Lost, ABC, Airs Wednesdays 9/8c

Episode: “Dead is Dead” (Season 5, Episode 12)

Synopsis: Benjamin (Michael Emerson) plans to atone for his actions by facing judgment by the island.

Review: This wasn’t the season finale of Lost, but it sure had the build-up and intensity of one.

We finally understand where the feud between Charles Widmore (Alan Dale) and Ben began, as Widmore was exiled from the island, leaving Ben in charge. That power transfers to Locke (Terry O’Quinn) by the end of the episode, as the Smoke Monster chose to let Ben live, but took away his authority. That’s worse than death to Ben, I bet.

What an amazing scene it was when we got to see the Smoke Monster show Alex’s life flashing before Ben’s eyes. We also learned that the Smoke Monster has been around since ancient times, as the hieroglyphics on the walls showed what looked like an Egyptian God summoning it before them. Amazing. It just goes to show that as much control the Others and the Dharma Initiative had over the island, the real ruler of everyone there is the island itself.

The show is doing a great job of using flashbacks to fill in details we all have been curious about. It helped us understand that Ben went to kill Penny (Sonya Walger) in an attempt at revenge for the loss of Alex (Tania Raymonde), his daughter. Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) had his say in it, pummeling Ben, as many of us had expected. The question that has to be asked when Ben told Sun (Yunjin Kim) to tell Desmond he is sorry is did Ben end up killing Penny? We see Ben fall into the water but haven’t found out how that altercation ends. Is it simply a case of Ben feeling remorse over threatening Penny once he realized she had a child?

We called Caeser (Said Taghmaoui) dying the moment he told Ben who he was, but that isn’t so much a flaw in the writing as it is guessing the outcome based on a person’s name. Caesar=betrayal. Call us the anti-Shakespeare.

As the show moves on, we continue to see shifts in the roles we have grown accustomed to. Sawyer (Josh Holloway) is higher than Jack (Matthew Fox), Locke is the leader, Ben now the follower. The power struggle will create more drama, not that the show really needs it. All in all, it’s another excellent effort from the show.

Up Next Week: Suspicions about a possible breach intensify after Ben is taken from the infirmary, and a reluctant Miles (Ken Leung) is forced to work with Hurley (Jorge Garcia).

Read More: Lost Recaps

What did you think of the Dead is Dead episode? Give us your thoughts and theories, please.