Spoilers below!
This week, Sayid’s life sucks all around. Off the island, Nadia is married to Sayid’s brother, who Sayid bails out of trouble. On the island, Dogen and Flocke play ping pong with Sayid’s emotions and Flocke wins.
Read the discussion and add your own thoughts and theories (without any spoilers for episodes that haven’t aired yet).
General reactions to the episode?
SALLY: Evil Sayid is so unbearably hot. I just don’t know what to do with myself. It should be a crime to be that hot. Seriously, that’s not even fair.
CARA: He is hot! But at the same time I love Sayid, so I’m sad that he’s evil. In any case, I thought the fight between Sayid and Dogen at the beginning was badass and hot. As for the episode in general, it was exciting and entertaining, though it sadly didn’t contain any of my favorite falling off the edge of my seat moments.
SALLY: That was one of the best fight scenes in Lost history! I was beyond impressed!
SADY: At this point, Smokey just keeps recruiting all my favorite island people, so I’m happy. It is an all-star cast, lacking only Sun! And I’m always happy to spend an episode with Sayid. I have to say, though, on the topic of that fight scene, that this is my favorite thing about his episodes: That moment when you think they’re going to have a typical LOST dialogue about good and evil and scales and white rocks and black rocks and so on and so forth and then OH WHOA HEY EPIC PUNCHFIGHT! That always seems to be Sayid’s deal: punchfights and shootings at the precise moment the conversation starts to lag. Which I like!
LAUREN: I was convinced there was a bomb in that baseball or, like, an ankh key or something (this is Lost, right?) and was thus disappointed by Dogen’s schmaltzy back story. It might be cold-hearted, but I was still unmoved. In other news, I used to think Sayid was hot when he was being all commanding, but I like Sayid plain evil even better.
CARA: I was hoping the baseball was going to be a lot more interesting that Kate’s toy plane, too. I think I also failed to be moved because, dude, Dogen, you were driving drunk with your kid in the car? WTF?
JILL: My primary reaction: GO TEAM EVIL! All the good people are on Team Evil. I hope they win. And I think this is the best episode of the season. It reminds me a lot of the better Season 1 episodes.
In flash sideways world, Nadia is married to Sayid… ‘s brother. Apparently Sayid doesn’t think he deserves Nadia. Did anybody else’s heart melt?
CARA: Eh. I don’t know, I think I might be the only one, but I’m always annoyed with “I don’t deserve you! Even though being with me would make you happy, I’m not good enough, so farewell!” First of all, it’s trite. Secondly, it has always struck me as paternalistic. Especially when Sayid seemingly pushed Nadia into a marriage that she’s not very happy with! Bah.
SALLY: I wasn’t even thinking of it that way, more in the “awww, so there’s no sex scene in this episode?” way. But, yes, good point.
CARA: lol! Yes, that was a big issue. I was also really hoping that Sayid was going to be happy in at least one universe …
SADY: Chalk me down as one of the folks against, “I love you… and yet it cannot BE!” Like: Why can’t it, dude? And if you aren’t prepared to act on those feelings, why bring them up? I think it would be a more powerful scene if we got that feeling without Sayid having to give a PowerPoint presentation detailing his precise thoughts on their relationship. The actors have amazing chemistry though!
SALLY: They really do! I’m telling you, I wanted a sex scene…
Sayid’s brother is in business with our old friend Keamy. Sayid kills him, of course, and finds none other than Jin locked up in Keamy’s kitchen o’ torture. Where do you think this storyline’s going?
CARA: Oooh, I loved this. The guy who plays Keamy is just one scary ass dude. Obviously his character is terrifying, but there’s just something about that guy’s smile in general that chills me to the bone. I was thrilled to see Sayid kill him a second time! We never got a satisfying kill the first time around, what with Ben killing Keamy also resulting in what we at least thought was the death of Jin. This time, Keamy’s heart thankfully wasn’t hooked up to a humongous bomb.
SADY: Keamy scares me primarily because he is THE SIZE OF A BUILDING. He is huge! Rarely have I seen a human person that huge! Although, once again, this storyline demonstrated the Number One Rule of Sayid Episodes, which is: When you run out of small talk, start shooting.
SALLY: Keamy terrifies the bejeezus out of me.
LAUREN: And Jin! Jin in the fridge! What’s up with that?
CARA: I have no idea where the storyline is going. And honestly, I care a lot less than I wish I did. The flash sideways have left me a little cold. I’m a lot more interested in what’s happening off island in the original timeline with characters like Desmond, Eloise, and Widmore, which of course we’re not seeing. I want them to give me a reason to care. They haven’t, yet.
JILL: Oh I LOVE the flash sideways. I’m a sucker for the “gotcha!” moment when they reveal Who Sees Who Where. But: Keamy in a suit is even scarier than Keamy in army fatigues. And it makes sense that sideways-Jin is mixed up in some questionable shit.
SALLY: I hope Jin and Sayid become fast friends if only because I don’t think they have enough scenes together. Jin’s lack of English skills might make that hard though.
On the island, Dogen tells Sayid he must kill Flocke before he speaks. Sayid’s not quick enough and fails. Um, what kind of weirdo rule is this?
SALLY: The fan sites and forums are letting me down, but I was curious if any Egyptian mythology is related to this at all. Because that’s the only thing I could come up with and this strange rule seems the strangest one yet.
SADY: I think it’s almost more of a Christian mythology thing, in reference to Satan. Especially with the “you could have anything you want” bit. There is this Christian conception (and if this is the case for other beliefs, let me know; this is just the one I grew up with, and saw mirrored in pop culture and such) of the Ultimate Evil Force as very, very persuasive, verbally and otherwise. He’s supposed to be able to convince you of just about anything, quote Scripture to his purpose, point out that it’s weird you’re not allowed to eat from that one awesome tree, etcetera. Which is why you’re not supposed to listen, at all. That’s what I thought was going on there.
LAUREN: But I don’t remember, in the church I grew up in anyway, that if the devil merely says hello you’re chances of resistance are over. I wish they’d left that caveat out. There are all these pseudo-Christian references that, since they don’t follow Christian mythology, get really confusing. Like, in one episode we have Sayid in a Jesus pose and in the next he’s the angel of death. I’m confused.
SALLY: *scratches beard pensively* Interesting… very interesting…
SADY: By the bye: Have we noticed that Smokey got to (a) Claire, through her grief for Aaron, (b) Sawyer, through his grief for Juliet, and (c) Sayid, now, through his grief for Nadia? And Ben, because of his daughter, too! This seems to be a big part of how he rolls – targeting people who have lost someone recently, and using their grief and anger and whatnot to enlist them. I guess (sort of) that Jack and Hurley haven’t been enlisted by Jacob because of who they’ve lost, but because of what they stand to gain, maybe. I would say that neither of them has lost anyone, but that would be untrue. Because if Undead Christian was a PLOY OF THE SMOKE MONSTER, trying to get Jack closer to his side, then this confirms my theory a little!
LAUREN: So whose team are we all on? Obviously Sady is all Team Smokey, and I think I’m leaning that way too (Team Eye Candy! Team Rhetoric!). I’m annoyed at Jacob and the Others expecting everyone to throw caution to the wind and just have faith (um, magical island, anyone? caution needed?), whereas I like Flocke’s appeal to their rationality. He keeps pointing out how absurd the island and its rules are, and personally, anyone who is willing to point out the absurdity of a MAGICAL ISLAND is on my team. Is anyone on Team Jacob?
JILL: As I said in the first response: I am Team Evil all the way. All my faves are on Team Evil.
CARA: After last night, I’m increasingly leaning towards the idea that neither Smokey or Jacob is good. Up until this episode, I was still willing to give Jacob a chance, and thought he had a better shot at being good than Smokey did. Now, after numerous indications that Jacob is actually a douchebag, I’m pretty convinced that his heart isn’t quite in the right place. When Sayid said that everyone was free to go, that they were no longer being kept in the temple, I thought that perhaps this was just Smokey’s manipulative framing. Until Dogen told his story. And what kind of bullshit is “I’ll let your son live, but you’ll never get to see him again, and you’ll also be stuck on a creeptastic island for the rest of your life”? Not. Cool. And yeah, kind of evil.
SALLY: I’m on team Desmond! Such a team must exist because that’s where I want to be! Hopefully Miles, Richard, and other cool folks will join his team.
The one reveal: Miles confirms that Sayid was, in fact, dead for two hours before suddenly waking up. Thoughts?
CARA: I’m very sad to say it, but I think that Sayid actually is infected. I was hoping he wasn’t, but if he actually was dead, that’s a big point in favor of the theory. And his teaming up with Smokey doesn’t hurt, either.
SALLY: Yea, I’m going to start calling them Smoked Claire and Smoked Sayid. I, too, am sad that Sayid is evil but also not terribly surprised. My hope is that the good that’s left in him before the end of the series. Same with Claire. Otherwise, I can only assume that he’ll be killed some time soon…
SADY: I still think Flocke (and Claire! And Jin! And Sawyer! And Sayid! And, I repeat, BASICALLY EVERYONE I LIKE BUT SUN) might turn out to be a little bit more morally complex than Dogen’s “pure eeeeeevil” speech implied. At least I hope so. Every episode of LOST, I play “Don’t Stop Believing (Smokey is Good Remix)” during the commercials and just try to blank out over all those people he killed.
JILL: I’m with Sady – Team Evil is amazing and cannot be 100% pure evil. Sayid is probably infected, but we still don’t know what the infection is exactly, so it doesn’t necessarily make him evil. Also: Smokey does seem to want to get off the island, so I’m not sure I buy the “he wants to kill everyone” story.
LAUREN: I get the feeling that Smokey wants to kill everyone on the island as a protective measure — like everyone on it is collateral for another purpose. I like that he offers people choices, although I guess “you’re either with us or against us” isn’t much of a choice.
Flocke gets Sayid to kill Dogen and Lennon. Apparently Dogen being alive was the only thing stopping Smokey from getting into the temple. How is that? Is Dogen more significant than we realized?
CARA: The way that Sayid killed these two is really what absolutely convinces me that he is infected. He had justifiable reason to kill Dogen, seeing as how the guy had already tried to kill him at least twice, maybe three times. But he seemingly did it to let Smokey in, not to protect himself. Further, Sayid has always been either detached from or remorseful about his killings. When he killed Dogen and Lennon, he seemed almost happy about it, like he got some perverse kind of pleasure from it. That’s not the Sayid that we know.
SADY: Yeah. The thing I have always loved about Sayid is how chill and polite he is under these incredibly trying and often violent circumstances. Like in this episode! Where Dogen was talking to him, and he was like, “well, I hate to bring this up, but I have thus far been shot, drowned, beaten up, and almost poisoned. By you. NOT TO BE A JERK ABOUT IT.” But his sort of cartoon-villain smirk at the end of the episode kind of wrecked that for me. It was telegraphing a bit, I think!
CARA: Why/how Dogen was keeping Smokey out of the temple, I’ve no clue. Is he somehow connected to the ash, which was supposed to do the job?
JILL: I interpreted that as part of the “job” that Jacob gave him, in exchange for letting his son live — he uses his ninja-skills to keep Smokey out.
Side note – is anybody else frustrated by the lack of questions being answered?
SALLY: All they keep doing is answering questions they present in the same damn episode! Which, I guess is better than the past when they didn’t answer anything for several weeks, if at all. But geez louise! They’re running out of time, when are we getting our answers?!
CARA: I am kind of frustrated. And my favorite episodes are definitely the ones in which there are big reveals. I’m also starting to lose faith that big questions will be answered, though I hope that I’m wrong to. At this point, I’m trying to just go with it and be along for the ride, wherever it takes us.
LAUREN: This was a really packed episode, and I do think there were some things revealed, though I do think the writers are going to be more vague about some of our specific questions. A couple of things: We know now that Jacob and Smokey both are using methods from Satan’s playbook (“I can give you anything you want as long as you have faith/sacrifice everything for me”); we know that the war isn’t coming, it’s on; and the big reveal is about the pocket universe, where every characters’ major flaws are either cured or confirmed based on which side they took on the island, assuming that Jack is on the “good” side and Sayid is on the “bad.” However I don’t know where this leaves Kate and Claire. Any ideas?
CARA: Very interesting theory, Lauren. As I said above, I was really hoping that Sayid was going to be happy in one universe. That he’s not is very sad. But at the same time — in addition to noting that Claire’s life didn’t seem any worse than it was before — I think that Sayid was telling the truth when he said that he was a good man. I was surprised to hear him say it, after how much remorse he experienced last season and how much time he spent beating himself up, but I’ve always believed that about Sayid. I think that Sayid has always been a victim of his circumstances. And I think that he really does dedicate himself to non-violence, and while sometimes, yes, he just messes up, he also keeps finding himself placed in impossible situations. He turned down his brother’s request. He listened to Nadia when she told him to not start on the path of more violence. He was kidnapped. And they’d already nearly killed his brother, and who knows what they were going to do to him. I don’t think he killed Keamy because it was fun. (Though it was fun for me.) I think he killed Keamy because he didn’t believe that the people he loves most would be safe if he didn’t. And if that’s not an impossible situation, I don’t know what is. Indeed, Sayid’s biggest strength is his loyalty. I’m not convinced that him doing what he did is evidence of a flaw.
LAUREN: Oh, I wouldn’t say he was kidnapped, I’d say it was more like, “Oh, so you would like me to go with you? ORLY? ORLY??” Sayid keeps finding himself in violent situations, but you can’t discount the relish he takes in the complete pwnage of bad guys.
CARA: They threatened his nieces and nephews! I don’t think “get in the van, or we’ll go pick up the kids together” is much of a choice. Of course he’s loves pwning the baddies — he’s great at it. But they keep starting it.
It seems Flocke is now officially in control. He’s recruited most of the Others by saying he can get them off the island and he’s killed the rest. Claire & Sayid are his lackeys. How is Kate going to get away from them? What’s Ilana’s plan? Where the hell is everybody else?
CARA: I would very much like to know where Sawyer and Jin are. Are they tied up somewhere and being held captive by Flocke and Claire? Are they chilling, like “hey, hanging out, waiting around for the scary folks who have about a 50/50 shot of killing us to come back”? I want to know! Also, where the Others who were on the beach with Ilana and co. went. They were supposedly on their way to the temple, and we saw Richard out in the jungle with Sawyer. But somehow Ilana et al made it there first, despite a several mile long detour to hold a funeral. What gives?
SALLY: Yeah, I can’t help but wonder if who’s not there is more significant than who is – Richard and Jin especially. Or maybe that’s just because I want more info on Richard and I’m trying to figure out if Jin is the Kwon on the list.
LAUREN: I don’t know, but the final scene of Flocke was so Apocalypse Now. The horror, the horror. Only ten episodes left, people.