LOST: Three years, no burning buses... y'all are back ONE day...!

Yes, Ben is dead. I mean, c'mon, people! This is Sayid we're talking about. He doesn't miss. He killed little Ben... and I LOVED IT! =)

I was only disappointed it wasn't more personal, like a crushing of the skull against a curb. But alas, no curbs.

But of course, there is no way that young Ben stays dead. No doubt present-day Ben has a GSW scar on his chest that we'll be treated to in an upcoming episode. Y'know, it would've been cool to have seen it or heard it mentioned when Jack worked on his spine. The Island will restore him. The Island takes care of its own, and for better or worse, Ben is destined to be important to the Island.

It would be a very LOSTy/referential thing to have Jack operate on young Ben, but I'd kind of rather it didn't happen that way. What would be cool is if an outsider type found him, dead/near-dead in the rainforest, and took him somewhere to recover. If it's an Other, maybe it's President Widmore, at Jacob's request, or destiny-seer First Lady Eloise. Perhaps it's Alpert, and they get to have an exchange of intel (revealing the non-Other and non-DI status of the time traveling Losties) and formulate more of a plan for how Ben can join the Others. If it's one of these Others, they'll be able to watch as Ben heals, proving himself to be Other-worthy, one of the Island's chosen, and a potential candidate for President Other. If it's not an Other, how about Old Dan Faraday, who seems to be living as some kind of recluse among the DI. Or, here's a sweet option... someone who calls himself Jacob takes care of him.

Okay, back to the start of the episode...

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1970s in Iraq

We get a young Sayid flashback. Reminiscent of the young Eko and Yemi flashback from way back, only instead of saving his brother from killing a villager, Sayid spares his brother the trial of killing a live chicken. Kind of nice to see wee Sayid juxtaposed with wee Ben.

Interrresting... Sayid has (had?) a brother. Now, how is the Island gonna tractor beam him into this mess, eh?

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1977

Ben continues to visit Sayid in DI jail...

Ben: Four years ago I ran away into the jungle and Richard found me.

So, Ben saw his mother, ran into the jungle, and first met Richard in 1973, a year before the time skippers arrived in 1974. How long before that did Roger and Ben first set foot on the Island? For now, I'll keep it in my head as the same year, 1973.

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2007ish

Sayid succeeds in killing all of Widmore's partners and agents at large.

Ben: Congratulations... Mission accomplished.
Sayid: What do I do now?
Ben: I suppose you should go live your life. You're free, Sayid.

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1977

Horace visits Sayid to question him. If he doesn't come around in an hour, they're gonna take him to Oldham.

Horace: I'm just gonna have to have Oldham do his thing on him.
Sawyer: That psychopath? No way!

Sawyer attempts to get Sayid to play ball, but Sayid has no interest in escape anymore...

Sayid: A 12-year old Ben Linus brought me a chicken salad sandwich, how do you think I'm doing?... How can you live with him here?
Sawyer: I don't have a choice.
Sayid: Is that so?

Sawyer's *really* looking to preserve the life he's built over the last three years. He's drunk the DI Kool-Aid. And who can really blame him? Three years of friendship and working relationships with a village full of mostly decent, civilized, people, not to mention an apparently satisfying home life vs. 108 days in the jungle with a band of strangers and survivors.

Meanwhile, in the cafeteria... The not-so-cool kids are sitting together. Hurley is the one who breaks the news to Kate about Sawyer and Juliet cohabitating. That seems kind of ridiculous.

Meanwhile, back in the DI brig... Sayid meets Roger Work Man! Wack! Sayid gets to witness Roger's expert fathering skills. Sympathy for Ben? Ha! Not bloody likely!

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2008

Back in the DR, Sayid continues killing for the greater good... only now, instead of shady agents for the protection of his Sixer friends, it's dirty trees for children's schools. Gosh, look who's come to visit! Why, it's buddy Ben...

Ben: John Locke is dead. I think he was murdered.

Gosh, do you, Ben? You F-ing A-face... Obviously, the timing is *after* Locke/Bentham's visit. But how long, I wonder? Ben then goes on to paint a picture of malevolent forces (Widmore) gathering and escalating things, having killed Locke, they're moving in on Hurley. Ben wants to enlist Sayid once again to protect his friends...

Ben: It's in your nature, Sayid. You're a killer.

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1977

They're taking Sayid to Oldham...

Sawyer: He's our you.

Only with more psychadelic tools. Played by Larry, of Larry, Daryl, and Daryl, aka DEADWOOD's E.B. Farnum! Another DEADWOOD crossover! Trixie, Calamity Jane, and now, Farnum.

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2008

Sweet. Now we get to see Sayid's 36 hours before boarding Ajira 316. Sayid's drinking Widmore's favorite Scotch when Alanna hooks him. Seeing her pick him up, play him, immediately got me thinking that she must be an agent of Widmore or a contingency plan of Ben. The Widmore option is especially appealing cuz that means that Charles has an agent on the Island, with Locke and Ben.

Of course, she identifies herself as something else entirely. A bounty hunter working on behalf of the family of the Widmore frat brother that he wacked on the golf course a while ago. Not a bad story, but is it true, or a cover? It could be true and she's an unwitting pawn. Regardless, fun to know that there's someone w the skills of a bounty hunter on the Island in 2008.

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1977

Oldham's drugs work. Sayid gives it all up, his name, Ajira 316, Oceanic 815, someone named Sawyer, the DI stations, and his origin in the future...

Hey!
Sayid Jarrah. "Jarrah" is what Alanna says when Caesar wakes her in the Ajira plane crash.

Hey!
Mind control. Ben used Room 23 on Carl for behavior modification. The tech and methods behind that must have been developed by the DI, right?

and...

Sayid: You're all going to die, you know. You're going to be killed.
Horace: How exactly would you know this, Sayid?
Sayid: Because I am from the future.

Ha. He actually tells the truth, but it's so Out There no one will buy it. Nice.

Juliet gives Kate a tour of DI Apex Tech. Guess the Kate-Juliet catfight rematch 2 will have to wait. Nuts.

Horace holds a kind of council meeting to figure out what to do with Sayid. Radzinsky wants to execute him but Sawyer wants another chance to talk to him. Horace wants more time to consider, and Radzinsky continues to push...

Radzinsky: Horace, you've got to call for a vote. Either we make a decision, or I call in Arbor, and they make it for us.

Who or what is Arbor? R. Burr? Raymond Burr? I could see a mean spirited Radzinsky referring to him in the plural. R-Bur? R.B.R.? An acronym for some DI advisory board? Who'd be on that, do you suppose? A Shephard? A Paik? A Chang? A Hanso?

In the end, Amy makes the case for the danger to Ethan and all the DI children, which sways Horace into calling for a vote. When LaFleur looks to be the only holdout, Horace pressures him into making it unanimous. Whatev.

Sawyer visits Sayid and tries to get him to play at an escape, but Sayid refuses...

Sayid: I appreciate the offer, but I'm fine right here... I'm going to stay here, James... Because, when I woke up in the jungle, and I realized I was back on this Island, I felt there was no purpose to it. But now I know exactly why I'm here.
Sawyer: To get shot? Then what? You're out of your mind.

C'mon, Sawyer, you've GOT to see it. The would-you-kill-baby-Hitler scenario? Hrmm... maybe he DOES see it, but chooses to let himself be distracted by a flaming DI peace van, to LET Sayid do his dark deed...? Maybe...

Sawyer: Three years, no burning buses, you all are back ONE day!

So, back in DI jail, little Ben shows up to spring Sayid. Sayid continues to play the Hostile to gain little Ben's rebel trust, allowing him to get close enough to bust Ben's skull open. Nice.

Ben: I really hate it here. If I let you out, will you take me with you? To your people?
Sayid: Yes, I will. That's why I'm here.

Nice.

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2008

Ha! Too funny. Alanna escorts Sayid to the airport. He's to be flown to Guam(?), presumably the home of the family who hired Alanna, right? Anyhow, at the airport, Sayid spots Hurley, then Jack, then Kate...

Sayid: Can I ask you a favor? Can we get the next plane? I'm very superstitious when it comes to flying...
Alanna: I'll buy you a rabbit's foot at the gift shop. This is the plane we're taking.

And on the plane, Ben boards. They look at one another and Ben looks... surprised. Ben's not behind Sayid being on the flight. Still, Sayid has to ask...

Sayid: Are you working for Benjamin Linus?
Alanna: Who's Benjamin Linus?... Why would I work for somebody like that?
Sayid: I did.

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1977

Little Ben and Sayid are on the run in the jungle. Jin comes on them and Sayid tries to talk his way past him, but in the end has to knock him out. Sad, that. Young Ben is way impressed with the takedown. Sayid searches Jin and finds a gun...

Sayid: You were right about me. I *am* a killer. BLAM!

A shot to the heart, gotta be a 1-ring. But why not one to the head, Sayid? Where's your professional pride? I guess he might be feeling a bit torn up over shooting a kid, or conflicted over having to play Jin the way he did, or he might not be completely himself, post-Oldham treatment... Whatever was bugging him, he failed to put one in the head.

Still... AweSUM! Sayid should've brought some camping gear so that he could set up right near the body, wait for the Island to bring Ben back, and then kill him all over again. Hopefully he'd mix things up a bit, y'know? If it's the gun again, maybe a kneecap or two and then the gut. Or y'know, reach into a grab bag of hammers, knives, and power tools?

Keep on keepin on~