Dead or Alive?

Who thinks little Ben is really dead? And if he is really dead, what happens to old Ben? And if he's not really dead, does that explain why Ben is always so convinced that Sayid is a killer?

If Ben IS dead, I think it will not affect old Ben's past interactions with the islanders, but that he'll die or disappear or something. But I don't think he's really dead. He's too much of a villain to be off the show that easily.

What think ye?

sun's separation from everyone else

Wasn't this week's episode really great? There were so many questions that were answered. And e, you were TOTALLY right about Sun being separated from the rest of the group! You're amazing.

My biggest question is why Sun was separated from the rest of the Oceanic 6 members. I wonder if she got separated because she has motives that are contrary to the will of the island. Throughout the show, the island seems to determine what people are "good" enough to stay/survive. Perhaps Sun was separated from people because she is in cahoots with Whidmore? Or perhaps she was separated because all of the survivors were supposed to return to the island, and that didn't happen if Sun's baby and/or Aaron might be considered as part of the group.

I think Sun is an inherently good person, but maybe she is starting to turn "bad." What do people think?

frank lapidus

What kind of role do you think that the pilot, Frank Lapidus, is going to play this season? It seems a little too coincidental for Frank to be flying the aircraft back over the island. Part of me wonders if Ben arranged it so that Lapidus would be flying Flight 316. Another part of me thinks that Whidmore may be involved, since Frank worked (or still works?) for Whidmore.

And who was the woman (Rousseau?) that ran off with Frank when they crashed on the island?

I like Frank. I think that he is a sincere guy who wants to help people out. I'm just trying to figure out how he is going to play into all of this.

Why I hate John Locke

Last night as Locke was going through his almost suicide and then murder, I was having a really hard time feeling bad for him. I'm sure I was supposed to. His situation was, after all, rather piteous; no friends, no family, no ability to complete his task, the only woman he loved was "dead." Basically, he had no reason to live. But something about Locke just drives me crazy. Maybe it's because he's a know-it-all, and those types of peeps drive me crazy. Or maybe it's because Locke just really isn't a very likable character. Even though I knew Locke would emerge from the plane in tact, I found myself quite disappointed to see him alive and kicking. Do you think we're supposed to dislike Locke? Am I in the minority here? If you do like him, why?

On another note: What's with Ceasar? Do you think he knows something about the island already, or is he just a naturally suspicious kind of person?

ben-the-murderer and helen

Mems how Ben killed Locke in last night's episode? WOW. That was totally unexpected. J and I are wondering if Ben believed that Locke would come back to life on the island. When he shut the door to John's hotel room, he said, "Goodbye, John. I'm going to miss you." Hmm.

I also don't think that Helen is dead. I think that Whidmore planted that tombstone so that Locke would believe that she died. That way, Whidmore could make sure that Locke was focusing on gathering the Oceanic 6 together. Plus, Whidmore is all about staging the deaths of individuals - remember when he did it with a whole airplane at the bottom of the ocean?

What do people think? Any other reactions from last night?

Kat pregnant?

I have decided that Kat is pregnant, the whore... I bet she slept with Jack the night before they got on the plane, "knowing" that it was a sacrifice that she needed to make. Weird... and what happened to Ben's face? And how come no one even bothered to say something about it?

Benjamin Linus

Ben is an enigma. He can trick all the other characters and the viewers into thinking he's helping someone out but in the end, it's all about self-interest. He will use people as long as they are useful and then kill them or whatever, without having any visible remorse. And maybe that's just what is so compelling about him: he is cold, emotionless, and quite machiavellian in his approach to just about everything and everyone.

However, on rare occasions it would seem a glimmer of humanity does indeed exist in those steely, dead eyes of his.

In previous seasons I have really disliked Ben but in this season I find him to be a little endearing, in an odd sort of way. The best moment of the last episode was the exchange between Ben and Jack on the plane:

Jack (exasperatingly): How can you read?!
Ben (calmly, in monotone): My mother taught me.

I still chuckle at it.