Lost (ABC) Ties War on Terror, Vengeance to Island Mystery

After the long break, Lost was back with a vengeance this week, vengeance being the key word here.

In the aftermath of Boone’s tragic, poignant death, the key players on the Island of Fate are left distraught, bleary-eyed, and looking for a scapegoat.

Enter Locke (Terry O’Quinn), who took off during Boone’s final hours to have an as yet revealed rendezvous with the mysterious hatch.

Meanwhile, we’re sent into the past and Sayid’s (Naveen Andrews) final hours before boarding the doomed plane that would send him to his new home. We soon find out that he has been dealt a hard bargain by the CIA: deliver his friend (who has terrorist connections) or never see the love of his life again, a woman he has been seeking for many years.

The plot thickens (as it often does on Lost) as Sayid is forced to convince his fairly dim-witted friend to go through with being a suicide bomber. This must be done in order to deliver the explosives to the CIA before detonation and to, in theory, save his would-be murderer-friend’s life.

Andrews-as-Sayid really shines in this episode, as does almost every character given significant screen time on this well acted, brilliantly scripted show. He plays the role with just the right balance of sensitivity and steel, really bringing to life what could have been a one-dimensional former Iraqi intelligence officer.

When Sayid’s friend kills himself after finding out that he had been played, you know that Sayid had done the right thing, yet paid some incalculable price for it. This plotline dove-tailed beautifully to the island present, which found Jack (Matthew Fox) and more importantly Shannon (Maggie Grace… related to Topher Grace, perhaps?) after Locke’s blood.

The nail-biter ending deals Sayid a very similar quandary: do the right thing (stop Shannon from killing Locke) and pay a terrible price for it (the loss of Shannon’s feelings).

The ultimate reward for Sayid, of course, is that Shannon is Bad News with the tallest capital B and T one can construct. But it remains to be seen whether Shannon’s thirst for vengeance has been satisfied, and who (or what) the next target might be.

But there are bigger questions to consider:

Is it possible the island is the most vengeful entity of all?