Episode 9

This episode is called "Solitude". I am mentioning this because I think the titles are usually symbolic and reoccur during the episodes, but often times I overlook them, so this is my effort to keep it in mind while I write this blog post.

Sayid is the main focus of this episode, which by the way makes really happy since he is my second favorite. Toward the end of the previous episode, Sayid explains that he feels he has broken a promise he made to himself, and that he must leave the other survivors, almost as a sort of self discipline. He decides to explore the island when he finds a mysterious electrical chord that leads him far into the jungle. He walks into a booby trap and is kidnapped by none other than the French woman they heard on the transmission.

She comes off as a savage at first, but she begins to tone it down a little bit once she realizes that Sayid shouldn't be considered a threat. From their conversation and the flashbacks featured in this episode, we find out more about Sayid's past. As a part of his job, he was forced to torture suspected criminals in order to get information out of them. He becomes close with a woman he is supposed to be interrogating and because of this, she doesn't believe she needs to give him answers. He is instructed to kill her, but he can't do it. He kills his colleague and injures himself in an attempt to let her escape, but not before she writes a message to him on a picture of herself and gives it to him. He keeps the picture with him as a reminder of his past.

Even though I knew she had been there for sixteen years, Rousseau appeared more crazy than I expected. She spoke to Sayid about "the Others" on the island who infected those who she was with before they died. She told about how she was forced to kill them all and the only thing she has left as a happy memory is the broken music box from her husband. Sayid offers to fix it and ends using this opportunity as an advantage as it helps him to escape later. Rousseau isn't too happy about Sayid's escaping, so the two end up in a stand off. Sayid pulls the trigger, but the gun doesn't fire, as Rousseau rigged it. However, he convinces her to let him go. On his way through the depths of the jungle, he hears the whispering she mentioned while talking about "the Others".

What do you think about Sayid now that you know more about his past?

OK: I like Sayid, but I like him a little less finding out more about his past. Not really a fan of the Republican Guard either. I found the story hard to connect to also because their relationship before the torturing seemed very vague so I didn't really understand why he was so concerned about her.

SH: I never disliked Sayid, so this I'm not saying this in a negative way about him, but it did explain a few things. I feel bad though because it seems like he is being really hard on himself about the incident with Sawyer.

What was your reaction to Sayid firing the gun?

OK: I wasn't really surprised. Considering he already compromised his morals with Sawyer I wasn't too shocked.

SH: I couldn't believe that Sayid was intending to kill her. This is the complete opposite of how I thought he would do. I was under the impression that he was going to talk to out with her because he didn't seem too particularly fond of violence. To say the least, I was surprised.

Do you think Rousseau is crazy or is something happening on the island?

OK: Definitely some of both. Obviously there is something unusual with this island, but also she could have lost some sense in having to live in it for 16 years alone. That would take its toll on your mental state for sure.

SH: I am going to go with a mix of both. It is obvious that there are some pretty sketchy things going on with this island, like the polar bear and what not, but I also think that after being alone for sixteen years, a person would begin to loose their grip on reality. I think the process was worsened by the conditions of the island.