Re: Lost--Benjamin Linus: Action hero! ("The Shape Of Things To Come" spoilers)

Jim Gysin wrote:
> Dano sent the following on 5/1/2008 11:10 AM:
>> Jim Gysin wrote:
>>>
>>> My take is that Ben didn't *know* Goodwin would be killed (how could
>>> he?), but merely wanted him out of the picture for a while so that
>>> he could pursue Juliet without Goodwin interfering.  At the same
>>> time, when Goodwin actually *did* die, Ben wasn't all torn up about
>>> it, but I question whether that alone makes Ben "evil."
>>>
>>
>> "Ben wasn't all torn up about it"???  Did he need to do cartwheels to
>> convince you that he was delighted?
>
> I don't recall him being *that* thrilled by it.  I might have to
> re-watch that particular scene, at least.
>
You should probably also rewatch the earlier scene where it was pointed
out 
to Ben that Goodwin had collected all the information he was going to get 
and that leaving him there served no purpose while putting him at risk. 
To 
which his response boiled down to, "No, he stays."

>> Add to that the unquestionable act
>> of cruelty in bringing Juliet to the scene as a cute surprise.  This
>> guy is absolutely an evil bastard for that alone.
>
> I agree--in this instance.  I'm not trying to canonize the guy here,
> you know; I'm just trying to dispel the whole black-and-white
> oversimplifications.
>
It wasn't just an act of cruelty.  Ben said, in so many words, that he 
brought Juliet to see Goodwin's body to impress upon her that she was
_his_! 
He was clearly gloating over the fact that he had taken away from her 
someone she cared about who wasn't himself and that it crushed her.  He 
clearly didn't just want to kill Goodwin to get him out of the way, he 
wanted to break Juliet in the process.

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