We talked about the newly-sympathetic Ben, Daddy issues, Sun and Jin, Jacob’s touch, Widmore’s team, the head-hurting question of the sunken island, and whether we mind not getting answers. You can read it here: MoJo LOST Chat: Dr. Linus

Originally, it was a phrase associated most strongly with Locke, something that Locke, as the man of faith, would say to Jack, the man of reason.   Jack would always brush Locke off, too skeptical to listen.

Now we’ve turned a corner. Jack is no longer skeptical. But neither is he relying on blind faith.

In last night’s episode, 6×07 Dr. Linus, the phrase “for a reason” was spoken twice, once by Richard Alpert and once by Jack.

You can see both those moments in the “Quick Cut” video below:

Alpert: “I devoted my life in the service of a man who told me everything was happening for a reason. And now that man’s gone, so my entire life had no purpose.”

Jack (as the flame approaches the dynamite): “For some reason Jacob had been wanting me to know that he had been watching me ever since I was a kid. I’m willing to bet you that if Jacob went to that trouble, that he brought me to this island for a reason, and it’s not to blow up sitting here with you right now.”

"Jacob brought me to this island for a reason"

That’s a big shift. Originally, in Locke’s formulation, the explanation for the reason they were brought to the Island was mystical and abstract. It was fate. It was their destiny. Locke was speaking the language of abstract religion.

But now we’re getting more concrete. It was Jacob, a specific person, who brought them there, for his own reasons.

Since Jacob, presumably, is just a person, not a god, we have now left the realm of abstract faith. Perhaps God or fate or destiny may work in mysterious ways that humans cannot fully understand, but Jacob’s reasons can and will be explained.

Because the reasons originate from within the mind of a specific person, the explanations will be concrete and non-mystical — the type of explanations that even a man of science can accept.

And, in fact, Jack is looking at Jacob and his reasons with a scientist’s eye, drawing a link between cause and effect: “I’m willing to bet you,” Jack says, “that if Jacob went to that trouble, [then] he brought me to this island for a reason.”

In the lighthouse, Jack observed evidence that showed him that Jacob had been watching him since he was a child. From that, Jack infers an explanation: That Jacob must have had a reason to bring him to the Island. It’s a logical and rational inference — and a testable hypothesis.

Jack tests it by lighting the fuse on the dynamite. The flame fizzles out. The hypothesis is confirmed.

“For a reason” has become a mystery that will be solved not by faith, but by science.

Multiple answers are allowed in this poll, so choose as many as apply:

Starting at 0:52, we see Sideways Ben, wearing a sweater vest, in the teacher’s lounge, fussing over the coffeepot, saying:

How many times do we have to go over this. If you have the last cup of coffee, you remove the filter, and throw it away. Fear not, I will make a fresh pot

"If you have the last cup of coffee ... "

What I love about this scene:

– It’s so real, such a part of everyday life, yet something that doesn’t often get portrayed in a drama, especially not a drama tackling such big issues as good versus evil, free will versus destiny, and faith versus reason.

– Michael Emerson is an acting god. To go from the terrifying Henry Gale of Season 2, to the prissy sweater-vest guy in this clip — and to make each one absolutely 100% convincing — is sheer genius.

– Sideways Ben and Sideways Locke seem to have an instant rapport, a mutual respect. Very interesting.

"Tea? Now there's a gentleman's drink."

I also wonder what this scene tells us about the sideways world.

We’ve seen some of the sideways characters get what they want or need: Locke gets Helen, a good future, a sense of humor about his plight, and a healthy sense of boundaries. Hurley gets good luck. Kate gets away. But the sideways world isn’t a Disnified land where all dreams come true. Sayid gets to be with Nadia, but only on the fringes of her life. And everyone still seems to be controlled by their character. Hurley is still warm-hearted, but Sayid is still violent.

What does it mean, then, that Ben, the larger-than-life arch-villain in the Island world, here seems so ordinary? What did Jacob do (if it was, in fact, Jacob who did it) to transform this Milquetoast into a cool killer?

Or is Ben not quite as ordinary as he seems here? That’s a possibility. Maybe we’ll find out more about that tonight, in Dr. Linus.

This next short podcast has got to be the most spoiler-free podcast ever made, revealing absolutely nothing about the show — except that the show is about good and evil. I think we figured that one out already. Damon and Carlton are having fun here, talking about banjos and apple-eating contests:

In this one, Emilie de Ravin talks about why she enjoys playing Feral Claire, and what she would like to do with the squirrel baby.

The other two podcasts are in the next post.

If you haven’t seen this clip, you’re in for a treat. Even if you have seen it already, it’s always fun to watch it again.

Sideways Ben

We’ve got a Ben-centric episode this week! I’m sure it’s going to be good.

The schedule is the same as usual — an enhanced rerun at 8:00, and the new episode at 9:00 (an hour earlier Central time).

8:00 Enhanced 6×06 Sundown

9:00 New episode 6×07 Dr. Linus

Ben deals with the consequences of an uncovered lie.

I’m excited to announce that I’m going to be guest blogging this episode on Wednesday at a LOST chat on the Mother Jones site. I’ll post the URL when I get it, but in the meantime, you can read their chat from last week: MoJo Sundown chat.

Screencap of Sideways Ben from 6×07 Sneak Peek # 2