Ben does NOT control Smokey. He knows how to summon it, but that's all. Hence his "we're going to want to get as far away from the tree line as possible." He can call the smoke, who then saw that the mercs were tearing up the island and decided to stop them.

4) Smokey going after Kate and Juliet -- Don't know about this one but anyone can give opinion.

If ben did control Smokey all thos other times then my explenation of point 4 from Franky's theorie is that he wanted to see if Juliet was following his orders, being the control freak that he is...

"What about the quick shot of a woman picking up a child in the Ben Sayid sequence? Shortly after, another shot has a woman out of focus in the background. You heard it here first folks, Nadia is alive. Master manipulator Ben has done it again."

I hate to be a jerk, but that's the worst theory I've ever heard.

I think that it is too early to reveal that this is just a game between Ben and Widmore. There are still 2 more seasons left. It might figure in somewhere down the line, but it is not the main plot behind the series. I think that Ben is Widmores son, thus Widmore calling him "boy" and Ben knowing that he just starting drinking scotch before going to bed.

Ben sent smokey after Kate and Juliet to help convince Kate that Juliet was really being abandoned by the others. Juliet knew that the fence would keep them safe, so as long as she was on her game, it wasn't going to get them and Ben knew that.

just throwing this out, although it's unrelated: does anyone else think that the very brief flash of Jacob we got last season looked, at least somewhat, like the chopper pilot?

Johnny, I did think the brief I shot resembled Frank Lapidis, but I also thought the actor playing Frank Lapidis was Jacob when the introduced him in T.V guide, so it might be they look similar.

When I look back at the episode when smokey chased down, Juliet and Kate, I get the sense that it was really getting a feel of them. Same about Ecko, it studied a week or two before it came for the kill. When it approached Ecko, it showed faces of his past, or at least I thought, for Juliet it came back with a white light. I really get the sense it kills bad people, and her intentions are good.

My question is why have a fence for something you control? I think it's more of a Ben summons it, but doesnt control it, maybe Jacob can.

LMAO Eye Shot^

why would Ben need a 'Constant' if he's not unstuck?
Teleportation is not the same thing as being unstuck/temporal diplacement.
Desmond never physically went anywhere, Ben did.

Anyways...
Ben can't kill Widmore because he has lineage through him. It's the grandfather paradox. Widmore is an old, old man. He doesn't need to be a Hanso to be one of 'those people' who were on the Island and mastered the aging process. He's just one of 'those people', whomever he ends up being, fathered someone in Ben's lineage.

Most likely, IMO, because Roger was a dirtbag, I'd go with his mother Emily.
Widmore left the Island after establishing Dharma (along with the Hansos and DeGroots etc.) and found himself (post-Purge) not able to return. This is why Widmore claims the Island is his.

Widmore is not a time traveler, at least not anymore. He's doomed to a normal fate as long as he's off Island. This is why he has to get back, otherwise he dies.

The 'rules' are, no killing of (their) descendants, period.
Ben didn't father Alex, so Widmore doesn't consider this a violation of the rules. In fact, he blames Ben because he told Ben everyone on the Island would die and meant it. Widmore has no descendants on the Island other than Ben, this is why Ben claimed to Locke that they wouldn't 'risk' hurting him (Ben).
Just an idea.

so if ben can control smokey why would they need the sonic fence then, since people can just jump over the pylons . doesn't make sense to me.

Ellen J wrote:
"They had ground rules from the beginning that not all was fair game -- family was to be kept out of it and protected."

If that was the case, then why would Ben play the "she's not my daughter, just some kid I abducted - I don't care about her" card as his final tactic to try and free Alex? Keamy might have originally been bluffing about killing Alex, but then thought that she was worthless after Ben disowned her. For a smart guy, Ben sure was stupid in that scene.

did any one notice the picture/painting in widmores penthouse suite ( A SHIP ) maybe its the black rock ship

and when ben leaves widmores penthouse suite at the very end of the episode there is another picture/painting outside the room (and it looks like a painting of the island to me because im sure u can see othersville)

SO maybe the island was originslly widmore

GET BK IF U NOTICED THIS TOO????

@THE RULES: Didn't Widmore buy that Black Rock painting in an auction during the Desmond episode?

I rewatched "The Shape of Things to Come" today and, at the end, a theory hit me (and I'm sure I'm not the first): What if Ben had been chosen to replace Widmore as the leader of the Others? What if Richard started wooing Ben because they had decided that Widmore wasn't "special" and was banished from the island? I've seen people complain about a lack of focus on the Others this season, but what if Widmore is actually an (or the) original Other?

Just crazy thinking at a very high altitude. We get loopy ideas up here some times.

"What about the quick shot of a woman picking up a child in the Ben Sayid sequence? Shortly after, another shot has a woman out of focus in the background. You heard it here first folks, Nadia is alive. Master manipulator Ben has done it again."

Gimme a break....

"did any one notice the picture/painting in widmores penthouse suite ( A SHIP ) maybe its the black rock ship"

Well...obviously it's the Black Rock. That painting has appeared on Lost before, and was stated at that time to be the Black Rock.

OK ITS THE BLACK ROCK BUT ___

when ben leaves widmores penthouse suite at the very end of the episode there is another picture/painting outside the room (and it looks like a painting of the island to me because im sure u can see othersville)

WAT ABOUT THIS PAINTING PEOPLE

Ben and Widmore CAN kill each other, nothing has been said that they are invincible due to the island's powers. Widmore clearly asks if Ben is there to kill him. If he was invincible, why would he ask such a stupid question? The fact is that it is not a literal translation, Ben can physically kill Widmore, but he needs Widmore for something which provokes the figurative meaning of "You know I can't kill you."

The only way Widmore is invicible is if he is a ghost from the island similar to Richard.

I liked the game theory at first until I thought about how painfully boring it would be to have the final two seasons of Lost be about a game with rules. There is no way that the writers can elevate this epic battle to its fullest watchable extent without completely neglecting the major Lost characters therefore it won't happen. If Ben and Widmore are trying to control points, it won't be countries it will be vortexes or whatever those islands like Lost and the Bermuda triangle regions are theorized to be called. Controlling teleportation points sounds a little to Star Gate like for me.

If Widmore is an island original, it will be interesting to see how he is tied in with Jacob. If Ben is such a smart guy, why does he have to take orders from Jacob unless JAcob is a manifestation of the island itself?
Keep up the good theories though!

just because alex sed rouso was dead doesnt mean she actually is whos not to say that wen the mercenaries got alex rouso just crawled away and is still alive we havent seen her body or nothing since she as ''died''

I STILL WANT A FLASHBACK ON HER THOUGH...

DID BEN KNoW SAYID WOULD BE THERE IN THE FLASHFORWARD WHEN SAYID KILLED WIDMORES HITMAN (BAKIR) AND BEN WANTED BAKIR KNOW WAS BEEN FOLLOWED BY BEN SO SAYID WOULD KILL HIM ????

BECAUSE I DONT THINK THAT BEN KNEW SAYID WOULD BE THERE TO KILL BAKIR IF U LOOK AT THE EXPRESION ON BENS FACE HE LOOKS SHOCKED WHEN SAYID SHOOTS BAKIR??

|YOUR THOUGHTS

Loved last weeks episode, but so many people are focusing on Ben controlling smokey because he went into that chamber, but I still think he went right into the chamber after his daughter died, so I believe it is the place where he time-travels. And since "time is relative" everyone thought he was in and out, where he actually went to see Whitmore, and then came back. Any thoughts?

I thought the secret secret door, the one where Ben let loose smokey, looked older than everything else. It seemed to me as if the original islanders had something that could control smokey. Then the DHARMA people found it and built their community / compound over the site. Of course the main house, which became Ben's house, was built right over the "controls". It would explain why Ben knows how to set smokey out but not fully understand how to control it.

I wanted to chime back in since of my theories is up there. I speak in terms of a grand cosmic game, but I want to clarify that my theory is more in line with Ellen J than it is with a God/Devil scenario.
That being said, the game theory is only a "superplot", an overarching plot that has existed long before and probably long after the survivors of 815 landed there. This is not meant to dispel other theories, like the Vile Vortices, which I am growing fonder of each day, or conscious time travel, which I am still a bit wary of. I'm deliberately being vague, because it cannot JUST be about Ben vs. Widmore - otherwise, why bother with the entire first season of LOST? No, the survivors matter to the story in an important way. I don't know how, but I firmly believe they do. As well, I agree and disagree with blutoschmoot that a game theory would make Lost's last two seasons boring.
"There is no way that the writers can elevate this epic battle to its fullest watchable extent without completely neglecting the major Lost characters therefore it won't happen.

Well, I agree with you that the last two seasons without the major Losties playing a role would be about as disappointing as the *cough* epic fight at the end of the first season of Heroes. But I don't think that's going to happen. The Losties will play their role in the game (perhaps as pawns, perhaps as soldiers, to borrow a metaphor). And I never underestimate the ability of the writers to continue to impress me with an incredible episode each and every week, even when I have a good idea what's coming. That said, I disagree a game theory would result in a boring final two seasons.

the island is a time machine..ben goes back thats why hes so smart he knows what things are gunna happen so hes able to manipulate.maybe when desmond turned the safety key it put thew whole island into a time lapse..repeating time over and over on the island but time goeses as normal on the outside world.if u go back in time you cant die and even if u get off the island u still cant die .. maybe the smoke monster corrects changes people have made in the past..HAS EVERY1 FOrgotn that it was jacks dad in jacobs cabin????????wtf was he there for?oh yeah by the way becaus they went back in time by getting on the island all their illness disapear because technically its before it happend yueah this is the most likely theory

What specially caught my attention is James really evident redemption. Since he kill Antony, the real sawyer, it's like is old "unpleasant to other" persona went away. He's been VERY kind and protective to both Claire and Hurley. People calling him James, without being bother. Since we know how lost deal with redemption. I wouldn't be to surprise that they let him die by the end of this season.
But... they always surprise me, don't they..

WHO THINKS BEN TELEPORTED AND WHO THINKS BEN TIME TRAVELLED..?

cuz im hearing people say he time travelled and i dont think thats the case i fink that he just teleported to the desert through the orcid station (which we have only seen in the orientation video)

ben exited the house and said their here then the ''LOST BLACK SCREEN'' then he ended up in the desert ( I KEEP HEARIG PEOPLE SAY HE WENT INTO THE OLD SECRET SECRET ROOM AND TIME TRAVELED)?? whats that all about lol

GET BK PLEASE PEOPLE WITH UR THEORYS

have we been told why DESMOND was in prison yet i cant remember if they told us ..lol

when ben leaves widmores penthouse suite at the very end of the episode there is another picture/painting outside the room (and it looks like a painting of the island to me because im sure u can see othersville)

WAT ABOUT THIS PAINTING PEOPLE