Your faithful live-blogger, about to watch and blog the latest episode.

Major spoilers below the fold . . .

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This appears to be a Ben episode, unless this is some kind of misdirection.

In the previouslies, we see a lot of stuff that's already happened. Hurley is featured briefly, and it would be awesome to see the big guy again.

Now to the show: Ben runs through the jungle at night in a panic, and falls. On a side note, that particular thing (Lost character running through the jungle does a face plant) seems to happen a lot.

Ben then sees a bunch of torches. Who supplies everyone with all these torches? Seriously, have you ever tried to make a long-burning torch? It appears to be a skill everyone on this island has because they can produce ten or a dozen of them, already lit, in no time.

The torch-bearers are Ilana, Lepidus, Sun, Miles, and she wants to know where Sayid is. Ben tells her about Sayid's murders of Dagon and Lennon, and he convinces them to head to the beach. One reason he gives is that they'll have the water at their back . . . which, militarily speaking, means they'll be trapped. Trying to figure out why this is better.

Cut to Alternate-reality LA, where Ben Linus, teacher of European history, teaches on Napolean, a man who once was the ruler but then, at Elba Island, was stripped of his power and "without power he might as well be dead."

Ben is told by Principal Reynolds, who, by the way, treats him like carp, that he has detention duty. Benjamin protests, but it's due to budget cuts, and there's not much that can be done. "Thanks for understanding, Linus."

As Reynolds walks off, Ben murmers, "it's Dr. Linus, actually."

In the teacher's lounge, Ben has lunch with a finicky Artz (Yea!) who is upset about having ruined his shirt with formaldehyde. Since he's dead in the island reality, this is kind of ironically funny.

Ben is frustrated about the budget cuts and the fact that Reynold's has dismissively canceled the history club, but he refuses to give up on the kids. Locke, the substitute, tells Ben that he (Ben) should be the leader, the Principal.

"Who's going to listen to me?"

Locke raises his hand, volunteering.

Back in the jungle, Miles asks Ben about the smoke monster. Ilana isn't buying that Smokey killed Jacob, even though Ben insists that he did. She hands the bag of ashes to Miles.

Miles does his thing, and the ashes don't lie. "Linus killed him"

Ben acts all innocent, but Ilana says "Jacob was the closest thing I had to a father."

And then she just walks off. Wouldn't now be the time to kill Ben?

"Uh oh," says Miles.

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Daylight. Ben is still not dead and still tagging along with Ilana, and they are now at the old Lostie beach. It's a mess but most of the structures are still standing.

Ilana is going to look for tools and get to work on shelter. She asks everyone else to look for food and get a fire going.

"You know, psychics are totally unreliable. Miles actually tried to blackmail me once," Ben nervously asserts. Ilana's not buying it.

Back in LA, Ben looks at his reflection in a microwave window. There's been a lot of that this season. He hands a hot meal to his dad, uncle Rico! Looking old and unhealthy. Rico's on oxygen, but seems much more caring and balanced than bitter Island Rico.

Ben complains about how he's unappreciated at work.

His dad apologizes for having taken Ben to the island as a kid, for signing up for that darn Dharma initiative. Who knows what Ben would have become, "if we'd stayed". I can't figure out if he means stayed off the island, or stayed on the island.

The doorbell rings and it's Alex, who is a student of Ben's, rather than his daughter. They seem very close, which is creepy. And now I'm even more confused.

She complains that he missed history club, and he explains about detention. But he does agree to tutor her.

Back at the beach, Sun asks Ilana when they are going to find Jin. Ilana says she wants to find him too, because she's supposed to protect a candidate named Kwon.

Sun asks her what all this means. She tells Sun that she (Sun) will find out what replacing Jacob means, if she's selected.

We cut to Hurley, who is lying in the brush dreaming of cheese curds. He and Jack are heading to the temple. Jack seems to be in a rush. Hurley wants to take their time, but Jack's having none of it. He treats Hurley like carp, as always.

As they argue about how to get there, Richard shows up.

"Where did you come from?"

Richard answers him fully. Ha ha ha, I crack myself up.

Hurley wisely asks if they should trust Richard. "At least he's not stalling," Jerk jabs back.

At Lost beach, Ben rifles through old luggage, noticing the book The Chosen.

Lepidus tells Ben how he was supposed to fly flight 815, but he overslept. He notes that his life would have been different if that had happened. Ben rightly points out that he ended up on the island anyway. In the meantime, Ilana puts a rifle at Ben's neck and marches him off to the Lostaway graveyard. It looks like she's going to shoot him, but instead, she shackles his legs and forces him to dig his own grave. So she's still going to shoot him, just later.

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Some conjecture - is Uncle Rico on oxygen because of radiation sickness? I'm assuming they left the island in an evacuation when Jughead went off.

We're back. Ben is tutoring Alex on early 19th century Britain. Alex is having some trouble, and being very dramatic, but she has a point: she has to do well on this AP test because she's poor, and she wants to go to Yale.

He offers to write a letter of recommendation, but she says she needs one from someone who went there, like "that pervert, principal Reynolds".

Ben is very interested in this. She tries to deny that anything happened, but finally gives in. Evidently she caught Reynolds canoodling the school nurse.

Ben promises not to say anything, and we can trust him on this, because Ben is a man of his word.

Back to the beach, Ben is digging his grave, rather slowly (as I would also).

Miles walks over to wax sarcastic but also to offer Ben some food.

Ben offers Miles 3.2 million dollars if he'll let him go.

"What are you going to do, are you going to write me a check on this banana leaf?" Ha.

Ben says Jacob didn't care about dying. But Miles corrects him. Turns out Ben did care, but just kept believing to the end that there was some good in Ben.

Back to Hurley, Jack and Richard.

"You look the same as you did 30 years ago. How is that possible? Is it like a terminator thing? Are you a cyborg?" Hurley quizzes Richard.

Richard explains fully. Hee hee - not really. He does say it was a "gift" from Jacob.

Turns out Richard was leading them astray, and instead of the temple he has led them to the Black Rock. He tells Jack that he led them astray because everyone at the temple is dead.

Hurley mentions speaking with Jacob.

Richard retorts - "Whatever he said to you, don't believe him." Richard marches off. "There's something I need to do"

Jack calls after him, "What do you need to do?"

"Die."

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Artz marks a test with a big fat F. Ben walks in and asks if Artz could *hypothetically* access someone's email account without their knowledge. He wants to see the nurse's emails.

Artz doesn't want much to do with it, until Ben gives Artz the goods on Reynolds and the nurse.

Artz agrees to do it provided he gets a better parking spot, aprons, and newer lab equipment. He laughs at Ben. "You had me fooled with that sweater-vest. Linus you're a real killer."

Back to the beach, Ben continues to dig.

Back at the Black Rock, Jack walks in. Evidently this is the first time Richard's ever come to the old ship, after all his years on the island. Richard's playing with the dynamite. Richard, who just said he wants to die, is playing with dynamite. Hurley wisely suggests they clear out.

Richard says he can't kill himself. Because Jacob touched him. It's considered a gift, but it's really a curse. Which I, of course, agree with, because Jacob's evil.

"Why do you want to die?"

"I devoted my life, longer than you possibly could imagine, in the service of a man who told me everything was happening for a reason, a plan he was going to share with me."

Richard has no purpose any more. His god, Jacob, has died. So he wants to die, and would like Jack to kill him.

Hurley implores Jack not to do this, but Jack is remarkably non-chalant. "If he wants to die, there's nothing we can do to stop him."

Jack lights the fuse, and then squats next to Richard and says "Now, let's talk."

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We're back, and the fuse is burning. Hurley's freaking out, but refuses to leave without Jack, even though the fuse is burning. But, because Jack's gone totally off his nut, Hurley thinks better of it and runs off.

Jack seems convinced that neither one of them is going to die. He believes this because he just came from the lighthouse, and now believes that he was brought to the island for a reason. Richard thinks Jack should leave, and seems pretty nervous, but the fuse goes out, right before blowing them up. Jack has a purpose! Jared is swooning right now, as Jack laughs.

Richard "alright Jack, you seem to have all the answers. So now what?"

"We go back to where we started."

Meanwhile, back at the beach, here comes Smokey as Ben is nearly six feet deep! But then Smokey turns into Locke.

"Hello Ben!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Visiting. What are you doing?"

"I'm digging my own grave"

Ben is ticked at Locke, but Locke promises he doesn't want him to die, and instead offers to Ben the rule of the island, as Ben's shackles come loose.

Locke tells him to come to the other island, to the Hydra station. He has left a rifle inland, and tells him to run to it so he can get the drop on Ilana.

And there Ben goes!

Now, back to LA: Linus bursts into Principal Reynolds office and hands him the emails. The affair-emails. That describe acts that took place on school property. Ugh.

"What do you want?"

"Your job. You're going to resign, for health, personal reasons, your call."

He tells Reynolds that Reynolds must then recommend him for his job.

Reynolds parries Ben's thrust. He says he will torch Alex's recommendation to Yale. "Is my job that important to you?"

Back to the jungle, somehow Ben has to find a rifle in this jungle. And he does, somehow, find that needle in a haystack. He gets the drop on Ilana and commands Ilana to drop her gun.

She waits for him to shoot. "What are you waiting for?"

"I want to explain."

He wants to explain that he knows what she's feeling. He watched Alex die in front of him. It was his fault. He had a chance to save her. But he chose the island. Over her. All in the name of Jacob. "I sacrificed everything for him. And he didn't even care. Yes, I stabbed him, I was so angry, confused, terrified" Terrified of losing his power. But the thing that really mattered to Ben "was already gone."

Ben apologizes for killing Jacob. He doesn't expect her to forgive him, because he can never forgive himself. He just wants her to let him leave.

"Where will you go?"

"To Locke."

"Why?"

Tearfully, "Because he's the only one who will have me!"

The actor who plays Ben is acting the heck out of this scene.

"I'll have you," says Ilana, who picks up her rifle, turns around, and walks off.

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Ben walks into his office in LA, except it's Reynold's office. My mistake. Ben picks up Reynold's nameplate, I think to make us think that he's going to replace it with his own, but just then Alex comes by to thank Principal Reynolds.

"Wow, wonderful"

"Did you have something to do with it?"

Ben denies having anything to do with it. She's just a great student, that's all.

Reynolds walks in, demanding to know what the HECK Ben is doing in his office, until he realizes Alex is there.

Ben, on the other hand, has got his old slot back for history club. So Ben and Reynolds have an understanding. And Artz, who really wanted the slot near the maple tree, will get Ben's parking slot.

Back to the beach with Ilana and Ben. He's still alive, and walking free now. Everyone just kind of looks at him.

He remembers the rifle, and carefully sets it aside as he approaches Sun. He offers to help her with her tarp, and she accepts his help.

Slow motion beach montage: Lepidus makes a fire, Miles looks at the diamonds he dug out of NIKKI AND PAULO'S GRAVE, and Ilana cries, as Jack, Hurley and Richard show up. Sun runs to hug Hurley, and then hug Jack. This is a scene of great joy.

Richard needs a hug, but none is forthcoming yet.

Jack sees Ben, who is also looking very small and hugless.

We cut to the ocean, and there's a submarine, observing the beach.

It's Widmore's submarine.

Dang it.

Previews: Velvet Underground sings a song. Or is it Lou Reed?

Bad Wobot.