Personally, I don’t care about Oscars, Emmys or any of those other tedious popularity contests and marketing opportunities dressed up as awards, but if I did, I’d be suggesting someone give one to Michael Emerson immediately. You’re probably getting a bit sick of hearing how great all the acting is in Season 6, but I’ll say it again: this is fantastic stuff, and it just keeps on getting better and better. After years of being everyone’s favourite bad guy, Ben finally got his redemption in a story that smashed him to bits, then put him back together again. The episode’s high point was undoubtedly the scene with Ilana where Ben explains exactly why he killed Jacob. Yes, it was mainly exposition delivered at gunpoint, but it was the best kind of exposition, burning the past behind it as it advanced both story and character on its way to new pastures. Ben has finally seen the error of his ways. And Ilana might just have forgiven him. Or is it that she just doesn’t want to let Smocke add another disciple to his swelling ranks? Unfortunately, in TV land, a redemptive arc often means that you’re going to end up as a corpse on the road to the conclusion, and since he’s already dug the grave, it won’t surprise me at all if he doesn’t make it to the end of the series. Interestingly, it seems that all of Jacob’s followers are actually feeling a little resentful. Ilana sympathises with Ben’s loss as a result of following Jacob. In fact, Richard is almost driven to suicide by it, in a particularly memorable scene in which he and Jack play Russian Roulette over a stick of dynamite. Despite the return of some of Matthew Fox’s infamous ‘Jack-ting’ abilities, that scene alone stands as one of the character’s best, especially because it’s so at odds with the man who was once completely unable to take anything on blind faith, much less put his own life in its hands. As for Richard, well, I never expected him to die. After all, he can’t die without having his own episode, can he? Pirates in Lost, people. It’s what I’ve been waiting for ever since we first saw the Black Rock. Is this who Jacob wanted to reach the island? And if so, why would he want Widmore there? After all, he’s not a candidate. Although, might he be a potential replacement for Smocke? At this point, it’s impossible to guess. But that doesn’t stop us trying. There’s so much good about this episode, in fact, there’s barely space to mention it all. I haven’t yet touched on the few hints we got about the Dharma Initiative in the sideways-verse, Miles’ excellent comedy moments (and the resolution of his money-grubbing plot) or the fact that something’s going down at the Hydra station. One thing is certain: with each episode improving on the last, a week’s wait has never felt so long. Check out our review of episode 6 here.
