I agree SawyerLove... I think this video was pointless and made no sense to why Locke would care

I think that the guy that Widmore beats up is the captin of the ship.

I just saw the Lost trailer for the next episode (tonight's episode) and it says, "..and you'll see a face you never expected to see again." I am 100000% sure it is Michael!!not sayid, not mikhail, no one, it has to be Michael &/or Walt!!

Seeing an unknown guy get beaten does not prove anything. Especially since Locke doesn't know Whidmore from Adam. Am I right??

I've been saying that the man on the boat is Walt for a while now, and I'm sticking to that.

Don't count out Mikail (Patchy), he's been shot, electric fenced, harpooned and blown up. I don't think we have seen the last of him. He could be Ben's "man on the boat".

alright...i couldn't remember which actor the guy in the blindfold looked like, but now I remember and I am pretty confident, I think it looks a HELL LOT like Ben Affleck!!

This guy looks a HELL LOT like a hollywood actor...i just dont remember his name and it is pissing me off!! anyone else thinks he does??

I had this thought the other day...is it possible that the original others...Ben's "My People" were being promoted/financed by Widmore and some type of syndicate...given that Sayid is in the process of killing some group of people off...and that he(Ben)decided to go the Jim Jones/David Koresh path after the purge...given his sociopathic tendecies and devotion to the island. And since very few know how to get there it's why Widmoreet.al. are now out to find him and depose him...might explain the money question as well...It might also explain why they wanted to neutralize the gas not to keep Ben from killing the Losties but to take away one of his main defenses...just a thought or two

"And speaking of that mass killing do you think we'll get an answer on how it is that Charlotte knew that Ben had done this before?"

I'm wondering if that's part of why the new others are there - maybe whoever is against Ben (Whidmore?) may have had either a personal (family members?) or professional stake in the people who fell victim to the purge?

I don't really think this will be a spoiler, but IMDB has had Harold Perrineau listed for every episode this season as (Credits Only). Starting this Thursday the "Credits Only" tag has been taken away, suggesting he's actually going to be a part of this episode. In what capacity is anyones guess. Me, I think he's on the boat.

It's Michael on the boat...don't be confused by the fact that he was told to stick to one heading when he left and the heliocopter goes on a very similar heading...the boat left first. Stands to reason that if Ben wanted Michael on it he had to send him on a different setting as the freigter would be sailing around searching for the Island.

Anyone else think Locke is turning out to be dumber than fence post? Really...the man who ambushes you, shoots you, leaves you for dead...the man who has been shown to be a pathological liar and manipulator tells you he is going to show you the truth without you being able to realistically verifing anything he tells you and you just accept it...fricking moron he ain't making that's my predicition...

And a couple of more thoughts...where the hell did the brains of the founders of Dharma go? They keep dropping supplies to a group that was killed off didn't they notice anything had changed in how many years?

And speaking of that mass killing do you think we'll get an answer on how it is that Charlotte knew that Ben had done this before?

How did Michael get to be Ben's man on the boat? Ben had a plan to "break" Jack that was "shot to sunshine" when Jack saw his x-rays. Michael was assured of finding rescue by Ben (just follow the bearings). Michael was "broken" by Ms. Clue. He's easily blackmailed when it comes to Walt. And now he's subject to blackmail again or "people will find out what you did to get your son back". So Michael can't go home - until he completes his mission (same scam Ben used on Juliet).
Prediction: I think Ben resuced Michael & Walt. Again, they were separated. Walt is "back in the room" on the island while Michael is again Ben's man. His earlier assignment may have just been a test. Sure, Ben needed Jack for the surgery but what was the point of having Kate and Sawyer at the Hydra? Test or not, Michael has already showed a willingness to kill to get his son back. So spying for Ben on the boat is not such a leap. But I hope I'm completely wrong.

Namaste, I thought it was Sayid too, until I remembered Ben said he had someone on the boat before Sayid was even there yet.

I started really freakin out after this last epi.
I thought about Widmore in the can with Des and how he said he wasnt the one keeping Pen from talking to Des. Then I thought, well, Des dumped her before the wedding. Hell has no fury like a Penny Widmore scorned! What if she runs to daddy Widmore all in tears over the being dumped thing and she is in on this whole damn thing with daddy?
How did she know Des was on the island? What if daddy Widmore and Pen were behind Des sail outing?
Now that we know Widmore owns the freighter and the book, I wouldnt be suprised. He obviously also knew Pen wanted nothing to do with Des.

Anyone remember what Widmore paid for the book? It wasnt 3.2 mil was it? I wondered why Hanso would be auctioning the book to begin with? Maybe they needed money for food drops.

Ok,Harper shows up out of nowhere and disappears. Why does no one question that? Not Jack or Juliet.
I would be like, where did she come from and where the hell did she go? Further more, with all those whispers..was she dead? Thats when I really LOST it. I thought OMG what if all these people volunteered for some mind control experiment and the whole lot of them are hooked to wires and an IV in their arms in some lab like Arnie in Total Recall? It would sure explain alot, wouldnt it?

Thank you, one and all. As I was having a momentary melt down. Im better now just letting it out with the rest of you lostites.

Anyone figure out how Jacob ties to the Black Rock yet, or the Hansos? And if Jacob could be related to the Shepherds? Maybe Jacob can just morph himself into whomever he would like to look like for the day, depending on where his cabin appears.
Oh God, Im getting confused again, losing consciousness...help...need...answers...quick.

Sayid is the man Ben has on the boat... have you guys not put 2 and 2 together on that?? Mark my work next thursday night ... any comments .. send me a message.

To me, the guy in the video in the brown jacket that Widmore beats up (Ben referred to him as "one of my people who was unfortuante enough to get caught" or similar words to that effect) looks a bit like the deckhand on the freighter -- the guy with all the tattoos. Curly hair, same jawline...

That would be a real let-down if he's "Ben's man on the boat."

If the freighter really is Widmore's boat, then it doesn't make much sense that he'd send a crewman that he must at least suspect is one of his enemies, or else why would he be beating him up? I suppose it could be some performance-related job review... heh-heh. (It was odd that Widmore appeared to look directly into the camera lens at the end of the video, almost as though he knew it was there.) Brown-Jacket Guy could just be some random character we're never going to see again.

Anyone else wondering this: Just exactly how is it that Ben has any money at all let alone the millions that Miles was asking for? If he came to the island as a boy as part of the Dharma initative and with the help of the "others" and wiped them out with the gas just who are they and where does their money come from? If Widmore is on one side looking to exploit the island just exactly what is it that ben is trying to do? Create the Garden of Eden? And when are we going to get any relevant information on these "others"?

Yeah, I was wondering where Walt was, too. Maybe Ben has him somewhere and he's still blackmailing Michael to do his will in order to get him back...

If it was Hanso who owned the ledger/painting...why would he auction it? Why would he want other people to know where the island was, if the ledger had info about the island?

Yeah, I was wondering where Walt was, too. Maybe Ben has him somewhere and he's still blackmailing Michael to do his will in order to get him back...

If it was Hanso who owned the ledger/painting...why would he auction it? Why would he want other people to know where the island was, if the ledger had info about the island?

NorthShoreOGLost said:
Anyone else think that Henry Gale from way back was Widmore's first attempt to get to the island?

WHAT AN INTERESTING THOUGHT. A REALLY GOOD ONE.

IF IT IS INDEED MICHAEL ON THE BOAT AS BEN'S AGENT, THEN WHERE IS WALT?

A couple of answers to the questions regarding the Black Rock Log Book.
The person selling the book is a Hanso, when they had the enchancec version they provied his exact name.

The explaination of the Black Rock is that is landlocked on the island. Allegedly (sp) the log was found later on another island and the original caption to the Black Rock was a Hanso all related to the Hanso who is the benefactor of the Dharma project.

Which if people had noticed there was a photo in ?Penny's house which appeared to be our Mr. Hanso!

Ben's video to me is a set up!

Magnus Hanso was the captain and owner of the Black Rock. The log book was found in the possession of pirates in Mauritania 7 years after the dissapearance of the Black Rock. It would have been returned to the ship's owner, or the owner's surviving family.

We don't know if the book left the island after the Black Rock became landlocked on the island, or if it was somehow lost before the ship ended up in it's final resting place. We also don't know if that was the first time the Black Rock visited the island. Did Magnus Hanso find the island on a previous trip, and figure out the bearing he had to follow to get back? Was this a return trip to the island? Did the ledger contain information on how to find the island?

What we do know is that Alvar Hanso was a descendant of Magnus, and that he was a backer of the Dharma initiative's operations on the island. And Tovard Hanso is another family member, who's relation to Alvar is not yet clear.

There's one other possibility to his man on the boat....we haven't seen patchy yet this year..maybe he didn't get killed when he blew up charlie....

Yeah, and about Ben giving in to Locke with the video...whatever. Ben's not giving up his last "bargaining chip", let alone verbalizing that he would. The video may be real, but it's only to lead John on.

Good catch on the timing of the Red Sox video.

I always thought the man behind the boat was Charles Widmore as did many others. Because this was no surprise to most, I won't be surprised if the man on the boat is indeed Michael.

However, anyone consider Charlie? I'm still not convinced he's dead. A buddy of mine proposed it might be Locke's father. What about Boone? The only reason I suggest people like Boone and Charlie is because there seem to be several people throughout the show that have been presumed dead but they seem to just mysteriously vanish. Does that make sense? That being said, Ben's "I have a man on their boat" would seem to have some sort of connection (allegiance?) to Ben. Not sure how Charlie or Ben would fit that.

Anyone else think that Henry Gale from way back was Widmore's first attempt to get to the island?

How did Hanso acquire the Black Rock's logbook? We know the ship is on the island, so the logbook should be there also. Someone must have gotten it off the island somehow.

I totally agree that we've been set up for the 'man on the boat' to be Michael. Seems very anti-climatic to us hard core fans, but I think that's exactly what's going to happen. My wife wasn't even aware the Michael was returning to the show.

Did anyone notice who the seller was in the Black Rock auction? HANSO! And no one had seen the contents of the log before. So according to Desmond's time shift, Widmore acquired the book in 1996. Whatever's in it, it didn't stop Widmore's interest in the island. Maybe that's where it started.

In the comm room, Des calls Pen on a battery powered phone. That's funny. While he's giving Sayid Pen's phone number he's sitting on the same video conference terminal that was in the Looking Glass. The one Pen called in on. It's the only piece of communication equipment in the room NOT destroyed.

No, it has to be Michael. Bear in mind that not everyone who watches Lost hits a user forum online to discuss what we now think is obvious.

I'm assuming it's Michael -- after all, he's been in the credits for five weeks now and hasn't shown up yet. They're really stretching that a bit if he's supposed to be in this season and it's about 1/3 over.

2 thoughts/questions...

If we are to believe Ben (which is always a stretch), then Not Penny's Boat actually IS Penny's Dad's Boat. So, Penny just doesn't know what her dad is up to?

Second, they left us hanging last night as to who Ben's man on the boat is. At first I thought Michael, but that almost seems too obvious. I'm betting on Christian Shepherd. What the other prevailing takes on this out there?

I'll see our $10 and raise you $20! That guy who plays widmore was also Vice President James Prescott on 24. Something tells me Lost will end without a bang. Too much confusion and overlapping

Ten bucks says well se that scene again – with the backstory of that character.

Nice to see Widmore finaly getting a solid connection to part of the Lost story.

If Ben taped over the Red Sox game, as he said he did, does that mean this video was shot recently, as in, after he showed the Red Sox game to Jack in the Hydra station?

So who is the guy Widmore beats up? He doesn't look familiar...