Lost: Season 6, Episode 7 "Dr. Linus" Review

 "I'll have you."

-Ilana Verdansky

"Dr. Linus" picks up with Ben (Michael Emerson) escaping from the Temple and reuniting with Ilana (Zuleikha Robinson), Frank (Jeff Fahey), Sun (Yunjin Kim), and Miles (Ken Leung).  Suspicious of Ben, Ilana has Miles commune with Jacob's (Mark Pellegrino) ashes to figure out how he died.  Miles immediately exposes that Ben killed him, which enrages Ilana.

The group returns to the beach camp, where Ilana holds Ben at gunpoint, chains him to a tree, and forces him to dig his own grave.  Later, the Man in Black (Terry O'Quinn) visits Ben and frees him.  He offers Ben the chance to rule the Island once the Man in Black and his group leave.  He leaves a gun in the jungle for Ben to kill Ilana with once he makes his escape.

Ben takes off and Ilana chases him.  Ben gets to the gun and holds her at gunpoint.  He uses the opportunity to explain why he killed Jacob with the grief from Alex's (Tania Raymonde) death and Jacob's lack of compassion.  Ben asks Ilana to just let him go to join the Man in Black.  Instead, Ilana offers Ben a spot in her group.  Ben accepts.

Meanwhile, Jack (Matthew Fox) and Hurley (Jorge Garcia) start making their way back to the Temple, but Hurley keeps stalling.  They run into Richard (Nestor Carbonell) who leads them to the Black Rock.  He tells them he wants to die because now that Jacob is dead, he feels that his whole life has been meaningless.  Richard is unable to kill himself, so he asks Jack to light a stick of dynamite and let him die.  Jack does light the fuse, but instead sits down across from Richard.  Jack tells him he was brought to the Island by Jacob for a reason and he knows that reason wasn't to blow up with Richard.  The fuse goes out before it blows up and Richard agrees to join Jack.  They head to the beach camp and join Ilana's group.

None of them realize they are being watched from the periscope of a submarine.  Charles Widmore (Alan Dale) is on board.

In the flash-sideways, Ben is a high school teacher that also runs History Club.  Principal Reynolds (William Atherton) cancels History Club and makes Ben fill in as the detention supervisor.  As Ben vents in the teacher's lounge, Locke (Terry O'Quinn), a substitute teacher, suggests that Ben should be the Principal instead.

Ben also takes care of his sick father, Roger (Jon Gries), who tells us that they did join the Dharma Initiative and went to the Island, but they ended up leaving it at some point.

Ben tutors Alex, one of his students, to help her study for an exam.  She tells him that she saw Principal Reynolds and the nurse having sex in the nurse's officer.  Ben gets ahold of some emails proving that their affair took place on school property and tries to blackmail Reynolds into resigning allowing Ben to become Principal.  Instead, Reynolds, who had been asked by Alex to write her a recommendation letter, threatens to torch Alex's future.  Ben chooses Alex over power.  Alex gets the letter of recommendation, Reynolds keeps his job, and Ben gets out of detention and back to History Club.

What Works:

During this rewatch, I think "Dr. Linus" is the episode that has climbed the highest in my appreciation.  I always liked the episode just fine, but it really clicked for me in ways that it never has before.  On paper, not a whole lot happens in this episode, but "Dr. Linus" is really about several characters coming to terms with the past and getting ready for what's next.  It's a breather episode after the action packed "Sundown," but that doesn't prevent it from having a massive emotional impact.

Michael Emerson has always been one of the best performers on the show, but he really goes all out here.  I love seeing all the different sides of him in both the on-Island story and the flash-sideways.  His talk with Ilana in the jungle is fantastic and we really see Ben get hit with the weight of what he has done.  This is where Ben finally turns a new leaf and starts on his path to redemption.  The show tries to make it seem like he will flip back later on, but that isn't the case.  New Ben begins here and I love it.

We also get what is easily Ilana's best episode of the series.  She is a woefully underused character in the grand scheme of the show and this is by far the most development she ever gets.  We get a wide range of emotions from her as well as she finally comes to terms with Jacob's death.  Like I said, the final confrontation between her and Ben in the jungle is awesome stuff.

I also love the flash-sideways storyline.  It might even be better than "Lighthouse."  Seeing this side of Ben is just wonderful and we get to watch him choose Alex over power this time.  It's a great story for the character and it makes you wish you could have Ben as your history teacher.  Plus we get William Atherton playing a massive douche.  That's always a good time.

Finally, Jack has finally become the Man of Faith.  It's been a long time coming, but Jack is finally on the home stretch of his character arc.  It's very satisfying to watch him stay with Richard and gamble that the dynamite will not explode.  It's an extremely important moment for Jack's arc, which is one of the best on the show.

What Sucks:

I got nothing for you.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most competent character of the episode.  For "Dr. Linus," this award goes to Jack for finally becoming the Man of Faith and convincing Richard not to kill himself and to join his group.  This is Jack's 14th time winning this award, which puts him further into 1st place.

Verdict:

"Dr. Linus" is a fantastic episode of Lost, with great performances and development for Ben, Ilana, and Jack.  It may also have the best flash-sideways story of the entire show.  This episode has absolutely got it going on.

 10/10: Amazing