One is the Loneliest Number
Episode 1x9: Solitary
Directed by: Greg Yaitanes
Written by: David Fury
Airdate: 11-17-04
Summary: Sayid gets tortured by the French lady. Hurley builds a golf course.
Centric: Sayid
Review:
I feel like with this episode, the series changes a bit. It's the first mythology heavy episode and everything after has a bigger feel to it. I mean, I realize the monster was in the pilot and we saw the ghost of Jack's dad but this episode really sets the stage for, wow, there's a crap load of other things going on on the island. And, even though they'll continue to deal with survival issues, and this episode in particular does deal with people getting along, it's slowly moving away from that basic, 'we survived a plane crash and have to deal with each other' mentality.
Sayid episodes are usually pretty good. I may not always like the flashbacks (this one I do) but his on island stuff is usually pretty entertaining. What I find so interesting about this show is that they have a great line up of complex characters-Sayid, Sawyer, Ben...granted, they have their shallow, one-dimensional ones as well--Boone, Shannon. (Funny enough, all the bad characters get killed off, except for Kate)
Anyway, about Sayid. I mean, the guy is a torturer and yet you feel compassion for him. He completely blurs the lines of black and white and is a completely grey character, which makes him so interesting. Most of the time, Middle Eastern Torturer is going to give you a bad name...but not Sayid. Deep down, he's a good guy, he helps people, as shown in every episode before this one and so many after~but there's a dark part of him, too. The part that's able to hurt people (physically) with ease. Now that I think of it, Sayid isn't much into mind games.
Okay, I'm not focused at all today. More so about the episode, Sayid leaves out of shame and remorse. He truly feels bad for what he did to Sawyer because he doesn't like that dark part of him and, you know, torturing will do that. It's funny, also, that in contrast, Jack probably doesn't feel that bad and believes Sawyer deserved it. Which interestingly makes Sayid a more sympathetic character. He may do worse things but he repents for it more.
So, Sayid meets Danielle and we get our first look into the weirdness of the island. Ironically, Sayid is tortured and held captive by her, obviously paralleling that he is getting done to him what he did to others. Not so subtle there. The other thing, though, is that they're both tragic characters, who've both lost someone they've lost due to external factors. And, as the title of Solitary will point out, they're both alone in their own way.
We meet Danielle. I remember at the time meeting the French lady was huge. And looking back, I'm surprised they gave us her that early but then, with the show possibly not going past 13 episodes, I'm not surprised they gave out a few answers early. Anyway, I remember having such a creepy feeling after watching this episode. Because while we meet Danielle, she had so little answers and was a half crazed mad woman. Not to mention that she made everything odd going on on that island even weirder. I read a review of this episode that stated Danielle reoccurrances never held the same impact as this first one and I'm inclined to agree. She's emotional unhinged, fragile, and human from sixteen years of being alone and having plenty of tragedies happen to her. Afterwards, she kinda just becomes a generic crazy French woman (though, I still found her entertaining). But, I have to add that this first episode, there was the mysteriousness about her and with everything on this show, once that mysteriousness was lifted, it just wasn't as intriguing as it once was.
I feel like the meeting between Sayid and Danielle is pretty straight forward. It's a story of loneliness and how, no matter how tough we seem, we all need human contact. Sayid can try all he want to cut himself off from people, for fear of the bad person that's inside him, but ultimately, human nature cries out for another, as shown with the French woman.
Okay, putting drama aside, we have the mythology stuff, which I personally love, so this episode gets ranked pretty high in the first season. Now, i have to give the writers credit. Do I think they knew what was going on when they wrote French lady's stuff? No, I don't think they knew anything. But I'm impressed that when they went back to the story in season five, they got most of it right. It's pretty good with a show that sometimes had a hard time with continuity. So, we get to learn a little island history, about Danielle, her team, how they all went crazy. And we learn about "The Others" First time they are mentioned and Danielle mentions them. I mean, wow, they were such a mysterious people until season three. The mystery behind The Others was always engaging.
Then we have that rope that lead to the water. I'm so glad that's one thing they went back to. I always wanted to know what it was. And then we have the first instance of the whispers. I have to give a lot of credit to the writers because the first three seasons held a lot of genuinely spooky things~the whispers are a top of my list. I mean, first of all, people have taken the time to listen to them and figure them out. And they're actually saying something. Now that I know what they are, it's maybe not as spooky, and having seen it a dozen times makes it lose its thrill a little. But it's still chilling to me that dead people are saying random weird stuff.
On a short note, the whispers were once supposed to be The Others~which I think is obvious by watching the episodes in the first few seasons where they appear. I understand why they had to change it but it makes me wonder what the original conception of The Others really was.
Okay, so there is a subplot. And, you know, I realize this episode has been criticized for having a somewhat unbalanced collection of plots, but I love this subplot. And I think the lighthearted, humorous subplot balances off the drama and strangeness going on in the rest of the episode. To each their own, I suppose. Anyway, I think I should start making a tally of every time Hurley shows that he should be the true reciepent of Jacob's job. I mean, Jack even says himself, he's busting his butt to make everyone feel safe and Hurley can do that just by building a golf course.
So, yeah, this golf course idea. Not only does it bring out a lot of humor that Lost is known for but it shows of Hurley in a great way, shows Jack relaxing a bit, and even has Sawyer taking his first steps as being apart of the group. Another sign that this episode is moving the show in another direction. It's no longer just about surviving and getting along. It's now about learning to live on the island. The island is now becoming home, even if they are trying to find ways off it still.
Also to be mentioned, because it's featured in the episode enough, we Walt running off to go hang out with Locke. Now, it doesn't help that Michael is ignoring him for the most part but we're heading towards the big Michael/Locke showdown that I could not really care about at this point.
Flashbacks:
Here's the big thing I like about Sayid. He may be able to do bad things without a second thought, but he's very much a romantic. I'm not sure if I really got it when it was first one, maybe because I was younger. But the story with Nadia is very much a love story and a tragic one at that. The whole torture aspect kinda makes it a dark romance~which, weirdly, is somewhat refreshing from all the cliche romances we get all the time.
And, like with what they started in Sawyer's backstory, they went beyond the--why were they in Australia model and showed a story that added another layer onto the character. Plus, Sayid is probably the only character that doesn't have daddy issues and that alone is welcome.
On top of that, I like that showed another dimension to Arab culture. I don't feel as though it's as cliched as Sun and Jin's Asian backstory sometimes feels. I don't know, I just like that the writers took leaps and branched out into other cultures. That's part of why the show was so good.
The Little Things:
*It's quite obvious there isn't a real cut on Sawyer's arm. I've always wondered why they didn't even try to put a little make up there.
*Sun has officially become Jack's nurse. Hee!
*I wanna know how/why Danielle knows about fifty different languages.
*So, I believe that Sayid's flashbacks are supposed to be done all in Arabic, only it's translated for us.
*The first Ethan episode!
*Hurley's laugh at finding the golf clubs is absolutely hilarious. I'm glad they decided to use Jorge more as the series went on.
*I realize it was briefly hinted at an episode or so ago, but why did Michael suddenly decide to change his mind from absolutely never going to the caves to living there? Because Walt wanted to? Uh...?
*Charlie and Hurley screwing around and being goofy is just awesome in this episode.
*I realize that in a previous life, Kate is an outsider, but is she on the island? Her comment to Sawyer doesn't make much sense~eh.
*Nadia's note to Sayid was 'so' a precursor to "See ya in another life."
*Cool fact that I have to mention. Originally, Danielle's team was supposed to be studying time but ABC didn't want to go sci-fi with Lost yet. Still--maybe they weren't making it ALL up as they went along.
Favorite Quotes:
KATE: Well, accidents happen when you torture people, Jack.
JACK: Things could be worse.
HURLEY: How?
Oh Hurley, it's still early...
HURLEY: Dudes, listen. Our lives suck. Everyone's nerves are stretched to the max. I mean, we're lost on an Island, running from boars and monsters -- freakin' polar bears!
MICHAEL: Polar bears?
CHARLIE: You didn't hear about the polar bear?
SAWYER: Doctor playing golf. Woo, boy howdy, now I've heard everything. What's next, cop eating a donut?
Unanswered Questions:
Why does Sayid say that Nadia is dead? I never really understood this, other than he feels guilty for everything she went through. He even contradicts himself in the episode by stating that he hopes she's alive.
I want to know what Danielle thinks the monster is. How could she live on that island all those years and not have even seen it? And why didn't MiB care about her? And how is it possible she never ran into ANY of the Dharma Initiative or the Others? It is a little far fetched. The island is only so big.
I still don't get the "sickness" but that's an issue left for later episodes.
Grade: A. Sayid's story is a fantastic one. This episode has a lot of great drama and creepiness, which makes it worth while, even after seeing it a few hundred times. Plus, the golf sub plot is just hilarious.
Lostpedia
Directed by: Greg Yaitanes
Written by: David Fury
Airdate: 11-17-04
Summary: Sayid gets tortured by the French lady. Hurley builds a golf course.
Centric: Sayid
Review:
I feel like with this episode, the series changes a bit. It's the first mythology heavy episode and everything after has a bigger feel to it. I mean, I realize the monster was in the pilot and we saw the ghost of Jack's dad but this episode really sets the stage for, wow, there's a crap load of other things going on on the island. And, even though they'll continue to deal with survival issues, and this episode in particular does deal with people getting along, it's slowly moving away from that basic, 'we survived a plane crash and have to deal with each other' mentality.
Sayid episodes are usually pretty good. I may not always like the flashbacks (this one I do) but his on island stuff is usually pretty entertaining. What I find so interesting about this show is that they have a great line up of complex characters-Sayid, Sawyer, Ben...granted, they have their shallow, one-dimensional ones as well--Boone, Shannon. (Funny enough, all the bad characters get killed off, except for Kate)
Anyway, about Sayid. I mean, the guy is a torturer and yet you feel compassion for him. He completely blurs the lines of black and white and is a completely grey character, which makes him so interesting. Most of the time, Middle Eastern Torturer is going to give you a bad name...but not Sayid. Deep down, he's a good guy, he helps people, as shown in every episode before this one and so many after~but there's a dark part of him, too. The part that's able to hurt people (physically) with ease. Now that I think of it, Sayid isn't much into mind games.
Okay, I'm not focused at all today. More so about the episode, Sayid leaves out of shame and remorse. He truly feels bad for what he did to Sawyer because he doesn't like that dark part of him and, you know, torturing will do that. It's funny, also, that in contrast, Jack probably doesn't feel that bad and believes Sawyer deserved it. Which interestingly makes Sayid a more sympathetic character. He may do worse things but he repents for it more.
So, Sayid meets Danielle and we get our first look into the weirdness of the island. Ironically, Sayid is tortured and held captive by her, obviously paralleling that he is getting done to him what he did to others. Not so subtle there. The other thing, though, is that they're both tragic characters, who've both lost someone they've lost due to external factors. And, as the title of Solitary will point out, they're both alone in their own way.
We meet Danielle. I remember at the time meeting the French lady was huge. And looking back, I'm surprised they gave us her that early but then, with the show possibly not going past 13 episodes, I'm not surprised they gave out a few answers early. Anyway, I remember having such a creepy feeling after watching this episode. Because while we meet Danielle, she had so little answers and was a half crazed mad woman. Not to mention that she made everything odd going on on that island even weirder. I read a review of this episode that stated Danielle reoccurrances never held the same impact as this first one and I'm inclined to agree. She's emotional unhinged, fragile, and human from sixteen years of being alone and having plenty of tragedies happen to her. Afterwards, she kinda just becomes a generic crazy French woman (though, I still found her entertaining). But, I have to add that this first episode, there was the mysteriousness about her and with everything on this show, once that mysteriousness was lifted, it just wasn't as intriguing as it once was.
I feel like the meeting between Sayid and Danielle is pretty straight forward. It's a story of loneliness and how, no matter how tough we seem, we all need human contact. Sayid can try all he want to cut himself off from people, for fear of the bad person that's inside him, but ultimately, human nature cries out for another, as shown with the French woman.
Okay, putting drama aside, we have the mythology stuff, which I personally love, so this episode gets ranked pretty high in the first season. Now, i have to give the writers credit. Do I think they knew what was going on when they wrote French lady's stuff? No, I don't think they knew anything. But I'm impressed that when they went back to the story in season five, they got most of it right. It's pretty good with a show that sometimes had a hard time with continuity. So, we get to learn a little island history, about Danielle, her team, how they all went crazy. And we learn about "The Others" First time they are mentioned and Danielle mentions them. I mean, wow, they were such a mysterious people until season three. The mystery behind The Others was always engaging.
Then we have that rope that lead to the water. I'm so glad that's one thing they went back to. I always wanted to know what it was. And then we have the first instance of the whispers. I have to give a lot of credit to the writers because the first three seasons held a lot of genuinely spooky things~the whispers are a top of my list. I mean, first of all, people have taken the time to listen to them and figure them out. And they're actually saying something. Now that I know what they are, it's maybe not as spooky, and having seen it a dozen times makes it lose its thrill a little. But it's still chilling to me that dead people are saying random weird stuff.
On a short note, the whispers were once supposed to be The Others~which I think is obvious by watching the episodes in the first few seasons where they appear. I understand why they had to change it but it makes me wonder what the original conception of The Others really was.
Okay, so there is a subplot. And, you know, I realize this episode has been criticized for having a somewhat unbalanced collection of plots, but I love this subplot. And I think the lighthearted, humorous subplot balances off the drama and strangeness going on in the rest of the episode. To each their own, I suppose. Anyway, I think I should start making a tally of every time Hurley shows that he should be the true reciepent of Jacob's job. I mean, Jack even says himself, he's busting his butt to make everyone feel safe and Hurley can do that just by building a golf course.
So, yeah, this golf course idea. Not only does it bring out a lot of humor that Lost is known for but it shows of Hurley in a great way, shows Jack relaxing a bit, and even has Sawyer taking his first steps as being apart of the group. Another sign that this episode is moving the show in another direction. It's no longer just about surviving and getting along. It's now about learning to live on the island. The island is now becoming home, even if they are trying to find ways off it still.
Also to be mentioned, because it's featured in the episode enough, we Walt running off to go hang out with Locke. Now, it doesn't help that Michael is ignoring him for the most part but we're heading towards the big Michael/Locke showdown that I could not really care about at this point.
Flashbacks:
Here's the big thing I like about Sayid. He may be able to do bad things without a second thought, but he's very much a romantic. I'm not sure if I really got it when it was first one, maybe because I was younger. But the story with Nadia is very much a love story and a tragic one at that. The whole torture aspect kinda makes it a dark romance~which, weirdly, is somewhat refreshing from all the cliche romances we get all the time.
And, like with what they started in Sawyer's backstory, they went beyond the--why were they in Australia model and showed a story that added another layer onto the character. Plus, Sayid is probably the only character that doesn't have daddy issues and that alone is welcome.
On top of that, I like that showed another dimension to Arab culture. I don't feel as though it's as cliched as Sun and Jin's Asian backstory sometimes feels. I don't know, I just like that the writers took leaps and branched out into other cultures. That's part of why the show was so good.
The Little Things:
*It's quite obvious there isn't a real cut on Sawyer's arm. I've always wondered why they didn't even try to put a little make up there.
*Sun has officially become Jack's nurse. Hee!
*I wanna know how/why Danielle knows about fifty different languages.
*So, I believe that Sayid's flashbacks are supposed to be done all in Arabic, only it's translated for us.
*The first Ethan episode!
*Hurley's laugh at finding the golf clubs is absolutely hilarious. I'm glad they decided to use Jorge more as the series went on.
*I realize it was briefly hinted at an episode or so ago, but why did Michael suddenly decide to change his mind from absolutely never going to the caves to living there? Because Walt wanted to? Uh...?
*Charlie and Hurley screwing around and being goofy is just awesome in this episode.
*I realize that in a previous life, Kate is an outsider, but is she on the island? Her comment to Sawyer doesn't make much sense~eh.
*Nadia's note to Sayid was 'so' a precursor to "See ya in another life."
*Cool fact that I have to mention. Originally, Danielle's team was supposed to be studying time but ABC didn't want to go sci-fi with Lost yet. Still--maybe they weren't making it ALL up as they went along.
Favorite Quotes:
KATE: Well, accidents happen when you torture people, Jack.
JACK: Things could be worse.
HURLEY: How?
Oh Hurley, it's still early...
HURLEY: Dudes, listen. Our lives suck. Everyone's nerves are stretched to the max. I mean, we're lost on an Island, running from boars and monsters -- freakin' polar bears!
MICHAEL: Polar bears?
CHARLIE: You didn't hear about the polar bear?
SAWYER: Doctor playing golf. Woo, boy howdy, now I've heard everything. What's next, cop eating a donut?
Unanswered Questions:
Why does Sayid say that Nadia is dead? I never really understood this, other than he feels guilty for everything she went through. He even contradicts himself in the episode by stating that he hopes she's alive.
I want to know what Danielle thinks the monster is. How could she live on that island all those years and not have even seen it? And why didn't MiB care about her? And how is it possible she never ran into ANY of the Dharma Initiative or the Others? It is a little far fetched. The island is only so big.
I still don't get the "sickness" but that's an issue left for later episodes.
Grade: A. Sayid's story is a fantastic one. This episode has a lot of great drama and creepiness, which makes it worth while, even after seeing it a few hundred times. Plus, the golf sub plot is just hilarious.
Lostpedia
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posted by spaceorphan @ 10:11 AM
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