Ben's Purpose

[Whom]

I do not have a comprehensive "theory" yet, but a couple of things stand out to me after the end of "Jeremy Bentham" and I want to bring them up for discussion. They have to do with the theme of faith on the show and the Christian undertones.

So, right now the writers are making Ben out to be a comparably bad character, driven by his own secret agenda, etc. when contrasted with Widmore, who is now shown to be very hospitable toward Locke and his efforts to restore the Island and the audience empathizes with him more as a result.

In the end, I think Ben will emerge as being one of the good guys in a "twist" ending. Ben will be known as a character of "sacrifice" who will have gone to the greatest lengths to protect the island, all while damning himself in the process.

Ben knew that Locke had to die, so he killed him instead of Locke committing suicide, which is a sin -- the act would "stain" Locke otherwise. If that argument is too vague, I would venture to say that the Island only brings someone back to life if they died by certain means, suicide not included. Ben can still atone for all of his "sins" but Locke could not if he was somehow "prevented" from coming back to life on the Island.

[spartygirl]

I do not have a comprehensive "theory" yet, but a couple of things stand out to me after the end of "Jeremy Bentham" and I want to bring them up for discussion. They have to do with the theme of faith on the show and the Christian undertones.

So, right now the writers are making Ben out to be a comparably bad character, driven by his own secret agenda, etc. when contrasted with Widmore, who is now shown to be very hospitable toward Locke and his efforts to restore the Island and the audience empathizes with him more as a result.

In the end, I think Ben will emerge as being one of the good guys in a "twist" ending. Ben will be known as a character of "sacrifice" who will have gone to the greatest lengths to protect the island, all while damning himself in the process.

Ben knew that Locke had to die, so he killed him instead of Locke committing suicide, which is a sin -- the act would "stain" Locke otherwise. If that argument is too vague, I would venture to say that the Island only brings someone back to life if they died by certain means, suicide not included. Ben can still atone for all of his "sins" but Locke could not if he was somehow "prevented" from coming back to life on the Island.

I agree with most of this except Im not sure if Ben will emerge as the good guy or bad guy...verdict still out on that...I do however believe that because Ben did tell locke that he would have to die in order to save everyone left on the island and bring back the 06, that by Locke committing suicide would prevent that from happening due to the fact that he would have taken his own life which is a sin....so ben took it upon himself to follow thru with the plan that needed to take place so they could move forward.
Now killing someone in my mind makes you a bad guy but maybe like Michael, the island wont let him die and Ben know this so in the end wont really be the bad guy...heck I dont know...:p

[Pace Yourself Charlie]

I agree with most of this except Im not sure if Ben will emerge as the good guy or bad guy...verdict still out on that...I do however believe that because Ben did tell locke that he would have to die in order to save everyone left on the island and bring back the 06, that by Locke committing suicide would prevent that from happening due to the fact that he would have taken his own life which is a sin....so ben took it upon himself to follow thru with the plan that needed to take place so they could move forward.
Now killing someone in my mind makes you a bad guy but maybe like Michael, the island wont let him die and Ben know this so in the end wont really be the bad guy...heck I dont know...:p

I also agree with Whom in the first post..

But Sparty.. please make something clear for me..

I was under the impression that Ben had no idea that RICHARD ALPERT told John that he was going to die. At no time do I ever remember that Ben received that information.

I just think that he killed John cause he wanted him to resurrect on the island and could not do so if he died by means of suicide.

[smthng2dowthlost]

"I'm going to miss you john I really am" It sounded like he never expected to see him again

[MrEchoLives]

I agree with the statement made by Whom regarding the way that they are now portraying Widmore. Now he comes acroos as the "good guy". Not wanting locke to die, and helping out everyway he could. But remember what Hurley said when locke paid him a visit..."that guys with you? He is evil"(referring to Abadon). Hurley is a special character and if he says that, it is not to be taken lightly.It means something
With that being said, i dont think Ben can ever be the good guy. Not after all the death and destruction he has caused. He may do something in the end to redeem himself, but he can never be the hero or good guy. He's taken to many lives.

[Nip McSizzle]

My question is is would Ben have killed Locke had Locke not mentioned Hawkings name?

By Locke saying her name Ben seemed to "click" That's when Ben made his move.

Ben knows Locke needs to die. While Locke stood on the table Ben talked him out of it.

Seems they could take a different route.

After Hawkings name was mentioned Ben seemed to need to speed things up a bit. Then he killed him. Then Brought him to Hawkings.

[Black Rocker]

The real twist would be if Ben does turn out to be bad. Just jioking!! The writers would have a hard time explaining all the things Ben did outside of the Island's protection that were evil.

[4toed hostile]

ben killed jhon because he wanted to elimante compotition of leadership on the island but brought jhon back because he knew it would better his chances of getting back to the island he did not know he was going to be brought back to life but he will tell jhon he knew he was and jhon will belive him LIKE HE ALWAYS DOES someone should just go up to ben with a gun and say lets see if the island still wants you alive and point the gun at his head pull the trigger WARNING POSSIPLE SPOILER .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ..............................................
..........
.

...
.
.
.
.
.
....
.
.
.
.................................
....












......BANG GUESS NOT at least i hope:D

[Rusty]

Sorry, I just don't see Ben redeeming himself, sacrificing himself, or being the good guy in the end. All he does is lie and kill people. And then he lies some more, and kills more people. He's a very convincing liar, and an efficient murderer for a small guy. He doesn't just lie or kill for greater purposes, but often times for personal ones, like murdering his father and going after Penny. I think he'll just go right on lying and killing people all the way to the end.

[Pace Yourself Charlie]

I agree with the statement made by Whom regarding the way that they are now portraying Widmore. Now he comes acroos as the "good guy". Not wanting locke to die, and helping out everyway he could. But remember what Hurley said when locke paid him a visit..."that guys with you? He is evil"(referring to Abadon). Hurley is a special character and if he says that, it is not to be taken lightly.It means something
With that being said, i dont think Ben can ever be the good guy. Not after all the death and destruction he has caused. He may do something in the end to redeem himself, but he can never be the hero or good guy. He's taken to many lives.

That might explain why Abadon wanted to jump in the car and "hide" when Walt came up to speak with Locke.. Everyone knows that kid is special.. Maybe Abadon didnt want to be outted by Walt!

[Chronos]

"I'm going to miss you john I really am" It sounded like he never expected to see him again

I have a thought that Ben knew that John's death would not be permanent, as long as he got back to the island. What Ben may have meant with "I'm going to miss you John" was that Locke would undergo a transformation of some sort.

Consider how Locke's outlook and demeanor are so different, quite evident in this last episode (The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham). While he was chasing down the O6 he was unsure of himself, unconvincing and literally appeared lost (which I think has a lot to do with the name of this show). Yet, when he was back alive he had poise, strength and a quiet "I know what's going on" look on his face.

Ever notice that Christian behaves the same way? Locke has undergone the exact same process of death and is now behaving like Christian. I think Ben will no longer have any power over Lock, thus he will miss him.

[Sticks]

ben killed jhon because he wanted to elimante compotition of leadership on the island but brought jhon back because he knew it would better his chances of getting back to the island he did not know he was going to be brought back to life but he will tell jhon he knew he was and jhon will belive him LIKE HE ALWAYS DOES someone should just go up to ben with a gun and say lets see if the island still wants you alive and point the gun at his head pull the trigger WARNING POSSIPLE SPOILER .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ..............................................
..........
.

...
.
.
.
.
.
....
.
.
.
.................................
....












......BANG GUESS NOT at least i hope:D

HAHAHA! Exactly! Someone's just got to pull the trigger. i would! Ben is a shiesty little weasel, a shrew, and always will be. He will think of a way at all times to explain his way in or out of any perdicament. thats just who he is! c'mon people.... if ben were actually good in the end i would feel jipped out of a great villan, possibly the greatest villan of all. and i think that would be a bad decision on the part of TPTB.

[mnm4334]

How did Christian die? I always thought he killed himself, but do we know for sure.

Either way, I'm curious since lock and Ben are in not in 1977 with Sawyer's group, what will they be doing.

[Whom]

How did Christian die? I always thought he killed himself, but do we know for sure.

Either way, I'm curious since lock and Ben are in not in 1977 with Sawyer's group, what will they be doing.

I don't believe it's shown on-screen, but Christian allegedly died of a heart attack.