LOST - He's Our You

Whoa.

That was one helluva a ride. There has been speculation regarding the death of a major LOST character. Was anyone thinking it would be Ben?

What will we do with no more smarmy, slippery, slithery Benjamin Linus?

I shudder to think.

So if Sayid killed the 12 year old Ben in 1977, does that mean the Ben that Sun whacked over the head with an oar last episode disappears? Does this mean the Dharma genocide never happened, Alex was never kidnapped from Rousseau and wasn't killed by Keamy? I guess it would also mean Juliet never came to the island, too...

My mind reels.

The title of the episode did refer to Sayid--but not in reference to Ben. Instead the recalcitrant Sayid is brought before Oldham. Sayid asks Sawyer, "Who is this man?" Sawyer's reply: "He's our you." One might have expected a gruesome torture session to follow--and indeed when Sayid was bound to a tree, it was reminiscent of how he dealt with Sawyer in season one. A little payback or karmic retribution?

Not exactly. Instead of being knocked about, Sayid is given some sort of hallucinogenic truth serum. Under the influence of the drug, Sayid reveals his name and when asked why he was handcuffed, he answers "Because I am a bad man."

He then goes on to tell the Dharmites what he knows about their stations--even the purpose and name of the yet unbuilt Swan--which freaks Radzinsky out. But the whole crew is freaked out when he tells them, "You’re all going to die you know. You’re going to be killed." If that weren't enough, when asked how he knows this, Sayid responds "Because I'm from the future."

This leads Oldham to declare, "Maybe I should've use half a dropper."

The flashbacks to this Sayid-centric episode gave us a bit of insight to our favorite ninja spy dude: Sayid as a young boy killing a chicken (with his hands, not the patented breakdancing move) by wringing its neck; Sayid killing some Russian guy for Ben; Sayid doing his Habitat for Humanity thing when Ben shows up announcing that John Locke is dead and that Hurley is in trouble.

That scene provided the episode's best line:

Sayid: How did you find me?
Ben: I looked.

Sigh. Ben will be missed...

Anyway, Sayid asks Ben why he thinks he would want to kill the guy stalking Hurley. "It’s in your nature, it’s what you are. You’re a killer, Sayid," Ben replies. "I'm not who you think I am. I don't like killing," Sayid counters.

Back in Dharmaville, despite Sawyer's passionate dissent, there's a vote to take care of the Sayid problem by killing him. Sawyer is coerced into making the vote unanimous, but goes to Sayid with a plan to have him escape. Sayid refuses telling Sawyer, "...now I know exactly why I’m here."

The circumstances that brought Sayid back to the island are revealed. After the unhappy reunion of the Oceanic Five at the marina--where Sayid tells Ben, "If I see you again it will be extremely unpleasant for us both," Sayid meets the lovely Ilana at a bar. At first I thought that comment meant that maybe Sayid was the one who beat the @#$% out of Ben, but that was not the case.

Sayid asks Ilana if she is a professional. Yeah, that's an effective pick-up line. Ilana obviously doesn't take offense, because later she and Sayid are making out as they stumble into his hotel room. As Sayid starts to remove her boot, she kicks him in the face and then pulls out a gun.

Talk about a mood breaker...

Turns out Ilana is a bounty hunter hired by the family of Peter Avellino (remember golf course guy?) to bring Sayid back to Guam and to justice. When Sayid sees the other members of the Oceanic Five at the airport, he asks Ilana, "Are you sure we're going to Guam?"

For a moment I thought when Sayid witnessed Ben being abused by his father, Roger, he might have a different perspective on the morally-challenged head Other. But instead he allows Ben to plans his escape which is accomplished via the diversion of a van set on fire and crashing into one of the barracks.

Jack asks Sawyer what is going on and his response is, "Three years, no burning buses. Y'all are back for one day!"

When Ben shows up to let Sayid out, Sayid notices his broken glasses. "My father was a hard man as well," he empathizes. "If I let you out, will you take me with you?" Ben asks Sayid. "Yes Ben, I will. That's why I'm here," Sayid answers.

As they are making their escape, a Dharma van shows up and Jin exits. Sayid lies and tells him that Sawyer let him escape. When Jin tries to confirm that with Sawyer, Sayid flips him and takes his gun.

Ben is impressed by his ninja moves, but Sayid tells him, "You were right about me. I am a killer," and shoots him in the chest.

As I said before: Whoa.

For more insight into "He's Our You" check out the recap at Lostpedia, the screencaps at Dark UFO and Liz Kelly and Jen Chaney's Dueling Analyses at washingtonpost.com.