Lost 3.20: "The Man Behind the Curtain"

Written by Drew Goddard and Elizabeth Sarnoff
Directed by Bobby Roth

In which Locke forces Ben to take him to Jacob, which reveals a new aspect to the mystery of the island, while the situation at the beach gets more tense and complicated…

Status Report

If one looks at the entire series as one massive story arc (or set of arcs thereof), then the classic storytelling progression applies. The end of this season brings the series to about 60% completion. This puts this material firmly in the complication phase, when initial mysteries are resolved, unlocking deeper and more important mysteries in the process. This episode is a perfect example of this process.

A number of things are revealed in this episode, though much of the information comes through the filter of a devious and clever mind. It’s hard to know where the truth ends and the deception begins. And it’s not just a matter of deceiving others; Ben seems to be equally adept at deceiving himself. However, in this case, the new information fits with existing revelations, so some conclusions can be made.

If his memories are accurate, several matters are clarified. Ben was not born on the island, at least not in the literal sense. The circumstances of his birth explain his extreme interest in fertility issues. The resulting relationship with his father (Roger from “Tricia Tanaka is Dead”, which is a nice bit of continuity) left him searching for a purpose in the world. That desire came during his time with the Dharma Initiative, which is how he came to be on the island.

This is all straightforward, but considering that this is “Lost”, it’s just the beginning. Two things were already present on the island at the time of the Dharma Initiative: the Others, who are confirmed as the original inhabitants of the island, and whatever force manifests the hopes and fears of the inhabitants of the island (seemingly related to the “monster”).

The Others were then termed the “hostiles”, and their nature is still mysterious as ever. For one thing, they seem to have a rather diverse racial and ethnic profile for inhabitants of a South Pacific island, which supports the idea that the Others were drawn to the island and then absorbed over time into the existing population.

More importantly, the evidence seems to suggest that the Others have extended life spans. Richard looks the same now as he did decades earlier, and Ben notes that Richard may not even remember what it’s like to have a birthday. Keeping in mind the Life Extension experiments by the Hanso Foundation, and that aspect of the interest in the island makes sense. It also explains why Richard would consider fertility issues to be a “novelty”; functionally immortal people aren’t quite so concerned about adding to the population, especially when they can just bring new people to the island on their own terms.

This brings up an interesting question: if the Others are so attuned to the island that they are this long-lived, why would they allow Ben to serve as their leader? There must be something specific about Ben that led them to this decision, and looking back at the series to date, there are some interesting possibilities. Not only that, but Ben’s interest in Locke may be explained in the process.

Ben sees his mother on the island, despite the fact that he’s dead, and he hears the same kind of whispers and voices associated with the Others since the very beginning. Richard seems genuinely shocked that Ben saw his dead mother, and that implies that he was seen as special and valued. To become one of the Others, he waits for the right moment to affect the downfall and purge of the Dharma Initiative, complete with the murder of his own father.

This is an interesting parallel with Locke. Ben considered Locke’s relationship to the island to be special, and in order for Locke to be trusted, he needed to overcome his issues by killing his father. Ben is essentially asking for Locke to do as he once did, and perhaps Ben even sees Locke as someone following in his footsteps. Whether he sees that as a blessing or a threat is hard to determine.

Part of what makes Ben special is his ability to interact with Jacob. Jacob has been referenced as the true leader of the Others, the one pulling the strings, yet Ben is the only one who appears to take direction from him. This episode sheds some light on Jacob, and it is one of the most bizarre and intriguing twists in quite some time. For an extended period, it even seems as if Ben is psychotic.

The truth is far more complex, and may revive one of the more popular theories from the first season. That theory posed the possibility that the island is controlled, to some degree, by a non-corporeal intelligence, and that the Others’ desire for children is related in some way to this entity. The entity was often linked to the “monster”, especially in later episodes when survivors would see people who were dead or unable to be on the island in any logical manner.

Some of those who study parapsychology raise the possibility that ghosts are consciousnesses that are intact and operating on different frequency. Interaction with these entities is made possible in areas with unusual electromagnetic properties, according to the conjecture. If this is the case, wouldn’t the island be one of the most likely places for such interaction? It might also explain why technology is problematic when dealing with Jacob, and why his location is marked and specific.

The question of Jacob’s origin would still be on the table. Even if Jacob is some kind of non-corporeal intelligence existing out of phase with normal perception, how did he get that way? And how does that relate to the appearances of the dead on the island? If the Others do have extended lifetimes, as it seems they do, one possibility is that those living on the island eventually transition into this other form of existence.

If that’s the case, then one might wonder how many of the Others have transitioned. Could they be the source of the whispers in certain parts of the island? Unseen individuals who are still alive in some sense, but now longer operating on the same “plane”? Taken further, could the “monster” be an expression or extension of this phenomenon? After all, the philosophy of the Others (a harsh and lethal demand for personal growth and redemption) is strikingly similar to the apparent motivation of the “monster”.

Whatever the case, Ben seems genuinely threatened by Locke’s demand to see Jacob and his apparent communication with him. Add that to the clear challenge to Ben’s control over the Others, something Ben has always seen as tenuous, and Ben has every reason to shoot Locke. Of course, Ben conveniently shoots Locke in a non-lethal location. Locke could still die, of course, but there’s just as much reason to think that Locke will survive. He’d just be out of commission long enough for Ben to execute his plan against the JackLocke tribe.

Back on the beach, the anticipated showdown between Jack and Juliet and just about everyone else finally takes place, but it’s not much to speak of, since the Ben/Locke plot dominates. In short, it’s confirmed that Jack and Juliet are working together to stage a defense against the Others’ incursion, but they’ve been keeping those plans to themselves. The rest of the leadership (Sawyer, Sayid, and Desmond) is not pleased, especially since Jack seems to think his decision is the only one that matters. This is likely to erupt into a major conflict through the end of the season.

Final Analysis

Overall, this was a strong episode with a number of implications for the overall mythology and the rest of the third season. While not as revelatory as some fans might have hoped, this installment does answer some pressing questions, raising several others in the process. With a clear sense of how much time is still left for the answers to come, it’s easy to be patient and let the story evolve as it must.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

(Season Average: 7.6)