LOST - "Dead Is Dead"

Well, tonight's episode reconfirmed 2 things for me: I freakin' love Ben Linus, and Michael Emerson deserves that Emmy, pronto!

***Spoilers Ahead***

We got a lot in tonight's episode -- filling in the backstory, answering a major plot cliffhanger from this season, showing us a little Island mojo, a little "Lord of the Flies" action among the new crash survivors, and - best of all - scene upon scene of Ben Linus and John Locke, together again.

Felix and Oscar
I would watch "The Odd Couple, Island Version" with Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn for an entire season itself. Those 2 actors are so well-matched, and they bring out the best in each other. When they're together, every glance, every pause, every twitch of the eyebrow or lip - it all is so loaded with feeling, with tension. The scenes just crackle! Terry got his Emmy, now it's Michael's turn!

Alex's Story
Now our biography of Alex is complete. Ben did indeed kidnap the infant Alex from poor, crazed Rousseau on the beach --but not intentionally. Charles Widmore (rather dashing back in Ben's childhood days, but looking haggard in this middle-Island-years) ordered Ben to kill Rousseau, and was furious that he didn't and brought back the baby instead. Ben seems to have a soft spot for children... and facing Widmore's disapproval, in what seemed to be a turning point in their relationship, Ben raised the little girl as his own. Perhaps the happiest we've ever seen Ben was when he was playing with his daughter on the swingset - cute! And tragic, of course, because we know what happens to poor Alex... our mastermind miscalculated and had to watch in horror as Keamy, instrument of Widmore, killed his little girl.

But -- was it really Ben's fault? There was a whole lot of hinting tonight, by none other that Widmore himself, that it was the Island that wanted Alex dead, one way or the other. Was she just living on borrowed time for 16 years? Or was it really Widmore (or creepy-hot Keamy) who caused her death?

The Fall of Charles Widmore
So, that brings us to Widmore... I think we've still got a lot to learn about this mysterious Aussie. (Or is he supposed to be British?) The scene we saw tonight, as Ben said goodbye while Widmore was led off the Island, via submarine, in handcuffs just didn't seem like enough explanation. He was banished from the Island for traveling off-Island and having a whole mainland life? We know that Ben traveled off the Island a lot, too, in later years -- why was he allowed to do so if Widmore wasn't? More to the story, I'm sure.

I was glad they made reference to Widmore having fathered a daughter off-Island, cuz the math was just driving me nuts that we had Alex around as a small child (Alex, who was 16 in 2004) but no Penny, who is clearly older. I wonder if we'll learn more about Widmore's family life, or if in the interest of limited time left that's just gonna be all we'll get?

All of our Other flashbacks tonight seemed to happen pre-purge, and they really did look to be just living in tents out in the jungle. Where did the Others come from? Still a big mystery!

At the Marina
With so much focus on Widmore, and all the talk of fathers and daughters, I had a *strong* sense we were going to be seeing Penny again... and boy, did we. Finally, in an edge-of-your-seat set of scenes, we got to see what happened when Ben went to the marina before getting on Flight 316. Oh boy, was I scared for our lovely Penny... how chilling that Ben actually called Widmore to say he was going to kill his daughter!!! And I really believe he would've done it, maybe even killed Desmond too, if Ben's surprising soft side hadn't gotten in the way. Seeing the sweet, innocent face of little Charlie, Ben dropped the gun - only to be tackled and walloped by our favorite Scot, thus explaining all those bloody injuries.

This felt very right -- not just because having Ben actually kill Penny and destroy such an epic love story would be horrifying, something I could never forgive of him -- but because of the nice parallels in the story. Penny's story does match Alex's, but not in Ben's intended "eye for an eye, daughter for a daughter" way. Instead, the parallel lies in Ben's inability to hurt a child, and his refusal to harm a mother in front of her child. Penny actually parallels Rousseau, and in that moment Ben seemed to be giving little Charlie a chance his own Alex never got -- the chance to be raised by his own loving mother.

And, with this scene, I think I've finally leaned fully in one direction... Ben is not the ultimate bad guy here. He's got a twisted view of the world, he's a power-hungry narcissist, sure. But I think he's got nothing on Charles Widmore -- as Ben himself cried to Penny, her father is an "evil" man. We may never know which one of these two men has the better intentions, but I'm siding with Ben in that coming Island war.

Judgment Day
And, back on the Island, Ben gave himself over to be judged by the Island spirit, old Smokey itself. In a very "Indiana Jones" scene (with some questionable CGI, but I'll let it go), Ben was confronted with his memories of Alex and his guilt over her death... only to then be confronted by Alex herself, at least the Island manifestation of her. Ghost-Alex was furious, blaming Ben for her death, and threatening to hunt him down and kill him if he fails again... I admit, I was on the edge of my seat again, just slightly afraid that they just might kill off Ben Linus... they wouldn't do that, right? Right.

Ben's task now? To follow John Locke, his every instruction. In our final scene -- we see Ben returning to Locke, explaining what happened -- "It let me live," he said, with an almost tangible sense of despair. Our Ben now seems to be a broken man, while the resurrected Locke might be just now coming into his power. It's going to be fascinating to watch that new dynamic take shape!