Season 3, Episode 13: "The Man from Tallahassee"

WOW - Great episode!!!! My husband and I came up with a pretty darn good theory as we were discussing the show after we watched tonight. If the writers of the show ever read this, well they can just stop right now because I think that we came up with the whole theory of the show. I am going to try to write this in a way that is not confusing. There is a lot to say and hopefully I can write it so that you can understand the theory, instead of me just rambling on and on, but it is hard to put all of these thoughts into a well-written explanation!

Basically, the Others can "make things happen." I mean, we have always known this, but tonight we really see it in its full form when we see that the Others have Locke's father on the island. They knew about John's past - they knew what he wanted the most. Ben told Locke about the "box" that you can open up and whatever you want the most will be inside. John laughed it off, but Ben really meant it. It was a metaphor for the fact that the island has the powers to give people what they truly want - to make their wishes come true.

The Others have always said they were the "good ones." They can make things happen. They know things about people, they know their pasts, they know what they are thinking, they know everything about them. We have seen so many references on this show about people being "special." Well, I think that it's the Others that are special. They have this sort of powerful, all-knowing existence on the island. Remember, though, that Ben is one of the only TRUE Others - meaning that he was actually born on this island and of its powers. The island's powers, combined with the Others "special" abilities, make him very powerful. That is why he is the leader. And although they have recruited other people onto the island, those people do not have the special abilities that the "NATIVE" Others have, those who were born on THE ISLAND. Remember, they have tried to recruit people that they think are special. I think this is their way of trying to bring in people that they think have the same "special" abilities that those of the island have. When they took Walt, it was because they knew of his "special" abilities. I think that is also why they wanted Claire's baby so bad and why they tried to take him. The baby was going to be BORN on the island (just like Ben) and therefore would likely possess these special abilities.

Also, if you remember in one of the earlier episodes, Locke is talking to his birth mother, and she tells him "he is special." We now know that he truly is special. Not only did the island give him the ability to walk again, but we have seen that he has the capabilities that even Ben does not have. Ben realizes this and tries to use it to his advantage. As he puts it, John has only been on the island 80 days, and Ben has been there his whole life. He tells Locke that he has this sort of "communion" with the island, which I thought was an interesting choice of words as we have seen so many religious references in this show. But, basically, Locke has more of a knowledge of this island - what it is and what it can do - than Ben does. As Locke once said before, he looked into the eye of the island, and what he saw was a beautiful thing. The island chose him to be there. Ben knows this which is why he is now trying to form a relationship with John. He tells him he wants to help him, but in fact he wants to learn from him, because he can see that Locke truly has been given a gift of the island's miraculous powers. Ben knows the depth of the island, what it's powers are, and he sees that John has this connection with the island, and he wants to learn it.

As we have seen with Ben, he is using his manipulation to work this relationship with Locke. His daughter even said it, he puts an idea into your head and he makes you think it is your own. We saw him do that when he was held hostage in the hatch, and now he is doing it again with Locke. Remember in the hatch, it was Ben who put the idea into Locke's head about not pushing the button, and what would happen. I think that Ben wanted him to not push it, because he knew what would happen - that the hatch would be blown up. Ben wanted the hatch to blow up so that they could lose communication with the outside world - but he had to make it someone else's fault. He could not risk his status with his people, but he wanted it to happen. Then, he manipulates Locke again in tonight's episode by getting Locke to blow up the submarine. Ben manipulates Locke into thinking he doesn't want him to do it (when in fact he does). He also tells Locke everything he knows about him, how he knows about his past, and how he came to be in a wheelchair. This gains Johns trust and makes him realize just how "powerful" he is, that he knows all this about his past. Ben then shows John what's in "the box" - it is John's father. The man who abandoned him as a child, later conned him and stole his kidney, then later tried to kill him, and yet who got away each time. John has always wanted him to pay for what he did to him, and here now Ben has given him what he wanted.

I also think that Ben doesn't fully understand why Locke can walk and he can't. I think the island knows what each person's TRUE wish is. Ben, deep down, his true wish was that he didn't want anyone to leave. He wanted to keep the people there, but as he said it, he had to make them WANT to stay. He wanted to keep his promises, and he didn't want to let his people down, or as he put it, it would "ruin" him. The most important thing to Ben is that he remains the "leader." Deep down, that is his dream. Not, being able to walk again, which he may think is his "wish" - and he can't understand why the island is not granting it to him - because the island can see beyond that and read their TRUE, deep down wishes. His real wish was to remain a leader and for everyone to stay on the island - without making it look like he is keeping them there. And the island knows that. Which is why his wish came true. Not only did they lose communication (Locke blowing up the first hatch) but now they have lost means to go to and from the island (Locke blowing up the submarine). So it is Locke who has granted him his wish. And here Ben is sitting there wondering why Locke can walk and he can't - and wondering why the island hasn't healed him as it did Locke - but that's because being the leader was more important to him than being able to walk. And the island KNOWS that.

Which brings me to another point about wishes. Each person on the plane was brought there for a reason. As we have seen through everyone's flashbacks, there has been some event in their life that has caused them great suffering - some kind of guilt over something. Everyone has some person in their life that they feel responsible or guilty about something for. And I believe that they were all brought to the island to make their wishes come true - eventually, everyone will be faced with that one person in their life, that the Others will have brought them to the island to deal with their guilt/responsibility/whatever it may be. As we have seen with Locke, they brought his father to him. The Others - as they have always claimed - truly are good people. This is their purpose in life. They are on the island for a reason, to help people's "wishes" come true. And I think that bringing that one person back to each person to help them get over their guilt...for them to face their fears so to speak. I have said NUMEROUS times in the past three seasons that I think that Jack's father really is alive. I think the Others "recruited" him and brought him to the island and will eventually reunite him with Jack. And thinking back to everyone else's flashbacks, it is starting to make sense about who each person would be brought to the island by the Others. Claire's mom (who she still thinks is in a coma), the "real Sawyer," - who he has spent his whole life looking for, Sayid's Nadia, Hurley's father, etc. - all people who the survivors need to confront their guilt with. Also, a lot of the people who we think that the survivors have killed (and feeling "responsible" for their deaths), we don't actually know if they are dead or not. For example, Kate caused the car accident which "killed" Tom, the man she loved. But she ran from the car before she truly knew if he was dead or not, then spent the rest of her life running and with no contact with people she knew. So technically, he could have survived. And same with Sun's lover (who fell from the window, but also could have survived) - and he is most likely the real father of her baby. Basically, I think that the "miracle" of the island being able to give people their one true wish - combined with the special psychological powers of the Others knowing everything about these people - will bring all of these people to the island as a way of giving each survivor the one thing that they really want. That was the reason that they were on the plane. As we know with this show, "everything happens for a reason." And I think they were brought to this island to eventually be given their "wish" of being brought back with those people for whom they have faced great responsibility and guilt over.

I hope this all made sense. It is easier to talk about than try to put it into words. But, to sum it up, I think that the ISLAND is able to give them the things that they want, but the OTHERS also play a part in giving them their wishes and in "making it happen." As we saw with Locke - more than anything, he wanted to be able to walk again. We saw him in the hospital when he was first put in the wheelchair, crying uncontrollably. He wanted nothing more than to be freed of the chair. And the ISLAND gave him that. However, he had another wish - he wanted his father to be caught. He did not want him to be able to get away with what he did, he who put him in the wheelchair. And here the OTHERS gave him that. So it is like a combination of the island's powers and the Other's "special" capabilities that is able to bring together the things that these people want the most.

So...what do you think?

(PS - make sure to read the comments, because some people have added some great points!!)