A Time Traveller LOST in the Sahara Desert

Last updated on: April 24, 2008 at 10:28 pm by James F. McGrath

A Time Traveller LOST in the Sahara Desert 2008-04-24T22:28:00-04:00 James F. McGrath

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Tonight’s return of LOST was absolutely amazing, possibly the best episode yet in the whole series in some ways. Things that were still speculation are now certain. Many more mysteries are set before us.

Ben teleports to the Sahara Desert. He is wearing a Dharma Initiative jacket and retches, so whatever the method of travelling through time and space, it affects one. He had been wounded on the arm.

When locals find him, Ben addresses them in English, then Arabic, then Turkish. It seems he is not 100% certain where he is yet. He clearly didn’t know what sort of weather to dress for. He overpowers them and rides off on their horse.

We next encounter Ben in Tunisia. He tells the hotel receptionist it isn’t his first visit to Tunisia, but it has been a while. He asks the date, and when told it is October 24th, he has to ask whether it is 2005. Ben then gives his name as Dean Moriarty and says he is a “preferred guest”. When the receptionist looks him up in her book, was it just me or did she seem nervous when she saw what was written about this “preferred guest”? At the hotel, Ben sees Sayid on TV.

Ben next goes to Tikrit, Iraq, and takes photographs of a man watching the funeral procession for Sayid’s wife, Nadia. The man is Ishmael Bakir, and he works for Charles Widmore. Sayid spots Ben taking pictures, and tackles him. He asks him how he got off the island, and Ben lies, saying that he used Desmond’s boat, “The Elizabeth”, which he sailed on a course towards Fiji. Ben says that Widmore’s man killed Nadia. Sayid kills Bakir, and Ben then tells him to “walk away” because “Once you let your grief become anger it will never go away. I speak from experience”. He also tells him “This is my war”, but Sayid replies that he had sought the woman he loves for 8 years, married her, only to have her killed. Sayid asks “Who’s next”, and Ben says he’ll be in touch, and walks away smiling.

Back in the “present” on the island, Ben tells Locke that he must survive because they need Jacob’s help. Although Locke may not know where the cabin is, Ben knows that Hurley does. Ben’s daughter Alex had been captured, and those seeking to apprehend Ben threaten her. Ben bluffs, saying she’s just a pawn and means nothing to him, but when she is shot, he is astonished. He says in disbelief “He changed the rules”. Ben runs into the secret room we had already seen, and then into another one behind a metal panel and an ancient-looking stone wall/door with carvings/inscriptions in it. Inside, Ben unleashes the smoke monster at the soldiers who had stormed the compound. He then cries over his daughter.

In London, Ben goes to a hotel in London and says he’s there to see “Mr. and Mrs. Kendrick in 4E”. The hour is late, but he says he’s expected. In the elevator, Ben uses a key to take the elevator to the penthouse, where we find that he has come to see Charles Widmore. That’s who “changed the rules”, and Ben tells Charles that he will wish he hadn’t done so. For some reason, Ben affirms that he can’t kill Charles. So he promises to kill his daughter Penelope. Charles says Ben will never find her. Charles also says that everything Ben has he took from him (i.e. Charles), and that the island is rightfully his (Charles’). Of the explanations I’ve heard suggested so far as to why Ben can’t kill Charles, the most interesting is that Charles is Ben’s constant. This would make a lot of sense. Hate, it seems, as well as love, can be used to bring stability, but with different effects on those around us.

What is the stick-device Ben carries, which he used against the Arabs who first found him in the desert, and was holding in the hotel lobby in London too? If Widmore’s men found the island, why does Ben tell Widmore he’ll never find it? Can the island, like Jacob’s cabin, move about in space and time and be hidden in this way? What is the significance of Tunisia? Is the “wormhole” that allows travel through time fixed in space, in some sense? It would be odd if the island itself were not fixed in space and time, yet could only allow one to travel through time to a fixed point. But perhaps the island once was in Tunisia, and is a sort of Eden that has been displaced in time and space, but remains connected to that point in space.

Another interesting detail: the doctor, found washed up dead on the island, is still just fine on the boat. Ah, the interesting effects of time-displacement.

Now that we know that teleportation through both time and space is possible, the question becomes what we are to make of it. Did Ben simply gather information on the passengers on Oceanic flight 815, or did he intervene in events so as to bring about the presence of various passengers who suited his purposes?

Religions sometimes view human lives as pawns in something bigger, and speak of God as causing all sorts of pain and suffering for a greater good. LOST may give us a chance to test that worldview. If Ben can know the outcome and works all things together for good, can that justify the suffering, the lives lost, and so on? Can the healing people have experienced on the island justify it? Perhaps this question will be explored further when we find out what “the rules” were and how Charles Widmore changed them.

Another question that must be asked: in the “flash forwards”, are we witnessing what Ben does when he goes into his secret room and travels through time and space? Is there a sense in which what we witnessed in tonight’s episode did not involve a “flash forward” about Ben, but things he experienced within the continuum of the flow of events in his experience depicted in tonight’s episode?

Early in the episode, Hurley says (while playing Risk) that Australia is the key to the whole game. Is this a hint that there can be a relatively isolated island, and yet it can still hold the key to world dominion?

An even more difficult question to answer is this: How will we manage to wait until next week to find out what happens next?

Uncategorized

Previous Post

April 24, 2008

Did God Really Say...?

Next Post

April 25, 2008 Around the Blogosphere

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Peter 1 Samuel 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Corinthians 2 Kings 2 Peter 2 Samuel 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy academia Acts of the Apostles afterlife Akhaten Alcatraz American Academy of Religion Amos Anglican Arabic Aramaic archaeology art artificial intelligence astronomy atheism atonement Babylon 5 Baptists Battlestar Galactica Bible Biblical Studies Carnival biblioblogging Black Mirror Blade Runner Book of Job book review Buddhism Call for Papers China Christianity Christmas Christology Chronicles Coptic creation Daniel Deuteronomy Doctor Who Dune Easter Ecclesiastes economics education Eldad Keynan Enoch Seminar Ephesians eschatology Esther Evangelicals evolution Exodus Expanse Ezekiel Ezra fantasy Fringe fundamentalism Galatians games Ge'ez genealogy Genesis Gnosticism Gospel of Jesus' Wife Gospel of John Gospel of Judas Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Peter Gospel of Thomas Greek Harry Potter Hebrew Hebrews Hinduism historical Jesus history Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Holidays horror Hosea humor incarnation India inerrancy information literacy inspirational Intelligent Design Ireland Isaiah Islam Israel Italy James Jeremiah John the Baptist Jonah Joshua Judaism Jude Judges Judith Lamentations languages Latin Leviticus libraries literature Lord of the Rings LOST Mandaeans Mandaic memes Methodism Micah monotheism morality Mormons movies music mythicism NASSCAL Nehemiah new perspective New Testament news Numbers Orthodox paganism panentheism pantheism Patheos Paul and his letters Pentecostals Philippians Philippians 2:6-11 philosophy physics Planet of the Apes podcast politics Progressive Christianity Protestantism Proverbs Psalms pseudoscience racism religion Revelation Roman Catholicism Romania Romans Ruth scams science science fiction Secret Gospel of Mark Society of Biblical Literature Song of Songs Star Trek Star Wars Stargate Swahili Syriac Taoism technology Terminator The Handmaid's Tale The Hobbit The Matrix theodicy theology theory Timeless Titus tomb Torchwood travel TRON Uncategorized United Kingdom Westworld X-Files young-earth creationism Zechariah

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 February 2007 January 2001

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz