I find it interesting that they introduce RISK to the show this week. Up to now, with the exception of poker, all the iconic games in the show have been black and white oriented. Backgammon and chess have figured prominently and their obvious black and white symbolism has been a device that the writers have used to frame "us vs. them" conflicts. RISK is completely different. First, there are NO white pieces, although there are black. You cannot play RISK properly with less than three people, so it seems as though the writers are trying to tell us that there are no longer just white hats and black hats in play. Taken as a symbol in direct contrast to the other symbolic games we've seen, RISK seems to represent a "muddying of the waters" where many sides are after the same goal, and that the show is moving into a phase where the concepts of white and black (good and evil) are no longer simple and obvious. RISK is a game of strategy, luck and shifting alliances and more importantly, it can be a game whose outcome is settled by betrayal.
Out in the jungle, Alex is being led around by several men whose faces we don't see. They force her to her knees and make her enter the code to disarm the sonic fence. She tries to ask them not to hurt the baby that's with the group, but a pistol to the back of her head convinces her to enter the code as requested. One - Six - Two - Three. Yeah, we all saw that.
In Ben's house, a phone with no dialing mechanism starts to ring. When Locke picks it up, an automated voice tells him "Code Fourteen J." Hurley asks who's calling.
"I think it's for Ben."
In another house, Ben is playing piano when Locke and Sawyer rush in.
WAIT! I'm almost done with Endless Love.
"What's code fourteen J?"
After a beat, Ben recovers. "Where did you hear that?" When Locke tells him, Ben springs into action. He opens the piano bench, pulls out a concealed shotgun, cocks it and hands it to a stunned Sawyer. "We need to get to the other house. It's easier to fortify and we'll have better position on the tree lines."
"What are you talking about?"
"They're here."
When next we see Ben Linus, he's lying flat on his back in the middle of a desert. The helpful subtitle tells us it's the Sahara. Considering he's wearing a parka and a somewhat confused expression, I'd say it's a safe bet that like my luggage every time I fly, he's ended up somewhere other than the destination on his ticket.
(Halliwax sidenote: As you've probably already googled, "Halliwax" is the name that Marvin Candle uses in the infamous viral video with the duplicated rabbits. So, is this Ben 2.0 or was the duplicate rabbit just a fluke of quantum blah-blah-blah? I doubt we're going to find out any time soon and even when we do find out, I have a sneaking suspicion that the answer will barely rise to the level of pseudo-science. Still if the folks on the island have a matter transportation device, there could be some interesting and maybe pretty cool story telling to come out of it.)
After getting rid of the airline food, Ben sees two men on horseback ride up. He gives them his best "Hey, I'm just a stupid tourist" look when they point their weapons at him. One dismounts and gives him a rough frisking, coming across a metal object in Ben's pocket. My Arabic is rusty, but I'm pretty sure that he doesn't make the requisite "Or are you just happy to see me?" quip. As he moves around behind Ben, we learn something important about Mr. Linus.
He's a fucking ninja.
Seriously. Benny whips out his "Didn't I tell you? I'm a fucking ninja" baton, clocks Mr. Frisky, spins around behind him and while using him as a shield he forces him
to shoot Mr. I Don't Find You Attractive Enough To Frisk.
When Ben turns his "I can kill you in seven different ways right now" bug eyes back to Mr. Frisky, to avoid peeing his khaftan he yells "Surrender! Surrender!"
"Oh, so you do speak English." Good night Mr. Frisky.
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Comments (12)
I didn't understand why Ben & Locke were taking Hugo to Jacob's cabin when Ben clearly knows how to get there on his own. I don't get the logic there. Was Ben lying to Locke about why they needed Hugo?
1 of 12 | Posted by kellyt | Posted on April 30, 2008 7:27 AM
On a previous episode, Hurley pointed out that the cabin was "the other way", earning a big time stink eye from John. Perhaps Hurley has been granted the ability to "see" the cabin that neither John nor Ben currently have . . .
2 of 12 | Posted by SOCKMONKEY | Posted on April 30, 2008 8:47 AM
kellyt: Jacob's cabin has moved since the time we saw Locke and Ben visit. Hugo was the one to stumble across its new location. Apparently, Ben does not know where it is at the moment. Which is puzzling, if Jacob's cabin moves all the time, does Ben spend a lot of his time looking for it?
What a great episode! Lots of action, the return of the smoke monster, and a Ben centric!
Kinda bummed that Alex died, but holy cow, it's worth it for Ben's reaction. I saw someone say that they would only read the transcripts of episodes now because the show "had become a bloodbath". *sigh* Ya know, we're kinda running out of time for Libby and Daniel's backstories. I have trouble imagining how they are going to fit them in without it looking really shoehorned in.
The Ben/Widmore scene at the end was extremely intriguing.
The first scene of the flashforward - Oh ma gaw, how awesomely weird was that? My little theory is that there's some sort of teleporter in the Arctic. Just as a polar bear mysteriously appeared in Tunisia, I think Ben got that arm wound via an angry polar bear. And hey, according to Wikipedia, polar bears live in some parts of Siberia, which was also mentioned in this episode! Perhaps the symbol on Ben's coat is for a hatch in Siberia?
One question: Do you all think the "Freighter Four" are going to be regular characters, or just recurring roles? It seemed like we were going to see quite a lot of them at first, but they've had little to do the past few episodes. Miles and Faraday certainly seem to have more characterization ahead, but Charlotte and Frank?
3 of 12 | Posted by Merick | Posted on April 30, 2008 8:48 AM
I found this little tid bit on the net and thought it was pretty cool. Gotta love google earth
There is a time portal/wormhole that connects Tunisia to the Island. That's how Ben ends up seemingly fallen from the sky in the Tunisian desert. That's how a polar bear skull is excavated from the Tunisian sand. And that how a small prop plane can take off from Nigeria and end up on the island. The proof: according to Google Earth, the coordinates for 'Tunisia' are: 33 deg, 53 sec N and 9 deg, 31 sec E. The polar opposite of those coordinates is: 33 deg, 53 53 sec S and 170 deg 29 sec W. If you follow those coordinates, you end up....just NE of Sydney, Australia in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, enroute to LA, and not far from Fiji.
4 of 12 | Posted by pauliewalnutz | Posted on April 30, 2008 9:26 AM
I love Ben. I don't care if we were meant to think of him as a 'bad' guy from the beginning, I still loved him lol.
He deserves any and all awards this show gets from now on. No one can deliver a line quite like him =)
5 of 12 | Posted by pixi-stix | Posted on April 30, 2008 9:55 AM
Great recap Grey. Worth the wait!
Someone got new headshots LOL!
I suppose it's not surprising that she'd see a munchkin...er, hobbit after having a house dropped on her. OMG LOL!!!!
I never thought of Ben as the hero. He always seemed so evil to me. But I look forward to more of your hero hypothesis.
6 of 12 | Posted by akgirl7 | Posted on April 30, 2008 10:30 AM
Interesting theory pauliewalnutz. I understand Ben in the desert and the prop plane, but don't see how this theory explains the polar bear excavation. Polar bears wouldn't typically be found on an island in the south pacific or in the desert in Tunisia. Am I missing something?
7 of 12 | Posted by Bryant92 | Posted on April 30, 2008 11:26 AM
so many gigglez taday:)
coconut radio jokes, fuk'n ninja jokes...
shaken not stirred...
sigh :)
aha! nobody else has mentioned.. i know iknow it's really nothing.. but noone noticed the painting, back wall bedroom (of the 'black rock' that widmore won at the auction, when confronted by dez during an episodic timetrip.....
yah.. and whaz up w/the 'we need hurley to find jacob's shack?
sounds like pfffft ta me....
great review.. i have sorely missed these..
how many more shows do we have left in the season....anybody?
8 of 12 | Posted by kikz | Posted on April 30, 2008 12:21 PM
I've been looking forward to this recap all week and you did not disappoint me!!! It was great once again and the comments from everyone were quite insightful. Thanks you guys. I've always loved Ben and those horrible eyes.... Ben deserves the Emmy!
9 of 12 | Posted by chooch850 | Posted on April 30, 2008 12:47 PM
I've been looking forward to this recap all week and you did not disappoint me!!! It was great once again and the comments from everyone were quite insightful. Thanks you guys. I've always loved Ben and those horrible eyes.... Ben deserves the Emmy!
10 of 12 | Posted by chooch850 | Posted on April 30, 2008 12:50 PM
Bryant92:
I'm pretty sure they kept polar bears in the Dharma Zoo, where Kate and Sawyer were kept. They weren't native to the island, but they were there.
11 of 12 | Posted by puregold | Posted on May 9, 2008 3:26 PM
Bryant92, I'm pretty sure they kept polar bears in that Dharma Zoo where Kate & Sawyer were held. They aren't native to the island, but they were there!
12 of 12 | Posted by puregold | Posted on May 9, 2008 3:27 PM