Lost Recap: ‘The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham’

By: Jordan Tunney

Fanboyz Grade: B

John Locke has been a polarizing character for many fans of Lost. To some, he is a smart and wise protector of the island. Others see him as a fragile, wannabe tough guy, with daddy issues. Last night’s episode showed us what Locke had been up to before his death; but unfortunately the show moved back to it’s, “answer a few questions but ask many more,” motif. One of the things that got me hooked on Lost was their incredible ability to use “carrots”. The viewer goes into each episode with more questions every week, but they answer enough to keep you from feeling overwhelmed with frustration. Some questions have been bigger than others, but to the shows credit, they really have a great narrative mystery that keeps the show interesting.

Although they have posed numerous questions in the past few episodes, last night they threw so many, that I felt a bit disappointed in the show. However, I do believe the show will no doubt blow me away in an upcoming episode.

Locke, we learn, has exited the island and is recovered by Charles Widmore. Whitmore tells him that he needs to get everyone back to the island and gives him the info to find each of them. After failing to convince anyone to go with him, he attempts suicide, but is stopped by Ben. After learning what Locke knows, Ben kills Locke and stages his death to appear as a suicide. That is the basic outline of the episode, but a few more things arose from last night.

We learn the plane crashed and survivors have made a camp near their plane. They say some people vanished when everything became bright. We know this happens when time travel occurs – and last week Jin was wearing a Dharma uniform and driving the van; so presumably Jack, Kate, Hurley, and possibly Sayid went back in time. We don’t see Sayid with the survivors or with Jack, so he could be anywhere.

Locke has come back to life on the island. He tells one of the survivors that he used to be on the island and left. Once Locke sees Ben laying in the room with the injured, we see he remembers that Ben killed him. The next few episodes will no doubt show us if Locke is the type to hold a grudge.

Lost fans will recognize the Hydra station is where Jack, Kate and Sawyer were taken in season 3, meaning the plane is crashed on the small island. Some of the survivors say the pilot and a woman took one of the rafts and left with the passenger manifest. This is something that will be explained in an upcoming episode.

What are your theories?