S03E20: 'The Man Behind the Curtain'

Locke bounds into The Others’ camp bearing the body of his dead father and confronts Ben – demanding to know more about the island. He is told that Jacob is the leader of the island and Locke convinces him to take him to his abode. Mihail tries to intervene, but Locke gives him a good hiding.

In a flashback, we learn that Ben was born near Portland but tragically his mother died during birth. A few years later Ben and his father Roger arrive on the island through the Dharma Initiative. It is clear that Roger blames his son for the loss of his wife. One day Ben has a vision and runs into the forest looking for his mother only to encounter one of the supposedly hostile natives of the island – a man called Richard Alpert.

Ben, now an adult, is aggrieved that his father has forgotten his birthday again. He suggests a trip in a van and Roger complies, only for Ben to confront him over whether he blames his son for the death of his own mother. When no reply comes, Ben puts on a gas mask and releases mustard gas into the car, quickly killing his father. When he returns to camp we see that the rest of the Dharma Initiative workers have also been gassed and are dead, with the natives – led by Richard – behind the killings.

Sawyer tries to expose Juliet as a secret agent for The Others by playing the tape recording of her message to Ben in front of the camp. However, Jack reveals that he already knew about this, as Juliet had told him what she was up to. She also said The Others were planning to raid the camp to retrieve any pregnant women, so now they start planning counter measures.

In the present, Ben and Locke enter Jacob’s house but it appears empty. However, Ben claims that the leader is sitting next to him in a chair. As Locke goes to leave he hears an unknown voice boom “help me” and suddenly all havoc breaks loose in the house, with Ben flying against the wall and Locke legging it outside.

Locke claims that this was all faked, despite Ben’s denials. They go to return to camp, but Ben instead leads his companion to a mass grave containing the gassed and decomposed Dharma Initiative workers. Ben then says that this is where his origins lie and that he wasn’t born on the island as he had previously claimed. Suddenly, Ben shoots Locke who then falls into the pit, unable to move and left for dead…