Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A+ | 1 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT L'chaim!
By Cindy McLennan | Season 5 | Episode 12 | Aired on 04.08.2009
Long Beach Marina; 2007: Ben approaches Penny, and passes right by Desmond, who is getting groceries out of the car, and is clean shaven. His hair is as puffy as a character from an 80s movie. I can't take my eyes off it. He must recognize Ben from behind, because he hollers out, "Hey, what are y'doin' here?" Ben turns, pulls his gun from out of his jacket and SHOOTS OUR VERY SPECIAL AND UNIQUE SNOWFLAKE, KNOCKING HIM AND HIS GROCERIES TO THE GROUND AND I HATE YOU BEN DIE DIE DIE! The bullet pierces the grocery bag and a half gallon of milk before mixing with Desmond's blood. Wait. Where's the blood? Where's the bullet hole? There's none! There's none! Desmond isn't shot. I don't think. He falls like he's shot, but I've watched this scene in slow-mo more times than I care to admit and there's not even a wrinkle in his shirt. I don't think he was even grazed. Thank you for being such a bad shot, Ben.
Of course Ben doesn't know he's a bad shot, yet. When Penny sees what happens she screams Desmond's name, but Ben moves in on her and tells her not to say another word. He introduces himself and says, "I'm sorry that you're caught up in the middle of this thing, but your father--" A tearful, frightened Penny's all, My father? I don't even talk to that sod. But Ben's too bent on vengeance and murder to listen. "Your father is a really terrible human being. He's responsible for the killing of my daughter. That's why I'm here." As he takes aim and readies himself to fire right into our Penny's heart, her beautiful little boy comes up on deck. "Mummy?" Penny tries and fails to keep her fear out of her voice as she turns toward him. "Charlie, go back inside, babe." Um, Penny, I know you named the tyke after Charlie Pace, but your father's name is Charles, and you're trying to convince a murderer that you hate your old man as much as he does, so perhaps you should have left the boy's name out of it. Just a thought.
Charlie's a toddler, so he's not going to listen. Penny pleads with Ben not to hurt her son, whatever else he must do. But it's Ben's face here that tells the real story. He can't do it. He can't kill this woman and leave her little boy motherless, as he was. Charlie calls out, "Mummy?" again, and Penny snaps at him. "Charlie, go inside!" Again with the name, Pen. But Ben doesn't even hear it. He lowers his gun, and what he would have done next, we'll never know, because whatever happened, happened and what happens here is that the most unique and special snowflake in the world, the one who looked all shot but wasn't, he leaps out of nowhere, tackles Ben, knocks his gun into the water, beats the stuffing out of his face then picks him up and throws him in the harbor. HOORAY! That was awesome. Just awesome. The underwater cam shows us Ben's descent into the deep, blood and bubbles streaming from his nose. Do it, again! Do it, again!