Now, I've not read up on my spoilers for this one. I really don't want to go into tomorrow's episode expecting something, and just going "oh, sure, OK." I want to be blown away. So if none of this is relevant, well....
So now we've got two connections made between Ben aka "Henry Gale" and the inimitable "Wizard of Oz."
Both references are from the film, and not the book, which is kind of interesting.... Neither the name "Gale" or the phrase "man behind the curtain" show up in Baum's classic. Of course how many of you (myself included until today) have actually read it vs. seen the 1937 movie hundreds of times!
Regardless, where do you suppose they're going with this? In the story, the "Great and Powerful Oz" is exposed by a scruffy little dog (quite on accident in the book, quite on purpose in the film) to be nothing but a humble old man pulling the levers and strings in secret.
Are we to take away from this that the Ben we see today is nothing but a charade? And that behind that cold calculating exterior is indeed just another ordinary person? One who is attempting to live up to the "legend" and legacy of some great and powerful force in his life, and the rest of "Emerald City"? Maybe, the still undiscovered Jacob and the DHARMA initiative? Or maybe Jacob is going to be revealed as the secret operator?
We know the flashback this time is all-about-Ben. So I imagine we'll be learning something, if not a lot about how he got where he is, both in space-time, and on a personal level.
But is the Ben we've come to know just a facade for something else? What is John going to discover (or we see in the flashback) that will ultimately reveal him?
And, if Ben is to be compared to the Wizard, who then are we to take as "The Wicked Witch" here? Will we be shown the true "bad guys" and their army of flying monkeys at last?
Carried out to its logical (or illogical, depends on your POV) end, of course there are all sorts of parallels you could draw to "The Wizard of Oz" across the board. Desmond, de-rusted by Locke, finding his courage in the form of a trinket (the failsafe key.) Sawyer finding his heart, although we knew it was there all along. Jack, wanting to get home, and just as he finds a way (promised him by "The Wizard", aka Ben no less), it disappears before his eyes, just like the wayward balloon.... I know, I know. Everything old is new again. (Of course I can't think of who would be the Scarecrow. Figures. Hurley, perhaps? Charlie?)
I expect that we'll be given just enough answers to keep us interested. And as usual there will be twice as many questions once its done!
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