Instant karma for Sayid. Okay, slightly delayed karma. And I'm sort of not kidding about the karma thing. The survivors are definitely working through their issues.
This episode kept putting Sayid in the same situation, but on opposite sides and with parallels galore: Sayid showed compassion toward his prisoner, Nadia; Danielle showed compassion toward her prisoner, Sayid, and so on. In the opening scene, Sayid said that the prisoner would lose his hands or his life; on the Island, Sayid kept telling Danielle that he needed his hands to fix the music box. It reminded me of that old saw about slavery: the chains are on both the enslaved and the enslaver. And this episode also contrasted government-sponsored evil with the lack of civilization on the Island, which made the Island look pretty darned good in comparison.
Although Sayid's backstory was fascinating, we really didn't learn much that was new about him. We already knew he was in the Republican Guard (that's Iraq a few years ago, not the Bush administration), and that he had committed acts of torture for the sake of his country. We already knew he was a man of deep feeling, character and depth. Sayid may be the most interesting character on the Island – with the possible exception of Danielle Rousseau.
Danielle's advent gave us more questions than answers. Is she insane, or was everything she said true? Who is broadcasting her distress signal, and why? What did she mean by, "It was them. They were the carriers," and "They were already lost." Is this an invasion of the body-snatchers situation? (She also referred to the Black Rock. As in "Bad Day at?") Danielle also said, "If we're lucky, it's one of the bears." Does she know what the Monster is?
The impromptu golf game was just marvelous. "Welcome to the first, and hopefully last, Island Open. It's two holes, three par, and no waiting." Hurley had the right idea. They can't just sit around and wait; it's time to start building a life. Aqueducts are fine, but what about building houses? Is a rainy season coming?
Kate told Sawyer to make an effort, and he made an effort. But he wasn't fooling anyone but her. I was annoyed with the way Kate acted with Sawyer (Josh Holloway must be a good actor, because he's punching all of my buttons). It's possible that Kate's lack of self-esteem was allowing her to fall for Sawyer's line of bull, which made me feel a little sorry for her. She probably feels that she deserves a guy like Sawyer, and doesn't deserve a guy like Jack.
As good as this episode was, I was reluctant to write about it. I think it was the torture. Dramatically sound, but not my favorite thing.
Character bits:
We still don't know why Sayid was on the plane. We also don't know what happened to Nadia. We didn't see her die, and Sayid said she wasn't on the plane. Hey, if she shows up, that's proof that they're experiencing an afterlife of sorts.
Mira Furlan (Danielle Rousseau) is one of my favorite sci-fi actresses; she played Delenn, an alien leader, on Babylon 5. I've been fantasizing about her joining the cast for two days now.
Rousseau's love was named Robert.
Two new survivors were introduced: Rash Guy with glasses, and Ethan the junior hunter ("Rodent. Yum.")
Young Walt was still intrigued by Locke, and Locke was ready to pass his wisdom on to Walt. I think it's time for Michael to let it happen, because it's gonna happen anyway.
Sawyer's nicknames: Jackass (Jack), Dr. Quinn (Jack), Freckles (Kate).
I must mention, if I haven't already, that Naveen Andrews (Sayid) is a major league cutie pie. Love the curls.
Bits and pieces:
— No eye scene for Sayid.
— It has been two days after the last episode, making it 16 days. And with Danielle's presence confirmed, our people count is again 47. It's actually been 47 all along. Unless someone else is on the Island.
— Jean-Jacques Rousseau was the name of a famous French philosopher. Rousseau and Locke were both philosophers associated with the French Revolution. I don't think that's a coincidence. I don't think anything on this show is a coincidence.
— Sayid stole Danielle's map of the Island. I probably would have, too.
— What was that power cable connected to? The ship Danielle was on, still generating power after sixteen years? The alien lords of the Island? The trans-Pacific cable?
— We still don't know who knocked Sayid on the head. It wasn't Danielle.
— Sunscreen on the Island must be like cigarettes in prison.
Quotes:
Sawyer: "Doctor playing golf. Whoo, boy howdy. Now I've heard everything. What's next? Cop eating a donut?"
Jack: "Things could be worse."
Hurley: "How?"
Michael: "Polar bears?"
Charlie: "You didn't hear about the polar bears?"
Three out of a possible four polar bears,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
Just when I think the Island is about as creepy as it is possible to get, now we have whispers? I thought Danielle was mad until the end when Sayid heard them as well. Shiver...
ReplyDeleteThis episode feels like a real "game-changer" for me. Or maybe I should say this seems to be when Lost really finds its footing and starts to feel like, well, Lost.
ReplyDeletePart of that might be Naveen Andrews, who is awesome here. But, weirdly enough, I also love the radical tonal shift from torture in Sayid's now-story and flashback vs. the fun of the golf game. It shouldn't have worked, but it totally did.
An interesting mention of bunnies ("Rodent. Yum.") just one episode after the bunnies in Watership Down are emphasized.
Are the bunnies the ones "whispering" to Sayid?!
It could be bunnies...
Rewatch Comment: Much like Josie said above, this is really where the show takes off. I even told my son prior to this episode that the intros were largely over and now we were going to see more about what the island is really about.
ReplyDeleteOf course this makes sense as the survivors are moving from figuring out how to survive and wait/hope for rescue to figuring out how to live. But the show becomes more compelling now that we are getting to know more about the island itself.