S5E12 - Dead is Dead

My Name is Smokey

Ok... I was willing to look past Young Ben's bullet moving from one side of his chest to the other side last week... but what I cannot forgive is Ben not having a name for the smoke monster. How could you live on the island for decades and not have a name for the giant cloud of smoke that you summon to kill the island's invaders? Surely he must be lying. (Big surprise, right?)

Lil' Alex

One of the semi-big reveals this week was that Ben was the one who stole Alex from Rousseau. Seeing this made me wonder why Rousseau didn't recognize Ben as the guy who stole her baby when she caught him in one of her traps back in season 2. If someone were to steal my son from me, you'd better believe I'd never forget that person's face.

The other part to this reveal was Ben warning Rousseau at the end that, if she ever hears whispers, to run in the other direction. This is officially the first time that anyone (other than Rousseau or the Losties) has spoke of the whispers. And for it to come directly from an Other is big. Does this mean that it has nothing to do with time travel, though? Maybe it really is just one of those creepy things that the Others do.

Timeline?

Continuing with the Ben/Rousseau/Alex storyline, Rousseau crashed on the island in 1988. Ben (and young Ethan)kidnapped Alex in early 1989. But the purge didn't happen until 1992. This means that Ben and Ethan were BOTH a part of the Others before the purge happened. Woah. I really hope we get to spend some serious time with Richard Alpert and his team. There's definitely a lot of stuff to learn here.

Ben's Choice

Ben chose to save Rousseau's life.... but why? And why did Widmore think she should've been killed? Was this just a test to see if Ben was capable of murder? Was it in preparation of the Purge?

They Need Locke

Christian told Sun that if she wanted to find Jin, she needed to wait for John Locke, who would be able to help her. Does this mean that he'll need to turn the wheel again to get them back to 1977? Or will Jacob show Locke a new way to get back to 1977, or bring the Losties back to present time (2008)?

Thank You, LOST Writers

I'd personally like to thank the LOST writing staff for not killing Penny or Desmond. But at the same time, I'd like to curse at them for not showing much of them lately. I'm really in need of a Desmond and Penny fix. Soon, please!

Farewell Caesar

Ben is a kuniving snake... but you have to give him credit for being so damn smart. I totally fell for the trick he was playing on Caesar and Locke. And while I wasn't exactly hating Caesar's character, I was glad to see Ben blast him in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun. It just goes to show how bad-ass Ben is.

Anubis Returns

When we saw the back of the four-toed statue, I was about 80% sure that it was of Anubis. Now, after seeing this episode, I'd say, that's risen to 95%. When Ben made it to the temple, while trying to find the Smoke Monster, he came to a wall that had hieroglyphics on it and an illustration of Anubis kneeling before what appeared to be a smoke monster. Not only does this confirm theories about the statue, but it also suggests that Smokey has been there for a VERY long time. But Smokey's not the only one. I think Richard's been there just as long. That all goes back to my "Richard is from the future" theory.

Smokey's Confessional

When Ben was confronted by the smoke monster, it flashed images of his daughter throughout his life, all leading up to her death (which was Ben's fault). Ultimately, Smokey decided that Ben was forgiven. This reminds me of Eko's death back in season 3. The smoke monster was lurking around him, but then his brother appeared and asked for his apologies for all of the things he'd done. And when Eko said "I apologize for nothing," his brother walked away and soon Smokey burst out of the jungle and killed Eko. I think the smoke monster saw that Ben was truly sorry.

Don't think it ended there though. After smokey disappeared, Alex appeared behind Ben and threw him up against a wall, giving him one final warning. She knows that Ben plans on trying to kill Locke again. But Alex demands that Ben follow Locke. Does this mean that Ben will officially become a follower? Is he a good guy now? If so, I'm anxiously awaiting the episode where Ben tells Locke everything he knows about the island. *fingers crossed*

The fact, though, that Smokey went back into the vent before Alex appeared makes me think that smokey and the "ghosts" are 2 different entities. But I wonder if these ghosts are actually manifestations of Jacob? Or maybe there are 2 monsters (not counting Ben, of course)?

The Shadow of the Statue

While the Flight 316 survivors are cracking open a giant metal crate, Frank emerged from the jungle, and Ilana confronted him with a single question: "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Of course, Frank had no idea what she was talking about, so she knocked him out with the butt of her rifle. Is this a secret code for something (ala Desmond's Snowman joke)? Or perhaps they really are asking about something next to the four-toed statue? But why ask Frank? Is this another one of Ben's cons, where he is making them think that Frank is an island native?

Well... that's about it for me this week. I apologize for the delayed post. Please leave me a comment or e-mail me with your questions or theories. I'd love to hear them!

Until next time!

-drew.