I’d like to start tonight’s blog by channeling my inner Nikki Finke with a big ‘ol “Toldja!” While many believed that Jacob lied to Jack a few weeks back about the incoming visitor as a way to get him to the lighthouse, I suggested that there really was someone coming, and it would most likely be Desmond or Charles Widmore. As we now know, it’s the latter, who has traveled to the island by way of submarine. (You have to give it to him – the dude rolls in style.) I’m not really sure why he’s finally decided to come himself, but with all the candidates dropping like flies, someone is going to need to stick around and protect the island, and it might as well be him.
Obviously, Ben would have been the preferred choice, but it looks like even he doesn’t want anything to do with the island anymore. In fact, while this week’s episode had some good moments between Jack and Richard (more on that later), for the first time this season, the flash-sideways portion was much more enjoyable. Ben’s Earth-1 story just felt a little flat to me, but then again, his character hasn’t been quite the same ever since he killed Jacob. Ilana didn’t take the news too well, either, claiming that Jacob was like a father to her. We still don’t know much about Ilana other than that she’s one of Jacob’s bodyguards, so I’m really hoping we get a little back story in the coming weeks. After all, while her decision to kill Ben (and make him dig his grave first) certainly made sense in light of her comment about Jacob, it doesn’t carry the same emotional weight when we don’t know why she views him in that way. Nevertheless, even when Ben was freed by Smokey and given the chance to reclaim his spot at the top of the island food chain, he turned him down, instead choosing to stick with Ilana, whose compassion he earned after explaining his reasons for killing Jacob.
You see, Ben really isn’t that bad after all. And to prove it, his Earth-2 storyline focused on a man who not only cared so much about the students at his school that he was willing to blackmail the principal and take over, but actually forfeited that power when given the opportunity to prove it. The fact that the student in question turned out to be Alex Rousseau was a nice little nod to their father-daughter relationship on Earth-1, and I really loved the way that Ben was ultimately able to make up for his sacrifice of Alex’s life in that reality by unselfishly helping her in another. But what I found particularly interesting in the story was the reveal that Ben’s father still went to the island to work for Dharma. What made them come back? And did it have anything to do with the island sinking?
As for Jack and Hurley’s run-in with Richard Alpert, well, that was more of a tease of the upcoming Richard-centric episode than anything else, but we did learn a few important things that are going to play a big part in the rest of the season. For starters, Richard’s ability to stay forever young is a product of having been touched by Jacob. We know a few other people that have been touched by Jacob as well, but they’ve clearly aged over the years, so it’s a gift that must only work when you’re on the island. It also appears that anyone who’s been given that magic touch can’t kill themselves or be killed by Smokey (as he was reminded of in the season premiere), but they’re not exactly invincible either. So what does that make them? Who the hell knows, but feel free to take your guess below, and if you’re right, you can have your very own “Toldja” moment as well.
