LOST (24 Apr 08 episode)

[LightPhoenix]

Too bad about Alex and Rousseau.

I remain skeptical about Rousseau actually being dead. She suffered a bad shot, but it wasn't near anything more vital than a lung. We also know the Island has tremendous healing capabilities, and Locke survived a gut-shot, which is far worse. Admittedly, he didn't have a kidney there, but there's a lot of other stuff there too.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Yeah, I'm still not convinced Rousseau is definitively dead. After what happened to Alex (both the original kidnapping and now her death*), I fully expect Rousseau to redress the matter with Ben by the end of things.

*Even though I couldn't see any way of Alex surviving under the circumstances that they wrote that scene in, it was still a pretty shocking death, and it did make one have some semblance of sympathy for Ben- at least until you consider his other crimes.

So, anyone else think Charles Widmore was (in some manner- corporate takeover?) the owner of Dharma at the time that Ben "took it" from him by killing off all the Dharma Initiative on the island?

 

[Felon]

I remain skeptical about Rousseau actually being dead. She suffered a bad shot, but it wasn't near anything more vital than a lung. We also know the Island has tremendous healing capabilities, and Locke survived a gut-shot, which is far worse. Admittedly, he didn't have a kidney there, but there's a lot of other stuff there too.

Sure, maybe Rousseau's only got half a lung.

No, seriously, I don't disagree that death is ever final in Lost. Look at our buddy with the eyepatch. If the island wants you alive, you're alive.

So, anyone else think Charles Widmore was (in some manner- corporate takeover?) the owner of Dharma at the time that Ben "took it" from him by killing off all the Dharma Initiative on the island?

Certainly seems to be the case, although there's more to it of course--Ben can't kill Charles, so they both must still have some connection to it beyond a sense of ownership.

 

[Darkwolf71]

It was also nice to see Sawyer show such devotion to Hurley, too, at the end.

I think Sawyer's character arc is complete. He has gone from a 'looking out for No.1 con man' to someone who will put himself at great risk to save Claire and as pointed out, was ready to kill to protect Hurley. I hope that doesn't mean he will be killed off...

Sympythy for Ben, you guys are as gullible as Locke. They had a gun to his daughter's head and he said, 'I don't care, shoot her'. I don't care if he meant it or not, that is the act of a cruel, cold hearted, evil SOB. I think his anger at Charles is not because she was his DAUGHTER, so much as she was HIS daughter. It's a possesion thing, much like his attitude twords Julia.

Good episode, though. I really enjoyed the attack of the black smoke monster. That was awesome.

 

[Shayuri]

As far as the daughter thing went, I think Ben was doing what he thought he had to do to protect her. This to me was evidenced by his very real shock when she was killed. I also suspect that Widmore and Ben had a sort of...I dunno...'gentlemen's agreement' in the conduct of their war. Namely, that they wouldn't go for the families.

When Widmore changed that rule, it changed everything for Ben.

I don't agree that Ben's pure evil here. He's a man, and has moral complexities. He's obviously subscribed to a very unforgiving 'anything can be justified to suit this end' position, but I'm not as eager to judge him now as I once was. I think he does a lot of wrong things, but I kind of want to see what he's doing it for now before I jump onto the Hate Ben Bus.

Not that a good, even vital, reason would excuse or exonerate him...but it would give a better perspective on his reasoning.

Also, the scene with the two guys on horses in the desert was great in my view. It underscored Ben's basic tactic in a nutshell. Be harmless...until it is time to NOT be harmless.

 

[Fast Learner]

As far as the daughter thing went, I think Ben was doing what he thought he had to do to protect her. This to me was evidenced by his very real shock when she was killed. I also suspect that Widmore and Ben had a sort of...I dunno...'gentlemen's agreement' in the conduct of their war. Namely, that they wouldn't go for the families.

When Widmore changed that rule, it changed everything for Ben.

Precisely. As a result of that agreement, telling the gunmen to shoot her was calling their bluff, as they would have been ordered to not kill her no matter what... it wasn't cold-hearted, it was perfectly reasonable tactics.

Until it turned out the rules had changed.

 

[David Howery]

Yeah, I wasn't expecting Alex to go out like that. They're shedding characters pretty fast now. It must be in preparation for the climax. The fewer protagonists to focus on, the more compact the action will be.

either that, or a whole bunch of people were arrested for drunk driving in Hawaii....

 

[Krug]

I duno.. the smoke monster thing almost smacks of deus ex machina... and you wonder why he didn't do it earlier. And I just thought things went downhill for Lost when it resorted to supernatural angles. "Oh we're in a bind. Now lets call the smoke monster." This is bad DMing!

 

[Cthulhudrew]

I duno.. the smoke monster thing almost smacks of deus ex machina... and you wonder why he didn't do it earlier.

There was some evidence that the Others knew what the smoke monster was last season (in the episode where Kate and Juliet were stuck together), and I don't think it's all that unusual that Ben knows what it is and how to summon it. He didn't necessarily seem to control it- after all, he does tell everyone to run for the other side of the tree line. He didn't seem to be afraid of it (and with his ties to Jacob, maybe he doesn't need to be), but I got the impression that that security didn't necessarily extend to the Sawyer, Locke, and the rest.

 

[Felon]

Sympythy for Ben, you guys are as gullible as Locke. They had a gun to his daughter's head and he said, 'I don't care, shoot her'. I don't care if he meant it or not, that is the act of a cruel, cold hearted, evil SOB. I think his anger at Charles is not because she was his DAUGHTER, so much as she was HIS daughter. It's a possesion thing, much like his attitude twords Julia.

Well, it's possible for a cruel SOB to have an emotional attachment to someone, and to serve a cause that they believe in. Lord knows Ben's got a lot to answer for, but that doesn't prevent sympathizing with him over his loss.