Original Sin

He murdered, lied, cheated, stole and manipulated. Ben Linus’ entire life has been one long con. A crime. And last night, we relived some of its highlights (or lowlights). But in the end, I believe, we learned that Ben Linus’ real sin was spitting in the face of fate. And that every other misdeed was mere cannon fodder.

Last night, that cannon ignited. And it blew to smitherines the pristine image of Island preeminence, good intentions, and cool, calm control that Ben has been faking his entire life. Let’s take a look…

So That’s Where Kate’s Horse Came From

Okay, not really. Different horse. But as a bellwether for the history lesson we were about to receive, last night’s episode opened with Charles Widmore riding on horseback into an antiquated village setting. Apparently there were no Dharma Vans available to rent.

When Widmore confronted Richard about their new guest, I caught a hearty whiff of struggle between struggle between Widmore’s earthly entitlement and Alpert’s otherworldly communion. “You should’ve let him die,” said Charles. “Jacob wanted it done,” replied Richard, “the Island chooses who the Island chooses, you know that.” Richard played the trump card, and Charles folded his hand. Charles’ mortal dominion and Richard’s eternal paradigm seemed at odds here, and it brilliantly foreshadowed Charles’ fall from grace at the hands of very earthly temptation.

Widmore’s first visit with Ben Linus was mostly unceremonious, save for one thing. Ben seemed to remember most things (that he hated his father, that he wanted to be one an Other), but was entirely cloudy about how he got injured (Sayid shooting him). Might Richard have erased only that memory in order to keep Ben’s perception of his life story in tact? Did he remove the part of Ben’s life that now deviated from the original path? If so, that means Richard’s been playing dumb with his whole, “What do you mean you traveled through time?” routine. Me likey.


The Awakening
After waking up to a hovering John Locke, Ben said he “believed” Locke would live, but was surprised to “see” it. And that seemed to be a major theme of the episode, that Ben is now living in a life he can’t predict, where he doesn’t “know the answers to the questions he asks” as Locke later puts it. We are seeing Ben born with a blank slate, a tabula rasa. And what was the title of the Season 1 episode that featured Locke born anew? You guessed it: Tabula Rasa. And who, in real life, came up with the concept of a tabula rasa to describe every man’s birthright of a blank slate? You guessed it: philosopher John Locke. It’s the circle of life. And it moves us all.

Ben starts answering as many questions as he can. He tells Locke that he broke the rules (by returning to the Island) and needed to do his penance at the hands of none other than Smokey, or as Locke apparently calls it, “the Monster.”


The New Sheriff In Town
Ben encounters Casear. Were this Season One, I might fear Caesar. But knowing Ben as we do, and watching him manipulate Caesar like a lump of clay, I felt entitled to a certain knowledge. It’s like we’re all John Locke, watching history unfold again, only with a knowing sense of what is to come. Caesar’s suspicions regarding Locke only further motivate Ben to flee – and Ben knows that he needs to take Bald Jesus with him.


The Root of Ben’s Evil
While waiting to attack Rousseau, Young Ethan asks if he should do it, which Ben refuses, despite Ethan’s penchant for cloak-and-dagger stealth operations. Surprised by Rousseau’s baby, Ben spares the Frenchwoman’s life and takes Alex. Here we see the initial seeds of Ben’s soft spot for children on the Island. We know it later becomes a fixation that annoys Richard and the Others, and as it turns out, that fixation was born with the Alex abduction. This is also, perhaps, why he feels that unnatural loyalty toward Alex. Hang on to this scene in your head, I think it might be a lot more important than it initially seems.

Because when Ben and Ethan return to the Others Camp with Alex, we realize that Ben’s actions on that beach initiate the rift between he and Charles. Charles claims that the Island wanted Rousseau and Alex dead. Ben claims that Jacob/the Island wouldn’t want the baby killed, and challenges Charles to kill Alex himself if he’s so sure. This is why this scene is important: because somebody (Ben or Charles) is wrong about what exactly the Island wants. Later, I’ll argue that Charles was right and that this misstep was the beginning of Ben’s undoing. Later.

Was there also a biblical tie-in here for anyone else (isn’t there always?)? Many of modern Christianity’s detractors claim that while the word of God may be infallible, its interpretations by man (compiled in the Bible) are not. If Jacob is God, and the Island is their utopia, are the Others in a struggle over versions of their own gospel?

All Apologies
In the Hydra offices, Ben explains to Locke that murdering him was the only way to bring the Oceanic Six back, which was in the Island’s best interest. The strange thing here? It seems feasible. I hate myself whenever I believe Ben Linus, but I can’t help but buy the bespectacled one’s explanation. And most importantly, as Ben says, “it worked.” It apparently worked enough for Locke, who decided that he wanted to be a part of whatever Ben was up to. And off they went.

But not before encountering Caesar and his Hydra Island deputies. Ben shot the sheriff. But he did not shoot the deputies. Dead is dead. And by “Dead” I mean “Caesar.” And Ben and Locke are free to continue their mysterious mission.


Sittin’ On The Dock of the Bay…
Watching Ben’s powwwwer, fade away. (Sorry). When Locke inquires as to Ben’s arm injury, Ben coyly replies, “I’ve found that sometimes friends can be significantly more dangerous than enemies, John.” It’s as if Ben knows he’s about to fully cede Island control to John, and is afraid of what that might hold. Although I think he genuinely likes John, he understands the awesome power that Locke must assume. And Locke’s cavalier attitude toward it all of late isn’t the most reassuring thing to the man who’s been fighting to protect the Island his entire life. Look at me, sympathizing with Ben again!

This scene was another piece of the gradual passing of the torch from Ben to Locke. Later in the episode, Widmore tells Ben that, “One day, you’ll be standing where I’m standing now. You’ll be the one being banished.” And Widmore was right. Literally. In that very spot, on that very dock, Ben eventually handed over the reins.

Broke Into the Old Apartment
As they enter Camp Otherton, the light in Ben Linus’ cabin flickers on, and Ben goes to investigate. Inside he finds Sun and Frank, who are awaiting Locke’s arrival in order to embark upon the “long journey” that Christian promised them. Sun shows Ben the 1977 Dharma New Student Orientation photo, at which Ben balks and seems genuinely confused about the Oceanic Six’s time-traveling journey. See? He’s lost control, people. He’s lost control.

Sun, promised a reunion with Jin, decides to stick with the Grumpy Old Men, as Frank decides to retreat back to his Ajira charges. Locke, equipped with an admirable “Just do it already” attitude, keeps Ben on task. We see what was behind Ben’s magical dress shirt collection, as he descends underground to apply some Mystic Liquid Plumber to the situation and tell Smokey, “I’ll be outside.” Cool.


Don’t Let the Door Hit You
Back in 1994ish, Papa Ben goes to see his nemesis leave the Island. Ben tells Charles that he brought the banishment upon himself by leaving the Island “regularly” (does that mean Donkey Wheel exits are excluded from the Island’s naughty list?) and “having a daughter with an outsider” (POOF! There goes my Ellie-Charles-Faraday-Penny family tree theory, for now). “You broke the rules, Charles,” says Ben. Raise your hand if you’d like to read this rulebook. Yeah, me too.

Ben reiterates the whole, “The Island didn’t want Alex dead,” argument, which seems to have lingered as a sticking point between the two men. It appears that Ben and Widmore’s feud is truly about island entitlement, a dispute over whose interpretations of the Island’s overtures was correct. And in a damning condemnation and ominous foreshadowing, Charles tells Ben that if he’s wrong, he’ll one day be standing right here, right in Charles’ shoes. As we’ve seen, Widmore was right. He adds, “…you cannot fight the inevitable,” seemingly illuminating a more literal translation of the “whatever happens, happens,” time travel argument. He’s telling Ben not to mess with fate’s path, lest he be punished by fate’s wrath (Rhyme alert!). Keep that nugget in mind. I’m getting there.


Desperately Seeking Smokey
Awaiting Smokey in the New Otherton commons area, Ben has time for a quick back-and-forth with Sun. They debate the state of Locke’s “living,” and Ben declares, “dead is dead. You don’t get to come back from that, not even here. So the fact that John Locke is walking around this island, scares the living hell out of me.”. To further emphasize that point, when Ben refers to Smokey as an uncontrollable force about to emerge from the jungle, Locke pops his head out from the tree line. That’s the uncontrollable force. Ben Linus is out of strings to pull. And since Locke is now in charge, it’s time to go find Smokey. And he knows just where to find him.


"Ima Bust A Cap In Yo - Hey, Cute Kid!"
To all of you who had, “trying to kill Penny,” in the “what did Ben Linus do to get roughed up before the Ajira 316 flight” poll, congratulations. You win. Ben warns Widmore over the phone that he’s about to even the score for Alex’s death. He walks coolly onto the dock, capping Desmond as he interrupts the mission. But when he finds Penny, baby Charlie emerges from the boathouse. And suddenly, that soft spot for children in Ben’s heart enlarges and takes over. He can’t kill her. Or at least, he hesitates to. And in that time, Desmond recovers enough to beat him senseless and roll him off the dock.

Man, that soft spot for children costs Ben dearly, doesn’t it? So where did it come from? I think it emerged from his own shattered, broken childhood. And ironically, that soft spot gets him in a lot of trouble. It prevented him from settling the score with Widmore when he couldn’t kill Penny. And it might’ve doomed his Island leadership when he spared Alex. Are you liking all these vague allusions to my main point in this article? Be patient, baby birds. I'll feed you.


The New New Sheriff In Town

Frank’s return to the beach is met by a gun-toting Ilana and her equally-equipped henchmen. “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” she questions Frank. What? What the hell was this all about? “Get everyone else, tell them it’s time. And tie him (Frank) up. He’s coming with us.” Okay what did we miss over on Hydra Island? Did Ben’s shooting of Caesar drive Ilana and Co. to marshal law? Did they see the four-toed statue from across the water and realize that they weren’t on any ordinary island? I don’t know, but this scene baffled me. It’s my “I have no clue so take a stab at it in the comments section” get-out-of-jail-free card moment of the week. Ha!


Come on Baby Light My Fire
Back to the good stuff. John and Ben trudged beneath the temple with torches lit, searching for Smokey. Eventually, Ben opts to go it alone, falling into a sub-sub-subterranean level, complete with a slate of hieroglyphics that make the Swan Station countdown timer symbols look like the Egyptian equivalent of Dick & Jane.

There is so much to dissect in these last few minutes. First of all, if you are an ancient Egyptian or Tom Hanks from The Da Vinci Code, please translate all those hieroglyphics and email me what they mean. As Ben ambles through the room (which it seems he’s never seen before, furthering the idea of his tabula rasa), he comes across what seems like an altar. Adorning the stage is a carving of a Greek God (that seems to resemble the completed four-toed statue figure) and a squiggly-lined menace (Smokey, presumably). I think the point of this symbolism was to confirm that indeed the Island was founded (or inspired) by ancient civilizations, and that the issues and ramifications of the Island’s power are not by any means new.

Smokey emerges from the altar, surrounding Ben with images of Alex’s death. I think when we saw this happen to Eko, we saw it from an outsider’s perspective (you could vaguely make out images of Eko’s sins). But last night we saw what the smoke monster shows someone from their perspective. Ben was enveloped by the sins of his past, and as tears welled in his eyes, he relived Alex’s murder. And then, the smoke cleared. And just as Eko was greeted by an apparition of his dead brother when Smokey left him, Ben was greeted with a “daddy?” It was Alex. But she wasn’t there to forgive him. She pinned him to a wall and drove the final nail into his all-knowing coffin. She took him to task for everything he’d done, and for apparently planning to kill John Locke, “again.” She threatened him, imploring him to follow Locke and his every word. Faced with the guilt of what he’d done to Alex before, Ben acquiesced, agreeing to follow Locke no matter what. And then, as if expecting one final blow, Ben Linus cowered. When he opened his eyes again, the room was empty and his torch was relit, guiding him to the hole in the floor where John Locke was waiting, with a rope, to be followed.


Ben's Biggest Mistake
Alright, so what’s this all mean? There was a lot of “stuff” in Dead is Dead. But what’s the point? I’ve been hinting at it throughout the article, so time to pay it off…

Ben Linus has been guilty of a lot. Murder. Lying. Greed. Manipulation. You name it. But his greatest sin, if I’m reading last night’s episode correctly, was his disobedience of fate. He didn’t kill Alex and Rousseau, even though Charles (via Jacob) told him it was what the Island wanted. He disobeyed, letting that do-no-harm-to-children soft spot override his duty to the Island.

And when he ousted Charles Widmore from the Island and assumed leadership of the Others, he further contradicted fate's wishes. We know John Locke was supposed to steer this ship. But Ben clung to power long enough to let things get way out of hand, with John Locke barely arriving in time to save the day (hopefully). Locke is special. Locke is in tune with the Island. Locke loves the Island. He gets it. He “is” it.

But for 25 years, Ben Linus ignored this fact. He wasn’t an Island native, but he acted as one. He was a surrogate demigod. And in that time, the Island punished his disingenuous leadership by killing pregnant women and their babies, by allowing a mercenary to murder his daughter and by imperiling the otherwise-serene life of the Others.

Maybe if Ben would've done as Widmore ordered and just killed Alex and Rousseau instead of steering the Island on the path of his choosing, he would've continued on as a normal Other. But he had to stick out, had to disobey. Ultimately, it led to his takeover, where he operated the very empire that he had defied.

Widmore told him that if the Island wanted Alex dead, she’d be dead. And although it took 20-some years, the Island finally proved Widmore right. It course-corrected, using Keamy to commit the murder that Ben couldn’t carry out earlier in his life.

Ironically, Ben’s biggest sin was not killing someone. The Island has been course-correcting for Ben with drastic measures, such as bringing Oceanic 815 onto the Island, or opening the porthole for the freighter folk. And I think the Island’s last act of course-correction, in its desperate attempt to right the wrongs of Ben Linus, is to put everything back in John Locke’s hands. The way it was always supposed to be.

Namaste.
Charlie