The usually confident Ben Linus is anything but this week. He claims that he isn't surprised to see Locke alive but at the same time he's still shocked by the resurrection. We've become accustomed to seeing Ben in control of a situation, even when he acts like he isn't in control, but this time it finally seems as if Ben is genuinely in the dark. It's an exciting and different representation of the character and this is the first episode, besides those of him as a child, where he's seemed vulnerable and a little more human. Then again, Ben is the master of deception so for all we know this could be part of one big game that he is well in control of. That's what we've come to love about the character and let there be no doubt that badass Benjamin hasn't left the building.
Even in "Dead is Dead" Ben shows how adept he is at the art of manipulation. Many thought Caesar (including myself) would eventually play a larger part this season. Ben had other plans however and with a few smartly placed sentences he had Caesar trusting him right up until he had blown a hole in the new survivor's chest with his own shotgun. Never change, Ben.
Now that John Locke has returned from the dead he appears to have gained a newfound understanding of the island. He has answers that Ben doesn't and it's obvious that he has learned to read Ben's lies and play his game of deception. I've loved seeing these two characters interact over the course of the last few years. They've had some of the best scenes of the series together but Ben has always had the upper hand. Now that roles are reversed, I love their interaction even more. It's clear that Locke is loving the situation as well and even directly points out their role reversal during their trek to the temple. This is the John Locke a lot of us have been waiting to see.
As expected, Ben's flashbacks shed some much-needed light on events from his past. It was really interesting to see how Ben abducting Alex directly played into his rivalry with Charles Widmore. Actually, Widmore's side of the story was barely touched upon in this episode and hopefully we'll get a flashback specifically for him in the near future. It's clear though that the Others camp finally grew tired of him breaking the rules and voted him off the island. Ben must have won the immunity challenge as he eventually assumed the role of their leader.
"Dead is Dead" also answered the question of how Ben ended up in a bloodied and drenched state in "316." Most fans were dead on about it directly relating to Ben trying to kill Penny and I have to say I was really pleased with how this situation was handled. Earlier in the episode Ben showed compassion for baby Alex when Charles Widmore wanted to kill the child, which set up Ben's indecision later when he was about to kill Penny. Maybe he's soft on kids but it was clear that little Charlie gave him second thoughts. It's a great little character-building scene for Ben. Seeing Desmond back and beating Ben into a bloody pulp was also welcome.
Every inch of the Monster's chamber will probably be screen captured and scrutinized over the coming weeks. It was filled with hieroglyphics and imagery that were definitely hard to pick up on in one sitting. Ben's judgment was fairly well handled with the Monster playing scenes from his life back to him in HD picture and sound. The apparition of Alex was surprising and I'm assuming at this point that the Monster created it. One thing that struck me is that the Monster only appeared once Locke had left. Could the monster be manifesting itself as the already dead Locke? I don't know how I would feel if this was the case but it certainly struck me as a possibility.
Finally, we have Ilana and her crew who now appear to have boarded Ajira 316 knowing that it would end up on the island. What is their agenda, who are they working for, what is in that large case of theirs and what really does lay in the shadow of the statue? If I were to guess at this point, I'd say they were more of Charles Widmore's people.