The Economist (403)

[GateWorld]

LOST SEASON FOUR THE ECONOMIST EPISODE NUMBER - 403 Sayid and Kate attempt to rescue Charlotte from Locke, in order to gain passage to the freighter. In the future, Sayid romances a Berlin woman in order to gain access to her elusive employer. VISIT THE EPISODE GUIDE >

[Morbo]

wow.
i have no idea where this show is going, but it is awesome.

so, ben isn't in the coffin we saw in jack's flash forward last season - cause he's still making lists apparently.

and the war to find the island and its people is clearly still being waged.

the whole Mittelos = LOST TIME is true. 31 minutes true.

I wonder if the bearing Daniel told the pilot to fly out on is the same that Ben told Michael to take in the boat.

and a few other things i can't remember right now.

[TheGreatLordGeorge]

wow.
i have no idea where this show is going, but it is awesome.

so, ben isn't in the coffin we saw in jack's flash forward last season - cause he's still making lists apparently.

I initially thought that too, but then again it would't be above ben to fake his own death. Also, do we really know thats ben? The spoiers siad that they would reveal one more oceanic 6 member. That begs the question, how did he get off?

Kate
Jack
Hugo
Sayid
Ben

[memnarch]

Actually, we don't know if it was Ben in the coffin or not. Keep in mind that we don't know where in the timeline Sayid's story occurs. It could be before Jack's attending of the funeral. Also, recall that Jack didn't have a beard in Hurley's flashforward, yet he sported one in his own jump forward.

Also, if you want to know who the Oceanic Six are, according to spoilers, look at this:

Spoiler:

Jack
Kate
Hurley
Sayid
Sun
Jin
& possibly Aaron as well (this last one may be speculation)

If true though, it may indicate that Claire is either unable to leave the Island or is dead in the future.

Anyway, a very interesting episode which raises a lot of questions, not that that's very surprising, given what show it is...I'm sad to say that the channel I was watching inexplicably put commercials IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREAKIN' SHOW, so I missed some things, like the majority of Kate and Sawyer's chat. Still, Locke's pulling one over on Sayid and Kate was kind of unexpected. I had gathered from the previews that Hurley's disagreement with Locke was genuine and is what led to his getting off the Island, but I guess that's not the case.

Additionally, I am once again stoked that Sayid is as skeptical as he is. At first I was puzzled as to why he went with Jack's group, but it seems that he's trying to find out what the Freighter folks are all about for the greater good of the survivors. His working with Ben is also an interesting turn. I'm wondering if the friends Ben mentions refers to members of the Oceanic 6, or those still on the Island. Desmond coming back onto the scene was nice as well, especially given that Frank didn't seem to want to answer his questions about Penny.

Overall, I'm very interested in where the action's headed and look forward to the ride, especially given that the writer's strike is over and we'll be getting 5 more episodes.

[KatG]

Very interesting episode.

Totally didn't expect Sayid to be working for Ben.

BTW: Ben is not one of the Oceanic 6 - he wasn't on the plane, so conceivably Ben, Juliett and Desmond could get off the island as well and we still have 2 more to figure out.

And Ben could still be the one in the coffin - Sayid's flash forward could be before Jack's flash forward.

[metabog]

Very interesting episode.

Totally didn't expect Sayid to be working for Ben.

BTW: Ben is not one of the Oceanic 6 - he wasn't on the plane, so conceivably Ben, Juliett and Desmond could get off the island as well and we still have 2 more to figure out.

And Ben could still be the one in the coffin - Sayid's flash forward could be before Jack's flash forward.

So we are supposing that NONE of the other survivors got off the island? That's kind of discriminatory, to expect that only the main characters escape.

[KatG]

So we are supposing that NONE of the other survivors got off the island? That's kind of discriminatory, to expect that only the main characters escape.

All I'm supposing is that based on what we know - that Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid and Ben are apparently off the island, and since Ben is not an Oceanic survivor, that we still have two more plane crash survivors to make up the Oceanic 6. And that since Ben made it off, it's conceivable that others who were not on the plane, but were on the island made it off. And since the only two remaining ones who were not on the plane are Juliet and Desmond, it's conceivable that they could get off the island too.

The only thing we know for sure from the flash forwards though is that 7 people make it off the island - Jack, Kate, Sayid, Hurley, (2 other plane survivors) -hence the Oceanic 6 - and Ben.

[Suzotchka]

So we are supposing that NONE of the other survivors got off the island? That's kind of discriminatory, to expect that only the main characters escape.

They may get off at some point that we don't know about yet. But as far as the viewers know, there are only the "Oceanic 6" that come off.

[LiquidKal]

What the frak! ...is going on?
Sayid working for Ben... I didn't see that coming. For some reason my first thought when Ben was on screen but they hadn't revealed his face yet was that it was Jack's dad. I don't know why I thought that.

Whats with the 31 minute lost time thing?
Is time on the island displaced from the rest of the world by 31 minutes? but it doesn't affect radio transmissions? How the frak is that possible?

Holy buckets, I love this show

[Dev Corvin]

What the frak! ...is going on?
Sayid working for Ben... I didn't see that coming. For some reason my first thought when Ben was on screen but they hadn't revealed his face yet was that it was Jack's dad. I don't know why I thought that.

Whats with the 31 minute lost time thing?
Is time on the island displaced from the rest of the world by 31 minutes? but it doesn't affect radio transmissions? How the frak is that possible?

Holy buckets, I love this show

Several ways. The simplest being that the strong EM fields given out by the Island cause space to warp around the island, causing physical objects travelling at conventional velocities to take longer to travel between the island and the real world than they would if the space around it was "straight".

Ie, dropping a ball into a bowl of water with a layer of treacle at the bottom. Takes longer for the ball to pass through the treacle than it does to pass through the water. Kinda a crude analogy but you get the point.

[marty2006]

What the frak! ...is going on?
Sayid working for Ben... I didn't see that coming. For some reason my first thought when Ben was on screen but they hadn't revealed his face yet was that it was Jack's dad. I don't know why I thought that.

Whats with the 31 minute lost time thing?
Is time on the island displaced from the rest of the world by 31 minutes? but it doesn't affect radio transmissions? How the frak is that possible?

Holy buckets, I love this show

yea i thought at first it may have been christian shephard also, great episode sayid was great in it

[LiquidKal]

Several ways. The simplest being that the strong EM fields given out by the Island cause space to warp around the island, causing physical objects travelling at conventional velocities to take longer to travel between the island and the real world than they would if the space around it was "straight".

Ie, dropping a ball into a bowl of water with a layer of treacle at the bottom. Takes longer for the ball to pass through the treacle than it does to pass through the water. Kinda a crude analogy but you get the point.

Of course, that makes sense.
I was thinking in terms on bending time only for some reason.
But if its warping space-time as a whole that fits with the whole Snow globe thing Desmond discovered and following a specific bearing to escape the field.

Actually, it's still a little weird now that I think about it some more. The chick on the boat was tracking the payload and giving its distance, so relative to her it did land at the time she said. If she was only tracking the distance it traveled and comparing it to the distance to the landing site then the payload would have fallen short and landed in the ocean. ...so based on that, it must mean time was also being distorted, but if so it would have affected their communication. But then again, my logic skills probably aren't the best, lol. Any physicists here to explain?

I find this stuff fascinating.

[Amalthea]

I think the fact that Sayed is working for Ben in the future indicates that somehow, Ben gains control again on the island in the present. I suspect he is going to somehow sufficiently manipulate Locke to accomplish this. After which, he allows "The Oceanic 6" off the island, but keeps everyone else (except perhaps Juliette/Desmond) there for research purposes. Furthermore, letting the 6 or more off is part of his experiments/furthering goals he has.

Now, to that end, Sayed is obviously his assassin. He's probably killing off ex Dharma people. I'd say Hugo is bait to draw them out since really, we all know the guy is a soft touch. Kate... I'm not sure. And I'm not going to speculate on spoilers as to who gets to leave the island.

And, I think Locke is in the coffin and that he's one of the 6 and likely killed himself after Ben tried to get him to do something. Couldn't take the guilt and such.

So those are my thinkings... awesome episode.

[nowvoyager908]

I have no idea where this show is going, but I am loving every minute of it. Reading everyone's interpretation of what is going on is half the fun.

So Sayid is working for Ben. Didn't see that one coming. For a minute, I thougt it might be Christian Shepard when Sayid stumbled into the vet's office (or whatever that was). But as soon as you heard the voice . . . oh noes, it's Benjamin Linus himself.

I've read that the last two of the Ocean Six are probably

Spoiler:

Sun and Jin. Since she is pregnant and will die if the baby is born on the island, I guess this makes sense. Maybe that's why Kate makes it off the island as well.

Someone on another site suggested that if time is different between the island and the real world, than maybe its Sayid who is Ben's man on the boat. I can't quite wrap my brain around that one, but this is Lost, so who knows. LOL. Or maybe it is Michael, as is the general consensus. Ben let him go with Walt knowing Michael would be found by the freighter and could report back.

I'm not sure anymore if the person in the coffin is one the Oceanic survivors. The Oceanic 6 seem to be pretty well known, but when Jack was reading the announcement about the death, it didn't mention that the deceased was a member of the Oceanic 6. Maybe it's Ben. Maybe it's someone we haven't met yet.

We're supposed to find out another member of the 6 next week. I can't wait to see what happens next.

I have to add on a completely shallow note: Sayid cleans up real good. Between him, Desmond and Sawyer, I was in fangirl heaven.

[Darren]

I have to say, I actually saw Ben as Sayid's employer coming for the last third of the episode or so. It just makes sense in the twisted and perverse mind that is Darlton.

The two are probably targeting those anti-island folks that Ben had been afraid of for so long, people affiliated or semi-affiliated with Dharma. I bet dollars to donuts that Charles Widmore is one of them -- I expected him to be the Economist, and to show up at the end of this episode.

Very surprised that Hurley let Locke use him as bait.

I still think Michael is Ben's man on the boat. Of course, that might be a fairly obvious security threat to the Freighter People, since Michael escape the island thanks to Ben and the others. 'Course, they probably don't know that story.

I am liking the new Freighter People a lot, which I'm sure is the point. Make them likeable so we never know who to trust. Daniel and Charlotte especially are quite loveable so far.

[SoulReaver]

What the frak! ...is going on?
[...]
Whats with the 31 minute lost time thing?

it pity it wasn't 33 minutes instead - would've made an interesting connection with another series

[Jumper_One]

this ep wasn't as fast paced as the previous two, instead it raised more questions. I liked what we saw of future Sayid, it kinda makes sense that he becomes a killer. however I had no idea that Ben would be his employer, cool suprise. I also think Michael is Ben's man on the boat, I hope we'll get to see him soon. I can only imagine Sayid's and Desmond's reactions...

whatever's gonna happen to Kate and the other guy, Locke better got a plan. and what's with the 31 mins that were somehow lost? wow can't wait for the next ep!

[dosed150]

I have no idea where this show is going, but I am loving every minute of it. Reading everyone's interpretation of what is going on is half the fun.

So Sayid is working for Ben. Didn't see that one coming. For a minute, I thougt it might be Christian Shepard when Sayid stumbled into the vet's office (or whatever that was). But as soon as you heard the voice . . . oh noes, it's Benjamin Linus himself.

I've read that the last two of the Ocean Six are probably

Spoiler:

Sun and Jin. Since she is pregnant and will die if the baby is born on the island, I guess this makes sense. Maybe that's why Kate makes it off the island as well.

Someone on another site suggested that if time is different between the island and the real world, than maybe its Sayid who is Ben's man on the boat. I can't quite wrap my brain around that one, but this is Lost, so who knows. LOL. Or maybe it is Michael, as is the general consensus. Ben let him go with Walt knowing Michael would be found by the freighter and could report back.

I'm not sure anymore if the person in the coffin is one the Oceanic survivors. The Oceanic 6 seem to be pretty well known, but when Jack was reading the announcement about the death, it didn't mention that the deceased was a member of the Oceanic 6. Maybe it's Ben. Maybe it's someone we haven't met yet.

We're supposed to find out another member of the 6 next week. I can't wait to see what happens next.

I have to add on a completely shallow note: Sayid cleans up real good. Between him, Desmond and Sawyer, I was in fangirl heaven.

i think that funeral could jut be a red herring meant to confuse us it could turn out its someone only jack knows whos not linked to the island at all

[The_Carpenter]

i think that funeral could jut be a red herring meant to confuse us it could turn out its someone only jack knows whos not linked to the island at all

Didn't Kate seem to know who it was as well though?

[Jumper_One]

Didn't Kate seem to know who it was as well though?

I think so. at least they're talking about it in 'Through the Looking Glass Part 2'

Spoiler:

Kate: why did you call me, Jack?




Jack: *hands her piece of newspaper* I was hoping that you'd heard...



Jack: ...that maybe you'd go to the funeral




Kate: why would I go to the funeral?