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Roger Linus is the father of Benjamin Linus, who he regularly beat and berated as a child. He was employed as a DHARMA Initiative "Work Man", whose uniform featured the Swan station logo. He was killed by Ben during the Purge.

Off the Island

1964

3x20 RogerAndEmily

Roger holds a dying Emily in his arms. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")

On December 19th, 1964, Roger and his wife, Emily, went on a hike in a forest near Portland. At the time, Emily was seven-months pregnant with, presumably, their first and only child. For an unknown reason, she went into labor early into the hike. Roger delivered the baby, picked-up Emily and the baby, and ran for help. They reached the side of a busy road and Roger managed to stop a couple for help. Sadly, it was too late for Emily and she died in his arms. With her dying words, she asked Roger to name the baby "Benjamin". ("The Man Behind the Curtain")

On the Island

1973

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Roger arrives on the Island. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")

In 1973, Roger took a job with the DHARMA Initiative, courtesy of the same couple that was present when his wife died. He and Ben, who was 8 years old at the time, came to the Island on a submarine and were enthusiastically greeted. When Opal assigned Roger the entry-level position of "Work Man," he expressed his dismay and stormed-out of the processing center with Ben. At first, Roger tried to coax Horace Goodspeed into getting him a better job, but he soon seemed to resign himself to his fate and started drinking heavily. He eventually, and irrationally, came to blame Ben for the death of his mother and Roger's failures in life. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")

1977

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An abusive Roger torments a captive Sayid. ("He's Our You")

In 1977, Roger was assigned to mop up the cell where Sayid Jarrah was being held captive. He mocked Sayid for letting himself be captured by DHARMA and promised that Oldham's interrogation would cut him down to size. When his son entered with another sandwich for Sayid, whom he believed was one of the Hostiles, Roger furiously slammed him against the bars, not believing his lie that the sandwich was actually for Roger himself. He yelled at Ben to leave, then left himself. After this encounter, it seems that Roger physically beat Ben due to his broken glasses, bruised eyes, and bruised face. ("He's Our You")

In the aftermath of Sayid's escape, Roger befriends Kate as the two work to extract the DHARMA van from one of the bungalows and discuss the jobs they were given when they were recruited. As they are there he witnesses Jin arriving with an injured Ben. While Juliet and the other medical personnel work on Ben, Roger waits anxiously outside, where he learns from Sawyer that Ben had stolen his keys and used them to free Sayid. Later, as Kate donates blood to help save Ben, Roger confesses that when Ben was born, he thought he would be "the greatest dad in the world", but he knows he is not. He says he is trying to do what he thinks Ben's mother would have wanted. ("Whatever Happened, Happened")

5x16 HostileRoger

A hostile Roger aims his gun at Sayid. ("The Incident, Part 1")

After Ben was taken from the infirmary, Roger became furious and reacted by getting drunk. Kate approached him to reassure him that Ben would be fine because she had a good feeling about it. Roger, however, took this in a different way and became suspicious, claiming that Kate was involved in Ben's disappearance. When Roger asked Jack if Kate could be involved, Jack stated that Kate was his friend, and she would not harm Ben. However, Roger remained suspicious. ("Some Like It Hoth")

The next day, as the DHARMA Initiative was being evacuated and an emergency protocol was being established, Roger spotted Sayid and Jack on the barracks lawn. Sayid tried to tell Roger that he was carrying a dangerous thermonuclear device, but without listening Roger quickly shot him in the stomach. Roger was forced to take cover when Jack began firing his weapon in retaliation. ("The Incident, Part 1")

1992

Rogerdies

Roger dies at the hands of his son, during the Purge. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")

Roger remained a workman for 15 more years, until his death on December 19, 1992. On that day, Ben, who by then was also a workman, accompanied his father on a delivery errand to the stations around the Island. Since it was Ben's birthday, the two stopped on the Mesa to drink beer and take-in the view. Unbeknownst to Roger, Ben had allied himself with the Hostiles, and as part of the Purge, Ben murdered his father with toxic gas. Ben did not bother to dispose of the body, instead opting to leave it to decompose ingloriously in the DHARMA van. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")

Post-death

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Roger's mummified body, as found with the DHARMA van ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")

Twelve years later, Vincent found Roger's severed arm and brought it to Hurley. This lead to Hurley's discovery of the DHARMA van, the keys of which were clutched by the arm. During the process of pulling Roger's corpse from the wreckage, the corpse's head also fell off the body. Sawyer dubbed Roger's remains "Skeletor". ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
  1. Do not answer the questions here.
  2. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer.
For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Roger Linus/Theories
  • What kind of relationship did he have with Horace after Ben's birth?
    • What led him to the island?
  • Why did he have a Swan logo on his DHARMA jumpsuit when his duties apparently covered several stations?


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