Sea. 1, Ep. 16: Outlaws

Judging by the title of this episode, you can probably make an educated guess that it's going to revolve around either Kate or Sawyer. If you chose the latter, then you've won some sort of grand prize. Not from me, though. I don't have anything to give you.

But it really is a Sawyer episode, and it opens up in a most heartbreaking fashion: we watch the young Sawyer hide under his bed while his father shoots his mother and then turns the gun on himself as he sits on the bed above the boy. It's quite tragic, but it provides us a narrow window into James Ford's psyche.

On the island Sawyer is reliving this memory as a nightmare, and when he wakes up in his tent on the beach, he's surprised to find someone (something, rather) rustling around at the opposite end of his tent. It turns out to be a boar, and it makes off into the jungle with some of Sawyer's things. He gives chase and ends up in the jungle, surrounded by ominous whispers. It's those damned whispers again! I have trouble understanding exactly what they say, but the entry for this episode on Lostpedia asserts they're saying, "it'll come back around." I suppose that makes sense seeing as how Duckett (the man Sawyer shot in Australia) says it as he's dying.

So Sawyer spends most of episode tracking the boar that did him wrong. It attacks him on two more occasions. The first time it chases him, and the second time it ransacks more of his stuff. All of this leaves our tough guy thoroughly pissed. Kate's also trying to help him, but doing it for reasons of her own. Earlier, Jack told Kate that Sawyer still had a gun, which he claimed he was okay with. But Kate is confident that she can get it back from Sawyer. She subsequently offers her tracking skills to help him find the boar in return for "carte blanche," which she'll obviously use to get the pistol back. It's all quite complicated and yet another time in the series where this lust triangle creates all sorts of problems. As I've said before, I couldn't care less about their three-way melodrama. Just give me the science-fiction, thank you very much.

Somewhat related to the lust triangle is the game of "I Never" played between Sawyer and Kate. I'd be remiss if I didn't at least mention that they played it. It provided them the opportunity to trade barbs with each other, and at the end of it all you can tell that there are some bruised egos and hurt feelings. The scene actually takes quite a chunk out of the episode, which I didn't recall it doing. Oh, well. Outlawzzz bein' outlawzzz, I guess!

All right. The majority of what I like to think of as the episode's "filler" has been covered. What's really cool about this episode is the flashbacks. We've already mentioned the scene that changed young little Sawyer permanently. What of the others? The past few chapters have concentrated on character development, and there's nothing wrong with that. But in "Outlaws" we're witness to the chance meeting that Sawyer and Christian Shephard had in a bar down under. The two knock back liquor like it's water and Sawyer gets to learn a little bit about the good doctor before he even meets him. It's a great instance of the interconnectivity between the survivors of Flight 815. It's great because it's one of the first times we see how these strangers are inexorably tied together. And, judging from the fifth season finale that showed Jacob selecting these people off of the island, we certainly must ponder why destiny brought these disparate personalities together (do I sound like Locke here?).

We can also further observe how Sawyer wrestles with his demons via the other major flashback. We learn that Sawyer was in Australia because he had information about the man who had ruined his parents' lives. The guy now runs a shrimp stand in the Outback, and Sawyer pays him two visits. The first one allows Sawyer to meet the man he's been hunting all of his life face-to-face. The two engage in some strained yet mundane conversation, and then Sawyer vanishes. The next time he comes, he puts a bullet in the man (lo and behold, two consecutive episodes with shootings!). Of course, we don't learn until the third season that Sawyer has killed an innocent man. Well, he may not have been innocent, but he wasn't the "Sawyer" that James was actually seeking. That S.O.B. actually fathered another one of the 815 survivors (the interconnectivity again!), and the two become a strange pair of allies as they team up to kill him. If you don't know of whom I speak, then I'll just let you remain in the dark for now. But seasoned Lost fans should remember this.

And so, those are the main highlights of this excellent episode. One of my favorite parts of the flashbacks is having my opinions of the characters altered, and I feel that takes place for me here with Sawyer. Sawyer's a changed man after he kills that man in Australia. After that, brother can't even shoot a boar that wronged him.

Sea. 1, Ep. 8: Confidence Man

As the last episode of our second week of re-watches, "Confidence Man" invites us to explore Sawyer's character further. But the episode also teaches us a little bit more about the swarthy Sayid and the sadistic art of torture that he developed as a member of Iraq's Republican Guard. Oh, and then there are the lovey-dovey scenes with Charlie and Claire. I guess Charlie was completely embracing his pregnancy fetish at this point. Oh, I kid, I kid...you should know that I like Charlie. I just question his eagerness to get involved in potential baby-daddy issues.

As we begin the episode, conflict abounds on the island. Jack is mending the wounds Sayid suffered when he was knocked unconscious by some unseen foe at the conclusion of the previous episode (remember that we later learn it was Locke who did they dirty deed). Then Shannon comes stumbling into the caves and supporting her step-brother Boone, whom Sawyer bloodied after finding him rummaging through his cache of supplies. Boone had been searching for Shannon's inhalers because she has bad asthma and ran out of her original dose of medication. As luck would have it, Shannon soon battles through some severe asthma attacks, and Jack has to coach her through them while Sayid tries to get the inhalers from Sawyer. As Shannon violently gasps for breath, I think to myself, I don't know what's worse: Shannon's asthma attacks or Maggie Grace's acting. Hah! I'm so clever. If that offends any Maggie Grace fans, then I apologize. That's my first--but definitely not my last--jab at Ms. Grace's acting, which I have always found atrociously bad.

Anyway, while all the hubbub over Shannon's asthma is going on, the flashbacks show Sawyer's life as a con man. Boy, oh, boy...was he a sleazy guy. Well, until a kid entered the picture. He was about to make off with a load of cash given to him by his mistress and her husband, but when he found out there was a young boy--not unlike himself--that would be hurt by the scam, he called it off. That's a pretty thin synopsis, but I feel that it's pretty straightforward at this point: Sawyer's parents were duped by a con man and it resulted in his father killing his mother and then turning the gun on himself. So even though Sawyer became a con man himself, he couldn't let his actions affect any children. Does that make him sort of a nice guy? I dunno...it's pretty murky. I'll say no, though.

Back on the island, Sawyer finds himself a little tied up. Literally. He's apprehended and gets some facetime with one of the Republican Guard's finest torturers. To be sure, Sayid was eager to once again become a torturer because Locke duped him much like Sawyer duped lovely ladies and their husbands. Early on in the episode we see that Sayid has been interrogating different people in hopes of finding out who cleaned his clock. When he questions Mr. Destiny, Locke turns the tables on him and suggests that it was actually Sawyer who sabotaged his triangulation plan. Sayid believes him. So Locke plays the role of manipulator here, even though that's not where he usually finds himself. I mean, in a related third season episode he did sucker Sawyer into killing Anthony Cooper, who turned out to be the confidence man we learn about in this episode. But getting duped into giving up a kidney and believing that he'll magically find his way back to the island? That's more like the Locke we know and love (or hate).

Anyway, Sayid shoves bamboo under Sawyer's fingernails and later winds up slicing one of his arteries. To top this madness all off, Sawyer tells Kate that he doesn't know where the inhalers are. Pretty brutal business, and by the end of the episode we learn that Sayid is going into some sort of self-imposed exile because he's upset with what he has done.

In the end, Sun comes to Shannon's rescue by creating some sort of concoction containing eucalyptus. It works, and Shannon can breathe again. Sawyer's tragic past is revealed to us by an angry Kate. She's angry because he tricked her into kissing him. Oh, and Charlie delivers a jar of imaginary peanut butter to Claire. If he had tried something like that on me, I'd have sent the Smoke Monster after him. "Confidence Man" also ends with another brief musical montage. I don't have any issues with it; I simply didn't remember that that's how they closed a lot of the first season shows. It's drastically different from the later episodes in which some dramatic twist is revealed in the last 120 seconds or so.

So, for a second consecutive episode there was little Lost lore, but a whole lotta character development. I'm not complaining, but it'll be good to move along and see some of the scenes that are a little more relevant after watching the fifth season. I think that's the main purpose of the whole re-watch.

See you in a few days, and thanks for reading!

Sea. 1, Ep. 7: The Moth

Hello and welcome once again to today's installment of the Rewatch. I have a feeling that this'll be a brief write-up, as "The Moth" doesn't offer much in the way of island lore, but it's a good episode nonetheless. As the writers were wont to do in the very beginning, this episode fleshes out some of the characters a bit more.

"The Moth" features the first deeper look at the island's resident rock star Charlie Pace. Remember how Charlie exchanged his heroin for his guitar at the end of the previous episode? Well, here we see the repercussions of that decision, as he begins to experience withdrawal. And Locke continues to exert his control over Charlie, saying that he won't return the drugs until Charlie has asked for them back three times. Locke stresses the fact that everyone has a choice, and Charlie can choose to give in easily to temptation or hold out and become drug free. Ironically, we see Mr. Destiny giving a lecture about choice and free will. As we've already covered in previous episodes, that's not what Locke seems to be about. He's a fatalist through and through. I don't know why he doesn't just use his commune with the island to help Charlie get through it without all the nasty business of withdrawal.

This episode also highlights the battering that Charlie's psyche is taking while trying to fit in among the others. No one seems to care that he was the member of a popular rock band, and his lackluster efforts to help Jack and company move their belongings to the caves get him pushed aside. Feeling lonely and small, he blows up at Jack, and his angry shouts lead to a massive cave-in of rocks. Charlie escapes the danger, but Jack gets trapped behind a wall of the rubble. Oops, Charlie.

Running parallel to this are, of course, the flashbacks. These Charlie-centric ones revolve around the relationship with his older brother Liam. It looks as though they got along famously until they literally became famous. They made it big with their band Driveshaft, but then the myriad women and limitless supply of drugs went to Liam's head. And history repeats itself, as Charlie--who was originally in control of the band--is pushed aside by his brother.

Another item of note in "The Moth" is the beginnings of the famous love triangle between Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. The two men obviously have a thing for Kate, and Kate seems to be into Jack, but we should know by now that it's just the early stages of a long and unrequited love. Regardless, in this episode we see that Kate's sad that Jack's departing for the caves. Then Jack gets trapped behind the rubble and Sawyer learns about it. Sawyer's jealous of Kate's flirtations with Jack, so he withholds the information until he knows he can upset her with it. It's really all quite juvenile and I'm sure you can tell that it's not one of my favorite aspects of the show. But it is what it is, and I appreciate the fact that some people enjoy it.

Ultimately, Charlie resists temptation (after asking Locke a second time for his drugs) and redeems himself by going into the rubble to free Jack. What's more is that he pops Jack's dislocated shoulder back into place, something which would surely make me yak. Charlie is showered with praise, and at the end of the episode we see that his transformation is complete, because he asks Locke for his heroin so that he can throw it in the fire and be rid of it.

Oh, and I nearly forgot! Sayid tries to triangulate the location of the French distress call and is nearly about to do succeed when he's sabotaged! Some unknown figure knocks him out, and he's unable to complete his task. At this point we don't know who did it, but we later learn it was Locke. Why? Locke doesn't want to be rescued. And we know that he's serious about that. He'll even blow up a damned submarine to stay. My goodness.

Like I said, "The Moth" is heavy on plot and character development, but devoid of any larger mysteries. Since we know who knocked Sayid out, there are really no secrets in this episode. Consequently, I think my recap is a bit thin compared to others. But that's bound to happen, particularly when we get to episodes like "Exposé," in which those two terrible characters that the writers tried to introduce are killed off.

But once again, thanks for reading!