s3e20: The Man Behind the Curtain

Ben flashback! Ben flashback! Ben has not, in fact, lived on the island all his life. He was born right outside of Portland (hmm hmm hmm hmm), killed his mother in childbirth (the writers do love those fakeout openings, where you assume she's on the island, but then no), and then he and his father - Roger, Work Man of Hurley's van fame - went to the island when he was, I don't know, middle-school-aged, because Roger had gotten a job with the Dharma Initiative, which seems pretty darn cultlike. Roger hates the job and takes it out on his son... who runs off into the jungle after seeing his mother. He ends up running into Richard - buh-wha? - who sure doesn't look any worse for thirty years of wear at this point! Later - at an undisclosed time between 12-year-old Ben and 40-something Ben; he's probably supposed to be in his 30s at this point, though - Ben kills his father just as the "hostiles" kill the other Dharma members. And there's Richard again, looking exactly the same 20+ years later.

In current time, Ben is forced to take Locke to see Jacob - sure he is. Ben never does anything he doesn't want to do, so clearly some larger plan is in the offing. Ben takes Locke to a dark cabin in the jungle and presents... an empty chair. And talks to it! Just when Locke has decided that he's seen enough of the Anthony Perkins impression, he hears a strangled "Help me" from behind him. Locke turns on his flashlight, but Jacob the Unfriendly Ghost doesn't take too kindly to "technology" and tears the room apart. Locke later accuses Ben of putting on a show, so Ben fesses up to being dishonest about at least one thing - he wasn't born on the island like he's been saying. To prove it, he shows Locke the mass grave of the Dharma people, and then shoots Locke in the gut. Locke falls into the pit and tells Ben what Jacob said. Ben says he hopes Jacob will help Locke, and leaves.

In the B plot, Sawyer and Sayid reveal Juliet's deception to everyone, just in time for Jack and Juliet to return and explain that, in fact, Juliet has been working with Jack on a way to thwart the Others, not help them. Okay, Jack, you're forgiven for being annoying. For now.

Next week: the Others are coming, and the castaways are ready. I guess. And Desmond tells Charlie he needs to die this time. Which I'm sure means it won't happen, although according to the producers we're still at least 2-3 deaths short of the promised May total.

Because Lost never opens a window without building three more doors in the house and then shutting all of them, this episode left far more questions than it answered. Below, a small stab at some of them:

1. Um, Richard doesn't age?
We've already established that the island seems to have super freaky healing powers, so presumably it can also greatly extend the lifetimes of its inhabitants? Or at least the lifers? But if that's true, who knows how long they've been on the island - remember, there are also weird old ruins all over the place. But if they have these insane long lives, why would they seem so excited just because Locke's legs started working again?

2. Ben's plan for Locke...
What's the deal here? Does he really want Locke out of the way so badly? If so, why go to all the trouble he did? Because he knew his people were interested in Locke and he needed to get him alone? But if he really wants Locke out of the way, presumably he would have finished the job. He didn't.

3. OMG WTF Jacob
Yeah, I don't even know what to tell you here.