LOST Review: Sundown

"Sundown" was Sayid's episode to shine, and it would be silly of me to say that we covered new ground with the character. I could start with the old saying, "insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Or I could use "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." Either way, it's kinda funny that almost every single Sayid story revolves around the same point: Sayid wants to believe he's not a killer.... but he really is. Surprise ending.

Whether it's "I swore I'd never do that again" or or "I'm a good person" or "I'm not that man anymore," it doesn't matter... and it definitely doesn't matter to Sawyer, Nadia, Henry Gale, Widmore's men, lil Ben, and all the other men he's (regretfully) tortured/killed. We can now add Dogen and Lennon to that list. First, Dogen convinced Sayid he had to kill a god (no small task), but really he was playing the dumb Iraqi. Knowing that Smokey wouldn't die, Dogen hoped Sayid would then be killed and rid of the "sickness." Since Sayid's inherent evil is probably linked with Smokey, there was no way Locke would disregard a big asset. And so he turns the tables back on the fools at the Temple. Sayid pulls a one-man Trojan Horse, struts back into the Temple, and drowns the Gatekeeper and his interpreter.

Locke is then able to storm the Temple like the famous F5 tornado in nearby Xenia, OH, and Sayid's journey to the dark side is complete. Can we finally put this story to bed? Sayid is an evil killer beyond saving. End of discussion.

Other awesome thoughts about LOST:

• Come on Sayid... at least part of you had to wonder that Kate was the person you were supposed to kill upon leaving the Temple. How great would it have been if you had just strolled up to her and impaled her!?! I guess someone else has dibs on the honor...
• Um.... even with a running head start, why didn't Richard beat Claire and Smokey to the Temple?
  
• With most of the cast coming together (and some help from Jack and Jin cameos), they almost got the entire cast into one episode (tough break, Sawyer).
• If Smokey's allowed to cheat by throwing objects at people to knock them out of their ash ring of protection, why can't he just have Claire sweep away at the ring outside the temple so he can get in?
• For not knowing or caring about Dogen, his one little heartfelt story about killing his little boy in a drunk driving accident still got to me. And when the baseball floated to the top of the pool... so sad...
• Did anyone else not care about Sayid's sidestory? Again, we were given the whole "Seriously, guys, I'm NOT a killer!" routine, but we all knew that names would be taken and skulls would be cracked. AND WHAT A GREAT CAMEO BY MOBSTER MARTIN KEAMY!!!
• When Locke told Sayid that he would be able to see his dead wife again, were you also thinking it had more to do with the flash-sideways universe and less to do with regular timeline resurrection?
• Ben is responsible for the deaths of probably a billion people, including his daughter and JACOB, yet he seems to be on the path of redemption right now. If he can be saved, Sayid could, too. I know I just said Sayid is "beyond saving. End of discussion," but it wouldn't surprise me if had a happy ending since he's such a fan favorite.
• Then again, if Sayid knew that Jacob distracted him long enough to allow Nadia to be hit by the car, he'd stick with Smokey to the end...
  

Overall, I give this episode a B. I don't care much for the bizarro world, but the sundown showdown was pretty entertaining. And now that we're on the cusp of a full cast reunion, it's a very exciting time. We weren't given many answers about the mythology of the Island, but it appears the WAR has begun. So far, it's a whitewash for the Man in Black. Check back in next week when Jin and Sun probably reunite, and we probably get another lame sidestory...