THE ECONOMIST

Or, Et tu, Hugo?

[Originally Aired February 14, 2008]

Near the copter, Sayid prays over Naomi's body. He pulls off her bracelet. Engraved on it are the words "N, I will always be with you, R.G." (Who is R.G.? Richard Guyliner?) Jack and Sayid bicker about rescuing Charlotte from Locke. Sayid asks if Frank will fly them to the freighter. Frank agrees to take him to the boat if he can bring him Charlotte. Flashforward and Sayid is playing golf on an island resort. A man approaches and tells him to use the five iron. Then the two make a small bet, whomever gets closest to the hole will win. Sayid loses. The man asks what Sayid does for a living. Sayid says he doesn't do anything, he received a large settlement. "I'm Sayid Jarrah, one of the Oceanic Six." The man looks panicked and Sayid reaches into his golf bag, pulls out a gun, and shoots the man dead. Cut to a café in Europe somewhere. Sayid eyes an empty chair in the otherwise busy establishment. He asks the woman at the table if she minds if he sits down. The two chat. Her name is Elsa. Sayid asks what she does. "My employer is an economist. He works in emerging markets. Actually, I don't really understand what he does; which doesn't matter, since all I do is shop for him. If my beeper goes off, I'm at his side instantly. Which is wonderful, since he's only in Berlin once or twice a year." Elsa asks Sayid if she knows him from somewhere. He says he'll tell her that if she lets him buy her dinner. Smooove. Later, Sayid makes a call on his cell phone. "I made contact." Then he throws the phone into the trash. At the copter Sayid shows them the picture of Dez and Penny from Naomi's backpack. Jack asks Juliet to go get Dez from the beach. She says she'll be back in a couple hours. Jack says he'll go get Charlotte, but Sayid talks him out of it. He's too angry, says Sayid. Jack lets Sayid go instead. Miles wants to go with him. Sayid tells him they're leaving in ten minutes. Across the island Sawyer threatens to shoot off Ben's toes if he doesn't tell him who the spy on the boat is. Locke says that would be a bad idea. How come? "Because then we'd have to carry him." They reach a clearing, and there is the ring of powder on the ground. But there is no cabin. Sawyer asks what is up with the cabin anyway. "John's looking for somebody to tell him what to do next," Ben says snidely. Locke says they'll still head to the barracks and Sawyer figures if the woman was wearing body armor, her pals were expecting a fight, and will come armed. Hurley wants to let Charlotte go, because he's a decent guy, and Locke says she's too valuable, since he's a douche. Hurley argues, and Locke says "Right now, Hugo, I'm making the decisions. Is that gonna be a problem for you?" It is interesting that Locke has taken Ben's place as the island's new fascist. Back at the copter, Jack tells Kate to go with Sayid. She asks if he's worried about Locke hurting her. "Sawyer won't let him," he says. Kate and Sayid and Miles leave and Frank asks Jack where Sayid is from. Iraq. Was he a diplomat? "No, he was a torturer," Jack says. In the jungle, Sayid and Miles talk about their prospective groups of friends. Miles wants to know why the survivors split into two camps. Sayid explains about the disagreement over whether Miles and co. were there to rescue them or kill them. Miles asks which side Sayid was on. "I let you know when I decide." At the copter Faraday sets up some sciency looking equipment and calls the boat and tells Regina to "fire the payload." Regina fires and says "Forty kilometers to beacon. Thirty-five kilometers to beacon. Thirty kilometers to beacon." She counts down to zero. But nothing ever shows up. That's weird. "That is far more than weird," says Faraday. Sayid and Miles and Kate reach the barracks. It appears deserted. They hear a noise from inside one of the houses. They slowly enter and find Hurley locked in a closet. He says Locke has gone crazy and they left him behind. Meanwhile Jack asks Frank if the Red Sox really won the World Series. The two chuckle. Faraday yells, "It's the payload! It's finally here!" He points to the sky. The three watch as a tiny rocket falls from the air and lands a few inches from his tripod. He pulls the rocket apart and removes a clock from inside. He compares it to the clock on the tripod. 2:45 compared to 3:16. Faraday frowns. What the hell? The rocket was just missing for 31 minutes? Where'd it go? A detour through a fucking wormhole? Jebus. Dez and Juliet show up and Dez smiles at the helicopter. At the barracks Kate and Sayid enter Ben's house. Kate finds nothing in the closet. Sayid finds a secret room filled with clothes and suitcases and cash and a bunch of passports with Ben's picture in them. Sawyer sneaks into Ben's room with Kate and tells her "Shhhhh..." She yells for Sayid. He heads to her but Locke is waiting. Locke tells Hurley "Good job." Sayid looks sadly at Hurley. Rousseau escorts Sayid to the rec room, and she locks him up with Ben. Ben says he lost a dollar. "I bet John that you wouldn;t be stupid enough to fall for your friend as bait." At Ben's place Kate asks Sawyer why he's with Locke now. He ain't, he says, and asks why she's with Jack. She thinks Jack can get them off the island. "I guess that's the difference between us," he says. He tells Kate he's got nothing to go back to. Neither does she, he adds. "Why do you want to go back, Kate? Seem to recall you being shuttled off to jail before we landed here. So if you think there's anything waiting for you back home other than handcuffs, you really don't know how the world works. Look around us, Freckles. We've got roofs over our heads. Electricity, showers, beds." He asks her to stay with him. Locke visits Ben and Sayid. They chat and Sayid asks Locke to give him Charlotte. If he goes back with her he can get a ride to the freighter. Locke doesn't want to give away his only bargaining chip. Sayid says "I think you misunderstood me. I never expected you to give her to me for nothing." Uh oh. Flashforward and Sayid and Elsa are in a post-bone snuggle, and suddenly her beeper goes off. She says she has to run. Where? Hotel Adlon. Then Sayid tells her to leave Berlin. Things are about to get dangerous. What, their whole affair has been a ruse, she asks. Why is he going to kill her boss? His name is on a list he says, simple as that. She shoots him in the shoulder. She picks up the phone and calls someone. "No, I didn't kill him. He's not going to give up the name now. Why should I keep him alive? No, he had no idea. All right, all right. I'll bring him to you. Leave the hotel. I'll meet you at the safe house." She turns around and Sayid shoots her dead. He glances at her arm. She is wearing a bracelet similar to Naomi's. At the copter Dez grills Faraday about the picture Naomi had of him. Faraday says he didn't know Naomi. She was in management and didn't talk to him much. Dez says fine, whatever, he'll get answers from somebody eventually. Sayid and Charlotte appear from the jungle. They're alone. Frank tells Sayid he cheated. Sayid shrugs. Frank says good thing Miles is an asshole. Sayid tells Jack that Kate decided to stay with Locke. Ouch. Frank says without Miles they've one more seat on the copter. Sayid suggests taking Naomi back to the boat. Jack tells Sayid to be careful. Sayid, Frank, Dez (and Naomi) get on the copter and lift off. They fly away from the island. Flashforward, and Sayid stumbles into a veterinarian's office. The vet jabs Sayid with a needle and asks if Elsa is dead. He asks why she didn't kill Sayid. She wanted information. "About you," Sayid says. The vet is Ben. Oh wow. Sayid sobs. "Why are you crying? Because it hurts? Or because you were stupid enough to care for her? These people don't deserve our sympathies. Need I remind you what they did the last time you thought with your heart instead of your gun?" You used that to recruit me into killing for you. "Do you want to protect your friends or not, Sayid? I have another name for you." But they know I'm after them now. "Good," says Ben, coldly.