Liveblogging tonight's show . . .



Spoilers follow . . .



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Previews. Ben is telling the Lockians that the Boaties have orders to kill everyone on the island. And they're all buying it hook, line and sinker.

And Ben reminds us that Alex is his daughter.

On the beach. Kate is lowering her bikini straps off her shoulders and smiling seductively at Jack. Oh please, no . . .

Jack's digging through meds and Kate is flirting as he downs the "antibiotics".

"Why aren't the Losties back from the boat?" Kate wonders. She also wonders why Jack's not worried.

Jack's Quaaludes gut tells him they are all getting off the island. He's partially right, if the flash-forwards are to be believed.

Gross. A dead body, washed up on the shore. Someone we know? I can't tell. Is it the doctor?

Yes, the doctor. The creepy doctor. With his throat cut. The boat's random body count climbs.

Back to Lockeville.

"We're all gonna die" says Hurley.

"Calm down Chicken Little", says Sawyer. Man, I miss Sawyer/Hurley.

But, fooled us! They were just playing Risk as it turns out. Clever. So that's where the dramatic "We're all gonna die" line from the previews last time came from.

Now we're with Alex. She's being held captive by some bad-dude military guys, and they aren't playing around. Maybe the citizens of Lockington Lanes are all going to die.

The phone rings. Code 14-J.

Ben plays the piano. And he knows where some serious heat is packed.

They're here!

Commercial
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We're back (or forward?). Ben has just come to in the middle of what looks like a desert, although he's wearing a parka. His arm is injured, and some arab guys are riding up on horses. Maybe this is Afghanistan? Wish I understood Arabic. My daughter just told me it's the Sahara.

Ben speaks Arabic and plays the piano!

Ben is also ONE BAD DUDE!, as these poor guys just figured out. Razzle-Dazzle!

And he can ride a horse! He even said "hyah!".

Back to Locketown. Ben is freaking out. There's no time. Ben tells Locke that it's very important he stay with Ben. It's the only way he'll stay alive.

Sawyer goes to find Claire and the baby.

Back to the beach. Jack's asking accusing questions of Charlotte and Danial.

"'When' is a relative term", Daniel answers, when Jack peppers him with questions about when this might have happened.

Daniel's going to fix the com-sat. Kate's wearing a really skimpy top. What's going on this week?

Back to Fortress Locke. Ben's freaking out, and people are shooting at Sawyer as random Losties get blown away. Sawyer went to get Claire. Ben has already said it's too late to let Sawyer back in.

And the bad guys just exploded Claire's house.

Commercial
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Ben is in some town now in the flash-forward or flash-back. He is in Tunisia. His name there is "Dean Moriarty". The receptionist looks kind of freaked when he gives her that name.

The date is October 24th, 2005. So this is a flash forward.

Sayid is on TV. "I just want to bury my wife in peace".

Back to the past, in Locke's fortified Lair as the military closes in.

Locke is yelling at Ben. "What is going on?"

Ben: "The technical term is 'Shock and Awe'"

Only Jacob can help them now, according to Ben. Hurley knows where the shack's at, and Locke can talk to him.

Sawyer has found Claire. She's alive! And Sawyer's a freakin' hero in my book. Well done, man.

Sawyer: "Open the front door!!!"

Ben: "Hugo, you don't want to do that!"

So Hurley smashes a window. He's awesome. Claire just "got her bell rung". After being blown up?

The doorbell rings. After everyone freaks out, it ends up it's only Miles. He has a walkie-talkie. From the bad guys.

Commercial
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Back to Tunisia, in the middle of an islamic funeral. Ben is wearing a bush-hat and shades.

As an aside, Ben's the cats-meow, don't you think?

Ben's up on a tower and surveilling some evil looking guy and Sayid, who's one of the pallbearers, and who just caught a glimpse of Ben!

Ben runs down the stairs and Sayid tackles him. They are in Tikrit, Iraq, evidently. Not in Tunisia anymore. The funeral is for Sayid's wife.

His wife was Nadia.

Ben tells Sayid that Ishmael Bakir is at the funeral. He's one of Widmore's men. And, it looks like he's the one who killed Nadia, based on the picture Ben has of him speeding away from the scene of the murder.

Back to the Unsafe-house. Miles is telling Ben to take the walkie. Why would Ben talk to them, Ben asks.

Because they have a hostage. And not one of the Others who are pledged to die for the island (and who Ben couldn't care less about). It's Alex.

It's Keemy [sic], out in the front yard. He wants to talk face to face.

Keemy's terms: he promises if Ben gives himself up, no one else will get hurt.

Ben knows that's bull-hockey. He knows everything about Mark Keemy. Ben knows everything, seems. He knows Keemy is a heartless mercenary.

They drag Alex out and Keemy has his gun to her head. Evil jerk.

"Get your [hindparts] out here right now, or I'm going to kill your daughter"

Ben's counter-proposal is for them to just leave. He's calling their bluff!

"Alex, I have this under control." Alex tells him they've already killed Rousseau and Carl.

Ben: "She's not my daughter. I stole her as a baby from an insane woman. She's just a pawn. She means nothing to me". Ben's trying to head-game Keemy out of this . . . but.

Keemy just killed Alex.

Ben is an evil idiot.

And I liked Alex's character, so I'm pretty ticked off right now.

Ben is dumbfounded.

And dumb.

Commercial
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Locke and Sawyer are trying to make plans, but Ben is still standing there like a zombie, mouth-agape, just drinking in his stupidity.

"He changed the rules," Ben mutters

Ben springs into action and heads through some secret hatch. I have a feeling he's about to unleash the hounds.

Flash-forward to Tikrit. Ben's shadowing the assassin, Ishmael. Now they're in one of those slow-speed, "Oh, excuse me" chases in a crowded market.

Ishmael gets the drop on him though.

"Who are you and why are you following me?"

"My name is Benjamin Linus, and I need you to take a message to Charles Widmore."

"What message is that?"

No need to answer, because Sayid fills the dude with every bullet in his clip.

Ben tells Sayid to go home. He gives him some Dr. Phil-ish advice.

"This is my war, not yours"

Sayid just lost his wife. "Don't tell me this is not my war, Benjamin. Who's next?"

"I'll be in touch". Ben walks off with one of those slight, evil grins playing on his face.

So Sayid volunteered. He wasn't coerced into being a hit-man.

Back to the Lock Blockhouse. Claire shows up, and Ben is now back. And he's in charge.

"When I give the order, head straight for the tree-line."

The house begins to shake.

The smoke monster is back!

Ben, "OK, outside! Outside now!"

Smokey's kicking rear and taking Boatie-names now. Pretty cool. Ben controls the smoke-monster, evidently.

The Losties and Miles run off as commanded while Ben goes to say goodbye to his daughter.

She died hearing that her dad didn't care about her. Man, he makes me mad. He's crying, so I guess he did care, sort of. Pretty dumb bluff to play with the life of your daughter, Ben.

And this means we've seen the last of Rousseau and Carl too.

Commercial
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Back to the beach. Daniel has created a usable telegraph and is asking the boat about the doctor.

A response comes back. Anyone know morse code? I wonder if that's what they're really talking about. I think Daniel's lying.

"Your friends are fine, the helicopter's coming back inthe morning." He's obviously lying.

Bernard knows morse code, so he knows Daniel's lying. He says they said the doctor is fine.

Jack's gets that look on his face and that crazy glint in his eyes. He's about to rip Daniel apart. And Daniel finally admits what everyone but Jack has known since the beginning. The Boaties aren't going to take the Losties off the island.

Now we're with Ben, Locke, et.al. In the woods. With torches. Have you ever wondered where they get all these torches? My guess is it's pretty hard to make a really cool looking torch.

Ben walks up.

Locke: "Sorry about your daughter."

Locke adds, "you lied to me, you said you didn't know what the smoke-monster was."

Ben: "You can ask Jacob all about it".

Sawyer: "I never should have followed you whackos in the first place." No kidding.

Locke, on the other hand, is not going to hear of it. "Hugo stays with us". The crazy nutjob pulls a gun on Sawyer.

Sawyer gets the drop on Locke as well. There's a tense confrontation going on until Hugo says he'll go with Locke and Ben to appease them.

"You harm so much as one hair on his curly head, I'll kill you". Sawyer cares for Hurley. You gotta love Sawyer these days.

And off they go to the beach while Locke, Hurley and Ben head to the cabin.

Now Ben is in London. He's about to whack this poor concierge. But the guy buys Ben's story about visiting the nice couple in 4E and tells him he can go up.

I think Ben's after Widmore. He's headed up to the penthouse.

Really crummy security in this place, by the way. Ben walks right into his bedroom!

Charles and Ben meet at last.

"I wondered when you were going to show up."

"I see you've been getting more sun," Widmore teases. Although Ben looks pretty pasty to me.

"You're rock is lovely this time of year"

Widmore's been drinking.

Ben can't kill Widmore for some reason. "You know I can't do that."

Ben blames Widmore for the death of Alex. Which seems strange, since Ben's the one who killed her, in my opinion.

Widmore will have none of it.

"I know who you are, boy. What you are. I know that everything you have you took from me."

Ben says "I'm here, Charles, to tell you that I'm going to kill your daughter. Penelope, is it? And once she's gone, once she's dead, then you'll understand how I feel. And you'll wish you hadn't changed the rules." So evidently Ben was willing to play with Alex's life because to kill her would have violated some rules. Rules which ended up being violated.

"You'll never find her"

Charles reminds Ben that the island is his.

Ben: "But you'll never find it."

"Then the hunt is on."

Each man is pitted against the other. Widmore wants Ben's most precious possession (the island) and Ben wants Widmore's (Penelope), for revenge.

End.

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Previews: Jack is sick. He has appendicitis. Juliet says he's going to die. And the Boaties Militia are chasing Claire, Sawyer and Aaron through the jungle. Keemy hears Aaron crying, and I'll bet you a steak dinner there's no way Sawyer is going to let anyone hurt him.