After tonights episode, I have realized Sayid is getting more awesome by the episode :) I LOVE HIM NOW! Go Sayid. He has such a great charcter about him. He's just that kind of character that's manly but very sensitive. Love it ;)

Sayid...the True Island Leader. Let Jack and Locke stomp around all mad at each other...Sayid will get things done!

Sayid was always brilliant. He was just mourning Shannon throughout most of this season.
Can't wait to see what happens between Henry and Sayid, that Henry is upto something!

Sayid is the best !!!
Nothing more, nothing less !!!
He's definitely a great actor...

Am I the only person who found Sayid positively frightening last night? Don't get me wrong -- I love a good unstable, unhinged, coming-apart-at-the-seams character. It's intriguing character development here, but this is a very different Sayid than we've seen in a while -- I might even hazard to say, this is a Sayid we've never seen before.

Sayid...the True Island Leader. Let Jack and Locke stomp around all mad at each other...Sayid will get things done!

Unlike Sayid's past torturing stints, he didn't beat Gale until AFTER he had trapped Gale in his web of lies. Sayid's interrogation didn't even glean ANY new information: he just beat Gale senseless because he was a proven Other instead of a suspected Other. The beating was wholly unecessary at that point, unless Sayid intended to get more information out of him -- which I doubt would have happened, even if Jack and Locke had not intervened, because by that point, Sayid was no longer cool and collected like an effective torturer must be, but a complete emotional wreck.

Second, what kind of justification is it that Sayid simply "feels no guilt because [he] knew [Gale] was an Other"? Since when is Sayid in the moral position to make such a call? He's never felt that way about himself. Aside from that being the kind of logic that leads to every kind of heinous crime against humanity, this is a huge change for Sayid. Prior to Gale, Sayid has felt guilty for every other person he's ever tortured (remember in 2.7, when he told Ana Lucia he hears them in his dreams?): Sayid felt guilty about torturing the fellow RGer who knew about the dead helicopter pilot (and swore never ever to do it again, no matter what the circumstances!). We don't even need to go into how guilty he felt about torturing Nadia (who may or may not be innocent). He felt guilty about torturing Sawyer (who, while wasn't guilty of stealing Shannon's inhalers, seemed to be holding out on the castaways in a lot of other ways).

The point is, since Sayid declared in 2.7 that he is "dead", this is the first time he's reverted to Torturer!Sayid without having a shred of remorse at having done something incredibly immoral. I don't care if "doing what must be done" is for the greater good of the other Lostaways -- in the process of doing it, Sayid is going to become the monster he's always feared he would become. And at this point, he hasn't accomplish anything by reverting to those old behaviors. All he did was crack emotionally. He's in no state to "do what must be done." This is an entirely different ballgame than sacrificing happiness with a woman to keep Locke alive because "[he is their] best chance for survival."

And on top of it all, who does Sayid first to form an alliance? Charlie -- who last week beat Sun so Locke would "feel like a fool". 'Nuff said. Scary, Sayid.

from MrsTater:
Am I the only person who found Sayid positively frightening last night? Don't get me wrong -- I love a good unstable, unhinged, coming-apart-at-the-seams character. It's intriguing character development here, but this is a very different Sayid than we've seen in a while -- I might even hazard to say, this is a Sayid we've never seen before.

No, not the only one. And before anybody says anything else, I think Naveen's acting in this episode was bordering on the brilliant. I would hate to have anybody look at me, the way Sayid looked at Henry Gale.

What we saw last night, was IMO a regression to his RG days. Leaving aside the meltdown that brought his personal feelings to the fore, his techniques were professional. (Seems odd to think of "torturer" as a profession) He seemed to play both good cop and bad cop. Alternately being calm and collected and then attacking. But his control snapped when Gale mentioned burying his wife. That obviously brought up the fact that Sayid had dug Shannon's grave, put her in it (probably got her ready for burial too) and for all we know, he had to go back and fill it in all by himself. He knows what it's like to be alone when bury someone you love, and that didn't mesh with what Gale was telling him. That's probably his main basis for his belief that Gale is a liar and is an "Other". (I agree - the guy is shifty - his eyes are beady!)

What most surprised me was that he told Charlie about the prisoner in the hatch, and seemed to be forming an alliance with him. Charlie? Yikes. When I was watching I was wondering if he would team up with Sawyer.

Now THAT would be a frightening team.

I think Naveen's acting in this episode was bordering on the brilliant.

It's criminal this man did not win an Emmy or Golden Globe.

I agree mrstater, he was frightening. I have always thought that if on the island, I would align myself with Sayid, now I don't think so. He has resorted to torturing twice in about 50 days. I was sad to see that this is where the writers chose to take Sayid. Acting was still brilliant, though.

While I found him scary and would not want him looking that way at me...It does not change my opinion of Sayid at all. His original intent in questioning Henry was to find out whether or not he was an Other. During that interrogation process...Sayid lost it. His emotions got the better of him and he beat the crap out of the guy. The guy IS an Other...his look at the end when Jack intervened convinced me of that. So, as far as I'm concerned...what Sayid did was fine...whether he got information or not.

As to his "alliance" with Charlie. Was I the only one who saw the wheels turning? Sayid is thinking one of two things, or perhaps both: Where are the guns Charlie? and/or I think you remember more than you've shared about your little adventure with these Others.

I still believe that whatever Sayid is doing he BELIEVES he is doing for the greater good. We know from what we have seen of him, unlike Sawyer, that Sayid is a good man at the core. He'll find his way again. This is only a detour on that path.

And Naveen's acting...supurb, as usual. Let's just give him the Emmy now.

Acting, amazing.

Sayid, way scary.

His remark about not feeling remorse, that is the mentality of a sociopath. I am worried about him big time. He did lose it and since he can't be sure yet that they guy is one of the others ( regardless of his "feelings") the violence and yelling was just scary.

As to his talk with Charlie, I got the same feeling I had when Locke talked to Sayid about getting bonked in the head. I felt he was setting Charlie up since it's a good bet Jack will keep him away from Henry. Kind of a "here's the guy who hung you and grabbed Claire, go get him".

Anyone else expect him to ask Charlie where the guns were? That last pause made me think he knew. I was wrong, however. :ohwell:

Was I the only one who saw the wheels turning? Sayid is thinking one of two things, or perhaps both: Where are the guns Charlie?

Nope, I saw the wheels turning, too. My thought, however, was that he knew Charlie was the one who hit Sun. But then I couldn't think how Sayid would arrive at that conclusion, and the same with the guns.

The main thing that struck me in that scene was how strongly it paralleled the scene in Outlaws (I think?) where Sayid tried to talk to Charlie about the Ethan thing. Sayid's comments in One of Them were such a chilling echo – he doesn't feel guilty because he "knows" Gale is an Other; Charlie didn't feel guilty because Ethan tried to kill him. Before, Sayid told Charlie he would eventually feel guilty, as Sayid has felt guilty about all his past violence. Charlie never gives any indication of guilt, though, and in the OOT scene, it seems Sayid is thinking/feeling that way, too. There's a marked change in his character and thought process in making such an admission.

RobinHood – sociopath is a word I hesitated to use, but that's exactly the right word for Sayid's rationale.

I still believe that whatever Sayid is doing he BELIEVES he is doing for the greater good.

But lots of people do bad things based on skewed belief. Sayid's not any less likely to have wrong thinking than the next person, and he clearly showed judgment issues in this episode.

Frightening? No.

Downright teeth-chattering, curl-into-a-fetal-ball terrifying?

Oh yes.

Boy has LOST IT. I think he definitely has the sickness, and it's possible that Danielle knows it. (I think that Charlie has it too, and Sawyer and Locke might as well.) I can't see why Dani would pull that whole song-and-dance about "only YOU can see my prisoner, and he IS a liar, and you'd better torture him to make him tell the truth" unless she was testing Sayid's sanity. And he failed.

I'd disagree that his statement showed the mentality of a sociopath, though. The sociopath's thought process is more along the lines of "I don't feel guilty because I don't know how to feel guilty." Sayid IS capable of making moral judgments; he DOES have a conscience. But now he's saying, essentially, "I don't feel guilty because I know I am right, even in the absence of any confirming data." That's the mentality of the zealot--or the megalomaniac. Both of which, IMO, are even scarier than your garden-variety sociopath.

I believe Henry is an other, and Sayid knew it. Do you guy see that look Henry gave him as he was pulled off of him? henry has a look like "Haha they won't believe you, nobody will." Sayid didn't feel bad and that is something he usally does feel. Either he is getting sick or Henry is an other.

I believe Henry is an other, and Sayid knew it. Do you guy see that look Henry gave him as he was pulled off of him? henry has a look like "Haha they won't believe you, nobody will." Sayid didn't feel bad and that is something he usally does feel. Either he is getting sick or Henry is an other.

I don't think it's either/or. I think it's both.

While I found him scary and would not want him looking that way at me...It does not change my opinion of Sayid at all. His original intent in questioning Henry was to find out whether or not he was an Other. During that interrogation process...Sayid lost it. His emotions got the better of him and he beat the crap out of the guy. The guy IS an Other...his look at the end when Jack intervened convinced me of that. So, as far as I'm concerned...what Sayid did was fine...whether he got information or not.

As to his "alliance" with Charlie. Was I the only one who saw the wheels turning? Sayid is thinking one of two things, or perhaps both: Where are the guns Charlie? and/or I think you remember more than you've shared about your little adventure with these Others.

I still believe that whatever Sayid is doing he BELIEVES he is doing for the greater good. We know from what we have seen of him, unlike Sawyer, that Sayid is a good man at the core. He;ll find his way again. This is only a detour on that path.

And Naveen's acting...supurb, as usual. Let's just give him the Emmy now.

As the ep progressed, at first I was thinking, "Oh no, TPTB are taking Sayid all one-dimensional on us," and I was getting all but bored. But then when he fell apart at the end - WOW! Please give Naveen the Emmy and the Golden Globe now!

I am concerned that unless Henry is killed off before he can reunite with the Others and/or do whatever it is he is assigned to do as an Other, that Sayid's emotional outburst/vulnerability could end up costing Sayid in some tactical or even personal way - even though the Others seem to be all-knowing and all-seeing in some ways. The guy started interrogating Sayid, and Sayid was answering him, not standard behavior for a torturer - answering the questions of his captive.

I don't think Sayid is sick. I think his grief has played a part in taking him to a place of being able to do what he did without regret, at least for now. Based on his comments at the end with Charlie, I think he sees this as war now, and I think he's getting in "warrior" mode. His love Shannon is already dead, so he doesn't have to worry that something could happen to her. What does he have to lose?

I am so thrilled that we got another Sayid-centric ep. Hopefully he'll be getting even more screen time soon.

I think we'll be seeing more of Sayid as he is getting stronger from the loss of Shannon. He distanced himself from everyone else after the loss of Shannon. He's getting over it with time. Although has a ways to go.

I don't think Sayid is sick. I think his grief has played a part in taking him to a place of being able to do what he did without regret, at least for now. Based on his comments at the end with Charlie, I think he sees this as war now, and I think he's getting in "warrior" mode.

I have to agree here. Sayid is no sociopath (you don't just suddenly BECOME a sociopath...he would have been one all along and we know he's not). I don't think Sayid is sick. I think he is going back to his old habit of compartmentalizing and rationalizing which is what he must have done before Nadia. This Henry is an Other...Sayid is convinced of that, therefore he is justified in whatever he does to him. When you are justified you feel no guilt. Later, perhaps, when all this is over, he may have regrets, (just like he told Charlie after Ethan) and on some level he knows that, even if he doesn't acknowledge it at this point.

I can't wait to see what happens next. I think all the losties are going to go to some dark places before this season ends.

BTW mrstater and Cassandra...welcome back. We have missed you guys and the scintillating conversation that always ensues.

I think he definitely has the sickness, and it's possible that Danielle knows it. (I think that Charlie has it too, and Sawyer and Locke might as well.)

But if they had the sickness, that would require the writers to actually pick up a season one plot thread. Is such a thing possible on this show? Hehe

Thanks, Who. It's good to be analyzing again.

I think Naveen's acting was brilliant in this episode, One Of Them, and Sayid has always been a favorite character of mine way back from the beginning.

I've definitely missed seeing him since Shannon died. I think that this was part of his grieving process. He knew that Henry was an other and I strongly believe that he is an other.
What I noticed was that there was a strong resemblance in the fight between Jack and Ethan and Sayid and Henry. Of course Henry couldn't fight back as he was tied up but he didn't seem to feel the hits. He was pleading but he didn't seem to the feel that. I mean if I was getting hit like that or any one of us was then we'd have ended up knocked out on the floor. You know what I mean? It was like he wasn't even feeling it, kind of like the way Ethan reacted to being hit.

As for the conversation with Charlie at the end. I seen more in it than just the conversation itself. It seemed to me (the moment the conversation was over) that Sayid knew or suspected Charlie of being involved with the guns or maybe he didn't suspect him of that but seen that Charlie was hiding something. Sayid is a true interrogator and he can see into someone. I just felt he knew something and he was saying that throug that conversation without outright saying "what are you hiding Charlie?"

I just felt he knew something and he was saying that throug that conversation without outright saying "what are you hiding Charlie?"

For all his other faults, Charlie is a bad liar. Sayid can obviously see through that and although he may have no idea that Charlie was an active participant in Sawyer's plan, I think Sayid believes Charlie knows more than he is saying.

As for all this talk about a "sickness" I think by not picking it up this season the authors are letting us know it was the ramblings of a crazy woman. If anyone is "sick" it's Rousseau.

Well, I think all of them have the "sickness" in so far as the sickness is actually original sin, from which every human being suffers, and which can be controlled-- treated if you will--by civilization and by human conscience/will, but which can also be let loose to reign. Some of the characters are moving towards redemption, others are falling away, most are going back and forth. Charlie is definitely in the fall back stage. I'm not so sure about where Sayid is.

If Sayid is right about Gale being an Other (and the guy certainly has given him multiple reasons to be suspicious), then guilty feelings are useless and disruptive to the task at hand. The Others, as Sayids points out, are merciless, kidnapping multiple children, a pregnant woman, etc.--and a lot of people seem to have forgotten that and have become complacent.

I don't think Sayid suspects Charlie when he first speaks to him in that episode--I think he just believes Charlie, being as angry as he was over what happened to Claire, will agree with him. And I do think it is an interesting exchange in light of the entire "you are not alone" conversation they had back when Charlie killed Ethan. I think after further conversation, Sayid will come to suspect and perhaps wrench out of Charlie his part in the entire affair, and he may learn the location of the guns from him.

I do think Sayid is slipping into warrior mode...which brings us to the whole sociopath question. I certainly don't think he is a sociopath. Sociopaths have no feelings of compassion or empathy for anyone. (And that is certaintly not the case with Sayid; though he may not feel empathy for this particular person.) But warriors do require a different mentality than your average Joe; some have called this mentality a mild form of psychopathy (the book "On Killing" comes to mind.) That is to say, people who have to kill for a profession have to be able to find ways for the guilt not to overwhelm them, and they must be able to compartmentalize things if they are going to be able to act when action is required. But society needs warriors, just like it needs doctors. And reluctant warriors are largely useless.

Now, where the writers are going with this is another question entirely, but just from my perspective of a viewer, I see Sayid as becoming a warrior again because that's what he has to do--that is his role in this society--and without the defense of warriors, society will perish. Warriors make people uncomfortable--people like Jack find them very unpleasant--but the warriors cannot allow that disaprobation to prevent them from doing thier duty in society.

Where Sayid slipped up was in being a bad warrior and a bad interrogator. He did not compartmentalize as warriors should do, but he let the interrogation become personal; he let his emotions and grief overwhelm him, and he broke down. He let Gale manipulate him instead of the other way around. And he got nothing of use out of the interrogation because of it. It was probably good Jack pulled him out when he did.

But by the end of this episode, I think Sayid is becoming more collected and calculated again, looking at this as a task and not being quite so personally invested (though I think he still has the idea of revenge in his mind, which, if he can keep checked and not allow to overwhelm his reasoning, as his anger did in the interrogation, will be an impetus--I mean, one can't long war without motivation).

Anyway, it seems a war is coming down the road...but as always with Lost, this whole topic will probably be dropped for several episodes before it is resumed.

As for all this talk about a "sickness" I think by not picking it up this season the authors are letting us know it was the ramblings of a crazy woman. If anyone is "sick" it's Rousseau.

Just chiming in to agree with you. I don't believe that there is a sickness. The "quarantine" signs inside the hatches are part of the psychology experiment. Rousseau went nuts and killed the rest of her crew and then justified it to herself by saying they had a sickness. What was it really - they were going native? Did someone hurt her (maybe rape her) and this was her PTSD reaction to that problem? We'll probably never know.
My own speculation is that Rousseau is not long for this world. I could be wrong... but we'll just have to wait and see.

I was very impressed by the intensity shown by Naveen in this last episode, it was gripping. I wish I'd recorded it so I could watch again!

I think the "sickness", which also "infected" Rousseau is simply a moral decent into savagery--nothing tangible, nothing communicable, entirely metaphorical. Rousseau warned Sayid to watch his fellow surviovrs closely, and this season we have Sawyer stealing all the guns and setting up his reign, Charlie injuring Sun for personal revenge against Locke, and Sayid nearly beating Gale to death for revenge and yet feeling absolutely no remorse for losing control. So I think there is a "sickness" and it has begun to set in; but that sickness is nothing more than original sin, the monster within, etc., and the survivors have a chance still to move away from that sickness and towards redemption, like most of them appeared to be doing before this darker slide in the last few episodes. But I agree there is no physical sickness and I do think there is a psychological experiment afoot.