"The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" Analysis!

Before we get down to analyzin' this week, I wanted to make a quick note about the "Instant Reaction" posts I do each week. Basically, once the episode ends, I sit down and type nonstop for about fifteen minutes about whatever immediately comes to mind about the episode. There is usually no research, no double-checking of facts, or logically thinking through what I’m writing. It's just my fingers going as fast as they can about whatever thoughts are running through my mind. I know that there are often spelling, grammar, and logic errors - and appreciate that people point them out in the Comments Section. Understand that these aren't my final thoughts about the episode, just what's going through my mind the instant that the episode ends - which is why when I sit down to actually think about it and write my analysis, often I've shifted views on some things. There's no need to get worked up or complain about whatever I say in my "Instant Reactions", because chances are - if it's crazy talk, I'll get it corrected when I do the analysis. My goal with the "Instant Reactions" is just to get my thoughts out as quickly as possible, so that you don’t have to wait for the weekend to hear them… even if those thoughts might be a little wacky.

 

On to "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham". I stand by my initial review of the episode. It was a functional episode, but I feel like it left a lot to be desired. Locke's meetings with the Oceanic Six were all pretty disappointing, in some cases bringing up seeming inconsistencies with what we have seen and heard in prior episodes. Cases in point:

 

BEN: And what did he say to you?

JACK: He told me... that after I left the island, some very bad things happened. And he told me that it was my fault for leaving. And he said that I had to come back.

 

KATE: Who do you think you are?! You call me over and over again for two days straight, stoned on your pills! And then you show up here with an obituary for Jeremy Bentham. (Sighs) When he came to me and I heard what he had to say, I knew he was crazy. But you... you believed him.

JACK: Yes.

KATE: Him, of all people.

JACK: Yes, Kate, I did, because he said that that was the only way that I could keep you safe--you and Aaron.

 

Really? Did I miss the part of Jack's two-minute conversation with Locke where he told him that the very bad things happening on the Island were Jack's fault for leaving? Or where he said going back was the only way to keep Kate and Aaron safe?

 

At first I thought "maybe Jack will run into Locke again in some flashback and we'll see these conversations happen", but the more I think about the timeline, the more unlikely that seems. It appears as though Locke's encounter with Jack this week is the first time the two have met since he has been off the Island. When Locke is attempting to kill himself, he still has the injuries from the car accident, which makes me assume it's only a few days later. That's a pretty small window of time for Locke and Jack to reunite… and I also don't see how that scene would fit into any future flashbacks for either character. This episode seemed to be "the one that shows what Locke did off the Island". While we may get some future flashbacks showing the falling out between Sayid, Sun's interactions with Widmore, or what Kate did with Aaron, I don't think we'll get any more involving Locke or Jack - because outside of these continuity errors (that only the obsessive among us would notice), they pretty much wrapped up all the other necessary off-Island storylines for both characters.

 

Unfortunately, this contributes to the difficulty I have in understanding exactly why Locke's death would drive Jack to kill himself, why Kate would flip out when Jack showed her the obituary for Jeremy Bentham, or why Sayid would suddenly gain such a hatred towards Locke where he wouldn't want his name mentioned. Those little details all kept the suspense and excitement going last season about exactly what happened in the three years since the Oceanic Six returned to the "real world", but the payoff and explanation of them was lacking for me (at least for now).

 

Maybe this is why over-analyzing and obsessing about the show is a bad thing - because I'm guessing that the more casual viewer was totally satisfied with "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham", and didn't even notice. But here's hoping the payoff for the other series-long mysteries on Lost are much better!

 

Widmore. We learned a lot about Charles Widmore this week, but the information he provided raises more questions than answers (otherwise known as "The Lost Way"). The facts are these:

 

1937 - Charles Widmore is born

1954 - Charles Widmore is on the Island

1992 - The Purge happens on the Island

1994 - Widmore begins funding Faraday's research

1995 - Desmond meets Penny

1996 - Desmond asks Widmore for Penny's hand in marriage

Widmore claims that he "led his people for three decades" before he was exiled by Ben

 

Doing some quick math, even if Widmore was the leader of the Others in 1954 (which it didn't appear), that puts us around 1984 that he was still on the Island (at least). If Ben "tricked him" into exile off the Island, you actually have to put this date closer to the Purge in 1992 - since until then, it's assumed that Ben wouldn't have had enough power / knowledge / contact to pull such a trick on Widmore. How could Widmore go from being Island Leader in the early 1990s to being corporate boss / jerk to Desmond in the mid-1990s? It really doesn’t seem like there's enough time to explain his rise to power - unless the Others already had an established "shell company" that Widmore simply stepped into the leadership role for and slapped his name on it. And how does Penny fit into all this? Was born on the Island? Is Charles Widmore not her biological father? The earliest information we have on her is that she was dating Desmond in 1996 - at which time she was at least in her late 20's, meaning she was born in the 1970's.

 

It's confusing, and there are a few ways to tackle this, but in true Lost…and Gone Forever fashion, I think the easiest is probably with a wacky, all-encompassing theory that will probably last exactly one week before being proven wrong by next week's episode...

 

Let's assume that Widmore becomes leader of the Others around the time we saw him in 1954. He's an "up and comer" among the Others - his strong will, fiercely loyal to the cause, and strong jaw-line make him a logical choice to lead "his people". Roughly twenty years pass without any incident, taking us to the 1970's. Then along comes the Dharma Initiative. The Others aren't big fans of Dharma digging up their Island, building concrete stations, and polluting their Island with Dharma Beer Cans. This creates an internal debate among the Others about how to deal with them.

 

On one side is Charles Widmore, who realizes by observing Dharma that there is a lot of potential for the Island to make the world a better place by using its "unique properties" to cure cancers, make people live forever, take rides on Smokey, etc. Heck, maybe you could make a little money in the process to be able to build fancy houses for the Others filled with new TVs and fancy cheeses. He might have even proposed to partner up with Dharma to work towards this "the greater good".

 

On the other side is Richard Alpert, who likes things they way they've always been, just wants to get rid of Dharma, keep the Island secret, and go back to being a long-haired hippie. Capitalism be damned! He finds a like-minded individual in young Benjamin Linus, and begins to "recruit him".

 

Years later, it's pretty clear which faction wins the argument, as the Others use Ben to help carry out the Purge, wiping Dharma from the Island. Suddenly Ben is the new "up and comer" among the Others, creating instant friction between Ben and Widmore. As Ben is a pretty tricky guy, he's able to trick Widmore into leaving the Island, effectively putting Ben in a newly vacated position of leadership among the Others.

 

Lucky for Widmore, he knows enough of the secrets of the Others to collect some of their stashes of money hidden in various locales around the world, uses his clout as former leader of the Others to step in as the leader of the Others off-Island corporation, which he renames as Widmore Industries and goes on with life… but deep down inside yearns to return to the Island. Over the years he gathers information on how to get back by buying the Black Rock Journal, discovering the Lamp Post, and eventually puts together the Freighter team with the goal of removing Ben from the Island, paving the way for his triumphant return… where he can pick up his mission of using the Island for his original altruistic / monetary goals.

 

What about Penny? I think the easiest answer is that Widmore and TBD Female Lover had her on the Island in the 1970's. Widmore knew that there was a potential for some bad things to go down with the Great Dharma Debate, and sends Penny and TBD Female Lover off the Island to keep them safe. Penny grows up in the real world with no knowledge of the Island. Widmore may even visit her from time to time, but spends a good deal of time "away on business trips", which is actually when he is on the Island.

 

If you want to get really crazy, let's make TBD Female Lover into Ellie Hawking. Then you could go all Star Wars and have Penny and Faraday be brother and sister, which could explain why Widmore was funding Faraday's experiments (or maybe it was just because he thought Faraday could help Widmore find the Island again), and could explain why Ms. Hawking was in the Lamp Post (because Widmore sent her there to get the place up and running again to help find the Island).

 

It's not a perfect theory, but it's a good enough place holder for this week. Who is good and who is evil? It depends on which side you come down on - Ben represents protecting the secrecy of the Island, Widmore represents opening up the Island for the greater good. Ben uses trickery, deception, and mass murder to work towards his goals. Widmore uses money, power, and influence.

 

 

Ben. As for Benjamin Linus, this week confirmed that he lies approximately 90% of the time and kills people the other 10%. He admitted to killing Abaddon, claiming that it was only a matter of time before Abaddon would have killed Locke - probably a lie - and then proceeded to kill Locke himself (irony!).

 

But why did Ben kill Locke? If he was going to kill him anyways, why not just let him actually commit suicide? Two possible answers here:

1. In some religions (Catholicism), killing yourself is a big-time sin. Perhaps the Others believe the same, and Locke couldn't be "the chosen one" if he had killed himself. Ben, knowing that Locke needed to die to convince the Oceanic Five to return to the Island, took one for the team and killed him - since it would achieve the same results without Locke falling from grace. Given that the Others have committed mass murder via the Purge, and used Locke killing his father as a sign that he was ready to be their new leader, it seems unlikely that they would have some rule against killing yourself… especially since Alpert told Locke "you're going to have to die" instead of "you're going to be murdered", as if leaving the door open for Locke to carry out the action himself. This was confirmed by Abaddon this episode when he asks whether Richard Alpert's prediction that Locke must die is predetermined or whether it's a choice. Locke asks how it could possibly be his choice to die but Abaddon doesn't answer - again insinuating that Locke might get to the point where his only option to convince the Oceanic Five to return to the Island is to kill himself.

 

You could argue that Abaddon (and, by association Widmore) are trying to get Locke to kill himself because that will suddenly make him "unworthy" and open the door for Widmore to step in and reclaim his role as "leader of the Others" - making Ben the good guy by allowing Locke to retain his position… but it seems like a bit of a stretch.

 

2. The other, much more logical explanation is that Ben needed information from Locke. He kept Locke from killing himself until he got the information he needed, and then proceeded with killing him - because it needed to be done. In this scenario, it's true that Locke needed to die in order for the Oceanic Five to return to the Island, but Ben has cleverly inserted himself into the scenario - kinda like he cleverly inserted himself into being a part of moving the Island by turning the FDW last season. Now, instead of Widmore stepping in after Locke's death to bring him back to the Island, Ben does.

 

The two pieces of information that Ben learns from Locke during the scene are why he hasn't contacted Sun, and where he is headed next (visiting Ms. Hawking). Earlier in the scene, Ben confirms that he knows Ms. Hawking… which pretty much confirms that she is an Outcast Other (since Ben spent the majority of his life on the Island). Based on the earlier Widmore theory, this probably means that Widmore, Ben, and Ms. Hawking were all on the Island at the same time for some period in the past. What if Ms. Hawking, this all-knowing mysterious Other knew that someone was destined to visit her and bring a dead John Locke and the Oceanic Five back to the Island, but didn't know who that was supposed to be? Ben could easily approach her and present himself as the "man behind the mission" - convincing Ms. Hawking to explain to him what needs to be done to return to the Island.

 

Just like Widmore said to Ben last season "everything you have you took from me". First the Island, now his plan to get back to the Island. What a jerk.

 

Island. The last major item to discuss this week is the on-Island action. I must admit, I was pretty surprised to get any on-Island action - and although we only got a few brief scenes, they revealed quite a bit. As I mentioned in my Instant Reactions, I think that (for some reason) we have the Survivors of Ajira Airways 316 spread out over two different time periods. Last week, we learned that Jack, Kate, and Hurley are currently in the same time period as Jin - who is driving what appears to be a "new" 1970's Dharma Van. They are on the main Island, near the waterfall we saw in Season One.

 

This week, we found out that Ben, Locke, Caesar, Ilana, and every other member of Ajira Airways 316 are in the same time period. According to Caesar, everyone apart from those that disappeared have been accounted for. What about Sun and Sayid? Are they "accounted for", or did they "disappear"? Based on the facts of the past two episodes, their fate is still up in the air… but based on the episode preview for next week, it's a little more clear.

 

***For those who don't like to speculate about things we see in episode previews, you'll probably want to stop reading now.***

 

In the episode preview, we see a scene with Sun standing in the foreground and Ben standing in the background. Ben still has his arm in a sling, and displays the signs of the mysterious beating he took before boarding Ajira 316… meaning she's in the same time period as the Ajira 316ers. But what time period are they in? Well, using a little deduction skills, it's safe to say they are in "the present" or 2008. We actually do see that the Ajira plane crashed nearby the "runway" that Kate and Sawyer were building in Season Three (meaning it's after 2004). We also find out that "the pilot and some a woman" left in one of the canoes during the night, leaving two behind. If you remember back to "The Little Prince", our Skipping Survivors came upon their old beach camp (which had long since been abandoned) along with two canoes. Again, this puts the time for this particular "skip" as at least 2005 or later.

 

I'm guessing that at some point, some Ajira 316ers take a canoe over to the main Island (probably accompanied by Ben or Locke). This would put two canoes on the Island, and explain the Ajira Airways water bottle that our Skipping Survivors found in one of the canoes. It also sets up the scene from "The Little Prince" where someone starts to chase and shoot after our Skipping Survivors, resulting in Juliet shooting one of them. Currently, I don’t see why any of the Ajira 316ers (or "the pilot and some woman") would chase after our Skipping Survivors and shoot at them, so the Backriggers could still be anyone.

 

The moral of the story is that Ajira 316 is in at least 2005… and I'm guessing it's actually in 2008 for simplicity sake. This means that although Sun has successfully returned to the Island, she is about 30 years too late to run into Jin. Hello instant drama.

 

What about Sayid? Although I have little to base this on, I think he's in 2008 as well. Given that Hurley, Kate, and Jack all landed pretty close to each other, I would assume that if Sayid "skipped" off the plane, he would have ended up near them as well. I also think that Ilana would have mentioned if he was one of the ones that disappeared during the crash - instead of Caesar commenting about Hurley. But he could still go either way.

 

So, with a little analyzing of the preview scenes, that gives us the following:

 

1970's - Jin, Sawyer, Juliet, Kate, Jack, Hurley, Miles, Faraday

2008 - Locke, Ben, Frank, Sun, Sayid, Caesar, Ilana, and a slew of redshirts to get killed

 

As for "the Pilot and a woman", I assume they're talking about Frank and Sun. It would make sense that Sun, uber-excited about reuniting with Jin, would realize that she is on Alcatraz, and needs to go to the main Island to find him. She probably was about to run off on her own, but Frank stopped her and offered to come along for protection / help, since he's also been to the Island before. I'm guessing that the second canoe that goes to the main Island next episode will contain Locke, Ben, Sayid, Caesar, and Ilana… making one of them a great candidate to get shot and killed by Juliet in the very near future. Yikes.

 

Also, things are not looking so great for John Locke himself. Although he completed his mission successfully, is back on the Island he loves and came back to life (which constitute a pretty good day, if you ask me), Walt's visions of a suited Locke (check) being surrounded by people who want to hurt him sounds like the party is going to be over pretty quickly.

 

As for Caesar and Ilana, I'm not sure what to make of them yet. It's possible neither knew each other before Ajira 316, and have quickly bonded in the face of disaster similar to how Kate and Jack did after Oceanic 815. Or, maybe one or both have sinister intentions, are Outcast Others, or Widmore's people. The options are endless at this point.

 

Time. Lastly, I think it's a good idea to step back and look at the big picture, from a timeline perspective. In 2008, Caesar finds what appears to be Faraday's journal and CFL's maps inside the Hydra Station. Was this where he worked on figuring out how to get the Skipping Survivors back to their proper timeline? And what happened to him? For that matter, what happened to any of them? If they are alive and on the Island in the 1970's, they would eventually reach 2004 and 2008 (assuming they survived the Purge). If they successfully found a way to go "Back to the Future" (I should trademark that, it sounds catchy), then they would simply skip the next 20-30 years and are  sitting on the main Island alive and well. If not, they have lived a whole lot of life on the Island, and it makes you wonder where they were spending their time in 2004 to avoid running into themselves (maybe at the Others' Temple?)

 

Furthermore, what has happened to the Others since 2005? Locke disappeared, but they didn't. Who stepped up to become their new leader? What have they been doing for the past three years? Without a leader, did they fall apart and become savages? Are they back to "protectionary" mode, attacking any new people who appear on the Island (could they be the Backriggers)? And what about Vincent, Rose, and Bernard? How do they factor into all these events? Did they die of nosebleeds? Are they in the 1970's working for Dharma as well? Remember how surprised we were to have our Survivors all back together on the Island so quickly this season? Well, they aren't there yet - I have to assume the end-game for this season will be the reunion of all our Survivors in the same timeline, allowing the last season to bring the storyline forward, and to conclusion.

 

…and I think that's all I've got for this week. What did I miss? What was I terribly, terribly wrong about? Let me know!

 

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