Episode Analysis of 1.08 "Confidence Man"

WARNING: If you have not already seen all of LOST, please DO NOT READ THIS.

My LOST re-watch and in-depth episode analysis will include major details from the entirety that was LOST, and will be written with the perspective of having seen everything already. You will be SPOILED if you read any further. It is far better if you learn the story of LOST for yourself, as it is meant to be seen. Trust me on this, and don't say that I didn't warn you first. Seriously. Stop it. Now. Go watch it. Then, come back here.

To read my original post on this episode, please refer to Confidence Man.

This episode was written by Damon Lindelof, and directed by Tucker Gates. It originally aired on November 10th, 2004.

This is a James "Sawyer" Ford flashback-centric episode.

We begin with Kate, who is walking up the beach, along the shore-line, carrying a bunch of bananas over her shoulder.

2.14 One of Them

1. Iraq, Gulf War, bombing, shredding documents, Sayid says his commanding officer isn't there, Kate's dad, Sargent Sam Austen is in US Army, Sayid tells him officer fled to Hillah.
2. Ana Lucia tells Sayid she saw Rousseau, he tells her to go back, Rousseau takes him to a trap she set, Sayid is weary.
3. Sayid translates between his commanding officer and the US Army Sargent Austen, they want to know where a pilot is, Tariq tells Sayid that he is a disgrace, to kill them.
4. Sawyer finds Hurley with his stash of food. From Lost Hatch
5. Danielle takes Sayid to a man she caught in one of her traps. Henry Gale, from Minnesota. Sayid cuts him down, he starts to run, but Rousseau shoots him with a bow and arrow that she made, she believes he's one of them.
6. "He is one of them. Tie him up. You should take him to your doctor. He's no good to you dead." Rousseau "And then what?" Sayid "You talk to him, Sayid. As I recall, that is what you do. But know this--he will lie, a long time. He will lie." Rousseau From Lostpedia
7. Tariq, Sayid's commanding officer, before was head of Chemical Warfare Battalion in the North, personally supervised Sarin gas on a village, Sayid had relatives there.
8. "Loyalty is a virtue, but unquestioning loyalty, I don't think that's you." CIA operative Joe Inman says Sayid will have to make Tariq talk to him. From Lostpedia
9. Sayid wakes Locke, shows him Henry Gale, he says 4 months ago he crashed in his balloon trying to cross the Pacific, wife died 3 weeks ago, Sayid believes he is suspicious, he tells Jack not to untie him.
10. Jack removes the arrow from Henry, Locke says Gale is convincing. Sayid asks Locke to change the combination on the armory.
11. They put Gale in the armory, Sayid locks himself in with Henry.
12. Sayid tortures Tariq to get information. The pilot of the plane was executed 2 days ago, buried in a field 4 kilometers away, he tells Joe Inman.
13. "Sayid, you are a loyal soldier. The son of a great hero. Do not disgrace your father!" Tariq
14. Jack questions Locke and Sayid's decision to torture Henry, that he might be telling the truth, but Locke asks what if he is lying.
15. Henry Gale says he and his wife stayed on the beach, had ADF beacon, wife's maiden name was Murphy, they met at the University of Minnesota, she got sick, started as a fever, after 2 days she was delirious.
16. Sayid says he was 23 years old when the Americans came to Iraq, he was a good man, a soldier, but that it changed him, the next 6 years he tortured men.
17. "There is a part of me which was always capable. You want to know who I am? My name is Sayid Jarrah and I am a torturer." Sayid
18. Henry says his balloon is 140 feet high, 60 feet wide, 55,000 cubic feet of helium, 100,000 of hot air to keep her up, big yellow smiley face. He was rich, it was his dream, Jennifer though it would be neat, so he sold his mining company, non-metallic metals, he buried his wife in the jungle by his balloon.
19. "You would remember! You would remember how deep. You would remember every shovelful, every moment. You would remember what it felt like to place her body inside. You would remember if you buried the woman you loved. You would remember if it were true!" Sayid "Did you, did you lose someone? Did you lose someone here on the Island? Did you lose someone, too? What happened to her?" Henry Gale From Lostpedia
20. Jack hears Sayid torturing Henry and makes Locke give him the combination to the armory before he can push the button, the time goes down past zero and hieroglyphs show.
21. "You talked me into pushing that button once, John, but it's yours now. You're the one who won't risk it, you. Me? I don't think anything's going to happen when we get down to zero. You want to see what's going to happen? Let's just see what's going to happen!" Jack From Lostpedia
22. Jack pulls Sayid off of Henry, there are whispers apparently. Sayid tells Jack that Henry Gale is lying, Jack asks how he knows.
23. "Because I know. He is one of them." Sayid
24. Kate's dad, Sargent Sam Austen, on US Army helicopter, holding a picture of her. From Lost Hatch
25. The US Army is pulling out, not going to Baghdad, Kelvin speaks Arabic, Sayid says he'll never torture again, Kelvin gives him $600, bus fare back to Ramadi.
26. "What you made me do, no human being should ever have to do to another." Sayid "One of these days, there will be something you need to know, and now you know how to get it." Inman "I will never do that again." Sayid From Lostpedia
27. Sayid tells Charlie about Henry Gale, that Rousseau found him, that he beat him, Charlie asks him how he knows he's lying.
28. "I know because I feel no guilt for what I did to him." Sayid tells Charlie that everyone has forgotten about what happened to him and Claire, how they were taken, that Charlie was hanged and left for dead, that the Others are merciless. From Lostpedia

Questions:

1. Was "Henry Gale" caught in Rousseau's trap on purpose?
2. Is Danielle Rousseau working with the Others, with Ben Linus?
3. How, when did Sayid learn to speak English?
4. What happened to Sayid's family? Who was his father?
5. Did Ben know about Shannon's death?

Favorites:

1. "Tell him his mother is a goat." Tariq
2. "You know you're supposed to refrigerate that after you open it." Sawyer "Well, actually in the back it says it'll keep at room temperature for up to 7 years." Hurley
3. "You shot him with an arrow?" Jack "Do I have a bow?" Sayid
4. "If this was a scary movie, I'd be with a hot chick, not you, Barbar." Sawyer
5. "It kind of reminds me of a turtle I once had. Its name was Stuart. It ran off when I was 10. Well, that's what mom said. I kind of think she threw him out." Hurley

Notes:

1. Henry Gale is the name of Dorothy's uncle in the 1939 film, The Wonderful Wizard of OZ, where he arrived in the land of OZ when his balloon took him there by mistake.
2. Henry Gale is "one of them," meaning the others, and Sayid is "one of them" when he works with the Americans in the Gulf War.
3. This is the first time we see Henry Gale, or Benry. What were we getting ourselves into, Benjamin Linus?
4. The Sayid and Henry Gale scenes are so powerful, kudos to Naveen Andrews and Michael Emerson. I really love those scenes.
5. The apparent whispers when Jack is pulling Sayid off of Henry Gale, From Dark UFO: Too close (Right after Henry says “I’ll tell you whatever you want”). Don't talk to them (Behind "He's lying"). That guy's stupid (Behind "He's lying"). I'd never let them beat me. I protect my people. What do you want to do? (Very faint) Don't let them break you, Henry (Very faint). Who told you they're gone? Think carefully now. How are we gonna save Henry? You can't save him. I can hear you. What have I got to do? Try to save Henry (I can't see you).
6. The whispers when the countdown clock hits zero, From Dark UFO: (Center Channel) Let go of Henry. Can we (just) abort? I warned him not to do it. Can't do it from the shelter (south)? Can't move him ? Hello? Apparently they have done this before. Time to get another. I've decided to go with this (I want to see it). We'll decide. (Center Channel Fast)Stop him. That'll do (I'll go). I would have saved him but she ran into him. We need a torturer (Silence). Control of his buddy (Silence). You've heard them fighting for control? All over. (Center Channel Super Fast) What are they going to do to Henry in there?(Silence) Plan something. He got busted. It's not over (This part was a different speed than the rest). Obviously he knows something. Drop the (blast) door. It's gone wrong (In background). Don't set 'em free. (Left & Right Channel) You tell him what to do. Is he crawling? Why don't you tell him who you are? Thought I could get you to them. It's not over. Who called the doctor? (Left & Right Channel Fast) I don't think he'll be able to con them. Boy, that makes you confident. Is that computer on? How long has it gone for?(Combined with music) He's fine (Combined with music). (Left Channel Super Fast) Stand up so they'll call it off. Who are you caring about? He don't work. We wanted to share it. (Right Channel Super Fast) Somehow we will go and reach him. From here it wasn't so great.
7. The whispers during the interrogation/torture scene, From Dark UFO: Maybe we should have stopped it/him. Try to execute. We've got to see if we can get through to him (Sayid: Tell me about this balloon). Get off for a second (Henry: What?). Something's blocking it. It's right beside him (Sayid: This balloon that brought you here with your wife). Go ahead and do it. Might have heard from him. My eyes hurt (Henry: What do you want to know). Is he gonna give it away? He's interrogating him (Sayid: Everything). Calmly begin speaking and act completely. So, it's okay. We can get you through this ordeal. We are minding the radio (Henry: She's a hundred and forty feet high, sixty feet wide.) It ain't sixty feet. It can't be much taller than that, maybe a hundred footer (Henry: and when she's up in the air, 550,000 cubic feet of helium.) Clearly he thought you were on top if it. Clearly he's not too on top of it. That gives more to do. (Henry: And if you could look down on her.) He's on to him. Probably blew it. (Henry: you'd see a.) So, he buys it. He played him. (Henry: big yellow smiley face on top) It's not quite ready. I need help. They don't believe him. (Sayid: Why would you travel in that way?) Tell him "for my business." Why else would he do it? (Henry: Because I was rich.) Any country might have fit. Just stay calm and he won't hurt you. (Henry: It was my dream.) I know you're doing something. Screwed something up. He "beeped" it up. I don't know how else to put it.
8. I do not hear any of these whispers.

2.08 Collision

1. Ana Lucia is a police officer and has been out of work for 4 months.
2. Therapy, Danny left, firing range, she gets her badge back.
3. Sayid tries to attack Ana Lucia and fights Eko, who knocks him out.
4. Ana shot Shannon. She wants to tie Sayid up to keep him from attacking her. From Lostpedia
5. Ana was in an officer involved shooting. Her mother is her captain.
6. She wants to put her behind a desk, but Ana argues to go back on the street.
7. Eko decides to bring Sawyer back to camp so he can find Jack and he can save his life. From Lostpedia
8. Michael tells Sayid about Ana and the other tailies, about Walt being taken.
9. Jack takes Sawyer back to the Swan to fix him up.
10. "She has no plan. She only has her guilt, and a gun." Sayid
11. Ana Lucia sends Michael to get her a few boxes of ammo, a pack, a blanket, medicine, jeans and socks, and she says she'll let Sayid go.
12. They picked up Jason McCormack on an assault on an elderly woman in Echo Park, they have a partial fingerprint from the crime scene where he shot Ana 4 times. They caught him, he confesses, they need her to identify him, but she says it's not him.
13. Eko tells Locke what happened, that there was an accident and Shannon died.
14. Ana Lucia lets everyone but Sayid go.
15. Michael runs up on Sun at her garden, tells her Jin is fine.
16. Jack realizes it was Ana Lucia who shot Shannon, he agrees to go with Eko without guns.
17. Ana Lucia asks Sayid where he's from, if he has children. He asks her if she has children, if she's going to kill him.
18. "Almost 40 days ago on this very island I tied a man to a tree and tortured him. I tortured him as I've tortured many men--men whose voices I still hear in the night. Should you kill me? Maybe you should. Maybe you were meant to." Sayid
19. "I'm a cop. I was a cop. One night my partner and I responded to a burglary call. We were the first ones there. I covered the front and he went around the back. I was there a minute and then this kid comes right through the front door. I tell him to put his hands up, and he's says I'm making a mistake, that he's a student and he wants to show me his I.D. I believed him. I just, I let him reach. All I remember was a pop. By the time I hit the ground I thought I was dead. I feel dead." Ana Lucia
20. "Hey, Jason. I was pregnant." Ana Lucia shot him 6 times.
    
    
    
    From Lostpedia
    
21. Ana Lucia tells Sayid what happened to her, but says they never found Jason.
22. Ana lets Sayid go. Tells him to kill her, that she deserves it.
23. "What good would it be to kill you if we're both already dead?" Sayid
24. Everyone reunites back at the beach. Rose and Bernard meet again.From Lostpedia
25. Sayid carries Shannon's body away.
26. Ana Lucia and Jack meet again. They are wearing black and white. From Lostpedia

Questions:

1. Who is Danny? What happened between him and Ana Lucia?
2. How did Ana Lucia get away with murder?

Favorites:

1. "I heard about you and Danny. Want me to go kick his ass for you?" Big Mike
2. "I'm bringing hm water. You want to shoot me? Shoot me." Michael
3. "You know the lady's tee at my golf club back home is about 10 feet closer." Jack
4. "Wow. You really put it in there." Kate
5. "Hello." Locke "Hello." Eko

Notes:

1. This episode was originally titled "Old Habits" and was supposed to be Charlie-centric.
2. Locke answered the crossword puzzle clue 42 down "Friend of Enkidu" with Gilgamesh.
3. I love the reunion scene at the end. Michael and Vincent, Rose and Bernard, Sun and Jin.
4. Collisions in this episode: Ana Lucia and Sayid, Ana Lucia and Jason McCormack, Ana Lucia and Jack, Eko and Locke, Eko and Jack, Michael and Sun, Rose and Bernard, Sun and Jin, Michael and Vincent.
5. I don't care what anyone says. I like Ana Lucia. "Hey, Jason. I was pregnant." still gives me chills when I watch that scene.

1.09 Solitary

1. The photograph that Claire gave Sayid while looking through the luggage is of Nadia. From Lostpedia
2. It's been 2 days since Sayid left the group.
3. Sayid follows a wire on the beach and is captured by French woman who then tortures him and asks where Alex is in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian. From Lostpedia
4. "16 years? Has it really been that long?" Rousseau From Lostpedia
5. "Alex? Who is he?" Sayid asks Rousseau.
6. "Nadia? You left her too?" Rousseau "She wasn't on the plane. She's dead, because of me."
7. Rousseau shows Sayid a music box from her love, Robert, and Sayid says he will fix it if she tells him about herself, answers his questions. From Lostpedia
8. Her name is Danielle Rousseau. She was part of a science team. The vessel was 3 days out of Tahiti, the instruments malfunctioned. It was night, there was a storm, sounds, the ship slammed into the rocks, ran aground, the hull breached beyond repair. They made camp, dug-out a temporary shelter, and survived nearly two months before the others got sick coming back from the Black Rock.
9. Sayid asks if she's seen other people on the island. She says no, but that she hears them in the jungle, that they whisper.
10. "You think I'm insane." Rousseau "I think you've been alone for too long." Sayid
11. "There's no such thing as monsters." Rousseau leaves the bunker, Sayid takes her maps. From Lostpedia
12. "Robert didn't notice it was missing either when I shot him." Rousseau "But you loved him." Sayid "He was sick." Rousseau
13. "You're older than your years." Nadia, to Sayid.
14. Nadia's photograph, on the back, "You'll find me in the next life, if not in this one." Sayid says he's been holding on for 7 years to the thought that she still may be alive, which would make it 1997, after the Gulf War.
15. "Alex was my child." Rousseau
16. Sayid hears the whispers in the jungle on his way back to the caves.

Questions:

1. How did Rousseau learn so many languages? If she knew so many, then why did she put out the transmission only in French?
2. Why does Sayid say that Nadia is dead? The last thing he knows before he gets on the plane is that she is, in fact, alive. He is going to see her. Why would he say she's dead because of him?
3. Where did Sayid and her team get all the supplies from to build their shelter? From Lostpedia
4. Why does it seem like Rousseau was more military than from a science team? She has army-like fatigues and rifles.
5. Why is the needle Rousseau uses on Sayid so dull? What was she using it on?
6. What is the sickness? Why did Rousseau kill her team?
7. How was Alex taken? How does Rousseau know there are other people on the island, but she's never seen them? How could they take Alex without her seeing them?
8. What is the monster? Is it really a security system?
9. How did Rousseau not hear the plane crash on the island? This occurred at the same time as the system failure and the whole island shook.
10. Does Rousseau know what the monster is?
11. Why does Sayid leave Nadia's photograph?
12. What are the whispers?

Favorites:

1. Sullivan, the hypochondriac, and Jack as usual acting like he has more important things to do, because everything Jack does is important!
2. "Dudes, we're lost on an island! Running from boars, and monsters, freakin' polar bears!" Hurley "Polar bears?" Michael "You didn't hear about the polar bear?" Charlie
3. "Are you playing golf? Can I play?" Sullivan
4. "Doctor playing golf? What's next, cop eating a donut?" Sawyer
5. "No, it's a mulligan. Mulligan. It's a gentleman's sport." Charlie From Lostpedia
6. Locke giving Walt the knife.

Notes:

1. The first time we see Ethan. He hunts with Locke.
2. Rousseau calls her team "the others," which is funny now because we know there are other others, but at first it was used from Rousseau and the beach camp referring to their people.
3. This episode is the introduction of other things on this island.
4. The whispers from Lostpedia: (Male Voice) "Just let him get out of here" (Male Voice) "He's seen too much already." (Male Voice) "What if he tells?" (Female Voice) "Could just speak to him." (Male Voice) "No."
5. Also from Lostpedia: David Fury revealed in the first draft of the script, "there was an exchange (pitched by J.J. when he and I broke the story) in an early draft of “Solitary” when Rousseau tells Sayid she had been part of a research team. Sayid asks her what they were researching. She replies: "Time." The network saw that draft and asked us to remove the line. They were very timid about anything that smacked of Sci-Fi during the first season."

1.08 Confidence Man

1. "Hell of a book. It's about bunnies." Sawyer, to Kate, about Watership Down. From Lost Hatch
2. The woman that Sawyer cons is named Jess. Her husband's name is David.
3. "He says we have a connection." Kate, to Jack, about Sawyer. From Lostpedia
4. "We're not savages. Not yet." Jack
5. Sawyer's letter says America's Bicentennial, Knoxville, Tennessee on the envelope. From Lostpedia
6. "You were just a kid.. 8 maybe 9 years old." Kate
7. "How's that for a tragedy? I became the man I was hunting. I became Sawyer." Sawyer From Lostpedia
8. "Someone has to walk the shore and map the island. I can't think of anyone better to do it than the only one I trust." Sayid
9. They've been on the island two weeks.
10. "I hope we meet again." Sayid, to Kate.
11. I Shall Not Walk Alone, montage.

Questions:

1. Sawyer tells Jessica that he has $140,000, but then later he says he has $160,000 of his boss's money. Was he stealing money or is this a blooper?
2. Why did Sawyer leave the money behind when he backed out on the con?
3. Why does Sawyer want to be hated so much? Why would he want to be tortured for just a kiss from Kate?

Favorites:

1. "You going through my stuff, boy?" Sawyer, to Boone.
2. "I'm gonna kill him." Jack "That won't help." Kate "Maybe not. But it'll feel good." Jack
3. "Don't you miss anything besides food?" Claire
4. "Whoa. That was like a Jedi moment." Hurley
5. "I'm a big guy. It's gonna be a while before you're gonna want to give me a piggy back ride." Hurley, to Charlie when he asks him for peanut butter.
6. "Good morning." Sayid
7. "Is that all you got? Splinters? No wonder we whooped your ass in the Gulf War. Don't stop now, my sinuses are finally clearing up." Sawyer
8. "Baby, I am tied to a tree in a jungle of mystery. I just got tortured by a damn spinal surgeon and a genuine Iraqi. Of course I'm serious." Sawyer, to Kate about the kiss.
9. The pretend jar of peanut butter scene. From Lostpedia

Notes:

1. Boone is an idiot.
2. Shannon needs her inhaler and everyone thinks Sawyer has them, which leads to Sayid torturing him and Kate and Sawyer kissing for whatever reason.
3. Kate figures out that the letter Sawyer reads wasn't written to him, but by him.
4. Sayid leaves in shame after torturing Sawyer.
5. Locke allows Sayid to believe that it was Sawyer who sabotaged his signal triangulation.
6. Sayid leaving is the beginning of the exploration of the island.