(click the pics!)
A woman is delivering a baby. The area is reminiscent to the "Island" jungle. Hubby Roger is helping her. She knows something is wrong.
A baby boy is delivered; she's in pain and there is a lot of blood. {Wedding ring on right hand.}
Roger is getting upset, “Emily. No one knows we're out here...We gotta get back. Can you hold on to the baby?"
Roger carries both of them; running through the woods to a main road. {Still looks like the "Island" jungle.} Across the road is a chain link fence and a sign that shows Portland 32.
Roger needs help! A RED VW convertible pulls up. {It's Horace, wearing an army jacket and Olivia.} Roger explains they were hiking and she went into labor; she wasn't due yet and she's bleeding.
Horace-"How's the baby?"
Roger-"Fine. I guess."
Emily weakly tells him to, "Call him Benjamin."
She appears to die. Horace and Olivia just look at each other.
Ben, with his Harry Potters on, is in a tent holding a wooden carved doll. Richard asks him what he's got there. {Has Richard never seen the doll before? He knows Ben forever and this is the first time he's seen it?}
Ben tells him it's a birthday present today is his birthday, "You do remember birthdays, don't you, Richard?" {Lantern, Dharma whiskey, two glasses, books.}
Richard asks if Ben wants him to bring the tape back to Juliet.
Ben recorded the instructions for Juliet yesterday before they left, "I thought you already took it?"
Richard did not. Ben takes his walking stick and looks for Tom.
Tom is standing there with that GREAT dumbfounded look on his face. {YES, I must make a montage of theses precious TOM expressions!} Ben asks if he's seen his recorder but Tom doesn't move, apparently he's in shock. Ben turns to see Locke carrying a large sack on his back.
Locke-"You said that if I killed my father, you'd tell me everything I wanted to know about the island. So why don't you start at the beginning."
We are looking at an empty tent with an empty chair; this leads into Ben's tent.
Ben pours two glasses of the Dharma whiskey. He tells Locke that he wishes it was a simple as taking out a dusty old book and opening it up. Ben offers John the drink but he doesn't take it. {I love Ben's glasses on top of the open book. Files.} Ben tells him it's not that simple, "You probably think I'm the leader of this little community. But that's not entirely true. We all answer to someone, John." John wants to know who.
Ben-"His name is Jacob."
John wants to be taken to Jacob. Of course Ben says he can't do that and John's not surprised, "If you can't take me, maybe someone else will."
So John will go and ask Richard.
Ben gets a little protective, "He doesn't know where Jacob is. He doesn't talk to Jacob." Ben is the only one who talks to Jacob! No one else knows where he is.
Ben-"I was born here on this island. I'm one of the last that was. Most of these people you see, I brought them here. So, Jacob talks to me, John. He tells me, John what to do. Trusts me."
Conveniently, no one else has ever seen Jacob.
John-"You know what I think, Ben? I think there is no Jacob. I think you're people are idiots if they believe you take orders from someone else. You are the man behind the curtain. The Wizard of Oz! And you're a liar."
Ben wonders what he's based that theory on.
John feels if he was telling the truth then Ben's hand wouldn't be shaking. {WOW! That was a great moment!}
{Flash}
A young boy with glasses and an over the shoulder bag, walks down the dock from the submarine.
There are many other recruits with him.
This is young Ben. He's arrived with his father, Roger. {I LOVE that view of the island!} Roger sees workers dealing with Dharma boxes on pallets, three Dharma VW vans, one van has suitcases in front of it, barrels, boxes and crates in a little rowboat.
A welcoming sign, NAMASTE! THE DHARMA INITIATIVE.
The new arrivals are met by Dharma people; all dressed in tan jumpsuits and work clothes. The new arrivals are given leis. The workers have their first names and job title on the left side of their tops. {June and Casey}
Horace Goodspeed greets Roger. Horace's jumpsuit is gray and has the ARROW logo; he wears glasses. Everyone loves the words Namaste! {So do I.} Roger thanks him for the opportunity.
Horace-"And this must be Ben."
Roger tells Ben Mr. Goodspeed was there the day he was born…He's doing us a favor here, gave your old man a job."
Ben doesn't speak.
Horace feels, "That's okay. I bet he will when he has something to say. Right, Ben?... Hey, you hungry, kiddo?" {Kiddo! That's Christian's word!}
Horace tells him after he's done processing we'll have some lunch. He tells him he's gonna love it "here."
On an old TV a welcome video plays; hosted by…guess who? {Doesn’t give a name this time} Wearing a lab coat with the Swan logo on it. We see the barracks and someone hanging out their laundry, one riding a bike. The right handed host tells its residents for their own comfort and safety that they stay in their confines of their new living quarters, "Our barracks are surrounded by a high frequency sonar fence, to protect us from the Island's abundant and diverse wildlife. You are now a member of the Dharma Initiative."
Roger asks another new member, "What kind of wildlife you think this fence is protecting us from?"
The room has tables set up for Registration, Inoculations, Assignments.
Someone calls out for "Roger Linus?"
While he goes with the jumped suited man, the video continues its instructions... "Every morning you will be given a new code, which will allow you to cross outside the fence, if you so desire. There are properties on this Island that exist nowhere else on Earth. Our mission is to study these properties for the betterment of mankind and advancement of world peace. Most of you will be working on the mainland. Should you be assigned to zoological studies...Three times a day..."
A young girl named Annie, dressed in a white shirt with her Dharma logo, introduces herself to Ben. She offers him an Apollo bar; telling him they are allowed to eat as many as they want.
Roger-"Work Man? What’s this? 'Work Man'? I'm a janitor?...Goodspeed told me you people were doing experiments, changing the world. I didn't come here to clean up after ya."
Opal the nurse tells him, "If anything else opens up, you can feel free to apply for it." Roger angrily takes his jumpsuit and Ben and walks away.
Charlie, Claire and Aaron are walking together. We hear Hurley's conversation with Desmond, "Dude, You know, this can't be worse that haggis."
Sawyer is hiding in the bushes and gets Sayid's attention. Sawyer tells Sayid he was with Locke, informing him-"He went back."
Sayid-"Back where?"
Sawyer says, with them,"Don't ask me where the hell it is cause it don't matter right now. What does matter is this." He shows him the tape recorder.
Rubber work boots are shown running through the jungle. It is Mikhail frantically calling for Ben! {Tom's face. HA!}
Ben comes out of this tent; still using the walking stick.
Ben-"Thought you were dead."
Mikhail-"I'm fortunate the pylons were not set to a lethal level." {Wow! Now that's fucking luck.} Mikhail sees John and asks Ben, "What is he doing here? He's the one who tried to kill me!"
Ben-"He's with us now. Where have you been, Mikhail?"
Mikhail shares that he encountered several of his people in the jungle. They had an injured woman with them; she parachuted onto the island. Her helo crashed into the water. Ben "seems" surprised. John listens in.
Patchy-"She says her ship is approximately 130 klicks to the west of us. She has a radio telephone. {She said all that to him! Yeah.} He assumes they took her back to their camp.
Ben-"We'll be visiting their camp day after tomorrow. We'll take care of it."
Mikhail insists they have to go now!
John interjects, "Ben's not going anywhere with you." {Watch Ben's face this whole time! Love it!} He and I are going to see Jacob."
Ben is pissed and Richard stands in shock! Tom is...Dumbfounded! LOL!The camp is still.
Mikhail-"Please tell me this isn't true, Benjamin."
Ben gives his apologies to John as he has to deal with this now, "Our excursion will have to wait."
Patchy asks Ben, since when does he explain himself to him, an outsider. With that John beats the shit out of Mikhail! Ben calls for Tom and Richard to break up the fight but they just drink their coffee and watch. John asks Ben, "So when do we leave?"
Ben's reflection is seen in the stream. He and John are filling up a canteen and water bottle. John apparently had to beat Mikhail senseless to make his point. Alex's voice from behind, "Locke. I hear you're gonna go see Jacob. You're gonna need this." She gives him a ...say it with me...GUN! {Who would have guessed? Alex dark eyes.} Locke thanks her as Ben looks at her with that WTF?-look!
Alex-"Happy Birthday, Dad." And she heads back into the jungle.
{Flash}
Young Ben sits in a Dharma "Island" classroom. His teacher is Olivia; she is giving a demo on how a volcano works. {DVD NOD TO MY FRIEND THE ODI! YOU ARE A BLOODY ROCK GOD!!!} Annie asks the teacher, "Is that what happened to the volcano on this island?"
Olivia tells her, yes, but that was a long time ago, "Okay, let's get ourselves an eruption. Just add water and, voila! Now, I know it's not lava, but.." {Blackboard shows clue to 'tube'} Rumbling begins and everything starts to shake. {Arrow point, glass with water.} Loud Snap/Boom! The alarm sounds!
Olivia tells the kids to get into their positions. Young Ben is very nervous. Annie locks the back door with a chain and padlock. Olivia gets a rifle. You can hear screaming. Outside the window other members are armed and running. Annie takes Ben and his notebook into position and tells him not to worry, it's just the Hostiles.
Horace-"Hey man, I heard you ran into a little trouble."
Roger-"We're driving back from the Flame and we hear this huge explosion. {So what blew up?} The next thing I know there's a siren wailing and we're driving through a shootout." Young Ben peeks outside his bedroom door to take a look at the two men chatting. {He was petting his bunny friend.}
Horace-"Look. We're having some skirmishes with the natives." They're not sure who they are.
Roger-"Well, this ain't what I signed up for."
Horace tells him he did him a favor getting him work, "And don't forget about Ben. He's getting a quality education."
Roger doesn't give a damn about his education, "If I'm gonna get shot at, I want hazard pay. I want another 30 grand….And don't try to tell me you don't have it."
Ben hears tapping on the window in his room. It is his mother, Emily. Angry Roger wants Ben to go to bed. Sad and lonely Ben looks at a picture of his Mom and Dad and cries.
Sayid-"And why would you do that, Kate?"
She says because she's hurt, because he's a doctor, and because he has a right to know.
Sayid-"Where is he now?"
Kate doesn't know.
Sayid-"Of coursed you don't." {That's what I'm saying!}
Kate tells him it might be time to tell everyone else about Naomi.
Sayid-"Play her the tape."
While Ben fills up his canteen he shares with John, "Something you should know, John, before we go, whether or not you think he's the Wizard of Oz, I can assure you that Jacob is very, very real. And we're going to go see him, and he's not going to like it. In fact I have a feeling he's going to be very angry. And that's why my hand was shaking because this is not a man you go and see. This is a man who summons you."
John-"Well, I guess there's a first time for everything." {As he eats his fruit}
As the two men set out, the camp watches them. {I think he makes eye contact with Mikhail and Richard. I'm not positive.}
{Flash.}
A cardboard box tied in a pretty blue bow.
Annie and Ben sit on the swings. {Not wearing Dharma uniforms.} Annie has given him a present; two wooden dolls.
Annie-"It's us. That's you, and that's me. Now we never have to be away from each other. Happy Birthday, Ben."
He thanks her. Ben is happy.
Hurt Ben runs out of the house crying.
He runs through the jungle to the sonar fence where he hears whispers. There is Mom standing beyond the fence. Ben wants to run to her but she stops him.
Emily-"It's not time yet, Benjamin."
She just walks back into the jungle. The sad, hurt, lonely young boy cries out to her, "Mom!"
Claire-"So the whole world thinks we're dead?"
Sayid-"That's not important right now." {WTF?!!}
Naomi-"I'm sorry, don't you people want to be rescued?"
Sayid says they kept her a secret to keep her safe. Safe from what?
Sayid-"Safe from Jack. He spent a week with the Others and he brought one of them back with him. Here, amongst us. And every time we try to get answers from this woman he prevents her from giving them."
Sun feels Jack would never do anything to hurt them; she also believes Juliet is a good person. Sawyer asks her what she's basing that on. As a matter of fact he knows about Juliet taking her to a medical station, "Mrs. Kwon."
Sawyer plays the tape for them. Jin asks Sun what's going on.
Jack shows up and asks him where he got that. Sayid asks where he's been. Jack wants to know where Sawyer got the recorder.
Sawyer-"You really think you're in a position to be asking us questions?"
Juliet tells them to turn the tape over. Sawyer wants her to stay out of it.
Juliet- "You want to burn me at the stake? Here I am. But first, turn the tape over, press play.
Ben's message plays. "I'm sending three teams to extract Kwon the night after tomorrow. We won't have time to run Austen's sample, so if you determine that she or anyone else is pregnant, mark their tents and we'll take them too. Good Luck." {Not Namaste?}
Sayid-"Yet?"
{Flash}
Young Ben with back pack and his over the shoulder bag head to the sonar fence. He brought his pet rabbit to use as a guinea pig when he disarms the fence.
Young Ben hears whispers in the jungle. "Mom?” He runs through the jungle yelling, "Mom!"
A man appears behind him. It’s Richard, "I didn't mean to scare you. Wait. Are you lost? Wait!"
Ben wonders, "Are you one of them?"
One of who? The Hostiles.
The kid says "Ben." {'Richard' is dressed like a hippie. Unshaven. Doesn't sound native.} He asks Ben what he's doing in the middle of the jungle all by himself. Ben reveals he left home and he's looking for his mom.
Richard-"You think she's out here?"
Ben feels the man he won’t believe him.
Richard-"Try me."
Ben-"She's dead."
Richard-"Did she die here? On the island?"
Ben says no, when he was a baby.
Richard is intrigued, "Did you see her, out here, Ben...In the jungle?"
Ben-"She talked to me. She said that he couldn't 'come with her. She said it wasn't time yet.”
Richard tells him to go home, his people will be looking for him. Ben cries because he doesn't want to go back there; he hates it there. {Note the whole conversation Richard's two hands are up as if in a surrender gesture.} He asks the man to take him with him. Richard tells Ben maybe that can happen, if that's what he really wants. Richard wants Ben to think about it, "And you're gonna have to be very, very patient."
Night:
Ben with flashlight leads John up to a cabin/shanty/shack. {This seems a distance from the ash line.}
Ben tells John he'll want to turn off his flashlight, "Jacob feels the same way about technology that you do." {Interesting} They remove their packs.
Ben-"Once I open this door, there's no turning back. Are you sure this is what you want?"
Yes, Already!!
Ben announces at the closed door, "Jacob. I'm here with John Locke. We're coming in now."
This is a very dark space. Six Jars in the window, painting of a dog, a table with chair. Ben appears to be talking to an empty chair.
Ben introduces John, "Aren't you going to say hello, John?"
John thinks Ben's got a screw loose. We can hear one side of Ben's conversation with Jacob, "I told you he wouldn't."
John asks, "Who?…What are you talking about?"
Ben-"You can't see him?…he's sitting right here…in this chair."
Ben to Jacob/chair-"Yes I know, but he insisted."
Ben says to John, "You wanted the secrets to the island. Well, here they are. This is the man who can answer every single…"
Ben to Jacob/chair-"I am not. He made me bring him here, did you think that that was my…Sorry, may I finish…"
John calls him crazy. {Ben doesn’t like that!}
John-"You don't know anything about the island, do ya? You just made it all up."
Apparently Jacob is speaking to Ben at the same time, "Jacob, please, I can't hear him if you're gonna talk over what he says..."
John tells Ben to shut up, "Are you putting on a show for me? Or do you, do you really think there's someone there?"
Ben insists-"I know there's someone there."
John tells him he doesn't know anything. Ben is sorry he feels that way, "And I'm sorry that you're too limited to see."
John calls him pathetic and starts to leave but he hears a voice say "Help me."
He turns to Ben and asks him what he said. But Ben didn't say anything. John insists Ben must have said something.
Nope!
John shines the flashlight at Ben and all of a sudden things start banging around, loud sounds, chains, crashing of glass, rumbling! The lantern falls off the table and starts a fire! The window breaks! Ben holds on to the chair and yells, "That's enough! You've had your fun!"
An image of someone sitting in the chair is seen for a brief moment! John freaks and runs out!
Ben comes outside and hangs up the lantern. He looks like he just ran a marathon.
John asks Ben, "What was that?"
Ben-"That was Jacob."
Ben leads John through the jungle. It's daylight. "What did you hear in there, John? What did Jacob say to you?"
John-"He didn't say anything to me. You did."
John feels there is no Jacob and he won't be taken in by the little show he put on last night, "You’re a fraud. And it's time your people knew the truth. And this is not the way we came."
Ben tells him he's taking him back another way; there's something he wants to show him. But John feels he's seen enough. Ben decides to open up to John and reveals that some of the things he's told him and everybody are simply not true. For starters, "I wasn't born on this island."
John-"Then where did you come from?"
Ben says that's what he wants to show him.
Ben-"It's my birthday. I don't know why I keep fooling myself, after one of these years; you're actually going to remember."
Roger-"I'll tell you what. All we gotta do this morning is run this stuff out to Pearl Station. Why don't we go up to the mesa and drink some beers. Have some, I don't know, father and son time."
Ben would like that.
The song 'Road to Shambala' is playing in the van. They pull over. Ben takes off his glasses. Roger likes the view; it's beautiful. Dad drinks a beer. Ben wants to know if Dad really blames him for Mom dying.
Roger-"What do I know?"
Ben's Timex Indiglo watch shows 4:00.
Roger-"If it makes you feel any better, I will do my best to remember your birthday next year."
Ben-"I don't think that's gonna happen, Dad."
Ben shares with Dad that he's missed mom too, "But the difference is, that for as long as I can remember, I've had to put up with you. And doing that required a tremendous amount of patience. Goodbye Dad."
Roger doesn't really react. Ben puts on a gas mask and pulls the tab on the gas can. Roger bleeds and appears to die.
Ben, still with the mask on, walks back to the barracks and sees the bodies everywhere. Ben closes Horace's eyes. {He had respect for him.}
Other armed and masked people/natives come out. Richard looks at his watch and asks Ben if they should go and get his father's body. Ben wants him left out there. {Note the gas didn't kill the chirping birds. Or are they fake bird sounds? Hmmmmm}
John is overlooking a mass grave filled with skeletons of the apparent purge. Ben-"This is where I came from, John. These are my people. The Dharma Initiative. They came here seeking harmony. But they couldn't even coexist with the islands original inhabitants. And when it became clear that one side had to go, one side had to be purged, I did what I had to do. I was one of the people smart enough to make sure I didn't end up in that ditch. Which makes me considerably smarter than you, John."
John quickly turns and pulls his knife but he is shot by Ben! John is lying in the ditch.
Ben still wants to know what Jacob said to him.
Shot John asks-"Why did you do this?"
Ben-"Because you heard him. Now I need to know what he said."
John-"Help me."
Ben threatens him with the gun, "I'm not gonna ask you again, what did he say to you?"
John-"He said, 'HELP ME'."
This troubles Ben, "Well I certainly hope he helps you, John."
John gasps and Ben leaves.
It should be called, Another Drunk Father!!!
Who is Ben and where does he come from, really? We see his drunk father's involvement with the Dharma people, but that's not enough information for me. Benjamin... born on the island? Another "Island"? Is he original to the "Island"? An elder, wizard, scientist, teacher, leader, all around great guy! Are there two Ben's? Why does Richard entrust Ben to lead in any capacity and for what reason? Richard could have recruited Ben to purge everyone and then Richard's people could have gone on with their lives on this Island! Why bring new people to the Island?
Things to note…Questions to ask…
* I guess another position never opened up for Roger. His role was always to be Work Man or maybe he never progressed.
*
* Mask. Masks.
* Jack has called Ben, Benjamin.
* Wood Dolls {they look more like Totems} representing people. Where's Annie now?
* Why would Richard, a native, have a watch? {Time} These people who live in the middle of the jungle have clothes, weapons and a watch...but no shoes!
* Apollo Bars. Do they contain a hallucinogen for the children?
* Kate uses the name Annie in Tabula Rasa.
* Why is Ben killing people on his birthday?
* Are the survivors of flight 815 there to take over the "Island", and Ben is just recruiting them to his side now? Or are they all already on the same side and he's not told his people that there are more 'team' members? Are the Losties native to this "Island"?
* This "Island": So there must be at least 1 other "Island"….Many other "Islands"? Could one of these "Islands" be considered the "outside world" or "Home", "L.A.","Miami, "Iowa", "Santa Rosa", etc.. Or are they going back and forth to these towns? Maybe they never leave them.
* The "birth place" of Benjamin looks very much like the "Island". Horace rescues the infant and family by the side of the road. Coincidence? I think not! Sign says Portland…….Couldn't that mean that Ben was "born" on the "Island". The "Island" is NOT IN PORTLAND, or is it. Portland may be one ‘portal’ to the "Island".
* Portland: Is Ben's experience happening in Portland?
* What is the sonar fence really there for?
* Emily is Locke's mother's name.
* John Locke drives a Red VW Beetle
* Ben has a thing for bunnies and books.
* Flame. Swan. Arrow. Pearl. Medical Stations.
* Opal. Indiglo.
* Do the whispers come from above? Or "outside"?
* Six Jars/vessels/vase in Jacob's window. Could this represent six children? {Or jumping ahead to Oceanic 6?}
* PORT-LAND. Ships. Docks. Submarines.
* Technology.
* Is the way to travel safely to the island very deep, under the island and not above it? Or is there a 'tube' ? A distinct pathway? Under! Below!
* Why doesn't Richard appear to age but Ben and his father did? I find that very, very important. Regardless, I want whatever Richard is taking!
Vocabulary and Research...
* Hilo - Twist, double helix, intertwine.
- A method of making a lei by twisting two strands together to form a "rope."
- Double helix- DNA
- Lei- A wreath made of flowers worn around the neck. Among the flowers used are the plumeria, lehua blossom or the orchid.
- Low-energy ion scattering spectroscopy (LEIS), sometimes referred to simply as ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS), is a surface-sensitive analytical technique used to characterize the chemical and structural makeup of materials.
* Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish. There are many recipes, most of which have in common the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Ancient Romans were the first people known to have made products of the haggis type.
* Klicks- A fictional race of aliens. Arachnid-like aliens.
-Drive campaign setting of the ARPG.
- Point and Click, a gesture made with a computer input device such as a mouse
- Klick, a type of visual computer programming.
- Clicking sounds, used for human echolocation by the blind.
* A mesa (Spanish and Portuguese for "table") is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. Mesas form in areas where horizontally layered rocks are uplifted by tectonic activity.
* Totem- is any supposed entity that watches over or assists a group of people, such as a family, clan, or tribe
* Timex had a slogan-
Indiglo is electroluminescent lamps, emitting light {glow}, so that time could be seen on the watch.
Go back a few blogs and refresh your memory on what I discovered for Hostile.
The Man Behind the Curtain is a very moving story about a young lonely hurt boy who grows up to be in charge of something very important. But we also learned that in the beginning he shares very similar issues with other residents of the "Island". Is he really of the "Island"? Or do we still need to ask where does Ben really come from?
We're still dealing with illusion, trickery and being fooled. But about what?
John accuses Ben of being the man behind the curtain, the Wizard of Oz. But I must ask...Did John see himself in the cabin and run out of there from shock or plain ol fear? Who really is the man behind the curtain? Where is the Man Behind the Curtain? Maybe he's been right in front of our eyes all along.
I really gotta get to making that TOM facial expression montage!
Love to all who are "LOST"™
Posted on MySpace February 29, 2008
Disclaimer: I never claim to know everything about the show and my thoughts by no means make me right! The things I share here are my views and/or opinions. I don't claim to catch every single detail either! You all know I hate spoilers! And I stand clear of reading certain sites as to not take me off my own course of research. The one thing I don't need to do here is rehash all of the obvious clues from an episode, we all know what they are. Understood? Good! Let the fun begin! I'll only note things that I know come up as clues later, but need to be noted when they first show up and things I find that will be of importance! It will get very exciting as we progress into the story.
