Lost: Ben Goes On The Road

With all the scripted series now returning from their writers' strike-induced absences, you sort of expect most of them to let viewers get their feet wet in their first episode back.

Well last night's episode of "Lost" was the equivalent of your older brother picking you up and tossing you into the deep end of the pool. And, as is the case when that happens, "The Shape of Things to Come" was a little jarring, but ultimately, this mindfrick of an episode was definitely the way to go.

It featured action-packed sequences, game-changing revelations and a showcase for Michael Emerson (pictured, right), the best actor on the show.

In the off-Island sequences, Ben did a little globe-trotting, starting in the Sahara desert (where he easily and badass-ily dispatched of two goons) Tunisia (where we learned his adventures were happening a more than a year after the plane crash and his "On the Road" inspired alias of Dean Moriarty is a preferred guest), the Iraq (where he met up with Sayid), and London (where he met up with his nemesis).

I'll get back to those flash-forwards in a bit, but first I want to talk about the action on the Island, which was kick-started early on. Apparently, Karl and Rosseau had been gunned down by the freighter mercenaries (so I guess Ben DIDN'T set them up to get killed), who took Alex hostage. She interrupted an intense game of Risk between three men (Locke, Hurley, Sawyer) and a baby Aaron when she triggered a distress signal when disarming the alarm protecting Locke's camp.

Ben, playing classical music at his piano as so many villains do, quickly whipped out a shotgun and sprang into action (apparently, the piano comes with a shotgun). A gun battle ensued, with a couple of nobodies dying before the house Claire was in was blown up. Since ABC didn't hype the death of a character this week, I knew she'd be fine and Sawyer scooped her up and brought her to the house Ben, Locke and Hurley had holed themselves up in.

Now, this is when things REALLY started to get sticky. Keamy (the particularly nasty leader of the mercenaries) held a gun to Alex's head and demanded Ben come out. Ben called his bluff, tried to convince him that Alex meant nothing to him and — appeared completely dumbfounded when Keamy actually went ahead and blew Alex's brains out (ok, so I guess a character CAN die without ABC hyping it to, um, death).

Distraught, Ben muttered "he changed the rules", and things REALLY picked up. He enclosed himself in a private room which had a door marked with odd hieroglyphics. A little while later, he appeared again, completely composed and led the group out of the house to see the Smoke Monster (in his most extended appearance since it thrashed Mr. Eko) take out the mercenaries.

So Ben is able to control (or at least unleash) the Smoke Monster. Pretty cool stuff. But what I find most intriguing is the strongly-suggested idea that Ben is able to time travel/teleport (as opposed to merely sending his consciousness through time, ala Faraday). Maybe all he did when he went into that room in last night's episode was call the Smoke Monster, but I think there's much more to his secret place.

On top of always having detailed information on everyone he meets (like Keamy last night), it would explain why he would appear in the middle of the Sahara wearing a winter parka, and why a polar bear skeleton can be found in Tunisia (or on the Island in the first place). Hmm. A cold place where a polar could live and you'd need to wear a heavy parka, the Island and Tunisia. I'm not smart enough to make a link, but there's something to it right?

We also found out how Sayid came to be Ben's off-Island assassin. Apparently, one of Widmore's people was responsible for the death of Nadia, Sayid's love who he married upon getting off the Island. Both men, motivated by revenge set out to go after Widmore and his people. Except that I can't really shake the feeling that Ben is really the one pulling the strings, and somehow arranged for Nadia's death to motivate Sayid in joining his mission. I wouldn't put it past the guy.

Finally, Ben confronted Widmore (now an alcoholic shell of his former self and suffering from intense nightmares) and told him he was going to kill HIS daughter, Penelope, as revenge. Widmore then dared Benjamin to find her, and said the Island would be HIS again.

I find this fascinating in many regards. The most significant by far is the idea that everything happening on the Island right now is due to the machinations of two characters (Ben and Widmore) who didn't even show their face until well into season two. I mean think about it — you started watching the show, became invested in the castaways' lives, and then it turns out that the whole thing is some twisted chess game between two dudes you won't even see until the second season.

The best part is that I'm totally into it. It's due to terrific writing to make the best out of characters like Widmore, which we don't see that often, seem important. I was also a little scared to find out that Ben's mission is to kill Penelope, since her romance with Desmond is such an effective love story.

Of course, we've had a little time to get to know Ben, so the revelation that he's a big deal in everything isn't a shocker. Still, Emerson continues to impress with his acting and his wicked sense of humor. I liked when he asked Locke, exactly how long he waited before informing him that his phone rang (and Locke's deadpan response of "five minutes"). I also love the idea that we're supposed to think he's distraught about having his "daughter" killed, but the thing he's REALLY upset about is probably the fact that Widmore "changed the rules" and those events weren't supposed to happen.

Also strong last night was Josh Holloway as Sawyer, who's turned in some fine work this year, considering his character hasn't had a spotlight episode yet. I liked seeing him become protective of Hurley, who was forced to accompany Locke and Ben in helping find Jacob's cabin. Sawyer's really grown and when you're done growing on this show, you tend to die. Also, I still can't shake Sawyer's line earlier this season about how they should kill Ben because, Ben has probably already figured out how he's going to kill them (and based on what we saw last night, that's probably more accurate than he knows).

Meanwhile, on the beach, a body washed up on shore and it turned out to be the ship's doctor. The only problem is that, when they contacted the freighter, the doctor was alive and well (thanks for exposing Faraday's lies Bernard!) You had to feel bad for Jack when he got Faraday to admit that they were never there to get the castaways off the Island. Not just because of the hopelessness that revelation probably made him feel, but because it just HAD to kill him that Locke was right about being wary of the freighter people.

Except that we DO know Jack gets off the Island.

So what'd you think of this episode? Why do you think Jack is sick? Could Kate be acting any more desperately to get Jack's attention? What was up with the wound on Ben's arm when he was in the Sahara? Finally, what other secret talents does Bernard have?