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Talk:Ben Wellington
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- Agreed. I'm not sure why all of the theories and oddities were shoved into Ben's article, but, for lack of a better place to put them, I'm shoving them here. - Shiori 21:15, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
Death Oddities
There are a number of unusual features to Ben's death.
Ben's hands were bound with light colored rope over (not to) the propeller shaft, but his feet were not. His feet were instead bound to or near the scuba tanks. The signficance of this is: (1) his head, which was oriented aft of his feet, was likely to be driven into the propeller and apparently was; (2) his hands (wrists) were likely to be broken and worn through (possibly along with the rope binding them) in the course of the journey to the island, thus disconnecting them from the boat, but (3) his feet, and therefore the rest of his body, were not; therefore, the probability is, the torso and feet are still attached to the boat somehow (until someone manually removes them or they are eaten by the sea). (Jimmy Mance's near discovery of Ben's severed head after The Tarapunga docked at Harper's Island is unrealistic.)
It is not clear how the feet/tanks were attached to the boat. It is typical for a propeller shaft to have one stabilizer attached to the keel, usually near the blades. And, we do see a good-sized V-shaped stabilizer where we would expect it. So, typically, we would not expect there to be any stabilizer or other attachment points in the vicinity of the tanks and feet. This leaves a bit of a mystery as to how the feet/tanks were attached to the boat. One possibility is that, although not typical, there is in fact an attachment point on on the keel. The other possibility is that there was a line from the bow anchor chain or the bow deck area. Although we do not get a good view of either the anchor or the foredeck, we do not see any line in the views we do have. After the boat docked at the island, however, we see that some insulated cable (not light-colored rope or an air hose) is fouled in the prop, possibly this is the loose end of the line to the feet/tanks, which the killer released from the bow area. (The anchor chain was not easily reachable while on the moving ferry, so the line probably would have had to be secured to the fordeck area, if this scenario is correct.) We did see one guy wearing studded wrist guards standing in the bow as the boat pulled away from the dock in Seattle; it is possible that he could have released a line from that area after Ben's death. A danger to the killer in this scenario of releasing the line (or having the line wear through if it is somehow looped over the propeller shaft) is that the air tanks might be drawn into the propeller, which event would definitely be noticed by the skipper.
If Ben's feet were attached to the boat at a point below the water line, either someone would have to come into the water to clean up the scene, or the body would remain attached until the fish eat it or it is discovered. In any event we know that Ben's head somehow manages to remain attached to the boat through to the island.
These factors also imply (although not necessarily strongly) that the killer was familiar with the boat both above and below the external waterline.
Second, we know Ben must be an experienced diver, since he managed to hold the regulator in his mouth since entering or since shortly after entering the water. He managed to hold it in even when the final struggle to avoid being drawn into the propeller blades occurred. Also, he did not drown. Anyone without substantial diving experience would have drowned in this situation, either because he lost the regulator, or because in his excitement (of trying to escape), he breathed through his nose. (Ben was not wearing a mask, and the regulator was not attached to his face or head, just held in his mouth. In this situation, once water entered his nose or lungs, it would be practically impossible to clear without surfacing or really substantial experience brought to bear on Ben's part.) This also implies that Ben cooperated, at least to a degree, with the killer. If Ben had struggled, he would have lost the regulator. (Remember, the air tanks were not strapped to Ben as scuba tanks usually are.) Even if Ben were drugged, drunk, or hypnotized, he would have drowned rather than be able to breathe through that regulator. The implication is, the killer was able to induce Ben to allow himself calmly to be tied to that propeller shaft. It's possible this could have been accomplished through some sort of fraternity bonding or extreme charisma (e.g., the killer was female) on the part of the killer.
I have to take exception to the significance of Ben's ability to operate the regulator properly. I think that is actually more a requirement to execute the plot on television. In the forum threads, there are a number of viewers who assert that it looks like Ben "just woke up." The impossibility of the idea of Ben being either asleep or unconscious for any length of time underwater is self-evident, but the idea as a plot device is appealing. Likewise, the primary intent of having Ben rigged to a breathing apparatus is to convincingly keep him alive but undetected until he can be killed by the propeller - drowning because of a lack of familiarity with diving equipment seems an unconsidered plot point. That the writers bent the rules of realtiy is something I base on my near 100% certainty that Motorola has not designed, even for Harper's Island, a waterproof cell-phone. There is about a snowball's chance in hell that his cell phone was ringing down there, nevermind getting any signal...48park
Third, Ben was dressed for the trip, not for an undersea journey. He was wearing a nice shirt and pants, and even still had his cell phone clipped to his belt. However, he was not wearing shoes or socks. The lack of shoes and socks could be attributable to his wearing open sandals that simply dropped or floated off once Ben was in the water; however, all the other men on the boat were wearing shoes and socks--many were also wearing jackets (which Ben was not). If he had been wearing shoes, his clothing implies that his trip into the water was unexpected and quick, but not so quick that he did not have time to shuck his shoes and socks. For example, this implies that he was not suddenly pushed or thrown into the water. A more likely scenario is that he thought someone urgently needed help (so much so that he forgot about his cell phone!). The killer's falling "helplessly" into the water could have created the necessary impulse. To a certain extent, this finding is at odds with the calm cooperation noted in the preceding paragraph. Despite the initial excitement of jumping into water to save someone, once he was in, the killer managed to beguile Ben into a game whereby he allowed himself to be tied up.
Ben was dressed formally - considerably more formally than the night before when meeting up with Brent. He was missing shoes and socks - tis true. But what if he's missing shoes and socks because he wasn't finished getting dressed? What if he were abducted from his hotel room in the morning, and the killer had approached the boat from another, moving underwater with Ben, already outfitted with his regulator and tank?48park
Fourth, it looks like there were two air tanks. Two tanks would likely provide plenty of air. (He is not very deep and he is not moving, so air use would probably be reduced versus ordinary scuba diving.) On the other hand, the longer Ben was down there alone, the more time he had to lose control of the regulator. Unfortunately, we can't be sure about the timing, so it is possible that the killer was be an islander who had alternative transportation to the island.
Fifth, the boat is elaborately decorated and provisioned. This means that many people were in the vicinity of the boat during the period before the boat launched. Assume that the killer induced Ben to arrive at the boat before the principal party guests. The killer still had to get Ben into the water without anyone seeing Ben on land, the boat, or in the water and without anyone seeing the killer in the water during a period when people were constantly coming and going.
Sixth, the killing was not random. It was either directed (that is, Ben was always intended to be the first victim) or opportunistic (that is, the killer took the opportunity when he found someone--who just happened to be Ben--he was able to induce to come into the water). This murder was elaborately planned and very difficult to pull off. The personal nature of the death (Ben is to die by having his head sliced open by the propeller--not simply by drowning) may imply that it is directed. This leaves the question of why Ben was chosen to go first. Also, unlike the subsequent deaths, where death was either sudden or prompt, Ben's death was preceded by a substantial period of time for him to contemplate his fate. Is his death the most important, or the least important? - Caldust55