What Lies in the Shadow of the Statue?

It’s amazing that an episode could be so good without any appearances by Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, Hurley, Juliet, Miles, Jin, or Daniel. But it was good. So good.

In fact, my expectations for this week’s episode might have been at an all-time high. The previews were so titillating, first of all, and can a Ben-centric episode possibly be bad? But not only was it Ben-centric, it also focused on a lot of weighty Ben-Locke exchanges.

I certainly wasn’t disappointed. This week answered quite a few questions, and it showed us new regions of the island. And Michael Emerson (Ben) and Terry O’Quinn (Locke) delivered outstanding performances—as they always do.

So let’s recap…

Season 5: Episode 12—“Dead is Dead”:

I’ve decided that Ben might be the best villain ever. Why?

Well, he’s diabolical—capable of conspiring with "I call everybody 'my friend'" Caesar one moment and shotgun-blasting him pointblank moments later (with such an expressionless face, too!)—and yet I just can’t help but like the guy. Most days, I’d say he’s my favorite character on the show. Completely unreliable, untrustworthy, and, well, evil. But likable. And that tension makes his character so perfect.

In this episode, our diabolical conniver is off to summon Smokey so he can "be judged." One problem for Ben, Locke’s coming with him. Even worse, Locke suddenly knows things about the island Ben doesn’t…which is baffling for us (isn’t it?) and disturbing for Benjamin Linus.

But let’s recap this episode in chronological order, which means we have some scenes to review long before Locke makes his first appearance.

Leading off, Widmore was ticked. He confronted Richard about the decision to take Ben to the temple. Widmore says Richard should have let him die, but Richard says, "Jacob chooses who he chooses."

About 6-8 years later (I’m guessing), we saw more of Widmore as the leader of the Others. Including the scene when Ben snatched Alex from Rousseau. Turns out he was supposed to "exterminate" Rousseau, but he didn't. And suddenly we’re seeing a new side of Benjamin Linus:

Our evil villain is...(wait for it)...a sucker for babies!

More accurately, Ben can’t kill the mother of a young child. He knows what it’s like to live his entire life without a mother, and diabolical as he might be, he just can’t do that to little kids (like Alex…and later, Charlie Hume).

So instead of killing Rousseau, he only threatened to kill her—saying he would do it if she tried to follow. Oh, and he added this puzzling tidbit: “If you want your daughter to live, every time you hear whispers, you run the other way.”

I feel like some of the dialogue in Season 5 has been what I’m calling “hole-filler.” (I'm okay with that. I desperately want these hole filled.) And I think this comment is a prime example. We know that Rousseau told Sayid that she’s heard the whispers, but she says she has never seen anyone… so maybe this dialogue is supposed to explain why.

Also worth noting: Ethan accompanied Ben on this mission, and he seemed eager to help. He even offered to do it for him when Ben was hesitating just outside Rousseau’s camp. This confirmed that Ethan (assuming it’s the same one) was an Other at a young age. Though we still don’t know why or how he survived the Purge. Actually, this scene would have happened before the Purge...so Ethan was an Other before the Purge? Wow, we'll come back to that...

When Ben and Ethan showed up in camp carrying baby Alex, Widmore was not pleased (is he ever?). Ben was openly defiant, challenging Widmore in front of the camp. He gave Widmore a chance to kill the baby himself, but Widmore just huffed and puffed as he walked away.

In the next scene (chronologically) we see Papa Ben pushing Alex on the swingset (how endearing) when Richard comes to tell him that the submarine is leaving. Richard says Ben doesn't need to see "him" off, but Ben believes he does (at this moment, has Ben assumed control of the Others? I think so...). The "him" in question just so happens to be a handcuffed Charles Widmore, and I think this scene provides the framework for the entire episode:

Ben: Charles! I came to say good-bye.
Widmore: [Chuckles] No, you didn't. You came to gloat.
Ben: No, don't act as if I wanted this. You brought this on yourself.
Widmore: Are you quite certain you want to do this, Benjamin?
Ben: You left the Island regularly. You had a daughter with an outsider. You broke the rules, Charles.
Widmore: And what makes you think you deserve to take what's mine?
Ben: Because I won't be selfish. Because I'll sacrifice anything to protect this Island.
Widmore: You wouldn't sacrifice Alex.
Ben: You're the one who wanted her dead, Charles, not the Island.
Widmore: I hope you're right, Benjamin, because if you aren't, and it is the Island that wants her dead, she'll be dead. And one day, you'll be standing where I'm standing now. You'll be the one being banished, and then you'll finally realize that you cannot fight the inevitable. I'll be seeing you, boy.

So, chronologically, the next scene involves Ben and Widmore again, with Ben standing on a different dock. In this scene, Ben calls Widmore to tell him he's about to kill his daughter...

And he tries. Well, kinda. Summarizing:

Desmond (in strong Scottish accent): What are you doing here?
Ben shoots Desmond's bag of groceries...and Desmond falls? (I didn't see any blood on Des)
Ben to Penny: I don't like your daddy, so I'm going to kill you.
Penny: But I don't even like him?
Ben: He's a terrible man!
Penny: I'm not arguing with you. Just don't hurt my baby?
Ben: Baby?
Charlie Hume: Mommy!
Ben (gulps)
Penny cries.
Desmond tackles Ben and beats him good and bloody before tossing him into the water like a hunk of chum.
(And scene!)

And with that, we're caught up to the moment when Ben wakes up and finds a resurrected John Locke welcoming him back to "the land of the living."

Ben claims he knew Locke would be alive (Locke doubts this), and Ben says he's off to the main island "to be judged." Locke seems to like the sound of that. And so he's coming too.

Before they leave, there's the scene where Ben kills Caesar (my favorite scene this week). And there was that interesting exchange between Ben and the people moving a crate. I thought it was suspicious from the beginning (its inclusion was suspicious, anyway), and by the time the episode was over, I think that was confirmed.

BEN: What's in the crate?
Guy: Just some stuff we need to get moved.
BEN: Need a hand?
Guy: Oh, thanks. We got it.
BEN: Okay. Have a great day.

Okay, "have a great day"? Hmmm, do we think Ben knew what was in that crate?

Anyway, Locke and Ben paddle over to Ben's "home, sweet home" and they find Frank and Sun in Ben's old house (which is quite disheveled, for some reason...?) Frank and Sun say they met a "crazy old man" named Christian, and he told them to wait for John Locke:

Frank: But considering he's dead, we ain't holding our breath...
Ben: Well, you might want to look outside.
They look outside, and sure enough, there's Locke standing there nonchalantly, hands in pockets. Then he offers them a smile and a little wave. Ha. Priceless.)

So Ben learns (or did he already know?) about their friends showing up in Dharmaville circa 1977. Frank decides to head back to Sidekick island. Sun stays with Locke and Ben.

And then Ben goes to summon Smokey. He says this can only be done from his house. And when he goes into his secret passageway, this time we get to see more of it. He descends underground, sticks his hand in a puddle, turns something, the water drains, and then he leans down and says, "I'll be outside."

When Ben goes outside, Sun is sitting on the porch and Locke is gone. Apparently he told Sun he had "something to do," but she didn't ask what. (This seems to really bother Ben.) While they're waiting for Smokey's arrival, Ben tells Sun he had no idea John would be resurrected by the island. (Do we believe Ben now?) And he says, "the fact that John Locke is walking around...scares the living hell out of me." (I believe this.)

And then this great moment:

Ben: You may want to go inside.
Sun: Why?
Ben: Because what's about to come out of that jungle is something I can't control.
[Footsteps approach]
Locke: Any luck?
Ben: It hasn't shown up yet.
Locke: Last time we didn't have to wait this long.
Ben: It's not a train, John. It doesn't run on a schedule.
Locke: Well, if it's not gonna come to us, then... I suppose we'll have to go to it.
Ben: I only know how to summon it. I don’t know where it is.
Locke: I do.

(I have more to say about this in this week's Questions)

So Ben is stuck following Locke through the jungle (and Ben admits he hates it). Locke takes him to the Temple's outer wall, but Locke tells him that they aren't going to the Temple...they're going underneath it. Sun, understandably, stays outside.

Meanwhile, Frank made it back to sidekick island only to be greeted by a guy running over to him shouting something about "Ilana and three of the others" finding guns and saying "they're in charge now."

Then Ilana confronts Frank—does the obligatory gun cock—and asks him, "What lies in the shadow of the statue?"

Frank is understandably confused. And when his "I don't know what you're talking about—" is deemed unsatisfactory by Ilana, she knocks him out with her rifle butt. The scene ends with Ilana adding this: "Get everyone else. Tell them it's time. And tie him up. He's coming with us."

Poor Frank.

Underneath the Temple, Ben falls through the floor of the tunnel and lands in a larger opening below. Locke leaves to find something to get Ben out, and Ben wanders around looking at the hieroglyphs adorning every column (I saw Anubis...anyone else?).

Then the smoke monster rises from holes in the floor and envelops Ben. Like Mr. Eko did (only much more pronounced this time, and with sound we can here), Ben sees scenes from his past—all relating to his relationship with Alex.

(I admit, I got goosebumps as I watched this. Especially when Keamy killed Alex and Ben had to lower his head, unable to look anymore.)

And then, a moment when LOST did the impossible (again): transforming Ben into a sympathetic character...

Alex appears and calls Ben "Daddy." Ben is so genuinely moved, and "so, so sorry." And suddenly, Alex isn't his sweet, little girl anymore.

She slams him into the wall, calls him a bastard, and says, "I know that you're already planning to kill John again, and I want you to know that if you so much as touch him, I will hunt you down and destroy you. You will listen to every word John Locke says, and you will follow his every order. Do you understand?"

She makes him swear, and he does, that he will follow John Locke. (What choice does he have, really?)

And then the episode ends with Ben wandering back to the opening where John Locke has a rope (where'd that come from?). And Ben, seeming dazed (nearly traumatized) but not necessarily relieved, tells John, "It let me live."

And in that moment, I wondered if Ben might have been at least a little disappointed. Maybe.

Now, instead of just questions, this episode answered at least two pressing questions:


Answers:

Q: Does Ben remember Sayid shooting him?
A: No. After being taken to the temple, Ben asked Widmore “What happened?” And Charles tell him, “You were injured…”

Q: How/Why did Charles Widmore leave the island?
A: He was exiled. According to Ben, Charles “left the island regularly” and “had a daughter with an outsider.” And apparently, also in Ben’s words, Widmore “broke the rules.”
(Note: I think there’s more to this still. Based on Widmore’s comments to Locke earlier this season about Ben tricking him, I suspect Ben played a role in his exile.)


Character Developments:

Widmore suddenly got a lot more evil (and, unfortunately for him, he doesn’t have any of Ben’s manipulative charm). First Widmore thought Richard should have killed Ben. Next he wanted Rousseau and Alex murdered. What a ruthless baby-killer. Maybe we can actually believe Ben when he says Widmore is a terrible man. (Although I’m wondering if maybe, just maybe, Widmore might be a coward. Ben gave him a chance to kill baby Alex, and he didn’t do it. If he really thought that’s what needed to be done, he should have done it. And he would have done it if that's what needed to be done...unless he's a coward. Then again, maybe I shouldn’t call someone who can’t kill a baby a “coward.” Maybe that just means, regardless of how evil and ruthless he is, he might still have an ounce of humanity in him.)

Locke is seeping with smugness. He's Mr. I-Know-More-Than-You-Do to Ben's seething Mr. I-Wish-You-Had-Stayed-Dead. I don't love the smug Locke, but I admit, if I'd just been killed by a guy who held all the island secrets I desperately wanted, and I found myself resurrected with a new innate knowledge about island stuff—more knowledge, in fact, than the island guru who killed me, and my killer had to follow me to places on the island that he knew nothing about...I suppose, if there's ever a time and place for smugness, that would be it.

This episode somehow showed us a Ben who was just as (if not more) evil, and yet also made him a more sympathetic character. Amazing.


Notable Quotes:

1) Widmore: What have you done, Richard?
Richard: He was a boy, he was dying…
Widmore: Then you should have let him die…
Richard: Jacob wanted it done. The island chooses who the island chooses…you know that.

2) Ben: Where am I?
Widmore: You’re among friends…
Ben: I don’t want to go back. I want to stay. I want to be one of you.
Widmore: Just because you’re living with them, doesn’t mean you can’t be one of us.

(Note: Wonder if any other Hostiles are living undercover with the DI.)

3) Widmore: Every decision I’ve made has been about protecting this island.
Ben: Is that what Jacob wants? …Then here she is (holds out baby), you do it.

4) Rousseau: You’re the one who infected us, aren’t you? (Hmmm...)

5)Locke: I assure you, Sun, I’m the same man I’ve always been. (I'm not sure I believe him)

6) *My favorite scene/exchange this week:
Caesar: I'm sorry, but I'm calling the shots here, and I say you are not taking anything. What you are going to do is to sit down and tell us how you know so much about this Island, my friend.
Locke: You're in the habit of calling people "friend", but I don't think you mean it.
Caesar: Step away from the boat.
Locke: No. I'm not gonna step away from the boat. I'm gonna take it, and you're gonna let me, my friend.
Caesar: You're not taking anything.
[Caesar reaches into his bag for the sawed-off shotgun, but Ben points it at Caesar.]
Ben: You looking for this?
BOOM! (Caesar flies backward, and the other guys take a slight step back...)
Ben: This gentleman and I are taking a boat. Does anyone else have a problem with that?
Ben (tosses the shotgun to Locke): Consider that my apology.

7) Locke: If all I had to do was die, Ben, they why did you stop me?
Ben: You had critical information that would've died with you. And once you'd given it to me... well, I just didn't have time to talk you back into hanging yourself. So I took a shortcut. (Ha)

8)Caesar: When you were out cold, he was watching over you. And he said you killed him.
Ben: I killed him? Really? 'Cause he looks fine to me. [Chuckles] You know, I don't really remember him from the plane. Do you?
Caesar: No, I don't.
Ben: What if... he was already here, before we crashed? If he thinks I killed him, then he's insane. We may be dealing with a man who's dangerously deranged. Then the question is, what are we gonna do about it?
Caesar: Don't worry, my friend. (shows the sawed off shotgun) I have your back.

9) Locke: Was she [Sun] the one who hurt your arm? I noticed you were favoring it on the way over.
Ben: No, someone else hurt my arm.
Locke: You just make friends everywhere.

10)Ben: The man was unarmed because I'd stolen his gun—the gun he was going to use to kill you. I couldn't let that happen.
Locke: No sense in me dying twice, right?
Ben: You're welcome.

11)Lapidus: As long as the dead guy says there's a reason, well, then I guess everything's gonna be just peachy.

12) Locke: If you go with him, you’ll never see your husband again. I’m all the help you need…
Sun: Are you saying you know how to find Jin?
Locke: I have some ideas. (smug, smug, smug)

13)Ben: It's the wall around our Temple.
Sun: What Temple?
Ben: About a half mile from here. We built this wall to keep people like the two of you from ever seeing it.
Locke: We're not going into your Temple, Ben. We're going under it.
(Note the adjectives: for Ben it's "our" and for Locke it's "your" temple. And when Ben says "we" built it...I wonder who the "we" is. Looks a little too old for Ben, doesn't it?)

14)Widmore: Your orders were to exterminate that woman.
Ben: Why, she’s no threat to us? She’s insane. Besides, you didn’t tell me she had a child. What was I supposed to do?
Widmore: Kill it.
Ben: It’s not an “it,” it’s a child.

15) Widmore: Every decision I’ve made has been about protecting this island.
Ben: Is that what Jacob wants? Then here she is (holds out baby), you do it.

16) Locke: I never pictured you leading your people from behind a desk. Just seems a little…corporate.

17) Locke: I was thinking you and I could talk about the elephant in the room.
Ben: I assume you’re referring to the fact that I killed you.

18)
Widmore: How did you get this number?
Ben: Doesn't matter. What matters is I'm going back to the Island today.
Widmore: The Island won't let you come back, trust me. I've spent almost 20 years trying to return.
Ben: Well, Charles, where you failed, I'm going to succeed...

19)Locke: Whose idea was it to move into these houses? It just doesn’t seem like something the island would want.
Ben: You don’t have the first idea about what the island wants.

20) Ben: Hello, Penelope. My name is Benjamin Linus. I'm sorry that you're caught up in the middle of this thing, but your father—
Penny: My father and I have absolutely no relationship whatsoever, so whatever—
Ben: Your father is a really terrible human being. He's responsible for the killing of my daughter. That's why I'm here.

21)*Ben: Sun, I need you to do me a favor. If you ever get off this island, find Desmond Hume for me and tell him I was sorry.
Sun: Sorry for what?
Ben: He’ll know.

*Three things about this quote:
1) he addressed Sun, not Locke, probably because he knows Locke would never leave the island and Sun might. (?)
2) Ben said, “tell him I was sorry.” He would have said “am” unless he believes he’ll be dead before Sun has a chance to tell Desmond.
3) Ben didn’t apologize for killing Locke…but he wanted to apologize for planning to kill Penny? That's interesting.

Questions:

1) Ben mentioned the whispers to Rousseau, telling her to run the other way if she hears them? Why? Do they proceed the arrival of the Others? Or, I'm wondering, are the whispers people from another realm/dimension/time, and he fears what she might learn from them? So even though he let her live, he couldn't let her learn secrets of the island, too?

2) How in the world did Ethan become an Other before the Purge? We know his daddy, Horace, died in Dharmatown during the Purge. So Horace remained with the DI. But did Amy abandon ship? Was Ethan kidnapped?

3) Ilana and her three friends seem to be gearing up for "the war." But for which side? They seem to have brought a case full of guns...so they knew what they were getting into. My first guess: Widmore. But I wouldn't put it past Ben. After all, he made a point to note the crate they were moving. And then he took a drink of Ajira water and watched, almost as if he were supervising. And as Ben says, he always has a plan...

4) Why didn't the Smoke Monster come when Ben summoned it? Or did it...

5) Is it possible that Locke might still be dead...but reanimated by the Smoke Monster? I know that sounds far out, but there were subtle hints:
i. When Ben summoned Smokey, Locke came out of the jungle.
ii. Locke made a point to tell Sun he's the same man he always was...
iii. Locke suddenly knows a lot more about the island, and he was conveniently absent when Smokey was playing the role of Alex. (Can Smokey only animate one body at a time?)
iv. We have also seen the Smoke Monster do this with other people. When Yemi appeared to Eko, it's believed that it was the Smoke Monster speaking through him. (Maybe this is what's happening with Christian Shephard too?)
v. Remember the title, "Dead is Dead." Ben says the island has done a lot of things, but he hasn't seen it bring people back from the dead. So is John the exception (as I think we were led to believe) or is he dead?

6) When Lapidus refers to the man named Christian, did anyone else think Ben seemed to recognize that name? Or was I just hoping he would recognize the name? Maybe it was just a look of curiosity?

7) Ben claims he didn't know about that some of the 815 survivors joined the Dharma Initiative in the 70's...but do we believe this?

8) What does lie in the shadow of the statue? Is there a real answer? Is this a code so those "in on the mission" can identify one another? Can anyone think of a plausible (or creative) answer?