• Written By: Leonard Dick
• Directed By: David Grossman
• Backstory: Sayid
• Featured Storylines: Shannon, Jack, Charlie/Claire

The Greater Good

Caves: Sayid is watching Shannon tend to Boone’s body. He asks if there’s anything he can do for her, and explains what Sun told him about Boone.

--flashback—

Sayid is walking through an airport, in military custody. He’s taken to a room. A couple of people from ASIS and the CIA explain that he’s there because of a planned bombing in Sydney, with someone Sayid knew from college involved in the terrorist cell, and they need him to help find out more. Sayid blows them off, but they tell him they know where Nadia is.  

Jungle: Kate is walking around, looking for Jack. He comes out of the bushes. She tells him he needs to come back, because he hasn’t slept. Jack reiterates his hunt for Locke because of what happened to Boone. Kate tells him the rest of the castaways need their leader to come back. 

Beach: The castaways gather around a fresh grave, and prepare to bury Boone. Jack asks if Shannon has anything to say. She stays silent. Sayid speaks, talking of Boone’s bravery. 

Locke suddenly shows up, and explains about how Boone died. No-one’s buying it. Jack demands to know where he was, and then attacks Locke. Sawyer and Charlie pull him off. 

--commercial break— 

In the midst of his rage, Jack suddenly collapses.  

Walking back, Jack insists to Sayid that Locke is lying. Sun and Sayid plead with Jack to get some rest. 

--flashback— 

A group of Muslim faithful are saying prayers. Sayid and his old friend Assam are among them. The friend catches up with him after prayers. They greet each other excitedly. The friend explains that he’s been living there in Sydney for a year. Sayid asks after his friend’s wife, and his friend says she was killed by a stray bomb. He invites Sayid over. A group of people at the friend’s apartment are playing a video game. Sayid looks around, getting an idea of what the group is about. He looks up to a smoke detector which appears to be malfunctioning. He climbs up, as the others wonder what he’s doing, and pulls a bug out of the detector. He asks to know what the group really does. Assam tells the group that Sayid, with his communications skills, could help them. 

Beach encampment: Charlie and Sun plead with Claire to get some rest. She’s reluctant, wanting to keep an eye on the baby, which Charlie calls turniphead. They finally convince her, and Charlie assures her nothing’s going to happen to the baby.  

Further down the beach, Locke sits down next to a despondent Shannon, handing her Boone’s backpack. He tries to comfort her, and asks if she can forgive him. She’s silent. He gets up and leaves. 

Caves. Shannon approaches Sayid. She mentions his offer of help. Shannon asks if he can do something about Locke having killed her brother. 

--commercial break— 

Beach. Kate brings Jack some fruit juice, demanding he drink it and get some rest. Jack wants to get up, but he’s suddenly woozy. Kate admits she crushed some sleeping pills to make him get some rest. He zonks out. 

Caves. Locke is washing out his shirt, which is covered with Boone’s blood. Walt watches him. Sayid asks Locke where he got the long scar on his side. Locke says it’s a war wound. Sayid asks about the radio in the drug plane, and asks Locke to bring him to it so he can scavenge parts from the radio for the transmitter he’s making for the raft. 

On the way out to the plane, Sayid starts asking questions about how they found the plane, etc. Locke realizes he’s being interrogated.  

--flashback— 

Sayid and Assam are kicking around a soccer ball, talking a bit about the group leader’s plans. It becomes clear that Assam is to be the martyr for the bombing. Sayid is shocked. 

Dock: Sayid explains to the CIA agent that Assam is reluctant to do the bombing. The agent says he needs to convince Assam to do it because they won’t otherwise find the explosives. Sayid refuses. They threaten him with arresting Nadia if he doesn’t do it. 

Back on the island, Charlie is trying to calm the squalling turniphead by singing to it. Hurley comes up, asking what’s up. Hurley tries singing James Brown to the baby. No luck. 

At the plane, Sayid determines that the drugs in the plane are in fact heroin. He asks Locke more questions about how the plane fell, and why Boone climbed up himself. Sayid picks around the plane, and Locke asks him why he doesn’t trust him. Sayid mentions the gun in Locke’s pocket. Locke mentions that he took it off the plane’s occupant that they found. He hands the gun over, but Sayid is still nonplussed. To gain his trust, Locke finally explains that the person who knocked him out when they were trying to get the signal (Episode 7) was him.  

--commercial break— 

Enraged, Sayid grabs Locke by the neck and shoves the gun in his face, demanding to know why Locke did what he did. Locke explains that he did it to keep them from going to a possibly dangerous place. Sayid asks about the hatch, saying Boone mentioned a hatch. 

--flashback— 

Sayid tries to talk Assam into doing the bombing, explaining that he should avenge his wife’s death. He agrees, and asks Sayid to do it with him. Sayid agrees. 

Beach encampment. Shannon is going through Boone’s backpack, looking at pictures. Sayid comes up to her and asks how she is. He asks her to go for a walk. He says he spoke to Locke and believes that Boone’s death was an accident. Shannon is not impressed.  

Raft: Walt asks Michael some details about the raft, trying to ensure they’ll be safe. Charlie comes up with the baby, asking for help on calming it. Sawyer comes up, and starts complaining about the baby. His voice calms it. Charlie starts following him.  

Encampment: Jack wakes up. Kate gives him some food. Jack jokes about what’s in it. He suddenly realizes that the key to the gun case is not on his neck. They stalk off, assuming Locke took it. Sayid comes up to them and says it wasn’t Locke.  

Pouring rain, and we see Shannon getting a gun out of the case. 

--commercial break— 

--flashback-- 

A van comes for Sayid and Assam. It takes them to a warehouse with an explosive-laden truck. The leader gives them instructions. They climb into the truck. Assam begins to pray, then starts the truck. Sayid tells him to stop. He explains he’s working with the CIA, and tells Assam to get a 10 minute start before he calls them. Assam is enraged at the betrayal, and pulls a gun on Sayid. Sayid pleads with him. Assam aims the gun at himself, and pulls the trigger. 

Jungle. In the ubiquitous dramatic rain, Sayid, Jack and Kate find Shannon aiming a gun at Locke. Sayid pleads with her. Shannon tells them to stay back. Shannon demands to know what happened. Locke tries to explain. Sayid tackles her just as she fires. The bullet grazes Locke’s head. Shannon screams in frustration at Sayid and runs off. Jack looks at Locke, laying there, bewildered, and turns his back on him. 

--commercial break— 

Encampment. Sawyer, in his funny glasses, reads from a magazine to the baby. Claire comes up, asks Charlie what’s going on. She soon gets what’s happening. 

Night. Kate comes up to Sayid, who is staring at a broody Shannon across the way. She explains that Shannon just needs time. Sayid isn’t so sure, and wonders if he did the right thing. 

--flashback— 

The CIA agent gives Sayid the information to find Nadia, who is now living in LA and give him some plane tickets. He asks what will happen to Assam’s body. They explain that he’ll be cremated. Sayid demands that they bury him, in accordance with his religion. They say no one will claim the body to do it. Sayid says he will claim it, and demands they change his flight so he can.  

Beach: Sayid approaches Locke, who’s tending to his head wound. Locke thanks him for doing what he did. Sayid says he did it because he sensed he could help them survive, but he still doesn’t forgive him for what he did. He then demands that Locke take him to the hatch. Locke tries to blow him off, but Sayid insists, telling Locke, no more lies. 

--end episode 21--