The concept of throwing a former enemy of Americans as being a necessary evil whose skills would be needed in order to survive is a formula for conflict, drama and acceptance against prejudice. And initially, that prejudice flared to the surface with accusations that Sayid caused the plane crash because he was a foreigner.
But one thing Sayid did do was stand his ground. Well, for the most part. Until his anger and emotions of his training of torture got the best of him, and he needed to get away from the group. It was that transformative side story where he became the victim to Rousseau's torture that balanced out his mental state.
In the guide, Sayid was described as follows:
A
romantic forced into the guise of a soldier, Sayid was drafted into the
Iraqi Republican Guard just shy of his twentieth birthday. Unable to
stomach the moral ambiguity of his duties, Sayid deserted during the
first Gulf War and defected to Australia. The most difficult part of
Sayid's relocation has been his thirteen-year separation from the love
of his life, Talia. Although they have corresponded by letter, the
prospect
of seeing each other did not seem possible until Talia's family fled to
Los Angeles after Iraq's recent "liberation." The sad irony - Sayid was
on his way to ask for her hand in marriage when the plane went down.
On the island, Sayid's technological skills combined with his desire to -
seek and present the truth will put him in an invaluable (and sometimes
precarious) position. Of all the castaways, his desire to get off the
island
is the strongest because it is driven by the noblest cause- LOVE.
The similar character traits in the guide and the actual story of Sayid were that he was a soldier with a moral center. However, a drastically different back story to Sayid was stated. Instead of a well trained and brutal Iraqi soldier who tortured enemies of the state, Sayid is painted as a deserter who fled to Australia. By fleeing Iraq, he left behind the love of his life, "Talia," who he kept in a long, long distance relationship until he boarded Flight 815 to LA to ask her to marry him. It would seem that Sayid was going to play the moral barometer of the series.
But what was stated in the guide for Sayid is more the story of Desmond. Desmond was the person most motivated to get off the island because he wanted to return to his love, Penny. Sayid's actual story was one of confusion - - - he pined for a woman, Nadia, whom he tortured as a soldier in Iraq. In reality, Sayid had no real contact with her after leaving their country. It may have been more guilt than love that kept Sayid thinking about her. In all his technical skills and alleged strong desire to leave the island, guide book Sayid never became that man. In the series, Sayid did not contribute to Michael's rescue boat or even Bernard's SOS sign. Sayid found the island as his own personal hell, a place where he would have to make amends for his past actions. When he tried to change, he reverted to his old self which frustrated him to no end.
The one truth was that Sayid did cut to the chase more often than not. The best scene for that was after Sayid returned to the Hatch to "confirm" Henry Gale's balloon story. Everything checked out - - - the balloon, the grave, but Sayid found clear evidence that Ben was lying to them. Sayid brutally got the truth from Ben, and as a result Sayid decided to leave the camp.
Again, Sayid fell into the theme of a loner trying to change his lot in life on the island, just as Locke tried to do. The writers guide had Sayid having a more tangible purpose and focus (to get to LA to marry the woman he loved) than what we finally saw unwind on the island. After Sayid was shot, we got the supernatural transgression of a "dead" Sayid returning to life hours after his demise. The evil Sayid would become a Flocke follower, a pawn, but do nothing but wallow in his own self-pity. In his final heroic act on the sub, Sayid would actually cause more harm than good by not closing the hatch doors between sub sections, which allowed the entire submarine to sink (and killing Jin and Sun in the process).
It is unclear why the writers changed Sayid's back story so much. But even when they did harp and harp on the Nadia love story, Sayid wound up with Shannon in the end which made many fans frustrated and confused - - - how could Sayid wind up in heaven with a short island fling with spoiled Shannon when he proclaimed his love for Nadia for years on end - - -? A lot of the LOST story lines did not make sense, and Sayid's story arcs are prime examples of that trend.
