This episode was OK for me. I liked that we finally got to see Sayid as a child (the first glimpse at his childhood that I can remember). Some of the trips through his timeline seemed a little choppy to me (I expected more of a conflict or a betrayal between Sayid and Ben after Sayid’s killing spree came to an end), but overall I give this episode high marks. I was just looking for more of a connection between Sayid the bloodthirsty henchman of Benjamin Linus and Sayid the “I’ll kill you if I ever see you again, Benjamin”. I guess he was just upset that Ben led him to believe there was a greater purpose to all the bloodshed. But we’ll get to Sayid’s “purpose” in a minute.

The episode’s title, “He’s our you,” is the line Sawyer mutters to Sayid when he’s introduced to Oldham. If you thought Oldham looked vaguely familiar, that’s because he is; actor William Sanderson is best known for his work as “Larry” from the TV show Newhart. I half expected his brother Darrell and his other brother Darrell to emerge from the tent, too. He played a creepy Dharma whack job torturer. One of my favorite bit characters in the series to date.

The real issue here is whether or not Sayid has altered history with his decision to take the life of a young Benjamin Linus. Earlier in the episode, Ben tells Sayid “You are capable of things most of us aren’t. It’s in your nature. It’s what you are. You’re a killer.” In the 1977 timeline, Sayid has clearly made the same estimation of Ben’s character and decides to attempt to alter the course of history by taking the life of Ben to avert all the pain that he will inflict upon so many. It’s the whole “if you could, would you go back in time and kill Hitler before he slaughtered millions” argument. And with that parting shot, Sayid decidedly answers “Yes, I would.” This, he believes, is his purpose.

But I’m doubtful that things will work out so easily. As we know, the Island has a way of course correcting when things don’t go according to plan. Moreover, the Island has a way of not allowing certain things to happen to you until it has decided that it’s “finished” with you. (See again: Michael’s unsuccessful off-Island suicide attempts.) We know Ben serves some sort of purpose in the Island timeline, so I have a feeling that Sayid’s shot didn’t do the trick. In fact, I have a feeling we’ll see that Sayid’s shot ultimately accomplished just the opposite: rather than killing Ben, Sayid’s murder attempt most likely will turn out to be one of the contributing factors that leads Ben to become the great Island manipulator. And that, my friends, is what you call irony.

Other interesting tidbits:

• As Horace and his band of merry Dharma suburbanites are trying to decide Sayid’s fate, Radzynski threatens to call Ann Arbor. Of course, we know Ann Arbor is the home of the University of Michigan where Gerald and Karen DeGroot (founders of the Dharma Initiative) were doctoral candidates. I’m wondering if we’ll finally get a glimpse of the DeGroots at some point this season.

• My friend SKID states this in his LOST ruminations: “There is a growing population who are staking their tents in the “Amy is an Other” camp . . . but argue that Paul was with DHARMA . . . and that it was Amy’s Ankh necklace, she was just taking it back after giving it to him. They argue that Ethan was the last baby delivered on the island, and that is because he is “Tainted” as a mix of Native/Newcomer blood. This tainted bloodline offended the Island and it stopped people from breeding.” If Amy is really an “Other”, this would make sense of the jungle confrontation scene where Paul is executed. I like this idea.

• Why is it so important to keep “The Swan” model a secret? Radzynski just keeps prattling on and on about it. Enough already.

• Another note from SKID: “Some have suggested that Sun and Ben were unable to go back to 1977 because they are already there (as children). This theory has gotten a lot of mileage on the web but still does not explain Lapidus not flashing unless you argue that he was never one of the original folks so his not flashing is like all the other passengers not flashing. It COULD be that Sun’s dad (Mr. Paik) has some connection to the island’s past since we know that he IS in some cahoots with Hanso, Widmore, and the like in his business dealings, SO it could be that Sun might have even been born on the island and is there as a child now, but I’m not sure I follow all of this and one reason being that Miles is there and everyone thinks that Miles is the baby of Dr. Chang . . . and of course the bigger reason being that Jin would have likely met little Sun”