Episode 5.07 — "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"

Greetings!

So we continue the “setup” episodes of Season 5. There were a few amazing stand-alone scenes in “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham,” but honestly, I was a little disappointed with some of Locke’s off-Island encounters. Now that everyone is back on the Island, however, I think we’ll finally be getting to the meat of the season, and the story as a whole. I don’t know about you, but I am definitely looking forward to this war Widmore mentioned…

Shall we?

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1) Bentham’s Visits — I can’t be the only one who was disappointed with Locke’s…er…Bentham’s visits. After all we have seen in the aftermath of his encounters with the O6, I expected a little more conversation than, “You have to go back.” Yeah, we knew that already! Why didn’t Locke tell them about the nosebleeds, the time travel, the other dangers on the Island that the Lefties were facing? I assume we didn’t see ALL of EVERY conversation he had with the O6, but they could have showed us more than that. It just felt like they were tying up loose ends because they HAD to, not because it was the right time or the right way to do so.



And I don’t know about you, but I haven't met many people more selfish than some of the O6. Let’s look at this for a second. Why is Jack going back to the Island? Is it really because he wants to help those people? Or is it because his life sucks, he’s suicidal, and addicted to drugs and alcohol, not to mention Kate doesn’t want anything to do with him?

And what about Kate? She spends three years raising this young boy whom she claims to love dearly, but leaves him (seemingly) at drop of a hat once everyone confronts her. I reeeeeally hope there is much more than meets the eye here. Why does she choose to return? Does she still have feelings for Sawyer? Of course she does, because she wouldn’t have that much to add to the story if she wasn’t constantly torn between two men. However, I’ll concede that we still do not know what happened with Aaron, but at this point Kate is one of the most problematic characters on the show…for me at least. She flip-flops all over the place depending on what needs to drive the story at the moment.

Sun didn’t even think twice about leaving Ji Yeon behind. A quick call to Grandma and she’s off to the Island, unsure if she will ever return.

As far as Sayid goes, we simply do not know enough about his situation right now. It looks like he’s coming against his will, but hopefully we’ll find out soon.

Then there is Hurley, who seems to be the ONLY one who actually cares about the fate of those on the Island. Hurley’s the man.



The Locke/Walt scene left a little to be desired as well. I thought there would be more to that encounter but alas, Walt’s story will have to wait until…who knows…hopefully sometime before the series ends.

I know it seems like I’m doing a bit of bashing, but this episode overall just felt contrived and obligatory. Especially after such an awesome start to the season, and after an amazing episode last week, I had high expectations and it was somewhat anticlimactic for me. However, there were some great scenes (Locke’s death, for example) and I have faith that BIG things are coming. I guess we just needed a setup episode to get things rolling for the second part of the season.

So what do you think? Am I way off?

2) Ben/Widmore/The War — Well…who do YOU trust? Ben or Widmore? Or neither? Why do I get the feeling that we can't believe either of ‘em? I like what Sayid said earlier this season about how Ben is on his own side. I think Widmore is very similar to Ben in that regard. At this point, I can only see Widmore and Ben wanting the Island for their own purposes. But I would like to be proven wrong.

Widmore seemed almost too willing and able to give Locke what he wanted, and I think this was all done under the guise of assistance when really he needs Locke on his side for the approaching war. We also got some interesting spoken backstory from Widmore, assuming of course he was telling the truth. What did he say again? That he led the Others for three decades before he was tricked into leaving the Island by Ben? Interesting… This means he would still be on the Island with the LOSTies if they are indeed in the Dharma days. (And also opens the possibility that Penny was born on the Island…)

Then there is Ben. Just when you think this guy might have a shred of decency in that twisted mind of his, he goes and strangles Locke. Geez…how can everyone continue to fall for this guy’s lies?? I think Ben is much like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. He is a necessary part of the journey, but he’ll put a knife into your back as soon as things don’t go his way. We need Ben, but often at a hefty cost. I wonder what consequences he will face when he comes to on Hydra Island. I hope Locke has the gall to give him an earful. One thing is for sure: Ben will not find many friendly faces on the Island this go ‘round.

But it is interesting that both Widmore AND Ben want Locke back on the Island. Are Widmore and Ben preparing for a war against a third party we have yet to see, only they are going about it in their own way? Or are they fighting against each other with each trying to get Locke, a wildcard, on their side to gain advantage? The only thing we know for sure is that a war is coming...

3) Locke’s Death — This scene was one of the most powerful in LOST history. Too bad it was put into the context of this messy episode. Nevertheless, Michael Emerson (Ben) and Terry O’Quinn (Locke) nailed this scene, man. It was chilling, powerful, moving. When Locke broke down and called himself a failure…whew, that was intense. The lighting and framing of this sequence was brilliant as well, and even though I half-jokingly mentioned to my wife that Ben was going to kill him, I was completely shocked when he actually did.



There are many theories about Ben’s motivation here. Some say that Ben might still be holding onto the hope of gaining control of the Island, so his murder of Locke could have been one last desperate attempt of preventing Locke from assuming the leadership position in which the Island obviously wants him. Then of course that begs the question: why didn’t Ben just let Locke kill himself? Is it possible that if Locke had killed himself, he would have shown that he had lost all faith in the Island and would not have been able to resurrect upon returning? I’m not sure because the way Ben said, “I’ll really miss you, John,” made me think he was unaware of what Locke and the Island were capable of. But c’mon, it’s Ben; he knows all!

Or, another theory, which I think is equally possible, is that Locke's affiliation with Widmore was confirmed to Ben when he mentioned Hawking's name, and that just set him off. Ben wants Locke all to himself so he can continue manipulating him upon arrival on the Island. Oh man, this is a tangled mess…

What’s your theory??

4) Hawking the Timecop — Who is this chick? I mean, yeah we know she is Danny’s mama, but there is something not quite right about her. I think everyone's relationship to Hawking is something yet to be revealed. She seems to be some sort of Guardian of Time, or Timecop, and she aids those who will assist with the course correction of time, no matter who they are. I think she is helping Ben because he is escorting the necessary pawns back to the Island. I think she would have helped Widmore just the same if he was leading them back. She is kind of like a free agent, working only for time.

Her relationship to Widmore is something that I hope is explored this season. I kind of like the theory that Hawking and Widdie were once involved, possibly producing such great minds as Penny and Faraday…on the Island. Pretty wild, eh?

5) Flight 316 — So 316 DID end up on the Island! Or nearby at least. But we all should have known if there was anyone who could land that plane, it was our man Lapidus. I wonder if we’ll get to meet any of the other Flight 316 passengers besides the two new people, or if they’ll just die in a fiery shower of arrows. I prefer the latter.



Remember the runway that Kate and Sawyer were helping to build while they were prisoners back in Season 3? Was this being prepared with the knowledge that another plane was going to be arriving? Or was it just a precaution since it seems like planes and the Island have a thing for each other?

And still no sign of Sayid or Sun. Although we did hear an off-hand comment about the pilot and a female taking one of the boats… Could it be Sun and Lapidus looking for Jin? And I wonder what time they are in. Did ALL of 316 land in Dharma days or did the rest of the plane land in present time? Your thoughts?

6) Favorite scenes (feel free to add your own):
-Hurley asking the nurse if he was talking to a guy in a wheelchair
-Locke telling Jack that his dad says hello
-Seeing copies of Daniel’s notes in the Hydra station (maybe the most underappreciated and obscure scene of the episode)



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I read that the original schedule for this season had “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham” airing BEFORE “316” but they changed it at the last minute. Honestly, I would have preferred the original airing of these two episodes because “316” was definitely the climax of this first part of Season 5. But I don’t think they wanted us to see Locke alive yet and they didn’t want us watching “316” with the knowledge that Ben killed Locke. I could be wrong but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Until next time, fellow LOSTaholics…

Namaste…and good luck.

SFO