"I've found sometimes that friends can be significantly more dangerous than enemies, John."

Wise words from Ben, whose episode this week made me rather sad, to be honest. It's nice to have some blanks from the past filled in — though the fillings always come with more holes being drilled, more questions to mull over. I do like that this episode of Lost also gives us a closer look at some of the mythological aspects of the island. What do you make of it all? Happy to see Smokey again? To discuss "Dead Is Dead," read more.

  • Oooh, young Charles Widmore is pretty handsome (not unlike Russell Crowe, in my opinion). He comes galloping in on horseback and is not happy about Richard bringing Ben to their temple. Richard claims Jacob wanted it this way and "the island chooses who the island chooses, you know that."
  • Widmore assures Ben, "You're among friends, we'll take care of you." Aaaaaand see above quote from Ben re: friends being more dangerous than enemies.
  • In present-day island time, Ben has come back to be judged by Smokey ("We don't even have a word for it, but I believe you call it 'the Monster'").
  • Sidenote: It's funny to go from watching Lost to seeing Michael's (Harold Perrineau) face in the Unusuals promos.
  • What is in that crate that Ilana and her buddies are messing with?
  • In a flashback, Ben goes to kill Rousseau, but instead spares her and takes baby Alex, warning Rousseau, "If you want your child to live, every time you hear whispers you run the other way." Charles wants the baby dead, but Ben says that if killing her is what Jacob wants, "then here she is. You do it." Obviously, nobody kills the baby Alex and she grows up with Ben as her "dad."
  • Ben explains to Locke that he killed Locke "because it was in the best interests of the island." Locke says he just wanted an apology, but anyway, he decides to help Ben "be judged." So they set off for the main island, and when Cesar tries to stop them, Ben takes out Cesar's gun and shoots him! Best line of the night: "Consider that my apology."

  • They go to Ben's old house so he can summon the monster, and there they encounter Sun and Lapidus. Sun presents the old Dharma photo with Jin, Kate, Hurley, etc. all lined up. Ben claims to not know that these Losties were in the Dharma Initiative but Ben's . . . kind of a liar.
  • Aww, Lapidus is so protective of Sun. "For God's sake, watch your back." Later, though, it's Lapidus who needs saving as Ilana hits him and demands to know "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" She orders someone to tie up Lapidus — he's going with them.
  • Ben summons the monster by . . . draining some mucky water? Huh.
  • In a flashback we see Widmore being banished from the island and saying ominous, foreshadowy things about Ben being banished from the island someday, and that if the island wants Alex dead, she'll be dead, and Ben will realize that he "cannot fight the inevitable." Ben points out that Widmore broke the rules — he had a daughter "with an outsider." But who??
  • Sun suspects that Ben knew the island would bring Locke back to life but Ben solemnly denies this. "Dead is dead. You don't get to come back from that, not even here. So the fact that John Locke is walking around this island? Scares the living hell out of me."
  • In the docks flashback, we see what many folks predicted several episodes ago: Ben tried to kill Penny. As tense as this scene is, I laughed out loud when Ben says to Widmore over the phone, "I'm looking at Our Mutual Friend right now. . . . It's the name of the boat Penny's on." Ben points the gun at Penny, but little Charlie comes out and then — yay, Desmond to the rescue!
  • I love that now Ben is following Locke, unsure of the answers. Locke, triumphant and satisfied: "Well, now you know what it was like to be me." Locke says they're not going into the temple, they're going under it. When they get there, Ben tells Sun that if she ever gets off the island to tell Desmond he's sorry.
  • What do you think of this whole moment under the temple? Ben falls into a lower chamber with walls covered in hieroglyphs. Smoke(y) starts to seep from a grate and envelopes Ben and he sees images of Alex from when he saved her as an infant to when he denies Alex means anything to him and she's shot. Gently, the smoke retreats and Alex appears to tell Ben to listen to everything Locke says and to follow him. Ben promises and Alex disappears. I'm not sure I liked this seeing-images-in-Smokey part of the episode.
  • Ben looks up at Locke, stricken. "It let me live."

Photos copyright 2009 ABC, Inc.

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