Wednesday, December 30, 2009

2.13 - The Long Con


Title’s significance: Sawyer engages in a long con (“getting someone to ask you to do something like it’s their idea”) both on and off the island. (In the coming episodes, “Henry Gale” is the focus of a long con, to boot.)

Recap: In Sawyer’s flashbacks, we see another con of his, albeit one that didn’t work – because he fell in love with Cassidy, the would-be victim who figured it all out ahead of him; Sawyer was one step ahead, though, and ended up conning her anyway. Locke changes the combination of the gun closet, but Jack gets the combination and moves the medicine into the closet. Hurley gives Bernard’s walkie-talkie to Sayid, who’s not interested in being cheered up. When a sudden rainstorm hits, Sun is attacked in her garden; the camp panics, but Sawyer says that something’s fishy about this alleged “Others” attack, suggesting Ana Lucia might be conning them to help build the army. Kate grows suspicious of Ana Lucia and directs Sawyer to warn Locke, which he does “to piss off Jack.” Locke asks Sawyer’s help in moving the guns, but Sawyer stays behind while Locke relocates. Sayid patches up the walkie and intercepts a radio transmission – from 1944. Sawyer reveals that it was all part of a long con to get the guns from the leaders of the camp, with Charlie as his Sun-attacking, Locke-shadowing accomplice.

Thoughts: This was close to being another pretty bad episode, saved by Josh Holloway, who’s abundantly entertaining and believable as Sawyer, especially in this episode. Unfortunately, the writers decided to boil all the characters down to petty shells of themselves; Sawyer and Charlie are only interested in vengeance, an unpleasant and unconvincing character turn that is both distasteful and inconsistent with what follows. If “a tiger don’t change his stripes,” as Sawyer claims, why do the characters on this show? I hate to say it, but Jeph Loeb joining the crew for Season Two might not have been the best idea.

Favorite moment: Sawyer to Charlie: “You even made Locke take a swing atcha. Hell, that’s like getting Gandhi to beat his kids.”

Characters introduced (in order):
  • CASSIDY, Sawyer’s love interest and simultaneously the focus of his latest long con
  • GORDY, a con partner of Sawyer’s who worries that the con artist is going soft

What we learned:

  • Sawyer took on an apprentice – Cassidy – while conning before coming to Australia.
  • Locke is checking the books in The Swan for video frames.
  • Sawyer cons everyone into giving him the guns.
  • Sayid intercepts a transmission from 1944.
  • Sawyer claims he’s “not a good person.”

Questions:

  • What does Sawyer owe Gordy?
  • Why are transmissions coming in from 1944?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

  • Locke’s seen with Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” Please tell me this isn’t a clue that the whole thing is a last-second dream aboard the crashing plane.
  • Sayid intercepts a transmission playing a Glenn Miller track, “Moonlight Serenade,” from 1944. Miller’s airplane disappeared during World War II; is this a clue that his plane crashed on the island?

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