I find it interesting that Ben, in a sense, “killed” his mother with her pregnancy, and that this is what happens to all mothers on the island. No wonder Ben is so concerned with solving the pregnancy issue. I thought Richard Alpert’s comments to John last episode indicated that Richard didn’t view the pregnancy problem as as pressing an issue as Ben did. It has personal significance for Ben.

Also, Ben had to kill his father to join the Others. I wonder why, since Roger could have just been gassed along with the rest of the Dharma people. Locke was also told he had to kill his father. There must be some significance to this.

Thoughts?

i wonder if pregnant women die because that's what happened to ben's mother at her seven month mark. is this something that he has unintentionally introduced on the island? maybe there were no child birth problems before ben joined the hostiles

Kate - killed Father
Claire- Believes she killed her mother
Ben - killed father
Hurley - Curse killed his grand father
Jack- his actions drove his father to drink ( ok so im pushing it here )
Locke- knew what he did with Sawyer would kill his father

Am i forgetting any?

Jack- his actions drove his father to drink ( ok so im pushing it here )


Am i forgetting any?

no your right, jack thought he was responsiable for it.

good points though. Hmmm Jin pretended his father was dead. stretching it thouh.... i think thats all

Yea.. I think this is a pattern

This show's depiction of fatherhood is kinda disturbing actually. Sometimes, when the relationship is complex enough (Jack/Christian; Hurley/Cheech), it's realistically disturbing. Other times it's just... a little overkill. Just my opinion. I don't know which category Roger falls into, but at first sight it does seem a little overkill. I just can't imagine anyone, no matter how drunk and no matter how desperate saying that to their kid, blaming a child for being born.

I suppose it happens in RL too though...

Kate - killed Father
Claire- Believes she killed her mother
Ben - killed father
Hurley - Curse killed his grand father
Jack- his actions drove his father to drink ( ok so im pushing it here )
Locke- knew what he did with Sawyer would kill his father

Am i forgetting any?

Jin claimed his father was dead when he really wasn't--figuratively killed his father.

i wonder if pregnant women die because that's what happened to ben's mother at her seven month mark. is this something that he has unintentionally introduced on the island? maybe there were no child birth problems before ben joined the hostiles

I was thinking this too. 7 months is technically the beginning of the third trimester, but its pretty close. Maybe Ben is the key to the whole fertility problem, without knowing it.

I wonder if Locke is being "groomed" to take whatever position Ben occupies in the island-hierarchy. Both seem to have been given the same "test" as a condition of their entrance into the Others- killing their (abusive) fathers. (Although Cooper was above and beyond abusive, but I'd say Roger still qualifies as emotionally abusive.)

Claire's Mom - In accident and comatose bc Claire was driving.

This is becoming like a Disney movie, which everyone knows the first act is having parents killed/removed.

This is becoming like a Disney movie, which everyone knows the first act is having parents killed/removed. That's so funny and true - even my kids noticed that all the Disney channel movies have a family with a dead mother or a divorced or missing parent, etc etc...

I thought the parallel between Kate and young Ben was particularly interesting. Both are shown taking the boots off their drunk father while he is hurling verbal abuse at them. Both Kate and Ben go on to kill their father -- with gas. Gas of different types, but still gas.
Funny Ben didn't say in his creepy way to Kate, "Well, Kate, we have a lot in common." It's interesting that despite them both commiting patricide, Kate managed to retain more compassion in her character than Ben has.

Then there's Ben's demand that Locke kill his own father. We see now where that comes from - if Locke wants to be a prominent member of Ben's little club, he needs to go through the same sort of initiation that Ben set up for himself (or, maybe Alpert made Ben kill his dad separately as the same sort of "test"). What a cheery little club to be a member of.