Yea, the comment to Sun does make it more likely that he genuinely believed it. I still won't take him at his word that he had no idea about the Losties being in the '70s.

I agree. I thought he was being truthful at the end of the episode, but when he looked at that picture, I figured he was lying about not knowing they were in Dharma. What he had to gain was not blowing his cover that he knew all along.

I haven't watched the episode yet, but I'm watching Gary Unmarried right now, and Dr. Candle/Halliwax/Wickmund is guest starring. Weird where you see some of these people surface off the island.

Honestly, I have no idea. But he seemed to lie to Caesar for no good reason either. He appeared to be attempting to turn Caesar against Locke, then turned on Caesar to protect Locke.

The man lies, I think, sometimes just to lie. Or maybe to keep some level of control.

I have to say that while this season has been leaving me consistently fascinated, I haven't really "liked" it until the past two episodes. Between Miles and Hurley's conversation last week and the Locke/Ben dynamic being flipped this week, I've regained my confidence that the writers know exactly what they're doing and plan on making it not only an interesting ride but a fun and satisfying one as well. Just fantastic.

Her daughter was kidnapped. For 16 years, she sets traps in the woods hoping to catch the man the took her. Finally, she does. Who say she doesn't remember him? He never said his name was Ben or Henry. She was never very forthcoming in her information (mostly because the audience needed to kept out of the loop). She simply said that he would lie for a long time.

Emerson was always Ben. You cannot hire an actor for a character that will run for 6 years and say you're only on for 3 episodes. Actors are told all sorts of lies from producers about how many days they'll be needed.

If all the actors on LOST knew everything about their characters in advance, their performances would suffer greatly. Emerson was Henry until he became Ben. The producers always knew. If you think otherwise, you're LOST.

What is this need some people have to think the producers have always been firmly in control?

It's no coincidence that the show suddenly went back to near-season one quality right around the time the producers were locking in the episode count with ABC. Up until then, it's clear based on things like Emerson's initial run time on the show that they were flying by the seat of their pants to some degree.

I think Ben is telling the truth about this one. Think about it. In the picture, we see Kate, Jack and Hurley. Shortly after they arrived there in 1977, young Ben was shot by Sayid. So, he didn't have any interaction with them except for when Kate was giving blood (but he was pretty out of it). Richard said his memories would be erased and his innocence gone. Although, he still seemed to remember his Dad.

The complete histories of the passengers on Flight 815 that the Others had would not list them as Dharma members since they came to the island via time travel and not the submarine (through normal recruiting).

Ben told Locke and Sun the Others took him to the temple to be healed. So either he is lying about not knowing the other Oceanic passengers were in the 70's, or he forgot about what happened (like Richard said he would) and the Losties will be gone when young Ben returns. He must not have looked too closely at the pictures at the camp. Or the producers want us to not think about it too hard. Because that would mean no one ever mentioned them again until the Purge...and that makes no sense.

Sigh... DVR cut off before the end. Can anyone tell me what happens after Alex grabs Ben in the cave/temple/dungeon?

Alex tells Ben she knows he is plotting to kill Locke and if he so much as touches him she will kill Ben. Ben is helped back up by Locke and tells Locke with relief that the black smoke let him live.

But we know that Ben returns to Dharma at some point, because he helps with the purge.

I'm not saying Ben is definitely lying, but it wouldn't stun me.

Bolded part didn't happen.

Alex also said Ben should follow Locke and do what he says.

When you watch a Pilot episode like this series had, you have complete confidence in the producers to take you on a satisfying journey.

I challenge you to find a lull anywhere in the entire run of this series. Initially, Season 3 had some episodes in the cages that were tiresome but that was mostly due to all the breaks. When you watch all the episodes on DVD, it's much more satisfying. I found no problems with any season. Every episode had something worth watching.

I've said this before, a few reasons the show has ramped up. 1. the strike caused fewer episodes in S4 thus faster plots. 2. They're off-island now so the pace is quicker. 3. They have a definitive end-game in site.

They were never 'flying by the seat of their pants.'

There's no way that Kate, Jack and Hurley (as well as Sawyer, Juliet and Miles) are still stuck there 15 years later in 1992 for the purge. Especially, since they would all end up dead in the pit that we've already seen. They have to leave there pretty soon after the incident I'm guessing.

I'm pretty sure Ben came back to Dharma long before the purge. Probably while the Losties were still around.

And even if he did run into them from time to time at Dharma, who's to say they made a big enough impression that when he would see them again 27 years he would think, "Oh my God, that's the security guy/doctor/workman from the Dharma camp when I was a kid!" I think about adults I saw semi-frequently when I was a kid - teachers, acquaintances of my parents, etc. - and I can't say I would recognize mostmany of them today even if they looked exactly as they did back then.

This was, possibly, my favorite episode this season. It really did answer a lot of questions and I loved the Ben/Locke dynamic and the storyline with Ben. It was wonderful. Everything that I hoped it to be.

And yes, I don't believe Ben when he said he didn't know they were in the 70's. That's one of his lies. At the end of the episode he was most definitely being truthful.

I think he'll double agent himself back into Dharma, but the losties will be gone by then. Since he won't remember much before he got shot, per what Richard stated, he'll never meet them again in the past.

I'm surprised if Ben has no memory of Sawyer, Juliet and Jin though. He lived with them for at least three years. Though I doubt anyone knew when Ben was first introduced that the Losties would be skipping through time.

I still maintain that Ben doesn't lie. Most of what he says is the truth...from a certain perspective. Other things are omissions of truth for the interest of the island but aren't meant to be malicious lies. And he can be manipulative, but I don't recall any time we've seen him outright lie about something like being asked what Sun asked him.

So, unless he feels it is in the best interest of the island to conceal his knowledge of the Losties in the 70's, I think I still believe him. I may be proven wrong...which is fine. I've been proven wrong several times before.

But the question I am pondering that is making me wonder if he is telling the full truth is the whole time travel paradox of it all. The Losties couldn't have traveled back in time if it wasn't for the Dharma Initiative harnessing the powers of the island, which apparently contains powers to send bunny rabbits in time. The Dharma Initiative had to arrive on the island for the first time some time. So assuming we saw the first time line when they arrived and nothing strange happened and the purge took place before they could get any real work done, perhaps the Losties never ended up with them...in that first time line. The first time line that Ben remembers. Then they do go back in time and create a second time line...kind of like an alternate universe. Adult Ben in 2008 has no memory of that time line because he never lived in it. I mean, there has to be a first time for everything, including a first time the Losties go back in time to the Dharma Initiative.

Unless...

Adult Ben in 2008 did live in the same time line as when the Losties were part of the Dharma Initiative. The Losties are taken away from the Dharma Initiative before young Ben goes back to the compound. He is now "reborn" and has no memory of what happened, so he honestly doesn't remember them being there. His memory was erased, let's not forget that.

This all depends on what he does remember after Richard was done with him in the Temple. All we know for sure is he knew the difference between Dharma and The Hostiles and that he had a dad.

I'm pretty convinced by now that Richard is meant to represent the Egyptian god RA.

Well, they had a cache of guns stowed on the plane, which means they knew the O6 were planning to return to the Island. Since they didn't want Ben to help them move the big Box o' Guns, they can't be Others. Which leaves Widmore, Dharma, or Sir Not Appearing in This Season as their backers.

If he has any memories from the '70's other than his Dad and going to the Temple to be healed then I'm sure he would remember Sawyer, Juliet, Jin & Miles. It's just that they weren't in the photo. He was looking at a picture with Kate, Jack & Hurley in it.

I'm sure young Ben eventually infiltrated the Dharma camp and pretended to have escaped from the hostiles. My guess is that our friends will be long gone by then.