sigokat Wrote:I don't remember anymore Ben FB/FF being listed as centric to the rest of the season, but I could be wrong. I only saw the list once so I don't remember for sure.
I've never seen or heard of a list of upcoming flash backs or flash forwards. I'm simply going on my own intuition and observation of the series.
Quote:I think Alex's death was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back that caused Ben to seek out Widmore and destroy him.
Ben has been attempting to destroy anyone who gets between him and the Island (for reasons we can guess at but don't yet know for certain), as Widmore is. Remember the Dharma "purge?" Ben coldbloodedly wiped out lots of innocents in that, including the couple who helped his parents when Ben was born.
Quote: Perhaps the two did have some sort of history (likely due to the "changed the rules" comment) but I can't imagine how anyone could think Ben is worse then Widmore.
We don't know what history Ben and Widmore have. In fact, no history had even been hinted at until this last episode. They both know of each other and have loads of information about each other, but it seemed they knew of each other in relationship to the Island, not necessarily on a personal level.
Is Ben worse than Widmore? I don't know; I don't have enough information on Widmore to say. I know I like Ben more than Widmore because I've seen more of him and, well, evil little bastard or no evil little bastard, there is just something horrifyingly endearing about Ben.
Quote:Mommy-issues? I'm not sure about this one. He killed his father because his father was verballing abusing him for his entire life. I don't think Ben honestly believes he killed his own mother.
Doesn't matter whether he consciously believes he killed his mother or not, Ben knows that his birth lead to his mother's death. That alone will cause lots of mother-hence-relationship-issues. Take a look at how Ben treats the women in his life. Did you forget his outburst at Juliet? Ben thinks he owns her, simply because he thinks he loves her.
I've always had the theory, just my own thoughts based on observations of how Ben works and how the Island may work, that the reason women on the Island cannot carry a child beyond 7 months is because Ben's mother could not carry him beyond 7 months, and was killed in the process of his birth. In some mysterious fashion, the Island can tap into the unconscious and take what someone fears/believes/holds dear and work on bringing that into reality. From the get go I saw the link of killer pregnancy on the Island to Ben's own gestation which was deadly for his mother. Kill Ben and I bet women will be able to have babies on the Island. Just my theory...
Quote: Ben's not some creepy little pedophile with "mommy-issues". He's a cunning, sly, and intelligent man that does what he has to do in order to survive.
Dear god, who said anything about pedophilia?
Ben has issues with women, which in 99.9% of cases can be traced back to mom. Again, think of his relationship with Juliet.
We still don't know what happened to his childhood friend, Annie, who made the wooden dolls for his birthday and whose portrait is probably the one hanging in Ben's living room. I suspect we shall see that in the not too distant future. It's been widely hinted that Ben had an adult relationship with Annie, and god only knows how that ended. Remember Goodwin's wife, the therapist, telling Juliet that it's no wonder Ben likes her, after all Juliet "looks just like her," but we were not told who "her" was.
The fact that he is cunning and sly and will do whatever he has to do to survive, including offering up his daughter as pawn (and yes, we know he thought he could pull it off, but what loving father would even try that?) has never been questioned.
Quote:That could be, but what does that say about Sayid? So much for the strong man image he's been portrayed as for so long...
Being outwitted, manipulated, and out-played by Ben is no mark of lack of strength, especially if the person being manipulated is in the throes of grief. Many brilliant folks have been done in by Ben's masterful manipulations.
Quote:I know the smirk as Ben was walking away kind of confirmed what you are saying, but Sayid made ultimately made the decision on his own.
Yes that is a fact. Every decision a sentient being makes is done on his/her own. We are each masters of our fate. However, we arrive at those decisions based on our experiences, and Ben is a master at taking the experiences of people in his life and working them to his advantage, exactly what was done here.
Quote:And Widmore will lose...there is no stopping Benjamin Linus
Probably, but Widmore losing doesn't necessarily mean that Ben wins.
Quote:Des is weak, whereas Ben is now driven by revenge. I don't see a drunken Desmond getting the upperhand on Ben...but like you said this IS Lost...so we never know.
Yes, Desmond has been portrayed as you've stated. But I believe Desmond is key to this story, and I'm hoping he will rise to whatever occasion arises, that he'll be more formidable than we've seen thusfar.
Quote:I'm about to go get some dinner, come back and rewatch this episode again...its just too damn good.
Enjoy dinner and enjoy watching the show again. I've seen it 3 times already.
Goodness, I do go on, don't I? I apologize for the length of this thing.