How far does the Benipulation go?
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By StayPuft
- How far does the Benipulation go?
- Created: Nov 16, 2007
- Last updated: Aug 14, 2008
- After episode: 3.22: Through The Looking Glass
- Status: Current
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Ben has a plan y’know! ;-))
— StayPuft
I’ve been re-watching Series 2 and have been musing alot about things I hadn’t really considered before. Like the purpose of the Staff station, and really how far back we can really trace back the Other’s and especially Ben’s manipulation.
I’m not going to try and answer the how, but more so the what and (perhaps) the why of the manipulation.
This follows on from a lot of theories doing the rounds at the moment proposing Ben to be manipulative from the start (see http://www.lost-theories.com/theories/2007/nov/16/john-locke-exposed-pt-2-ben-ja/ for a good theroy by risebysin).
From the very first moment we see Ben, he is manipulative. Forcing Locke and Jack against each other; forcing the lockdown so that Locke sees the graffiti about where the Pearl station is. Knowing he would then destroy it because the Pearl would contain (conveniently) the video pointing to the fact that the people manning the Swan station were completing a pointless task.
Eko wasn’t fooled but Locke was (subsequently Eko is killed – surprising?!?) so he cocked up the hatch cause it to implode (or whatever the technical term is).
Leaving Locke for a moment (because its naïve to stop it there – Ben has a plan y’know! ;-)) We have the Michael manipulation. From the computer message (whether it was Walt or not is irrelevant – if it wasn’t it was a trick, if it was, Walt would have been allowed on the computer at that time when Michael was around) to the primitive camp deception to instil false hope.
Then once the big three were captured, it’s the Kate and Sawyer manipulation to make them get jiggy. Then the manipulation of Jack via Juliet, and also “accidentally” leaving out spinal x-rays, and obviously the allowing of seeing the jiggyness so that he will perform the operation.
Back to the main camp, and when the rescue party comes, Ben makes Locke blow up his submarine (a major part of his plan – only part of which is revealed to Locke afterwards) Also at this point Rousseau is “allowed” to see her daughter for the first time.
So we come to the end of season 3. Ben (with the help of Richard) convinces Locke to kill his dad via Sawyer. His prize for doing this is to hear the walkie talkie and “accidentally” find out about the Losties plan to snatch Sun and Kate. Juliet has wormed her way into Jack’s mind that he believes here, and Jack being Jack convinces everyone else. The other side of the tape is naturally for insurance.
So now Locke goes to see Jacob to reaffirm Locke that he is special, and Ben shoots him to make appear as though he is against Locke. He “accidentally” didn’t shoot to kill. Then Smokie, oh sorry “Walt” turns up to convince Locke he has to stop the call being made to the freighter.
Right now skip back across the island to the exodus to the radio tower, and we see just how far Ben is willing to go to get to his end. Sacrificing his own men (with Juliet’s assistance of course – she’s good at making suitable people do things!) just to make the Losties feel like they have beaten the bad guys. Reuniting Alex with Rousseau also happens here.
And then we have the final scene. The toss up between Jack and Locke about the call. Now our friend Ben’s been working mightly hard since day 1 to make these two disagree on just about everything. So naturally when Smokie tells Locke to stop the call, and Locke tells Jack to stop (and Ben chips in too just for good measure) he makes that call.
Genius.
Now comes the kicker. Why is Ben doing all of this?
I theorise the answer is pretty simple. From the day the plane crashed Ben has had a problem. There are people on the island who shouldn’t be there. That will interfere with their work so he needs to get rid of them. But with one crucial point still intact. He needs to get them off of the island in a way that does not create an opportunity for the others still on the island to leave, and does not disillusion all the others (i.e. he cannot just kill them all).
So he plans for the Swan to be destroyed. And makes Juliet force the losties to crack the looking glass. He makes Jack make that call. He makes Locke have his dad killed. And of course he reunites Alex with Rousseau. What this means is all the losties are given an avenue to leave. John’s hatred for the outside world is nullified because the one thing that made his life a misery(his father) has been destroyed so he may leave. Rousseau has her daughter. Alex will undoubtedly wish to leave (with Karl) and now they have been reunited, Ben presumes Rousseau will go with her too. Perhaps even those Others that were killed at the beach were the most likely to be freighter hoppers should it arrive.
Now of course Ben believes he will be left with just his core Others and no interference from the outside world again. Of course the toughest part is yet to come. Making the freighter come to island to pick up the Losties and then the Others remaining and not being found again. This is probably “the toughest challenge the island has faced”, and probably explains the Others exodus to the temple for hiding for when the freighter arrives. Ben is perhaps also banking on Jack and the losties disregard for the Others and just wanting to leave the island for good.
Your thoughts ladies and gentlemen ;-)
Key characters
| Short Name | Full Name | Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben | Benjamin Linus | 3.20, 4.9, & 3” href=”/episodes/theres-no-place-home-parts-2-3/”>4.13 | 1819 |
Key events
| Theme | Relevant Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|
| Jack, Kate, and Sawyer captured | 2.23, 3.1 | 213 |
| Michael captured | 2.22 | 121 |
| Pearl station discovered | 2.21 | 150 |
| Revealing of the blast door map | 2.17 | 147 |
Key locations
| Theme | Relevant Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|
| The blast door map | 2.17 | 165 |
| Pala Ferry Pier | 2.21, 2.23, 3.2 | 168 |
| The Pearl station | 2.21, 3.5, 3.14 | 244 |
| The Staff station | 2.15, 3.16, 3.18 | 188 |
| The Swan station | 2.20, 2.23, 2.14, 2.17, 2.1, 2.2, 1.11, 3.3, 3.8 | 497 |
I agree wholeheartedly that Ben’s manipulation goes back as far as we can possibly imagine.
I love the suggestion that Eko was killed because he sought to stop Locke from blowing up the station/losing his faith. Explains a gaping hole in my theories.
I think it’s clear Ben has been working to guarantee that the freighter arrives. It’s too early to guess why. I don’t agree that he’s trying to get rid of people, he could’ve gassed them like Dharma, so that means something bigger is going on, and that’s what we’ll find out….eventually?
It’s interesting that Ben has used Locke’s belief in his own special destiny and Jack’s desire to rescue/defend/save a woman in peril. He did it with Sarah, he did it with Kate, and the Others know it. Juliet is Jack’s weakness, and it’s being exploited.
Ben is really running things.
I like your theory! I think you are right in many points, especially on Eko. Ben needs to keep Locke’s mind in his control and Eko had quite an influence on Locke…But it is difficult for me to beleive that Ben has a plan when he decided to attack the Losties one day before. I don’t think he had planned that Alex would tell Karl and that Karl would go right away on his boat! That is a little streched. I think he was desperate to take some pregnant women for his strange quest. I don’t think he was planing the scene in the looking glass either! Ben looks surprised with all the events, even when he is alone (not only when he talks to the others), that makes the idea of a plan impossible. Because, Ben can fake being surprised in front of the Others, but he can’t fake when he is alone, that would be a strange twist, that would be adressed to the spectator…And I don’t think the show would go in that direction.
Perhaps, like Locke, Ben is a pawn. He gets Locke to do certain things, failing to understand why Locke responds a certain way, because Ben is unaware of the voice in Locke’s head telling him that he’s destined for great things.
Locke did mention that he and his brother used to play mousetrap, perhaps he and Ben are brothers suffering the same fate….being used by whoever is above them in the food chain.
I don’t think that Locke would leave the island just because his father is dead. Lockes main reason for staying on the island is because it allowed him to walk again.
StayPuft, You did a brilliant job with this theory and make valid observations, and backed them up. Juliette is still NOT to be trusted, she’s definitely working Jack!
The only part I am still uncertain about, is “the freighter” and its reasons for being there. I have a feeling it is NOT to rescue our “losties”. However, I absolutely think it is ALL part of Ben’s manipulation, whatever the reasons are! To what end, I am unclear.
Rise, you bring up a valid point regarding John and Ben which seems to indicate, that they are like brothers of sort, locked in a game. Good thinking!
I am going to play devils advocate here,by saying that I don’t really believe that Ben does want them to try and leave the island. Reason being the conversation he (Ben)had with Alex right as they were getting ready to go find the group going to the radio tower. Alex : Ben; ” Why do you have to stop them. Why won’t you just let them leave” Ben : ” Because I can’t,Alex” In another episode when Juliette told Ben the only way she might be able to find out why the women were dying before giving birth,was to take one off the island! He was very positive about saying That’s not going to happen,You’re not taking anyone off this island. Then in a final plea to Jack Ben:” Making that call is the beginning of the end” Hmmm sounds like a title of a show Anyway I agree that he has been manipulative in most things. +1
I’ve argued on here before that Ben is a very clever manipulator, but he is not superman. He has flaws and he makes mistakes. It makes him a more interesting character and, I think, we will see more of ‘the man behind the curtain’ with Ben than the God-like, all-controlling genius some people have him tagged as.
The way it seems to be portrayed is that nothing happens on the Island without Ben either knowing about it, or having engineered it to happen to fit into this ‘plan’. If that turned out to be the case I would be disappointed. I’ve said it before: Superman is boring, a flawed genius is interesting. I italicise flawed!
I think that Ben is being manipulated as much as he is manipulating Jack & Locke.
Ben has been promised a reunion with his dead mother. Remember, he was told to be ‘very, very patient’ when he met Alpert in the woods. Like many of the Losties, family is being used to manipulate Ben. He has to get certain things to happen. He’s fine-tuned his manipulative abilities over the years and has been fed information by an unknown source. That is why he’s surprised when certain things happen, his knowledge, while vast, is still limited. He is not the head honcho calling the shots, there is another rung or two up the food chain that we will hopefully get to meet asap. Ben’s relationship with Locke is like Locke’s relationship with Boone, he gets Locke to believe that he’s capable of great things, then exploits his true weakness.
Ben can be surprised and I’m sure he will be this season. But he has been taking out the garbage in anticipation of the freighter coming. The submarine, the swan, & the pearl have all been destroyed thanks to Ben. He’s wiping away his footprints.
StayPuft, you bring up some excellent points. +1
I just don’t think Ben wants to get rid of the Losties and I point to KSJ’s comment about the conversation with Alex.
I just wonder if we are going to see more Ben flashbacks. We’ve seen him as a young man, and we’ve seen him as a not-so-young man (right around the time he stages his coup). But in neither of those time frames did we see Ben as a manipulator. Was there a particular event or moment that shaped him into the schemer that he is?