'Lost' recap: Lessons Learned

There was a moment back in the most polarizing episode of Lost's most turbulent season when the Island's god of lies told the truth about the way he works. No, I'm not talking about His Royal Smokeyness, FrankenLockenstein, although the confession sure fits him, too. I speak of Benjamin Linus, the Little Napoleon of the Others — or, in the spirit of last night's very special back-to-school edition of Lost, the devious Tracy Flick of Craphole Island High 90666. The episode was ''Expose,'' a.k.a .the Nikki and Paulo vs. the Spiders episode, and the moment of truth came when Juliet asked Ben how he intended to get Jack to operate on his tumor-choked spine. ''Same way I get anybody to do anything. I find out what he's emotionally invested in and I exploit it,'' Ben said, sounding sadly resigned about his own nefarious nature, as if his conniving character was innate and immutable, or at least fixed and unchangeable. In the divine election of all possible worlds (''divine election'' being a fancy theological term of predestination), Ben Linus is forever doomed to manifest as some Machiavellian devil, some power-grabbing Brutus, some Jesus-betraying Judas, no matter the reality, no matter the world. Right?

Wrong. In ''Dr. Linus,'' Ben Linus was exposed as a soul who only has himself to blame for his woe-is-me bad self, whose corrupt nature is an accumulation of freely made choices. Which also means that Ben is also fully capable of resisting evil and selecting virtue, as well. His Sideways story was the proof. We were presented with a new version of Ben that was a truly decent man — a smart, idealistic teacher who cared for his students; a devoted son who cared for his ailing father, Roger Linus — but also one who yearned for a grander station in life. Dude had a doctorate! He was owed! On Planet Sideways, Doc Linus was presented with the opportunity to tricky-Dick his way to higher office, albeit at the expense of sweet, innocent Sideways Alex. But in his defining moment, Ben's conscience got the best of him, and he was a better man for it. Sorry, Arzt: those new lab aprons will have to wait.

On the Island, Ben the Dethroned seemed set to pay for his sins and abuses of power after Ilana smoked out his Jacob-stabbing secret and sentenced him to death for killing her beloved godfather. Then the Man In Black showed up and made him an offer he seemingly couldn't refuse: restored Island rule in the future in exchange for his loyal service in the present as part of his Hydra Family gang. Ben made a choice. He bolted. Ilana chased. Ben got himself a gun and was about to put a Bada-Bing in Jacob's girl the way he blew away Caesar the Whodat? last season. But then Ben made another choice: He bared his soul. He told the truth about killing Jacob, shared his rage over feeling betrayed by his Island god and his shame for choosing Island power over his daughter, and then offered this heartbreaking explanation for why he was joining Mr. Evil Incarnate (Allegedly): ''Because he's the only one that will have me!'' Then Ilana did something that left Ben gobsmacked: She forgave him. ''I'll have you,'' she said, and walked away. Ben shuffled after her, as if sucked in by the undertow of her grace. He came to the outskirts of the Beach camp, then stopped and considered his options. Stay and serve in this humble little patch of heaven, or join Devil Locke and coldly play for a shot at living the ''Vida La Vida'' once again. You always have a choice. This time, Ben made the right one — fulfilling, perhaps, Jacob's dying thought hope that Ben had the capacity for change. Has Ben the flip-flop artist truly embraced redemption? If so, would his redemption have been possible without Jacob's death? If so, did Jacob know that when he offered his chest for Ben to puncture? And so we debate like theologians.

This was a good episode. For fans starved for ''answers'' the way Hurley craved for cheese curds last night, ''Dr. Linus'' offered a plate of appetizers — salty-yummy scooplets of Richard Alpert, Black Rock, Jacob, Charles Widmore — in advance of more substantial courses that now appear imminent. Meanwhile, the Sideways story was played like a rich, full metaphor for Ben's Island arc and a kind of veiled, Roman-à-clef theory for almost all of Lost. On the whole, I was intellectually stimulated by yet another complex sketch of nature/nurture psychology and redemption dynamics, and I must admit my geeky heart was microwaved to soggy mush by the (partial) castaway reunion at the beach (The Beach! At last, the Beach!), complete with slo-mo montage and Michael Giacchino strings, to boot.

Not everything worked for me, though. I hate to begrudge genuine humor in Lost, but I felt Ben's Sideways story could have been a smidge better if played a little more straight. (Put another way: I am not exactly the most ardent patron of the Arzt.) A great scene for Richard Alpert in the Black Rock was overshadowed — literally — by a distracting lighting choice, a self-conscious use of chiaroscuro that may have been a go-for-Baroque attempt at communing with Caravaggio's ''The Incredulity of Saint Thomas'' that Lost referenced last year in ''316'' but... well, see, now I'm talking myself into loving that strange scene. Ditto: Jack's leap of faith with the dynamite stick, which left me debating between ''Totally genius!'' and ''Totally ridiculous!'' And how about finding another way to bring Fake Locke into a scene than having characters looking frantically about as they hear the tikatikatikatika while the camera pans over to Smocke popping out of the bush behind them with a smug smirk on his face?

Finally:

Bueller?

Bueller?

Bueller?

Translation: It's time for Ferris Sawyer's Multi-Episode Day Off to come to close. Seriously.

Nitpicking concluded. Your scorn? Bring it. Your agreement? Not necessary. I hope we can all agree that bugs aside, ''Dr. Linus'' gave us stuff to ponder and moments to savor. And so we take out our textbooks and begin the lesson.

NEXT: Ben's tranquil life