The Man Behind the Curtain

Last updated
"The Man Behind the Curtain"
Lost episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 20
Directed by Bobby Roth
Written by Elizabeth Sarnoff
Drew Goddard
Production code320
Original air dateMay 9, 2007 (2007-05-09)
Running time42 minutes [1]
Guest appearances
Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert
Andrew Divoff as Mikhail Bakunin
M. C. Gainey as Tom Friendly
Jon Gries as Roger Linus
Doug Hutchison as Horace Goodspeed
Samantha Mathis as Olivia Goodspeed
Carrie Preston as Emily Linus
Tania Raymonde as Alex
Marsha Thomason as Naomi Dorrit
Sterling Beaumon as Young Ben Linus
Madeline Carroll as Annie
Jenn Boneza as Casey
Gregory Suenaga as Dharma rep
Diamante Kielo as Opal
François Chau as Dr. Marvin Candle
Episode chronology
← Previous
"The Brig"		Next →
"Greatest Hits"
Lost season 3
List of episodes

"The Man Behind the Curtain" is the 20th episode of the 3rd season of Lost , and the 69th episode overall. It was first aired on May 9, 2007, on ABC. The episode was directed by Bobby Roth and written by Elizabeth Sarnoff and Drew Goddard. [2]

Contents

Ben Linus (Michael Emerson) reluctantly leads John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) to Jacob, the mysterious leader of the Others. The episode is the first to feature flashbacks recounting Ben's backstory.

Plot

Flashbacks

On December 19, 1964, Emily Linus (Carrie Preston), gives birth to her son in a forest. Afterwards, her husband Roger (Jon Gries), carries her and the baby to the roadside outside Portland, where a car carrying Horace Goodspeed (Doug Hutchison) and Olivia (Samantha Mathis) soon stops to help them. Emily dies after telling Roger to name the baby Benjamin.

Seven years later, Ben (Sterling Beaumon) and his father arrive at the Island to work for the DHARMA Initiative, of which Horace is a member. At one point, Ben sees another vision of his dead mother. This, along with his drunken father blaming him for his mother's death, prompts Ben to sneak into the jungle in search of her. He encounters Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell), one of the "Hostiles" who are native to the island. Ben tells Richard that he wants to join the Hostiles on the grounds of not liking the DHARMA Initiative. Richard tells Ben that if he truly wants this, then he must be very, very patient.

Years later, Ben, now a young man working for DHARMA, helps his father Roger load a van. (This is the same van that Hurley had found in "Tricia Tanaka is Dead"). After confronting his father about forgetting his birthday again, Roger suggests they go for a drive together after their work is done, to have some father-son time. After parking atop a hill, Ben asks his father if he blames him for the death of his mother. Roger simply answers "What do I know", and promises to try and remember Ben's birthday the following year. Ben, fed up after years of neglect and abuse, pulls out a gas mask and bids his father goodbye before filling the van with a gas that kills Roger. Ben returns to the barracks, where all the DHARMA workers have died from the same gas, and Alpert and his men emerge wearing masks. As Alpert's men start picking up the bodies, Alpert offers to go and collect Roger's, but Ben tells him to "leave him out there".

Locke and the Others

John Locke arrives at the Others' camp carrying his father's body on his back, and demands that Ben tell him everything about the Island. Ben tells him that the true leader of the Others is named Jacob, and denies Locke's request to see him. Ben also tells John that he was not born on the island. Soon after, Mikhail Bakunin (Andrew Divoff) stumbles into the camp and talks about a parachutist who landed on the Island, Naomi Dorrit (Marsha Thomason). To convince Ben to bring him before Jacob, Locke beats Mikhail unconscious, while Tom and Richard do not intervene.

Ben and Locke arrive at Jacob's cabin. They enter, but Locke cannot see anyone inside. Ben introduces Locke to Jacob and gestures towards an empty chair, to which he starts talking. Locke tells Ben that he is crazy and pathetic. Just as Locke is about to exit the house, an odd and deep voice says "Help me". Locke pulls out a flashlight, and suddenly, objects in the room begin to violently fly about, windows shatter, and Ben is flung against a wall as a strange man is briefly seen sitting in the chair. Locke and Ben run out of the house.

The following day, Locke still does not believe Jacob is real, and says he will expose Ben as a fraud. Locke notices that Ben is leading them back by a different path, and Ben then leads him to mass grave full of skeletons clothed in DHARMA uniforms. Ben tells Locke that he helped kill his own people when it became clear that the DHARMA workers could not coexist with the natives, and then shoots Locke, who falls into the pit. Locke reveals Jacob said "Help me", and Ben replies that he certainly hopes Jacob helps him, as he departs leaving Locke for dead.

At the Beach

At the survivors' camp, James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway) plays Juliet Burke's (Elizabeth Mitchell) tape for Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews) and Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly). Later that night, the survivors are introduced to Naomi and the tape is played for all to hear. Just then, Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) and Juliet return to the camp. Juliet tells Sawyer to play the other side of the tape, which is Ben's plan to lead a team to kidnap all the fertile women. Juliet reveals that she has already told Jack about it, and that they were still thinking of a plan.

Production

The episode's title references The Wizard of Oz , as the question of how powerful Ben and the Others as a whole are is compared to "the ferocious and majestical Wizard of Oz, and there was in fact this very small man behind the curtain." [3] Jacob, the mysterious entity who rules the Others, made its first physical appearance. [4] For the scene in the cabin, actor Michael Emerson wrote Jacob's unspoken lines so that it would seem more like a normal conversation was transpiring between the two. [2]

Damon Lindelof describes Richard Alpert's encounter with the young Ben, and Ben and Locke's approach to the cabin as analogous to that of the choosing of the Dalai Lama by the Panchen Lama: "Richard Alpert might be construed as some sort of a Panchen Lama, as he has a conversation with this boy who sees something that he wasn't supposed to see, and now I think Ben finds himself in the role of Panchen Lama as he brings Locke into this cabin, in an attempt to sort of determine whether the island has chosen him to be its new surrogate." [2]

The opening scene, in which we see Ben's mother giving birth to him in a forest, was meant to trick the audience into thinking that the scene took place on the Island - much as the openings of "Man of Science, Man of Faith" and "A Tale of Two Cities" were intended to do the opposite. The part of Emily Linus, Ben's mother, was played by actress Carrie Preston, the real-life wife of Michael Emerson. They had also worked together in other works, such as the 2004 film Straight-Jacket . [2] Preston was cast as Ben's mother following Emerson telling people at parties that she was desperate for a part on the show. [5] Director Bobby Roth said the 1970s scenes try to convey the decade's "full of hope" spirit, where "people try to create a new world". The interior design for the DHARMA installations tried to be utopic, but utilitarian. [6]

Awards

Michael Emerson submitted this episode for consideration for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards, an award he would go on to be nominated for. He lost to fellow cast member Terry O'Quinn for his own submitted episode "The Man from Tallahassee". [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sayid Jarrah</span> Fictional character of the TV series Lost

Sayid Hassan Jarrah is a fictional character from the ABC show Lost portrayed by Naveen Andrews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugo "Hurley" Reyes</span> Fictional character of the TV series Lost

Hugo "Hurley" Reyes is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Jorge Garcia. For most of the show's run, Hurley served as the show's comic relief, but occasionally, and most notably in the final season, he was shown in a more serious light. In the series finale, he takes over as the Island's protector from Jack Shephard then takes Benjamin Linus as his adviser, the same way Jacob took Richard Alpert. He was cited as an unlikely hero among the show's characters.

John Locke (<i>Lost</i>) Fictional character of the TV series Lost

John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after the English philosopher of the same name. In 2007, O'Quinn won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Locke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Linus</span> Fictional character from Lost

Benjamin Linus is a fictional character portrayed by Michael Emerson on the ABC television series Lost. Ben was the leader of a group of island natives called the Others and was initially known as Henry Gale to the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. He began as the main antagonist during the second and third seasons, but in subsequent seasons, becomes a morally ambiguous ally to the main characters. Other characters frequently describe him as loyal only to himself, though it is also often hinted that he may be driven by some higher purpose.

The television series Lost includes a number of mysterious elements that have been ascribed to science fiction or supernatural phenomena, usually concerning coincidences, synchronicity, déjà vu, temporal and spatial anomalies, paradoxes, and other puzzling phenomena. The creators of the series refer to these as part of the mythology of the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juliet Burke</span> Character from the American mystery fiction television series Lost

Dr. Juliet Burke is a character portrayed by Elizabeth Mitchell on the ABC television series Lost. Created by J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, the character was introduced in the third season as a member of the hostile group referred to as "the Others" by the crash survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. Flashbacks reveal Juliet's past as a research specialist recruited to solve the Island's fertility problem where pregnant women die after conception. Prevented from leaving the Island and seeing her sister again by Ben Linus until she finds a solution, she quickly betrays Ben and the Others when she is sent as a spy to the survivors' camp. Juliet initially grows close to the castaways' leader, Jack Shephard, but ultimately falls in love and forms a relationship with James "Sawyer" Ford, with whom she moves on to the afterlife in the series finale. The character has also appeared in several spin-off webisodes of Lost: Missing Pieces, with Mitchell reprising her role.

"The Man from Tallahassee" is the 13th episode of the 3rd season of Lost, and the 62nd episode overall. It was aired on March 21, 2007, on ABC. The episode was written by Drew Goddard and Jeff Pinkner and directed by Jack Bender. The character of John Locke is featured in the episode's flashbacks. The episode received critical acclaim and it’s considered by critics and fans as one of the best episodes of Lost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Rousseau</span> Fictional character of the TV series Lost

Alexandra Rousseau is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Tania Raymonde. She was born 16 years prior to the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, but was taken from her mother, Danielle Rousseau, by Ben Linus. She was raised among them, believing her mother to be dead. She has helped the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 on many occasions, and is reunited with her mother at the end of the third season. Not long after however, she is shot and killed by Keamy after her adoptive father, Ben, would not listen to his demands. Her death scene was received positively by critics, earning it a spot on multiple "top moments of the season" lists.

"One of Us" is the 16th episode of the third season of Lost. It aired on April 11, 2007, making it the 65th episode of the series. The episode was written by Carlton Cuse and Drew Goddard and directed by Jack Bender. The title of the episode is not only a reference to the season two episode titled "One of Them", it is also a major theme of the episode, as Jack tries to convince the other flight survivors that Juliet is "one of us", rather than an Other.

"The Brig" is the 19th episode of the 3rd season of Lost, and the 68th episode overall. It aired on May 2, 2007. The episode was written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and directed by Eric Laneuville. The character of John Locke is featured in the episode's flashbacks, focusing on his time with The Others.

Richard Alpert (<i>Lost</i>) Fictional character of the TV series Lost

Richard Franklin Alpert is a fictional character played by Néstor Carbonell in the American ABC television series Lost. Alpert is introduced in the third season, specifically in a flashback of the character Juliet Burke, where he claims to be a doctor for a bioscience company called Mittelos Bioscience; he is later revealed to be a member of a native island faction called the Others, where he plays a role in the group's hierarchy that has been compared to that of the Panchen Lama in Buddhism by the series' producers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miles Straume</span> Character from the American mystery fiction television series Lost

Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series Lost. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium as a crew member aboard the freighter called the Kahana that is offshore the island where most of Lost takes place. Miles arrives on the island and is eventually taken captive by John Locke, who suspects that those on the freighter are there to harm his fellow crash survivors of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 and expose the island to the general public. Miles is on a mission to obtain Ben Linus ; instead, he tries to cut a deal with Ben to lie to Miles's employer Charles Widmore that Ben is dead.

"The Other Woman" is the 78th episode of the serial drama television series Lost and the sixth episode of the show's fourth season. It aired on March 6, 2008 on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States and on CTV in Canada. The episode was written by co-executive producer Drew Goddard and executive story editor Christina M. Kim, and was directed by Eric Laneuville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Widmore</span> Fictional character from the TV series Lost

Charles Widmore is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of over forty people after their plane crashes on a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific. He is primarily portrayed by Alan Dale; Tom Connolly and David S. Lee portray him as a young and middle-aged man, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whatever Happened, Happened</span> 11th episode of the 5th season of Lost

"Whatever Happened, Happened" is the 11th television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost. The 97th episode of the show overall, "Whatever Happened, Happened" aired April 1, 2009, on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by executive producers/show runners Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse and directed by "The Man Behind the Curtain" director Bobby Roth.

The Incident (<i>Lost</i>) 16th and 17th episodes of the 5th season of Lost

"The Incident" is the season finale of the fifth season of ABC's Lost, consisting of its 16th and 17th episodes. Both parts of "The Incident", the show's 102nd and 103rd episodes overall, aired on May 13, 2009, on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by executive producers/showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and directed by Jack Bender.

Follow the Leader (<i>Lost</i>) 15th episode of the 5th season of Lost

"Follow the Leader" is the 15th television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost. The 101st episode of the show overall, "Follow the Leader" aired on May 6, 2009, on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by supervising producer Paul Zbyszewski and co-executive producer Elizabeth Sarnoff and directed by Stephen Williams. This episode marks the lowest recorded audience for Lost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilana Verdansky</span> Character from the American mystery fiction television series Lost

Ilana Verdansky is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Zuleikha Robinson. Ilana is introduced in the sixth episode of the fifth season of Lost as an officer boarding Ajira Airways Flight 316, with Sayid in her custody. However, as her storyline progresses, it is revealed that she is someone deeply connected to the Island and to Jacob, the Island's highest authority figure. Ilana is killed when a bag of dynamite she is carrying explodes when she sets it on the ground too roughly.

Man in Black (<i>Lost</i>) Character from the American mystery fiction television series Lost

The unnamed fictional character most frequently referred to as The Man in Black is the main antagonist on the American ABC television series Lost. He appeared primarily as a cloud of black smoke until the final episode of season five where he appeared as a middle-aged man dressed in black. In season six, he primarily appeared in the physical form of John Locke. He exhibited the ability to "scan" the minds and memories of others, allowing him to confront characters such as Mr. Eko and Ben Linus, with "judgement", and to assume the forms and memories of the deceased, starting with the original Man in Black himself, his brother Jacob, or Christian Shephard, Yemi, Alex Rousseau, and Locke. According to Jacob, who explains this to Richard Alpert, it is the incarnation of evil, and its primary goal—to escape from the island—would be the "end of everything good".

Jacob is a fictional character of the ABC television series Lost played by Mark Pellegrino. He was first mentioned as the true leader of the Others by Ben Linus and was described as a "great man" that was also "brilliant", "powerful" and "unforgiving". He made his first appearance in the final episode of season five. Despite being killed in that episode, he continued to appear as a spirit, as well as in flashbacks in the episodes "Ab Aeterno" and "Across the Sea".

References

  1. ↑ "Lost - Netflix". Netflix . Retrieved 24 November 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 3 4 Audio commentary for "The Man Behind the Curtain", Season 3 DVD set of Lost
  3. ↑ Lindelof, Damon; Carlton Cuse (2007-05-04). "Official Lost Audio Podcast". American Broadcasting Company . Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  4. ↑ Lindelof, Damon; Carlton Cuse (2007-05-11). "Official Lost Audio Podcast". American Broadcasting Company . Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  5. ↑ Denise Martin (September 15, 2008). "'Lost' star Michael Emerson: What you didn't know". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on September 30, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Lost on Location for "The Man Behind the Curtain"". Lost: The Complete Third Season (DVD). Buena Vista Home Entertainment. 2007.
  7. ↑ "2007 Emmys CONFIRMED Episode Submissions". The Envelope Forum, Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2007-08-22. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.