2x14 One Of Them

[Mister Derp]

It still seems kind of strange to me now that it took this long for us to meet Ben. He's become SUCH an integral part of the show (obviously, mad props to Darlton for recognizing Emerson's talent and making him count) it's hard to imagine things happening without him. Locke's willingness to allow Ben to be tortured juxtaposed against the trust he shows him later is pretty interesting...

Have to agree with everyone else about Sayid's "you would remember" scene, it still gives me goosebumps. You can really feel how torturous (pun fully intended) it would be to bury a loved one.

Any time Sawyer and Hurley team up it's good with me.

[Jack&KatePlusEight]

Originally Posted by Mister Derp

It still seems kind of strange to me now that it took this long for us to meet Ben. He's become SUCH an integral part of the show (obviously, mad props to Darlton for recognizing Emerson's talent and making him count) it's hard to imagine things happening without him.

Wasn't Michael Emerson originally supposed to appear in just 4 episodes?

[Lost Fan 4815162342]

According to several accounts, Emerson was hired without audition for 3 eps, and I have heard that they had extended that to about 7, but it wasn't long after he started putting in his work, that they made the decision to make him Ben Linus.

Apparently there was a Henry Gale, the hapless balloonist, and a Ben Linus, leader of the others. But Emerson's work convinced them to hang onto him and the Henry Gale and Ben Linus storylines were merged.

Thank God. I can't imagine the show without Emerson as Ben Linus.

[TheEyeOfTheIsland]

Originally Posted by faragay4faraday

WTF is wrong with Locke leaving some random person with Sayid to torture?! this man is a freaking monster ... and he totally lost it in that armory. absolutely out of line, even if Benry were an other ... this justifies nothing

Indeed, since "Fire and water", when he punched Charlie in the face, I've been asking myself:

How does Locke justify his actions? And why does he think he knows best what to do? I mean, Jack is perhaps annoying, but he has his principles: Trying to keep everybody safe and eventually getting his people off the island. If you think about it, you can't even blame him for refusing to believe that pushing the button is important. But Locke's actions sometimes seem so random.

More specifically, why does Locke agree so fast when Sayid tells him he wants to torture Henry Gale?
In his discussion with Jack, he says "We're at war" and "This has to happen". But what does Locke want to achieve?

[faragay4faraday]

especially since Locke already began to tell Sayid off ... he freakin' knew that Sayid was just looking for an excuse to hurt someone really bad, and he voiced his doubts to what ... to just shut up and do as Sayid bids 2secs later? I beg you pardon, WHAT?!

this episode made me appreciate Jack so much more than I did just a few eps before, when he was lecturing Desmond about what's "real" and what's not

[zeus22]

Yes, Jack rocked in this episode. "You think I'm stupid? You open it!" Awesome.

Also, I thought it was kinda strange that Sayid ended with saying that both Jack and Locke had forgotten how brutal the Others were. Wasn't it just last episode that Sawyer thought Jack was going to find Kate's horse and lead the charge against the Others? Even Locke commented in this episode that the survivors were at war. I don't think either one of them have forgotten.

Pretty interesting watching this now, knowing that Danielle and Ben have met before, and so have Sayid and Ben.

[Bombyx mori]

Its also great to realize on rewatch that if Sayid hadn't shot Ben in 77, he never would have met him as Henry Gale in 2004. I don't think its coincidence that Sayid was the first lostie to meet Linus. Awesome episode.

[Dr. Chameleon]

Originally Posted by DharmaVan

And hey, we got to see the Egyptian hieroglyphics on the Swan’s countdown timer!

I was kind of wondering why the Dharma Initiative would use hieroglyphics when that seems to be a very ancient/Others-y device (or pre-Others?). It's not clear how much they knew or learned about the island while they were there.

[TheEyeOfTheIsland]

Originally Posted by Dr. Chameleon

I was kind of wondering why the Dharma Initiative would use hieroglyphics when that seems to be a very ancient/Others-y device (or pre-Others?). It's not clear how much they knew or learned about the island while they were there.

I think there are more connections between the Dharma Initiative and the Natives than we initially thought:

We have seen in season 5 that Jim Lafleur, head of the Dharma security, has a rather good relation to Richard Alpert.

Then there are the underground tunnels leading to Horace's house. The Dharma Intiative must have known about their existence.

The most intriguing thing in my opinion is the Dharma symbol at the temple location on the map Ben shows Rousseau in "The shape of things to come".
As the Natives describe it a "the last safe place on the island", it seems likely that they wouldn't turn it over to Dharma - or would they?

[Dr. Chameleon]

^^interesting.

I'm also curious about the significance of Horace building the cabin which, as far as we can tell now, seems to have been used as a prison for Mr. X.

It's confusing (ha!) because at first we didn't know there was any difference between DI and the Others, then with the Purge there very clearly was, now they sort of seem to be melding again. I sure hope this ends up making sense.