as the island wanted. FTW!

A few more thoughts:

It’s important that Locke was wrong about Ben’s judgement, though close. He said Ben was to be judged for murdering his daughter, but he was really judged for saving her. Ben knew that and Locke didn’t. Johnny isn’t in with Jacob yet.

As for Des and Penny, I think that Ben’s actions will be a turning point for them. I think the boat is significant: They’ll switch sides and bring Charles Widmore back to the island! Mark my words!

Finally, it will be interesting to see just what the island wanted from all of the returning folk. That’s the plot of the next dozen episodes, for sure.

Keep up the goodness!

One thing that immediately struck me when i saw ben’s memories swirlin through ol’ smokeys haze was how they tie directly to the flashbacks that we’ve seen.
what if somehow, smokey is connected to the flashback structure of lost?