Summary: In flashbacks, Sayid is apprehended by a man named Sami, who claims that he tortured his wife Amira. Sayid denies it out of self preservation and is beaten for it. Amira speaks with him alone and asks him to admit what he did. Sayid does and Amira chooses to forgive him and lets him go. On the island, Sayid, Locke, Kate and Rousseau follow the bearing and find a Dharma station called The Flame. They see the eyepatch man and head in to investigate. His name is Mikhail and he claims to be the last member of the Dharma Initiative. Sayid interrogates him and quickly determines that he's lying and is an other. He also determines that he's not alone. Kate and Sayid knock him out and investigate the station. Locke gets really interested in a computer chess game and Mikhail takes control of the situation while he's distracted. Sayid and Kate find and capture Bea in the station. In a confrontation with Mikhail, Bea convinces him to kill her which he does. Mikhail is taken captive. Sayid finds an electrical diagram showing a place called the barracks and decides to head there. Locke beats the chess game and accidentally causes The Flame to self-destruct. Meanwhile, Hurley beats Sawyer at ping pong, banning him from using nicknames for a week.
The Good: Finally, plot movement! I normally stand by the fact that character and story is more important than plot movement. But for "Lost", the show's best character work and storytelling always comes when there is interesting plot movement. So the return to relevant storytelling after two dull episodes is a breath of fresh air, and it gives the story some momentum again. The scenes in The Flame were fantastic to watch. This show does a wonderful job of getting the watcher intrigued and invested whenever there is some mystery to explore. I had my eyes peeled when Sayid, Kate and Locke were poking around The Flame, and I was analyzing every word said by Mikhail in an effort to get some answers and discover who this mysterious guy actually is. Sayid's interrogation was a joy to watch, filled with suspense and mystery. With every conversation, the tension was ramped up as it became clear that Mikhail wasn't who he said he was. The scenes had an almost Tarantino-esque vibe at times and built up towards a tremendous climax as Sayid and Mikhail get into a brutal fight. This episode was certainly the most action-packed of the season thus far, and it used suspense and action perfectly to tell the story. The character beats were also done really well. Sayid's use of logic was superb and he came off as even more smart and realistic than usual. The writers were at their absolute best with Sayid in this episode. Locke playing the chess game also fit with what we knew about the character and his love for games. I was also quite pleased by the amount of answers and background info we got in this episode. We learn where the submarine came from, we get hints about a mysterious purge that wiped out the Dharma Initiative (see: The Unknown), and we even find out what the cable going out into the ocean is for. This episode gave out these answers organically without ever giving us heaps of exposition, once again exemplifying how well written this was. The flashbacks also told a really powerful story. Despite not being essential to Sayid's character (see: The Bad), the flashbacks were a joy to watch. The story of guilt and forgiveness is new territory for "Lost" to explore, and it does a terrific job. The performances were tremendous, and I was particularly moved by Amira's speech about forgiveness towards the end of the episode. The B-story is good fun and it's the perfect place to put the Hurley/Sawyer comedy stuff. The Bad: The flashbacks and B-story aren't important at all unfortunately. They exist only to kill time, and while they are fun, they never have as much drive or engagement as the main storyline. The Unknown: What was the Dharma Initiative purge? What's the full story behind this conflict? Why did the others wipe them out? How did they wipe them out? Why was Bea so willing to die in order to protect the others' secrets? How important is the others' work? What are they actually doing on the island? Why would Bea go to such extremes in order to protect her community? Best Moment: I'll go with one of the Sayid/Kate/Mikhail scenes. Sayid just explained to Kate that Mikhail is an other and most certainly isn't alone. The ensuing scene is tense and dramatic as Sayid and Kate play normally, quizzing Mikhail gently to see if he gives anything up. Then things slowly escalate until everything explodes in a great action scene. The sequence delivered some of the best tension-based drama in the entire series. Character of the Episode: Sayid. Conclusion: This was a fantastic episode that got "Lost" back on track. This season has been inconsistent, similar to season 2, but thankfully it's still more than capable of creating some superb drama. Score: 72
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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