Official Discussion: 1x09 Solitary

[Hollywood Heidi]

1x09 Solitary

Original Air Date: November 17, 2004
Centric: Sayid centric
Directed by: Greg Yaitanes
Written by: David Fury
Summary: Trekking around the Island, Sayid finds himself the prisoner of a mysterious woman (guest-star Mira Furlan) who apparently lives on the Island. Elsewhere, Hurley builds a golf course to try to help the survivors unwind after their traumatic ordeal. Flashbacks in this episode focus around Sayid's choice between his career and his childhood love, Nadia. (tv.com)
Trailer:

 

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Discuss the episode! Below are some discussion points to get you started.  Feel free to simply copy and paste and insert your thoughts or write out your thoughts however you like.  Constructive comments make for better and more interesting conversations so feel free to elaborate and explain your thoughts, conclusions, and opinions.  Repeat Viewers, answer these as if watching for the first time or what your original answers would have been when you first watched:

What did you think of the episode?

What expectations or theories did you have that either ended up right or wrong?

Who was your favorite character in this episode and why?  Least favorite?

What scenes or situations did you like best?  Least?

What were some of your favorite quotes?

How do you rate this episode compared to the rest?


Repeat viewers
Be mindful of the first-time viewers and give fair warning of spoiler comments by putting spoiler tags (directions below) or at the very least keep them at the bottom of your post with a big texted SPOILER before it.

[spoiler]spoiler text[/spoiler]
What do you think of the episode now that you've seen the whole series?

Did you find anything new you didn't catch the previous time(s) watching?

[Hollywood Heidi]

I gave the ep 4 stars though I feel, like most eps, it deserves a 5.  I need to save those 5's for the eps that are truly spectacular!

First off, I'm so excited that with this episode, we're starting to get a hint at the exciting stuff that'll be coming along!  I cannot wait to go on this ride again and live vicariously through you first-time viewers!  I know I've said that so many times already but with this ep reminding me of the roller coaster that's been ticking slowly up the steep incline and nearing the top, ready to send us diving and loopty looping, I'm getting crazy excited!

HOLY CRAP!!!  THE FRENCH LADY IS ALIVE!!  That was my reaction the first time I watched this as well as the reaction around the watercooler.  The show was really getting people to buzz excitedly about it at this point.  So we learn her name is Danielle Rousseau.  She seems to be kinda crazy.  16 years living alone with no human interaction could do that to somebody.  But really, is she crazy or just a little out of social practice?  How much of what she said was just crazy rantings or imaginings and how much of it might bear some truth?

What is the Black Rock?  What is this Sickness she's referring to?  Were her people really sick and with what or did she herself get sick in the head with some delusion of them being sick and kill them?  She also spoke about the Others.  Who are the Others?  Real or imaginary?  She said, "I hear them.  Out there.  Whispering."  We thought she was crazy right along with Sayid but then at the end, when Sayid is walking back, suddenly, we hear... WHISPERS!  WTF?!  Omg, that scared the crap out of me.  I'd be running back to the camp faster than I'd ever run before!

I like the exchange between Sayid and Danielle when Sayid looked at her with pity and she said that he thought she was crazy.  He said that he thinks she's just been alone too long.  But then later, as she's climbing out to investigate the noise and Sayid said, "Maybe it's the monster," she looked at him like he was crazy and said, "There's no such thing as monsters."  It's strange though, if you think about it.  She's been there 16 years.  Surely she's seen the thing that's been knocking down trees at least once in all that time?  Or knew what Sayid may be referring to?

I was really surprised that Sayid had pulled the trigger.  Good thing the firing pin had been removed.  But was he really aiming to kill?  I like to think he was aiming beyond her and was hoping to just do a warning shot to show he meant business but perhaps not.  Either way, I was surprised at how easily pulling the trigger had come to him.  Despite his past, he's reformed and his reason for leaving his camp was because he was ashamed of falling back into his past with his torture of Sawyer.  I guess we can argue that Danielle was holding a gun on him as well and he believed he was dealing with a crazy person who straight up told him he can't leave.

I love the golfing scenes!  It's great to get some lightheartedness every now and again.  Hurley is right.  Yes, they need to do the important things like gather wood and food and such but just like life in the real world, we all need to unwind, especially when we've been having stressful times.  It was hilarious that they were betting money and people were all like, yah, okay but then when Sawyer came along and bet sunblock and Sullivan his dinner, everyone was all excited for the betting.  Lol, it's great to see how your circumstances of living changes what's important and what you'd get excited about.

This ep didn't start on an eye.  I'm surprised at how many haven't so far.  I guess I was remembering incorrectly when I thought they ALL did but I think it might just be the fact that I remembered the importance of that and mixed it up with the frequency.

It's nice to see a little screen time from some of the other survivors.  We got to see a little of Sullivan, the hypochondriac, and Ethan, who went hunting with Locke and who Locke proclaims is pretty good at it.  Fun fact, the guy who plays Ethan is William Mapother and is Tom Cruise's cousin in real life.

It seems Sawyer is at least trying to make an attempt to get along with the others, thanks to Kate encouraging him and later helping him out by taking his bet.

It's obvious Michael isn't used to the whole parenting thing yet.  One minute, he's chastising Hurley for wasting time on building the golf course and the next, he's joined the game and distractedly apologizing to Walt when Walt tells him he left him at the caves alone and didn't come back like he said he would so don't be mad, Michael, when you find out Locke is handing big sharp knives to your son and teaching him how to throw them!


Favorite Quotes/Moments:

Jack: Things could be worse.
Hurley:  *choke of laughter* HOW?!

Hurley: Welcome to the first, and hopefully last, Island Open!

Michael: All the stuff we've got to deal with, man, this is what you've been wasting your time on?
Hurley: Dudes, listen.  Our lives suck!  Everyone's nerves are stretched to the max.  I mean, we're lost on an island, running from boars and monsters... freakin' polar bears!
Michael: Polar bears?
Charlie: You didn't hear about the polar bears?

Sawyer: Doctor playing golf?  Woo, boy howdy!  Now I've heard everything.  What's next, cop eating a donut?

Hurley and Charlie's dance of distraction while Jack tries to take his shot.

[DarkSideCookie]

5 star rating from me! I enjoyed every second of this episode, so it deserves the 5. It also made me like Sayid and feeling sad for him. Whoa, but at first I thought he really would kill Nadya. I was so relieved that he didn't and so touched that he helped her to escape, even shot his own leg.
The scenes were so well-matched! And the music was fitting so well either! I got goosebumps on that background music at the Danielle scenes. And the ending was so awesome and creepy!

German's title is "Einzelhaft", which means "solitary confinement". With just "solitary" is meant the same, right? So there's actually no change this time.

HAH I KNEW IT! The french lady is alive! I even think someone else from that group of scientists could have survived. But I'm sure I'll learn about it later anyway. But despite, I was of course pretty excited about this scene with Sayid meeting Danielle deep inside the jungle. Oh geez, I almost was scared witless, as the "Where is Alex?" voice came from behind!!! Have to add, that I've Surround Sound on my tv, and so the voice seriously came from behind lol!
I don't think that Danielle is truely crazy. I'd say she's more like being alone for too long, just as Sayid phrased it, though he probably just did to not tell her about thinking she's crazy. I'm pretty sure Danielle says the truth, maybe involuntary exaggerated.

I'm totally curious about what the Black Rock is. If it's a rock at all or just a name for something different?

I'm also relieved that the firing pin of the rifle had been removed, especially because it reprieved him from even more sorrow about what has done. I'm sure Sayid was ready to pull the trigger, as Danielle seemed to be crazy and held a rifle in her hands either. Crazy people are unpredictable and that way he never would know if Nadya had survived her escape. Hm on the other hand, I'd have understand if he didn'r care that much to be killed, as he believes in the sentence from the photo's back. Or at least he surely WANTS to believe. I thought btw it was a very beautiful goodbye note!
Plus I think that with the torture of Sawyer his inhibition level maybe has transgressed somehow and so it happens faster to act like in the past, though of course he doesn't want to be like that anymore.

I loved the golfing scenes too! Was nice to see all of them in a situation like that together. And Sawyer coming along in the end was pretty cool. Aaaaand... there was a smile on Kate's face, looking at him. Yes Heidi, I AM a Skater! lol