So did Ben and Sun go to the mainland to find the old Dharma/Others camp to then return to their camp at the Hydra? I''m a bit confused about that as well.

Ben didn't get to go to the mainland because Sun whacked the shit out of him. He got taken back to The Hydra by Caesar, et al.

Only Sun and Frank went to mainland Dharma-ville.

Thanks for reminding me about that. I had completely forgotten about Ben getting paddled by Sun.

Well, we know what happened but they haven't actually shown us the scenes yet with Faraday and Charlotte. Only his brief glimpse of her in 1974. More than likely, he struggles with the talk then eventually gives in but still freaks her out. He probably leaves the island on the next available sub after that. He'll be living in the '70's until everything is straightened out, then hopefully his world will transform into the present. Maybe, when we first meet him and he's crying, the timeline was just fixed and he is coming around to 2004 and watching the crash coverage. He doesn't know why he's crying because even though Charlotte will die in his future, she has always died in this timeline. So, it's buried somewhere deep in his subconscious.

And next week's title is hilarious! Not to mention the season finale 2-part classic.

It's pretty obvious Ben is the 'bad guy' by the fact nothing he ever does is self-sacrificial. He's always after his own interests: The attempted Penny kill, bringing Jack to the camp though he wasn't on the list, his return, killing Locke, et cetera.

Whether or not Whitmore is ALSO bad remains to be seen.

Ending provides closure. Without that, you're left with an unsatisfying overall experience.

Well the first thing you listed wasn't revealed in this episode, so I didn't have all the facts at that point.

But I still maintain that he is a good guy of sorts. He's just flawed. I think he wants to do what is right, but, like you said, his selfishness and maybe ego get in the way.

You could compare his character to that of King Saul from the Bible: An ineffective ruler who who did the best he could until the true king (David/Locke) can take over.