In the episode Expose', set on day 49 on the island, I picked up on something Ben said. As Ben and Juliette were in the Pearl Hatch watching a monitor seeing Jack in the Swan station, Juliette asked Ben how he would get Jack to do the surgery? Ben's answer? "By finding out what he is emotionally invested in and exploiting it". He got himself captured and found out that Jack's weakness was Kate.
What does this have to do with Season 4 of LOST and what is currently going on? Well, a couple of things I've noticed recently made me wonder what is currently going on with the Oceanic 6.
Now that we know who they are and have had a flash forward of each of them, I think the pieces are starting to fall into place. The first clue was in the Season finale "Through The Looking Glass" when Jack started whining to Kate, "I'm sick of lying". That started me wondering just exactly what he has to be lying about.
The second clue was in Hurley's flash forward when Matthew Abbadon visits him and asks, "They're still alive. aren't they?"
The third clue was Kate and the reveal about her having Aaron as her child. Jack knows that Aaron is his nephew and it's killing him to have to lie about it. He can't bring himself to see Aaron or have to lie to him.
9/22/2004
But the definite proof in the pudding was Sun screaming for her husband during childbirth. Yes, that was a giveaway and it cemented my theory. The date on the tombstone was pretty obvious, especially since the producers made a point of showing the headstone in a close up knowing everyone (especially bloggers like me) would freeze frame it and read the dates.
MY THEORY:
Not only is Jin alive but so is Claire, and for that matter probably most of the rest of the Losties. Somewhere along the way a deal was made, and in this deal, a few people get to leave the island, but under the promise that they must keep their mouths shut.
Who would make such a deal? and what could you hold over someone's head that is powerful enough that they won't spill the beans about the island or it's location? Especially if they are celebrities with the whole world watching them and listening to their story about the plane crash and their survival.
Here is what happens... Somehow Ben is able to manipulate both Jack and Locke to help him get rid of the freighter people. How you say? By promising them a ticket off the island. Not everyone though, and I'm sure he doesn't explicitly say this, But a few are promised a ticket home. I'm sure that he leverages Sun's pregnancy and the urgency of her getting off the island by her second trimester.
But back to pulling the strings. Here's how it works. At some point in the next few episodes Jack will find out that Claire is his sister and that is what Ben has to hold over Jack's head. Claire is held hostage on the island to keep Jack's mouth shut. She will make a heart wrenching decision not to have her baby grow up on Mystery Frickin' Island, so she will give Aaron to Kate to take off the island. Kate must raise Aaron as her own, both to protect Claire and because Ben has probably threated to harm Aaron if she spills the beans.
That's two down. Sun obviously has to leave in order to give birth to Ji Yeon, but how to contain her? By keeping Jin on the island. She said she missed him and now we know why.
Number four is a little easier. Clearly either Ben framed Widmore or maybe Widmore really had Nadia killed. Either way Sayid's anger pushing him to get payback made it easy for Ben to recruit him to work for him. Sayid has always been the dutiful soldier, never directly the leader, but always ready to take orders and act. There is no one left on the island for Sayid to care about as he was really quick to jump on Lapidus' chopper for the first flight out, so Ben had to find and exploit something else Sayid found near and dear. Ben probably has or created evidence of Widmore killing Nadia and used it to recruit Sayid.
Remember Ben saying " Is there anything a man wouldn't do to save his son?", no? You will because he will utter that line in "Meet Kevin Johnson". That is how he recruited Michael in the first place. And how he continues to keep Michael under his control.
But I digress, The last of the Oceanic celebrities to leave is Hugo. Now, I've been pondering just exactly what Ben could hold over Hugo's head that would keep him quiet. We all know that Hugo is a big softie and gets along with everyone. Could Ben have threated Rose? or Claire? This is where Libby would have really come in handy. I'm not sure yet what Ben has over Hurley except that it's something big. Maybe we haven't seen it or her yet? But when Chawley visits Hugo in Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute, he tells Hugo, "They Need You".
Yes it's Ben. He's the bad guy here. Somehow by the end of this season we will see Jack and Locke team up with Ben to kill off the Freighties, end the freighter storyline and in the process sell their souls to the Devil (Ben). Once off the island they will be eaten up with regrets and realize what a crappy deal they made. They must get back to save the rest of the losties.
Get Back Jack, Back to Where You Once Belonged.
What's waiting down the road? As Penny once told Desmond in the parking lot when Des asked her how she found him. Penny said "With enough money and determination, you can find anyone".
How true, and this is where Hugo's money and possibly Sun Paik's father's money will come in. They will return to the island and rescue Jin and Claire and all the rest. Well not all the rest, Locke and Rose won't want to leave. They might just spend their remaining days on the island. Who knows, maybe they are the skeletons in the caves?
