# Lost 1.21 "The Greater Good" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381 "2005-05-04T15:52:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/61 "2005-05-05T17:58:01Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > \ > In the first few minutes, the makeup (I hope) job on Jack was unbelievable–I’ve never seen anyone look _that_ tired, with the eye-bags and everything, and buy it as completely. > \ When he laid back after being told he was drugged _he really looked drugged_! His pupils looked dilated, his eyes looked glassy, and it didn’t just look like he was not focusing–It looked like he _couldn’t_ focus. I wondered at the time if they might not have actually doped him up to make it look real, but I just can’t believe they would take the trouble and the risk. Still, a lot more realistic than the usual menthol or glycerin in the eyes drunk effect. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/62 "2005-05-05T18:03:45Z")
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I thought it must have taken some serious stones for the producers of a hit prime-time American series to decide, in the current political climate, that it was safe to show a couple of sympathetic Muslims debating the morality of a massively murderous terrorist attack against the U.S. Okay, yeah, the situation was dramatically manipulative on a couple of levels, but having Sayid’s brother saying “I don’t think I can go through with it” _as if he thinks that’s a bad thing_ is, in my opinion, a jaw-dropper for American television. Great show. Loved every minute of it, comedy and drama. And for once, I got the sense that they were giving answers to some of our burning questions (who hit Sayid?) without really adding any major mysteries to the pile. This is definitely a good thing. And Sayid’s dialogue at the end — “I’m getting the sense that you’re the key to our survival, but I still don’t trust you” — was a real eye-opener. (And Walt’s desperately-delivered line in the previews, “Don’t open the thing,” gave me serious chills. What the hell is that about?) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/63 "2005-05-05T18:27:53Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > I don’t know about the rest of you, but I thought it must have taken some serious stones for the producers of a hit prime-time American series to decide, in the current political climate, that it was safe to show a couple of sympathetic Muslims debating the morality of a massively murderous terrorist attack against the U.S. U.S.? When did they say that? I was under the impression that the target was Aussie. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/64 "2005-05-05T18:34:01Z")
Yes, I think the target was Australian. They were in England first, when they caught Sayid and were telling him what he had to do, and then they went to Sydney to find the explosives and that guy that he “accidentally” bumped into at the mosque. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/65 "2005-05-05T18:58:47Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Smug mode ON Yes, Smeg, you were right. :rolleyes: 😉 > [@BiblioCat](#): > > Are you people nuts? Have you forgotten the first rule of _Lost_? My parents called me at 7:10 all, “Hi, how are you? We love you!” blahblahblah. Me: “Great, yeah, well Lost is on, so… BYE!” I had to take the second call. Well, I guess I didn’t **have** to, but I wanted to. I figured I wouldn’t miss too much and, anyway, that’s what you guys are for. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/66 "2005-05-05T19:03:03Z")
My hubby is working a thousand miles away right now, so I called him five minutes before _Lost_ started and warned him that (a) I was going to be watching the show and (b) if I missed even 5 seconds of it I’d probably miss something important. A courteous way of telling him to eff off without getting him upset. Worked, too. 😃 Sending your hubby to another city works well for uninterrupted nerd-lusting, too, **rockle**. By the time commercials come on and we call each other to talk about what happened in the last segment, I’ve got my drooling back under control. I highly recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/67 "2005-05-05T19:16:59Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > I don’t know about the rest of you, but I thought it must have taken some serious stones for the producers of a hit prime-time American series to decide, in the current political climate, that it was safe to show a couple of sympathetic Muslims debating the morality of a massively murderous terrorist attack against the U.S. Okay, yeah, the situation was dramatically manipulative on a couple of levels, but having Sayid’s brother saying “I don’t think I can go through with it” _as if he thinks that’s a bad thing_ is, in my opinion, a jaw-dropper for American television. How is that any different than “24”? I didn’t see the Muslims as sympathetic. How do you get that? And was the other guy Sayid’s brother? I thought they were former college roommates or something along those lines. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/68 "2005-05-05T19:26:04Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > And was the other guy Sayid’s brother? I thought they were former college roommates or something along those lines. They were room-mates in college. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/69 "2005-05-05T19:32:21Z")
Cairo University, to be exact. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/70 "2005-05-05T19:49:18Z")
> [@Mama Tiger](#): > > Sending your hubby to another city works well for uninterrupted nerd-lusting, too, **rockle**. By the time commercials come on and we call each other to talk about what happened in the last segment, I’ve got my drooling back under control. I highly recommend it. Tonight I am trying something they call “Counter Strike Source.” I will let you know how that works out. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/71 "2005-05-05T20:03:23Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Cairo University, to be exact. Freshmen Residence Hall. 3rd floor. Nah, just kidding. I missed the show last night (stoopid VCR didn’t start recording when I hit the button), and I had to contribute _something…_ ---
**Author:** ![YWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6f9a4e/32.png) [@YWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YWalker)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/72 "2005-05-05T20:57:33Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > OK, so, like, this totally misses the point of the entire rest of the episode, but: Kate _said_ she gave a Jack a crushed-up sleeping pill, but did she _really_? I’ve hold my husband before that I was giving him a sleeping pill, and it was really just an aspirin. Jack didn’t look like he needed the extra help – he just needed to sit still for a minute. Maybe the juice was just juice, you know? I think the bit about her drugging him made it more plausible that Shannon was able to remove the key from his neck while he slept. But I, too, thought it would’ve been pretty damned ironic if Jack had shrieked that he had a drug allergy after she told him she’d slipped him the mickey… ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/73 "2005-05-05T21:12:02Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > U.S.? When did they say that? I was under the impression that the target was Aussie. :smack: That’s what I meant. Confused myself by the reference to American television. > [@John Mace](#): > > How is that any different than “24”? I didn’t see the Muslims as sympathetic. How do you get that? Haven’t watched _24_ this season, so I can’t comment on that. But I found rather striking the scene where Sayid, clearly one of our regular protagonists, and his “brother” (not blood brother, sorry about that) were walking in public, and working through their respective concerns (“all these innocent lives” vs “the greater good”). Obviously I don’t find terrorists sympathetic, but the point is that the characters weren’t being shown in the simple-minded capital-T Terrorist Evil Bad Guy way we typically get. (See _True Lies_, for example.) He was a real guy, with a real life and real worries about the horrible thing he had agreed to do. And to clarify, the cell organizer, by contrast, the guy who gave them the explosives-laden bomb and their instructions, was absolutely not sympathetic. It’s just that the “brother,” the ostensible terrorist who was asked to deliver the device and commit the actual attack, was presented as a complete character instead of a simplistic villain. Dunno. Maybe it’s just me. Hey, look at Hurley! Hurley’s singing and dancing. Funny funny Hurley. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/74 "2005-05-05T21:14:32Z")
Funniest moment (in my house): Shannon holding a gun on Locke. My wife breaks out into “Everybody run… the homecoming queen’s got a gun.” Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/75 "2005-05-05T21:15:52Z")
No, it’s not just you. They did a very good job of establishing a complete character. They had to, for Sayid’s distress to work. We had to feel what Sayid felt when his friend took another way out. It’s about choices we (and they) make… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/76 "2005-05-05T21:17:06Z")
> [@tanstaafl](#): > > I also noticed the discrepancy between what Sayid said about Nadia in _Solitary_ (where he tells Rousseau that she is dead because of him) and this episode where she is apparently alive (as I see no reason to disbelieve what the CIA woman told him). Either there is a continuity error or something happens in the 26 hours between the time the CIA woman gave him the info and the time he actually gets on the plane that we haven’t seen yet. Or Sayid was lying to Rousseau. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/77 "2005-05-05T21:27:18Z")
> [@zev\_steinhardt](#): > > Shannon holding a gun on Locke. My wife breaks out into “Everybody run… the homecoming queen’s got a gun.” Now that’s funny! Maybe Shannon was just trying to scare Locke, not kill him. You know, because she thought those were Ich Luge bullets in the gun… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/78 "2005-05-05T22:07:49Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > (And Walt’s desperately-delivered line in the previews, “Don’t open the thing,” gave me serious chills. What the hell is that about?) Way back in one of the first few ep threads, I said I was getting a feeling that the writers were foreshadowing Walt to be very important. Maybe my impression will finally become true, and then ALL WILL WORSHIP ME!!! Then again, they could just be setting us up for something else big to happen. Happened before, preview made us think one thing, episode shows something else happening. I like the way they do that to us from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/79 "2005-05-05T22:30:31Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Maybe my impression will finally become true, and then ALL WILL WORSHIP ME!!! Nah. When they open up Pandora’s Hatch, we’ll just shove you inside, then lock (Locke?) it quickly. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381/80 "2005-05-05T22:31:45Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Then again, they could just be setting us up for something else big to happen. Happened before, preview made us think one thing, episode shows something else happening. I like the way they do that to us from time to time. Maybe Walt says “Don’t open it!” to Mike when Mike discovers a present Walt made and wrapped for Locke. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-21-the-greater-good/302381.md?page=5)