From the Field

The Outsider’s Guide to Lost’s Last Season: Episode Six

March 14th, 2010

Episode six, people! Let’s do this thing! Lives hang in the balance, opposing armies grow in ranks, and ABC’s voiceover talent sets the stage for a dramatic comeuppance—Will Ben Linus, hapless murderer of the revered Jacob, finally get his? Spoiler: his life is spared, he returns to the fold, and the grave he spent half the episode digging for himself will go unfilled…for now.

The Witch Trial of Ben Linus

Ben’s troubles begin early in the episode when Jacob’s Girlfriend asks Miles to perform his talk-to-the-dead trick to find out exactly how Jacob—kind-eyed Zombie Jacob—was killed. Miles crouches, eyes closed, his hands placed on a scrap of Jacob’s clothing, and after a moment of pained flashback he reveals that Jacob was murdered by Ben, in the temple, with the knife (hat tip, Clue). This comes as no surprise to the viewing audience, but Jacob’s Girlfriend is filled with a rage for revenge, and in a moment of judgement reminiscent of the Salem witch trials, she grimly nods and silently condemns Ben to death.

She keeps Ben’s conviction under wraps until she marches him out to the burial ground on the beach, straps his ankle to a tree, and sticks a crude shovel in his hands. “Start digging,” she says. “We’ve got a grave to fill, a body to be buried, and yes, if you read between the lines, I’m saying that you are in the process of digging your own grave.” And so poor, contemptible Ben begins to dig. Everyone else from the group mills about on the beach, avoiding eye contact, looking for usable shelter or leftover food from a previous camp.

Elsewhere in the Jungle

Jack and Hugo traipse through the foliage on their way back to the temple. Hugo knows there is nothing there for them. He plays coy and attempts to lead Jack off in a different direction, but not before Richard emerges from the trees and takes them to…a pirate ship that sits in the middle of a clearing. It is covered in vine and filled with unstable explosives. Richard reveals his intent to employ Jack and Hugo as unwitting executors. He shares his pain of being promised a purpose, a reason to follow Jacob here to The Island, and now that Jacob is dead he is ready to die. It seems he can not kill himself, and so he asks that Jack do the honors. Jack calls his bluff, lights a stick of dynamite, and sits down at a barrel of gunpowder as the fuse slowly burns. Drama! Jack’s confidence pays off, and as he and Richard debate the purpose of their lives, the flame winks out on the fuse and there is a quiet moment of revelation: We have a purpose!

Return to the Fold

Cut back to Ben Linus, who continues to carve a body-shaped pit out of wet sand. Miles approaches and offers food without sympathy; he is a casual observer, like a seasoned buzzard circling the walking dead. Ben is desperate to escape and offers Miles millions if he’ll help him get out and off The Island. Miles scoffs and moves on. But then! Zombie John emerges from the dark recesses, Ben’s ankle strap is loosed with a wave of Zombie John’s hand, and Ben runs for a rifle that Zombie John has placed in a clearing not far from where he stands. Jacob’s Girlfriend gives chase! Ben gets the drop on her and swings the rifle around! No shots are fired. Instead, Ben shares his life story, whimpers about the sacrifices he’s made, his regrets, and exposes his vulnerabilities. “I killed Jacob because I needed to belong, and Zombie John is the only one that would have me.” Jacob’s Girlfriend, in an effort to diffuse Ben’s pathetic display, simply says, “I’ll have you,” and walks back toward the beach.

Ben returns to the beach and is unceremoniously reinstated as a member of Zombie Jacob’s army. Hugo, Jack, and Richard walk onto the beach and rejoin their friends in a slow-motion reunion of fellow castaways. Jin and Sawyer are still lost to the jungle, but it would seem that most of the main characters have settled into their camps—some backing Zombie Jacob, the others backing Zombie John. The stage is set! What sort of climactic face-off can we expect?

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