Quick Thoughts on "What Happened, Happened"

Okay, the majority of people on this planet guessed correctly when they assumed that Ben would live. But regardless of whether or not he lived pretty much everybody thought that the act of Sayid shooting Ben would change things. However, that wasn't the case and once again the answer that Lost gave us was an answer that nobody probably thought of. The act of shooting Ben is actually what caused him to become the Ben that we all know and love. Well we used to love him up until he strangled Locke to death. Anyway, back to the issue at hand which is how Sayid did exactly what he always did.

Sayid thought that by shooting Ben he was preventing him (well actually both of them) from becoming a "monster" later in life. Yeah, that didn't quite work out the way he planned. Instead this act is what led Ben to become an Other through a ceremony (I'm assuming it's a sort of ceremony) performed in the Temple. Richard explained to us what would happen to Ben and in doing so he actually answered a bunch of other questions.

So, little Ben is dying and despite what he ends up doing in the future he still needs to be saved due to the fact that he's just a kid and normal people don't just let a child bleed out. I'm looking at you Jack. So Richard agreed to take him into the Temple to be healed but not before he warned us of the consequences; once Ben was healed in the Temple his memories would be gone and he would now be an Other for life. Almost sounds like brainwashing doesn't it. But regardless of your where you side with the issue of brainwashing this may help explain a good many things;

One, this is why Ben doesn't remember any of the Losties later on in life.

Two, this probably explains why Richard wanted Paul's body. Paul was probably brought back to life as a faithful Other who will always protect the Island and he will never know that he used to be a Dharma recruit.

Three, we now know what Ben meant when he told Locke that some of the Others weren't fully committed to the Island. Those who have been brainwashed are now faithful servants of the Island. They will die for it and even allow their fellow Others kill them to protect it. But there are also other Others like Juliet who were recruited from the outside. For whatever reason they aren't brainwashed or maybe they are only brainwashed when it becomes necessary.

Four, we can assume that Room 23 is supposed to do the same sort of mind control but of course it doesn't explain why they wouldn't just use the Temple.

Five, I think we now know what happened to the children when they were kidnapped. They become little Others, tiny protectors of the Island.

And lastly, I'm gonna bet that Widemore actually was in the military and he became an Other in the Temple. I think Richard wasn't being completely truthful when he said that he and his people killed all the military dudes who showed up with the Jughead. Maybe some of them died in a skirmish but the majority of them, like Widemore, were captured and turned in Others.

So, in summary here's what I think we learned; If you're on the Island, for whatever reason, and the Island deems you worthy, get ready for a field trip to the Temple. Otherwise they'll just let you wander the Island until either Smokey kills you or Locke blows you up. And speaking of Locke, this seems to be further "proof" that he's really special. He has the same type of connection to the Island as the Others except that he wasn't brainwashed. This is some sort of natural connection. Alright, let's get back on track and back to Ben.

I always wondered if he was immortal and now I'm starting that it may be the case. The only way Ben can die is if the Island kills him. And all he had to do to was sell his soul to Jacob. Pretty sweet deal. It's like a cult only a really cool cult and it's still the only one that I want to join.

Okay, I said that this would be "quick" but I just want to end with one last thought. I believe that the "war" between Ben and Widemore represents a glitch in the system. I don't think either one of them is an actual threat but the brainwashing has caused them see each other as such. Widemore is no longer on the Island and thus he may no longer be considered an Other (at least to Ben). So Ben views him as a threat to the Island. Widemore was most likely tricked by Ben to leave the Island so he still feels like an Other who was wrongly ousted. Hence he views Ben as a threat to the Island. Basically they are the only two people who think that either one of them poses a threat to the Island. Heck, they may even be best friends but once Widemore left the Island a switch was flipped in their minds and now they just look at each other as an enemy. This is the same thing that is about to happen to little Ben. From now on he will view Dharma as the bad guys and he'll consider himself to be one of the good guys. And in a few years he's gonna kill them all despite the fact that they probably have done nothing to deserve it. Poor Ben, he's just a tool of the Island.

Alright, that's all I have for now. I am going to do my best to get my regular post done by Monday. But for now I'm gonna leave you with one thought; how freaking awesome was that look on Ben's face when he woke up and saw Locke. I really don't think that Ben knew Locke would come back to life when his corpse got back to Craphole Island. This was one of the very few times that we have actually seen Ben shocked by something. That was sweet.