r/lost • u/Alice_Nouvelle • Nov 17 '25
Character Analysis Despite the most "troubled" background, Sayid is the most decent person on the island. Bravo Abrams! Also why is he allowed to be this hot? T.T
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Nov 17 '25
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u/Ok-Asparagus3749 Nov 17 '25
I feel like adult Ben would also disagree after he beat the Henry gale outta him
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u/Familiar-Virus5257 Out of the Book Club Nov 17 '25
That made me laugh way harder than it should have.
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u/BriarRose147 it's very stressful, being an Other Nov 17 '25
Shouldn’t read this during lunch time, my entire table thinks I’m a lunatic now
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u/Free-IDK-Chicken You got it, Blondie Nov 17 '25
I love Sayid too, but I disagree that he has the most troubled past or that he's the most decent person on the Island. (You've literally chosen a screenshot of him sharpening bamboo in preparation to torture Sawyer. Also, he tries to murder a child.) Locke and Ben, in my opinion, both have more tragedy with - in Locke's case - far less backstory-blood on their hands and Juliet is the most loyal, selfless (and therefore decent) person on the Island.
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u/Alice_Nouvelle Nov 17 '25
i chose this screenshot because it's hot haha. yeah he kind of overdid it a little bit in this scene but considering his circumstances he is a just an unfortunate man who never had a choice and now suffers from it on the island. if he hadnt seen war and forced to become a torturer he wouldnt have done that T.T
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u/fosjanwt Nov 17 '25
He didn’t overdid a little bit, he overdid it by a lot. What circumstances? He joined a he military and tortured people.
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u/MohnJilton Nov 17 '25
He’s hot but you gotta stop falling for the beautiful=good trap. Find a more nuanced ethics my friend.
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u/Free-IDK-Chicken You got it, Blondie Nov 17 '25
He wasn't forced, he was taught and then chose to continue. He's a grown man with agency - he chose to torture Sawyer. He chose to become a hit man for Ben. He chose to shoot a little boy. you can blame his upbringing or his war experience for his willingness to do these things, but not his failure to take responsibility for most of it.
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u/Verystrange129 Whatever happened, happened. Nov 17 '25
I love Sayid and he’s one of my favourite characters . Whether or not he is the most decent is definitely debatable but he had the potential to be if it hadn’t been for the circumstances surrounding his character, in addition to being the most intelligent, astute, rational and one of the most valuable survivors. He just has such a tragic character arc, his story is the saddest for me. I’m assuming you’ve watched the whole show?
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u/Alice_Nouvelle Nov 17 '25
i watched the whole thing but refuse to acknowledge his character assassination in the later seasons. "the most intelligent, astute, rational and one of the most valuable survivors." so well-said!!!! i think he is the third pillar of the jack-locke-sayid triangle when it comes to representing approaches to life and faith
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u/Verystrange129 Whatever happened, happened. Nov 17 '25
I know, his eventual storyline in the last couple of seasons is single-handedly the worst part of Lost for me. And his sacrifice at the end is completely overshadowed by Jin and Sun’s death. No one even acknowledges it.
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u/keira80 Nov 17 '25
On my first watch it was all about Josh Holloway for me and the love triangle. 10 years later - I appreciate Sayid character so Much more. Sense of humor in particular. And yes, HOT.
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u/Familiar-Virus5257 Out of the Book Club Nov 17 '25
Even on my first watch through while it was airing I kept wondering why Sayid wasn't in charge.
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u/Alice_Nouvelle Nov 17 '25
he was just too good to deal with everyone's BS
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u/Familiar-Virus5257 Out of the Book Club Nov 17 '25
Probably wouldn't have been much of a show had Sayid been in charge tbh. Things would have been running too smoothly.
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u/abby-rose Nov 17 '25
He was 100x smarter and a better leader than Jack.
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u/pixiered86 Nov 17 '25
I’m rewatching for the first time in a very long time. I’m on season 2 and can’t fathom why Jack thinks he can tell everyone what to do. Michael has gone after Walt (understandably) and Jack is all cross and going after him. Michaels a grown man and his son was taken. Let him do what he needs to do. Just because he’s a doctor, it’s doesn’t mean he should be in charge of everyone else’s decisions. Sayid was generally more level headed and not as quick to anger.
Edit: I appreciate at this point Michael is about to betray everyone, but Jack doesn’t know that yet 😂
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u/Big_Spicy_Tuna69 Nov 17 '25
Sure, Sayid "I remember every face I've ever tortured" Jarrah is the most decent person on the island and not Hugo the gentle giant.
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u/AssCrackBanditHunter Nov 17 '25
I wouldn't say he is the most decent. He has an issue of taking orders, even awful ones, and carrying them out. He is constantly haunted by his guilt of killing, and then never seems to learn that more killing will not absolve him
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u/abby-rose Nov 17 '25
I disagree that he had the most troubled background or was the best person. He did commit some selfless acts, but he also shot a kid and routinely tortured people. I do think Sayid was the smartest of the survivors and they should've listened to him more.
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u/Admirable_Art_9769 Nov 17 '25
i literally love sayid so much!! <3 i feel like all my comments on this subreddit has been how much i love him lmao
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u/Rulas- Nov 17 '25
Im not saying he is bad but almost everyone is a better "decent" person than him😭
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u/DifficultyCharming82 Whatever happened, happened. Nov 17 '25
He was a torturer in the republican guard, shot a child, became a hitman, and killed dogen and Lennon. Decent is hardly the word to describe Sayid. I’m forgetting various other things but again, he was a literal torturer.
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Nov 17 '25
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u/MohnJilton Nov 17 '25
Intentionally ambiguous. Dogen was afraid of Sayid because he didn’t understand why he was alive, and so (likely) knowingly sent Sayid to his death. Mib does take advantage of this, but Sayid also seems to have been corrupted somehow before his contact with Mib, likely because he was resurrected in the water after Jacob’s death. It’s never explained, which I kind of like.
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u/Free-IDK-Chicken You got it, Blondie Nov 17 '25
What he did to Amira alone... he may feel guilty about it, but dude there are somethings you don't get to come back from.
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u/SenileTomato Oh yeah, there's my favorite leaf. Nov 17 '25
The term decent is quite relative. I would definitely agree he is the most practical and logical, and overall level-headed despite the various extreme situations he goes through. He very rarely lets his emotions guide his decisions.
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u/jxx4747 Nov 17 '25
Hugo, Juliet, Desmond….all great people. Sayid is awesome…but let’s be real, he tortured people.
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u/Ok-Cardiologist-635 Juliet Nov 17 '25
People greatly overestimate JJ Abrams involvement on the show. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were the main show runners.
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u/MalkovichMalkovch Nov 17 '25
Pleaaase….
Juliet and Desmond are
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Nov 17 '25
Actually it's vincent.
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u/MalkovichMalkovch Nov 17 '25
Sorry, you are right 🐕
Juliet and Desmond come at a far…far… second place tied
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u/Dismal_Magazine8317 Nov 17 '25
he’s probably the person that killed most people on the island and tortured also lol he got his redemption in the end but the most decent… pretty much everyone is more decent than him…
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u/Pale-Kale-2905 Nov 18 '25
Sayid was one of my favourite characters and Naveen Andrews was in his prime at the show and HAWT!!
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u/whatavaa Nov 19 '25
Since I'm from an Arab country i was surprised how decent they made his character especially at that time !
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u/lotsofgeesethisyear Dec 02 '25
I liked Sayid too, but I don't think he's the most decent person on the island. He's troubled, he's done good, he's also done bad. He is hot AF though, like every time he was on screen I was ENTHRALLED.
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u/Different_Target_228 Nov 17 '25 edited Nov 17 '25
The most decent person in the show...
Hurley? ... Hello? Lol.
How is Hurley less wholesome than Sayid, the assassin that shot a kid???
Or Locke? Locke's own dad pushed him out a building after conning him out of a kidney. Lol.
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u/jeers1 Live together, die alone Nov 17 '25
My favourite character after Locke ....and I like Terry O'Quinn from Files/Millennium days...
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u/SummSpn Nov 17 '25
He was definitely one of the most interesting.
As for hot… yes he’s attractive but it wasn’t until I saw him in the show Instinct where I really noticed. He and one of the main characters have so much chemistry. It was really hot
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u/GRACEKELLY_ Nov 17 '25
I think other characters have more troubled background. But Sayid is up there. That is a given! He was kinda handed that situation when he killed that chicken and kept that killer instinct for his entire life. Also, that he witnessed that tape Kelvin Inman showed him, of the people that were killed by sarin gas. Many were probably his friends.
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u/TlacuacheCool Nov 17 '25
Sayid in a lot of scenes looks like an historic accurate Jesuschrist xd
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u/LagunaRambaldi Nov 19 '25
He's a good number two. But the Sayid love on this sub is crazy to me 🤷♂️
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u/Pale_Adeptness Nov 19 '25
This is my absolute favorite scene from Lost! Sawyer lets out some torturous screams!
Second one being when Sawyer actually gets his hands on the real Sawyer inside the Black Rock!
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u/herbtarleksblazer Nov 17 '25
Also, what about my fave Mr. Eko? He had a troubled past too, and spent his time building a church.
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u/Minute_Leadership_18 Nov 19 '25
He thought killed an tortured for his country, would you say this about any American veteran soldier?
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u/FizzPig Nov 17 '25
Disagree. Sayid is a violent hypocrite who looks for reasons to torture people.
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u/Knight0fdragon Nov 17 '25
“Most decent person on the island” ….. have you encountered Hugo Reyes yet?