Search results
Jul 6, 2021 · There's a surprising theory about Ben, which changes everything about Lost ... and its sprawling, complicated storyline.
- The Untold Truth Of Ben Linus From Lost - Looper
Where would the Others be without the Island's resident...
- The Untold Truth Of Ben Linus From Lost - Looper
- His character
- He and Widmore are playing a game
- Charles Widmore is his constant
- He knew that Locke would succeed him
- Never supposed to be the leader of the Others
- His off-Island pursuits
- Ben and Annie, Alex and pregnancies
- Jacob did choose Ben
- Ben intended to be captured by Rousseau
He is good
•Everything Ben does is in the best interest of the Island and is to serve a greater good. While he has murdered people in cold blood, and is a pathological liar, it is all to protect the Island. Much like the wizard (the man behind the curtain) in "The Wizard of Oz," Ben is a liar but has good intentions for doing so. Any of his wrong deeds can be blamed on either the Island's will, or the greater good. •Although ordered to kill Danielle Rousseau by Charles Widmore, he spares her life because she was "no threat." He also takes her baby, Alexandra and raises her as his own daughter. •Benjamin Linus, like the rest of the people brought to the Island, is not a good or bad person; there is good and bad in everybody and it is the choices one makes that determines what kind of person they are. •When we see Ben with the Others under the leadership of Charles Widmore, he chooses not to kill the Rousseau's baby; he is also responsible for the death of his daughter because of his actions. Ben has made both good and bad choices in his past and continues to. •Ben would be technically good as Jacob had locked everyone who came to the Island into a cycle of life and death, prompting a rotation of candidates until Jacob's successor would be found. Everything that Ben did therefore safeguarded his position from being wrested from him by the whims of a quasi-immortal "God-king" and his actions also were for the best interests of the Island and his people. •He is good because he doesn't do anything out of cold blood he does it to better the Island or to protect it in the flash sideways, he decides not to move on meaning he feels bad for what he has done.
He is bad
•Jacob and the Island gave Ben a tumor because he does things for his own personal gain and not the benefit of the Island. •Ben manipulates Sayid to kill people for his (Ben's) own gain. Everyone who Sayid killed could have prevented them from returning to the Island. •Ben manipulates everyone to benefit himself, not the Island. Ben was not supposed to return to the Island, but he tricked the O6 into returning, not for the gain of the Island, but because he knew they would be the only way he could selfishly get back. •Ben always has a ulterior motive for his actions, usually inconsistent with the lies he uses to justify his actions, meaning the use of the excuse that he is protecting the Island could be false to justify himself. •When Ben took Locke to see Jacob, he actually took him to the cabin where Nemesis lived. Ben has always followed Nemesis instead of Jacob. •This doesn't necessarily make Ben bad. It just means that he's a pawn like almost everyone else. He didn't knowingly follow the Nemesis. If he had, Fake Locke would've just been able to tell Ben exactly who he really was and what Ben had to do. •Ben kills Jacob in cold blood. •His killing of Jacob was pretty understandable, given that he felt Jacob was responsible for not preventing his daughter's death •After killing Jacob and learning all about Nemesis he still seeks to try turn the situation to his advantage. (Lying to Richard and the Others). •He has been bad, but since being manipulated by the Man in Black, Ben has realized the error of his ways and is seeking redemption (thus his comments about Locke and himself at Locke's grave). •Ben can summon the monster. He should go before Jacob to be judged, not the MIB.
Neither
•Lost is never black and white. Neither Ben nor Widmore is purely bad or purely good. •What is good, what is bad? The question is somewhat irrelevant given that every main character seems to have some massive flaw. If it really mattered, then why are Kate and Sawyer, two murderers, considered important "good" guy characters in the show? "Good" and "Bad" never truly exists, only a grey scale in between. Ben is doing what he is meant to do, if he cannot change that, which we have been repeatedly told, then how can he be held accountable as bad or good. It is his fate, his destiny. •What about Jacob and Esau/MIB/Loops? Granted, ALMOST NOTHING is known about them, but they seem to be reasonably black and white. •Perhaps those two are just on a different level than "regular" people like Locke, Ben, Jack, etc... •The black/white theme throughout Lost pertains to everybody, including Ben; everyone has a 'scale' within themselves with both good and bad, it is the choices they make that determines what kind of individual they are. •Though Ben is a chronic liar, and it's never possible to be 100% sure about Ben, after the conclusion of season five it seems apparent that Ben is just as much out of the loop as many of the other characters. In all likelihood, he thinks what he's always done is what Jacob has asked, even if that wasn't actually the case.
•Ben and Widmore, are both playing a game for control of the Island. This is supported by the fact that in "The Shape of Things to Come", Ben says that Widmore changed the rules. The "rules" are something that Ben and Widmore have agreed upon previously. This games resembles a chess game, in which the winner comes away with control of the Island. S...
•In case they are ever consciously (not physically) time traveling, Widmore is Ben's constant. While they obviously don't get along, they know enough about the island to know that they need a "constant," so they choose each other. They are both aware of each other during the DHARMA Initiative period on the Island as well as within their off-Island lives as evidenced in ("The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"). They are aware of the time-travel features of the island ("The Shape of Things to Come") ("The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham").
•Unlikely Charles and Ben were ever constants. Though never confirmed, it's far more likely that Ben's constant was his daughter, Alex.
•Locke was always meant to go to the Island. When Locke didn't join the Mittelos group and go to the Island when he was 16, the Island was forced to find a substitute. Locke would have been 16 years old, from May 30, 1972 - May 29, 1973. Ben came to the Island sometime in 1973. The Island settled for Ben when it couldn't have Locke... and Ben knows it.
•Ben is upset and shoots Locke when Locke hears Jacob in Jacob's cabin, because Ben had convinced himself that Locke could not be his successor.
•Ben shoots Locke to test this. If he is the John Locke who traveled through time and spoke to Ethan and Richard, he can't die because he hasn't traveled through time yet.
•Alternatively, Ben doesn't know that that it's impossible to change something that has already happened, and hopes to kill Locke to prevent him from becoming the new leader of the Others.
•Presumably, Ethan would have told Ben about his encounter with Locke near the beachcraft. At the time, Locke told Ethan that Ben had appointed him as the new leader. Ben was probably quite curious to see who this person was when he arrived.
•But the conversation we see between Daniel and Desmond outside the Swan, and Desmond's sudden memory of it three years later, would suggest that Ethan wouldn't have known he spoke to Locke until after the events of 'Because You Left', at which point he was already dead anyway. These things don't seem to be remembered retroactively, otherwise Desmond would have remembered who Daniel was as soon as he first met him.
•Ben was never supposed to be the leader of the Others. Jacob and the Island are able to cure cancer and heal many medical problems. However Ben was allowed to develop a tumor that would have killed him if Jack would not have arrived on the island and saved his life. He developed the tumor because he was being punished for taking a position without it being ordained for him.
•Christian, who said he was speaking on Jacob's behalf, told Locke (in the FDW) that listening to Ben never got him anywhere. If Ben was truly the leader, then his requests would be considered trustworthy and the right decision.
•Widmore was supposed to be the leader at the time of Ben's reign. Widmore claims that Ben 'stole' the Island from him and 'tricked' him into leaving.
•In the time of the DHARMA Initiative, women did not have a problem giving birth on the Island. This problem arose after Ben took over leadership of the Others. The fertility problems are a side effect of his not being the true leader.
•Ben appears to be able to control the smoke monster; however, when Locke asked Ben what the monster was, he told him he didn't know. Ben 'awoke' the monster but he only appeared to control. He actually told it to do what it would have done anyway.
•Ben was able to gain the loyalty of Bonnie and Greta in the Looking Glass station to lie to the others about the station being flooded. He also gained the loyalty of Mikhail, who killed Bonnie and Greta at his orders. Before Bonnie died she told Charlie how to turn off the jamming devices. She defied Ben only after she realized he had betrayed her. When Ben asked Richard and the Others to stand up against Locke when he was beating Mikhail so that they could visit Jacob, nobody obeyed him. Similar to a king whose subjects only obey when they feel the demand is reasonable.
•Ben has been preparing for a life off the Island. That is the reason for multiple passports and currencies hidden in his house. Ben always has a plan and would plan for living a life off the Island should that day come.
•Ben was able to retrieve countless amounts of information on anyone he chose while living on the Island. After he moves the Island he is still able to find out a lot of information very quickly about Sayid, Nadia and Nadia's murderer.
•You are trusting Ben too much. Perhaps like he was manipulating Kate with blood tests, he was also manipulating Sayid giving fake evidence. Ben has just as big of a motive as Widmore to make sure no one looks for the Island.
•Jacob only wanted Locke to turn the FDW. Ben manipulated Locke because he wanted off the Island in order to find Widmore; and Penny, to avenge his daughter Alex's death. Ben knew that it was supposed to be Locke who turned the FDW but told Locke that he alone was the one capable of moving the Island.
•Ben falls in love with Annie and they try to have a child. Annie is one of the first, if not the first woman to die on the Island because of the pregnancy problems. Her death leaves a deep impact on Ben.
"Evidence": In "The Man Behind the Curtain" Ben is seen holding the doll Annie gave him on his birthday many years ago. The writers also have stated that Annie will be very important in later storylines about Ben, even more important than the Island's volcano.
•Ben's mother died when he was born and he had to pay for it his whole life through his father's treatment of him, which is why Annie's death during pregnancy has such an impact.
•Annie's death is the final straw that causes Ben to really join the Hostiles/Others, and start the Purge.
•Ben kidnaps the infant Alex, both amazed that a woman (Rousseau) has given birth on the Island without dying and glad that he finally has a child of his own.
•Investigating the pregnancy issues is one of the major goals of the Others when Ben is their leader. That is why Juliet is brought there and she kept from going home until the mystery of the pregnancy issues is resolved, because Ben is determined to find out what is causing them.
•Richard was telling the truth in "Dead Is Dead." Jacob wanted Ben healed and he wanted him to lead the Others. Ben never lost favor with Jacob. It was MIB that gave him the tumor, in order to manipulate him against Jacob. Re-watch Ben's exchange with Jack in "The Cost Of Living." Ben: "Two Days I after I found out I had a tumor on my spine, a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky. If that's not proof of God, I don't know what is." Jacob brought Jack to the Island, so it's clear to me that Jacob wanted him to save Ben.
•Jacob treats Ben respectfully during almost the entire scene in the statue. He patiently listens to Ben's monologue and he seems to have tears in his eyes. He knows that he caused Ben a lot of pain when he refused to meet with him, just like he knows his words will hurt Ben, but he knows it has to be done. Jacob wanted Ben to kill him, and he touches him when he dies.
•I agree. Ben was chosen to kill Jacob by Jacob. Jacob is not trying to convince Ben to spare him but to kill him. When Jacob says "what about you?" It is almost as if he is answering the question "someone needs to kill Jacob, who is it going to be?" Jacob answers it "what about you?"... and Ben complies. It is also important that Ben has never had direct contact with Jacob so as not to arouse suspicions from MIB. It is also equalyy important that Ben has gone through hardships and tests of faith so as to provide a resonable background of resentment for Jacob. I have no idea what Jacob's ultimate purpose is, but I am pretty sure Jacob has somehow gotten around MIB's plan.
•I believe that Jacob knew that only someone in his position (the protector) could kill MIB, but because of the rule Mother made, Jacob was not allowed to. MIB did not need to be killed until he found the loop hole that allowed him to embody Locke and there for in that moment in the Temple, knew that he needed to sacrifice himself to save the Island/possibly the world, and he needed someone to do it. He knew that Ben was the only one who had enough anger and resentment to go through with it and you can clearly see remorse on Jacob's face while Ben is asking him about why he had ignored Ben all those years, as well as for the nonchalant, knife-in-the-back comment "What ABOUT you?" that he knew would hurt Ben so much that it would drive him over the edge and kill Jacob. I also believe that Jacob possibly knew that Ben murdering him would bring about a change of heart in Ben - one that would ultimately lead to him becoming somewhat of a hero at the end of the show and prepare him for becoming the man he needed to be to become Hugo's "number 2".
•Ben was lying when he told Locke he was on his way to kidnap him and accidentally stumbled into Rousseau's trap. He meant for it to happen all along - he had someone speak to Michael through the Swan's computer and pretend to be Walt, knowing that Michael would go in search of his son and find the decoy village; and before Ben left, he instructed his people to use Michael to lure Sawyer, Jack, Kate, and Hurley to them, and free Ben from the hatch in the process. Perhaps he planned to kill someone close to one of the aforementioned survivors himself when he escaped, so they would have a motivation to track him down, and he was pleasantly surprised when Michael took the task out of his hands and did it himself.
•He also made the conscious decision to be shot with the arrow - he knew Rousseau was holding it, and that she would fire if he made an attempt to escape; and still he tried to run, knowing full well that if he were gravely wounded, Jack, as a devoted healer, would be far more willing to let his guard down, and that it would make his own identity - a hapless, confused victim - seem far more plausible.
•Ben studied Henry Gale's background and knew intimate knowledge of him - too intimate just to have been gleaned in passing; he studied and rehearsed his character, because he knew he was going to play him. He intended to be captured as part of a reconnaissance and infiltration mission, knowing, as a result of Ethan's reports, that Rousseau would most likely tell Sayid of the Other she had trapped; and, once inside, he used his position to fill in the missing gaps that had emerged after the deaths of Ethan and Goodwin, and begin to manipulate the survivors, particularly Jack and Locke.
•He believed that the two men he had previously sent to infiltrate them had failed, and so it was his responsibility, as leader, to do the job himself. He purposefully let the timer run down to zero during the lock-down, so that Locke would see the map on the blast door and save Ben the trouble of having to forcibly take him to the Barracks - Locke saw an unsolved mystery for himself, and Ben let him think it was his idea to try and solve it.
•It's extremely unlikely that Ben, who knew the Island and its jungles better than anyone, and had personal experience with Rousseau, would be naive enough to fall over a trip wire and land himself in a net; and it's equally unlikely that he, himself, would make the journey to the hatch to try and kidnap Locke - it was the dirty work of a grunt, first of all, and even he wouldn't be so foolhardy as to think he could both take Locke down and carry him all the way back to the Barracks by himself. What other reason would he have for being alone in the middle of the jungle, so close to the Swan? He also wore a costume, indicating he was already planning to adopt a different persona from the moment he left the Barracks - if he were truly on his way to bring Locke back to the Barracks, Ben would have known he would have been far more likely to oblige if Ben had gone as himself, the leader of the Others paying a personal visit to the chosen one. The costume is also not his ragged Other clothes, which we see him wearing at the dock, and at the Pearl with Juliet - it's different, and it's specifically designed to look like something a man in a hot air balloon might have worn.
•Furthermore, when Locke raised this same question to Ben - "did you get caught on purpose? You and your people have been here for God knows how long, and you got caught in a net..." - Ben skirted around the question and changed the subject; and when Colleen reported that Sayid had found the decoy village, Ben replied "good, it's what we wanted" - indicating that, in addition to him foreseeing everything else, he either also understood Sayid well enough to know he would not take well to being told he couldn't accompany the group, and would follow them anyway, or that he knew someone would soon stumble across it.
Jul 1, 2024 · Who was Jacob? Were they really dead the whole time? Find all of your Lost ending answers here. By Alec Bojalad | July 1, 2024 | | 0. Photo: Mario Perez | Disney General Entertainment | Getty...
Feb 17, 2023 · The Lost series finale was filled with mysteries that weren't fully explained, including the reason why Ben Linus didn't enter the church. Introduced in Lost season 2, episode 14, "One Of Them," Ben Linus was one of the series' most dynamic characters, for better or worse.
- Dalton Norman
- Senior Staff Writer
May 6, 2022 · Where would the Others be without the Island's resident homicidal maniac to lead them? Let's bust open the hatch of the untold truth of Ben Linus from Lost.
Benjamin "Ben" Linus is a long-time resident of the Island and the former leader of the Others. Though often a calm, eloquent antagonist, Ben's insecurity and jealousies sometimes brought out a petulant, reckless side. He remained, however, an expert manipulator, a liar and a murderer, and he...
People also ask
What happened to Ben in the economist?
How did Ben die?
What happened to Ben in 'the shape of things to come'?
How did Ben's relationship with Alex change in Lost Season 6?
Jun 30, 2024 · Lost ending explained: No, they weren't all dead from the beginning. If you think the Lost ending meant that everyone had died when the plane originally crashed, that is not the case. The...
