Lost is a just a big old snowball rolling faster and faster down a hill, picking up pieces of people's lives, and getting bigger and bigger as it goes. We took a stroll on Wednesday with my beloved Sayid. And darn it if it wasn't the best Sayid episode since Shannon died in S1 (Doh! It was S2E6. My bad) with Naveen Andrews' best moments since he executed that open field tackle on Carl in S3. Yee haaaaaw!
SPOILERS AFTER THE JUMP
The episode opens with two boys in Iraq. A father tells the bigger one he must kill a chicken. 
The boy is reluctant but the hard father insists and walks away. The little boy helps the bigger one, capturing the chicken with some grain, then promptly wringing its neck. (That's gotta be, Sayid.) The father comes back, praising the bigger kid for doing it until the he admits it was the little one. "At least one of you will be a man. Well done, Sayid." Sayid's first kill? Nice.
Back in lockup at the Dharma compound, Little Ben brings Sayid another sandwich. Sayid isn't eating. Ben finally asks if Richard Alpert sent Sayid. Little Ben wants to join the Hostiles. He thinks Sayid is one of them. Little Ben's been waiting for his shot. He tells Sayid that if he's patient, he can help him.
Sayid is chasing a guy through an apartment building in Moscow. The guy begs and tries to 
bribe him but Sayid puts a couple of bullets in his head anyway. Then Sayid looks at the dead guy, named Andropov, and kind of tilts his head, like hmm, yeah, that's done, and walks out. (Do you get where they're going with this? It's all about the ice in Sayid's veins.) Big Ben is waiting for him outside. Sayid wants to know who's next. We know he's been killing Widmore's peeps as payback for the mess on the island. Big Ben tells him, "Congratulations. Mission accomplished." Sayid, God love him, looks confused. So now what, he asks. "Go live your life. You're free, Sayid." And Sayid, God love him, looks like that's the last thing he wants to do.
Back in DI lockup, Horace comes in and tries to interrogate Sayid. Who are you? Are you a Hostile? Why are you here? Blah blah blah. He threatens Sayid. Sayid's reaction? I've eaten scarier men than you for breakfast with a cup of black coffee.
Speaking of the most important meal of the day, Sawyer saves the bacon from burning. Juliet isn't paying attention. She's staring out the window watching Jack and Kate across the Dharmahood. She thinks 
her fling with the sexpot is over. Sawyer reassures her. He says nothing's going to change. Horace ruins the moment. He wants Sawyer to deal with Sayid. Sawyer goes back to lockup, asking Sayid how he is. "A 12-year old Ben brought me a chicken salad sandwich. How do you think I am?" Sayid wants to know what's going on. Sawyer says, "See how you feel living in the 70s for three years. Lucky for you I spent that time positioning myself to save your a**." Sawyer plans to punch Sayid in the face and make like he's interrogating him. "Either cooperate or you're on your own." And Sayid says, "I guess I'm on my own."
Hurley's whipping up waffles in the Dharma cafeteria and joins Jack and Kate for 
breakfast. They catch up. Kate thinks she'll go ask Juliet what's up and Hurley's like why? Don't you know Sawyer and Juliet are together. "They live together, like not as roommates. Like you guys were." Jack and Kate have the good sense to look sheepish. Kate is surprised. She asks Jack if he knew. He did. (And the look Foxy gives her right there? Mercy.)
Back in lockup, Ben's daddy is cleaning up and trying to intimidate Sayid. (Yeah, right. LOL). Little Ben comes in with another sandwich not knowing his mean daddy is mopping the floor. The daddy gets mad and starts abusing Little Ben. Ben's Daddy gets nasty and slams Little Ben against the bars. Sayid gets up like he's going to protect Little Ben. (Really Sayid? You sure you want to go there?)
Flashback to a few weeks ago when Sayid, during his humanitarian phase, is out building houses in the jungles of the Dominican Rebublic. Big Ben visits to tell him Locke is dead, possibly murdered because of all the killing you and I were doing. (Yeaaaah. Ben, how might you know that? Oh yeah. You KILLED Locke, you scheming pile of dog poo!) Big Ben tells him people are watching Hugo at the mental hospital. Sayid's like, so you want me to kill that guy, too? Why should I? "Because Sayid. You are capable of things most other men aren't. Every choice you've ever had to murder or torture has never been a choice. 
It's what you are." Now Sayid is pissed. And he's looking at Big Ben like he's his next victim. "I'm not what you think I am. I don't like killing." Big Ben, in his smug, superior way of his, apologizes and leaves. (Here's my question: Why hasn't anyone killed that guy yet? How many more chances will the islanders have to off that guy before he goes all Jim Jones on anyone who's left? Am I watching too much hockey? I'm feeling really violent all of a sudden.)
Back in lockup, Sawyer comes in and gives the International Man of Mystery one last chance. Sayid won't budge and Sawyer hits him with a stun gun blast. IRAQI DOWN! IRAQI DOWN!
The Dharma crew (Phil, Horace, Radzinski, and Sawyer. Where are Jin and Myles?) take Sayid to Holdham. And gosh darn it if Holdham isn't Larry (William Sanderson) from Newhart living in a teepee in the middle of the jungle. (Pictured right with "his brother Darryl and his other brother Darryl.") Sayid asks who Holdham is and Sawyer whispers in his ear, "He's our You." (Ruh roh.) Sayid is chained to a tree and forced to take the old sugarcube laced with some sort of liquid. (That's so Age of Aquarius.)
Flashback to the waterfront, days before the Oceanic 6 returned to the island. Sayid's fed up and leaves telling Ben he'd better watch his back. (Yeah Ben! What he said!) Sayid goes from the waterfront to a bar to ponder things in his heart. In the Foxy tradition, that involves drinking a lot of alcohol. In Sayid's case, very expensive Scotch.
The woman who we know corralled him in handcuffs to get on the plane shows up and starts hitting on him. Sayid, because he's cool like that, asks, "Are you a professional?" She says no. "I just thought you looked sad and I like sad men." (Great line.) They chat about what they do for a living. Then she says, "I know why you're sad. When you're so good at something, there are always people who will tempt you into staying the same." That one gets Sayid's attention. (At this point, I was screaming at the TV. Run Sayid!)
Back on the island, Sayid's all chained up and looking wicked relaxed as the Dharma patrol (with Sawyer) looks on. 
That would have been a turn-on except Sayid loses the cool and starts 'fessing up like a hot mess. I'm here because I'm a bad man. I'm not a Hostile. I returned to the island on Ajira 316. The first time was on Oceanic 815 when it crashed. I was here for 100 days then I left. Ask Sawyer. (Horace says, "Who's Sawyer?" But Radzinski says who cares and Sawyer's cover stays intact. Saved by the idiot.) Sayid continues describing all the stations - the Flame, the Pearl, the Swan. Radzinski, playing for the Missing the Point team, wants to know how Sayid could know about the Swan when they haven't named or built the damn thing yet. Then Sayid lays it on them. "You're all going to die you know. You're going to be killed." How do you know? "Because I'm from the future." Holdham/Larry says, "Maybe I should have used half a dropper?" Sayid finds that hilarious and he starts giggling.
Meanwhile, Juliet is showing Kate around the Dharma auto shop. Kate tells Juliet that Hurley told her about Juliet and Sawyer. Juliet, who I should like but don't, says she's relieved. "I didn't know how to do it without sounding like I was telling you to step off." (Ever since they had that mud fight in the jungle two seasons ago while handcuffed to each other, they've been all pleasant with each other. Even when Juliet had kissed Jack a few times, even when Kate lost her mind during Jack's surgery, there was no eye-rolling, no back-stabbing. Hey, Lost boys, a proper reality TV-like catfight never hurt anyone!)
The Dharma men meet to discuss what to do with Sayid. They want to kill him for violating the treaty between the DI and the Hostiles. (He's not FREAKIN' hostile! He told you. Dolts.) They call for a vote and everyone but Sawyer votes to kill Sayid. Thank you God, Sawyer is still human. But, wait, no, Horace wants a unanimous vote. (Don't do it Sawyer. Don't do it ...) And Sawyer, slowly, slowly raises his hand. (Noooooo!)
Back in L.A. a few days earlier, Sayid is groping on the 
dark-haired chick and I'm like, yes. (This photo is of Sayid and Elsa in Germany, just to remind you what Sayid looks like when he's on the make.) And he's doing the smooth guy routine, slowly undoing the zipper to the black, leather knee-high boot. Then he stops and starts thinking with his brain. That's when the dark-haired chick kicks him in the face. Ouch. With a gun to Sayid's temple, she tells him she's working for the guy he killed on the golf course. Poor Sayid, he's laying there with a look on his face that says, "When did my life take this turn?"
Sayid's back in lockup. Sawyer tries to let him escape but Sayid won't go. Sawyer's confused. "When I woke up in jungle and I realized I was back on the island, I felt I had no purpose. Now I know exactly why I'm here." Sawyer is so shook he goes to Kate and Jack's house to demand that Kate tell him why she came back. She says she can't speak for anyone but says she knows why she came back. Come on! QUESTION EVADER! Before Sawyer can ask a pertinent follow-up question, one of the Dharma vans screams past and it's on fire.
Back in lockup, Little Ben shows up, this time without a sandwich. Little Ben's glasses are broken. Sayid reads between the lines, telling him his own father was also a hard man. Little Ben tells Sayid how much he hates it with the DI. "If I get you out will you take me with you to your people?" Sayid says yes. (OK. I get it now. Living 30 years in the past, when Little Ben is still impressionable, but Sayid knows so much about how Little Ben will turn out, Sayid thinks he can prevent Ben from turning into a murderous, cold-blooded, conniving, sociopath. Good luck with that, homey.)
(NOTE TO READERS: This was the part I missed watching the show the first time around.)
Sayid escapes lockup with Little Ben. Then Jin finds them both running away. He's about to let them go when Sayid punches Jin out. And just when you think Sayid's gone straight loco, he does the most sane thing I've ever seen him do on the show. (This relates back to my point last week the "why hasn't someone taken Ben out yet" point.)
Through tears, Sayid says, "I am who you think I am. I'm a killer." And raises his gun and shoots Little Ben where he stands. Whaaaaaaaat?!!!??!?! (Whiplash!)
