Summary: Flashforwards show that Sayid has become a hired assassin. He meets a woman named Elsa, who he uses to get to her boss, an economist who is Sayid's next target. However, he grows to care for Elsa and gives her a chance to leave. Elsa shoots him, she is aware of who Sayid is and has been ordered to kill him. Sayid manages to get away and kills Elsa. He returns to his boss: Ben. On the island, Sayid decides to go bring Charlotte back from Locke's camp in exchange for Frank taking him to the freighter on the chopper. Sayid, Kate and Miles head towards the barracks but they find it deserted. Hurley has been tied up and left behind by Locke. However, it's a trap and Locke's group make themselves known and capture Sayid, Kate and Miles. Kate decides to stay after hearing how Sawyer doesn't care to leave the island. Sayid makes a deal with Locke to take Charlotte back in exchange for Miles. Sayid returns with Miles and Frank takes him back on the helicopter. Desmond and Juliet also return, and Desmond joins Sayid on the chopper.
The Good: The flashforward storyline is terrific entertainment. It's a perfect blend, of mystery, drama and character and it's a joy to figure out what exactly we are watching. Sayid is really engaging as a hired assassin and it's enjoyable to see him at work. The opening scene at the golf course was very well done, and a welcome surprise. The Elsa story is also really well done. We get to see a combination of the ruthless Sayid and the romantic Sayid which makes for a very interesting dynamic. The story remains interesting all the way through due to the fact that we never fully understand what Sayid is doing and why. By the end of the episode we still don't entirely have our answers (see: The Unknown), but we do get an outstanding twist that raises the stakes of Sayid's story immensely (see: Best Moment). On the island, I thought the drama was just as compelling. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Sayid's logical approach to solving problems is tremendously fun, especially in a show where characters have become increasingly questionable with their decision-making and secrets. Sayid is a breath of fresh air as he simply does his best to solve the problem that's in front of him, and works hard to get everyone off the island. The island drama here is established wonderfully as Sayid pressures Frank to take him off the island, and immediately goes to work to bring Charlotte back in a reasonable and bloodless manner. Sayid's plan is very good and it's great to watch him come to a peaceful agreement with Locke, leaving Miles behind as a hostage since he isn't willing to put all of his faith in the freighter people yet. There are some nice moments in this story. I was genuinely surprise by Hurley's betrayal since he's the last person anyone would have expected to lead Sayid, Kate and Miles into a trap. Ben continues to be given a lot of good lines and is tremendous fun to watch in captivity. I thought that the brief Sawyer/Kate story was wonderfully executed. I was incredibly pleased to see the change in Sawyer following his killing of Anthony Cooper. Now that he's taken care of his baggage, he seems more at peace than ever before, and he, like Locke, seems to have accepted his new life on the island as an improvement over what he had before. Sawyer's given a great scene to express this change in his character and I thought that Josh Holloway played the character superbly well, as always. I also really enjoyed Miles, who is still quite funny and manages to be wonderfully sarcastic with everyone he speaks with. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of dynamic he forms with Locke and everyone else in that camp. Finally, I enjoyed the little bits of mystery developing surrounding the freighter, like with Minkowski's condition and Daniel's strange experiment (see: The Unknown). As a final point, I've been really impressed with the pacing of this season so far. The past 2 seasons were woefully inconsistent, but this season hasn't had very much that I didn't like so far. Furthermore, there haven't been any slow episodes, and every scene feels like it's vital for the story. This change in pacing and structure has been wonderful for the series, and I'll have to wait and see if the show can keep it up. The Bad: Just a few nitpicks. Surely Jack would be much more upset with Kate choosing to stay with Locke, who he views as a lunatic. Surely Sayid and Elsa's gunfight would have been heard by other people. They weren't using silencers and they were inside of what looked like a pretty public hotel. The Unknown: Why isn't Sayid with Nadia off the island? Did something happen to her? Who is the economist? Why does Ben need Sayid to kill all these people? How is Ben off the island anyways? Why is Sayid working for him? Is he one of the others now? What does he have to gain from this work? How did Ben recruit Sayid? Ben vaguely refers to a major event that happened before involving Sayid. What was it? What happened? How did the cabin move? Is Jacob somehow doing this? How can you find the cabin if it moves at will? Why was the payload delayed so much? Does the island exist in some kind of separate dimension? Does time function differently on the island? Or can this time anomaly be explained by some kind of dimensional rift? What's going on with Minkowski? Why was Daniel ordered not to speak with him? Where did he go anyways? Best Moment: The Ben twist at the end of the episode was superb. I didn't predict it, so I was quite shocked to discover that Sayid has become one of his men. This raises a truckload of questions, but also raises the stakes for whatever happens to Sayid before these flashforwards. On the island, Sayid says that the day he trusts Ben is the day he would have sold his soul. This ominously suggests that something bad is coming to Sayid in the near future. The twist is so wonderful not only because of the surprise, but because of the significance that working for Ben has on Sayid's character. Character of the Episode: Sayid. Conclusion: Another superb episode, and one that I think is even better than the last. The drama remains extremely joyful to watch and the character dynamics are as fun as ever. Add on a shocking twist, and we have another great episode. Season 4 is off to an excellent start. Score: 75
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
February 2024
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