1.16 - Outlaws

Title’s significance: The obvious outlaw in this episode is Sawyer, but we find out he’s part of a network of outlaws, and his hunting expedition with Kate adds another outlaw to the cabal. These two are the outlaws of the island, which suggests that they’ve got to stick together.

Recap: Flashbacks show us Sawyer’s traumatic childhood as well as his attempts to find the real Sawyer, the man who ruined his life. An associate of Sawyer’s fingers Frank Duckett, but after Sawyer kills him he learns that Duckett was innocent. While in Australia to get his revenge, Sawyer meets Christian. On island, a boar works its way into Sawyer’s tent, and he sets out on a mission of vengeance, while Kate tags along to talk him down and to recover the gun he’s hoarding. Claire tells Charlie she’s starting to remember, but Charlie sets off to bury Ethan, while Sayid warns Charlie that killing Ethan is going to stick with him. Sawyer and Kate play “I never,” while Locke suggests that the boar might be a reincarnation of one of Sawyer’s enemies. It’s implied that the boar might by Frank Duckett, but Sawyer lets the boar live. Claire and Charlie bond, and Sawyer realizes that Jack is Christian’s son.

Thoughts: The very idea of Sawyer looking for revenge on a boar is outstandingly original, but his motivation is of course more complex than that. This episode also solidifies the idea that the identity of the real Sawyer is going to be important (we won’t learn who it is until Season Three, “The Brig”). But I’m starting to remember why I got frustrated with LOST – this episode again feels like the writers are stalling. I get it: this is a show about characters, but there’s too much important mythology being neglected!

Favorite moment: Hurley’s suggestion that Ethan is going to return as a zombie and kill him first “Because I’m heavy... and I get cramps.”

Characters introduced (in order):

• SAWYER’S MOM & DAD
• HIBBS, a fellow con man
• FRANK DUCKETT, presumed to be the real Sawyer

What we learned:

• Sawyer hears the whispers.
• Jack is keeping Kate’s secret.
• Sawyer is hanging on to the gun he used to capture Ethan.
• Sawyer knew Christian while in Australia.
• Sawyer has the liquor cart from the airplane.
• Kate has never been to college.
• Sawyer never kissed a man, but Kate has.
• Kate never lied about going to college, but Sawyer has.
• Sawyer and Kate have never been to Disneyland.
• Kate never wore pink, but Sawyer has. (“It was the 80s...”)
• Sawyer never voted Democrat, but Kate never voted at all.
• Sawyer’s never been in love, but Kate has.
• Kate’s never had a one night stand, but Sawyer sure has.
• Sawyer’s never been married, but Kate has.
• Sawyer and Kate have both killed someone.
• Locke was adopted at one point, and he had a foster sister Jeannie who died but may have been reincarnated as a golden retriever.
• Sawyer’s first name is really James.
• Both Christian and Jack think the Red Sox will never win the World Series (keep an eye out on this one).
• Christian was actually thankful and proud of what Jack did by admitting his father was impaired during surgery.
• Sayid killed a man’s family with a car bomb.
• Sawyer killed Frank Duckett, but he was the wrong man.

Questions:

• What was the Tampa Job that Sawyer and Hibbs worked?
• What’s the story behind Kate’s short marriage?
• If Frank Duckett wasn’t the real Sawyer, who was?
• Did Sawyer ever get revenge on Hibbs for using him?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Will being reincarnated as an animal come up in Season Six, especially with all these dead people on the show? Is Vincent a reincarnated person?
• Will Sawyer and Kate ever get to Disneyland?
• Christian says “It’s fate – some people are just born to suffer.” Is this true?