The Best-Laid Plans of Mike & Ben

The shadow of death hung heavily over this episode. Michael’s story was him trying to kill himself; his flashbacks were populated with so many deceased characters it seemed as though zombie season came early; and there were the cliffhanger deaths the promos promised. It seems that death, like time, is a peculiar thing on the Island.

First of all, Michael. Finally the writers have found a story for him that involves more than just running through the jungle yelling “Waaaalt!” As he melodramatically announces to Sayid in the cold open, he has returned only to die. Like all of Michael’s plans, it’s not working out so well. He fills Sayid in on his failures, which incorporate many of the show’s themes:

Live Together, Die Alone/Every Man for Himself
These two ideologies have long been competing with each other on the Island; Michael chose the latter when he shot Ana-Lucia & Libby and traded Jack, Kate, Sawyer & Hurley to the Others in exchange for Walt & a ticket off the Island. However, his actions completely alienate Walt from him, and Michael proves to be such a failure that he can’t even die alone – though not through want of trying. Every attempt on his own life fails, & each failure brings a message from the Island. Twice, the messenger is Libby, who, much like Charlie was to Hurley, acts as a manifestation of his conscience, encouraging him to do the right thing. Though haunted & guilty, Michael ignores her. He doesn’t ignore the other messenger, there to lure him to the dark side: Tom arrives to exploit Michael’s guilt on Ben’s behalf. Tom is on the mainland living the high life with his lover, Arturo. He has proof that Widmore faked the crash, not Ben, as Captain Gault said. I have no idea who to believe; neither is trustworthy. Somehow, Tom convinces Michael that the only way he can atone for killing two innocent people is to kill a whole boatload of people who or may not be innocent – because that’s the only way to save the lives of all the people still on the Island. And so, Michael becomes Kevin Johnson and sets off the bomb on the freighter. Like Desmond said “I love you Penny” when he turned the failsafe key, Michael says “I love you Walt” as he activates the bomb – but he’s taking the coward’s way out as far as Walt’s concerned: suicide bombing is not going to earn him redemption or fix any mistakes.

Clean Up Your Own Mess
Another of Lost’s repeated phrases. It’s no accident that Michael has returned as a janitor, someone whose job it is to clean up messes. In fact, his first scene back was him being ordered to clean up blood from a gunshot. It doesn’t really get more symbolic than that, so it’s too bad that Michael hasn’t gotten the clue & continues to make such a mess of things. He’s still making decisions based on his own self-interest, and that is not the path to redemption; neither is working for Ben, the man who has caused all the Losties nothing but misery. In fact, Michael has completed the journey that we’ve seen many of the other characters start this season: becoming an Other. Working under Ben’s orders, Michael has infiltrated a group in order to make a list of who the good and bad people are. This is exactly what Ethan & Goodwin were doing when we were first introduced to the Others. It didn’t end well for them, & I don’t see it ending well for Michael.

Fate vs Free Will
Probably the most interesting revelation this episode was that the Island won’t let people die if they’ve “got work to do”. Michael’s off-Island life was a misery, and we saw him attempt suicide 4 times without success; we’ve already seen Jack living a similarly miserable existence and also failing to kill himself. It seems the Island has a plan for its inhabitants, and it’s going to make sure that plan is carried to fruition. This is course correction at work: Michael & the Oceanic 6 left before they were supposed to, and so the Island is doing everything in its (considerable) power to make sure they come back & finish their work. Those who left the Island chose to do so, but in making that choice they seem to have given up their free will – at least until they return & fulfill their destiny.

The person who seems to know the most about everyone’s destinies at the moment is the man with the plan, Ben. He’s got the Lostie’s protection, since once the Freighter Folk have him, their orders are to kill everyone else. And whether on purpose or not, his plan to send Alex to join the other Others at the Temple results in those thorns in his side, Karl & Rousseau, being killed. My vote is for on purpose, & that both suspected – there were a lot of significant looks being exchanged, & Karl broke out that old Star Wars gem, “I have a bad feeling about this,” just before he was shot. I’m hoping Rousseau is only wounded, since I really want to see her flashback. Either way, it will be  a long 5 weeks until we find out.