Episode Report Card LTG: B- | 17 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Meet Kevin Johnson
By LTG | Season 4 | Episode 8 | Aired on 03.20.2008
Michael's in his berth, bouncing a ball against the wall. Minkowski enters and asks him if he's "going Jack Nicholson," referring to Nicholson's character in The Shining who bounced the ball on the wall while going crazy. If the choice is between Nicholson and Steve McQueen, I know which one I'd rather be. Minkowski grabs the ball and tells Michael that he has a call in the radio room. Michael assumes it's a mistake until Minkowski tells him the call is from Walt.
In the radio room, Michael asks if he can have some privacy for the call. Michael picks up the phone and says Walt's name. We hear Ben's voice telling Michael that he's really sorry, but Walt is still in New York. This may be the cruelest thing Ben has ever done. Other than massacring all of the Dharma people, I mean. Michael is kind of upset that after getting talked into killing everyone on board, the bomb turned out to be a joke. Ben tells him that he was trying to demonstrate to Michael that, unlike Widmore, he won't kill innocent people (of which there are some on the boat). Michael points out that Libby and Ana-Lucia were innocent; Ben's response is that Michael killed them, and that nobody asked him to do it. Michael asks what Ben wants him to do. What he wants is for Michael to give him a list of every person on the boat and then to disable the radio room and then the engines. Ben says that will keep everyone on the island safe. Too bad he didn't know about the helicopters. Or did he? Michael tells him he can do that. Ben: "Then consider yourself one of the good guys." Michael's tears tell me he doesn't really believe that.
And finally the damn flashback is over. Sayid and Desmond looked stunned to hear the story. Man, how long does it take to get a pressure valve? Sayid is not happy to hear that Michael is working for Ben. He's so not happy to hear it that he drags Michael into Captain Gault's office and turns him in as a traitor.
On the island, Rousseau, Alex, and Karl are trekking through the jungle. Rousseau calls for a water break. As Rousseau looks at the map, Karl looks nervous. He tells Alex he has a bad feeling, worried that Ben is playing some kind of trick on them. And then we hear a "zzzzzip" sound, and a hole appears in Karl's water bottle. Another zip, and Karl keels over. Alex freaks out, but Rousseau drags her away as bullets kick up dust around them. Crouching behind a tree, Rousseau tells Alex, "Listen, I need you to take my hand. On the count of three, we're going to run. Can you do that with me? I love you. I love you very much, Alex. Are you ready?" She counts, and starts to stand up. And is shot. Nooooooooooo! Not Rousseau! (With luck, she's not actually dead.) Alex looks panicked, but doesn't move. She thinks for a second, and then stands up and announces to the shooters that she's Ben's daughter. Credits.