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Solitary (Lost)
Encyclopedia
"Solitary" is the ninth episode of the first season of Lost
. The episode was directed by Greg Yaitanes
and written by David Fury
. It first aired on November 17, 2004 on ABC
. The character of Sayid Jarrah
(Naveen Andrews
) is featured in the episode's flashbacks.
finds a mysterious cable running out of the ocean and into the jungle. When it was first discovered, it was slightly damaged, revealing wires within it. While following it, Sayid is caught in a trap. He is suspended upside down and recites the Shahadah. A mysterious French woman
(Mira Furlan
) cuts him down and ties him to a bed in a bunker. She asks where Alex
is, but when Sayid says he does not know, she shocks him with electricity using batteries and a cable. Sayid tells his torturer his story and about the French transmission. The torturer then identifies herself as Danielle Rousseau, the person who sent out the distress signal. Danielle finds a picture of a woman among Sayid's possessions, and he identifies her as Nadia.
At camp, everyone is stressed. John Locke
(Terry O'Quinn
) and his new hunting companion, Ethan Rom (William Mapother
), give some newly found luggage to Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
). He looks through it and finds golf clubs. The next morning, Hurley builds a golf course to improve morale among the survivors.
Rousseau asks Sayid about Nadia, and he says that she is dead because of him. Rousseau shows Sayid a broken music box, and he tells her he will fix it. Rousseau reveals that she was part of a science team, and they were shipwrecked on the island about three days from Tahiti
. She identifies the Others as the carriers of a sickness that her companions caught, and says that the Others whisper in the jungle, although she has never seen them. Sayid doesn't believe her, but continues to fix the music box. After he is finished, he asks Rousseau to let him go. They hear a growl outside, and Rousseau pursues it, leaving Sayid alone.
Sayid escapes from Rousseau's bunker while she is gone, grabbing a rifle
and notes she made about the island. Rousseau finds him and they have a standoff; he fires the rifle, but nothing happens. Rousseau says she removed the firing pin, and Robert, her deceased husband, made the same mistake before she killed him. She then reveals that it was she who killed her team, under the motive of stopping the disease from reaching the outside world. Sayid talks Rousseau into letting him go, but before he leaves, he asks about Alex. Rousseau says that Alex was her child. While trying to find his way back to camp, Sayid hears the whispering Rousseau told him about.
commented that Rousseau appeared to be more emotionally fragile than in later seasons, and was like a "loose cannon." Carabott found that as the series progressed and the mystery around the character was lessened, Rousseau was unable to deliver the same impact she made in her first appearance.
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
. The episode was directed by Greg Yaitanes
Greg Yaitanes
Greg Yaitanes is an American television and film director.-Directing career:*Damages **"Jesus, Mary and Joe Cocker" **"A Pretty Girl in a Leotard" *Lost...
and written by David Fury
David Fury
David Fury is an American television Screenwriter and Producer, best known for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lost, 24, and Fringe.Fury was a Co-executive producer and Writer for the first season of Lost...
. It first aired on November 17, 2004 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. The character of Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Hassan Jarrah is a character from the ABC show Lost portrayed by Naveen Andrews.-Season 1:Sayid fixes the transceiver recovered from the cockpit, and leads a group into the jungle in order to send out a distress signal. Instead, he picks up a looping message . He tries to locate the...
(Naveen Andrews
Naveen Andrews
Naveen William Sidney Andrews is a British American actor. He is best known for portraying Kip in the movie The English Patient and Sayid Jarrah on the American television series Lost.-Early life:...
) is featured in the episode's flashbacks.
Flashbacks
Sayid is torturing a prisoner who will not answer his questions. When he steps outside, he recognizes a new prisoner. He is then instructed to torture her until she answers his questions. Sayid discovers that the woman is Nadia (Andrea Gabriel), a childhood friend. She reveals that she has been tortured before, and nothing Sayid does will persuade her to talk. Sayid's superior tells him to execute Nadia. He cuffs Nadia and puts a hood over her head. When they are alone he frees her and tells her how to escape. His superior finds and attempts to kill them both but Sayid fatally shoots him. Nadia first thinks that he will have to leave with her now but he instead shoots himself in the leg and tells her to leave as reinforcements arrive, making it appear as if Nadia shot Sayid and the other officer to escape.On the Island
SayidSayid Jarrah
Sayid Hassan Jarrah is a character from the ABC show Lost portrayed by Naveen Andrews.-Season 1:Sayid fixes the transceiver recovered from the cockpit, and leads a group into the jungle in order to send out a distress signal. Instead, he picks up a looping message . He tries to locate the...
finds a mysterious cable running out of the ocean and into the jungle. When it was first discovered, it was slightly damaged, revealing wires within it. While following it, Sayid is caught in a trap. He is suspended upside down and recites the Shahadah. A mysterious French woman
Danielle Rousseau
Danielle Rousseau is a fictional character on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of over forty people after their plane crashes on a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific. Croatian actress Mira Furlan plays the scientist who shipwrecks on the island sixteen...
(Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan is a Croatian actress and singer currently residing in the United States. She is well known for her roles as the Minbari Ambassador Delenn on all five seasons of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 , and Danielle Rousseau on Lost.-Early life:Furlan was born to an...
) cuts him down and ties him to a bed in a bunker. She asks where Alex
Alex (Lost)
Alexandra "Alex" Linus is a recurring fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Tania Raymonde. She was born 16 years prior to the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, but was taken from her mother, Danielle Rousseau by the Others. She was raised among them, believing her mother to...
is, but when Sayid says he does not know, she shocks him with electricity using batteries and a cable. Sayid tells his torturer his story and about the French transmission. The torturer then identifies herself as Danielle Rousseau, the person who sent out the distress signal. Danielle finds a picture of a woman among Sayid's possessions, and he identifies her as Nadia.
At camp, everyone is stressed. John Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) and his new hunting companion, Ethan Rom (William Mapother
William Mapother
William Reibert Mapother, Jr. is an American actor and former teacher, perhaps best known for his role as Ethan Rom on the television series Lost.-Personal life:...
), give some newly found luggage to Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia
Jorge García is a U.S. actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker and later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian.-Early life:García was born...
). He looks through it and finds golf clubs. The next morning, Hurley builds a golf course to improve morale among the survivors.
Rousseau asks Sayid about Nadia, and he says that she is dead because of him. Rousseau shows Sayid a broken music box, and he tells her he will fix it. Rousseau reveals that she was part of a science team, and they were shipwrecked on the island about three days from Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
. She identifies the Others as the carriers of a sickness that her companions caught, and says that the Others whisper in the jungle, although she has never seen them. Sayid doesn't believe her, but continues to fix the music box. After he is finished, he asks Rousseau to let him go. They hear a growl outside, and Rousseau pursues it, leaving Sayid alone.
Sayid escapes from Rousseau's bunker while she is gone, grabbing a rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
and notes she made about the island. Rousseau finds him and they have a standoff; he fires the rifle, but nothing happens. Rousseau says she removed the firing pin, and Robert, her deceased husband, made the same mistake before she killed him. She then reveals that it was she who killed her team, under the motive of stopping the disease from reaching the outside world. Sayid talks Rousseau into letting him go, but before he leaves, he asks about Alex. Rousseau says that Alex was her child. While trying to find his way back to camp, Sayid hears the whispering Rousseau told him about.
Reception
17.64 million American viewers tuned in to ABC to watch the episode. In a review of the episode, Chris Carabott of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
commented that Rousseau appeared to be more emotionally fragile than in later seasons, and was like a "loose cannon." Carabott found that as the series progressed and the mystery around the character was lessened, Rousseau was unable to deliver the same impact she made in her first appearance.