Small Theory about Ben and his manipulation of the Castaways.
I am basing this on the idea that you can't change the past and whatever is meant to happen always will. This does not mean, however, that everything happens exactly as it was meant to - just that the universe will eventually course correct and find its way.
Take, for example, Desmond and Charlie. Charlie was going to die no matter what, but Desmond, with his knowledge of future events, was able to postpone it. Think of time as a river - you can change which way the water flows but it will always end up in the ocean.
2 things that have happened, always happened and Ben knew this. 1. Locke would become the new leader of the others once he came to the island, and 2. Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley would end up in 1977 in the Dharma Initiative.
Locke was always meant to lose faith and stop pressing the button in season 2, and the key was always meant to be turned. But.. it was actually supposed to be Jack turning the key. Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley would have been in the hatch and traveled back in time then, and Ben was meant to die due to his kidney issue.
BUT... Ben, since he was in Dharma as a kid, knew that they would inevitably go back in time. He understood that he cannot prevent this, but did realize he could postpone it and use them in the meantime for whatever he wanted with no real consequences. So, he used Michael to get the 4 castaways away from the hatch when he knew it was going to implode, and thus they were not able to travel back in time then. He did this to do what we saw in season 3 - manipulate them and thus save himself. This sets in motion the events of the next two seasons, which are essentially the universe course correcting, leading those 4 losties on the journey that eventually takes them back to the island and back to the 70s where they were always meant to be. This is also why Ben turned the wheel even though he knew Locke was supposed to - he needed to get off the island and help the O6 get back.
This also explains why (assuming the writers knew this all along) he wasn't surprised to see the flash and why he simply let Hurley go after it happened.
Everything that happens after that Flash is the universe course correcting, leading up to the Losties going back in time. This also means that Ben will inevitably die on the island before the end of the show.Theory by Not Harry Potter
I am basing this on the idea that you can't change the past and whatever is meant to happen always will. This does not mean, however, that everything happens exactly as it was meant to - just that the universe will eventually course correct and find its way.
Take, for example, Desmond and Charlie. Charlie was going to die no matter what, but Desmond, with his knowledge of future events, was able to postpone it. Think of time as a river - you can change which way the water flows but it will always end up in the ocean.
2 things that have happened, always happened and Ben knew this. 1. Locke would become the new leader of the others once he came to the island, and 2. Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley would end up in 1977 in the Dharma Initiative.
Locke was always meant to lose faith and stop pressing the button in season 2, and the key was always meant to be turned. But.. it was actually supposed to be Jack turning the key. Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley would have been in the hatch and traveled back in time then, and Ben was meant to die due to his kidney issue.
BUT... Ben, since he was in Dharma as a kid, knew that they would inevitably go back in time. He understood that he cannot prevent this, but did realize he could postpone it and use them in the meantime for whatever he wanted with no real consequences. So, he used Michael to get the 4 castaways away from the hatch when he knew it was going to implode, and thus they were not able to travel back in time then. He did this to do what we saw in season 3 - manipulate them and thus save himself. This sets in motion the events of the next two seasons, which are essentially the universe course correcting, leading those 4 losties on the journey that eventually takes them back to the island and back to the 70s where they were always meant to be. This is also why Ben turned the wheel even though he knew Locke was supposed to - he needed to get off the island and help the O6 get back.
This also explains why (assuming the writers knew this all along) he wasn't surprised to see the flash and why he simply let Hurley go after it happened.
Everything that happens after that Flash is the universe course correcting, leading up to the Losties going back in time. This also means that Ben will inevitably die on the island before the end of the show.Theory by Not Harry Potter
