Hero of the episode: Sayid Zero of the episode: Sawyer
Quote(s) of the episode: “You look a man in the eye, and you point a gun at him, you find who you really are, mate. And should you find you’re not a killer, there’s no refund.” – A man who sold Sawyer a gun
Music vibes: Creepy when Sawyer is in the jungle | Hopeful at the end
Little things: Hurley helping Charlie bury Ethan | “Sassafras” new nickname for Kate from Sawyer | Kate and Sawyer playing Never Have I Ever | Charlie and Claire going for a walk
Episode notebook:
Violent flashback, a young boy witnessing a murder-suicide.
Sawyer wakes up to a boar trashing his tent. He runs after it and hears faint whispers in the jungle. Are they real or are they in his head?
Sayid getting a chuckle out of Sawyer having to clean up his tent. Sawyer asks Sayid about the voices he heard.
In the past, an old frenemy puts Sawyer on the trail of the man who ruined his family. The man Sawyer has been hunting for decades is in Sydney, Australia.
Jack got all the guns back, except for the one from Sawyer. What a surprise! Kate volunteers to get it back.
Sawyer is convinced the boar is after him.
Hurley is worried that Charlie has PTSD. Sayid offers Charlie some support. Sayid reminds Charlie that he’s not alone.
While hunting the boar, Sawyer and Kate play Never Have I Ever. They learn some new things about each other, but both are holding back some hard truths.
We learn Sawyer’s first name is James?? Is that a fake name too?
Sawyer shares drinks with Christian, Jack’s dad. Christian talks about his fractured relationship with his son. Christian’s infamous quote “That’s why the Sox will never win the series,” sticks with Sawyer.
Sawyer gives the gun back to Jack.
Episode recap: This one starts quite traumatic. A young boy and his mom are terrified by the threat at their door, a man yelling and banging on the front door. The mom hides her son under the bed, closing the door while she deals with the angry man. The situation escalates quickly as a shot is fired, and the woman suddenly stops talking. Footsteps can be heard, stopping right in front of the young boy’s door. The door opens and the young boy can hardly breathe for fear of being discovered. But the man at the doorway sits on the bed, and yet another shot rings out. The man slumps on the bed. All of this is seen from the perspective of a child, who is now scarred for life. This can only be the past of a young Sawyer, this is the exact scenario detailed in his letter in episode eight, Confidence Man. What a horrible way to go through life.
That trauma shapes everything Sawyer says, and every action he took in life. Until he gets over that trauma, Sawyer will never be his true self. He will always be an imposter. A fellow con man played on that trauma, telling Sawyer that he found the man who ruined his family and his life. That man is now in Sydney, Australia. There it is, I couldn’t remember why Sawyer was in Australia. I knew it wasn’t a good reason.
On the island, Sawyer is dealing with a new enemy – a boar. A raging hunk of pork has wrecked Sawyer’s tent, which he’s starting to think is intentional. Yes, a grown man thinks an animal is deliberately targeting him. Kind of like the shark in that last, and awful Jaws movie. This time it’s Boar: The Revenge. An animal is intentionally after a human. Only on this island, it could be true or just a vehicle for Sawyer to work through his issues.
The island finds a way to force people to take a hard look at their own lives. Face hard truths they’ve been avoiding. The boar is a nuisance but it’s forcing Sawyer to think about what brought him to Australia. He heads Down Under, determined to kill the man he thinks is responsible for destroying his life. When the opportunity arises, will he be able to pull the trigger? While wrestling with his demons, Sawyer shares a few drinks with none other than Christian Shephard. We the audience know that’s Jack’s dad, but he’s a stranger to Sawyer. A stranger with a fractured relationship with his son. A stranger with some advice for Sawyer, go finish your business if it will make you feel better. Sawyer wants to feel better, so he shoots the man he believes ruined his life. Only to learn it was all a setup. The professional con man got conned, by a man who wanted to eliminate someone else. Sawyer shouldn’t have been surprised someone was willing to use his trauma for personal gain. Sawyer has probably done the same thing many times.
Sawyer’s hunt for the boar runs the gamut: funny, ridiculous, haunting, and emotional. When given the chance to take out his four-legged nemesis, Sawyer decides against it. Maybe he’s starting to let go of the past or at least not let it consume him. Sawyer can be a frustrating character, one moment you want to smack him and the next you want to hug him. He never got the chance to be a kid. He didn’t have parents to provide the right guidance, love, or protection. He became what he hated, but maybe the island can change Sawyer – or at least soften him a bit. Please come back next week for episodes seventeen and eighteen.
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