I wonder who Ben signaled with the mirror? I think he signaled Richard and initiated a "Secondary Protocol" of his own. I think Richard was on the way to the Orchid with his Army and happened to come across Kate and Sayid.

most likely.

Thats what I figured. Or perhaps a look out man near the temple.
Which would alert there arrival.

I was assuming Richard when that scene transpired, but it seems Richard was off in a slightly different part of the island when they run into Kate and Sayid.

Probably just some other lookout guy.

Then again Ben said "who do you think?" to Locke...
Richard makes the most sense out of any of the important characters.

Sentry to allow then entrance to the Orchard station is my guess.

Seems odd that Ben needed to signal someone to proceed to the Orchid, but Keamy and his team just waltz in there unhindered.
Maybe cause they came by helicopter or the sentry played it smart and didn't engage them.

Its old NineLives imo.

Maybe he signaled himself.

Was definetly Richard, I've got a real bad feeling for Alpert in the finale part 2.

Think he's gunna get killed by Keamy... :mad:

Maybe a better question is what did Ben signal. If the freighties were already there who signaled back and what did they say?

Or, maybe it was some other character that hasn't been introduced yet, similar to the characters that were in the underwater station (sorry, don't remember the name of it off hand). Bens is always screwing with John so he might have just been doing that again when he said 'who do you think'.

When Locke asked who it was, Ben said, "Who do you think?" So...who is it? It has to be someone that John would be familiar with.

I think the theory of him warning Richard is a good one.

The only thing that makes me wonder is when John asked who it was, Ben, rather rudely, said, Who do you think. So I thought, Jacob. Then I thought the dude with the eye patch. Even though he looked like he drowned and blew up at the end of season 3, he has died more than once before, sooooo.......

My first instinct was that it was Richard... probably letting him know that Ben/Locke/Hurley were en route to the Orchid.

I'd also guess that when Richard & Co found Kate and Sayid, that's where they were going.

Ben signaled himself. He was anxious to get the mirror, since mirrors are part of the looping process.

Its old NineLives imo.

That'd be cool if he had signaled Mikhail.

I think the instructions he gave to Locke at the outside of the ORchid were pretty brief. Maybe he was signaling someone to get in there and be ready to help.

Well this is gonna sound completely SMACKED, but for a brief moment, I almost thought he was signaling God. The fact that he got a response kinda hurts that though :D

Seems odd that Ben needed to signal someone to proceed to the Orchid, but Keamy and his team just waltz in there unhindered.
Maybe cause they came by helicopter or the sentry played it smart and didn't engage them.

I doubt the sentry story. The helicopter landed about 5 kilometers from Orchid which means they likely did not fly over any perimeter security.

FWIW, Kate and Sayiid were not on a mountain top when they ran into Richard, which is where the other end of the mirror was.

Lapidis mentioned "the greenhouse" being "perched" which could suggest it is up high.

b.b.

Seems odd that Ben needed to signal someone to proceed to the Orchid, but Keamy and his team just waltz in there unhindered.
Maybe cause they came by helicopter or the sentry played it smart and didn't engage them.

See, this was my thought. If this is the biggest, baddest of all the stations, where are the guards?
Why wasn't there any gunshots? Keamy and his team are THAT good that they took the guards out without any shots?

were the others not at 'the temple' - i presumed this a different place to the orchid??

i agree, the orchid and the temple are two places- imo

My first thought was Patchy, although I thought I remembered TPTB saying that he died at the same time as Charlie.

Maybe it is Candle/Wickmund/Halliwax, since Ben is seen wearing his parka in the desert flash-forward.

I really got the impression that the encounter was neither random, nor were the Others merely standing guard. Ben told Richard to find and collect Sayid and Kate. Probably just Kate, and Sayid happened to be with her.

The Others don't leave tracks unless they want someone to follow them, and they know Kate has tracking skills, so they lured her then surrounded them. It also shows how easily they can locate someone when they want to.

Kate must have connections to the island that haven't been revealed yet, but the Others know and it's in their best interest to make sure that she's accounted for. I think it's Kate rather than Sayid because the Others have shown interest in her before.

I really got the impression that the encounter was neither random, nor were the Others merely standing guard. Ben told Richard to find and collect Sayid and Kate. Probably just Kate, and Sayid happened to be with her.

The Others don't leave tracks unless they want someone to follow them, and they know Kate has tracking skills, so they lured her then surrounded them. It also shows how easily they can locate someone when they want to.

Kate must have connections to the island that haven't been revealed yet, but the Others know and it's in their best interest to make sure that she's accounted for. I think it's Kate rather than Sayid because the Others have shown interest in her before.
It didn't seem like the mirror message was that long to be that detailed. I assumed the message was something simple like "Execute Plan B" or some indicator to execute a predefined plan. Sort of like the phone call that alerted Locke/Ben/Sawyer/Hurley to the Freighties in the first place. Just a simple number or something.

Now I am guessing that the plan put into action is the "Protect the Orchid" plan. I think Richard and the Others were on their way to the Orchid and they found Kate and Sayid.

I think the theory of him warning Richard is a good one.

The only thing that makes me wonder is when John asked who it was, Ben, rather rudely, said, Who do you think. So I thought, Jacob..

That's exactly what I thought, too. It was Jacob who they set out to see at the cabin because Jacob was to tell them what to do.

Yeah, when Ben said, "Who do you think." I first thought Jacob, since clearly Jacob doesn't live in Jacob's cabin... Christian Shepherd does. Huh?

But the more logical answer is Richard and company, and that this ridge protects the Temple. And that Ben was calling out the forces as backup for him at the Orchid.

I think that i was probably an intermediary. I think Richard is too important than to be the red shirt waiting for a mirror reflection. He is also the one that keeps everyone together, at the Temple. I think the communication signaled someone (maybe Mikhail) to communicate with the rest of the people.

I agree that the Temple and the Orchid are separate. Maybe the Orchid used to just be the greenhouse and Widmore doesn't know about the bunker, though all of the other stations have had underground components. Ben did seem worried, too, despite his plan.

I think the theory of him warning Richard is a good one.

The only thing that makes me wonder is when John asked who it was, Ben, rather rudely, said, Who do you think. So I thought, Jacob. Then I thought the dude with the eye patch. Even though he looked like he drowned and blew up at the end of season 3, he has died more than once before, sooooo.......

Yeah I wondered if it was the eye patch guy as well, which I thought would be good, then seeing Richard I thought it would of had to of been the others.

Yeah I think he was signaling Richard. He was telling Richard that he was going to the orchid and to take Kate and Sayid captive with them. Ben wants them to kill keamy and the other mercenaries(or capture them). The others want Ben back and if they don't get him back they will kill Kate and Sayid.

I think that i was probably an intermediary. I think Richard is too important than to be the red shirt waiting for a mirror reflection.
I agree that Richard probably did not actually work the mirror, but he ultimately interpreted and executed on the message.

My first thought was Richard as well. Perhaps ben was incommunicado with Alpert when he went into his secret secret room and let him know they'd be heading to the orchid and to wait for his signal.

I think widmore and ben are involved in a "Who can see further along the curve of time" contest. With the prize the island. Widmore knew that if pushed, Ben would go to the orchid. Ben knew that Widmore knew this, so he already had in a place a secondary protocol of his own.

It speaks of a looping of events that are suseptible to change IMO. Each is trying to stay ahead of the other, so they would have to play out events similar to previous loops in order to determine the others reaction, all the while making subtly moves in an attempt to be the victory.


If it was Richard on the ridge, Ben's message must have been to intercept Kate and Sayid. Must be important, whatever the reason. Like the man said, "I always have a plan."

My first thought was Richard as well. Perhaps ben was incommunicado with Alpert when he went into his secret secret room and let him know they'd be heading to the orchid and to wait for his signal.

I think widmore and ben are involved in a "Who can see further along the curve of time" contest. With the prize the island. Widmore knew that if pushed, Ben would go to the orchid. Ben knew that Widmore knew this, so he already had in a place a secondary protocol of his own.

It speaks of a looping of events that are suseptible to change IMO. Each is trying to stay ahead of the other, so they would have to play out events similar to previous loops in order to determine the others reaction, all the while making subtly moves in an attempt to be the victory.


If it was Richard on the ridge, Ben's message must have been to intercept Kate and Sayid. Must be important, whatever the reason. Like the man said, "I always have a plan."
I think Ben's message was simple and brief. Something like "Execute Plan B", which means protect the Orchid from invaders or something like that. I think Richard and army just happened to come across Kate and Sayid on the way to the Orchid.

It's Michael!

I think Ben's message was simple and brief. Something like "Execute Plan B", which means protect the Orchid from invaders or something like that. I think Richard and army just happened to come across Kate and Sayid on the way to the Orchid.

Probably simpler than that. Remember the phone call at Othersville? What did it say to Locke, Code 37 or something like that. Ben had it decoded immediately. There may be another "code" concerning a breach at Orchid or to protect it.

b.b.

I don’t know if previous posters were serious or not, but I agree with them-- I think Ben was signaling himself.

This was an extremely odd scene for me. My first question was why bother signaling at all? If Ben needed to let Richard know they’re being following and to intercept (which he has no way of knowing), then just meet up and tell Richard. Hurley and Locke are along for the ride at this point. All he really needed to tell those two is “Your fiends are following us. We won’t hurt them, but we need them to stop. Now Richard, get going.”

Also, Ben and Richard haven’t been together for quite a while and I find it hard to believe that they had some kind of meaning to this “three-flash” signal agreed upon prior to Richard leaving for the Temple. Quite a lot has transpired since then.

I do agree that it appeared as if he was signaling a look-out. Yes, it was located on a high perch but that perch was also fairly inaccessible. What if it that location was purposely chosen (possibly 12 years ago as the Saltines tell us) so the Bens don’t accidentally encounter an “Orchid Bunny” situation? The Orchid Station that has created multiple bunnies appears to be nearby and all…

I just get the feeling that Ben was telling Ben that “I am here. You need to stay there,” or really bad things will happen.