Ben’s Tumor
Just re-thinking some things that might have already been solved…..
I know the whole point of the capture/con of Sawyer, Kate, and Jack – was so that Jack would do the surgery on Ben – but why?
What was the ultimate end result of that (Ben could have just left the island to have the surgery)?
Was there a “long con” that we didn’t/haven’t see/seen?
Was it more about the relationship between Juliet and the Losties than it was about the surgery?
That was really the only lasting effect of that whole situation, right?
Thoughts?
Ohhhh, the long con …
I think ‘the loophole’ was a long con, just hadn’t related it before.
Yeah, I don’t get it… Ben says “Three days after I find out I have a tumor on my spine, a spinal surgeon falls out of the sky.” when explaining why he believes there is a God. But why was it so important that a spinal surgeon come to the island? Why couldn’t Ben leave the island on the submarine and get help in the “real world”? They lost communication with the outside world when 815 crashed, but the submarine still worked until Locke blew it up, right? Maybe Ben thought that if he left the island he wouldn’t be able to come back. And also, he claims to have been born on the island and that he never left it (even though we know this isn’t true). Maybe he was afraid of what would happen on the island in his absense? Or he was hoping that he could find some way for the island to heal him?
or he knew his tumor was temporary
indeed waycurious (just how curious are you?) anyways. Ben i believe knows certain bits of info and tid bits of outcomes, one of which is that Jack saves him……He probably just didn’t know how. just like the runway…ect….My feeling is Ben knew Jack was coming all a long……ala Faraday’s journal perhaps. and knew if he went of the island he would screw the dynamics of events to follow….a further note i believe (in the time line we have seen on t,v ) that he whole hearted believed his daughter would not die, this perhaps is the first instance he ever experienced a change in the loop, thus breaking the rules.
lost freak: I agree. Ben knew he would be fine. Remember the scene where Juliet even pointed it out that he didn’t seem concerned about the tumor?
I think Ben was also ok with sending Juliet to help Sawyer and Kate escape because he knew she’d kill somebody and therefore be put on trial and therefore be sentenced to death – then Jack steps in and her sentence changes to the marking – which makes her not an “official other” – which I think might have set her up to flash around in time with the other losties. I think he knew all that.
Remember when he was going to let her drown with Jack during his escape attempt from the hydra “cell”? But it didn’t happen. I think he knew she’d be fine. It was a control tactic over her, having her think that he would just let her die makes the prospect of crossing him very scary. He didn’t want her to leave the island, let alone have her die. We still don’t know who she looks just like, or how important that is to the story – but I’m certainly looking forward to finding out.
Good thougts – so, what’s the purpose of the tumor … it would have shaken the Others (maybe an opening for Locke leading?) or to build Jack’s confidence (in himself – or Juliette so she could eventually course correct at end of season 5) – all of the above and then some? Ideas?
I agree, the one genuine emotion from Ben was when Alex got shot (my top ‘oh my gosh’). And he does go about with “I know it happens, I don’t know HOW it happens” attitude.
Maybe an important question to be asking is:
What is the correlation between Ben’s tumor and Jack’s appendix?
After all – people don’t get sick on the island, they get better….
Ohhhhh, I forgot about the appendix.