The Characters: Sayid (as leader)

I risk overusing the phrase “of my favorite characters” in this blog. Partly because my favorite characters are central factors: Jack, Sayid, Sawyer and to a lesser extent Locke, with a soft spot for Boone. But I have legitimate indifference for some other fan favorites like Hurley, Charlie and Rose, and I found the final scene of “The Constant” sappy and melodramatic.
So, Sayid is one of my favorite characters. Part of the reason I hope the reset worked is because Sayid was not doing well when Jack dropped the bomb down into the hatch. That said, I’m pretty sure Naveen Andrews is still a regular for the 6th season so I suppose it doesn’t matter how the writers bring him back, whether they completely erase the past five seasons or if they do something more contrived.

When it comes to battles for leadership, it is easy to focus on Jack vs. Sawyer, Jack vs. Locke or Locke vs. Ben. But early on it was Sayid who challenged Jack’s leadership more than any other castaway. Remember, John Locke spends the first few days just staring out into the ocean—obviously contemplating his sudden recovery. Meanwhile, Sayid organizes the survivors, telling them to ration food and water.[1] He disagrees with almost every major decision Jack makes. Sayid wants to put the Marshal out his misery,[2] does not want to burn the bodies in the fuselage[3], and does not want to go to the caves.[4] That last fight even spills over to the island true mark of leadership: Kate. Sawyer asks what it’s like having the doctor and Captain Falafel fight over her.

What finally units Jack and Sayid is their torturing Sawyer. After that, they are refreshingly cooperative. At the end of the 1st season, when Jack goes to the Black Rock for dynamite, he gives the gun case to Sayid. At the beginning of the 3rd season, after Jack, Kate and Sawyer have been captured, Sayid makes Sun and Jin wait for Jack’s anticipated arrival.[5] Sayid convinces Jack to lead the survivors to the radio tower rather than staying behind just for the chance to kill personally some Others.[6]

Sayid is a brilliant tactician while not sacrificing the right to dissent where reasonable minds might disagree. He refuses to seek out Rousseau for a battery to power the raft’s radio—but does go on the rescue mission when Hurley takes it initiative himself.[7] He also leads the anti-Jack and Juliet meeting when she first joins their camp and is still technically working for Ben.[8] He also advocates not opening the hatch, to the disagreement of both Jack and Locke.[9] Arguably we still do not know who was right in that case.

At times, Sayid is so clearly the group’s best tactician it tempts me to advocate the “Sayid is always right” theory. It is really only based on one great call. While Jack so blindly allows Michael to manipulate him and thereby get Jack, Sawyer and Kate captured, Sayid, to the audience’s relief, realizes Michael has been compromised.[10] Knowing that Sayid is going to be right about Michael, it is even more easy to spot other instances of Sayid’s insight in earlier episodes. While other characters are more often than not attacking the wrong suspect, Sayid is to first to realize things like Hurley stealing Rousseau’s maps and Shannon stealing the gun case.[11] He makes a lot of right calls in the 3rd season too, identifying the iced tea serving Mikhail as an Other based on a brief glimpse of a saddle.[12] Sayid also correctly predicts that Locke accompanied Sayid and Kate to the Others’ barracks for his own purposes and not to rescue Jack.[13]

But it if it is the little things that support the “Sayid is always right” theory, it is also the little things that make retain some impartiality. Sayid says that Shannon will never forgive him for saving Locke only a few days, in Lost time, before she sleeps with him. His biggest screw up though is right after Jack, Sawyer and Kate are captured. Sayid lies about waiting for Jack when is really planning to ambush the Others—a plan that goes wrong and almost gets Sun killed.[14] But Sayid apologizes and says he will listen to Jin next time. And as studies show, oftentimes a simple apology really does do the trick. Also, at the beginning of the 4th season Sayid does not want to pass Charlie’s warning about the freighter folk onto Jack[15] and however that turned out, Charlie was right, it wasn’t Penny’s boat.

The worst criticism of Sayid is that he lacks Jack’s stubborn need to save everyone. After Michael attacks Jin because he wrongly believes Jin to be responsible for the crime, Sayid encourages them to settle it between themselves.[16] It’s disappointing to see a beloved character encouraging the survivors to fight, corrupt and destroy.

Sayid’s best moment are his orders as Jack departs for the radio tower, slightly paraphrased: “don’t turn back for any reason; I am willing to give my life if it means getting rescued but not for nothing.”[17] Among a group of people who stubbornly and recklessly endanger their own lives in situations with obvious better alternatives, how refreshing is it t see someone genuinely brave and self-sacrificing but not foolish or sentimental about it? No wonder Jack seems so happy when Sayid agrees to help donate the bomb.[18] It isn’t taking a giant leap to imagine saving the island will require opposing forces to reunite. It should be remembered that Jack and Sayid have been working together along for the benefit of everyone on the island.

[1] “Tabula Rasa”
[2] Id.
[3] “Walkabout”
[4] “House of the Rising Sun”
[5] “The Glass Ballerina”
[6] “Greatest Hits”
[7] “The Numbers”
[8] “The Man Behind the Curtain”
[9] “Born to Run”
[10] “Three Minutes”
[11] “Numbers”; “The Greater Good”
[12] “Enter 77”
[13] “Par Avion”
[14] “The Glass Ballerina”
[15] “Beginning of the End”
[16] “In Translation”
[17] “Through the Looking Glass”
[18] “Follow the Leader”