TV-Reviewed

The previous episode had a lot to do with Locke and his father. Let’s see where things where things take us now that Locke’s father is dead.

Flashback

We find ourselves observing a man and woman in the middle of nowhere. The woman is pregnant and about to deliver her baby. Her husband helps her through the process and she delivers the baby boy. Since they need to get to the hospital to get her checked out, they make their way through some trees and find a busy road. Alongside the road is a sign which says Portland is 32 miles away. Without a means of transportation, the couple and their baby is unable to get there on their own. The husband waves down a car and after a few minutes, the woman begins to die. Before the passes away, she asks her husband to name their son Ben.

Several years pass and Ben’s father is in need of a job and can’t seem to find one. Roger, Ben’s father, manages to find a job on the island we’ve all come to become familiar with. They arrive via a submarine and meet with the boss, Horace Goodspeed, the man who coincidentally was the one who stopped his car years ago when Ben was born.

Roger and Ben are given a brief tour of a portion of the island. They watch an orientation film from the Hanso Foundation. Afterwards, Roger is upset when he finds out he’ll be a simple janitor for the DHARMA Initiative. He thought he’d be involved in the experiments or something more interesting. He’s told he’ll be able to apply for a different job should one open up.

We later find Ben in a school room learning about volcanoes when all of a sudden the children are told to take cover. We hear gunshots from outside. Men with guns can be seen running past the windows. It’s explained to Ben that it’s another attack by the “hostiles.” Later, Roger can be overheard by Ben as he confronts Horace Goodspeed. He’s upset about putting his life in danger fighting off the “hostiles.” Horace assures Roger the island is the best place for Ben’s education, but Roger doesn’t seem to be thinking of Ben at the moment. As Ben stands in his room, he is shocked to see his mother’s face at the window. He looks again and she’s suddenly gone.

When Ben comes home one night after receiving a birthday gift from a young girl, he finds his father has passed out with a beer in one hand. Ben takes the beer from his father’s hand and places it on the table. When he tries to take Roger’s shoes off, he wakes up and says something rather surprising to Ben. He blames Ben for the death of Emily, Roger’s wife/Ben’s mother.

Distraught by the behavior of his father, Ben runs out into the jungle and comes close to the sonic barrier. He sees his mother on the other side and begins to approach her when she tells him not to come any closer. She says it’s not time yet.

Some time passes and Ben goes back to the sonic fence. This time, he’s got a code with him (54439). He uses it and deactivates the fence. He walks through the fence and into the jungle. He yells for his mother but doesn’t see her, but he can hear the bizarre whispers we’ve all heard when people are alone in the jungle. Soon, Richard appears and startles Ben. They chat about Ben’s mother and father. Ben asks Richard to take him with him, but Richard tells him that he needs to be patient.

A good twenty or so years have passed and we find an adult Ben packing away a few things. He approaches his father and helps him load a van, the same VW van Hurley would later find. Ben tells his father it’s his birthday, but Roger didn’t remember. He’s not remembered a single one of Ben’s birthdays. To make up, Roger asks Ben if he’d like to spend a little father/son time together. Ben agrees and the two drive to an area which overlooks a good portion of the island. They have a beer and talk about Emily. Ben wants to know if his father still feels he’s responsible for Emily’s death. Roger dismisses the question by saying “who knows?” A few moments pass and Ben musters the courage to tell his father about his disappointment in him. He’s not gotten over the way his father has treated him and pulls out a gas mask and says good bye. He then pulls out a canister of nerve gas (I believe) and pulls the pin. Roger begins to bleed from the face and dies after several seconds of pure torture.

Ben makes his way back to camp and finds every one of the DHARMA Initiative members dead. Slowly the hostiles enter the camp with their masks on and their rifles ready. Richard takes off his mask, followed by Ben. Richard asks if they should collect Roger’s body too as the rest of the DHARMA bodies are gathered up, but Ben says that he wishes for him to say in the van where he is.

Jungle

We pick up with Ben in his tent. He can’t find the tape recorder anywhere and asks Richard if he’s seen it. He hasn’t, so Ben leaves his tent and asks Tom. Tom doesn’t respond; he’s staring off in another direction. Ben turns to see what Tom is looking at and finds a determined Locke carrying his dead father on his back. As Locke approaches Ben and Tom, he drops his father and tells Ben it’s time to tell him about the island.

Inside Ben’s tent, Locke and Ben discuss the Others. Ben admits he’s not the man who is in charge. That person is actually Jacob. Naturally, Locke demands to meet with him, but Ben is in no hurry to do so. Outside, Mikhail runs into camp and explains how he survived the sonic fence. It seems it wasn’t set to a lethal level. Also, he mentions Naomi, the woman who parachuted in the other day. Ben is surprised by this development, but isn’t too concerned since they are planning a raid on the beach camp very soon. When in front of the group, Locke tells Mikhail Ben is going to take him to see Jacob, but Mikhail questions this. Locke in turn knocks the Russian to the ground and beats him senseless. Locke is determined to see Jacob.

Before they leave, Ben and Locke collect some water. Alex drops by to wish her father a happy birthday and to give Locke a pistol for his protection.

They then set out for Jacob’s location. When they get there, Locke investigates the ground nearby. There seems to be something covering it, but it’s difficult to determine what it is, as Ben insists Locke keep up. They approach an old building and Ben uses a lantern outside as a source of light. Before they enter, Locke is told to turn off his flashlight because Jacob doesn’t like technology. They enter slowly and Ben begins talking to what would appear to be an empty chair. All we can hear is Ben’s part of the conversation. Fed up, Locke confronts Ben on this. Locke can’t see anyone in the chair and certainly can’t hear anyone but Ben talking. This would mean either Ben’s putting on an act or he’s simply crazy. As Locke turns away to leave, a deep God-like voice can be heard saying “Help Me.” Locke turns around and asks Ben to repeat himself. Ben says he didn’t say anything. Locke turns on his flashlight and all hell breaks loose. Chairs go flying… windows are smashed… it’s pure chaos. Locke and Ben manage to escape the house safely. Locke asks Ben what happened, but Ben tells him it was Jacob.

The next morning, Locke and Ben are making their way back to camp, when Locke asks Ben why they are going a different way. Ben admits he’s taking them elsewhere first, to explain something. He then admits he wasn’t born on the island. They then arrive at a pit of skeletons. This is the pit of dead DHARMA bodies Ben and the Others gathered up a while back when they killed the DHARMA Initiative workers. While Ben tells Locke about them, Locke stands up and turns around and is suddenly shot in the torso by Ben. Locke falls into the pit of skeletons and is questioned by Ben. Ben demands to know what Jacob told him. When Locke tells him, Ben seems quite surprised to hear that Jacob asked for help. Ben walks away after telling Locke that “maybe, Jacob will help you.” Locke is left for dead.

Beach

After killing the real Sawyer, Sawyer returns to the beach and talks to Sayid about Jack and Juliet. They later involve Kate in the discussion and she reveals she told Jack and Juliet about Naomi.

That night, the camp is huddled together, talking to Naomi. They’re very interested and concerned about what she has said about there being no survivors. As Sawyer plays the tape in front of everyone, Jack and Juliet return to camp. Juliet asks that Sawyer turn over the tape and listen to the other side. Sawyer agrees and the entire camp listens as Ben talks about his plans to lead 3 teams to kidnap all the fertile women. Juliet reveals that she has already told Jack about it, and that they were still thinking of a plan.

I was really psyched about this episode. I was looking forward to learning more about Ben and I learned more than I had expected. The flashbacks to his childhood show that Roger, Ben’s father wasn’t exactly the caring father many people would hope for. The loss of Emily was clearly a blow to the family, and I’m frankly surprised Roger didn’t get remarried.

The encounter with Jacob was interesting to say the least. Although I couldn’t see/hear Jacob, I had the weird feeling that there was someone there. I know that sounds weird, but it’s true. Anyway, I haven’t a clue where the storylines could go involving Jacob in future episodes, but it would be nice to see Locke survive that gunshot.

The tape recording revelation was less than exciting. It was clearly overshadowed by what was on the other side of the tape. Judging by what I saw in the trailer, next week’s episode may be very action-packed. We shall see…

Lost - The Man Behind The Curtain
Original Air Date: May 09, 2007

Rating: 8.3