Lost Recap #4.5: Confidence Man
Season 1, episode 8
Hero of the episode: Sun Zero of the episode: Sawyer and Sayid
Quote(s) of the episode: “Don’t stop now, I think my sinuses are clearing.” –Sawyer to Sayid while he’s torturing him; “I became the man I was hunting. I became Sawyer.” –Sawyer; “I have worse things to fear than what’s in the jungle.” --Sayid
Music vibes: threatening, especially while Sawyer is being tortured
Little things: Charlie and Claire bonding. | Claire missing peanut butter. | Charlie and Claire eating the invisible peanut butter.
Episode notebook:
Sawyer takes centerstage. We know he’s some kind of hustler. But I forgot who he conned in his first flashback. The first long con we get to see from Sawyer. Make the mark think it’s their idea, but they’re just doing what you wanted all along.
Fight incoming, Boone is searching through Sawyer’s stash. Boone thinks Sawyer has Shannon’s asthma medication. Shannon’s inhalers have run out, and her breathing is getting worse as the day goes on.
In the past, Sawyer was having an affair with a married woman. The real mark is her wealthy husband.
“Ali” yet another nickname Sawyer gives Sayid.
Everyone tries to get Sawyer to give up the inhalers, even Kate. But the weasel wants something in return – a kiss.
Sun thinks she can help Shannon, with a little help from Michael.
Charlie is on the hunt for peanut butter. In his quest, he checks with Hurley and stops just short of calling Hurley fat. Quit while you’re not ahead Charlie.
Sayid starts to think Sawyer hit him over the head. Sayid proposes a little torture to get Sawyer to give up the inhalers.
Sawyer will give it up but only to Kate. He still wants that kiss. But he doesn’t have the inhalers.
Sayid refuses to believe Sawyer and takes the torture too far.
Episode recap: Sawyer gets a taste of his own medicine – in more ways than one. After days of hoarding all kinds of supplies, Sawyer catches Boone rifling through his stash. Shannon is having trouble breathing, her asthma medication has run out. Boone is certain Sawyer has Shannon’s extra inhalers, but there’s no way he’ll give them up without a fight. Nothing is free in Sawyer’s economy – not even medication for a sick person.
How did Sawyer get to be this way? No one starts out bad. What was the catalyst for him? The letter he’s been carrying around is a big clue. A con man ruined his parents’ marriage and quite literally their lives. A young Sawyer wrote a letter to this man, and one day adult Sawyer will give it to him. Telling him how this man destroyed his life. Sawyer grew up hating this man, but at some point that turned into self-hatred. He became a con man, a “confidence man,” scamming people out of their money. Sawyer became everything that he hated. He even took the man’s name.
Why not just give up the inhalers? Why not show that he can be human? It’s just too much to give up the act. Sawyer has spent years being a certain type of person. If he gives up the act, who is he really? Taking stock of his own actions is probably too much for Sawyer’s tortured soul. It’s easier for Sawyer to be hated than to be liked.
All of Sawyer’s internal trauma is of no use to Shannon. Just asking for the inhalers doesn’t work for Kate, as Sawyer wants a kiss in exchange. Intimidation from Jack doesn’t work. Sayid has an idea—torture—something he learned while serving in the Iraqi military. Sayid also believes Sawyer is the one who hit him from behind, foiling his plan to locate the source of the distress signal.
A little bit of pain goes a long way, but Sawyer still wants his kiss from Kate before he gives up the inhalers. He gets his kiss only to reveal he never had the inhalers. Sayid refuses to believe this and takes the torture too far, seriously wounding Sawyer. But Doctor Jack is there to save the day.
While Jack is patching up Sawyer, Sun comes to Shannon’s rescue. One eucalyptus mixture later, and Shannon is on the mend. Sayid on the other hand needs his own healing. Sayid decides he has to leave the group for a while. What he did to Sawyer brought out a person Sayid would like to forget. Sayid sets off to map out the shoreline and search for the source of the distress signal. But he’s really in search of the person he used to be.
No recap next week. Please come back in the New Year for episodes nine and ten.
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