"Dead is Dead"

This episode of LOST was a nice change of pace from the story that we have been seeing for the past few weeks. I am relieved and intrigued after watching this episode. I don't know if I could have handled it if a certain scene had gone differently. There's not much else I can say without revealing too much so....

STOP READING NOW TO AVOID SPOILERS!!!!!

As I said I am very relieved that a certain scene did not have a terrible outcome. I am, of course, referring to Ben's personal mission to kill Penny. I was really worried about her. Especially after Ben told Sun to tell Desmond he was sorry. Thankfully it was for shooting Desmond and not killing Penny. It was very satisfying to see Ben get his ass kicked by Desmond even though he had already resolved that we was not going to kill Penny because he didn't want to make an orphan out of little Charlie. I suppose it is interesting to learn that Ben does have a sympathetic side as was evidenced in this scene and by his refusal to kill an infant Alex at the command of Charles Widmore.

Speaking of Widmore, it was interesting to see him as the leader of the Others especially in the way he spoke about the Island. It was the same way that Ben has always spoken about the Island. So did Charles go through some similar experience like Ben that made him "one of them?" I suppose we won't get an answer like that until next season. Of course I would also like to learn about his exile and the reasons for it. Ben said that Charles "broke the rules" because he had a daughter with an outsider. So I guess this means that Ellie (Eloise?) is not Penny's mother. But about these "rules." Ben said the same thing when Keamy killed Alex: that they "broke the rules." At the time, it seemed as if Ben and Widmore had a deal where they could not kill each other's children. But after this episode, it seems that Alex was always supposed to die and that Ben was always supposed to kill her. He didn't do it when Charles ordered him to when Alex was an infant and Ben did everything he could to keep her alive until Keamy killed her. When Keamy shot Alex because Ben denied that she was important to him, perhaps this was the universe's chance to course correct for the death that should have happened sixteen years earlier.

Before we get into the judment of Ben, I feel like I need to say some things about Locke. I love this version of Locke! He is cocky and sure of himself and claims to know things now that he never knew before. The only thing that is bad is that for most of the episode, he was still being manipulated by Ben and completely oblivious to that fact. Ben tried to rouse the rabble led by Caesar against Locke but at the last second, he shot and presumably killed Caesar to gain Locke's trust. Even if some humaity was imparted on Ben this episode, he's still a snake in the grass. When Ben first saw Locke, he acted like he knew that Locke would be ressurected upon his return to the Island. I don't want to believe him though! I also don't want to believe him when he told Sun that he had no idea that Locke would be ressurected! I am to the point now that I don't think I will ever believe anything that comes out of his mouth. He may be a good guy as he's said so many times, but I don't think I will ever be able to believe him!

But Locke has apparently been annointed with new knowledge (and maybe even powers) since his return to the Island. Some of that knowledge includes the location of the Temple and that Ben would have to go underneath it to be judged by the Smoke Monster. I will be interested in reading the translations of the heiroglyphics from amature Egyptlogists/LOST fans. There may be some vital clues there, or maybe just a bunch of giberish. One thing is for certain though, there seems to be an undeniable link with ancient Egyptian mythology. The most telling example was the pictogram of Anubis standing face-to-face with what could only be the Smoke Monster. Many have speculated on what the four-toed statue might be and several bloggers and podcasters have considered Anubis, the god of the afterlife. This episode does little to refute that strong possibilty. On top of that, Ilana asked Frank, "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" just before she clocked his with the butt of her gun. The statue seems very important in the story and I think that we all need to be prepared for some Stargate style connection between Egypt and the Island.

Beneath the Temple, Ben was judged by the Smoke Monster and I actually believed he was very scared about his fate. It was very interesting to see Ben enveloped in the smoke and the flashes from his life with Alex. Of course this was all very similar to what we saw when Mr. Eko was apparently judged by the Smoke Monster at their first meeting. A ghostly (?) figure of Alex appeared to Ben and spoke kindly to him before lashing out at him and thretening his life. We also saw a similar occurence with Mr. Eko when his dead brother appeared to him just before he was killed by the Smoke Monster. The difference, I believe, is that Mr. Eko was unrepentant about the actions of his life while Ben seemed genuinly sorry for being responsible for the murder of Alex. I loved that the ghost of Alex commanded Ben to follow Locke and do whatever he said under penalty of death. So unless we are being led astray by a malevolent force on the Island, I'd say that's a pretty good indication that John Locke is special.

I liked this episode, but with so few left in the season, I am starting to wonder if Locke, Ben and Sun will be reunited with the Losties in 1977 before the season finale. I like both stories, but I'd really rather see everyone together in one time period and soon!