S1E9 Solitary
The previous two episode posts were more a rehash of each of those plots, so I'm not sure if I will continue to do that, or make these posts more like the first few episodes where it was talking about the major plot points and giving my opinion. I'm going to try that with this episode, one of my favorites of the whole series. Sayid is such a great character and this episode solidifies him as one of the truly "good" guys on the island.
We learn so much about Sayid in this episode. Up until now, we know a few things about him, but no a lot of details. He's an Iraqi who served in the Republican Guard, he is technology-savvy and has a history of torture in his background. He also has a mysterious woman named Nadia in his life, although in this episode he says that she died. He has a miltary background, and because of that hasn't completely bought into Jack's leadership, although we do see him defer a bit in this (and the last) episode.
We do see Sayid as a member of the Republican Guard, who gets promoted in the ranks because he is good at getting information out of insurgents, i.e. he's a master torturer. The flashback sequence centers on a person that is brought in to be "questioned." And it's Nadia! To me, that was a nice reveal and not what I expected when I first saw the episode. Naveen Andrews, being the great actor he is, is masterful at showing his doubt about what he is doing, especially to a childhood friend. Being a torturer isn't easy -- I mean, how can you just say, "Talk or I'm going to hurt you," to a woman you loved? The end of the flashback is a true cliffhanger, having Nadia escape at the end even though Sayid does say that she died in the present. So there is a lot more to the story.
In the previous episode, Sayid left the survivors, not being able to live with himself for the torture of Sawyer. His excuse is that someone has to map the island. On the island we first see him looking at his photo of Nadia, but out of the corner of his eye he notices something. An electrical cable is buried in the sand leading from the ocean into the jungle. This is the first man-made item that we have seen on the island. Of course, following it gets him trapped. He gets cut down and tied down to an electrical bed in some kind of underground bunker. WHAT?? A woman keeps asking, "Where is Alex?" in various different languages. Sayid explains about the plane crash, but the woman doesn't believe him. It is now when it is revealed that the woman, Danielle Rousseau, is the woman on the recording. Danielle is taken aback, marvelling that it has been 16 years. It is here that we start hearing the word "Others," a term that will gain importance as the series moves on. Is Danielle crazy, or are there other people on this island?
In order to gain some favor, Sayid repairs an old music box for Danielle, another scene which shows his technical savvy. Danielle provides a LOT of information here -- which can or cannot be a good idea in a show like this. I think in order to keep the mystery going, it's better to have her talk about it than show it because we still are not convinced she's not a crazy person. She arrived on the island with a team of researchers, all of which died -- detailed in the recurring message as "it killed them all." She says that the "OTHERS" are the carriers, though she has never met them. She says they whisper in the jungle. Sayid doesn't believe her.
He fixes the music box and while grateful, she isn't grateful enough to let him go. A roar is heard outside and Rouseau leaves, saying "there's no such thing as monsters." She obviously knows a lot about this island and like Sayid, it is frustrating to not get more about it. While she's gone, Sayid escapes his chains, grabs a rifle and a bunch of maps, and leaves. They cross paths again in the jungle, where Danielle reveals she killed her husband Robert becuase he was infected. She didn't want Sayid to leave because she is lonely. He now believes that his friends are his way off the island, so he asks Danielle to join him. She says no and they part. Sayid asks who Alex was, and it's revealed that Alex is her child.
A lot goes on during Sayid's island journey -- and all of it contributing to the growing mythology. Since Part 2 of the pilot, no episode has left with more questions than this one.
Back with the survivors, the B-Story finds the group playing a makeshift 2-hole golf course that Hurley created to let off some steam. People take to it, and Hurley once again proves to the guy who has the pulse of the survivors. We see some interesting character moments between Jack and Michael, Kate and Jack and especially Sawyer with the rest of the group, as he shows up and puts a bet on the proceedings. People are silent at first, but a few take him up on it -- this is the first real time we see some of the others accepting him.
Want to note that early in the episode, in the caves Locke returns after hunting with Ethan, another survivor. As we all know, Ethan becomes an important figure in the ensuing episodes.
And of course, the episode ends with Sayid walking in the jungle. All of a sudden he hears the monster, and then whispers.