Who Will Ben Lead...or Follow...In Season 6?
Ben Needs a Hug
It never sat well with me that, in our first encounter with Benjamin Linus (then Henry Gale), he had been captured while out alone when we know the Others to only travel in groups, often tactically. His capture was even more odd when it was discovered that Ben was actually the leader of the Others, though while being held in the Swan station he alluded that he worked for a man much greater than he -- a man who would do terrible things if Ben talked. Given the information we have now, it seems clear he was referring to Jacob, who Ben seems to have firmly believed in despite having never met the guy/deity.
Ben’s capture was simply one example of him being a pawn and a tool throughout his life. The earliest example was in 1977, when he was shot as a boy by the time-traveling Sayid in hopes of saving the survivors of Flight 815 a lot of heartache and pain. To Sayid, young Ben was simply a means to an end, just as for Jacob it was necessary for Ben’s life to be shaped in such a way that he would kill the man he once devoutly followed: Jacob himself.
Ben’s murder of Jacob at the end of Season Five marked the height of his ignored child issues. His father was mean to him and saw Ben as a burden, and young Widmore did not respect Ben’s input when Widmore led the Others (as we see when Ben saves baby Alex from execution). He was also never allowed to meet with Jacob, the mysterious top boss who gave all the orders, yet he followed those orders without question. He was later undermined and disrespected by Jack, Sayid and Locke, further increasing his rage for feeling mediocre and not “special.” The culmination of these feelings manifested themselves when Locke was chosen to be leader of the Others, and especially when Jacob reveals himself to Locke during Locke and Ben’s visit to the cabin. He shoots Locke out of jealousy, and would have killed him had Locke not been missing that kidney.
His heightened sense of jealousy and entitlement is what also led him to send Goodwin out on what turned out to be a suicide run, as Ben was exercising his power over Juliet, Goodwin’s other half. “You’re mine,” he told her, a dash of childishness showing through, making it apparent that he never outgrew his childhood traumas and was not fit to lead. Perhaps Richard recognized this.
The resurrected fake Locke said it best when he brought up the fact that Ben had carried out Jacob’s orders without question, which may have included gassing the Dharma Initiative in an effort to protect the island. It led to Alex, the girl he raised as his own daughter, being killed in front of his eyes as well as a tumor, which he forced Jack to remove, as he waited patiently for years and years to meet Jacob. However, it seemed Ben never considered Jacob to be someone who could be killed until the fake Locke set out to kill him, as Ben’s face was warped with an incredulous look at the sound of the idea. Unfortunately, he was being used by the fake Locke to kill Jacob himself, an easy feat since Ben had the motive. What is unclear, however, is if Jacob was using Ben. It seems logical that, given the conversations between Jacob and his nemesis and the fact that he had visited several of the Losties off-island that he had known what the future held and was setting up the pieces. He did not seem surprised when his nemesis, fake Locke, found the “loophole,” which allows him to kill Jacob. Even stranger is that when Ben asked, “What about me?” Jacob responded with, “What about you?” as if a child had asked for a toy or a compliment -- a simple response shutting down Ben’s selfishness yet simultaneously acknowledging that his response would ultimately lead to Jacob’s own death.
In Season Six Ben will be freed from his own shackles. Just as he set Locke up to kill his father, Ben’s killing of Jacob will bring him freedom, perhaps even to the extent that he’ll realize he’ll need to work together with Widmore to stop Jacob’s nemesis from taking control of the island. We’ve been told a war is coming, and that war might be Widmore, Ben and the Losties against the nemesis. However, it is also possible that Jacob will rise again in another form and the war will be between the nemesis and Jacob, with Ben, Widmore, the Losties, and Brahm’s group choosing sides. Or maybe the war has been the first five seasons, as the nemesis and Jacob set up all their players/pieces along the way for an ultimate playout in Season Six?
Ben is destined for something integral, just as Locke and Jack are (though Locke’s destiny is shaky at this point). Perhaps he will finally be willing to cooperate with others like Jack and Widmore to save the Island and prove his faith is stronger than his need for recognition, or perhaps he, like Locke, was simply a pawn in a larger game, and his role will end at the vengeful hands of Sayid.
