"He's Our You"

JANUARY 12, 2011

FOCUS: SAYID
EPISODE: 5.10
AIRED: MARCH 25, 2009

Well, “He’s Our You” is a minor improvement over “Namaste”, but again, I really hate the whole “young Ben” portion of this season, and this is of course the big moment in the plotline, where Sayid shoots him. Now, if the writers had both the balls and the patience to deal with the repercussions, Ben would have died, never existed in the lives of the Oceanic survivors, and dramatically changed the plot of the show. But since we know they don’t, this whole plot is just a giant waste of time, and I hate it even more in retrospect because of the time they spend on it that could have been used elsewhere.

But there is stuff to like here. The flashback at the beginning is interesting, because it shows that Sayid has always had it in him to kill (the young actor also looks remarkably like Naveen Andrews, and while we’re on the subject, the kid playing young Ben is quite good too). Even better, this seems like it could be setting up yet another goddamn torture story, but the rest of the flashbacks primarily deal with a peaceful Sayid. After he kills the last of Ben’s list of folks who present some unexplained danger to our heroes (I believe that they are just random enemies of Ben, but they’re still unexplained), he joins some sort of Habitat for Humanity group and takes up ironic drinking, where he meets a woman that, for once, he doesn’t get killed or kill himself.

He also gets to explore new territory on the island – laughing! According to Lostpedia this is the 3rd time we’ve seen him laugh, but I don’t even remember those other instances (and really, Lostpedia creeps me out with this sort of ‘trivia’ – there was an episode a few back where they claim it was only the 2nd Jack episode ever where no one mentioned “home” – who the hell cares or even notices this shit?). But this is definitely the biggest showcase for such behavior; after Oldham drugs him up, Andrews has a grand old time, crying from laughing so hard as he tells them he’s from the future and what not. It’s a shame Oldham only made this one appearance, by the way – does he torture folks physically as well?

I also enjoyed the scene where Hurley brings Jack and Kate some breakfast. Not only for the hilarious notion that Hurley has settled in quite amiably to his new role in the Dharma Initiative, but I liked Jack’s “defense” of Kate’s feelings, which was unexpected. Hurley’s rambling about Sawyer hooking up with Juliet, which upsets Kate, and rather than let it continue to pour salt in the sound (which I would do, especially concerning someone I had slept with like 3 nights ago), Jack takes the high road, telling Hurley to zip it so Kate wouldn’t have her heart broken any further. Oh, Jack, you old softy.

But what the fuck is up with Sayid having to kick Jin’s ass? It’s another contrived moment – Sayid tells him that Sawyer let him go, but Jin decides to check? It’s your friend, asshole! You shouldn’t be confirming his freedom. Give him a gun and some Dharma cookies and wish him well, at the very least. It’s also kind of ridiculous when Sayid seemingly gets upset at Ben’s dad slapping him around – you’re the one who wants to SHOOT the little bastard. Just some sloppy writing if you ask me; makes for “exciting” moments but really doesn’t make any sense for the characters to behave this way.

It’s also yet another Desmond-less episode. Apparently (a reader pointed this out), the actor got accused of groping a female crewmember (during the 3rd seasons) and was sued, which may have been why his screentime was so limited, but the lawsuit wasn’t filed until late April of 2009 – when S5 would have already finished shooting. And it certainly didn’t diminish his role in the 4th season – he was in it as much as anyone. So it’s a mystery why they didn’t give him anything to do in this season, and the show definitely suffers from his absence.

Oh well, tomorrow’s a Kate episode at least. And I think it’s the one where we see Jack actually going around doing janitor shit, which kills me.

Where are we?