I think Michael's commitment to end his life shows us that he is a fundamentally good person. Even if Walt had accepted him, Michael would have found it difficult to live with himself. He is not a killer. He shot Ana Lucia because he didn't want any witness to his freeing Ben - a witness that could have interfered with Michael's reunion with Walt. That murder was certainly not admirable, but it was based on love (for his son), not hate or greed. And Michael's shooting of Libby was an unthinking reflex - ignited when Libby surprised him.
That being the case, I'm thinking Michael may be on a course to some kind of redemption.
Ben is another story. He reminds me of Sloan in Alias - J. J. Abrams' other great production. Sloan was a genius - not only in intelligence, but in walking a razor thin line between good and evil, to the point that the audience couldn't tell, and wouldn't find out until the very last episodes, that Sloan was evil.
I'm guessing this is precisely the trajectory we'll be treated to with Ben. He keeps saying he is one of the good guys, and we do see him seem to do some good ... as Tom did in "helping" Michael. But there always seems to be a deeper motive with Ben, which is not so good.
In the end, it may be Widmore who is the better man.
See also...
Further Questions about Lost 4.4: Jack and Aaron, Kate and Sawyer ... and More About Lost 4: (i) Baby Aaron and the Oceanic Six
1. Lost's Back Full Paradoxical Blast 4.1 ... 4.2: Five Flashbacks and Three Rational Explanations ... 4.3: Thirty Minutes and Big Ben ... 4.4: Kate and ... ... 4.5 Desmond 1 and Desmond 2 ... 4.6 The True Nature of Ben ... 4.7 Flash Both Ways ... 4.8 Michael and Alex
and
2. More Thoughts On Lost 4.1: Those Who Went with Hurley and Those Who Stayed with Jack and Two More Points about Lost 4.1
special 60-minute jumbo podcast reviewing first 8 episodes of Season 4
The Plot to Save Socrates
"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News
"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book
more about The Plot to Save Socrates and its time travel ...
Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!
3 comments:
Hey Paul, Sorry I was away for a few days. So now I'm thinking it has to be Ben, Sayid or Michael in the coffin. I don't think Sayid but you never know. It was a good ending and if Ben did set up Roussoue and Carl then he is definetly the most evil character ever on TV.
And JJ Abrams loves those good/evil characters who turn out to be deeply evil...
Good to have you back here, Dawn :)
On a path to redemption or not, I think Michael is still acting upon his selfishness. Even now, the only reason why he's on the boat is simply because he can't figure out a way to escape from a situation he manufactured.
His entire character is riddled with failures and his inability to overcome obstacles. It seems like his character is designed to always have something else to blame - and now that Walt has shunned him, he finally gives up (again). Whether Michael is somehow responsible for the "Oceanic 6" or causes more harm to the 815 survivors remains to be seen... Ideally, his character pulls a "Charlie" and sacrifices himself for the greater good. Redemptive? Probably not, I'll guess it'll still be his selfish desire to end his life.
Good to see you again Paul!
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