Lost 1.9: "Solitary"
Written by David Fury
Directed by Greg Yaitanes
In which Sayid is captured by the French woman who has been trapped on the island for 16 years, and discovers a great deal about the island’s secrets and his own motives…
Status Report
Since the beginning of the series, hints have been dropped about Sayid’s past: his time with the Republican Guard, his experience with interrogation, and the picture of a young Arab woman. Over the course of several episodes, it has become clear that Sayid is a decent man, a man of conscience. It is this quality that has made his character so compelling, and why this has been one of the more anticipated episodes of the season.
The writers are smart enough to realize how far they can go with the topic. All things being equal, Sayid’s story could have been far more violent, the drama darker and more intense. Had that been the case, it would have been hard for the public to judge Sayid fairly. The country is, after all, at war in Iraq, and it would be nearly impossible to portray the Iraqi Republican Guard as anything but inherently evil. To do otherwise, in the current political climate, would invite disaster.
This places a number of restraints on Sayid’s background. The assumption would be that Sayid was forced to torture and kill someone in the past, based on the information that has been given. But could that have been shown without undermining the decency that has been at the core of the character since day one? And how would someone with Sayid’s decency be capable of something so horrible?
So there’s a limit to what Sayid himself could be allowed to do. The Republican Guard overall must be corrupted enough to torture and kill in the name of Saddam Hussein, but Sayid himself must be cursed with a conscience. As such, the writers give him a background that allows for that, treading the fine line between stereotypical depiction of Arabs and actual characterization. Sayid becomes an example of the trials and tribulations of the basically decent Iraqi young man. He must find a way to survive in the political climate of Iraq, because otherwise, he and his family could become victims of the state.
It’s not entirely clear why a young Iraqi woman would be named Nadia, but putting that aside, she is the perfect test for Sayid. Over time, Sayid would have been forced to think of “enemies of Saddam” as something other than civilized, an element that deserved much of what they were receiving. One can see that he doesn’t truly believe that, but rather, it’s part of the carefully constructed delusion that he has been forced to accept. Once he comes face to face with Nadia, of course, the enemy is no longer a stranger. He can’t believe that Nadia deserves to suffer and die.
It’s all for love, as all such things must be, but the writers don’t make it as simple as that. Sayid does betray the Guard to let Nadia escape, but he also makes sure that his family remains safe by staging it as a prisoner escape. This leaves the open question of how Sayid got out of the Guard in the seven years since Nadia’s escape and how he wound up on the plane. Was he following a lead regarding Nadia’s whereabouts? Or was there something more to it? Whatever the case, there’s quite a bit more to learn about Sayid.
For the purposes of this episode, of course, it’s all about Sayid’s realization that his search for Nadia and the truth of her escape has isolated him from the world, and in turn, everyone else on the island. He comes to the epiphany that he should be trying to bond with the others. Note that this is perfectly in keeping with the idea that the island itself facilitates the redemption and spiritual transformation of those willing to embrace forgiveness. When Sayid resisted, he was pushed into the choices and actions that would open his eyes, and give him the chance to take a different path in life.
That journey, of course, serves more than one purpose. Sayid is captured by the French woman who initiated the distress call more than 16 years earlier: Danielle Rousseau. Danielle, played by the memorable Mira Furlan (best known in the US for her portrayal of Delenn on “Babylon 5”), reveals a ton of information about the island while putting Sayid to the test. Much of what she tells Sayid about the island comes from her own perspective, which has clearly been shaped by 16 years of relative solitude on the island. “Relative” is the world, because she certainly hasn’t been alone for the entire time; her son Alex has also been around.
Over the course of the episode, Danielle hints at something on the island, some kind of pathogen or parasite, that the rest of her team became “carriers” of, apparently without their own knowledge. Danielle, resisting this “thing”, killed the others to keep them from taking it off the island. She also tells Sayid about how the others heard “whispers” coming from all around them in the jungle, and that he should watch the others very carefully. She points out, rather tellingly, that there are “no monsters” on the island, and that the power source for her transmission is kept at another location.
Danielle’s point of view is suspect, but it offers two different interpretations of what has happened on the island. If there is some intelligence or higher power on the island, pulling certain people there to be transformed and changed into something better, then it could be perceived as something “infecting” them, especially from the perspective of someone resisting the change. Danielle has apparently been hiding from the power on the island for years, even though she practically admits that something intentionally brought her science expedition to the island’s shores.
However, taking her comments more literally, there is another theory. In previous reviews, it has been noted that Locke might not be following some mystical guidance, pushing people in the direction they need to go out of an inherent spiritual knowledge. It’s quite possible that there is something on the island, a pathogen or parasite like the one Danielle describes, that alters perception in a way that makes people think they are following a higher purpose.
If this were true, then a number of things would have to be true. First, there would have to be a satisfying external explanation for the presence of polar bears and larger, unseen creatures on the island. Second, this pathogen/parasite would have to be relatively hard to catch. People are roaming the island all the time, and yet so far, Locke and Jack are the only two major candidates for this mind-altering infection. Finally, that would mean that all of the seemingly “destined” events that have taken place would have to be chance.
So far, there’s enough evidence to make it possible for either possibility. It remains to be seen if either of them could cover the full range of experiences on the island. The fact that the “whispers” are real makes it easy enough to accept that something has gotten into Sayid to alter his perception, but it could also be related to whatever higher power that might be present.
One interesting revelation in this episode is the strong suggestion that Danielle was not the one who smacked Sayid upside the head. Why would Danielle act surprised and alarmed to see Sayid, if she had him dead to rights days earlier and let him go? She knew only that there were others on the island, and that they were a potential threat.
The most reasonable explanation is that Alex, her son, left whatever shelter he was in (perhaps the other power site) to find out what the survivors were all about. When Sayid got too close to finding his mother, Alex could have followed Sayid and derailed the process. When Sayid steps into Danielle’s trap, she could have assumed that the survivors caught Alex and were told of her whereabouts.
Since the survivors didn’t run across Alex as some unknown individual, it’s quite possible that Alex has already infiltrated one of the camps. The writers realize that the audience won’t take long to figure this out, so a couple of candidates have been introduced in the last few episodes. The most likely candidate, however, is Ethan, Locke’s hunting partner. If Alex is still not “infected”, then it would make sense for him to keep a close eye on Locke, posing as one of the survivors.
Unlike many of the other episodes, the majority of the focus is kept to Sayid and Danielle. Naveen Andrews does the usual exceptional job with Sayid, and he’s supported by two very talented co-stars. Mira Furlan plays Danielle with the requisite amount of mental instability, and it’s amazing to see the differences between this role and her far more recognized work as Delenn. There are, of course, similarities in line delivery, but that has much to do with the dramatic style in which Mira learned her art. Nadia is given a wonderful humanity by the incredibly lovely Andrea Gabriel; when Sayid comes to deliver her to her execution, her one line is heart-breaking.
As far as the other characters go, Jack seems to be dealing with the fallout of his decision to torture Sawyer in the previous episode. For now, Sawyer and Kate seem to be placing most of the blame on his head, and that’s appropriate, since Jack is the de facto leader of the survivors at the cave. At the same time, he seems to finally recognize that his personal intensity is becoming self-destructive. Leadership is not sitting comfortably on his shoulders. Venting some of that internal pressure certainly helped, and giving Sawyer an open door to walk through didn’t hurt either.
Kate is not at all happy with Jack at this point, which plays into the dynamic discussed in the review for the previous episode. Jack is Kate’s salvation, at least at this point of the game, and she’s still resisting that fact. At the same time, Kate is Sawyer’s salvation, and that’s working out a little bit better.
Sawyer starts the episode with the same attitude that he started the episode with, but by the end, he seems to realize that he gains nothing by letting the rest of the survivors hate him. Sure, it feeds his desire for self-indictment, but it doesn’t help him change and gain redemption. Even if it means a harder road for Kate, it’s necessary for her to get drawn into Sawyer’s world, so that he has someone to help him see the light.
Charlie has very little to do in this episode, other than play around with the golf course with Hurley. That probably has a lot to do with Claire’s absence from the episode; Charlie and Claire have definitely been drawn together. Hurley’s idea could have easily derailed the entire episode, but it was an interesting way to tie the main theme of isolation into more than just Sayid and Danielle’s scenes. The golf course gives Jack a chance to show his lighter side, and even gives Sawyer a way to act like part of the gang. It’s silly, but as the characters themselves point out, most of the survivors have nothing to do, and that’s a morale killer.
Boone and Shannon seem to be back on the beach, which is hard to understand, unless the message is that they are still not sure what direction they are headed. They could be spending days at the beach and nights at the caves, to make sure that Shannon remains healthy. For this episode, though, Boone spends most of his time glaring at Sawyer and Shannon gets to be the pin-up model.
Jin and Sun remain in the background, giving Michael and Walt’s relationship some time to grow (or not, as the case may be). Michael seems to have been ignoring his son’s boredom lately, and having very few parenting skills, he’s far too late in recognizing that Walt is still looking to Locke as a father figure. Considering the end of the episode, that’s likely to become a major problem.
Locke is far too casual about giving Walt that knife, and he ought to know better than to get a kid involved in the more brutal aspects of survival. On the other hand, if Locke is communing with some higher power on the island, this could be part of the test for Michael and/or Walt. Michael needs to figure out where he stands with Walt, and Walt needs to understand his father. That’s likely to be facilitated by Locke’s choice, intentional or not.
This episode is largely dedicated to advancing the plot arc, which is a good thing. There are, of course, certain drawbacks. There’s a ton of exposition that comes with the territory, especially since a new character has to be introduced and made relevant in a relatively short period of time. The writers clearly struggle with that responsibility, because the dialogue often suffers. It’s not as natural as it should have been, and David Fury is usually much better than that.
Because so many details are tossed out at the same time, the list of questions regarding Danielle and the French science expedition is a mile long. Yet for all that, the writers expect the audience to accept that Sayid would miss something so simple as checking the firing pin on his weapon. As Jack said early in the episode, Sayid is a military man; he should have checked, especially if he felt his life was in danger.
The upside to all that exposition is the wealth of plot threads introduced, and the deepening of the island’s mystery. If Danielle is a regular addition to the cast, her knowledge of the island and its secrets could be invaluable, and could lead to a number of subsequent related mysteries that she hasn’t been able to solve. And since her knowledge would have to be passed through the filter of possible insanity, there would always be the possibility of misinterpretation. That underlying level of uncertainty is the stuff of strong thrilling drama, and even if the episode doesn’t completely live up to expectations, it offers plenty of opportunity for the future.
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode did a good job of exploring the theme of isolation while exploring Sayid’s past. The enormous amount of exposition in this episode detracted from the overall quality somewhat, but all of those potential plot threads give the series plenty to work with in the future. The guest cast was very strong, and with the introduction of a few more minor characters, the writers seem to be opening the door for change.
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 7/10
Season Average (as of 1.9): 8.0
Directed by Greg Yaitanes
In which Sayid is captured by the French woman who has been trapped on the island for 16 years, and discovers a great deal about the island’s secrets and his own motives…
Status Report
Since the beginning of the series, hints have been dropped about Sayid’s past: his time with the Republican Guard, his experience with interrogation, and the picture of a young Arab woman. Over the course of several episodes, it has become clear that Sayid is a decent man, a man of conscience. It is this quality that has made his character so compelling, and why this has been one of the more anticipated episodes of the season.
The writers are smart enough to realize how far they can go with the topic. All things being equal, Sayid’s story could have been far more violent, the drama darker and more intense. Had that been the case, it would have been hard for the public to judge Sayid fairly. The country is, after all, at war in Iraq, and it would be nearly impossible to portray the Iraqi Republican Guard as anything but inherently evil. To do otherwise, in the current political climate, would invite disaster.
This places a number of restraints on Sayid’s background. The assumption would be that Sayid was forced to torture and kill someone in the past, based on the information that has been given. But could that have been shown without undermining the decency that has been at the core of the character since day one? And how would someone with Sayid’s decency be capable of something so horrible?
So there’s a limit to what Sayid himself could be allowed to do. The Republican Guard overall must be corrupted enough to torture and kill in the name of Saddam Hussein, but Sayid himself must be cursed with a conscience. As such, the writers give him a background that allows for that, treading the fine line between stereotypical depiction of Arabs and actual characterization. Sayid becomes an example of the trials and tribulations of the basically decent Iraqi young man. He must find a way to survive in the political climate of Iraq, because otherwise, he and his family could become victims of the state.
It’s not entirely clear why a young Iraqi woman would be named Nadia, but putting that aside, she is the perfect test for Sayid. Over time, Sayid would have been forced to think of “enemies of Saddam” as something other than civilized, an element that deserved much of what they were receiving. One can see that he doesn’t truly believe that, but rather, it’s part of the carefully constructed delusion that he has been forced to accept. Once he comes face to face with Nadia, of course, the enemy is no longer a stranger. He can’t believe that Nadia deserves to suffer and die.
It’s all for love, as all such things must be, but the writers don’t make it as simple as that. Sayid does betray the Guard to let Nadia escape, but he also makes sure that his family remains safe by staging it as a prisoner escape. This leaves the open question of how Sayid got out of the Guard in the seven years since Nadia’s escape and how he wound up on the plane. Was he following a lead regarding Nadia’s whereabouts? Or was there something more to it? Whatever the case, there’s quite a bit more to learn about Sayid.
For the purposes of this episode, of course, it’s all about Sayid’s realization that his search for Nadia and the truth of her escape has isolated him from the world, and in turn, everyone else on the island. He comes to the epiphany that he should be trying to bond with the others. Note that this is perfectly in keeping with the idea that the island itself facilitates the redemption and spiritual transformation of those willing to embrace forgiveness. When Sayid resisted, he was pushed into the choices and actions that would open his eyes, and give him the chance to take a different path in life.
That journey, of course, serves more than one purpose. Sayid is captured by the French woman who initiated the distress call more than 16 years earlier: Danielle Rousseau. Danielle, played by the memorable Mira Furlan (best known in the US for her portrayal of Delenn on “Babylon 5”), reveals a ton of information about the island while putting Sayid to the test. Much of what she tells Sayid about the island comes from her own perspective, which has clearly been shaped by 16 years of relative solitude on the island. “Relative” is the world, because she certainly hasn’t been alone for the entire time; her son Alex has also been around.
Over the course of the episode, Danielle hints at something on the island, some kind of pathogen or parasite, that the rest of her team became “carriers” of, apparently without their own knowledge. Danielle, resisting this “thing”, killed the others to keep them from taking it off the island. She also tells Sayid about how the others heard “whispers” coming from all around them in the jungle, and that he should watch the others very carefully. She points out, rather tellingly, that there are “no monsters” on the island, and that the power source for her transmission is kept at another location.
Danielle’s point of view is suspect, but it offers two different interpretations of what has happened on the island. If there is some intelligence or higher power on the island, pulling certain people there to be transformed and changed into something better, then it could be perceived as something “infecting” them, especially from the perspective of someone resisting the change. Danielle has apparently been hiding from the power on the island for years, even though she practically admits that something intentionally brought her science expedition to the island’s shores.
However, taking her comments more literally, there is another theory. In previous reviews, it has been noted that Locke might not be following some mystical guidance, pushing people in the direction they need to go out of an inherent spiritual knowledge. It’s quite possible that there is something on the island, a pathogen or parasite like the one Danielle describes, that alters perception in a way that makes people think they are following a higher purpose.
If this were true, then a number of things would have to be true. First, there would have to be a satisfying external explanation for the presence of polar bears and larger, unseen creatures on the island. Second, this pathogen/parasite would have to be relatively hard to catch. People are roaming the island all the time, and yet so far, Locke and Jack are the only two major candidates for this mind-altering infection. Finally, that would mean that all of the seemingly “destined” events that have taken place would have to be chance.
So far, there’s enough evidence to make it possible for either possibility. It remains to be seen if either of them could cover the full range of experiences on the island. The fact that the “whispers” are real makes it easy enough to accept that something has gotten into Sayid to alter his perception, but it could also be related to whatever higher power that might be present.
One interesting revelation in this episode is the strong suggestion that Danielle was not the one who smacked Sayid upside the head. Why would Danielle act surprised and alarmed to see Sayid, if she had him dead to rights days earlier and let him go? She knew only that there were others on the island, and that they were a potential threat.
The most reasonable explanation is that Alex, her son, left whatever shelter he was in (perhaps the other power site) to find out what the survivors were all about. When Sayid got too close to finding his mother, Alex could have followed Sayid and derailed the process. When Sayid steps into Danielle’s trap, she could have assumed that the survivors caught Alex and were told of her whereabouts.
Since the survivors didn’t run across Alex as some unknown individual, it’s quite possible that Alex has already infiltrated one of the camps. The writers realize that the audience won’t take long to figure this out, so a couple of candidates have been introduced in the last few episodes. The most likely candidate, however, is Ethan, Locke’s hunting partner. If Alex is still not “infected”, then it would make sense for him to keep a close eye on Locke, posing as one of the survivors.
Unlike many of the other episodes, the majority of the focus is kept to Sayid and Danielle. Naveen Andrews does the usual exceptional job with Sayid, and he’s supported by two very talented co-stars. Mira Furlan plays Danielle with the requisite amount of mental instability, and it’s amazing to see the differences between this role and her far more recognized work as Delenn. There are, of course, similarities in line delivery, but that has much to do with the dramatic style in which Mira learned her art. Nadia is given a wonderful humanity by the incredibly lovely Andrea Gabriel; when Sayid comes to deliver her to her execution, her one line is heart-breaking.
As far as the other characters go, Jack seems to be dealing with the fallout of his decision to torture Sawyer in the previous episode. For now, Sawyer and Kate seem to be placing most of the blame on his head, and that’s appropriate, since Jack is the de facto leader of the survivors at the cave. At the same time, he seems to finally recognize that his personal intensity is becoming self-destructive. Leadership is not sitting comfortably on his shoulders. Venting some of that internal pressure certainly helped, and giving Sawyer an open door to walk through didn’t hurt either.
Kate is not at all happy with Jack at this point, which plays into the dynamic discussed in the review for the previous episode. Jack is Kate’s salvation, at least at this point of the game, and she’s still resisting that fact. At the same time, Kate is Sawyer’s salvation, and that’s working out a little bit better.
Sawyer starts the episode with the same attitude that he started the episode with, but by the end, he seems to realize that he gains nothing by letting the rest of the survivors hate him. Sure, it feeds his desire for self-indictment, but it doesn’t help him change and gain redemption. Even if it means a harder road for Kate, it’s necessary for her to get drawn into Sawyer’s world, so that he has someone to help him see the light.
Charlie has very little to do in this episode, other than play around with the golf course with Hurley. That probably has a lot to do with Claire’s absence from the episode; Charlie and Claire have definitely been drawn together. Hurley’s idea could have easily derailed the entire episode, but it was an interesting way to tie the main theme of isolation into more than just Sayid and Danielle’s scenes. The golf course gives Jack a chance to show his lighter side, and even gives Sawyer a way to act like part of the gang. It’s silly, but as the characters themselves point out, most of the survivors have nothing to do, and that’s a morale killer.
Boone and Shannon seem to be back on the beach, which is hard to understand, unless the message is that they are still not sure what direction they are headed. They could be spending days at the beach and nights at the caves, to make sure that Shannon remains healthy. For this episode, though, Boone spends most of his time glaring at Sawyer and Shannon gets to be the pin-up model.
Jin and Sun remain in the background, giving Michael and Walt’s relationship some time to grow (or not, as the case may be). Michael seems to have been ignoring his son’s boredom lately, and having very few parenting skills, he’s far too late in recognizing that Walt is still looking to Locke as a father figure. Considering the end of the episode, that’s likely to become a major problem.
Locke is far too casual about giving Walt that knife, and he ought to know better than to get a kid involved in the more brutal aspects of survival. On the other hand, if Locke is communing with some higher power on the island, this could be part of the test for Michael and/or Walt. Michael needs to figure out where he stands with Walt, and Walt needs to understand his father. That’s likely to be facilitated by Locke’s choice, intentional or not.
This episode is largely dedicated to advancing the plot arc, which is a good thing. There are, of course, certain drawbacks. There’s a ton of exposition that comes with the territory, especially since a new character has to be introduced and made relevant in a relatively short period of time. The writers clearly struggle with that responsibility, because the dialogue often suffers. It’s not as natural as it should have been, and David Fury is usually much better than that.
Because so many details are tossed out at the same time, the list of questions regarding Danielle and the French science expedition is a mile long. Yet for all that, the writers expect the audience to accept that Sayid would miss something so simple as checking the firing pin on his weapon. As Jack said early in the episode, Sayid is a military man; he should have checked, especially if he felt his life was in danger.
The upside to all that exposition is the wealth of plot threads introduced, and the deepening of the island’s mystery. If Danielle is a regular addition to the cast, her knowledge of the island and its secrets could be invaluable, and could lead to a number of subsequent related mysteries that she hasn’t been able to solve. And since her knowledge would have to be passed through the filter of possible insanity, there would always be the possibility of misinterpretation. That underlying level of uncertainty is the stuff of strong thrilling drama, and even if the episode doesn’t completely live up to expectations, it offers plenty of opportunity for the future.
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode did a good job of exploring the theme of isolation while exploring Sayid’s past. The enormous amount of exposition in this episode detracted from the overall quality somewhat, but all of those potential plot threads give the series plenty to work with in the future. The guest cast was very strong, and with the introduction of a few more minor characters, the writers seem to be opening the door for change.
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 7/10
Season Average (as of 1.9): 8.0
posted by John Keegan | 09:35
1 Comments:
Great review! I liked that catch on Sayid and the firing pin. I wondered about that as well. I need to re-watch the episode to double-check - but I didn't think he even checked to see if the gun was loaded. At any rate, that was an example of weak writing and I suspect it was due to the heavy amount of exposition in this ep.
Loved seeing Mira Furlan again too. She's a fantastic actress. I hope she's on the show again - I'd like to see her on TV more in general.
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