CHARACTER OF BEN

If one needs to find a poster child for the illogic of Lost, Benjamin Linus would be a finalist. When Michael Emerson was hired to do a guest shot as an Other late in Season 2, it was supposed to be a one-two episode filler showing the brutality seeping into the 815ers (Ben as Henry Gale being tortured in the Hatch). It was part of a tie-in to Sayid's flashback story as a torturer. But Ben's bug-eyed evil and calm manipulation that burst upon the scene as a perfect villain.

Ben was born prematurely in a forest on December 19, 1964 to Roger and Emily Linus. Ben was another one of the premature or miracle babies ("special"). His mother died in child birth. His distraught father was found by Dharma leader Horace, which led to Ben coming to the island.

As a young child, Ben had a lonely childhood. He had both mother (who was not there for him) and father (who blamed him for his mother's death) issues. Even at Dharma, he would have had a semi-normal childhood. But for some unknown reason, Ben snapped - - - and turned into a mass murder control freak. By the time 815 crashed on September 22, 2004, Ben had purged the Dharma group, killed his father, and became the de facto leader of the Others. He had manipulated a doctor, Juliet, to come to the island to deal with pregnancy issues, but made her a prisoner. When she rebuffed his advances, he made her suffer. He put Juliet's lover, Goodwin, on a dangerous mission to infiltrate the tail section survivors. He did, and died as a result. Ben made a point of showing Juliet his corpse in order to belittle her - - - and make her life hopeless.

Ben's character was dripping with inherit evil. He was the omnibus threat to the main characters. He was the man who killed without hesitation. It was this sense of danger, and Emerson's fine acting, that led to Ben staying on in the series.

For being the man in charge of the island, Ben directed the Others on their missions. He sent Ethan and Alpert off the island to recruit new members. He did not people to speak to the man behind the curtain, Jacob. Ben was all about following "his" rules. He was a dictator. People feared his wrath. He manipulated other people to commit horrible acts of cruelty. He took devilish pride when his schemes worked out well.

If the island was a symbolic hell, then why was Ben allowed to rule it like a king? Was he really the henchman of the Devil himself (Jacob)? Was his sole purpose to punish the souls who crashed on the island? It would seem indiscriminate and confusing role because in the case of Juliet, she did nothing we are aware of to be so brutally punished by Ben.

As the seasons wore on, Ben's command over the island weakened as the 815ers proved to be a bothersome lot. They were not the timid sheep of Horace's Dharma group. They had evil sinners in their midst on par with Ben's warped personality (like Sayid). After Sayid tortured Ben in the Hatch, Ben thought he gave the perfect cover story on Henry Gale - - - which everyone believed when Sayid returned saying he found the balloon and the grave. His story confirmation would give him the trust with the survivors. But Sayid did not trust him, and opened the grave to find a man and not a woman. This plot arc would have probably ended with Sayid killing Ben to put in the morality of the survivors into dramatic question. But moral themes of the series faded away quickly after Season 2.

Because there were people now on the island who would not trust him, Ben got angry. Because there were people now on the island who would challenge him, Ben got vengeful. In some ways he became the human smoke monster. One of the long story arcs was the battle to control the island - - - Ben verus Locke. But in reality, the real battle to control the island was the Others against Widmore's return. But that was not the truth, since in the end, the battle for the island was the supernatural sibling feud of Jacob and his brother, in the form of Flocke. Ben's role was diminished in island history as apparent authority. Jacob apparently wielded sole power. Jacob manipulated Ben better than Ben manipulated the others. Ben's downfall was letting his emotions be manipulated by Flocke to kill Jacob.

Ben's "life" ended with Jacob's death. Ben became a follower. He became an outcast. He lacked a purpose. He was lost. It was Jacob's confident soldier, Ilana, that gave Ben a glimmer of hope. It was Hurley that gave Ben his last island job as his second in command. But these moves gave Ben no redemptive epiphany. He was never truly sorry for his actions. He only felt sorry that he lost control over "his" island kingdom.

The sideways world view of Ben is one of tortured logic. How can a mass murderer go to heaven and not be punished for his crimes?  Why does Ben get to "choose" to stay in the sideways fantasy in order to work things out with Rousseau and Alex?  It is not crazy to assume if Rousseau "awakes" to the real Ben that she would not strangle him for the hell he put her through on the island. Why should Ben be rewarded for all the evil deeds he did in the non-sideways stories? Why should he be in control of his own after life destiny? It makes no sense.

This is a constant problem with trying to find meaning and structure with the sideways story mechanics. The sideways world has no moral compass. It does not punish souls for bad behavior. Apparently, it rewards some over others. And there is no reason why Ben would wind up with Rousseau in any alternative universe.

Can a child who grows up to kill his father, mass murder his Dharma colleagues, and direct kidnappings, torture and executions, fit for a heavenly reward in the after life? From what we are shown, yes. Ben's only punishment was his "loss" of island power. His only sideways punishment was one beat down by Desmond (unless you consider being a high school teacher a form of punishment). So Ben's invite to the church, with its multi-religious undertone, is systemic with the story flaws of the final season. There is no justification to put Ben in the same moral standing as a Hurley or a Penny.

Ben was a great villain. He was a great foil to judge the other characters. He was a great facilitator for plot twists. But in the grand finale of things, he was a minor, insignificant player. So was he truly a main focal point in the evolution of the 815 characters journey to the after life, or was he merely a prop in a delusional mind? Ben's character is easy to identify but hard to categorize. He was loved as a evil manipulator, but hated as a meek inconsistency in the end.