Hey there super stallions of snoopy sleuthing, and that ep? THAT'S what I'm talking about! OMG, WTF, ROFL and FTW, this episode had it all... And finally, we see Benry as the good guy. We've come a along way, baby, and we've now witnessed The Shape of Things To Come...
First things first - secret clue action!
Thank you all so much for your well wishes - after a few days in bed, I was feeling a lot better. Plus, you know, Mario Kart, GTA IV and Iron Man all coming out within a week of one another can nurse any nerd back to health! Seriously though, this episode was the icing on the cake... I can't wait to tear into it! Let's start at the top with...BEN SUPER STUDY!
Without a doubt, season four has been the season of Ben; he's practically replaced Jack as the main character. We've always viewed him as a cryptically conflicted character, seeding doubt with lies yet, just as often, giving the complete truth. We've witnessed him do terrible things, and we've seen his, well, attempts, at doing something good. 
Taking a broader look at his character encompassing the events of season four we can see how he aligns with the rest of our Losties:- Daddy issues? Check - we know he had serious problems with his pops. As in, bad enough to kill him.
- Love issues? Check - while he thinks Juliet is his and his only, Juliet only has eyes for men already spoken for which understandably drives him batty.
- Family issues? Check - Stealing a mad woman's daughter to raise as his own only to have her turn his back on him.
- Fate vs Freewill? - Check - Sure, he seems to have completely submitted his will to the island, but the island certainly didn't rush to help heal him post-op... Also, I'm pretty sure the island didn't ask him to steal and keep a baby.
In fact, it is this last point that has led to Ben's recent fall from glory - Alex. Every action we've witnessed him make seems to be tied to benefitting the island, with the exception of raising Alex and, time and time again, we've witnessed him pay for creating his own Achilles' heel. Beginning with her first onscreen appearance, Alex underminded her father and caused several of his plans to fall into disarray.
This week, Alex paid the ultimate price for her "father's" actions in the most horrifically shocking fashion. Nothing could've prepared us for the fact that Keamy actually pulled the trigger, an action both we and Ben could never fathom he'd never actually do. 
It was this stunned look from Ben that proved to be the key image from the episode; for the very first time we've ever seen, Benjamin Linus was unprepared and taken aback. Ben always seems to be a good four steps ahead of everyone else in the game. We've long suspected Ben of having some sort of knowledge of future events, but this is the solitary event that has caught him off guard. 
Could this be what Ben meant after declaring, "He changed the rules?" Could Widmore and Ben both possibly have insight on future events? Do they have an understanding that family members are off-limits? Or could it be that, as I've theorised before, Ben is repeating events, attempting to make a change in the closed time loop and Widmore has thrown a major wrench in the mix by killing his daughter?Lending major weight to this theory is the appearance of the Dharka, aka the Dharma parka Ben was sporting when he arrived in Tunisia. Notice he was breathing out freezing cold air? Couple that with an unknown Dharma logo and the nametag HALLIWAX and we're onto something... At Comic-Con last year, I was witness to the screening of the Orchid Orientation film, yet to be seen on the show. The station was focused on studying the Kasmir Effect and the possible implications of time-travel and teleportation that could be used with it. Oh, and the host of the film? Another of Dr Marvin Candle's alias', Edgar Halliwax.
Join those dots, and there's no doubt about it - Ben's been travelling through time though, unlike Desmond, his whole body joins him for the experience. The Bedouins noticed that Ben hadn't left tracks to get to where he lay in the desert. Did you notice the yellow liquid he threw up? Certainly reminded me of the liquid Juliet drank when coming to the island...
Even in the future, he seemed to know how things would play out. He obtained the information about Nadia's killer quickly and played Sayid like a fiddle; despite what we've thought since we saw them working together, Sayid sold his own soul to become Ben's lapdog. After Sayid kills Ishmael, Widmore's assassin, we truly see how changed Ben know is, practically begging Sayid to not give into his anger as he did... but he was above an all-knowing sly smirk as he walked away with a brand new killer-for-hire.Ladies and gentlemen, meet Emperor Benjamin Palpatine and Lord Darth Jarrah.
Wait, stuff happened to other characters this week?! Huh, I hardly noticed! Quickly:- Hey, Daniel. Look buddy... we need to talk. I love you and your tie, right, but for *&^'s sake man, tell us what the hell is going on with your damn "relative" time! I know what I think you mean. We all know think we know what you mean. I'm sick of waiting, tiger - cough up some answers, and I mean pronto.
- Are you a doctor? Watch out - that's all I'm saying. Freighter Doc Ray has a fresh gash, and a big one at that. Doctor Jack seems to be getting pretty sick. I really, really want to know what is happening on the freighter. Preferably during or after the slitting of said throat, whenever that might actually be.
- Bernard's business card should read Kick-Ass All-Knowing Uber-Sage, not Dentist. I'm just saying.
- Hurley is right - Australia is the key to the whole game!
- I don't know how it happened, but when did Hurley and Sawyer become the most heroic guys on the island?! I LOVE it! Also, Sawyer must have adamanitum skin... either that or the island still has work for him to do...
- Miles is a much better guy than we first assumed. I think.
- That whole scene with Widmore confused the hell out of me. They can't kill each other? Or they can't die because they're off-island? Also, poor Penny! Des surely won't stand for this...
Hmmmm.... I know I'm forgetting something.... Oh yeah - SMOKEY!
Frankly, I need more time to take in exactly what happened with Smokey to properly add it to what we already know, but Ben undoubtably summoned it while in his secret room's secret room.
Did you get a look at the hieroglyphs on the door?Simplest translation? To summon protection...
Namaste
The Heroic Lost Ninja