Episode 3 - The Economist
30 March 2012
Present: Sayid, Kate and Miles head to the Barracks to retrieve Charlotte. Hurley fools them and Locke captures them. Daniel discovers there is a time disparity between the island and the outside world. Sayid exchanges Charlotte for Miles and Kate stays with Sawyer. Sayid, Desmond and Naomi’s corpse all head back to the freighter on the helicopter with Frank.
Flashback: A flashforward to Sayid, looking dapper. He is an assassin. He seduces a woman who works for a mysterious client. When the man arrives in town, he kills her as she tries to discover who Sayid is working for. We soon discover it is Ben who has coerced Sayid into killing for him.
The Good: As stunning as Lost can be, this still feels like a great shock, almost topping anything we have seen so far. That may of course vary depending on your taste but when Sayid gives away that Elsa’s boss was on a list, you suddenly realise that the Others are far from a spent force. The sight of a suave looking Sayid acting like James Bond is intriguing end entertaining. Yet seeing him with Ben and the implications of it is even better and is fantastic television. It is difficult to imagine a more intriguing and gripping twist at this stage of the story.
This episode really does live up to the producers claims that now they know the end date for Lost the stories will pick up in pace and focus. This feels like a Season one episode in many respects with the action on the island flowing logically while the flashback (or in this case forward) provides you with insights which add huge drama and intrigue to what is happening in the present. On the island Sayid is just as focussed and efficient as ever but his morality is still firmly in his sights. We see him praying and then caring for Naomi’s corpse (very consistent with his behaviour in 121) and he looks down on immoral Ben and asks him “what do you know about friendship?” Which all fires the imagination and desire to watch on when in the future we see he has become a killer for Ben’s cause. Something happened to Sayid which Ben used to recruit him and now he is protecting his friends by killing Ben’s enemies. The twist is foreshadowed beautifully when Sayid declares to Locke that the day he trusts Ben is the day “I would have sold my soul.” The fact that Elsa was also trying to fool Sayid makes it easier to buy into their effortless romance.
Back on the island Daniel’s discovery of a time disparity with the outside world is a very necessary step in unravelling the mysteries of the island. It’s another revelation which you suspect will now become more common in the show. His insistence that Frank keep the same bearing is what Ben told Michael (224) so we sort of confirm that you can only enter and exit the island at specific points.
Sawyer now joins Locke and Rose as explicitly stating his desire to stay on the island. His desire to settle down with Kate is pretty touching, as you feel how much he cares about her. It also indicates that finally getting revenge on the real Sawyer (319) has brought some peace to him. Locke outwitting Sayid is a nice touch after he had looked lost when Jacob’s cabin wasn’t where he expected it to be. And their amicable swap of Charlotte for Miles makes a lot of sense. Sayid and Locke aren’t enemies and very pleasingly they agree on their common goals and come to an amicable conclusion. Imagine if they had done that back in season two over every issue. Jack asking about the Red Sox is good continuity (302). Desmond asking pointed questions of course makes sense (he found the picture way back in 317) as his delight in seeing the helicopter (which he saw in his flash back in 321).
The Bad: Jack doesn’t show more shock when he hears that Kate decided to stay with Locke. You would think he would be more concerned by that.
Elsa is pretty casual when she shoots Sayid. Especially considering his gun is apparently visible hanging out of his clothes. That’s a poor bit of production really because he should never have let her see his gun.
Shouldn’t Ben have turned on the security fence around the Barracks? Why doesn't Charlotte tell the other members of her team about Ben's spy on their boat? That’s a poor oversight.
The Unknown: Ben’s dark hints about Sayid’s mistakes in the past are most intriguing. As of course are the identity of the people he is killing and what he is protecting his friends from. Ben’s secret room full of money and passports raises questions about what he has been doing off the island and what for.
Jacob’s cabin is definitely on the move and we don’t know why. Hurley is clearly a fully paid up Locke disciple which makes his flashforward (401 where he regretted chosing Locke over Jack) even more intriguing. What has happened to Minkowski back on the boat? In the last episode he was mysteriously unavailable when Miles wanted him and now Frank warns that if Minkowski answers the phone Daniel should hang up right away.
Best Moment: Sayid telling Elsa that he has to kill her boss because his name was on a list. Ever since the Others became a permanent fixture in Lost it is their strange morality and conviction which has been most intriguing. What is it which drives this cult to commit murder (115), kidnap children (207), torture parents with the loss of their child (222) and abuse prisoners (304) while claiming to be the good guys (224, 323). Now it would seem Sayid is one of them. Coerced or otherwise he has clearly signed up to what Ben is protecting and as a long term fan the producers have built up a huge and effective desire for answers.
The Bottom Line: The producers of Lost promised that now that an end date was agreed the show would move at a faster pace. This delivers. An action packed, dramatic, mysterious episode with two great twists and several important developments. A first class piece of television.
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