4.03 - The Economist

Title’s significance: In the flashforwards, Sayid is helping Ben eliminate people who work for a mysterious and seemingly villainous “economist.”

Recap: While Frank prepares to return to the freighter, Sayid promises to bring Charlotte back in exchange for passage to the freighter, and he brings Miles along. Sawyer tries to convince Ben to divulge the name of his spy, but Locke knows Ben won’t talk; after learning that Jacob’s cabin has moved, Locke directs his team to the barracks. Jack sends Kate with Sayid and Miles, while Daniel conducts an experiment that suggests the island is temporally dislocated. Kate and Sayid find Hurley in a closet in the barracks; he says Locke left him behind after he argued about taking Charlotte as a hostage, but after finding a hidden compartment in Ben’s home Sayid finds that he’s walked into a trap when Locke appears in the house. Sawyer invites Kate to join him at the barracks, but she expresses anxiety about “playing house.” Sayid offers Locke a trade – Miles for Charlotte – and he returns to the helicopter with Charlotte in tow, securing a seat on the ride to the freighter. Flashforwards reveal that Sayid is one of the Oceanic 6 and that he’s assassinating people, including Peter Avellino. In Berlin, he meets up with Elsa and starts going out with her, but we learn quickly that this is tied in with his headhunting gig. After what seems like a touching romance, Sayid attempts to save Elsa, but she shoots him when he threatens the economist. We learn at the end that Sayid is working for Ben.

Thoughts: This was a pretty cool episode, getting all the freighter people back together (well, sort of), and the momentum keeps going. On a related note, this is probably my favorite character-centric flashforward, if only because of the last-second reveal that Sayid is working for Ben.

Favorite moment: Hurley bemoans Miles’s attitude and says, “Oh, great, the ship sent us another Sawyer.”

Characters introduced (in order):

• PETER AVELLINO, employee of “the economist” assassinated by Sayid
• ELSA, romantic interest for Flashforward Sayid (variant action figure), working for the economist

What we learned:

• Sayid is one of the Oceanic 6.
• Ben has a secret compartment filled with bogus passports in his home.
• Sayid has a list of people he is supposed to kill, and the economist is on it.
• The economist is not an economist.
• Sayid will end up working for Ben.
• Ben makes it off the island.

Questions:

• Who is R.G.?
• Why did the beacon have a lag time before landing on the island?
• What’s Locke’s interest in Miles?
• Who is the economist?
• What’s the significance of the bracelet that Naomi and Elsa both have? – Damon & Carlton say none, so okay.
• Why is it important that Frank stay on the exact same bearing to leave the island?
• Why would Sayid work for Ben?
• Who is on Ben's list?
• Assuming he's not posing as one of the Oceanic 6, how did Ben get off the island?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• This episode expands on Ben’s idea that the island is under attack, but more importantly we get a sense that Ben is fighting back against Widmore. Yet the nature of this conflict (and the victor, of course) has yet to be revealed.
• This episode also introduces a curious facet of the island – the light doesn’t scatter quite right, and the payload doesn’t land on time. Um, why?