It's DOCTOR Linus

After nearly every episode, I say to myself, "WOW, that was my favorite episode." And after each, I proclaim my love for whichever character was featured most prominently. I am a fickle and changing girl, because that character changes from week to week. But this past episode brought my love affair with Lost, and indeed my love affair with a particular character, to a whole new level. That character, of course, is Ben Linus.

He is the man we love to hate and hate to love. He has been so deliciously bad, but has revealed soft parts of himself. He is flawed and in some ways broken. As are all of the people inhabiting the Lost world, but there are so many levels to his character. There is a reason Michael Emerson has been nominated for 10 awards for his work on Lost, including last year's Emmy WIN. He. Is. Awesome.

So we all knew that any episode featuring Ben would be nuanced and complicated, because that IS Ben, and "Dr. Linus" did not let us down.

So let's get sussing!

- How much did we love that sideways Ben was teaching his students about Elba? The tiny island where French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled. "It was on this island that everything changed," he says, "that everything finally became clear. But exile was not the worst of his punishment, it was the loss of power." Sound like the man in black to anyone? Or perhaps Ben himself?

- The loving sideways Ben and his father, there is genuine affection between the two. Makes me wonder about Ben's mother. Did she die during childbirth as she did in our familiar Lost world? A tragedy that led to the fractured relationship between father and son, and eventually to patricide. But very importantly, this is where the senior Linus reveals that they had been on the island, but left. Dharma and the island exist in this sideways world! Or at least they did. Do they still?

- Ben and Alex have a special relationship in sideways Lost, too. Contrary to his behavior on the island, sideways Ben abandons his personal ambitions for the sake of Alex. Did anyone have any doubt that he would do the right thing? I didn't. Okay, maybe for a second, but only a second.

- We're finally given a glimpse into Richard's existence. When he leads Jack and Hurley to the marooned ship, Black Rock, he says that after all the years he's been on the island, that was the first time he had been back to it. (Was that ship another era's Oceanic 815? And Richard a passenger?) He confides that he was "touched" by Jacob and given the "gift" of sustained life. However these days he's ready to be done with it, but the island won't let him die whether by his own hand or another's. As Jack so ably proved. Each of the candidates was touched by Jacob. Were they also given this gift?

- Miles. He's such a cool cat. I guffawed when he threw Ben's words right back at him as he tells everyone that Ben was the one that did the dastardly deed: "He was standing over Jacob's dead body with a bloody dagger, so yeah, I'm pretty sure." My favorite quote of the episode was from Miles, as it often is, "Why would I need your money? There are a couple of gimbonis* over there named Paolo and Nicki with $8 million in diamonds on top of them." Not in the teensiest, eensiest bit surprised to see Miles caressing a couple of sparklies after that line.

- The most emotional moment of the show: the showdown between Ben and Ilana. He's a man with nothing left to lose. Marooned on a tiny island. No friends, no power. (Napoleon?) He confesses his role in his daughter's death, because of Jacob. He gave up everything for Jacob. He begs Ilana to just let him leave, that he'll go to the only one that will have him, Locke. When she said "I'll have you," I teared up. Two people, both with their entire lives invested in Jacob, at rock bottom, finding common ground.

- Still a little weepy from the moment in the jungle, we're given the reunion on the beach. Shannon texted me "Michael Giacchino is a genius" and it is in scenes like this one, where his music plays so heavily on our emotions that you become aware of just how true those words are. He IS a genius.

- And of course, we couldn't possibly not mention the submarine that surfaces during this touching moment carrying a scheming Widmore. Theories on his agenda?

Can't wait until tomorrow night!

*I have no idea what this word is or how it is spelled. I have attempted to look it up with no success. However, I just couldn't omit it from the quote because its a fun word. It's also probably some sort of racial slur and offensive to jewel thieves everywhere. Don't shoot the messenger folks.

The Substitute

The beauty of contributing to a Lost blog is being able to write about a show in which we're completely impassioned. The beast of contributing to a Lost blog is being so flummoxed in regard to a particular episode that, despite our best efforts and intentions, a general recap sometimes falls short.

Such is the case with last week's The Substitute.

Having watched Lost from the very beginning, and having seen each episode twice (at least), I say with certainty...The Substitute ranks in my top five favorite episodes of the past five years. It's generally a given that any Locke-centric hour will be exemplary. Season 1's brilliant Walkabout, in which we gather that prior to flight 815, John Locke was confined to a wheelchair. (That show closing image of his chair, illuminated by the fire on the beach? Genius.) Or how 'bout Season 3's The Man from Tallahassee, when we learned the reason for Locke's wheelchair captivity:

Like most, I gasped loudly upon seeing Anthony Cooper shove his son out of the window.

But as delicious as Locke-based episodes are, they're also rather difficult to digest. While watching The Substitute, three points plagued me:

1. The "reveal" of the numbers.

More specifically, that "Shephard" (Jack? Christian? Claire?) was written next to "23."

Um...23...seriously?

Psalm 23? "The Lord is my shepherd."

It's honestly the very first thought I had upon seeing that name & number together.

(I'm a Bible college graduate--work with me here!)

2. "Jacob's" ladder.

Both the Biblical reference (Genesis 28)

and the song by Huey Lewis,

which I sang all night long after seeing this scene.

(Also...I was relieved Sawyer didn't plummet to his death. Whew!)

In the Bible, Jacob's ladder represents the ladder between Heaven and earth,

It has also been interpreted by scholars to be

the manner in which angels descended Heaven for earth.

Angels. Heaven. Earth. Good. Evil. White. Black.

See how my mind works?

3. In Locke's alterna-timeline, he is actually with his lady love.

Helen (yay, it's Helen!) was wearing a t-shirt which read "Peace & Karma."

Peace and karma, people.

I immediately texted Cara with, "Her shirt reads 'karma!'"

Cara's reply? "Awesome."

Awesome, indeed.

With these three bullet points--the number 23, the ladder, and karma--I attempted to suss out their underlying meanings. The spiritual aspect? Mythological? Relevance to our story?

This is Lost, y'all. Nothing is coincidence, and everything is steeped in myth, literature, psychology, religion, and pathos.

This morning the great Doc Jensen, of Entertainment Weekly, and the world's greatest Lost susser (in my estimation, at least) posted part two of his thoughts on The Substitute. He mentioned Huey Lewis, and I started singing again..."Step by step, rung by rung..." He also mentioned Severus Snape, my most favorite character from the Harry Potter series. And I had a "VOILA!" moment.

I highly recommend you taking a few minutes--ok, 20--to read Jensen's post. It's available here.

Honestly, I found myself nodding along, muttering, "whoa!' and "dude--he's a genius," while reading.

Also, let's discuss a few particulars of The Substitute:

Why is James "Sawyer" Ford

so smokin' hot in plain ol', Dharma-issued boxers & a wife beater?

Buzzed on Dharma whiskey, no less.

Have mercy!

Why is Ilana scrounging around Jacob's ashes?

The following day (February 17) was Ash Wednesday, in our 2010 timeline.

I'm certain that was a rare coincidence, but still.

What is the significance of the ashes?

Creepy Child Alert, Creepy Child Alert!

Creepy Child Alert, Creepy Child Alert!

(The Shining has ruined me forever. Creepy kids. Yeesh.)

Back to our show...

who was the creepy, blood-covered child? I've read many theories, including Jacob (reborn?), Aaron (aged), and Sawyer (???). Creepy child warns Flocke (Fake Locke, that is), "You know the rules, you can't kill him..."

Say whaaaaat? Can't kill whom? Jacob? Richard? Sawyer? Vincent?

Where is that dog? And Rose and Bernard, for that matter? '

Let's discuss. What jumped out at you while watching this episode? Did you love it as much as me? Are you satisfied with Flocke's "explanation" of the numbers? (I'm not.) Why was Kate's name not visible on Jacob's cave wall? Do you want to see Sawyer in his skivvies again? (Please. Of course you do.)

Homework before tonight's episode: seriously, go read Doc Jensen's brilliance.

That is all.

Wait...

that is not all.

I forgot to mention my most favorite moment of this episode:

Mr. Ben Linus, teacher of European history.

Best. Ever.

"Dead Is Dead"

After watching what can only be described as one of the most-awesomest episodes ever, the realization hit me... I will be in some serious mourning when "Lost" is over.

In my opinion, "Dead Is Dead" just proves this show is one of the finest hours of television. This Ben-centric episode was not only my favorite of Season 5... but may just be my favorite episode of the entire show (well, so far). We were treated to seeing the (all too brief) return of Desmond and Penny, more of Widmore's time on the Island... and some mighty fine acting from Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn.

Dear Emmy Voters: It is high time the brilliant Michael Emerson gets the recognition he deserves. Thank you.

Oh, another way I know it's a good episode is when I receive text messages from Lula such as:

• "So good. Loving it."
• "This RULES! So good!"
• "Dude, this is awesome!"

OK, time to get on with this recap. I want to start with Widmore. Charles was not too happy with He of the Heavily-lined Eyes for bringing Lil' Ben into their temple... Widmore didn't care that it was "just a boy" who was dying. But when Alpert said, "Jacob wanted it done... the Island chooses who the Island chooses, you know that", Widmore seemed to accept Lil' Ben would be one of them.

The next time we see Widmore, it's when Ben returns to their camp with the baby Alex. Widmore again shows no love towards kids when he orders Ben to kill Alex. Yeesh, what does this guy have against children?

Widmore's banishment from the Island was an interesting scene. We learn Widmore has been exiled for "breaking the rules" (leaving the Island regularly and having a daughter with an outsider). We know the daughter to be Penny... so this would mean Ellie/Eloise is not Penny's mother. Unless... Ellie/Eloise was also banished from the Island at some point prior to this, and is therefore considered to be an "outsider".

The last we see of Widmore in this episode is when he's received a phone call from Ben, who is at the marina in Los Angeles. Ben tells Widmore he's going back to the Island, but first he's going to kill Widmore's daughter.

Which leads me to Desmond and Penny! I was euphoric to see my favorite couple... yet anxious at the same time, afraid of what was going to happen...

Seriously, this scene was hard for me to watch...

I had to keep my hand over my mouth, lest my screams of "No! No! Nnnooooooo!!!!" wake up my sleeping children.

Before Ben can off Penny, Little Charlie appears:

Now, I do think Ben wouldn't have gone through with his plans to kill Penny. But he does hesitate, and we get to see that it was Des who beat the living daylights out of Ben.

So we've seen Ben refuse to kill Danielle and Baby Alex... and then he can't (or won't) kill Penny because of Little Charlie... who knew Badass Ben was a big ol' softie when it comes to moms and kids?

I'm going to touch base on what went down with Sun and Lapidus before moving onto the meat of the episode (i.e, Ben, Locke and Smokey).

What I found interesting about this whole scene was that Ben did not know Jack, Kate, Hurley, et al. were in the Dharma Initiative...

...but later he does remember he was healed by the Temple as a kid. Hmmm...

Lapidus is all, "peace out, crazy sauce... I'm not sticking around here with a murderer and a dead guy" and leaves to go back to the Hydra. When he gets there, Lapidus is told by a Red Shirt that Ilana and three others have found guns and have taken over. When Lapidus confronts Ilana (who is wrestling with the same crate we saw earlier in the episode), she asks him "What lies in the shadow of the statue?"

Marshallette-turned-bounty-hunter-chick say what?!

"What lies in the shadow of the statue?" has to be some sort of riddle/password. Unfortunately for Lapidus, he doesn't know the answer, so this earns him a rifle-butt to the head.

Ilana tells the other guy with her to "get everyone else, tell them it's time"... get who else? And "it's time" for what? There's more to Ilana than we first thought. Who is she really working for? What is in the crate?

One more thing about Ilana and her cronies... I think it's safe to guess these are the ones who were in the outrigger, chasing Locke, Sawyer, Juliet and the other time-trippers back in episode 4 ("The Little Prince).

Alright, it's time for the main course (also known as why Michael Emerson deserves an Emmy).

When Ben wakes to find none other than "I-used-to-be-dead" Locke staring him down, he is obviously surprised.

Locke calls Ben out on this, and Ben covers for his look of utter disbelief by saying "it's one thing to believe it John... it's another thing to see it". Then Ben admits the reason he was trying to make it over to the main island was to be judged by... "the monster".

Ben is a master spinner of tales... do we believe Ben knew Locke would come back?

The scene with Ben and Caesar on the beach, discussing Locke... I thought this was Ben, doing what he does best.  Lying, scheming... manipulating Caesar into doubting what Locke has told him about Ben...

Caesar tells Ben "I got your back" and shows he's packing heat (by means of a sawed-off shotgun).

Later, when Locke finds Ben in hopes to "talk about the elephant in the room"... the fact that it was Ben who killed Locke. Ben's explanation is that Locke had failed to convince the O6 to come back to the island, and that he had to stop Locke from killing himself because Locke had information that would have died with him. Once Ben had the critical info... "well, I just didn't have the time to talk you back into hanging yourself" ...oy, the eye roll Ben does before delivering this line is brilliant! Ben goes on to say he did what he did because it was "in the best interest of the island".

Locke's reply to this was one of the best lines of the episode: "I was just hoping for an apology."

I can honestly say that what happened next... I totally did not see coming! Locke and Ben are trying to take a canoe over to the main island when they are stopped by Caesar. Ben has already planted doubts about Locke in Caesar's mind... so Caesar goes to grab his gun, but...

BAM! Ben shoots Caesar then says to Locke: "Consider that your apology."

No one else has a problem with Ben and Locke taking the canoe... so they're on their merry way to the main island.

It's after they dock at the main island that Locke says he believes Ben is lying about being judged for coming back to the Island after he'd left (which was against the rules)... but rather Ben wants to be judged for killing his daughter.

Which brings us to Ben's judgement day. Ben does summon Smokey... but the monster doesn't show.  So Locke decides they have to go to it, and he knows just where to go.  Into the jungle they trek, finally ending up at the temple.

In the underground chamber Ben has fallen into, we see hieroglyphics all over the walls, including one very important mural:

Is this Anubis bowing down to Smokey?!

I had chills watching the rest of the episode unfold... Smokey rises out of a grate in front of Ben, swirling around him. Ben then sees memories of Alex... from taking her from Danielle, to Alex's death at the hands of Keamy.

Smokey then leaves, but reappears in the form of Alex. Ben apologizes to "Alex", finally admitting it was all his fault.  "Alex" doesn't disagree with this... then brings out her/its own inner-Ninja on Ben by pinning him to a column.  "Alex" tells Ben she/it knows Ben is planning on killing Locke again but he better think twice about doing so.  In fact, "Alex" wants Ben to promise he will follow Locke's orders, otherwise she/Smokey will destroy him. Ben swears he will follow Locke and "Alex" disappears.

The result of Ben's judgement: "It let me live."

For now, Ben... you live, for now. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry, I got carried away...

OK, everyone... what did you think of this episode? What questions did this episode leave you pondering?