Lost: The Economist

This episode of Lost left me reeling for many reasons. While I did get to see another member of the elusive Oceanic 6, the episode raised many new questions, and as usual, provided few answers. That said, it was definitely one of the more suspenseful episodes I've seen and had enough twists and turns to keep me entertained for an hour.

Right off the bat, something tells me that the bracelet Sayid stole from Naomi is going to come back to haunt me. The bracelet reads "N, I'll always be with you, R.G." I kinda wish I could just forget about the characters who have already died since I've got so many living ones to follow, but oh well.

Future Sayid is all cleaned up, preppy, and enjoying a country club lifestyle as a member of the Oceanic 6. Based on his golf partner's reaction, Sayid has created a reputation for himself as one of the survivors. Obviously I can't be fooled by his blow-dried hair and fancy threads — Sayid is still just as intense and unafraid of violence as ever, showcased by how quickly he shoots his golfing buddy dead.

New Sayid is quite the smooth talker, and isn't showing any signs of still being in love with Nadia as he gets involved with Elsa. Sad, I kind of miss when Sayid was the torturer/hopeless romantic.

Everyone seems to disagree with Locke, so why don't they just team up against him? I'm especially surprised that nobody has accidentally killed someone else in the heat of passion yet. Namely Ben — Sawyer never seemed to have a problem taking matters into his own hands before.

Dan conducts an experiment on the island, only adding to the mystery of the space/time continuum. Overall, this subplot paled in comparison to everything else that went down.

It's kind of a letdown to see Sayid fall victim to Locke's trap. Especially since Ben pretty much owns Sayid's soul from here on out.

Favorite line of the episode goes to Hurley: "I saw you snap that guys neck with the break dancing thing you do with your legs . . . I think I'll hang back here." Also, that scene from last season was awesome.

Aww, the scene where Sawyer wants Kate to stay with him on the island is pretty sweet, although it's hard to believe that Sawyer is ready to settle down with Kate and raise island babies and live happily ever after. Plus, I know Kate is going to get off the island so clearly Sawyer's powers of persuasion are going to fail eventually.

Sayid and Elsa's romantic moment gets interrupted pretty quickly when they whip out their guns and start shooting each other. Sayid gets away with the gunshot, only to be stitched up by his new boss — ta da! It's Ben, who is now some kind of doctor?

So, Sayid is working for Ben, but is Ben still running things back on the island? Ben says that Sayid has to "protect his friends," but are those his friends on the island or the ones who were rescued? Who else is Ben asking Sayid to kill? And does he have any contact with the other members of the Oceanic 6? The fact that Sayid still can't figure out a way to outsmart Ben is kind of ominous for the future.