Friday, February 15, 2008

Lost: The Economist


***SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT***
IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS EPISODE, BUT PLAN TO, DO NOT READ!
THE ENDING IS A MAJOR SHOCK AND IS BEST UNSPOILED


Oh. My. Word. Guys, that is all I have to say about the episode. Any and all doubts and "didn't works" that I had were completely absolved by that cliffhanger. That was seriously crazy stuff. More on that later.

Recap: Locke couldn't find Jacob's Cabin, even though he went back to the crazy powder. Locke used Hurley as bait to trap Sayid, Miles and Kate in the barracks. Sayid uses Miles as a bargaining chip to gain the release of Charlotte, which gains Sayid passage on the helicopter. Dan conducts an experiment which indicates that the island's time and the ship's time are 31 minutes apart. Sayid also found a secret passage behind a bookcase, with Ben's travel clothes, foreign money and passports. Clearly Ben spends lots of time off the island. We know that Naomi was "senior management" and didn't really talk to her 4-person crew, so they don't know why she had Desmond's photo. In the end, Frank flies off in the copter with Sayid, Desmond and Naomi's body. (Sayid, it should be pointed out, was the only one who cared about Naomi's body.)

In the future, Sayid is a murderer! A hit man, working off a "list." He pulls a con to gain the confidence of a woman, all so he could get to know her mysterious employer, who is "not an economist," hence the title of the episode. She knows he's one of the Oceanic Six, and might know who he works for. She shoots him near the shoulder, he shoots her dead. Sayid then goes to a ratty old building (an animal shelter?) where he gets his wound looked at by his doctor/employer, one Benjamin Linus.

What didn't work: Was there seriously no one else who wanted to get on the helicopter? Wasn't Juliet there? She wants to see her sister so badly. Wouldn't she just hijack the controls and go to the mainland herself? Also, the whole Hurley con seemed a little... out of place? with the Lost universe.

What worked: Everything. From the first surprise killing to the final reveal, this was another incredibly strong episode of Lost. Not only did the season 3 finale jump start the show, it set this season on hyper-drive. While we didn't get any answers to anything this episode (except that Sayid is one of the Oceanic Six), the questions that we got were a lot of fun and, well, just make me giddy inside.

Questions: Who was the golfer and why did he become so afraid when he found out who Sayid was? Who all is on "the list"? (Hey, that's Heroes!) Who was that women's employer? What did Ben do in the first place to get Sayid to work for him? How did Ben get off the island - and can he get back? Is Ben actually protecting Sayid's friends? Who are the people that Sayid is killing and are they related to Abaddon, Naomi's boss? Why is the island in a time warp - and why doesn't that apply to communications? And just how freaked out are you that Ben is Sayid's boss? Because I'm still reeling.

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