"Lost" Diary -- The Man Behind the Curtain

Have I mentioned how awesome you guys are? I've got two reasons. First of all, you got my back. Someone posted a comment about the Henry Gale/Ben thing, and there were comments galore defending me. I thought about relenting and just calling him Ben, but then one person wrote: "If Daniel ever starts calling Henry Gale 'Ben,' I will cry. It's now a point of honor." Amen to that, brutha.

The other thing I love is that you guys have quietly formed a great little community of "Lost" fans here, and I think we need to do more with it. More on that later on in the article.

For all you "Lost" Diary newbies, here's how it goes. I gather with a group of friends watching "Lost," writing what happens on the show as it happens, and throwing in my two cents along the way. This week the crew is Ari, Lauren, Marisa, April and Matt. Let's roll:

10:00 -- I'm a guy, so I will never fully understand the rigors of childbirth, but I have to assume that giving birth in the jungle doesn't help matters.

10:02 -- "Call him Benjamin." -- Emily. So I guess Henry Gale wasn't really born on the island.

10:03 -- It's Henry Gale's birthday! And I didn't get him anything. What do you get Henry Gale anyway? Tivo?

10:04 -- Uh oh, Richard screwed up and the tape recording is missing. Meanwhile, Locke returns to the Others camp with his father's dead body on his back? Um, where do you want me to put this, Henry Gale?

10:05 -- "So why don't you start at the beginning." -- Locke.

10:07 -- Alright, first question of the night: Who is Jacob? Better yet, is there even a Jacob?

10:08 -- The fact that Locke is calling out Henry Gale about there being no Jacob makes me immediately believe that there is. Henry Gale doesn't lie ... except when he does.

10:09 -- Is the island a research facility or a Club Med?

10:10 -- Alright, so Henry Gale had to be at least 10 years old when we see him get to the island -- he HAS to remember coming there. So is he lying to everyone when he says he was born there or does he just not remember?

10:11 -- "There are properties on this island that exist nowhere else on Earth." -- Dr. Marvin Candle. No kidding, doc.

10:12 -- "Roger Workman" is the "name" of the corpse that Hurley found in the horrible van episode. But that wasn't his name; it was his name and title. Hurley found Henry Gale's father's dead body. Creepy.

10:13 -- Mikhail is freaking out about Naomi being on the island, and so is Henry Gale.

10:14 -- "He and I are going to see Jacob." -- Locke. Did you see the looks on everyone's faces when Locke said that? Wow.

10:15 -- Locke's beating of Mikhail is interesting for one reason: no one stopped him. Not even when Henry Gale asked them to. Very telling.

10:18 -- Alex feels that Locke needs a gun if he's going to see Jacob. I wonder if we'll find out tonight how Henry Gale came to be her "dad."

10:19 -- Dharma Middle School is interrupted by the Hostiles. Another possible question we might get answered tonight.

10:20 -- So Henry Gale's dad was a prick; no real surprise. I hope we see a little of how he rose to power and not just the kid Henry Gale. Not as interesting. But I guess there will always be more Henry Gale flashbacks.

10:21 -- Is Kate's only purpose on the show to say and do stupid things?

10:22 -- "This isn't a man you go and see. This is a man who summons you." -- Henry Gale.

10:23 -- Did you see the sly smile Locke flashed Mikhail as he walked past him? Classic. By the way, remember when I said Henry Gale never lies except when he does? I think he's totally lying about taking Locke to see Jacob. He WANTS Locke to meet Jacob. Better yet, Jacob WANTS to meet Locke.

10:27 -- Lil' Henry Gale has a girlfriend -- how cute. She'll be dead by the end of this episode, most likely by the Hostiles.

10:28 -- "Kinda hard to celebrate on the day you killed your mom." -- Henry Gale's dad. Father of the Year material right there.

10:29 -- Run, Henry Gale, run!

10:30 -- "It's not time yet, Benjamin." -- Henry Gale's mom. Very "Shining"-esque, don't you think?

10:31 -- OK, seriously, someone just play the damn tape already.

10:32 -- No one trusts Jack, Jack doesn't trust anyone. Why is everyone so paranoid? With everything that has happened, don't they have more -- A LOT MORE -- to worry about than each other?

10:37 -- I see it all happening before it happens. Lil Henry Gale goes looking for his mom, deactivates the sonic fence, the Hostiles come in and kill most everyone. Did the Hostiles (aka The Island) conjure up Henry Gale's mom's ghost so that all this would happen? Poor Lil Henry Gale. Let's see if I'm right.

10:38 -- What's with Henry Gale and rabbits?

10:39 -- "Mom?" -- Lil' Henry Gale. Um, no, that's Richard.

10:40 -- OK, so did Henry Gale join the Hostiles, overthrow the Dharma Initiative and create the Others? And doesn't Henry Gale seem like he should be older than Richard?

10:41 -- "We're here." -- Henry Gale.

10:42 -- Time for final Jacob predictions. My friend at work thinks that somehow Locke is Jacob. If he turns out to be right, I will explain his theory later. If he's wrong, I will make fun of him tomorrow.

10:43 -- "Are you sure this is what you want?" Henry Gale to Locke. Um, yeah, of course this is what we want!!!

10:44 -- Oh my God. Henry Gale is crazy.

10:45 -- Or is he? We went frame by frame through the scene and you can see "someone" there. WTF?!?!? So many new questions ...

10:46 -- "That was Jacob." -- Henry Gale. Seems like a pleasant guy.

10:50 -- So Henry Gale knows he wasn't born on the island. At least he's not completely insane.

10:51 -- So Henry Gale's great Dharma education allowed him to grow up and become a janitor?

10:52 -- If I never see another blue van again ...

10:53 -- Henry Gale is checking his watch. My theory about him and the Hostiles wasn't quite right, but he's definitely about to lead the revolt.

10:54 -- R.I.P. Henry Gale's dad. Did Henry Gale have to kill his dad to prove himself like Locke had to?

10:55 -- R.I.P. everyone. The Hostiles = the Others.

10:56 -- Henry Gale is explaining how he chose sides and helped to "purge" the Dharma Initiative. And somewhere along the line he became King of the Others. It would be interesting to see how he usurped Alpert for control. Jacob, perhaps?

10:57 -- Wait, I'm sorry, did Henry Gale just shoot Locke?

10:58 -- "He said, 'Help me.'" -- Locke. Wow, did you see Henry Gale's face just then? He really, and I mean REALLY, wants to be the only person who can talk to Jacob.

10:59 -- "Well I certainly hope he helps you, John." -- Henry Gale.

Whenever I watch an episode of "24," and Jack Bauer is put in a life or death situation/cliffhanger, I always laugh. Really, they're going to kill Jack Bauer? Come on. So is John Locke an unkillable character on "Lost"? Are certain characters easier to kill of than others? Yes and Yes. Let me explain:

Locke is one of the two most indispensable characters on "Lost" (Henry Gale being the other). Those two characters, more so than any others on the show, are connected with what is happening on the island. They are the ones that are most rooted in the entire essence of the show; the island itself. Juliet, Desmond and Hurley are up there, Sayid and Sun, too. But those two are the heart and soul of the show right now.

And the opposite is true for so many other characters. Charlie, for example, has nothing to do with anything (which is the main reason I hate him). Is there any mystery to him? Anything unsolved? Does he bring anything to the table? And most importantly, if we just lifted him off the show, would anything be missing? He is completely and utterly dispensable. So is Claire, Jin, Kate, Sawyer (sorry Lauren) and in a lot of ways even Jack.

**MILD SPOILER ALERT. READ THE NEXT PARAGRAPH AT YOUR OWN RISK**

From what I've heard (try as I might to avoid it), five characters die before the end of the year. Charlie, Claire, Jin, Kate and Sawyer are the most dispensable characters, as I just mentioned. Could it be them?

**OK, YOU CAN COME BACK NOW**

So in summary, Jacob will "help" Locke. The show needs him.

On to Jacob now -- who or what is he? Why couldn't Locke hear what he was saying to Henry Gale? Why couldn't Henry Gale hear what he was saying to Locke? What was that powder around Jacob's home? Is he trapped there somehow by Henry Gale so that no one else can talk to him? How many questions can I ask about a character we saw for about a second and only said two words?

I feel like I learned a lot this week, a lot of new questions were certainly raised, and some good ones were answered. But, like I said, I don't think Locke is really dead, so the cliffhanger doesn't really do much for me. I give the episode an A.

So here is my question to you this week: Who do you think are the two most indispensable characters on the show? You already know my answer.

So as I mentioned, I love the little community we've got going here. So for the last two weeks of the show, I am going to try and write a second "Lost" column, which will run the next three Mondays (assuming you guys are into it). The idea for the column is a mailbag. I'll take some things from the comments here at TMZ, but I mainly want you guys to email me questions and we'll do a sort of Q&A thing. They don't have to be hardcore "Lost" questions, but let's try and stay on topic a little bit.

You can email me at questions@thelostdiary.com. I will post the article on my personal website for the "Lost" Diary, which is simply www.thelostdiary.com. Look for it Monday morning. (Ed.'s note: Click here for the article.)

See you next week.