From the Boards: Lost’s The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

Each week, Comicbook.com takes a look around the Lost message boards/forums for the questions and possible answers to the most recent episode.We realize that not everyone has time to rummage through the forums, so Comicbook.com does it for you.This week: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham.Question: Why did Ben talk Locke out of suicide, only to kill him minutes later?Answer: This is the question of the week.Many folks think that Ben killed Locke as soon as he recovered needed information from Locke.The notion that Jin was alive and Locke had his wedding ring was something Ben could use to bring Sun back to the island.Ben figured he could get everyone back to the island, and that he didn’t need Locke.Another theory is that when Ben heard that Locke spoke with Christian Shepard, he snapped.Why?Because Shepard is working for Jacob.In the past, we’ve seen Ben fly off the handle when someone mentions Jacob.There is some deep hatred there, and that could have caused Ben to temporarily lose his mind.But I think the best theory has to do with Eloise Hawking.When Locke mentions Hawking, something clicks inside Ben’s head.He realizes that Locke knows how to get back to the island.He doesn’t NEED Ben to return.But Ben needs Locke to get back to the island.Ben quickly understands that if Locke is dead, Ben will be in charge of getting everyone back to the island–including Locke.Surely, Ben knows that Locke will come back to life–like Shepard–but that doesn’t matter.Ben has to be ON the island to have a fighting chance.He can’t try to get his power over his people back–or whatever he covets–from the mainland.Question: Who are the good guys?Who are the bad guys?Answer: All along, we’ve been told that Widmore is the bad guy.Of course, we’ve gathered that information from the biggest pathological liar out there–Ben Linus.During the episode, we find out that Widmore might not be all that bad.Or is he?Widmore says he wants to get back to the island and have Locke lead everyone.Hey–guess what–Ben says the same thing!Many posters agree that neither Widmore nor Ben are being straight with Locke.We know that Ben is bad.He’s killed person after person, and he’ll do whatever it takes to advance his agenda.But some folks think Ben is using the concept of utilitarianism–doing things for the greater good.So what if Ben kills somebody–as long as it makes things better for everyone else–the majority.One poster surmises that there are no good or bad guys.Both Widmore and Ben (and Locke and Jack, for that matter) have their faults.They think what they are doing is right.He says, “Heck, it’s Lost.There is no simple answer.”I’m guessing he’s right.Question: Who is the woman that ran off with Lapidus, and why did they take off?Answer: Some folks think Lapidus split with Sun and that they’re off to find Jin.The problem with this theory is that it appears the rest of Oceanic 6 (guessing here on Sayid) flashed to the island from the air.Sun should have done the same, not crashed with the rest of the passengers.Another theory is that Lapidus grabbed the flight manifest and ran off with the flight attendant.Why did Lapidus grab the passenger list, and where is he going?Question: Why did Locke visit Walt?Answer: When Locke was told he had to bring back everyone to the island, did he mistakenly think Walt needed to return?Most viewers seem to think that the only required returnees were the Oceanic 6, but does Locke know something we don’t?And if Walt does need to come back, why did Locke lie to the boy?Question: Have the flashes stopped?Answer: One thought is that because Locke turned the wheel, the flashes are over.But what if the flashes won’t stop until everyone is back on the island?If Walt needs to return, then we still have problems with time shifting.However, if we’re talking just the Oceanic 6, then the island should have stabilized.However, it seems as if Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Jin would then be stuck in the 1970’s.Confused?You’re not alone.Plenty of folks on the Lost message boards feel the same as you.