Sayid Jarrah, International Man of Mystery: More Thoughts About "The Economist"

economist

1. an expert in the science of economics
2. a thrifty or frugal person

The Economist
A political and literary magazine written by anonymous sources who speak with a collective voice

BEN

Where does Alex fit into Ben's secret life as an off-island spy? Did his secret life have anything to do with how he 'obtained' her from Danielle Rousseau at birth? How could his 'daughter' not notice his frequent disappearances from the island?

It still isn't clear whether or not Ben is one of the 'good' guys off-island. Is he truly working with Sayid to protect the Oceanic 6 or those still on the island? And if so, why? Why start now?

We all know that Uncle Benny loves bunnies. And now we see that his facade is a vet's office. I wonder what the hell kind of experiments he was running on those dogs in cages. Does he have Vincent??

Is Mittelos Bioscience one of the 'fronts' that Ben uses for his off-island business? If so, Richard Alpert plays a larger role than we originally thought. What about Widmore Corporation or Paik Heavy Industries?

We recently found out (from Juliet) that Kate and Sawyer were hauling rocks back on Other Island last season because the Others were building a runway. Was this Ben's backup plan because Locke (supposedly) blew up the submarine? Was he arranging for the construction of Other Airport to accommodate his side hobby as Bond, Benjamin Bond?

BEN'S SECRET SPY ROOM

On the passport that we glimpse in Ben's secret room, his alias is Dean Moriarty. Dean Moriarty is the name of a character in Jack Kerouac's On the Road, and Moriarty is a character in Sherlock Holmes.

Sayid came across a copy of the Holy Quran, an Islamic religious text, in Ben's bookshelf. Was this an indication that Ben had a premeditated plan to educate himself in order to recruit Sayid to the dark side?

Among the stacks of international currency in Ben's desk, there was a Bank of England note with a picture of famous physicist Michael Faraday...not to be confused with nut-job physicist Daniel Faraday from the Freighter Four. But obviously a visual clue and nod in that direction.

CHARLOTTE

When she is reunited with Frank and Daniel, why didn't she immediately tell them that Ben claimed to have a man on their freighter? Are the Freighter Four already aware of the infiltration?

When asked whether or not she wanted to return to the freighter, Charlotte uttered the same statement that Walt had said to Locke, that she "has work to do."

DESMOND

Desmond knows that the freighter isn't Penny's boat, and you'd think he would be suspicious of outside visitors to the island, from his many years of experience in the hatch, etc. More than anything, he is probably curious to find out if the freighter is also traveling in circles and can't leave the proximity, like his sailboat.

Why is it that the Freighter Four freaked out when they found out that Juliet wasn't on the plane, but don't seem to notice or care that Desmond wasn't either?

We have yet to find out whether or not Desmond is still experiencing Future Flashes. Does he know more about the Freighter Four and their mission than we think? Does he know, at this very moment on the island, who the Oceanic 6 will be?

THE ECONOMIST

Some people might assume that Ben was the Economist. Other candidates include Matthew Abbadon (the menacing Oceanic lawyer who commissioned Naomi and the Freighter Four to find Ben/the guy who visited Hurley at the institution), Penny's father (Daddy Widmore), and Sun's dad (Mr. Paik).


ELSA

Who did she work for? Was she also working for Ben, not realizing the connection to Sayid? Is that why he paged her a half hour too late?

Was her bracelet engraved like Naomi's, and if so, was it from R.G. as well?

Her name may be homage to either Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Elsa tricked Indy; she was a traitor) or Casablanca (leading man must choose between Ilsa and doing the right thing).

ISLAND v. REAL TIME

If there is a discrepancy between time and space on the island and the outside world, why and how is Daniel able to communicate with the freighter in real time? Are the airwaves not affected?

Would any of this time/space continuum speculation explain why Richard Alpert doesn't age?

{My friend Brian is shy and didn't leave the below theory as a Comment, so I am posting it on his behalf and giving him credit}...

"If Elsa is employed by Jacob, perhaps the phone call came from the island (or Jacob himself).

The English translation of Elsa's conversation in German with her employer was: 'You were supposed to call me at 10:30, not at 10:00.' In the subtitles, the 'not at 10:00' was removed. Which means that the call was early, not late.

Daniel's clock said it was 2:45pm and the clock from the drop off had it at 31 minutes later. Perhaps the island is 31 minutes ahead of 'real' time. Maybe Daniel's clock was based on the position of the sun or some other kind of natural source of time not affected by the island.

In the scene after the comparison of Daniel's 2 clocks, when Sayid & co. enter Ben's house, there is a clock by the door that shows the time as a few minutes after the 3:15pm time on the drop off clock - which to me would mean that 3:15pm is closer to island time (or reversed; Ben was keeping track of real time at his house, but that would get confusing to visitors that didn't know the truth).

So if someone called from the island at 10:30, based on the island time, it would be a phone call 30 minutes too early in Germany - which is why Elsa got the call early."

KATE & SAWYER

A day or two ago (in Lost/island time), Sawyer told Kate that he hoped she wasn't pregnant. The next day, he wanted to settle down in Other Village with her and play house. Sawyer didn't want to be rescued and attempt domestic bliss back in the real world because he knew that his rumbles in the jungle with Kate would not continue off-island. The sullen stud has lost his way since offing the real Sawyer (Anthony Cooper).

The scene when Kate was hiding behind the bed in Ben's house and Sawyer walked in was very reminiscent of Sawyer's first flashback...as a kid, he was hiding under the bed as his parents fought and then died in a murder-suicide.


SAYID

He goes from reformed torturer to praying negotiator on the island, and returns to ruthless assassin upon re-entry into society. Whatever Ben is holding over him, it's working. Whether that is Nadia or the lives of the other Oceanic 5, it remains to be seen.

The Oceanic 6 were supposedly celebrities after rescue, but either their fame wore off quickly or it lasted only in the paparazzi-heavy U.S. The Italian man on the golf course didn't recognize him right away, and Sayid travels openly around the globe, using his real name, without so much as a side glance from anyone. Let's face it, of the Oceanic 6 we've met thus far, Sayid would be the most memorable. Is there a chance that he's only claiming to be one of the Oceanic 6, when in fact he wasn't? Did Ben arrange for his rescue after the real Oceanic 6? Was Sayid able to pass himself off as one of them in international cities because his name was on the Flight 815 manifest?

The dude gets shot a lot. He shot himself to make it look like his fellow officer shot him when Nadia escaped. Mikhail shot him in the arm on the island. Elsa shot him in the shoulder off the island.

LINGERING QUESTIONS

Why does the freighter have a missile launcher?

Why hasn't anyone asked Frank the Pilot how he was injured? He didn't crash the helicopter or parachute in, so how did he sustain that gash to the head? Perhaps a secret encounter with Smokey, a boar or a polar bear?

SLEEP-DEPRIVED THEORIES OF THE WEEK

One of the Freighter Four is in the infamous coffin. This person was neither friend nor family to Jack, and yet he was emotionally distraught because their passing represented the island and his guilt about being rescued while some of his friends were left behind.

We know that Ben has a secret room, but he is also concealing the hiding place of Flight Attendant Cindy, the Tail Section Kids and other miscellaneous Others and Hostiles/Natives. I have always maintained that there is an underground facility/village beneath the island, and something tells me that we will find out soon enough whether or not that is true.
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Frankly, I'm exhausted. So this entry was shorter than I'd anticipated. I'm sure that more mysteries will swirl around my brain this weekend, and I will share them with you as they unfold.

I will end this week's blog with a confession that illustrates my level of...dedication to the show. I pre-purchased the brand new Lost: Via Domus video game for the PC. Go check out the trailer for it; you don't have to be a gamer or geek to appreciate the realistic detail and understand the allure! It debuts and arrives in a few weeks, and will be the first video game I've purchased in ten years (the last being an interactive X-Files one).

Have a great holiday weekend!