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4x09 Forensic Files, or “The Shape of Things to Come”

First off, if you don’t like to read then move on now. This post is long and covers many topics. People who have followed my previous posts and comments know that I am far from concise. I like to discuss every possible aspect of things. I’m not concerned about votes, however, I do appreciate comments, criticism and rebuttals that spark free-thinking individuals to have intelligent debate about its topics. I probably won’t be commenting much on it myself as I’m spending time preparing to move.

Anyhow, in an effort to gather all the events of this episode into one cohesive post, I present a recap of “The Shape of Things to Come” and what I’ve learned from this episode. This is not an analysis, per say, of any themes, plot or characters of the episode. But I will present my own theories based on some of the evidence and what I believe it to mean.

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The Body on the Beach, or “The Bloating of Doctor Ray”

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Obviously the body of the freighter doctor, Ray, appeared on the beach. Yes, we all noticed that he has stitches on his face. This wound appeared previously unstitched in Ji Yeon, and was not apparent at all in “The Constant”. So, Ray’s story so far is that he was on the freighter. His face was cut. The cut was stitched. His throat was slashed. And his body washed up on the beach. All of this occurred in a matter of days.

Daniel did communicate with the freighter and Bernard’s translation of their response implied that the Doc was still alive on the boat. Either a duplicate Doc traveled through time, had his throat slashed, then appeared on the island as a dead clone from the future. Or less silly is that the freighter folks, who were not told by Daniel that the body was found, simply lied to Daniel and said that the Doc was fine. We’ll probably see a flashback involving Sayid, Desmond or Michael which explains how the Doc came to be on the beach.

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Risk, or “The Wizard of Oz Meets Stratego”

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The entire scene with Hugo, Sawyer and John playing Risk is exactly what we see… three guys playing a game. They aren’t making commentary on the events taking place on the island. They aren’t offering deeper meaning into the mythology of LOST. They are just enjoying a quiet evening and playing a strategy game. I guess you could say that they are subconsciously channeling the real intentions of the writers in episodes both past and future, but I think that would be stretching it a bit far.

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Ben’s Secret Room, or “If Only Sayid Had Kept Looking”

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There seems to be some confusion on what happened in Ben’s secret room within a secret room. What we know for sure is that he went into the room wearing certain clothing and with injuries to his face from recent beatings, but no injury to his arm. Then, roughly 20 minutes later as noted by John’s comment about it getting dark soon; he came out looking exactly the same except that he was covered in soot or ash.

It is a presumption, however, that Ben traveled into the future while he was in his secret room. Not only is he wearing completely different clothing when he arrives in 2005, but he sustains a wound to his arm and uses a passport which he has not been seen to possess since Sayid found it in “The Economist”. And, yes… most people noticed that the passport was for a man named Dean Moriarty, the surname of Sherlock Holmes’s nemesis and the full name of a character in Jack Kerouac’s novel “On the Road”.

Considering evidence on the Blast Door Map, Ben’s secret door probably led to a vent in the Cerberus system and not to the Orchid Station. Ben was able to perform some ritual, either mystical or technological in nature, which summoned Cerberus to his location thus disposing of the immediate threats near the barracks. We will likely become privy to information regarding his appearance in the desert in an upcoming episode.

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Ben’s Time Travel, or “The One Armed Man Did It”

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Ben’s flash-forward in time is just that… a flash-forward - the standard story telling tool of Season 4’s non-linear development. The plane crashed on September 22, 2004 and the on-island events of this episode occur on or about Day 97, December 27, 2004, presuming there is no substantial time shift between the island and the outside world. But Ben is off-island in a future confirmed by the hotel clerk to be October 21, 2005.

His donning of a heavy parka has been theorized to suggest that Ben might have reached the desert through the Arctic or Antarctic. But all it really suggests is that Ben’s “travel” involved some below normal tropical temperatures. Did he go to the arctic? Possibly. Or just as possible, the process by which he traveled to Tunisia involved some matter of temperature reduction.

Yes, we all noticed the unique Dharma logo, the name Halliwax on the jacket and the wound on Ben’s right arm. Dr. Edgar Halliwax is an alias for Marvin Candle, aka Mark Wickmund, the scientist who presents the Pearl, Swan, Flame and Orchid films, as well as the introduction film shown to Dharma recruits who recently arrived to the island. In the Swan and Flame videos, he appears to have a paralyzed or prosthetic left arm.

But let’s not jump to conclusions. Ben’s wound is on his right arm, not his left. While it is a visible injury, it’s not clear whether it is a cut, scrape or something else. To me it appeared to be a flesh wound, like that from a stray bullet, but which did not prevent the use of Ben’s arm for self-defense. Candle may have simply died or left the island long before Ben discovered his jacket. We simply don’t know.

How Ben departs the island and arrives in the desert in 2005 is still a mystery as well, though it probably has to do with the undiscovered Orchid Station, and has nothing to do with his secret room in the barracks. He may be traveling through time and space from a point in early 2005, a.k.a. time travel. Or it may be revealed that he waits or is delayed until October 21, 2005 and simply travels across space, a.k.a. teleportation.

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Island Time, or “How Are the Writer’s Going to Pull This off?”

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Many people speculate that time passes differently on the island than it does in the outside world. Daniel makes references to this on several occasions. Evidence seems to come from the rocket’s delayed arrival to the island, the helicopter’s delayed arrival to the freighter and the Doctor’s body appearing on the beach. How or why these things occur has been hinted at by the writers with visual clues about Imaginary Time. But we may never know the real reason behind the “science” of LOST’s time.

One thing is for sure, that sometime between December 27th, 2004 and October 21, 2005, the Oceanic Six are rescued from the island. Sayid claims to have been with Nadia for about a year which coincides with the generally assumed notion that the rescue takes place in early January of 2005, which also coincides with the presumed date of Season 4’s end. And the events of Kate and Jack’s off-island airport meeting take place in April 2007.

This means that while the first 4 seasons of LOST cover events which take place in roughly 100 days, the remaining 5th and 6th seasons of LOST will cover events which take place over the course of roughly 2 1/2 years. That’s quite a difference in pacing no matter how you look at it and it will be interesting to see how the writers tackle such a large portion of time in just over two dozen episodes.

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Rescuing The Oceanic Six, or “There’s No Place Like Home”

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When Sayid discovers Ben he is surprised to see him off the island. Ben says he still had Desmond’s boat, but we the viewers suspect that this is a lie; since we just witnessed Ben mysteriously appear in the desert. Several things can be inferred from Ben’s flash-forward:

• The Oceanic Six do not leave the island via the Orchid Station. If they had, Sayid would probably not have been surprised by Ben’s visit, knowing the Ben can leave the island and return anytime he wished.

• The Oceanic Six do not leave the island via Widmore’s freighter. Widmore would not likely allow 6 people to leave the island after presumably faking the 815 wreckage and sending mercenaries to kill everyone. Recall Abbadon’s discussion with Naomi when he scolds by her saying, “There were no survivors.”

• Widmore’s mission to find the island fails. He presumably would know the location of the island, but Ben says he’ll never find it. Recall Abaddon’s question of Hurley, “Are they still alive?” Widmore’s mission fails, his mercenaries are likely killed.

• Penny told Desmond that she knew about the island and had been looking for him for three years, roughly since Decemeber of 2001. It wasn’t until she spoke to Charlie that she confirmed Desmond’s location on the island. She swears that she will find Desmond. Recall Penny’s statement that “With enough money and determination, you can find anyone.”

• Penny is now in hiding, either willingly or by force, and Widmore claims that Ben will not be able to find her.

So, the Six will be unaware of the method with which Ben transports through space and/or time and the Six will have no means by which to return to the island once they leave. The freighter is probably useless since it was Michael’s mission to destroy it. Desmond’s boat is missing and/or destroyed. That only leaves one unexplored rescue possibility… Penny.

Penny did know about the island since late 2001, long before the crash of flight 815 in 2004. She did set up a listening post to seek out electromagnetic anomalies, which would imply that she was aware, to some degree, of the island’s properties. She did contact Charlie and discover that some people survived the crash of flight 815 - a crash which her father apparently faked in the Sundra Trench and was discovered just weeks before the freighter appeared. It seems likely she has more knowledge of her father’s interest in the island than we think. But is she working for or against him?

Certainly the writers have cast her in an angelic light. Her only emotional outbursts have crept up when Desmond makes her life difficult. She clearly has financial means and is at least somewhat resourceful like her father. But it’s unclear if her involvement goes beyond her love for Desmond and into the realm of her father’s obsession. I highly doubt it. I think she’s only concerned for Desmond’s well being, and now for the safety of the survivors she sees as pawns in her father’s game. Her decision to rescue some of flight 815’s survivors will cause a falling out with her father who has a greater understanding of her actions to the island and ultimately the universe.

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Ben and Sayid, or “Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

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I think it’s safe to say that the events of “The Economist”, where Sayid is working for Ben to eliminate people from a list, take place after the events of “The Shape of Things To Come”. Sayid is clearly surprised to see Ben off the island, implying that they haven’t seen each other since the rescue of The Oceanic Six. Some things we learned:

• After rescue, Sayid finds and marries Nadia, but she dies soon after, apparently in a car accident in the LA area.

• Ben seems surprised to see Sayid on the television in a news report about the death of Nadia.

• Ben recognizes Ishmael Bakir as one of Widmore’s henchmen.

• Ben claims that Nadia’s death was not an accident, but that Bakir, on orders from Widmore, killed her and is now following Sayid. He presents circumstantial evidence of Bakir’s proximity to the accident as proof of Bakir’s involvement.

• Ben pretends to follow Bakir, but instead leads him into a trap where Sayid exacts his revenge. Sayid offers to help Ben eliminate Widmore’s network of henchmen and Ben leaves the scene with a smug smile which implies he’s suceeded at something.

What can be inferred from this? Well, I don’t believe that Widmore would have any particular motive to order Nadia’s death, even if he is that ruthless. He and Abaddon are hoping the Oceanic Six can provide information on the island’s location. Nadia has no known connection to Ben and no prior knowledge of the island before marrying Sayid, so killing her would only put Sayid’s emotional state at risk and create unpredictability. If Bakir was following Sayid and/or Nadia, he would have likely been near the scene of the accident, but this doesn’t mean he was involved in her death.

Ben, on the other hand, has been known to construct elaborate cons in order to manipulate people to do his bidding. Ben, having seen the news on the television at his hotel, decides to use Sayid’s grief to his advantage. He arrives at Nadia’s funeral and quickly identifies one of Widmore’s henchmen. Whether or not Bakir killed Nadia is irrelevant. However, it is almost for certain that Bakir is spying on Sayid, hoping to find information about the island. Ben later tails the man in an effort to trap him so that Sayid can have his revenge. This sets up the circumstances for Sayid “choosing” to work for Ben, instead of Ben forcing Sayid into employment. This is Ben’s modus operandi and has been exercised on Juliet, Jack, Kate and Sawyer, among others.

It is likely, that over time, Ben will steer Sayid toward Penny in an effort to exact revenge for Alex’s death. But Sayid would likely recognize Penny from Desmond’s photograph. Sayid will likely catch on to the fact that something bigger is going on… a fact you’d think the survivors would have figured out after about 10 days on the island. Will Sayid kill Penny to save others? Or will he find a way to get out of his unwritten contract with Ben?

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He Changed The Rules, or “The Freighter Returns”

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Much has been speculated about Ben’s comment that Widmore “changed the rules”. What are the rules? Are Widmore and Ben playing the ultimate game in which pieces are represented by actual living people and do the rules prohibit the killing of immediate family? I guess one could make this assumption. Based on what we’ve seen of Ben’s limited moral and ethical guidelines, it’s clear that Ben believes that innocent people who are unaware of the island’s potential are not fair game to be killed. Widmore’s motives and ethical limitations, on the other hand, have never been fully explored.

Perhaps Widmore has been to the island before or has some knowledge of its general location. He claims that the island was once his and that Ben took it from him. Does his desire to find the island counter any moral or ethical boundaries Ben would have for sparing innocent lives? Probably. Ben is the lesser of two evils in this case. But that does not make Ben “good” by any definition of the term.

Clearly Widmore is a huge adversary for Ben. Widmore’s attempts to find the island are represented in his purchase of the Black Rock log book. His sponsorship of Henry Gale’s balloon trip around the world implies that he was hoping Gale would stumble on the island. And his sponsorship of the Widmore Sailing Race suggests the same.

But anyone who accidentally stumbled onto the island would not have had the means to communicate it’s location to Widmore. Widmore knew about the purge, so he probably knew about Ben’s control of the Flame and the activation of the Looking Glass jamming device. This is further evidenced by Charlotte and Daniels attempts to neutralize the nerve agent in the Tempest Station. So how does manipulating events which lead to Desmond’s accidental arrival on the island, as many have suggested, assist in Widmore’s discovery? Desmond’s involvement would lead to the deactivation of the Looking Glass jamming device. Still, that would require Widmore to have some knowledge of the future, at least up to 3 years, like that of Mrs. Hawking…. Hmmm. I don’t like it, but it’s possible.

So, back to the point… what rules were changed? In Ben’s mind, some greater understanding of who was or wasn’t a player in the game were altered and Alex’s execution crossed an invisible line which had never been crossed before. But Widmore claims that Alex’s death was Ben’s fault. How is this possible? Wasn’t it Keamy who was given executive decision to capture Ben at any cost? Wasn’t it Keamy who ultimately pulled the trigger and executed Alex? Or was it Ben’s claim of emotional detachment that made her fair game? Was this part of his plan or did he really think that he had everything under control? One thing seems clear to me. Alex’s death represents, in no obscure way, Ben’s loss of control over the island. His future is now temporarily in the hands of Jacob, and to a lesser degree John Locke and Hurley.

But how is Alex’s death Ben’s fault? Alex’s death is tragic and may have a deep impact on Ben’s motivations in future episodes. Combined with Rosseau’s possible death we’re left to wonder about a substantial mystery surrounding Rosseau’s arrival, the death of her ship’s crew and the kidnapping of her child as a baby. Personally, I believe that Rosseau is telling the truth. Her story is factual, but incomplete. It seems very possible that 16 years ago she and her crew were on a scientific mission, just as she stated.

But that mission was to find the island just as the crew of the Kahana is trying to do now. So, Alex was never an innocent. She was always a pawn in their game. Had Ben never taken the island from Widmore, had he never prevented attempts to find the island, had he not kidnapped Alex from Rosseau, then Alex would have lived out her years in good health, never feeling the barrel of a pistol pressed to her head. In that way, at least to Widmore, it is Ben’s fault she’s dead, regardless of who pulled the trigger. Cause and effect…

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Other Things I Learned This Episode, or “What were the writers thinking?”

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• Ben is a ninja, just like Juliet. He just chooses not to use his deadly martial arts unless absolutely necessary.

• Ben is a pretty good lock picker.

• Ben is not very good at photo surveillance. He somehow managed to, from a rooftop, draw Sayid’s attention at his own wife’s funeral.

• The mercenaries are not very good shots. They can one-shot kill redshirts with a sniper rifle, but they can’t seem to shoot Sawyer or Claire who are slowly running across the yard.

• Sawyer must be able to dodge bullets. Though it’s easier to do so when he is hiding behind a picnic table or picket fence.

• Sawyer is not very well liked by redshirts. They ignore his yelling and proceed to march single file to their deaths.

• Smokey is really, really long. Seriously, he’s long. Really long.

• Bernard knows Morse Code. I mean he’s an expert. That code was coming in super fast and Bernard was able to translate it all.

• Jack may be a good surgeon, but he’s not a very good doctor. He’s unable to diagnois his own symptoms.

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	1581
Charles	Charles Widmore		361
Desmond	Desmond David Hume	2.23, 3.17, 4.5	804
Penny	Penny Widmore	3.8	239
Sayid	Sayid Jarrah	2.14, 1.9, 3.11, 4.3, 4.12	367

Key episodes

#	Title	Aired	Central character	Theories
4.9	The Shape of Things to Come	4-24-2008	Ben	229

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