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'Lost' & Found: Ben Linus, The Great & Powerful?
by Keith Freshwater, Access production assistant
Three. Episodes. Left.
Everything I've been reading about the coming episodes indicates that the current momentum ain't stopping anytime soon.
Before looking forward at tonight's episode, I want to take a moment to thank ABC for making, as far as I can tell, an unprecedented decision this week: Giving "Lost" an end date.
This is a huge relief for those of us (myself included) who began to doubt we would ever get answers. ABC announced that "Lost" be wrapped up in 48 episodes over the next three seasons, ending in 2010. Outside of the mini-series concept, I can't think of an American TV show that has been given a limited run. The simplified rise and fall of a show goes like this: A new show, for whatever reason, is a hit, making record ratings, thereby driving up ad sales; networks continue to order a series as long as people continue to tune in; the show is milked dry of everything that make it interesting & enjoyable; fans tune out; ad revenues drop & THEN the shows are axed.
"Lost" isn't built like your typical serialized drama, like "Grey's Anatomy," where as long as the viewer numbers are high, new doctors, patients, problems can be brought in and the show can continue indefinitely. "Lost" needs a finite end, real answers to the questions that have been raised since Episode One. Otherwise, it would be doomed to a demise along the lines of "The X-Files," which in my opinion, went out w/ a whimper.
So thank you, ABC, for taking a chance with this show. Now don't welch on the promise.
My vote for the Best Moment in last week's "The Brig" comes not from any revelation, no, but rather a seemingly throwaway moment on The Black Rock. As Sawyer is locked in the brig, banging on the door & screaming to be released, Locke & Rousseau, the Island's resident crazies, find time for this business-as-usual repartee:
Locke: Rousseau.
Rousseau: Locke.
Locke: What are you doing here?
Rousseau: Came for some dynamite. You?
Locke: ... (Sawyer's yelling) Crates are there. Have fun.
I'm paraphrasing, of course. How much you wanna bet that dynamite's going to reappear in the next three episodes?
FLASHES FROM THE FUTURE:
The spoilers have been sparse. I keep reading about an upcoming "game-changer" that's supposed to blow our minds. Many are theorizing the death of someone completely unexpected.
Tonight's episode, "The Man Behind the Curtain," is Ben-centric, so hopefully we'll get lots of insight into this manipulator's past (Personally, I'd like to know when he lost the ability to blink). Along with Ben's origins, we're supposed to get Dharma origins. Again, in an effort to avoid spoiling the episode, I'll post what questions I believe will be addressed:
Did Ben, like the remaining inhabitants, have some daddy issues? Jon Gries is in the cast list as "Roger Linus,” and if memory serves, we've already met a "Roger" on the Island, or what's left of him anyway.
Was Ben actually born on the Island, as he claims? Given the successful birth rate on the island & Ben's record for honesty, I imagine this is untrue.
What happened to the Dharma Initiative? I expect we'll see familiar faces from the past like the DeGroots, or Marvin Candle, star of Dharma orientation films.
In the beach camp, what happens when Juliet's tape is played back? And don't expect Jack to spill whatever secret he's holding on to, at least, not until his flashback episode, the finale.
THE BIG ONE: Who is Jacob? Not even my inside source would spoil this info. I'm guessing that the title of this episode, an obvious Wizard of Oz reference, is key to answering this question. Is Ben the Wizard & Jacob is pulling the strings? Or the reverse, Ben is the small, ineffectual man behind Jacob? Is Jacob even real, for that matter? Could Ben's tall tales of Jacob just be another ruse, meant to control "the hostiles"?
We've got a mere three episodes left and the body count we've been promised still hasn't happened. Charlie, the clock's still ticking.
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