LostEpisode 510He’s our YouAs this season progresses, I can’t help but wonder what must have been running through Ben’s mind as he allowed himself to be captured by Danielle and ultimately, the Losties. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but this is something that I find myself thinking about when I wake up at night and can’t sleep. Hmm. Maybe if I stopped thinking about Lost so much, I could actually get more sleep.
Anyway, onto this weeks recap. The episode was surprisingly straight-forward, but I think that’s why the closing moments were so shocking.
This was a Sayid-centric episode and takes up back to when Sayid was still a youngster living in Tikrit, Iraq. Sayid’s father wants his brother to catch and kill a chicken. Sayid does it with ease for his very reluctant, hesitant brother.
Next, we see grown-up Sayid doing Ben’s dirty work and allegedly killing Nadia’s killers. Ben tells him that his work is done and he has no more work for him. Ben and Sayid go their separate ways, but hardly amicably. Some time later, Ben tracks Sayid down to the Dominican Republic where Sayid is building houses for charity. Ben tries to get Sayid to agree to go back to the island. Sayid refuses.
Next, we see Sayid in a bar sitting next to Ilana, the woman with whom he was on the plane. After flirting with each other, they end up in a hotel room where Ilana pulls a gun on Sayid. She informs him she’s a bounty hunter and she’s taking him back to Guam.
At the airport, Sayid notices the other Oceanic six and asks Ilana if they can take another flight. When Ben boards the plane, he asks her if she works for Ben Linus, which she denies.
Back in 1977, Ben brings more food to Sayid, along with a book. He asks if Richard sent him, and tells Sayid that he will help him. He’s then questioned by Horace and Radzinsky and when he reveals nothing, Sawyer tries to talk to Sayid. But Sayid’s decided not to go along with the lie.
Roger Linus is sent to mop up, and young Ben walks in with a sandwich for Sayid. Roger is furious with Ben and Ben is forced to admit that the sandwich was for Sayid. Later, Sayid is taken to a tent in the jungle, where Dharma’s resident torturer lives. Sayid is forced to swallow a sugar cube with a few drops of some drug on it. Apparently, it’s a truth serum, but when Sayid tells them that he is from the future, they shrug it off and think that they have given him too much of the drug.
Sayid is taken back to Dharmaville. Later that night, a burning bus crashes into one of the cabins. While everyone helps extinguish the fire, Ben sets Sayid free and says that he wants to go with him. As Sayid and Ben flee, Jin drives up in one the Dharma buses. Jin agrees to let Sayid go, but only after he’s spoken to Sawyer. Sayid knocks Jin out and takes his gun and shoots Ben.
Yikes.
Key points from this week’s episode:• Well, naturally, the most important is that Sayid shot Ben. Well, considering that we’ve been promised that there will not be any paradoxes in Lost and also Daniel’s rule (what happened, happened), we have to assume that somehow Ben survives.
You absolutely have to wonder what Ben would have turned out like had Sayid not tried killing him. I’m firmly of the belief that the reason that Ben seems to have targeted Sayid to do his killing (and in all likeliness, had Nadia killed) was because Sayid tried killing him. Again, I really do have to wonder what went through his mind when he was captured by the Losties and Sayid was sent in to interrogate him. And I’ve said this before, but I’m now more convinced than ever that the Losties lives in 2004 was affected by the things they did in 1977 – their pasts have been determined by their futures.
This animosity between Sayid and Ben is so deep-seeded that it’s difficult to actually take anyone’s side. On the one hand, one can understand Ben’s manipulation of Sayid. I mean, who shoots a 12 year old kid?!?! But then again, one can understand Sayid’s dilemma as well. Ben is an incredibly dangerous man. I can only suppose that Sayid honestly believed that if he kills young Ben, the world would be a better place.
• It’s interesting that Ben chose to terminate the agreement between him and Sayid regarding Sayid’s murdering of all those people. Why did Ben choose to end it? Sayid seemed happy enough killing all these people. I’m quite sure that those people had nothing to do with Nadia’s death, and them working for Widmore too is questionable.
• Ilana is not a cop as previously thought, but a bounty hunter. Again, I’m quite sure that our master manipulator’s hands are in this somehow. At least we now know what Sayid was doing on that plane and we know that he wasn’t a willing participant in all this. In some ways this is a bit disappointing. I was really quite keen to see how he got onto that plane. But in other ways, it’s very fitting with the role that Sayid has now undertaken – the murdering, manipulated reluctant hero-type guy.
• It’s interesting that Dharma-ites didn’t believe the time travelling story quite as quickly as the Others did. But then again, I very much doubt that Dharma knew about the island’s unique TARDIS-like abilities. Anyway, I absolutely loved Naveen Andrews’ performance in that scene. He portrayed a doped-up nutter quite nicely.
• I felt terribly sorry for young Ben. Lost does this kind of thing very well – making you feel for characters that you wouldn’t ordinarily empathise with. I’ve heard people say that sometimes some people are just products of their past, and Ben most certainly is. He was a lost, lonely child who thought that he was helping someone.
• Kate learns of Juliet’s and Sawyer’s relationship and while she doesn’t seem affected by it, I’m sure that she is. I’m also sure that she returned to the island for Sawyer.
This is all I have for you this week. It was a pretty straight forward episode and the Sayid-Ben dynamic dominated it. This volatile relationship is far from over and I can’t wait to see how it’s going to end. I suppose them shaking hands and having a drink is not on the cards.
What we learnt this week:• Present Sayid shoots young Ben
• Sayid opts not to go along with Sawyer’s well maintained lie
• Dharmaville has its own resident torturer and weird guy.
• Sayid didn’t return to the island on his own free will
New Questions• Was Ilana hired by Ben to get Sayid on that plane?
• What is going to happen to Sayid now that he’s escaped.
• Will Kate get her ass kicked when she tries to make a play for Sawyer? (Stupid question, because Juliet will so kick her ass!!)
Interesting Trivia (from this site)• Sawyer uses a hand-held TASER to stun Sayid but the year is 1977 and the touch kind of TASERs that used compressed air instead of gunpowder were not invented until 1994.
• The book Ben gives Sayid is "A Separate Reality", written by Carlos Castañeda in 1971. This allegedly non-fictional book is about a man's experience working with a self-proclaimed sorcerer. The authenticity of the book, along with the rest of Castañeda's series, has been a topic of debate since they were published.
• A prayer flag can be seen at Oldham's camp. On such a flag, each color represents a different element (sky, air, fire, water, earth), and those colors are arranged in very specific patterns. Tibetans believe the prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space. Therefore, prayer flags are thought to bring benefit to all.
• Sayid was drinking McCutcheon scotch. A favorite of Desmond, Charlie, and Charles Widmore. $120 for a glass though!
• During the Dharma meeting about Sayid, they mentioned Ann Arbor. That city is home to the University of Michigan, the same college that Dharma founders Karen and Gerald DeGroot work at. Also, Pierre Chang was the professor of theoretical astrophysics from Ann Arbor, Michigan
Interesting Screencaps (from this site)
Young, abused Ben Linus.
Leave my man alone- 101
Lunch time
Oldham: "This is my brother Larry, and my other brother Larry"
Young, not-so-innocent Sayid
Sawyer: "He's our you"