"Dr.Linus" has everything: flash-sideways that, for the first time in this season, are both thematically connected to the "main" timeline AND very entertaining (not to mention informative - since we learn that Ben's father joined DHARMA in this timeline too) in their own right (kudos to Michael Emerson, Tania (gorgeous) Raymonde and Daniel Roebuck for their fun performances); equally suspenseful main and secondary on-island plots; extended screen time for Richard; a visit to the Black Rock; a Flocke cameo; a nod to Nikki & Paulo (!); a bittersweet multi-person reunion; and a LONG-awaited (at least by me) return in the last few seconds. Given that the alternate timeline seems, so far, infinitely better for everyone involved, my guess at this point is that the endgame of the series will have something to do with trying to sustain (good) or prevent (bad) the chain of events that created it. In any case, I'm much more confident that the writers know where they're going after this episode. *** out of 4.
6 Reviews
Redemptive Ben
TheLittleSongbird20 September 2018
When 'Lost' was in its prime, it was must-watch television. Remember first watching it, found it remarkably easy to get into, was hooked from the start and was on Season 3 by the end of one week. The general consensus is that the final season is a disappointment and cannot disagree.
It, Season 6 that is, started promisingly enough with "LA X", both parts, before reaching disappointment with the still watchable "What Kate Does", which had great moments but a dull and soap-heavy central story. "The Substitute" was a step up and one of the best of the episodes up to this point of the season (second best), but not one of the best 'Lost' episodes, did find a couple of issues with it but can understand why critically it has been positively received. "Lighthouse" to me was uneven but decent.
Season 6 hits a high here again with "Dr. Linus", for me replacing the excellent though much darker "Sundown" as the best episode up to this early point of the season and one of the season's best episodes overall. Showing that not all the season was disappointing. Not quite one of my all-time favourite episodes of 'Lost', but there is a lot of classic elements here.
There is really very little to fault with "Dr. Linus". Its only issues to me being the rushed cliffhanger and the implausible resolution to the blackmail plot.
Pace though is tight and none of the writing is taut and not soapy. There are even more shocks and even more illuminating revelations and characterisation, generally more story clarity and character motivations are not as vague as some of the previous Season 6 episodes. The climactic parts are tense and poignant and one just wishes that the cliffhanger wasn't rushed.
The alternate universe storyline was a strong contender for the best of the season, more so than "Sundown", it doesn't get soapy and actually has tension, suspense and emotion while also providing new information instead of reiterating what is already known. Even more impressive is how it still makes sense, doesn't feel disjointed and it is by far the episode that links the timelines and their themes together the most successfully at this point of the season. The island events are utterly gripping, full of suspense and has emotion. The story and character development feels advanced rather than going backwards, being reiterated or ground to a halt. Ben was already a fascinating character, it must have been difficult trying to advance even more a character more fleshed out than most of the other characters on the show but somehow it's managed.
Acting can't be faulted, with an absolutely brilliant performance from Michael Emerson. While he was always one of 'Lost's' best and most consistent performers, the acting here is among his best for this fascinating character. The visuals are slick and stylish, the music chilling and understated, the writing tightly structured and the direction showing ferocity and control. The more action-oriented parts are unpredictable and superbly choreographed.
Summing up, excellent episode, if anybody was to ask me what episodes stood out as among the best of Season 6 "Sundown" and especially "Dr. Linus" very high up. 9/10 Bethany Cox
It, Season 6 that is, started promisingly enough with "LA X", both parts, before reaching disappointment with the still watchable "What Kate Does", which had great moments but a dull and soap-heavy central story. "The Substitute" was a step up and one of the best of the episodes up to this point of the season (second best), but not one of the best 'Lost' episodes, did find a couple of issues with it but can understand why critically it has been positively received. "Lighthouse" to me was uneven but decent.
Season 6 hits a high here again with "Dr. Linus", for me replacing the excellent though much darker "Sundown" as the best episode up to this early point of the season and one of the season's best episodes overall. Showing that not all the season was disappointing. Not quite one of my all-time favourite episodes of 'Lost', but there is a lot of classic elements here.
There is really very little to fault with "Dr. Linus". Its only issues to me being the rushed cliffhanger and the implausible resolution to the blackmail plot.
Pace though is tight and none of the writing is taut and not soapy. There are even more shocks and even more illuminating revelations and characterisation, generally more story clarity and character motivations are not as vague as some of the previous Season 6 episodes. The climactic parts are tense and poignant and one just wishes that the cliffhanger wasn't rushed.
The alternate universe storyline was a strong contender for the best of the season, more so than "Sundown", it doesn't get soapy and actually has tension, suspense and emotion while also providing new information instead of reiterating what is already known. Even more impressive is how it still makes sense, doesn't feel disjointed and it is by far the episode that links the timelines and their themes together the most successfully at this point of the season. The island events are utterly gripping, full of suspense and has emotion. The story and character development feels advanced rather than going backwards, being reiterated or ground to a halt. Ben was already a fascinating character, it must have been difficult trying to advance even more a character more fleshed out than most of the other characters on the show but somehow it's managed.
Acting can't be faulted, with an absolutely brilliant performance from Michael Emerson. While he was always one of 'Lost's' best and most consistent performers, the acting here is among his best for this fascinating character. The visuals are slick and stylish, the music chilling and understated, the writing tightly structured and the direction showing ferocity and control. The more action-oriented parts are unpredictable and superbly choreographed.
Summing up, excellent episode, if anybody was to ask me what episodes stood out as among the best of Season 6 "Sundown" and especially "Dr. Linus" very high up. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Inspiring good and evil Benjamin battle, excellent Michael Emerson performance, intense dual story and well synchronized editing, intriguing but rushed cliffhanger
igoatabase10 March 2010
A deal with Locke. In Sundown Sayid did a Faustian bargain. He could have rejected it but instead he decided to follow his troubled heart and accepted. Dr. Linus was a bit similar as Ben has always been a character oscillating between good and evil. One minute he's Dr Jekyll, the next he turns into Mr Hyde. Such a strange case was perfectly covered in The Constant, featuring Desmond Hume, but this time it was very different as it was about Linus the history teacher and Linus the island defender outcast.
The story used the same dual pattern as the past episodes. Linus really reminded me of Bill Gates as a teacher and it was quite funny at first but soon I forgot all about it as Michael Emerson performance was excellent, as always. The substitute, John Locke, was also featured and I really liked how their only dialog was a direct reference to what was occurring on the island. Indeed all along Ben had to make choices, hard ones. What would you be capable of doing to seize an opportunity ? It was quite interesting to watch Linus answering that bugging question because we all had or will have to answer it ourself one day.
So the urban arc was great but the island one was even better. First as expected the temple was no more and we saw the characters running wild in the jungle wondering where to escape. How can you survive such an abomination ? Should you have joined its team instead ? What's the point of being a Candidate when you're dead ? So the survivors had to think fast and move even faster. But don't get me wrong the episode wasn't as dark and brutal as Sundown. In fact it was far much more peaceful than I expected. The calm before the storm ? I don't know what will happen next but as often the cliffhanger really intrigued me even if I found it rushed. As for Ben of the jungle his story mirrored the teacher's one, even more than in the past episodes. The matter what he chose, good or evil, his character development leaded to some very emotional moments and Emerson's acting reached heaven or hell at times. His destiny is so captivating that I didn't know if I wanted him to conclusively become Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde.
To sum things up the eternal battle between good and evil will never stop to fascinate us. And when it's so well directed, written and acted you can only applause. Moreover we all know Lost is not an all black or white show so I'm sure either Dr Green or Mr Red will come back with a vengeance. But his twisted profile reminded me so much of Desmond that I can't wait to watch his featured episode. I don't know when it will air nor even if it will ever do and I don't want to know it because Lost is all about the mystery. We saw him in LA X for a few split seconds in the plane beside Jack and then he vanished. The world for a Penny !
The story used the same dual pattern as the past episodes. Linus really reminded me of Bill Gates as a teacher and it was quite funny at first but soon I forgot all about it as Michael Emerson performance was excellent, as always. The substitute, John Locke, was also featured and I really liked how their only dialog was a direct reference to what was occurring on the island. Indeed all along Ben had to make choices, hard ones. What would you be capable of doing to seize an opportunity ? It was quite interesting to watch Linus answering that bugging question because we all had or will have to answer it ourself one day.
So the urban arc was great but the island one was even better. First as expected the temple was no more and we saw the characters running wild in the jungle wondering where to escape. How can you survive such an abomination ? Should you have joined its team instead ? What's the point of being a Candidate when you're dead ? So the survivors had to think fast and move even faster. But don't get me wrong the episode wasn't as dark and brutal as Sundown. In fact it was far much more peaceful than I expected. The calm before the storm ? I don't know what will happen next but as often the cliffhanger really intrigued me even if I found it rushed. As for Ben of the jungle his story mirrored the teacher's one, even more than in the past episodes. The matter what he chose, good or evil, his character development leaded to some very emotional moments and Emerson's acting reached heaven or hell at times. His destiny is so captivating that I didn't know if I wanted him to conclusively become Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde.
To sum things up the eternal battle between good and evil will never stop to fascinate us. And when it's so well directed, written and acted you can only applause. Moreover we all know Lost is not an all black or white show so I'm sure either Dr Green or Mr Red will come back with a vengeance. But his twisted profile reminded me so much of Desmond that I can't wait to watch his featured episode. I don't know when it will air nor even if it will ever do and I don't want to know it because Lost is all about the mystery. We saw him in LA X for a few split seconds in the plane beside Jack and then he vanished. The world for a Penny !
Ben's Redemption
claudio_carvalho21 April 2013
Ben flees and meets Ilana, Sun, Miles and Frank also escaping from the attack to the temple. Ilana gives the ashes of Jacob to Miles to know how he died, and he tells that Ben killed him. Ilana forces Ben to dig his grave, but Locke offers him the chance to escape.
In the parallel reality, Dr. Linus plots a Machiavellian scheme to overthrow Principal Reynolds and occupy his position. But he sacrifices his plan to help the student Alex Rousseau.
"Dr. Linus" is another strange episode with the redemption of the despicable Ben. The writers continue stalling the conclusion of this show and now expect that the viewers feel sympathy for the sordid Ben? My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Dr. Linus"
In the parallel reality, Dr. Linus plots a Machiavellian scheme to overthrow Principal Reynolds and occupy his position. But he sacrifices his plan to help the student Alex Rousseau.
"Dr. Linus" is another strange episode with the redemption of the despicable Ben. The writers continue stalling the conclusion of this show and now expect that the viewers feel sympathy for the sordid Ben? My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Dr. Linus"
Dr. Linus is a Professor of Awesome!
kjlevine10 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
As the countdown continues to the end of LOST, the ball keeps rolling in yet another roller coaster episode. I never really liked the Ben-centric episodes as much as everyone else did, but I had a feeling I would love this one after we see Ben complain about coffee filters in "The Substitute", and I was right. We see Ben in the flash-sideways as a rather ordinary history teacher who still believes in his job, not quite different from Ben as when he was the leader of the island. Emerson gives a great performance in both the sideways and island story, especially in his rambling confession to Illana, but my personal favorite scene was in the b-story with Hurley, Jack, and Richard. When Jack just sits there with Richard in the Black Rock while the dynamite is about to blow, Jack makes the same face from the beginning of "Through The Looking Glass Part 1" where he is standing on top of the bridge about to fall. In both scenes he closes his eyes, and it just reinforces my conclusions...Jack is one crazy dude..who's Awesome!!! Cant wait till next Tuesday, where we will hopefully see more Jack faces!
I recant: I enjoyed the tangent/parallel/sideways stuff!
lor_10 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I received much criticism last week for attacking the Lost writer/creators' flash sideways material. Well, with "Dr. Linus", I have to retract my complaint -this sideways gimmick is turning out to be fun. Unlike most contemporary entertainment, you don't have to check your brain at the door, but I have learned that you have to loosen up to accept Lost on its own premises, namely that every coincidence no matter how obviously far-fetched is meaningful. If J. J. and crew were right-wingers, this show would be titled "Intelligent Design", with Jacob and/or Smokey cast as the creator.
{SPOILERS Ahead:}
Basically, the big bang explosion set off by Juliet (who has not had a new segment assigned to her as yet) allowed the Lost team to create an entirely new "bible" for the series, giving each major character, and dozens of the minor ones, brand-new back stories dating back to the '70s when "everything changed". I have not interviewed any of the writers, but I bet that much if not all of the new material is newly conceived, and was not part of the play book created six seasons ago.
With Ben Linus as the central figure this week, the writers had a great deal of fun, some of it extremely tongue-in-cheek, in playing with his character. Seeing him taking care of his ill dad in L. A. (instead of cold-bloodedly killing him back in the original Lost storyline), and having dad ironically lamenting the fact that they had not stuck it out and stayed on the island, is a cute, nudge-nudge surprise.
Linus served as Alex's foster dad back on the island, and whether biological or not it is poignant how her murder by Keamy, which he failed to prevent, affected him. In the Sideways segment, she is instead his prize pupil, and his father-figure affection for her is a wonderful invention by the writers. Fortunately Lost is a broadcast TV series, because if it had been made for HBO or Showtime I'm certain we would have a softcore sex scene between Ben and Alex, just to take advantage of the fans' thinking of her as his daughter from past episodes. At any rate, this making Ben a really good guy, even resisting his impulses to manipulate and stomp on people (the rival principal played by former heart-throb William Atherton), was a humorous switch on the man we love to hate.
The Us vs. Them thrust of the ongoing Island story was somewhat overshadowed here, especially in the rather contrived Ilana behavior putting Ben in jeopardy and then letting him off the hook conveniently. Cliffhanger of deus ex machina villain Widmore popping up in his trusty submarine was injected almost comically. Clearly the writers are being facetious a lot of the time in the Final Season, but that's better than taking their hit show too seriously. Unless they muff the 2-hour finale (and there's mucho precedent for doing so, even Patrick McGoohan having stumbled at the end of "The Prisoner"), they know that fans will be debating the minutiae of the series' themes and contents for years to come.
One trick here that I'm already debating with myself about is the surprise dredging up of the series' most notorious "one-off" segment, "Exposé" (#3.14). I thought that self-contained show was good & buried with its stars Nikki & Paulo. But Miles refers to them by name when standing near their graves and later has one of their buried diamonds in his possession. Miles arrived on the scene after they died, but of course he can commune (within limits) with the dead, so he is a natural to pick up on their story & illegal booty. But this is yet another example of how the writers stretch "suspension of disbelief" to its outer limits, so once again I'm ambivalent: can they go too far, or is a fan merely stuck with whatever plot twist is invented: like it or else!
Upcoming IMDb has announced that Faraday & mom, plus Charlie, Penelope and dad Widmore will be featured in the "Happily Ever After" episode April 6th -that should be a crucial one in tying up loose ends. The database teaser leaves Desmond out of that one, stating "credit only" next to his name, but I hope they're wrong and that he returns in a major way.
{SPOILERS Ahead:}
Basically, the big bang explosion set off by Juliet (who has not had a new segment assigned to her as yet) allowed the Lost team to create an entirely new "bible" for the series, giving each major character, and dozens of the minor ones, brand-new back stories dating back to the '70s when "everything changed". I have not interviewed any of the writers, but I bet that much if not all of the new material is newly conceived, and was not part of the play book created six seasons ago.
With Ben Linus as the central figure this week, the writers had a great deal of fun, some of it extremely tongue-in-cheek, in playing with his character. Seeing him taking care of his ill dad in L. A. (instead of cold-bloodedly killing him back in the original Lost storyline), and having dad ironically lamenting the fact that they had not stuck it out and stayed on the island, is a cute, nudge-nudge surprise.
Linus served as Alex's foster dad back on the island, and whether biological or not it is poignant how her murder by Keamy, which he failed to prevent, affected him. In the Sideways segment, she is instead his prize pupil, and his father-figure affection for her is a wonderful invention by the writers. Fortunately Lost is a broadcast TV series, because if it had been made for HBO or Showtime I'm certain we would have a softcore sex scene between Ben and Alex, just to take advantage of the fans' thinking of her as his daughter from past episodes. At any rate, this making Ben a really good guy, even resisting his impulses to manipulate and stomp on people (the rival principal played by former heart-throb William Atherton), was a humorous switch on the man we love to hate.
The Us vs. Them thrust of the ongoing Island story was somewhat overshadowed here, especially in the rather contrived Ilana behavior putting Ben in jeopardy and then letting him off the hook conveniently. Cliffhanger of deus ex machina villain Widmore popping up in his trusty submarine was injected almost comically. Clearly the writers are being facetious a lot of the time in the Final Season, but that's better than taking their hit show too seriously. Unless they muff the 2-hour finale (and there's mucho precedent for doing so, even Patrick McGoohan having stumbled at the end of "The Prisoner"), they know that fans will be debating the minutiae of the series' themes and contents for years to come.
One trick here that I'm already debating with myself about is the surprise dredging up of the series' most notorious "one-off" segment, "Exposé" (#3.14). I thought that self-contained show was good & buried with its stars Nikki & Paulo. But Miles refers to them by name when standing near their graves and later has one of their buried diamonds in his possession. Miles arrived on the scene after they died, but of course he can commune (within limits) with the dead, so he is a natural to pick up on their story & illegal booty. But this is yet another example of how the writers stretch "suspension of disbelief" to its outer limits, so once again I'm ambivalent: can they go too far, or is a fan merely stuck with whatever plot twist is invented: like it or else!
Upcoming IMDb has announced that Faraday & mom, plus Charlie, Penelope and dad Widmore will be featured in the "Happily Ever After" episode April 6th -that should be a crucial one in tying up loose ends. The database teaser leaves Desmond out of that one, stating "credit only" next to his name, but I hope they're wrong and that he returns in a major way.
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