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Oh what a tangled web Ben weaves so Jeremy Bentham gets deceived.

Just when I begin to trust Widmore, Ben has Locke (and me) second-guessing. Does Widmore have a secret motive to get Locke back to the Island? Or is Ben only trying to get information out of Locke? The brilliant writing brought lots of answers yet left me whirling.

Two things hang in the collective balance. Why did Ben leave the Island to begin with and why did Ben work so hard to get Locke’s body back once he cinched him with the electrical cord? Does he not know the Island will revive John? For some reason Ben has been waiting to bring them all back, has been tracking them all just as Widmore has been tracking them, is not afraid for John Locke to die, and has manipulated everybody to get them back to the Island. What is the weasel up to?

My favorite moment this week came when John went to visit Walt. I love Walt. I’ve thought from the beginning that he was supposed to play an important role in the outcome of the Island. In a move of sheer genius, the producers slipped in a three-year time gap so that the original actor could return to play this character. No soap-operaesque announcements such as, “The character of Walt will now be played by Tony Randolph.”

I’ll go on record now as stating that I think Walt will end up back on the Island. John Locke may not have been willing to bring him back, just as he wasn’t willing to bring back Sun, but Ben was willing and knew Walt’s location. Ben tricked Sun to get her back. He will trick Walt, too.

Though this one did not hold quite the fast-paced impact as the other episodes this season, actor Terry O-Quinn brought us a great look into the psyche of Jeremy Bentham/John Locke. The gaps in the story are filling in like sand in a grave. I think it incredibly interesting that once John Locke returns to the Island, he holds no fear. He is willing to tell the new survivors of the Ajira crash the truth no matter how implausible the truth may sound. After all, what has he to fear? Are they gonna kill him? He’s already risen from the dead.

One final note: I’m thrilled Zuleikha Robinson has joined the cast. Many of you might remember her from my other favorite show—one that didn’t make it past the mayhem of the writer’s strike. That’s right. She brought her handcuffs straight from New Amsterdam. Good-bye, 200-year-old revolutionary. Hello, 200-year-old Richard the Pirate. Maybe he’ll take her for a ride in his Black Rock.

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