Lost Re-Up
He’s Our You
There were some technical difficulties at the Salem Theater last night, so I missed the first few minutes. Someone told me I missed young Sayid killing a chicken or torturing a rooster…something like that. After some threats of arson, the theater manager got her shit together and the screen came to life as Sayid was chasing some fool named Andropow through the streets of Moscow. During this foot chase, as the credits that run for the first ten minutes of every episode are still materializing, William Sanderson‘s name pops up and so does something in my Levis. I fucking love Will Sanderson. In case you’ve been living in a hatch your whole life (couldn’t resist), Sanderson’s a legendary character actor who has been in a ton of dope shit: Blade Runner, Last Man Standing, Deadwood, Batman: The Animated Series, The Client, and currently has a stint on True Blood. He was super creepo (and borderline goofy) as Oldham, Dharma’s resident psychopath who lives in a tipi and listens to old jazz on a Victrola. His IMDB page only has him down for this episode, which sucks because I could seriously watch a whole series about this dude. Check out the video greeting on Sanderson’s official page, he seems like a dude I could shake hands with.
I’m a huge fan of Sayid so I was excited for a Sayid-centric episode, but I found this episode less entertaining than last week’s five star gem. On the other hand, this was one of the biggest “Ho Shit!” endings in recent Lost history. Did anyone see that coming? Earlier in the episode, during an off-island flashback, Ben says to Sayid, “You’re capable of doing things others are not.” Pretty ironic, eh?
Sawyer/LaFleur’s line “Since when did we start acting like them?” is a very very good question. Is the Island having an influence on those undercover in Dharma? Despite his knowledge of The Purge and the fate of Dharma, Sawyer does remark that he likes his new life. And Juliette was genuinely disappointed when she remarks, “It’s over, isn’t it?”
Now, I doubt that Lil Ben is dead. If he is, he’s sure to be resurrected by the Island somehow or Jack or Juliette are going to patch the tyke up (please let Jack do it; awkward). According to the show’s (loose) rules, it’s impossible for Ben to die as a kid if it’ll affect the future. This means that Future Ben already knows Sayid before the crash, is enabling his off-island assassination habit, knowing fully well he shoots him in the future/past. Ben, you’re the best.
March 26th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
lovin’ sayid
March 27th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Nicely done.
March 27th, 2009 at 10:27 am
I couldn’t agree more brother.
March 27th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Mannnnnn. And here I was thinking Ben was merked. For good.
But your elucidation is right. There’s no possible way for Ben to die.
Sayid and Jin BFF RIP???? PLZ NO.
March 27th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
My girlfriend pointed out that early on in Lost they used to refer to Juliette as “Looking just like her!” And everyone assumed that it was that little girl Ben was in love with as a child, but now i think it’s implying that Juliette is who is going to somehow save Ben’s life.
March 27th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
@ “My Pal the Crook” – I always thought that when Juliet was told that she “looks just like her,” the “her” referred to Ben’s mom, Emily.
Nicely done with this blog here. I love Sayid and Sayid-centric episodes, too, but agree that this one was a bit more slow-moving. The previews made it seem like it was going to be action-packed (slightly misleading, as is to be expected) but it wasn’t until the end where I pooped my pants at all.
I also hope that it’s Jack who “fixes up” little Ben. Sooooooo much. Hilarious.
Poor little Ben, chicken-salad-sandwich-maker….
March 29th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Honestly, I don’t have any qualms with the pacing of this episode. For one, it’s been a while since they had an ep where the flashbacks worked so smoothly with th ‘A’ plotline, it was almost like watching a season 1 ep….almost.
Sanderson’s presence in this ep was very welcome, though its a bit of a stretch that Darhma would have an interrogator hanging around in a tent always on call…even for Lost.
Also, I single out Sterling Beaumon as little Ben as a high point. He had this great way of emulating alot of the mannerisms of older Ben, not only the piercing stare, but other things as well.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
@ Joe: the weird fucking googly eyes?