If you missed LOST on Wednesday night ("He's Our You"), stop reading! Then, go order it via ABCONDEMAND now! If you did see "He's Our You," you saw what was arguably one of the "Bomps" the whole fifth season. By "Bomp," I mean that sound that occurs at the end of the episode when the word "LOST" appears. You all know what I'm talking about! There is a big surprise, then "BOMP!"
Now that you understand the vocabulary of LOST, let's look at the ending. Sayid shoots a twelve-year-old Ben Linus in order to prevent Ben from ever becoming one of the Others, from ever getting caught in the tree as "Henry Gale," or from ever meeting the passengers of Oceanic 815. Assuming Sayid is able to change the past (we will talk about this debate in a moment), this would have huge ramifications in the show. Think about it. Ben would never show up. Walt would never be kidnapped. Michael would never kill Libby and Ana Lucia. Alex would be alive. The list goes on and on. Ben not being alive might even mean the passengers of Flight 815 would never land on the island (if we would eventually find out that he had something to do with the crash).
My friend Jeff and I constantly fight about whether or not someone can "change the past." According to the island's time-travel expert, Daniel Faraday (where has he been?), you cannot change the past. If something happens in the past, it happens and that's it. Meaning if Sayid shoots a twelve-year-old Ben, then the child must survive the gunshot wound and when Ben met Sayid back in season two, he knew that this was the man who shot him back in 1977, even though we, the audience, did not see it until season five. When you think about it, it's pretty much taking the "flashback" idea one step further. Ben just knew something before the audience and the other islanders. What else is new?
If I am correct and the past can somehow be changed, it doesn't really matter in the case of Ben's death. He can't die. Though a little more confusing and complicated, it is almost impossible to kill someone in the past, especially out of revenge. Bear with me. I will try to put this as simply as possible. Circa 2000, Sayid meets Ben and gets very upset about things Ben does (that is really simplifying it). So when Sayid travels back to 1977, in an attempt to prevent Ben from doing these things, Sayid shoots Ben at a young age. Fine. Let's say that young Ben is now dead. If he is dead, then he cannot grow up to perform the acts that upset Sayid so much, therefore taking away Sayid's motive to kill him. This means that the Sayid of circa 2000 would not shoot the young Ben when he travels back to 1977. Now young Ben is alive. Now he can perform the "bad acts." Now Sayid will go and kill young Ben ... and the cycle would continue. Confused? Read it again. You'll get it.
What does this mean for LOST? I predict that, like my friend Jeff says, Ben will survive the gunshot wound. It will turn out that Ben recognized Sayid the whole time as the man who shot him when he was twelve. This would explain how he knew Sayid was a "killer." Either way, the writers of LOST have not disappointed in delivering great television that keeps us guessing at every turn.
Some other questions I expect will be answered in the next few episodes:
- Where are Bernard and Rose? Good theory from Jeff: somehow they traveled back to the time where the statue was standing and got stuck there. They will eventually die and become the "Adam and Eve" skeletons. My theory (though not as strong) is that they also travelled to 1977 and now are members of the "Hostiles" led by Richard.
- How is Desmond going to get back to island?
- Is Penny dead?
- Where are Lupidus and Sun?
- Where is Faraday?
- Remember when John Locke was alive? What's he up to?
So many questions left to be answered. I am still betting that John Locke and Ben Linus are brothers. I also hold on to the theory that Desmond will kill Ben (the adult Ben) at the end of this season, avenging Penny's death at Ben's hands. Season Six, despite the disappointment of the audience, will be Ben-less. This also fits with Jeff Jenson's - LOST column-writer for Entertainment Weekly - theory that the seasons are repeating themselves. He often speaks of season four repeating season three and five repeating two, so if season one is going to repeat itself in season six, Ben should not be present.
Please share with me your thoughts and theories! As crazy as it is, I never seem to tire of this! Looking forward to next Wednesday!
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