SUNDOWN was all about the balance of good and evil, more than battle between good and evil. As Sayid has always struggled to balance his angels and demons, it made sense that this episode revolved around him.
In terms of his flashsideways I didn’t take much away from it, except that he hadn’t really changed his nature. At one point I expected him to do his best Al Pacino impersonation as he announced, “just when I thought I was out…they pulled me back in.” Instead we just get the vintage, “I’m not that man anymore.”
Try as he might, Sideways Sayid is drawn to violence, even when he tries to avoid it. He does his best to stay on the straight path for Nadia, and goes home from the hospital, at a moment when I thought we’d see him go Republican Guard on someone’s ass. But no, he was home when she arrived, in what seems to be a continuing trend of characters finding salvation in their flashsideways (so far Locke and Jack are happier in their flashsideways).
Sideways Sayid appeared determined to atone for his sins he had committed over the last twelve years, and this seemed to me like he was trying to balance his bad deeds with good deeds. Essentially he was trying to tip the scales back in his favor, much the way Island Sayid tried to do when he stabbed Man In Locke (MiL) after hearing Mr. Myagi’s speech about the balance of good and evil (we’ll come back to this).
I don’t know what it means that Omar and Keamy are morally bankrupt in the flashsideways, except that it lends credence to the idea that these people fundamentally can’t change. If that’s the case, I expect Jack and Locke’s world to come falling apart anytime soon.
The only thing I’m genuinely excited for in the flashsideways is to learn how Jin goes from customs security into a walk-in freezer. I can wait, but I can’t wait to discuss the events of the island…
So I wanted to get more excited about “The Machine,” but it was ultimately just a boring tool for a larger philosophical conundrum. Everyone is possessed by good and evil, with the potential to let either dominate.
The first big showdown (of many this episode) is between Claire and Mr. Myagi, during which she says “he wants to see you.” Myagi rejects this idea quickly, on the basis that MiL will kill him. This made me wonder whether MiL would actually kill him, or have someone else do it. To this point we’ve only seen MiL kill in smoke form or have someone else do his bidding. They conclude that he should send someone he won’t kill, which ends up being Sayid.
Before sending Sayid out like slaughter to the lamb or a secret agent (depending on what you believe), Myagi offers some insight into MiL, who he says “will not stop until he has destroyed every living thing on this island.” That is eerily reminiscent to how Ben described the people on the freighter sent by Widmore, which makes me wonder whether Widmore is an agent of the MiL. Makes sense, especially since he foretells of a war, and while it initially seemed like it was him versus Ben, it is still possible they’re just on different teams.
Myagi also says that “he will come to you as someone you know, someone who has died.” This has convinced me even more, to about 98% that Christian on the island was smoky. I’ve already made that assertion, and this is just further evidence for the cause.
As Sayid is heading out we get a classic Kate movement, with her eager to go on an adventure. She’s a classic adrenaline junkie, which explains why she loves following people and cage sex.
With Sayid traipsing out in the jungle to redeem himself I was still unsure whether he was really seeking redemption or whether he was just a not very secret double agent. By all accounts it seemed like he really wanted to be good, as he did stab MiL. It seems strange that he would listen to some stranger about the right path, but I’ve always trusted anyone who has a handle on chopsticks, so I understand his rationale.
After the failed stabbing I wondered even more what would have happened if Sawyer had listened to me during THE SUBSTITUTE, when I was screaming at the television for him to “SHOOT!”
With MiL and Sayid conversing we got a few more teasers, such as MiL’s contention that Myagi had sent someone else out to kill him. Did he mean recently? And why have someone do it for him? Is Myagi just like MiL, in that he acts through other people? It would make sense that their hands are tied behind their backs to a certain degree as part of the rules that the mysterious kid in the woods alluded to. Myagi has failed to use Jack and Sayid for dispatching death, while MiL has successfully utilized Sayid and Ben to kill for him.
MiL’s enticing speech to Sayid reminded me of Ben’s speech to Locke about “the box.” MiL told him he could have whatever he wanted, and Ben told Locke the box could contain his wildest dreams. Is there a connection? I doubt it.
When Sayid tells the temple people that Jacob is dead, he alludes to the idea that they’re free to choose their own path. This is a theme MiL has broached numerous times, as he is an ardent defender of freewill. Or at least he seems that way on the surface. I don’t put much stock in his ideas, since people are free to go by sundown, but they’ll be killed if they don’t. Not exactly freedom.
Not sure what to make of Claire and Kate’s confrontation, except that there is more coming.
The big come to Jesus moment came during Sayid’s final confrontation with Myagi, where he appeared to be a defeated man. In his resigned state he revealed that he had been a businessman off the island and that in a drunken state he’s terribly injured his kid in a car accident. In the wake of this accident, Myagi says he met Jacob, who offered him a deal to save his son’s life.
The deal he talks about seems vaguely familiar to llana’s relationship with Jacob, where she owes him something. That could be way off, but it is obvious that Jacob and MiL are both offering special deals all over the place, with contrasting terms of sacrifice. To that end, evil and good aren’t that different to the little guy being impacted, since the good and evil are existing on a higher level.
The other thing I took away from this was that Sayid is legitimately badass now. No more decrying what he has become, since he’s embracing it now, and killed of Lennon and Dogen (you know him as Mr. Myagi).
In the closing minutes I was surprised to see that Miles and Kate survived. I really though Miles was done, but only because I forgot he’s important enough to reap an important death if it comes.
I was genuinely surprised by the appearance of llana, Captain Jack and Sun and I was genuinely terrified by Ben’s reaction to Sayid, who was either a defeated man or a man on a mission.
That’s basically all I have from this episode, except to say that Jacob could have prevented all of this. If Myagi was keeping MiL out, all Jacob had to do was tell Hurley not to let Sayid kill him. He didn’t go that route, which means Jacob was either ok with sacrificing everyone there, like he said, or he knew they’d survive. I think he was ok with them being goners, and I’ll admit I would have been fine if Claire had killed Kate in the hole.
As we head closer towards the big battle, I can’t be the only one wondering where Jin and Sawyer were in that episode. We haven’t seen Sawyer in a while and we can only assume Jin is still in Camp Crazy.
I’m not looking forward to the next episode, which is Dr. Linus, as I’ve got a bad feeling about Ben’s future (I think he’s going to die….) (Will not imdb him to see how many episodes he will be on).
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