Last Lost, Locke, Linus

I was watching bits of the Lost finale, "The End."  One of the best scenes is Ben and Locke outside the church.  They're both "awake" and Ben apologizes.  Locke accepts.  It's very touching, though mostly because we know all the ups and down these characters have had, not to mention all the fine scenes the actors shared.

But this time around, I had a few other thoughts.  First, Ben says he's not going in. He's going to stick around a while--he's got some stuff to work out.  Okay, I can understand that (though you think he might have worked it out while serving Hugo on the island).  But I have to wonder how smart that plan is.  Once you're "awake," there's only so much you can do in the altaworld.  Now you know it's all fake.  Maybe you can have fun, screw around, but can you really deal with serious problems from your other life?

Second, the dramatic reason for Ben's unwillingness to move on became obvious.  (It would have been obvious the first time if the emotion of the scene didn't get in the way.)  Can you imagine if Ben went into the church?  The main things that happens there is a Lostie group hug.  Ben in the middle of that would be bizarre.  He spent most of the series torturing these people.  In fact, the only one of them who spent much time seeing his good side is Hugo (who gets his moment with Ben outside the church).  Even if they were in a forgiving mood, it'd be hard to imagine they'd be thrilled to have Ben in the pews--they'd probably prefer Michael.