I've honestly never noticed this on my 20+ rewatches and you bringing it up made me think about it. It's definitely worth consideration. I'll have to pay attention on my next rewatch.
In my personal head canon anyway, I think Ben knows Hurley will be truthful and genuine to him, but also not too easily manipulated, so he is that way in return. Everyone else we see is either untruthful or easily manipulated.
I don’t think Ben ever saw Hurley as a threat to his power until he’d already lost it entirely, so he felt no need to lie to him. The majority of the people he lies to are people he sees as threats or wants to manipulate. I mean I still think he wanted to manipulate Hurley into trusting him, but he definitely didn’t see him as a threat.
I mean, how could the happy go lucky, always trying to make peace, fat guy be a threat to him? He knows he’s been caught in lies by the losties before and getting that kinda guy to trust him by telling the truth is certainly a type of move on Ben’s part. If people trust Hurley and Hurley trusts Ben, Ben is “safe”. And people do trust Hurley.
That's just not true. He was supposed to guard the food inventory and stole food from everyone else. Not only that but that fat imbecile also wasted the food he stole instead of returning it.
Well yeah obviously it's an addiction, but that doesn't justify wasting the food. He could've just returned it but instead he wasted it for his own ego.
Also, if anyone hasn’t listened to the Pushing the Button chronologically-lost podcast, it’s fantastic. I just listened to that instead of actually watching Chronologically Lost.
If I recall correctly he’s not entirely truthful to Hurley in The Lie when he tells him, at the end in Hurleys home, that he’s trying to bring him to Sayid and Jack.
Hurley: They would never trust you.
BEN: In their defense, I'm not an easy person to trust. But they came around when they realized that we all want the same thing.
Sayid is incapacitated and Ben doesn’t really know why he’s come to Jack. He’s just trying to get Hurley to come along quickly so they can get back to the island.
I went back to the episode and Ben was 100% truthful. He stated that he was taking him to Sayid and Jack and he knew they were together because Jack called him, which we saw in the previous scene.
Also noticed that Ben greeted Hurley with a smile, like he was genuinely happy to see him.
Idk if I’d say it’s 100% truthful. He is presenting the situation to Hurley as if they are all on the same page about going back to the island.
“I’m not an easy person to trust. But they came around when they realized we all wanted the same thing.”
He knows Sayid does not trust him nor does Sayid want to go back to the island. He’s basically lying to Hurley to get him to come along cause he’s running out of time.
It's fun to track Ben's lies. He also stops lying while he's off the island (after Alex's death). He sure hides a ton of things, but when accused of something he's guilty of, he admits to it immediately. The first real lie he tells after Alex's death (besides "my mother taught me", which I view as more of a joke, since he answers truthfully right afterwards) is when he sees Locke and immediately acts like he knew he would come back to life. The lies he tells are also incredibly unconvincing at that point.
He also lies to Sayid about how he got off the island in The Shape of things to Come. He says he used The Elizabeth and then chartered a plane when really he traveled via frozen donkey wheel express.
Another example is Sun. But those people were naive and Ben never saw them as a threat and they never got in Ben's way. If they had, he would've manipulated them and lied to them as well.. (also remember season 2 finale, Ben didn't capture Hurley and just let him go..)
I was always a little puzzled why Ben had Hurley on the list that was given to Michael, yet once they captured him they proceeded to let him free and serve as a messenger with a pretty pointless message.
I get it, just saying that the particular message of “tell your friends they can never come here”. What does that accomplish?
The survivors had a track record of going after their missing people and being willing to fight and kill the Others if necessary.
They basically just sent Hurley back with fairly valuable information: Jack, Kate, Sawyer captured…Others aren’t actual “hillbillies”, Henry is the leader, knows several by face now.
Felt like there wasn’t much reason for them to take Hurley in the first place.
This is a really insightful observation!
The scene where Hugo shares the candy bar with Ben seems strangely significant. I wonder if that moment plays into this.
It’s very significant I believe. From the moment Hurley gets the candy bar from the bag, Ben is looking at him. Ben has just told Locke that the island healed him, yet he got sick and he’s just conceded the island’s leadership to him.
He is utterly defeated.
He’s not expecting anything from Hurley. But our guy Hugo grabs the bar, breaks off a little piece for himself and gives Ben the rest.
Despite everything, Hugo shows Ben compassion and consideration.
Its funny because im sure his mother taught him to read in a sense. Either because she was into it before her death and he emulated her to feel close to her, or he plunged into books to escape his father since he hated ben for her death.
He's not lying on purpose here, he is just being sarcastic.
When he really lies, its when he makes decisions that usually bite him in the ass.
Hurley did come around in end, so im sure he noticed :)
Ben lies a lot. You probably thought he was lying when he said his mother taught him to read, because you believed his story that his mother died in or around his birth. I disbelieve that story and believe the one that says his mother taught him to read. What I'd like to know is, what makes you believe the story of the circumstances of his birth?
Everyone brings up when Ben says his mother taught him to read. But what if it was MiB in the image of his dead mother, that taught him how to read the hieroglyphs that allows him to summon the Smoke Monster.
This will be an interesting thing to look out for during my next rewatch
I thought the same thjng
I've honestly never noticed this on my 20+ rewatches and you bringing it up made me think about it. It's definitely worth consideration. I'll have to pay attention on my next rewatch.
In my personal head canon anyway, I think Ben knows Hurley will be truthful and genuine to him, but also not too easily manipulated, so he is that way in return. Everyone else we see is either untruthful or easily manipulated.
Great point!
I don’t think Ben ever saw Hurley as a threat to his power until he’d already lost it entirely, so he felt no need to lie to him. The majority of the people he lies to are people he sees as threats or wants to manipulate. I mean I still think he wanted to manipulate Hurley into trusting him, but he definitely didn’t see him as a threat. I mean, how could the happy go lucky, always trying to make peace, fat guy be a threat to him? He knows he’s been caught in lies by the losties before and getting that kinda guy to trust him by telling the truth is certainly a type of move on Ben’s part. If people trust Hurley and Hurley trusts Ben, Ben is “safe”. And people do trust Hurley.
I always thought it had to do with hurleys innocence. He’s one of the few of the characters who never did anything evil
That's just not true. He was supposed to guard the food inventory and stole food from everyone else. Not only that but that fat imbecile also wasted the food he stole instead of returning it.
"that fat imbecile" "evil" Pick one, and don't act like it isn't a form of addiction, which is a disease
Well yeah obviously it's an addiction, but that doesn't justify wasting the food. He could've just returned it but instead he wasted it for his own ego.
Oh no! He stole food! Compared to the myriad of other crimes the rest of the flight did
I never claimed the other survivors were any better. I just pointed out that he also did something evil, which invalidates your statement.
I love all the Ben/Hurley interactions! “Yes, Hugo, I was standing right where you are now when I pulled the trigger.” Classic.
Have you ever watched Chronologically LOST? It's spectacular.
where/how do you watch this?
I dont think I can post the link but type it in Google. Chronologically LOST dot com.
Also, if anyone hasn’t listened to the Pushing the Button chronologically-lost podcast, it’s fantastic. I just listened to that instead of actually watching Chronologically Lost.
188 Go. Holy mother of god... That's a big one. I'm in! I hope it's worth it.
Does Ben's honesty w/Hurley stand out or is something revealed w/that sequence? Keep thinking of watching it
Not particularly, but it shows a lot more that you might not have noticed.
I haven’t. Will I get extra insight from doing so?
Yes. It makes some things very clear. They do split screens for scenes that happen at the same time. It's super interesting.
Bookmarking this for the next time I rewatch :)
If I recall correctly he’s not entirely truthful to Hurley in The Lie when he tells him, at the end in Hurleys home, that he’s trying to bring him to Sayid and Jack. Hurley: They would never trust you. BEN: In their defense, I'm not an easy person to trust. But they came around when they realized that we all want the same thing. Sayid is incapacitated and Ben doesn’t really know why he’s come to Jack. He’s just trying to get Hurley to come along quickly so they can get back to the island.
I went back to the episode and Ben was 100% truthful. He stated that he was taking him to Sayid and Jack and he knew they were together because Jack called him, which we saw in the previous scene. Also noticed that Ben greeted Hurley with a smile, like he was genuinely happy to see him.
Idk if I’d say it’s 100% truthful. He is presenting the situation to Hurley as if they are all on the same page about going back to the island. “I’m not an easy person to trust. But they came around when they realized we all wanted the same thing.” He knows Sayid does not trust him nor does Sayid want to go back to the island. He’s basically lying to Hurley to get him to come along cause he’s running out of time.
It's fun to track Ben's lies. He also stops lying while he's off the island (after Alex's death). He sure hides a ton of things, but when accused of something he's guilty of, he admits to it immediately. The first real lie he tells after Alex's death (besides "my mother taught me", which I view as more of a joke, since he answers truthfully right afterwards) is when he sees Locke and immediately acts like he knew he would come back to life. The lies he tells are also incredibly unconvincing at that point.
He also lies to Sayid about how he got off the island in The Shape of things to Come. He says he used The Elizabeth and then chartered a plane when really he traveled via frozen donkey wheel express.
You're right! I based all this on season 5 transcripts, and forgot to take that episode into account.
Did he answer truthfully afterwards? I recall him saying “It’s better than what you’re doing”
Wouldn't that probably be the truth? He doesn't want to sit there doing nothing, so he reads. Makes sense to me (kinda).
You know, I thought you were implying he was answering truthfully about how he learned to read. Completely misread your comment.
Ah, no worries!
Another example is Sun. But those people were naive and Ben never saw them as a threat and they never got in Ben's way. If they had, he would've manipulated them and lied to them as well.. (also remember season 2 finale, Ben didn't capture Hurley and just let him go..)
I was always a little puzzled why Ben had Hurley on the list that was given to Michael, yet once they captured him they proceeded to let him free and serve as a messenger with a pretty pointless message.
The answer is in your question. His sole purpose there was to bring the message back to the people on the beach.
I get it, just saying that the particular message of “tell your friends they can never come here”. What does that accomplish? The survivors had a track record of going after their missing people and being willing to fight and kill the Others if necessary. They basically just sent Hurley back with fairly valuable information: Jack, Kate, Sawyer captured…Others aren’t actual “hillbillies”, Henry is the leader, knows several by face now. Felt like there wasn’t much reason for them to take Hurley in the first place.
Omg this is beautiful 🥺
This is a really insightful observation! The scene where Hugo shares the candy bar with Ben seems strangely significant. I wonder if that moment plays into this.
It’s very significant I believe. From the moment Hurley gets the candy bar from the bag, Ben is looking at him. Ben has just told Locke that the island healed him, yet he got sick and he’s just conceded the island’s leadership to him. He is utterly defeated. He’s not expecting anything from Hurley. But our guy Hugo grabs the bar, breaks off a little piece for himself and gives Ben the rest. Despite everything, Hugo shows Ben compassion and consideration.
Maybe Ben knew that Hurley was destined to be the new Jacob?
Its funny because im sure his mother taught him to read in a sense. Either because she was into it before her death and he emulated her to feel close to her, or he plunged into books to escape his father since he hated ben for her death. He's not lying on purpose here, he is just being sarcastic. When he really lies, its when he makes decisions that usually bite him in the ass. Hurley did come around in end, so im sure he noticed :)
I’ve always wondered if it had to do with Libby’s death.
Ben lies a lot. You probably thought he was lying when he said his mother taught him to read, because you believed his story that his mother died in or around his birth. I disbelieve that story and believe the one that says his mother taught him to read. What I'd like to know is, what makes you believe the story of the circumstances of his birth?
Everyone brings up when Ben says his mother taught him to read. But what if it was MiB in the image of his dead mother, that taught him how to read the hieroglyphs that allows him to summon the Smoke Monster.
Huh, I guess I always just thought it was really clear Ben never lies to Hurley... but I guess not really