Lost: Good Character Development: Benjamin Linus

Lost: Good Character Development: Benjamin Linus

Benjamin Linus was easily one of the most captivating characters of the entire series. He was introduced at the height of everyone’s paranoia about the Others. Was this guy one of them, or was he really an innocent man in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ben kept us guessing. We were all dying to know if all the torture he was put through would be justified. Then, when it was confirmed that “Henry” was not only an “Other”, but their leader, he instantly became one of the scariest villains on television. He was a master manipulator with a seemingly endless bag of tricks. He conned Sawyer into submission with a pace-maker bluff. He even got Jack to operate on his spine. Practically nothing on that island happened that he wasn’t secretly controlling from behind the curtain.

Ben’s control didn’t even end when he was taken prisoner. He continued to manipulate and con everyone until the season 4 episode, “The Shape of Things to Come.” In this heartbreaking episode, Ben watched as his daughter was killed in front of him. He stood in shock as her body hit the ground. It was impossible not to feel for him in that moment, despite everything he had done. His entire world crashed down around him in that moment. Ben was never the same after that. He didn’t seem to be nearly as concerned with power. Even as he left the island and manipulated his way back, there was something different. 

This is where everything we had known about Ben got flipped upside down. The manipulator got manipulated by the Man in Black. Ben followed his plan to the point of killing Jacob, the island protector that he’d sworn allegiance to for most of his life. In most of the final season, Ben was lost. He didn’t know his purpose and didn’t care about the control he fought so hard to keep. He continued to unravel to his lowest moment, and in that moment, was given redemption. Hurley asked Ben to be his number 2 and help him run the island. This is what was so fascinating about Ben. It’s a classic rise and fall from power. Ben went from controlling everything around him to becoming nothing more than a puppet. He lost everything he cared about and though it, he found his true humanity and purpose.

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