**POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD**
I love puzzles and "Lost," to me at least, is one giant puzzle that needs to be solved. I began watching "Lost" a little less than 3 months ago, and in those 90 days my girlfriend and I have managed to watch almost every episode the series has to offer (we're about half way through season 5), but at first I didn't pay attention to the "mysteries of the island." I loved the smoke monster and I loved the polar bears and I perked up when I learned that Locke was in a wheelchair, paralyzed before he crash landed on the island and was suddenly healed, but I shrugged it off as "just one of those things," and moved on. I instantly hated Jack, because I could never get past how self-centered all his actions seemed to be, but he is necessary, he is the doctor that will heal the world and make sure everyone knows how much it hurts him to heal the world and he will do so by having strange, intermittent breakdowns and becoming addicted to pills. I cried like a baby the first time I watched Sun and Jin's relationship unfold, because, come on, they are, like, the cutest couple ever, and Jin is pretty badass. But, it wasn't until a mysterious man named Henry Gale showed up out of nowhere (and was promptly tortured by Sayid) that I was hooked and hooked good.
Aww, look at how harmless he seems when he's been hogtied, tortured and forced to live in a closet.I couldn't wrap my head around this "Henry Gale," I didn't know if he was telling the truth or if I was succumbing to some sort of osmotic paranoia due to watching "Lost" on a loop for hours at a time, but I knew I liked him. Evil or not, Henry Gale spiced things up on "Lost" when the show was slowly but surely starting to become formulaic and (gasp) predictable. Oh, it was still intriguing and you still wanted to find out what the f_ck was going on with that f_cking island, but once they popped the hatch and Desmond McCrazypants showed up, I found my love for the show waning. Why I ever doubted J.J Abrams is beyond me, because just when I thought it was time to check out this "Mad Men" show people are so pleased with, Henry Gale showed up and another piece of the puzzle was thrown into the mix, except this piece didn't seem to fit anywhere and even though there was a big open space in the middle of the puzzle board no matter how many times you tried to force it in, it never fit, it just sat there, staring up at you with dead eyes waiting for you to figure out what to do with it.
Just when I was ready to believe that Henry Gale was who he said he was, "Lost" decided it wanted to make my head explode, and revealed that Henry isn't Henry at all, but rather a man named Benjamin Linus, the leader of The Others who had been kidnapping the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, and once again the hook was set and my poor, obsessive brain could not get over the most recent twist, but it accepted it and went right back to trying to figure things out, and it was during this process that I realized something I stupidly ignored from the get-go: Every single character on "Lost" is hugely, hugely flawed and there is no such thing as "good" or "bad," but rather a delicately balanced gray area wherein all the characters reside. Why else would 2 murderers (Kate, Sawyer) be considered part of the "good team?" On any other show in any other universe the bad guys would be so clearly defined as to make any sort of guess work pointless, but on "Lost" either you have done wrong, will do wrong or you have no idea what the difference is so you just do what you have to do. Ben is the last one. Benjamin Linus is the ultimate tight rope walker, because he toes the line of good and bad so frequently and so well that you never know what he's up to and since he "always has a plan," but never shares what that plan is exactly it makes him the most captivating character on TV since Tony Soprano.
"I'm sure whomever I'm shooting right now needs to die to save the island or to help me, help the others save the island or he or she needs to be killed or else I can't help the survivors get back, or I'm doing it to get back at Whidmore, or I... I don't know, whatever." BANG
Just when I was ready to believe that Henry Gale was who he said he was, "Lost" decided it wanted to make my head explode, and revealed that Henry isn't Henry at all, but rather a man named Benjamin Linus, the leader of The Others who had been kidnapping the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, and once again the hook was set and my poor, obsessive brain could not get over the most recent twist, but it accepted it and went right back to trying to figure things out, and it was during this process that I realized something I stupidly ignored from the get-go: Every single character on "Lost" is hugely, hugely flawed and there is no such thing as "good" or "bad," but rather a delicately balanced gray area wherein all the characters reside. Why else would 2 murderers (Kate, Sawyer) be considered part of the "good team?" On any other show in any other universe the bad guys would be so clearly defined as to make any sort of guess work pointless, but on "Lost" either you have done wrong, will do wrong or you have no idea what the difference is so you just do what you have to do. Ben is the last one. Benjamin Linus is the ultimate tight rope walker, because he toes the line of good and bad so frequently and so well that you never know what he's up to and since he "always has a plan," but never shares what that plan is exactly it makes him the most captivating character on TV since Tony Soprano.
"I'm sure whomever I'm shooting right now needs to die to save the island or to help me, help the others save the island or he or she needs to be killed or else I can't help the survivors get back, or I'm doing it to get back at Whidmore, or I... I don't know, whatever." BANGI've always found myself drawn to characters that have no moral compass. Maybe it's because I believe that morality and right and wrong are not static (f_ck you, Plato!) and I don't believe that, in a world that is, and always will be constantly evolving it's correct to say "this is this" and "that is that" and just trust that those assigned values will forever remain in place. Now, it should be noted that I am staunchly in favor of crossing at all cross walks even if there is no traffic, and I never drive more than 10 miles an hour over the speed limit, but if I absolutely had to I would as long as the situation demanded it. Benjamin Linus understands that every situation is unique and requires its own special reaction in order to render the outcome satisfactorily, and that includes murdering an island full of people or simply sacrificing himself to benefit the island and the people he loves so much. You have to admire a guy like that, or at least I do, because that's what I loved about characters like Tony Soprano; they will always act out of a belief that what they are doing is above the commonly understood notions of right and wrong, and I happen to agree with them, because when you are fighting for your life and the life of the ones you love, anything goes, and that is exactly what I think Ben is up to.
I'm not of the school that thinks Benjamin Linus is inherently bad, I think he is inherently good but at some point had that goodness shaken out of him. Maybe it was the constant berating from his father that he withstood for 28 years that made him a cold, callous man, but consequently the actions of Ben's father led him to The Others and made him who he is today, and I've got to believe that a man as smart as Ben understands that (and it probably pisses him off). Then of course there is the island factor. When you've spent your entire life living on an island that is, for lack of a better word, magical and there is a group of people devoted to protecting the island, and all of its mysteries, that have embraced you and made you their leader, after a lifetime of being told you killed your mother and were worthless, yeah, you're going to want to fight for the other team and more than likely you'll be a lot less apt to care whether or not something like murder is morally reprehensible or not, because if the situation calls for murder, he's going to shoot someone. That's just how Ben is. Take him or leave him. He's an awesome guy.
He's also a sociopath, but that's fine, all the best characters in novels, movies, television and stage plays have been sociopaths. Hannibal Lecter? Sociopath. The Joker? Sociopath. Tony Soprano? Sociopath. Ace Ventura? Sociopath. Atticus Finch? Sociopath. You have to keep in mind that these characters have no clue what they do may be construed as bad or evil at the time (don't tell me Atticus Finch was not acting out of some twisted pathological tendencies when he decided to defend Tom Robinson, I mean, that book is so dark and twisted and f_cked up he had to be a sociopath, what kind of man puts his kids in that much danger to prove a point), but that is, ultimately, their biggest flaw and their most exploitable weakness. What separates Ben from the other characters I've mentioned is that Ben seems to have an explicit understanding of his own pathology; which allows him to be in complete and total control; which is as terrifying as it is awesome. If Hannibal Lecter had embraced his own instability, he would have never let himself get shot by Will Graham. If Tony Soprano wasn't such an idiot... well I have no idea what happened to him (f_ck you, David Chase!), but I'm assuming his life just kept circling the drain and he is forever paranoid that whoever walks in the door next might be there to kill him. Ben doesn't just understand his malady, he f_cking owns it, and that is awesome and it gives him the ability to do what he needs to do. If anyone else on the show was to be tasked with half the sh_t Ben is asked to do, they would over think it and start whining and make a big show of how they are "good people" who would never voluntarily hurt a fly unless that fly was a drunk who beat up on his wife; in which case, you just blow up the fly's house with the fly still in it. There. Done.
Of all the characters the populate that always shifting world of "Lost," Ben Linus is the only one who honestly seems to understand that each and every single person associated with the island is not what they seem to be. I long ago joked with my girlfriend that "the island must get its power from con-men, crooks, crazy people and killers, because that just about sums up its entire population," but they all fall into that false belief that if you are in a different place where nobody knows your name or your history that you can change who you are. Ben's not like that. He knows Kate will always be Kate, and Jack will always be super annoying and Sawyer will always end up shirtless no matter when or where they are, even though they act like the island cleansed them of their sins, they're still the same people they were when they crashed there. Just like Ben will always be Ben, because he knows what the island wants, and the island doesn't want you to be somebody else, it brought you there for a reason. Why f_ck that up? Why not use it to your advantage? Ben does.
It's hard to write about any character on "Lost" without venturing into the land of the mythical and mysterious, but I think I did okay. That said, I hope you can all welcome Benjamin Linus as the first fictional member of the "I like you..." hall of fame with open arms, a healthy smile and a bullet proof vest (just in case). Since Mr. Linus is a fictional character I will be sending him a fictional t-shirt.
I'm not of the school that thinks Benjamin Linus is inherently bad, I think he is inherently good but at some point had that goodness shaken out of him. Maybe it was the constant berating from his father that he withstood for 28 years that made him a cold, callous man, but consequently the actions of Ben's father led him to The Others and made him who he is today, and I've got to believe that a man as smart as Ben understands that (and it probably pisses him off). Then of course there is the island factor. When you've spent your entire life living on an island that is, for lack of a better word, magical and there is a group of people devoted to protecting the island, and all of its mysteries, that have embraced you and made you their leader, after a lifetime of being told you killed your mother and were worthless, yeah, you're going to want to fight for the other team and more than likely you'll be a lot less apt to care whether or not something like murder is morally reprehensible or not, because if the situation calls for murder, he's going to shoot someone. That's just how Ben is. Take him or leave him. He's an awesome guy.
He's also a sociopath, but that's fine, all the best characters in novels, movies, television and stage plays have been sociopaths. Hannibal Lecter? Sociopath. The Joker? Sociopath. Tony Soprano? Sociopath. Ace Ventura? Sociopath. Atticus Finch? Sociopath. You have to keep in mind that these characters have no clue what they do may be construed as bad or evil at the time (don't tell me Atticus Finch was not acting out of some twisted pathological tendencies when he decided to defend Tom Robinson, I mean, that book is so dark and twisted and f_cked up he had to be a sociopath, what kind of man puts his kids in that much danger to prove a point), but that is, ultimately, their biggest flaw and their most exploitable weakness. What separates Ben from the other characters I've mentioned is that Ben seems to have an explicit understanding of his own pathology; which allows him to be in complete and total control; which is as terrifying as it is awesome. If Hannibal Lecter had embraced his own instability, he would have never let himself get shot by Will Graham. If Tony Soprano wasn't such an idiot... well I have no idea what happened to him (f_ck you, David Chase!), but I'm assuming his life just kept circling the drain and he is forever paranoid that whoever walks in the door next might be there to kill him. Ben doesn't just understand his malady, he f_cking owns it, and that is awesome and it gives him the ability to do what he needs to do. If anyone else on the show was to be tasked with half the sh_t Ben is asked to do, they would over think it and start whining and make a big show of how they are "good people" who would never voluntarily hurt a fly unless that fly was a drunk who beat up on his wife; in which case, you just blow up the fly's house with the fly still in it. There. Done.
Of all the characters the populate that always shifting world of "Lost," Ben Linus is the only one who honestly seems to understand that each and every single person associated with the island is not what they seem to be. I long ago joked with my girlfriend that "the island must get its power from con-men, crooks, crazy people and killers, because that just about sums up its entire population," but they all fall into that false belief that if you are in a different place where nobody knows your name or your history that you can change who you are. Ben's not like that. He knows Kate will always be Kate, and Jack will always be super annoying and Sawyer will always end up shirtless no matter when or where they are, even though they act like the island cleansed them of their sins, they're still the same people they were when they crashed there. Just like Ben will always be Ben, because he knows what the island wants, and the island doesn't want you to be somebody else, it brought you there for a reason. Why f_ck that up? Why not use it to your advantage? Ben does.
It's hard to write about any character on "Lost" without venturing into the land of the mythical and mysterious, but I think I did okay. That said, I hope you can all welcome Benjamin Linus as the first fictional member of the "I like you..." hall of fame with open arms, a healthy smile and a bullet proof vest (just in case). Since Mr. Linus is a fictional character I will be sending him a fictional t-shirt.
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