3.20 - The Man Behind the Curtain

Title’s significance: In a reference to “The Wizard of Oz,” Locke refers to Ben as “the man behind the curtain,” though one could wonder if Jacob is the true man behind the curtain. It’s all very mysterious at this point.

Recap: Ben finally gets his own flashbacks, in which we learn that he wasn’t born on the island but rather 32 miles out of Portland. Enlisted into The Dharma Initiative, Ben and his father came to the island just as encounters with the hostiles were at their boiling point; young Ben sees visions of his mother on the island, which lead him to a meeting with Richard Alpert, who asks him to be patient before he can leave The Dharma Initiative. Years later, Ben led The Hostiles in a Purge of The Dharma Initiative, even personally killing his father. In the present, Locke returns to The Others’ camp with his father’s body and demands the truth about the island, but Ben tells Locke it’s not that easy and that Jacob is the true leader of The Others. Mikhail runs to camp looking for Ben; Locke roughs him up and repeats his request to see Jacob. Ben finally consents, though he warns Locke that Jacob will be upset; he brings Locke to a derelict cabin in the woods, where Ben addresses an empty chair and tells Locke he’s “too limited” to see Jacob. Suddenly a voice calls out to Locke, “Help me.” The cabin shakes and sputters violently, and Ben emerges, shaken. Locke accuses Ben of being a fraud, but Ben continues to promise answers, eventually leading Locke to a mass grave of Dharma workers, where he tells Locke about his past with The Dharma Initiative. Jealous of Jacob’s communication with Locke, Ben shoots Locke and tosses him into the mass grave.

Thoughts: This is one of my favorite episodes of the series, and Damon & Carlton didn’t even write it. That should tell you something about the quality of this episode, which continues to propel forward; it’s not focused so much at getting us to the season finale as it is toward larger questions about Dharma, the island, and the figure looming largest over it all – the man, if I may, behind the curtain – Jacob. All this the writers accomplish in a way that doesn’t seem forced but rather is gratifying and fulfilling.

Favorite moment: The scene in Jacob’s cabin – no question.

Characters introduced (in order):

• ROGER LINUS, Ben’s father
• ]EMILY LINUS, Ben’s mother
• HORACE GOODSPEED, Dharma mathematician
• OLIVIA GOODSPEED, Horace’s wife? (open to interpretation after Horace has a child with someone else who claims to be his wife in Season Five)
• ANNIE, the only person who was ever nice to Ben
• JACOB? I think it’s open to interpretation whether they actually saw Jacob in the cabin.

What we learned:

• Ben was not born on the island as he initially claimed.
• Ben’s mother died the day he was born, something Roger always blamed him for.
• Jacob is the leader of The Others.
• Ben and his father worked for The Dharma Initiative.
• The mission of The Dharma Initiative was to study the island.
• “The pylons were not set to a lethal level,” so Mikhail is still alive.
• The island experienced a volcanic eruption many years ago.
• Ben still carries the doll that Annie gave him.
• Sun says that Juliet is a good person.
• Juliet is actually a double agent working against The Others.
• Roger Work Man is actually Ben’s father.
• The supplies in the Dharma van were bound for The Pearl.
• Ben killed his father, Roger “Work Man” Linus.
• The Purge occurred when Ben led The Hostiles in gassing Dharmaville.

Questions:

• What did Ben mean when he asked Richard if he remembered birthdays?
• Why is Ben so afraid of Jacob?
• How did Ben see his mother in the jungle?
• What’s the significance of the white ash around Jacob’s cabin?
• Is it just me or is Richard not aging?
• Why is Richard so interested in Ben’s vision of a dead person?
• Was Jacob really in the cabin?
• How did a group of low-tech Hostiles purge the island?
• What happened to Annie?
• Is that it for Locke?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• In the recap, we get a reminder of something I’d overlooked initially – Ben says that Locke has “some kind of communion with this island.” If I’m right, and Locke is the next chosen one, this is going to be very, very important.