It’s true that most of the flashsideways that we have seen so far have seen the characters in better places than when we last left them. However, after this week’s episode of Lost, I don’t think that can be said anymore. Sayid’s alternate timeline certainly wasn’t an improved version of his life. Certainly, it appeared that his history with Nadia was significantly altered. Instead of searching for her after his turn as a torturer, Nadia and Sayid’s brother were been playing house in California, complete with two children. I’m surprised there wasn’t a golden retriever running around. There was still an obvious connection between the two star crossed lovers, though.
It was nice to get back in touch with Sayid’s inner struggle, however tragic it always seems to be. In the flashsideways he was trying to be a good man, to make up for his days of torturing in order to “deserve” Nadia’s love. It wasn’t meant to be, however, as his path crossed Martin Keamy’s and Sayid couldn’t let the mistreatment of his brother at the thug’s hands go. Similarly, on the island, Sayid had the chance to do right, but was tempted by fake Locke and allowed all hell to break loose inside the temple.
It was a fairly impressive scene of carnage on the part of Smokey as he tore through the Others’ base of operations, killing just about everyone in sight (though Sayid had already taken care of the two men in charge). Luckily, all the folks we care about made it out alive, although Kate is certainly going to have a hard road ahead of her after ending up with a vengeful Claire and Smokey. It’s also unclear where Ben is and whether or not he will be able to hook back up with Ilana and her group. The previews for next week certainly made things look ominous for the master manipulator. I’ll be gravely disappointed if he doesn’t make it through to the end.
There were some seriously disquieting moments in tonight’s episode. When Ben went to retrieve Sayid from the pool room, I was completely creeped out. It was sad and disturbing at the same time to see Sayid resigned to his fate and position, allying himself with an entity that even he himself realized was evil. The look of horror and knowing on Ben’s face said everything. That was definitely one of the more spin tingling moments in the history of the show.
It will be a shame if Sayid ends the run of the series as a misguided tragic figure. Will he be able to overcome Smokey’s influence in these final ten episodes, or is his fate really sealed? Did the Sayid that we have come to know and love cease to exist when he was drown in that pool in the first episode of the year? I hope that he can find some redemption before the series ends. I’m really looking forward to how this final battle is going to shake out.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Mar 02, 2010 @ 22:18 EST5EDT
What I want to know is: what answers did we get? The secretive promos led me to believe we’d get some huge reveals in this episode, and I would say we did not. Maybe someone can enlighten me there?
The big reveal was the fact that ABC knows how to lie. :-p
However it was the first episode this season to really change anything besides the first. With so few episodes left they really need to get their ass in gear. I was bored to death, I do not care about the side flashes… at all!
Yeah, I generally ignore the promos.
Maybe the big reveal was supposed to be that Smokey/Locke is evil incarnate … not that that’s much of a revelation.
We have 11 episodes left–the previews said 10 episodes before the 2-hour finale, so that makes for 12 hours of “Lost” in 11 episodes. Unless the promo was wrong :)
Jin is the path to redemption for Sayid in the new timeline.
I would disagree that things aren’t better for Sayid in the flashsideways than they are on the island. He’s pretty much hit rock bottom in our timeline – dead girlfriend, murderer several times over, seduced by evil, etc. In the sideways, at least Nadia is still alive, and he did the right thing by going and taking care of her kids instead of seeking revenge (Jack cameo at the hospital!). It was only when trouble came to him that he said, “Enough.” It was nice to see Keamy again; I know he was always one of the fan favorites as a villain. I don’t blame Sayid for shooting him in that situation at all, because his brother’s trouble never would have ended if he’d left him alive, and he would have been in danger himself as well. I’m interested to see how Sayid and Jin manage to work together. In any event, Sayid’s brother is out of danger and Nadia is alive – I’d say things are better in his life over there. Still, the theme we’ve always dealt with remains – despite his occasional struggles, and with certain exceptions (like in his relationship with Shannon), Sayid is not really a good guy at his core. The stuff he did in the past damaged him too much, I guess. I believe the Sayid in the standard timeline, at least, is finally beyond redemption. And that’s the way it goes sometimes.
I was worried they were going to kill Miles. His place in the storyline seems to be done, but I still like him. Then I thought maybe they’d kill Kate, which I wouldn’t mind. I’d like to see Claire surprise her with a knife in the chest next week. But as you said, everyone we care about survives, at least for now. (Sorry, Dogen and Lennon!)
I have to wonder how Smokey intends to deliver (or reneg) on all his promises to Claire and Sayid. He can’t really bring Nadia back from the dead, can he? I don’t think so. And in what sense does he intend to leave the island forever? Where will he go? At any rate, he seems to have been “honest” so far – everybody who didn’t leave the temple died, and the ones who did survived with him.
Ok, hoping BSG isn’t hear to smite me down, but I’ve had a theory (That I believe less and less with each episode) all season long that WTFlocke might actually be the good guy in all of this.
And despite the fact that I’m moving away from it, I was definitely struck by an analogy last night. WTFlocke, appealed to the people, saying that whomever believed in him would be saved, and those that don’t should perish. Then, he, quite literally, made good on that promise. The Others that stayed were destroyed, and those that went with him were saved.
It felt very much to me like a negative telling of the story of the Rapture.
You know I am right there with you Ivey. I thought about this possiblity for a long time – funny enough the last time yesterday before the episode aired. Lost plays mindtricks on you and I think this is a good thing. I have a theory I stick to, but I just wanted to assure you that it’s not like yours isn’t valid. I just came to the conclusion it is less valid (at least for me).
We’ll see how things turn out. I think it is great that Lost leaves so much to interpretation :-)
I’ve really been thinking on this a lot today. What if….and any if in LOST is possible……MIB & Jacob are one in the same? As Dogen said to Sayid …we have good and bad in us, which way will the scales tip? So, could it be that the real war is an internal war between MIB/Jacob? Is that why MIB couldn’t kill Jacob, meaning he cannot kill himself, but allowed Ben to silence the good?
Crazy thoughts, but I always have crazy thoughts about LOST =)