LOST: Episode 6.6

Sundown

Shit just got real, people! For fans looking for some forward plot momentum, this episode was a goldmine. I loved it, but boy was it a dark one.

The scales that balanced the good and evil inside of Sayid were always tipped toward evil - he showed himself skilled at killing even as a boy - and his life as we've seen it has always been about the struggle to overcome those baser impulses and be a good man. This week's episode saw him, under the influence of MIBLocke, finally give in and embrace those impulses. His story has always been one of the most moving on the show, and it was very sad to see what appeared to be the loss of his soul.

Now, with that said, I have to wonder: How much of the real Sayid were we watching this week, or for that matter, have we seen since this season began? He is not the same man: First off, he was dead for 2 hours - remember "dead is dead"? Second, I swear his accent is altered (if only slightly); and finally, I'm sorry, but the Sayid we know would never, ever say he was a good man. Who exactly is this new, infected Sayid? And was his "infected" soul already damned before he spoke to Locke?

There are a lot of comparisons being made to Stephen King's "The Stand", and I believe I read that the show's creators were greatly influenced by King and that story. You can see the parallels beginning to take shape now, with the players taking sides; I'm thinking it will come down to a "war" between MIBLocke and Jack, who will ultimately be Jacob's replacement, harkening back to the "Man of Science vs. Man of Faith" theme the show has been using throughout.

This was not the Sun/Jin episode I had supposed it would be, but it was so good that I didn't mind. I loved all of the action and the kung-fu fights, and I couldn't believe it when I saw Keamey! My God, he makes Christopher Walken look like as harmless as Bing Freaking Crosby. And how about Jin! In the freezer!

LOST has always known how to close out an episode and this one was no exception, from the surprise appearance of Ilana, Frank, Sun and Ben, to Smokey's terrifying rampage through the Temple to the slo-mo final scene of MIBLocke and his army forming ranks and heading into the jungle, I was riveted. The cherry on top? Ben's "Oh shit" face when he realized that Sayid had gone over to the Dark Side. Priceless.