Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Locke brings Cooper's body to the Others and demands answers from Ben. When Mikhail arrives with news of the parachutist, Locke beats him while the surrounding men fail to intervene. Ben reluctantly leads Locke to a cabin and introduces an apparently empty chair as Jacob. Locke hears a plea for help, then a disturbance sends objects flying around the room. A figure briefly appears before both men flee. The encounter leaves Locke questioning Ben's authority rather than understanding who or what he has heard.
Flashbacks follow Ben from his birth outside Portland to his childhood with the Dharma Initiative. His mother dies after delivering him, and Roger repeatedly blames him for her death. Young Ben sees his mother's image and encounters Richard in the jungle, asking to join his people. Years later, Ben kills Roger with gas inside their van while the Initiative's settlement suffers a similar attack. In the present, Ben takes Locke to the resulting mass grave, shoots him and leaves him wounded among the bodies. At the beach, Sawyer exposes Juliet's recording. Juliet directs everyone to the other side of the tape, revealing the planned abductions, and explains that Jack already knows. Locke tells Ben the words he heard before Ben departs, leaving his condition unresolved.