"Enter 77"

NOVEMBER 28, 2010

FOCUS: SAYID
EPISODE: 3.11
AIRED: MARCH 7, 2007

After yesterday’s largely “light” episode, “Enter 77” goes back to typical Lost territory, with an Island adventure mixed with a tragic backstory for the A story, and a throwaway “fun” B story. And since it’s a Sayid episode, that means the flashbacks are all about him being a torturer, so overall it’s a rather generic hour, but it’s got some merit sprinkled throughout, including the strongest evidence yet that Locke may in fact just be a goddamned moron.

I mean, look how much this guy has fucked up so far – he got Boone killed, he let the hatch implode, he let Ana Lucia get attacked by Ben which set off that whole chain of events... now he literally blows their best chance yet of being saved, after getting so focused on a computer chess game that he didn’t notice Mikhail somehow getting out of being tied up (he also couldn’t be bothered to look under the rug for a secret room – you’d think a HATCH would be his first thing to look for and thus do a good job inspecting the floor). I like Locke, but geesh, what a goon he is.

I also love when Rousseau decides not to bother joining them as they investigate Mikhail’s cabin, pointing out that she has been able to survive for 16 years due to not doing things like this. It’s a funny thing to think about, but really – if the survivors just sat on their beach and made like Tom Hanks, they probably would never have any problems. They really do bring a lot of this stuff on themselves. It’s a sentiment that would later be echoed by Rose and Bernard (to a far more hilarious effect, not to mention adding in the weight of all the harm they’ve brought upon themselves since this particular episode).

And then there’s the ping pong match between Hurley and Sawyer, which once again relies on Sawyer having some random object that no one would have had on the plane (and furthermore, he’d have no reason to think to put it in his stash), but otherwise is a fun diversion for the episode. I just wish we saw more of the game - we really only see one play, which is a bummer. However, Sawyer asking Nikki “Who the hell are you?” more than makes up for it. It seems more like something Hurley (our surrogate) should have asked (especially when she greeted him with a hug at the end of “Stranger In A Strange Land”), but Holloway’s delivery is perfect, so I’ll let it slide.

As for the Sayid stuff – eh. As I’ve said before, I didn’t care for how many of his flashbacks were about him torturing people, and this one’s basically a “mystery” over whether or not he tortured a particular woman. He admits to doing so, but whether he’s just saying it or really did I never quite fully understood – he doesn’t seem to be taken aback when he sees her at the restaurant. And either way – we know he’s tortured a whole bunch of folks, and regrets it, so why does this particular case matter? Her story about the cat is interesting, but the fact that Mikhail also has a cat just to tie the two stories together just seems stupid to me.

Far more interesting are the scenes between him and Mikhail, with the two of them putting on their best poker face and trying to get the upper hand. I love how civil Mikhail is when they finally start to fight – “Why are we continuing to play this little game when we all know it has moved to the next stage?” Great line, and Andrew Divoff plays it perfectly. He’s so good at pretending to be a lonely, innocent guy, I was actually kind of disappointed that he wasn’t. Especially since he’s played so many villains over the years, would have been cool to see him as a Rousseau-esque ally for a while. Oh well.

Tomorrow – one of the stupidest episodes ever! Featuring migratory birds!!!

Where are we?