Freighter clock, showing 3:16.

Oops, I was totes wrong about Sayid being one of the Oceanic Six! He’s so been on the backburner lately, I plum didn’t even consider that he would make it off the island.

I thought this was the best ep of the 4th season, so far. It’s pretty wild that Sayid, who’s never trusted Ben (remember he was so hesitant in the “Henry Gale” days?) is now working for him. “The day I trust Ben is the day I sell my soul,” which Sayid utters in the beginning of the episode just reeks of irony. Clearly, this is Sayid’s version of Hell. Remember I said that each of the other Oceanic Six members appeared to be living in a different version of their own personal Hells? I think the reason for this is the fact that they’ve returned to an alternate reality. In Sayid’s case, he’s forced to work/kill for a man he hates. I’m SURE Ben has manipulated him using Nadia as bait, somehow. I’m interested to see how this plays out.

The fact that time on the island is 31 minutes off from “off the island” further validates my theory of time travel and alternate realities being involved in LOST’s plotline. I think Ben travels through time to be simultaneously on and off of the island. That photo Miles is carrying of Ben seems to be taken of him while he’s working as a vet in Berlin, a la this episode’s ending. Also, I loved the secret doorway behind the bookcase in Ben’s house in Otherville that housed his many faux passports. That secret closet is every girl in Manhattan’s pipedream. Can you imagine? Not that I’d be using MINE to store creepy fake IDs. P.S., one of his aliases, Dean Moriarty is a nod to both a character in one of Jack Kerouac’s novels, On the Road and Sherlock Holmes’ arch nemesis, named Moriarty. Another cra fact: Jack Kerouac also wrote a book called Dharma Burns.

Eyes are one of the central themes in LOST. The closing of eyes specifically performed by Sayid symbolizes his future of closing his eyes to his moral compass, i.e., his full allegiance to Ben. Don’t forget that Sayid has always been a fantastic judge of character. I always base my judgements of questionable characters by his reactions to them. He knew that Ben was an Other when he was posing as Henry Gale, as I previously mentioned. He also trusted Danielle, the French woman, even while she was holding him captive and was demonstrably cra. The fact that Sayid hasn’t made up his mind about the Freighter Four means that I haven’t yet made my mind about them.

Elsa, the woman Sayid falls in love with and then kills looks a lot like Shannon. I’m sure that’s no coincidence. Even if she were only introduced to remind us collectively that people off the island with access to showers and heat tools can still achieve fabu Rapunzel waves. Elsa’s name has two cinematic references:
The first is Ilsa Lund, the tragic female lead in Casablanca, a movie that centers around political intrigue, clandestine love affairs, and a cafe. Elsa was also the blonde, German femme fatale in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Elsa may alternatively be a reference to Dr. Elsa Schneider from the third Indiana Jones movie: a blonde Austrian professor and Nazi sympathizer who seduced both Indiana Jones and his father in order to learn the secret location of the Holy Grail. I can definitely see Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse being ENORM Indiana Jones fans, can’t you? Personally, I was hoping it was a nod to Elsa Klensch, former host of Style, a show I LOVED in the early 90s that used to be on CNN on the weekends. I mean, Elsa Klensch is an uppercrusty Brit with a sleek black bob whom I’m pretty sure rocks nothing but Chanel. Elsa Klensch, I’m sure has zero to do with this episode. Still, she’s by FAR my favorite Elsa.

Ben tells Sayid that the list of those he wants dead “don’t deserve our sympathies.” This relates to the good vs. bad theme. Ben has said numerous times that he’s good, or one of the good guys. I’m DYING to know what this is about. Last I checked, good guys don’t hire hit men. And did you love when Sawyer refers to Ben as “Gizmo” from Gremlins as much as I did? . The likeness between the two of them is pretty uncanny.

WHO is R.G.? Could it be Regina, whom Daniel is talking to on the phone? WHO on earth does Elsa work for? My guess is Penelope Widmore’s father. And Daniel reminds Frank to return using the EXACT same bearing they came in on, so reminiscent of how Ben told Michael to escape on the boat using a very specific bearing… does that mean that Daniel is the man Ben has on the freighter? What do you think?