Storm Chasers

Lost fans,

for now, because of my level of busy-ness, I have been reduced to one posting per week, which has to be Lost related because, of course, I am obsessed with the show. Many people will point to the relative weakness of the past episode and the slow moving plotlines where little actually happens, less is decisively answered, and nothing is ever concluded and ask, why the obsession? Well, I point to the name of the episode as just the beginning in addition to the intricate interweaving characters and plotlines, the powerful acting performances, the nimble dexterity of the references (from Shakespeare to Star Wars, from Milton to Danielle Steele, from Homer and Boccaccio to Stephen King and the Jeffersons), and of course the mysteriousness of the Island, each of which can be most adeptly described in two words, Benjamin Linus.

As always, beware of Spoilers have you not watched the episode.

Let's start with the name of the episode, which is the name of the Dharma station the Islanders visited (and showed us), the probable initiation site of the sh**storm known as "the Purge" that eradicated Dharma several years prior. The name is also the title of the Shakespeare play with much in common with this episode from the damsel in distress to the powerful manipulative wizard to the mysterious Island itself. But, that stuff's obvious (and I haven't read The Tempest in a long time). Instead, let's focus on the literal meaning(s) of the "tempest". A tempest is a powerful storm. Such a storm is bound to occur during monsoon season, which I believe corresponds with Sweeps Week. And we had a little taste of an actual, literal storm when the rain created cover for Faraday and Staples Lewis to run towards the station to release/deactivate the poisonous gas, which Ben invariably controlled. But, that was a nice distraction from the story about the real tempest... Ben.

Ben is the master manipulator, and the architect behind several of the sub-plotlines of this episode. He always has a plan. Let's start with the storm brewing in the Locke camp, or as Ben termed it, the revolution. It starts innocently with a mother and her baby coming up to Locke and questioning Locke's supreme authority, an authority which is based on nothing other than the fact that these people all agreed that Locke had one good idea... to run. Ben uses his last trump cards with Locke to reveal the identity of the owner of the boat (possibly Widmore, but Ben has lied to us in the past from time to time). There was even some grainy footage of Widmore being involved in the shady capture and beating of someone somewhere, which is probably important (even though I am not sure why or who that was.) There was a file on Widmore, much thinner than the file on Jack, and probably much thinner than the file of Juliet, whose file we apparently do not want to read. (But, we will talk more about Widmore momentarily.) Locke seems reluctant to let Ben go free for the fear that Ben will either leave these barracks or attack the holed-up Islanders. But, why would he do that if within a matter of days, it seems likely that Ben will be leading these people too.

Let's move to Ben's manipulation of Juliet in her flashbacks. Ben is in love with Juliet, or he's got some crush on her, or he "owns" her, in large part because Juliet looks like "her", who may be Ben's childhood girlfriend from Dharma, whom Ben may or may not have killed. So, he brings Juliet to the island, he keeps her on the island, and when she becomes romantically entangled with the wrong guy (a.k.a. anyone but Ben), Ben takes measured action. So, Ben, pulls out all the romantic stops, which despite his brilliance, is actually zero stops because he is socially inept (see his zero friends). He brings flowers, sets up dinner under false pretenses, gets her boyfriend killed, initiates hand contact, etc. Right, in King David style (see Bathsheba and Uriel), Ben sends out Goodwin, Juliet's married male companion, to the front lines and abandons him there with the unquestionably un-list-worthy Ana-Lucia to be killed. This way, David, er. Ben could have Juliet's baby... oh wait, I got a little confused. Ben and Juliet could not have a baby (because the women all die after 7 months) just like Ben's mother did (but the babies die too, unlike Ben who survived much to the dismay of his father, Roger "Work Man" Linus.) So, maybe that's why he is trying to secure Juliet, to replace his first female friend, who looked like Juliet, who died trying to bear Ben's child who was supposed to be a girl. And then, Annie died along with the baby, and with the luck of the Island, (where a spinal surgeon falls out of the sky when Ben has cancer), a woman births a child on the Island, which the Island gives Ben to raise, Alex, who will one day grow up to rule all the known world. Okay, I've gone too far. But, it's clear that he does whatever he can to get Juliet to sway towards him.

Let's continue with Ben's manipulation of Juliet in the present. Ben knows that because of her rocky relationship with her Island therapist, Harper (Juliet was sleeping with her husband, which along with refusing to talk about herself officially made her the worst patient ever) and their shared Goodwin connection, he can use Harper to send Juliet a message... stop the Faraday, Staples Lewis combo from getting to the gas station. Of course, he pressed the right buttons and not only got Juliet on her side, but she convinced Jack to be on their side. Because Ben knows how to push his buttons too. And Juliet almost completely stops the other male-female duo, who also might not know exactly what they are doing, just as Juliet and Jack had no idea what they were doing. In fact, for all we know, the scientist duo (as opposed to the doctor duo) might have just transferred control of the gas at the Tempest Dharma station from Ben to Widmore or Abaddon. Or, it is even legitimately possible, that like the Emperor from Star Wars, in the prequels, Ben is actually orchestrating the attack on both sides.

Moreover, how did Ben get the message to Harper? 1) Was it telepathy? Doubtful because we haven't encountered telepathy before on the island, which makes it less plausible than the other three alternatives. 2) Ben was told to ask Harper to do this by Jacob, which its possible though somewhat unlikely that Jacob, the silent, invisible partner is actually in control of the relationship and the list (and the people have blind faith in Jacob). 3) Careful planning by Ben, which we know is what makes Ben so powerful and so dangerous, that he planned for so many eventualities (and rest assured, he has a back-up plan for Juliet and Jack failing to kill Faraday and Staples Lewis). 4) Or most likely, Ben told Harper in advance because, he, like Desmond and Faraday can see the future, though he can remember it better than either of them. This reminds me of Bill Bellichick, not because the coach of the New England Patriots football team is psychic, but because for five years we were astounded by how amazing the guy was. Year after year, the guy took a team with mostly average to slightly above average players to several championships through exceptional coaching. It was as if he had a preternatural intuition in planning methods and determining the teams next move. Recently, we found out what the NFL has been covering up for several years and continues to try to cover up, that rather than seeing the future or being some sort of super genius, he was actually cheating (probably). He knew the plays the other team practiced before they played and with videotaping the play calling, he was able to determine the other team's play calls and with planning and proper play calling of his own, be in a better position to succeed on every given play. But, like steroids, it doesn't get you all the way there, and the Patriots still had to play well and train hard, but they had an incredibly unfair advantage (which was also illegal or a rule violation, whichever you consider worse). Ben, who has been exposed to whatever radiation is on the island for a few years, may be exploiting the tricks he learned, which may be more than the whispering and disappearing into the jungle. He might be forever youthful and mostly self-healing, along with being a seer, who can see into the truth of things, (actually that's a mind-reader or a reader, but I have no evidence to support the mind-reading.) Still, it's clear this guy is pretty special.

But, now it's time to discuss Widmore insofar as he relates to Ben. As I stated last week, it is very possible that Widmore can see the future too and knew Desmond was the key to him getting onto the island. It is likely that Widmore and Ben are rivals, both rich and both seeking to exploit the island to their own ends: possibly Widmore to exploit for profit, and Ben to hoard for himself. Thus, the Abaddonians sent in people that could study the properties of the island, while Ben brings in people that could make the island habitable for the people already on the island (and future generations) like doctors and well... mainly doctors, as there are a lot of doctors. Is Abaddon, Widmore's Smiling Tom? If so, there is a nice creepy contrast between the two. Or maybe he's Widmore's Alpert? Or maybe he works for Ben? Or maybe he is Ben? Lost is so confusingly awesome.

The only non-mystery of the show is the next week's likely reveal of Michael as Ben's man on the boat. It makes sense, in that Locke because of his Walt connection, would listen to Ben if he knew Ben was in cahoots with Michael. It makes sense in that the boat-people would want Michael, who had been on the island, to direct them back to the island. It makes sense that Michael would do it if he were actually trying to help Ben. And it makes sense that either using his multiple murders, his son Walt as a bargaining chip or hostage, that Ben could get Michael to cooperate (see the mutliple murders). The question is whether Michael ever truly left the island, might then be answered, if the answer is that he was immediately ensnared by Widmore's Abaddonians and realized that Ben might not actually be the bad guy, or might be slightly less bad than Widmore. Or maybe not. Either way, I don't like how the show is trying to make it seem like we never thought we would see Michael again. In fact, most of us wondered where he was and were waiting for answers, rather than thinking he was off the show for good. I definitely want to see him, but would be much more satisfied if Ben's mole is someone else, though I can't think of anyone that makes nearly as much sense, who is still alive, who we thought we would never see again/the viewers would be excited about seeing again other than Michael/Walt.

The one thing we do know is that Ben will win, and Juliet was sure of it. Jack was not afraid, but Jack has been known to be foolish (and brave) before. So, let's move on to Ben's manipulation of the future and what Ben wins. Ben might lose, at least in part, in the near future as we see him off the island and perhaps manipulating Sayid to get back onto the island. Perhaps, Ben is the man in the coffin, which was appropriately sized for his small frame, and it is than fitting that a man that killed his family and has no friends, would have no visitors other than the consumate do-gooder in Jack. But, of course, Ben might be too obvious a choice for the coffin dweller, and it does not fall in line with the theory that Ben wins. Does Ben win Juliet? Probably not, because Juliet would rather have more awkward kisses with Jack, who is clearly in love with someone else. Additionally, Ben seems to enjoy the pursuit, and the plotting, and the crushing vengeance for failure to achieve his smaller goals like love. (See his glee in anouncing, "take as much time as you need" after scolding her for not falling in line with his plan). So, if Ben doesn't win Juliet, I guess he wins the Island, as Locke seems unready to take command of the Island as its protector and caretaker and Jacob is too old and too dead (especially if Jacob is Christian Shepard). I guess Ben wins the fight against Widmore and the Abaddonians, but my guess is that doesn't happen this season. And my guess, and my hope, is that by the end of the show, this guy would have fooled these island saps (and us viewers) sooo many times, and yet, we will actually be rooting for him... and we will be right to cheer for his victory.

But, as to Ben's dubious personality, it is still unclear whether he's a good guy or bad guy, though it is clear that even beyond manipulation, he does morally repugnant things to achieve his ends (like The Prince). But, to be fair, "it's hard being an other", and that's exactly what Ben is. He is not just an "Other", he is the "Other" in every sense of the word, an outcast among his old group at Dharma, an outcast from his new people (the former Hostiles,) an outcast from Charles Widmore's crew, an outcast off the island, and an outcast among the Islanders. But, maybe, he'll fit right in with the Locke crew, though judging from his early reception walking around with some laundry, it appears clear that Ben is different. Okay, so maybe not with the whole crew, but maybe he could have a friend in Locke. Because as the Joker says to the Batman in the upcoming film The Dark Knight, and Ben can easily say to John, "you're just a freak... like me!"

"I taped over it",
ME PB

PS: See my title for insight into my mind. What do I mean by Storm? What do I mean by Chasers? What do I mean by Storm Chasers? Yep, I am way too into this show.