LOST Recap, Season 6, Episode 7: “Dr. Linus”
What follows is a recap of LOST Season 6, Episode 7: “Dr. Linus.” Lots of spoilers ensue.
Check out the guest author’s LOST-themed blog at thelostloophole.blogspot.com for daily LOST-related updates.
Rumor has it that the creators of LOST have purposefully split the last season into three distinct acts, with each act comprising of six episodes. If this rumor is true, tonight’s episode, “Dr. Linus,” would mark the beginning of the second act. It surely felt like a new beginning, moving away from the Temple and back into the jungle and out to the beach camp. Also we had the first glimpse into the off-island life of someone who was not on Oceanic 815, the infamous Benjamin Linus. Let’s start with his life:
We learned last night that Ben is, in fact, as the title would have us believe, a doctor. He has a Ph.D. in European History, but spends his life teaching high school history where one of his star pupils is Alex Rousseau. We also saw that Ben spends time outside of school taking care of his father, Roger Linus. So, in this flash-sideways Ben has a better relationship with his father (remember, Ben killed his father when the Others purged the DHARMA Initiative in Season 3, Episode 20, Man Behind the Curtain). Ben is also forced to choose once again between his own desires and Alex’s well-being (he chose himself over Alex on the island, when he let her die in Season 4, Episode 9, The Shape of Things to Come). This time around, Ben chooses to protect Alex.
It seems that daddy issues, which have always been a reoccurring theme with LOST, are all but eliminated in this new flash-sideways. We know that John Locke has a relationship with his father, we saw Jack repair his relationship with his son David, and now Ben takes care of his ailing father and protects Alex, who’s not his daughter off island (at least we don’t think so) but as her teacher he exhibits father-like qualities towards her.
Roger Linus also eludes to the DHARMA Initiative, saying that he and Ben were members for a bit, and wondering what would have happened had they not left. This is the first time this season, during a flash-sideways, that the DHARMA Initiative is discussed. Ben also has contact with John Locke, who is still subbing at Ben’s high school, and Leslie Arzt, who is still, frankly, a loser.
On the island, we were brought back to the beach camp where this crazy LOST ride began five seasons ago. Illana, who seems to know everything about the island, is very upset when she learns from Miles that Ben killed Jacob. She admits that Jacob was like a father to her and forces Ben to dig his own grave. Flocke appears and frees Ben from his shackles, telling him that Ben could be in charge of the island once Flocke and his followers leave. We’ve been lead to believe that this is all Ben has ever wanted, power on the island, so it’s a surprise when he decides to stick with Illana, who has a sudden change of heart and decides not to kill him. Also, with her all-knowing wisdom about the island and its workings, informs us that there are only six candidates left, but even she doesn’t know if Kwon means Jin or Sun.
One of the most intriguing portions of last night’s episode had nothing to do with Ben Linus, and everything to do with Richard Alpert. Jack and Hurley meet up with Richard, who takes them to The Black Rock. Richard admits that he came to the island on the boat, but has never visited the vessel since. He asks Jack and Hurley to kill him, telling them that he cannot kill himself. He also says that Jacob “touched him” which was not a gift, but a curse. What does this mean for our Losties (Jack, Hurley, Sayid, Jin, Sun, Kate, Sawyer, and Locke) who were all touched by Jacob in Season 5, Episode 16/17, The Incident? Jack lights some dynamite, aiming to fulfill Richard’s request to die, but doesn’t run when the fuse is lit. Jack tells Richard that he knows he won’t die, because Jacob’s been watching him and brought him to the island. This is a pretty large shift in belief for Jack, who’s never been a man of faith, but a man of science. The fuse on the dynamite goes out before the stick blows, and Jack, Hurley, and Richard reunite with Sun, Illana, Ben, Lapidus and Miles at the beach camp.
The last thing we saw last night was Charles Widmore, returning to the island in a submarine. Is this the “they” of the “they’re coming” Jacob alluded to before he died at the end of last season?
Other honorable mentions from last night’s episode include reference to Nikki and Paulo who were burring alive in Season 3, Episode 14, Expose and rarely mentioned since. Also, dynamite and Arzt are generally connected in LOST mythology, as Arzt was exploded by Black Rock dynamite in Season 1, Episode 24, Exodus, Part 2. Ben began the episode by discussing Napoleon, a short guy who was banished to an island with a power complex. The connection is alarming.
Other LOST Season 6 recaps:
Episodes 1 & 2: “LAX Parts 1 & 2″
Episode 11: “Happily Ever After”
Episode 12: “Everybody Loves Hugo”
Episode 13: “The Last Recruit”
Episode 16: “What They Died For”
Episode 17: “The End” (series finale)
Katelyn is a graduate student at Michigan State University is East Lansing, MI. In her free time she loves to spend time watching and writing about LOST. Check out her LOST-themed blog at thelostloophole.blogspot.com for daily LOST-related updates.
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