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The Economist (Lost)
Encyclopedia
"The Economist" is the third episode of the American Broadcasting Company
's fourth season
of the serial
drama
television series
Lost
and 75th episode overall. It was aired on February 14, 2008 on ABC in the United States and on CTV
in Canada
. The episode was written by co-executive producers Edward Kitsis
and Adam Horowitz and directed by executive producer Jack Bender
. In the episode's narrative, Sayid Jarrah
(Naveen Andrews
) and Kate Austen
(Evangeline Lilly
) negotiate for John Locke
's (Terry O'Quinn
) hostage Charlotte Lewis
(Rebecca Mader
), while physicist and Kahana crew member Daniel Faraday
(Jeremy Davies
) discovers that time on the island runs at an offset from the rest of the world. Another storyline follows Sayid working as an assassin after being rescued from the island.
"The Economist" was watched by 14 million American viewers and received positive reactions from critics.
(Matthew Fox
) and Miles Straume
(Ken Leung
) argue about what to do about leader of the Others, Ben Linus (Michael Emerson
), and Miles's colleague Charlotte, both sought after by Miles and his colleagues and taken prisoner by Locke. Sayid pays his respects to Naomi Dorrit, and takes her bracelet. He then offers to retrieve Charlotte without bloodshed, in return gaining a helicopter
flight to the freighter anchored offshore. He takes along Miles and Kate. Sayid asks Jack not to come with them as he might be unpredictable around Locke.
While Sayid is gone, Daniel
asks Regina (Zoë Bell
), a colleague on the freighter to shoot a projectile
onto the island. Regina does so, but the projectile does not arrive for thirty minutes. When it lands, Daniel extracts a clock from the payload and finds that the two times, that running on the island and that running outside, are not synchronized.
The survivors led by Locke arrive at the location of Jacob's cabin, but find the area deserted. Locke changes his course to the barracks, and uses Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
) to ambush Sayid, Kate and Miles. Kate is watched by James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
), and they discuss their reasons for wanting or not wanting to go home. Kate, realizing that she would be arrested for her crimes upon rescue, defects to Locke's group. Sayid negotiates with Locke to exchange Charlotte with Miles, in order to get access to the boat. Locke tells him that wouldn't be necessary as Ben has a spy on that freighter, to which Sayid responds that he would rather sell his soul than trust Ben.
At the helicopter, Desmond Hume
(Henry Ian Cusick
) confronts pilot Frank Lapidus
(Jeff Fahey
) about the picture Naomi had of him and his ex-fiancé Penelope Widmore (Sonya Walger
). Frank denies any knowledge of her, but Desmond nevertheless demands a place on a helicopter. At the same time, Sayid returns, with only Charlotte. While Frank accuses Sayid of being dishonest, he considered Miles a "pain in the ass", and agrees to fly him offshore.
The episode's flashforwards are centered on Sayid, who had since become one of the Oceanic Six. He is hired as an assassin, and courts a German woman, Elsa (Thekla Reuten
), in order to get closer to her employer (the eponymous "economist"). After several dates, Sayid turns on Elsa, who reveals herself to be a counter-spy by unexpectedly shooting Sayid in the shoulder. Sayid is able to shoot and kill Elsa. As the episode ends, Sayid is treated for his wound by Ben, who gives him another assignment. Sayid is now wary since they now know that he's after them, to which Ben replies, "Good".
—in particular, the writing eventually "gravitated" towards a story much like the Jason Bourne
franchise. The story was justified by Sayid's status as part of the "Oceanic Six", as his celebrity status would provide the perfect cover for his clandestine activities. The episode was written in autumn 2007.
An important scene in the episode regarded Faraday's experiment and the resulting time differential. The scene set up a prominent theme of "time-travel" for later episodes. In the episode's respective podcast, Lost' s show runner
s Carlton Cuse
and Damon Lindelof
further discussed the time differential as part of an already existing theme regarding transport between the island and the rest of the world. In particular, the theme was alluded to the "Orchid video", a Dharma Initiative
video that premiered at the 2007 Comic-Con
.
However, some scenes in the episode gained unintentional significance. The Boston Red Sox
won the World Series
for the second time in three years after the episode was written, which prompted the question "Is it possible Lapidus is actually from 2008?" due to his annoyed reply. Likewise, the only reason that Elsa and Naomi had similar bracelets was that it would serve as an "emotional touchstone" for Sayid. After the episode, the producers received several emails about both issues.
Andrews enjoyed his role in "The Economist". He appreciated that, unlike the third season, he was able to "push the story forward", which he thought was "infinitely more interesting and rewarding." The premise "threw [him] for a loop", and he was pleased with how complex the episode was.
of 5.8/15 in the key adults 18–49 demographic. In Great Britain, Lost brought in 1.2 million viewers.
The first four episodes of the fourth season were watched beforehand by TV Guide
, who called them "worth the wait" and "emotionally satisfying". TV Guide also stated that they "provide gaspworthy plot twists that should whip fans into a theory-spinning tizzy." Sarah Vasques of eFluxMedia thought the scene where Daniel discovers the time discrepancy the most mind-blowing scene of the episode. Entertainment Weekly
commented that "for the second straight year, Cupid
was kicked in the nuts", as the episode "Flashes Before Your Eyes
" also aired on St. Valentine's Day. Also discussed in the review was possible Biblical allegory to the Book of Daniel
. However, Mark Madley of The National Post thought that this episode, along with the previous two, gave away too much plot detail, and compared the off-island storyline to "that awful Stallone
/Banderas
movie Assassins
". Don Williams of BuddyTV
thought that the scene where Sayid disposes of his cellphone after calling Ben "like an episode of Alias
", and finished his recap by saying "consider my mind blown again". MaryAnn Johanson of Film.com called the episode "mind-blowing", and theorized that Sayid had been working for Ben before the crash, and that the crash of Oceanic 815 was deliberate. Chris Carabott of IGN
stated that, in the episode "Sayid Jarrah is a badass who could give Jack Bauer
, James Bond
, and Jason Bourne
all a run for their money", and praised Losts nature for being able to have "a lighthearted episode featuring Hurley [one week] and the next can be an action spy thriller starring Sayid." He praised the episode for being a perfect example of serialized television, and thought that Elsa's double cross to be "very reminiscent of Vesper Lynd
and her true employer in Casino Royale
". Overall, he rated the episode 8.6 out of 10.
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...
's fourth season
Lost (season 4)
The fourth season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing on the American Broadcasting Company Network in the United States, and on CTV in Canada on January 31, 2008 and concluded on May 29, 2008...
of the serial
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
drama
Dramatic programming
Dramatic programming in the UK, or television drama and television drama series in the US, is television program content that is scripted and fictional along the lines of √a traditional drama. This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Lost
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...
and 75th episode overall. It was aired on February 14, 2008 on ABC in the United States and on CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The episode was written by co-executive producers Edward Kitsis
Edward Kitsis
Edward Lawrence Kitsis, also sometimes credited as Eddy Kitsis, is an American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on the popular American television series, Lost and Once Upon a Time.-Life and career:...
and Adam Horowitz and directed by executive producer Jack Bender
Jack Bender
Jack Bender is an American television and film director, actor, television producer and also a screenwriter. Bender was an executive producer and lead director on the ABC television series, Lost. He directed the series finale of Lost. Bender has also directed on other popular shows such as The...
. In the episode's narrative, 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:...
) and Kate Austen
Kate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
(Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
) negotiate for 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...
's (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,...
) hostage Charlotte Lewis
Charlotte Lewis (Lost)
Dr. Charlotte Staples Lewis is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company television series Lost, played by Rebecca Mader. Charlotte is introduced in the second episode of season four and is a cultural anthropologist on a mission to the island where Oceanic Flight 815 crashed...
(Rebecca Mader
Rebecca Mader
Rebecca Leigh Mader is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Morgan Gordon on All My Children and Charlotte Lewis on Lost.-Career:...
), while physicist and Kahana crew member Daniel Faraday
Daniel Faraday
Dr. Daniel Faraday, often referred to as Dan or simply by his surname, Faraday, is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Jeremy Davies. Faraday is introduced in the season four premiere as a physicist, suffering from memory loss, and is part of the team aboard the ...
(Jeremy Davies
Jeremy Davies (actor)
Jeremy Davies is an American film and television actor. He is known for portraying the interpreter Cpl. Timothy E. Upham in the film Saving Private Ryan and the physicist Daniel Faraday on the television series Lost. He most recently appeared in the FX series, Justified, as Dickie Bennett.-Early...
) discovers that time on the island runs at an offset from the rest of the world. Another storyline follows Sayid working as an assassin after being rescued from the island.
"The Economist" was watched by 14 million American viewers and received positive reactions from critics.
Plot
Jack ShephardJack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
) and Miles Straume
Miles Straume
Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series Lost. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium as a crew member aboard the freighter called the Kahana that is offshore the island where most of Lost takes place...
(Ken Leung
Ken Leung
Kenneth "Ken" Leung is an American actor best known for his role as Miles Straume in the ABC television series Lost and roles in such films as Shanghai Kiss, Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Saw.-Early life:...
) argue about what to do about leader of the Others, Ben Linus (Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
), and Miles's colleague Charlotte, both sought after by Miles and his colleagues and taken prisoner by Locke. Sayid pays his respects to Naomi Dorrit, and takes her bracelet. He then offers to retrieve Charlotte without bloodshed, in return gaining a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
flight to the freighter anchored offshore. He takes along Miles and Kate. Sayid asks Jack not to come with them as he might be unpredictable around Locke.
While Sayid is gone, Daniel
Daniel Faraday
Dr. Daniel Faraday, often referred to as Dan or simply by his surname, Faraday, is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Jeremy Davies. Faraday is introduced in the season four premiere as a physicist, suffering from memory loss, and is part of the team aboard the ...
asks Regina (Zoë Bell
Zoë Bell
Zoë E. Bell is a stuntwoman and actress from New Zealand. Some of her most notable stunt work includes doubling for Lucy Lawless on Xena: Warrior Princess and for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. As an actress, she has appeared both on television and in feature films and also starred in the web series...
), a colleague on the freighter to shoot a projectile
Projectile
A projectile is any object projected into space by the exertion of a force. Although a thrown baseball is technically a projectile too, the term more commonly refers to a weapon....
onto the island. Regina does so, but the projectile does not arrive for thirty minutes. When it lands, Daniel extracts a clock from the payload and finds that the two times, that running on the island and that running outside, are not synchronized.
The survivors led by Locke arrive at the location of Jacob's cabin, but find the area deserted. Locke changes his course to the barracks, and uses 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...
) to ambush Sayid, Kate and Miles. Kate is watched by James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
), and they discuss their reasons for wanting or not wanting to go home. Kate, realizing that she would be arrested for her crimes upon rescue, defects to Locke's group. Sayid negotiates with Locke to exchange Charlotte with Miles, in order to get access to the boat. Locke tells him that wouldn't be necessary as Ben has a spy on that freighter, to which Sayid responds that he would rather sell his soul than trust Ben.
At the helicopter, Desmond Hume
Desmond Hume
Desmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist author and philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been stranded on the island three years prior to...
(Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick is a Scottish-Peruvian actor of stage, television, and film. He is well-known for his role as Desmond Hume on the United States television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination....
) confronts pilot Frank Lapidus
Frank Lapidus
Frank J. Lapidus is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Jeff Fahey. Frank is introduced in the second episode of season four as a pilot hired on a mission to the island where Oceanic Flight 815 crashed. He aids the survivors of the crash against mercenary Martin Keamy ...
(Jeff Fahey
Jeff Fahey
Jeffrey David "Jeff" Fahey is an American film and television actor. He has portrayed Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC series Lost and the title role of Deputy Marshal Winston MacBride on The Marshal.-Early life:...
) about the picture Naomi had of him and his ex-fiancé Penelope Widmore (Sonya Walger
Sonya Walger
Sonya Walger is an English actress known for her roles in the ABC series Lost as Penelope "Penny" Widmore, and as Olivia Benford on ABC's FlashForward.-Education:...
). Frank denies any knowledge of her, but Desmond nevertheless demands a place on a helicopter. At the same time, Sayid returns, with only Charlotte. While Frank accuses Sayid of being dishonest, he considered Miles a "pain in the ass", and agrees to fly him offshore.
The episode's flashforwards are centered on Sayid, who had since become one of the Oceanic Six. He is hired as an assassin, and courts a German woman, Elsa (Thekla Reuten
Thekla Reuten
Thekla Simona Gelsomina Reuten is a Dutch actress.Reuten was born in Bussum, Netherlands, the daughter of an Italian mother and a Dutch father. Reuten portrayed Duncan MacLeod's love interest Anna in Highlander: The Source, released in September 2007...
), in order to get closer to her employer (the eponymous "economist"). After several dates, Sayid turns on Elsa, who reveals herself to be a counter-spy by unexpectedly shooting Sayid in the shoulder. Sayid is able to shoot and kill Elsa. As the episode ends, Sayid is treated for his wound by Ben, who gives him another assignment. Sayid is now wary since they now know that he's after them, to which Ben replies, "Good".
Production
The story of Sayid's future was influenced by spy fictionSpy fiction
Spy fiction, literature concerning the forms of espionage, was a sub-genre derived from the novel during the nineteenth century, which then evolved into a discrete genre before the First World War , when governments established modern intelligence agencies in the early twentieth century...
—in particular, the writing eventually "gravitated" towards a story much like the Jason Bourne
Jason Bourne
Jason Charles Bourne is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the novels of Robert Ludlum and subsequent film adaptations. He first appeared in the novel The Bourne Identity...
franchise. The story was justified by Sayid's status as part of the "Oceanic Six", as his celebrity status would provide the perfect cover for his clandestine activities. The episode was written in autumn 2007.
An important scene in the episode regarded Faraday's experiment and the resulting time differential. The scene set up a prominent theme of "time-travel" for later episodes. In the episode's respective podcast, Lost
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
s Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse is an AmericanEmmy Award winning screenwriter and producer, most famous as executive producer andscreenwriter for the American television series Lost for...
and Damon Lindelof
Damon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
further discussed the time differential as part of an already existing theme regarding transport between the island and the rest of the world. In particular, the theme was alluded to the "Orchid video", a Dharma Initiative
DHARMA Initiative
The Dharma Initiative, also written DHARMA , was a fictional research project featured in the television series Lost. It was introduced in the second season episode "Orientation". In 2008, the Dharma Initiative website was launched. Dharma's interests were directly connected with fringe science...
video that premiered at the 2007 Comic-Con
Comic-Con
Comic-Con, Comic Con or ComiCon may refer to any of the following Comic book conventions, none of them affiliated to any other:*San Diego Comic-Con International, annual fan convention in San Diego held since 1970, also known as Comic-Con or San Diego Comic-Con*Dallas Comic Con, annual fan...
.
However, some scenes in the episode gained unintentional significance. The Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
won the World Series
2007 World Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at Fenway Park in Boston, MassachusettsThe Red Sox cruised to a blowout win in Game 1 behind ALCS MVP Josh Beckett, who struck out nine batters, including the first four he faced, en route to his fourth win of the 2007 postseason...
for the second time in three years after the episode was written, which prompted the question "Is it possible Lapidus is actually from 2008?" due to his annoyed reply. Likewise, the only reason that Elsa and Naomi had similar bracelets was that it would serve as an "emotional touchstone" for Sayid. After the episode, the producers received several emails about both issues.
Andrews enjoyed his role in "The Economist". He appreciated that, unlike the third season, he was able to "push the story forward", which he thought was "infinitely more interesting and rewarding." The premise "threw [him] for a loop", and he was pleased with how complex the episode was.
Reception
"The Economist" was seen by 13.76 million American viewers, making Lost the fourth most watched program of the week. The episode received a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 5.8/15 in the key adults 18–49 demographic. In Great Britain, Lost brought in 1.2 million viewers.
The first four episodes of the fourth season were watched beforehand by TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, who called them "worth the wait" and "emotionally satisfying". TV Guide also stated that they "provide gaspworthy plot twists that should whip fans into a theory-spinning tizzy." Sarah Vasques of eFluxMedia thought the scene where Daniel discovers the time discrepancy the most mind-blowing scene of the episode. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
commented that "for the second straight year, Cupid
Cupid
In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, affection and erotic love. He is the son of the goddess Venus and the god Mars. His Greek counterpart is Eros...
was kicked in the nuts", as the episode "Flashes Before Your Eyes
Flashes Before Your Eyes
"Flashes Before Your Eyes" is the 8th episode of the third season of the American drama television series Lost, and the show's 57th episode overall. The episode was written by the series co-creator, show runner and executive producer Damon Lindelof and supervising producer Drew Goddard, and...
" also aired on St. Valentine's Day. Also discussed in the review was possible Biblical allegory to the Book of Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
. However, Mark Madley of The National Post thought that this episode, along with the previous two, gave away too much plot detail, and compared the off-island storyline to "that awful Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
/Banderas
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
movie Assassins
Assassins (film)
Assassins is a 1995 American action film written by the Wachowskis and Brian Helgeland, directed by Richard Donner, and starring Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas and Julianne Moore.-Plot:...
". Don Williams of BuddyTV
BuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website based in Seattle, Washington, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profiles, actor biographies and...
thought that the scene where Sayid disposes of his cellphone after calling Ben "like an episode of Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
", and finished his recap by saying "consider my mind blown again". MaryAnn Johanson of Film.com called the episode "mind-blowing", and theorized that Sayid had been working for Ben before the crash, and that the crash of Oceanic 815 was deliberate. Chris Carabott of IGN
IGN
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...
stated that, in the episode "Sayid Jarrah is a badass who could give Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer is the main protagonist of the American television series 24. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a member of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit based in Los Angeles, and working with the FBI in Washington, D.C...
, James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
, and Jason Bourne
Jason Bourne
Jason Charles Bourne is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the novels of Robert Ludlum and subsequent film adaptations. He first appeared in the novel The Bourne Identity...
all a run for their money", and praised Losts nature for being able to have "a lighthearted episode featuring Hurley [one week] and the next can be an action spy thriller starring Sayid." He praised the episode for being a perfect example of serialized television, and thought that Elsa's double cross to be "very reminiscent of Vesper Lynd
Vesper Lynd
Vesper Lynd is a fictional character featured in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. The name is a pun on "West Berlin". It has been claimed that Fleming based Lynd on the real life Special Operations Executive agent Christine Granville. In the 1967 film of Casino Royale, she is played by...
and her true employer in Casino Royale
Casino Royale (2006 film)
Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
". Overall, he rated the episode 8.6 out of 10.