The Man Behind The Curtain

1 year, 6 months ago by Will
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Ben from Lost

Another Lost wednesday is here and we’re all ready for tonight’s Lost episode “The Man Behind The Curtain.” A ton happening in tonight’s episode:

Spoiler Warning

  • Will we really find out anything tangible about Jacob?
  • What exactly will Ben expose to Locke about the Island?
  • How will Jack explain Juliet’s recording to the Losties? Can he restore their faith in him?

Given this is a Ben-centric episode; we should obviously get some answers about his true origins, what his role was in the DHARMA Initiative, and more importantly where the relationship stands between the Others and DHARMA. I believe there is a legitimate rift between Alpert and Ben and that Locke is the mechanism they will both attempt to use to gain the upper-hand in whatever internal struggle that is happening.

Official Description:

The Man Behind the Curtain, Wednesday, May 9 at 10/9c on ABC. Ben begrudgingly begins to introduce Locke to the secrets of the island, beginning with the mysterious Jacob.

Preview

You can also see a sneak peak of The Man Behind The Curtain.

As always, read through all of the comments before posting. Be mindful of others and do not post any pre-show spoilers, they will be removed. Have fun.


731 Comments Subscribe to the comment feed

  1. It certainly seems like the writers have put a lot of effort in to making the last 4 or 5 episodes climactic, rather than just the season finale.

    Based on the end of The Brig, and on the trailer for The Man Behind The Curtain, it’s clear that Jack knows more than we’re aware of, and certainly knows more than he’s let on so far. With Sawyer playing the tape, it seems to me that Jack has got some ’splainin’ to do!

  2. I worry most about the Jack/Juliet issue tonight. With all of this “Star Wars” banter going around… Jack=Luke and Jack strays toward the “Dark Side” of the Force (Others)… meaning he ventures out from the core values/objectives he shares with the beach camp Losties. Jack goes! Who follows? Who stays? Who follows the antiJack path?

  3. DocH wrote:

    I worry most about the Jack/Juliet issue tonight. With all of this “Star Wars” banter going around… Jack=Luke and Jack strays toward the “Dark Side” of the Force (Others)… meaning he ventures out from the core values/objectives he shares with the beach camp Losties. Jack goes! Who follows? Who stays? Who follows the antiJack path?

    I really don’t think Jack is “with” the others, I think he’s playing along and Jules is actually the one that is betraying her group, she knows that Ben will never let her go, so she needs a power shift. Goes along with my theory (and the hints being dropped) that Alpert and the others close to Ben are tired of his crap and are hoping to use Locke to overthrow Ben.

  4. Im hoping for a little more insight on Ben. I hope they dont keep us hanging too much. Jack knows plenty and hes going to use it for his benefit.

  5. PS… my first posting and glad to be here!

  6. Hello guys,

    do you think that all members of flight 815 are already dead and are in hell now, I don’t think so, I think this is another way to manipulate the group at the beach and this is just another plan of Ben, who is always manipulating.
    And how did Penelope know the coordinates of the island ? She was searching with scientists for magnetic spots or magnetic events. What does Penelope know about all ?

  7. i believe that the island is a testing ground hidden from sattelites. the dharma iniative has developed methods of using electromagnetism to change events, to alter the minds of those on the island and block signals disabling contact with the outside world. they have discovered how the mind works and know how to manipulate it. they may also know how to ressurect the dead (not certain).the monster is an advanced technological developement which can alter thoughts and clearly kill people. the dharma iniative plan to save the human race and the island has its own magnetic field. many fathers of the losties were previous members of the dharman initiative. one sure thing the island is no hell, it is the future of civilisation.

  8. plejaaden wrote:

    Hello guys,

    do you think that all members of flight 815 are already dead and are in hell now, I don’t think so, I think this is another way to manipulate the group at the beach and this is just another plan of Ben, who is always manipulating.
    And how did Penelope know the coordinates of the island ? She was searching with scientists for magnetic spots or magnetic events. What does Penelope know about all ?

    C&C have all but completely ruled out “hell”. They’ve definitely ruled out purgatory, so it follows that they’d likely rule out hell as well. Especially seeing as Cooper’s references to it last week were just too obvious for it to be true.

    Hammer, I’m beginning to think along your train of thought, that Alpert et al are tired of Ben’s shenanigans. I also think that there is enough evidence to suggest that Juliet, while not trustworthy at this point, is also not necessarily completely on board with whatever The Others are up to. If anyone is to defect anywhere, I think it’ll be Juliet renouncing any and all allegiances to The Others and joining the quest of the Losties to get back home.

  9. Hello Everybody!

    well jack is with the others & u can’t change my mind since i’m more stubborn about my opinions than a mule. jack is only there for himself now. he realizes tht there ain’t no gettin off the island & if u can’t beat em, join em. there ain’t no beatin ben or jacob so jack is joinin there group. (oh and if we’re doin star wars, jack is anakin not luke)

    very happy we finally get a Ben flashback after the bastard has been on the show for 2 long seasons. i luv how evil & twisted the man is & michael emerson is an amazing actor. he’s very convincing.

    Penny may not be who we think she is. Not quite sure yet, but she would make a great other/dharma. I think (am begginning to anyways) that she’s with dharma/others & was only with desmond because he has flashes.

  10. I agree with Hammer and JSEG. Juliet has filled Jack in and together they are planning to make a move against Ben (keeping the camp in the dark in a effort to avoid a potential leak back to the Others). But Ben, being the grand manipulater, is one step ahead sending the tape back to the beach. Perhaps Ben has some help with his manipulting tactics via a computer of some sort. Maybe that computer goes by the name of Jacob! Maybe the only person who has ever SEEN Jacob is Ben (think HAL in 2001).

  11. lost chicka wrote:

    Hello Everybody!

    well jack is with the others & u can’t change my mind since i’m more stubborn about my opinions than a mule. jack is only there for himself now. he realizes tht there ain’t no gettin off the island & if u can’t beat em, join em. there ain’t no beatin ben or jacob so jack is joinin there group. (oh and if we’re doin star wars, jack is anakin not luke)

    very happy we finally get a Ben flashback after the bastard has been on the show for 2 long seasons. i luv how evil & twisted the man is & michael emerson is an amazing actor. he’s very convincing.

    Penny may not be who we think she is. Not quite sure yet, but she would make a great other/dharma. I think (am begginning to anyways) that she’s with dharma/others & was only with desmond because he has flashes.

    Although i mostly agree with you right now about Jack, I still think it’s a possibility he is still a Lostie. And if we are doin the star wars thing, Swayer=Han Solo(personality wise)

    anyone else have any star wars connections?

  12. lostchicka:

    i’m with you on Penny, she’d make a fantastic covert Dharma operative…

    so stoked for tonight.

  13. We didn’t start it here, but one of the producers started the Star Wars references for tonight… @
    ew.com/ew/article/0,,20038267,...

  14. Does anyone think that someone else in the lostie group is a spy for the others or maybe is an other? Maybe there is someone like an Ethan, that ran out of the jungle and we just dont know it yet . . .

  15. scuba - Hugo accounted for everyone on the list except Ethan, so it would have to be someone from the tail section. Who’s left from the tail that could be an other? Spies are a def. possibilty though…people do things to get what they want/need.

  16. lost chicka - Auseillo discusses spoilers. We do not want to know.

    It’s a spoiler if you found out something that wasn’t released during a show or confirmed in the podcasts and quote a known spoiler site.

    Will - This stuff used to get deleted before too many people saw it. Is there a policy shift?

  17. can somebody plz explain this to me…how come lost is telecast at 10pm and then have a repeat in PRIMETIME??

  18. primetime i mean at 9pm

  19. maize - You most likely already know that the originals are aired at 10 so as not to lose viewers to Idol. The reruns at 9 are for the us crazed Lost fans that don’t watch Idol.

  20. Regarding Star Wars - The island could be the death star in disguise? Jack could find out about Claire? Locke could be Ben’s father? Okay I had better stop.

  21. makes sense now..thanks hammer..i thought becos ‘lost’ lost ratings..hehe

  22. So iwent to lostspoylers to reade the rest. thye’re saying nothin abaout the mtg with jacolb, ya gotta wtch they say,

    werez andreus?

  23. Guys, even though I love the Star Wars theories (big fan), I think because the producers are also big fans they are incorporating references just to pay homage. I don’t think the story is based on SW. It would actually be cool if Alpert is Jacob and disquised as a servant like the princess, but IMO this story will stand on it’s own.

  24. Bonghitz - Andreas moved on but Will and his entourage are running the blog.

  25. Tanks, wesley.

  26. i didn’t know i’d offend so many people by 1 little itty bitty comment. sorry, didn’t know it counted as a spoiler.

  27. I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again…
    Vincent is Jacob. You know it’s true!
    Can’t wait to chat about the ep with you all soon!

  28. Oooh ooooh plus i meant to say that I really hope Jack & Claire find out that they are Brother & Sister tonight but sadly I just don’t think it will happen ever on the show - I think it’s just one of those priviledged information things that only us “watchers” get to know :( I’d love to see some nice bonding moments between them on finding out the news - remember Jack was 1st to help Claire after the crash. Totally because he’s a doc & she was pregs at the time though. Ahh sigh. Plus a full shirtless hour of Sawyer wouldn’t go astray ;0)
    Or KateLucyMonica for that matter! haha. Enjoy guys, meet you back here to discuss…syncronise your watches!
    Kate (nz)

  29. That episode was incredible. Just wanted to be the first to post on this. The scene with Jacob, can someone tell me that I’m not crazy? I swear, when Ben was at the rocking chair and told “Jacob” that he’s had his fun, and Ben was thrown against the wall, the camera panned back to the chair and I am sure I saw someone sitting in it! It was for only a second. Can someone confirm!?!

  30. It’s a boy, Roger!

  31. Nimbustay, Mr Goodwrench!

  32. Itz not time yet, benjy man.

    Isntt anyone watchign this show?

  33. Wooooooo Hooooooooo!!! Frickin’ goose bumps man! I still think that Ben’s higher ups want him out…didn’t count on Alex helping Lock…but are they in for a surprise ay?

  34. i cant believe they killed locke, so many questions………………..

  35. Oh my God! They killed Locke! You bastards!

  36. Matt wrote:

    That episode was incredible. Just wanted to be the first to post on this. The scene with Jacob, can someone tell me that I’m not crazy? I swear, when Ben was at the rocking chair and told “Jacob” that he’s had his fun, and Ben was thrown against the wall, the camera panned back to the chair and I am sure I saw someone sitting in it! It was for only a second. Can someone confirm!?!

    yeah there is a man in the chair for a brief sec. I watched it in slow mo

  37. i dont know if i can watch this show if john locke isnt on it… im literally crying. is that pathetic? probably.

  38. i swear to god if Locke dies im gonna stop watching the show

  39. Jacob is Desmond!!!

  40. OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! OH MY FRIGGIN GOD!!!!!!! LOCKE IS DEAD!!!!!!!!!! LOCKE IS FRIGGIN DEAD!!!!!!!!! BEN KILLED LOCKE!!!!!!!! BEN SHOT LOCKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY HEAD IS STILL SPINNING!!!!!!!!!!!

  41. btw… what happened to Annie? did ben sacrifice her too? he sure seems to miss her.

  42. oh….my…..god. Greatest Show in the history of TV. Greatest episode of the series. PERIOD.

  43. I was actually expecting Locke to kill Ben…

  44. Oops, I meant to say Jacob is Kelvin

  45. Was that just a bad make-up job, or has richard alpert not aged in 30 or so years….

  46. I’m done with LOST. Locke is dead. I can’t friggin believe it. This is the worst ending to the one of the best shows I’ve ever watched. What a disappointment.

  47. Okay. I know this is a repeat comment, but how could this happen??? I am soooo mad! Locke CAN’T be dead!!!! Ben should be dead! GRRRRRRRR

  48. omfg

    I swear if Locke is dead…I mean…. I mean, we all knew he was probably going to die at some point in the series…but not this soon…

    Although, I have more than a feeling that this isn’t the end of Locke, somehow…it can’t be…

  49. I don’t think he’s dead!

  50. a few things:

    first, ben’s dad is uncle rico.
    second…for all of you who once laughed at my “wizard of L’OZ’T theory”…This episode definitely confirmed its validity and even though there was the “help me” bit, I still think it is worth consideration. I’ll look it up and repost it!

    third…best episode to date!

  51. ekco was right, locke was next.

    i see they’re setting up the next season to show the natives.

  52. I’m gonna com straight out & post my theory on Jacob & Ben.

    - Ben can see dead people (his mom. is that y richard wanted to talk to him?)
    - Jacob is dead.
    - Richard really cared when Ben said that he could see his mom who’s dead.
    - Dead People aka Ghosts can move things around & not be seen.
    - Ben is the only one who can see jacob since ben is the only one who can see dead people.

    tell me what u think. have i watched Ghost Whisper 1 to many times?

  53. we dont know for sure if locke is dead or not and judging by the connection with him and the island there is a real possibility that he will be saved and there def was someone in the chair but i dont know who it was…this episode was crazy

  54. Jacob will save Locke. This show rocks

  55. Locke isn’t really dead.. He’s only badly injured. I’m POSITIIVE the island will heal him in a day or two!! You can count on that!

  56. They CANNOT have killed Locke! Can the island heal or save him now?!

    And Nick D. I caught the no-aging thing too!

  57. BongHitz4Sawyer wrote:

    ekco was right, locke was next.

    i see they’re setting up the next season to show the natives.

    the others are the natives! well, some of em anyways (ex. RICHARD).

  58. Nick D. wrote:

    Was that just a bad make-up job, or has richard alpert not aged in 30 or so years….

    This is exactly what i was noticing. Lost doesn’t make mistakes like “bad make-up.” Alpert definitely didn’t age…something weird with time!

  59. yea the others killed all of the dharma intiative crew…they are all messed up this show is out of control now

  60. Nick - not a bad make up job, island time…

    Why did Alpert let John do his thing? Looks like Ben’s agenda is overriding Jacob’s. Why does Jacob need help? Jacob is not Smokey.

    More Daddy issues too.

  61. What an awesome episode. I also thought that I saw a man in the chair for a split second.

    I will say, although some of you are freaking out, we didn’t actually see Locke die.

  62. wow… what a show, locke is not dead please, someone will come for him, who is jacob, what’s up with the dead mom, why did jacob need help, who are the hostiles, that russian dude was running for a hell of a long time, desmond is he dharma, hostile, lostie, what the hell is he, ben is ruthless we know that, we also know he lies, man i hate this show……just kidding

  63. 1) Richard hasn’t aged a day since 30 years ago.

    2) Locke is…*gulp* DEAD? OMG! OMFG!!!!!

    3) Ben has some serious birthday issues. Apparently his idea of a birhtday party is murdering a new person. (mama, daddy, locke).

  64. I don’t think that Ben should be considered special for seeing his mom…Haven’t lots of the Losties seen dead people from their past, people they had unresolved issues with?

  65. Locke is dead, just face it. The writers had to prove how tough they were by killing the patriarch. So predictable in this day and age. What a disappointment.

  66. I thought this show was supposed to have a scientific explanation for everything. Now, ghosts?

    It’ll be totally lame if they let Locke live. I odn’t think it will happen.

  67. god i luv this show! i thougt jacob was freaky untill locke died (i’m just gonna say he’s dead for now.). My mouth was open for 5 minutes straight! OMG! So many twists & turns! Best one yet!!!

    PS: BEN SEES DEAD PEOPLE!

  68. lost chicka - oh, you’re onto something…Ben shot Locke because Locke could hear Jacob…you haven’t seen the end of Locke, there has to be a battle for Jacob between Locke and Ben now.

  69. Joe wrote:

    Locke is dead, just face it. The writers had to prove how tough they were by killing the patriarch. So predictable in this day and age. What a disappointment.

    Locke is 100% NOT dead. Trust me.

  70. i dont want to sound dumb but who is alpert?

  71. BongHitz4Sawyer wrote:

    I thought this show was supposed to have a scientific explanation for everything. Now, ghosts?

    It’ll be totally lame if they let Locke live. I odn’t think it will happen.

    Lmao. I love hwo everyone is saying “GHOSTS!”. We don’t know what is up with jacob…but I’m pretty sure hes not a damned ghost.

  72. island time… why so slow?

    Alpert should have been much older- LEP and Joop at work i guess!? I was hoping we might see the monkey. maybe ben’s next flashback episode…

    i guess if walt ever comes back to the island, DL&CC wont get their panties in a bunch with a 18 year old playing a 10 year old boy… just excuse it with “island time” theories…

  73. that dude who did not age, i think he aged really, well, he knows the secrets of the island, he prob. knows how to look good.

  74. Great episode!

    Some points:

    - Yes, Richard is 30+ years old and hasn’t aged a day. Is he one of the islands original inhabitance? How many toes does he have?!

    - This adds more fuel to my theory I’ve said many times before: There is another set of “others”, more primative and unkempt, than what we see with the Ben group. Perhaps the Richard group that helpd Ben kill the Dharma people is a splint group from the main Others?

    - This proves one thing: The Russian wasn’t lying when he told Syaid that he was the last of the Dharma survivors.

    - I always thought the whsipers in the jungle were ghosts. Pretty boring however if it turns out to be an island of ghosts and angry spirits. Very lame. This could be the “jump the shark” episode if that’s what it turns out to be.

  75. Serious question about the “natives” or “hostiles”.

    It appears quite apparent that their biological aging is inhuman, they made a point in this episode to show that Alpert hadn’t aged a day in 30 years, implying some sort of immortaility property here.

    But if thats the case…where are the rest of the natives now? Ben said theres little to none of them left, that they had to recruit new people from teh outside, so what happened to all the other natives we witnessed at the end of the purge?

  76. Help me out here:

    If Ben was the outsider, the only non-native, why the hell would they let him be the leader? That doesn’t make any sense unless:

    1. Ben has some special powers because of the island.

    OR

    2. Ben is merely a ‘pinocchio’ where Jacob is the puppetmaster.

    OR

    3. Ben has discovered a way to kill/affect natives at will in such a way that they are genuinely afraid of him and take direction from him. (This would make some sense of the ‘help me’ comment by Jacob).

    What do you all think?

  77. 1) as much as i luv locke, he has to stay dead. mikhail was a big enough shocker. i can’t handle 2.

    2) ben killed his father & betrayed dharma to get in with the hostiles. i think that is more proof that u hav 2 kill in order 2 b accepted.

    3) i think we should all sing the happy birthday song to ben so mayb he’ll calm down & quit killin people every year on his birthday.

  78. Oh, and uhh, if these natives had no contact with the outside world prior to DHARMA, how the hell are they so civilized and technologically sophisticated? Where’d they get the gas and masks employed in executing the purge?

    Methinks Season 4 will be about natives…

  79. Vaughn K wrote:

    i dont want to sound dumb but who is alpert?

    I’ll be nice…Alpert is Richard Alpert, the guy who recruited Juliet and retrieved TMFT.

  80. Vaughn K wrote:

    i dont want to sound dumb but who is alpert?

    Go rent Smokin Aces and you’ll see Nestor and Matt Fox.

    He recruited Juliet in not in portland episode. He loves wearing mascara. He gave locke the Sawyer file.

  81. o yea now that u said i remember thanks hammer

  82. 1) Richard’s timeless. Yes.

    2) Locke’s hurt…dramatically. Yes.

    3) The Others (Hostiles) didn’t murder the Dharma people. This ep was clearly setup to make us sympathize with them, but how could people w/o access to technology develop a bioweapon like that? It probably CAME from Dharma. And if they couldn’t live peacefully on the island, then perhaps there was a state of war there and they needed to be repelled.

    4) Ben’s not the only one on the island who sees dead people. I know no one likes him anymore, but remember Jack?

  83. Vaughn K wrote:

    i dont want to sound dumb but who is alpert?

    alpert is richard (richard alpert). he’s the dude who last week gave locke sawyer’s file & had the long hair in this episode durin one of ben’s flashbacks. (i think that hostiles/natives age differently then non-natives. that is y they r willing to risk women dyin to hav a baby)

  84. Did anyone else find it odd that Richard looked the same in the flash back of young (12yr or so) Ben as he does now; 25 to 30 years later??? And on top of that, when Locke heard Jacob say “Help me,” am I just crazy, or did the voice sound like Christian Shephard’s ( Jack’s dad) ??? Great episode!

  85. i for 1 still luv ben. i know, how could i pick that lyin, twisted, manipulatin other over locke. but cum on people, who’s more intrugin ben or locke? i think ben. this ep proved it.

  86. how did desmond get on the island, do we know?

  87. Locke is dead. This sucks.

  88. lost chicka - Locke still being alive is NOTHING like Patchy. All we have seen is that he was gut shot…and he was still alive when the camera left him…

  89. ok… I see someone beat me to the Alpert question…. :-)

  90. I agree Laura - lots of the other lostie have seen things that shouldn’t be there eg jack ’saw’ his dad, Kate ’saw’ the black horse, blonde girl whose name has just gone out of my head…boones sister, ’saw’ Walt and probably lots more.

    I think the most intersting part of this episode was that Richard was a hostile while the Dharma initiative was running and that he didnt’ seem to age - was about 20yrs older than young-Ben and in present time hes about 10 or so yrs younger than Ben.

    The Jacob part…..no comment yet!

    (I’m going to go seriously off topic for a second….I’m not liking the masses of posts that just dont’ have any relavence, eg ones talking about past episodes and most annoying are the posts that just say ‘crap episode’ / ‘loved it’ - its boring and childish and pointless…..much like the last part of my post but I just HAd to say something as its been annoying me and keeping me away for a few weeks now)

  91. 1) i thought jacob’s voice was inaudible. i listened close but couldn’t make anything out. i also didn’t see any person sittin in the chair.

    2) how did alex know that locke would need a gun? her dad always kills on his birthday? Ben’s tooken Alex to see jacob before & tried to kill her too? she was there when he killed somebody else who heard jacob?

  92. i cant wait for the episode for ben to die…and i was thinking about it and i remember when this show first started and i thought the polar bear was weird…that has nothing on the stuff happening now lol

  93. Spin - It’s very possible Ben gave the same nerve gas to the Others as he used on his father. They had gas masks too which he probably gave them.

    Ben is the leader probably because it was his idea to kill the Dharma people.

    I’ve often thought that Dharm first used a bio-weapon on the island’s natives that killed most but not all. Could be that Alper and pals is all that is left of the original natives.

  94. Terry wrote:

    how did desmond get on the island, do we know?

    race around the world. he crashed on the island in libby’s husband’s boat.

  95. I seriously doubt that Locke is dead. Firstly, why would the writers kill off a very popular character just one episode before the finale if they truely want him dead? Wouldn’t it make much more sense to build up the suspense with teasers saying that a fan favorite would die in the finale? Secondly, far too many issues with Locke and the Island are still up in the air; for being a fairly essential plot line, this is too quick of a way of tying off this story line. Thirdly, and as with most of what I have to say this is just my opinion, I think the writers were in an odd position with Locke in these last couple of episodes. Obviously they want a major confrontation between the Others and the Losties, but whose side would Locke be on? If Locke is still around after visiting Jacob with Ben, then