LT62: The Man Behind the Curtain (May 16, 2007)

Previously published on May 16, 2007

PREVIOUSLY ON LOST…The Man Behind the Curtain

This show sure is getting darker this season. Not that crashing on an island was cheery. But the head games were turned up a notch or two and for now Locke is left dying in a pile of bodies from the purge. Hold old do you think those bodies were? And why not covered? Oh, we've got lots to talk about this week.

TIME STANDS STILL?
Is it me or does Richard not age from the time Ben is a youth until he becomes the adult leader of what turns out to really be the Others, not Dharma Initiative. They could have gotten a younger actor to play Richard but they didnt. He is the same and ages very slowly. If you listen to what Ben says to Locke before he shoots him- "The Dharma Initiative came here to seek harmony. They couldn't even coexist with the islands original inhabitants" so I theorize Richard and company have been there a very long time, maybe even from the Black Rock and the island is a sort of Fountain Of Youth for them. Also, the first time we met Richard, he worked for the company that made a 20 year old woman appear to be much older to Juliet when she saw her records. I'm telling you, its time related stuff. It's just that this example is the exact opposite.

Plus consider the birthday theme throughout this show. But Richard is not immortal since he wore a gas mask during the purge.

JACOB!
Is that a corpse?

Is the eye shot of Jacob or Locke? It's not John or Ben who have lighter colored eyed.

Wait, use your hand to cover up the hair and tell me that doesn't look like John Locke in the top picture?

Didn't the voice sound like Tom/Mr. Friendly?

Everything SEEMS to be getting sci-fi on us, but remind yourself that the producers said everything would be based on some scientific principles…admittedly, some more theory than fact at present. What can I offer to balance science with this ghost? How about invisibility? Not so long ago I read a story on CNN about an invisibility coat that the military is developing. In the dark it would become even easier.

Also, I can't get the theatrical glue and wigs from earlier out of my mind. What if this is just an elaborate FX trick?

And remember the powder line around Jacob's building? Many are suggesting that Jacob is Smokey. I'll have to think up an explanation for that. But this picture seems to suggest it:

LIFE IS THE PITS

Now that Locke finds himself in the pit, will the island save him again? Remember when Locke met Smokey he called it "beautiful". What if Jacob is or controls Smokey? Instead of killing John, it tried to drag him someplace. If Jacob is using Smokey, he wanted Locke to…well…"Help Me." Ben is going to freak if John comes strolling over the hillside after telling everyone back at camp that Jacob killed him!

BEN PUZZLE

And I have to bring it up…what is Ben's motivation? Ok, get back at your dad for being a drunk…but by killing him? This means he was serious about John killing his father. Now he is a murderer, where is Smokey to take revenge? Instead he and Jacob do appear to be on speaking terms.

And Richard…ok, so he doesn't age and met Ben as a child and helped him plan the purge and now…Ben is in charge instead of him? Richard is the original hostile but can't chat with Jacob? What did Ben do to convince people he was "special"? We see how Ben reacts when his position is threatened, but what got him that job in the first place? It seems to have been able to "see" his mother twice…it certainly caught Richard's attention and prompted him to adopt our young "Harry Potter" into his tribe.

I found this Bible related note:

"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf.in the morning devouring the prey,and at evening dividing the spoil"
— Jacob's blessing on Benjamin, Genesis 49:27

CHEVY VAN

Was it a Chevy? I'm not sure, but the song from the 70's was in my head.

It is fresh in my mind how Ben left his father in the van. But when Hurley finds it, how much time do you think past? Whatever the time frame, something turned the van over and placed a second body in it, if my memory serves me. Hmmm…

ANNIE

As mentioned earlier, Annie was Kate's alias to the farmer in Australia when she was on the run. Besides the oddity that the farmer was missing one arm…maybe this was Kate's middle or nickname.

Is this our little Kate all grown up? Was she on the island before? The hair, some freckles, the evil sneer, her love for Apollo candy bars:

Or maybe this is one of many reincarnations. Kate's age was the same as young Ben, but she is about half his age now. So, perhaps we are looking at a tie-in not yet realized.

PROGRAMMING NEWS

Word is that ABC renewed Lost through 2010…three more seasons!

GET YOUR TIVO WARMED UP

I need someone to check for me…is it true that the gunshot we heard when Ben fired was from off in the distance? People are saying that Ben's gun did not go off.

Analysis of Locke's shirt says torn, not with a bullet, but with a knife. In fact, the same observation was made with Shannon!

THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

The rabbit Ben used to cross the audio fence is a connection to earlier episodes…along with the copy of Watership Down we saw he owed.

Ben's birthday would have been December 22…didn't look like winter time in Portland, Oregon

Horace and Goodspeeds (the name of the man who brought Ben to the island) have connections to historical figures…and they are mirror-images of each other.

Ben's mother is named Emily. John's mother is named Emily. Coincidence? I think not. And both were orphaned. John lost a kidney and Ben was held hostage by a kidney nick. In the Bible, God uses the kidney in one story to determine the goodness of a man.

Let's not forget Vincent. Remember when everyone was sure the dog had something major role to play: Well, now a picture of a dog shows up in Jacob's cabin:

WATER INTO WINE

Jesus turned six jars of water into wine at the wedding. This week we see six jars. Four look sort of like wine. The other two remind me of that stuff Mr. Patchy was serving…and Kate…and Ethan…

Enjoy,

KC