Lost ReWatch: The Long Con
Season 2, Episode 13
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Hero of the episode: N/A Zero of the episode: Sawyer, Charlie
Quote(s) of the episode: “Now look who had to relocate to the suburbs. Ain’t that just like a woman? She keeps the house. You get the cheap-ass apartment.” –Sawyer to Charlie | “There’s a new sheriff in town, boys.” –Sawyer | “I’m not a good person, Charlie.” –Sawyer
Music vibes: Curious
Little things: Locke put Charlie’s stash of Virgin Mary statues in the hatch | Kate reads a fashion/lifestyle magazine to Sawyer because he lost his glasses
Episode notebook:
Locke questions why Jack needs the combination to the gun cabinet, but ultimately gives him the combination.
Sawyer threatens Jack for taking medicine from his tent.
Sawyer-focused flashbacks. He’s with a divorcee, Cassidy, who doesn’t fall for the initial scam. She wants to learn how to be a scammer like him.
Hurley tries talking to Sayid. Shows him the radio Bernard found on the other side of the island.
Ana-Lucia says people aren’t scared enough of the threats in the jungle.
Sun is attacked in her garden. Was it a warning from the Others or did someone in camp do it to drum up support for the army?
Jin wants a gun.
Sawyer plants seeds of doubt in Kate and Locke’s heads. The Long Con in action. The dupe, the mark doesn’t realize they’re being conned. They think it’s their idea.
Cassidy wants to learn the art of The Long Con but doesn’t realize she’s Sawyer’s mark all along. But Sawyer is in love with her.
Sawyer makes a play for all the guns, with Charlie’s help.
Episode recap: Jack and Locke have become the defacto leaders of the group. They're occasionally in harmony, but more frequently, they clash, probing each other's intentions behind every decision. Telling Jack the combination to the gun safe comes with questions. Does Jack want the combination in case something happens to Locke or so he can take his new army recruits for target practice? Their tension is palpable, enough for Sawyer to recognize an opportunity for manipulation. Hence the title of this episode, Sawyer displaying the art of The Long Con.
Ever since Sawyer returned to the beach, things have changed. His stash of supplies was taken. People no longer hate him the most, that honor belongs to Charlie. Jack and Locke are giving out orders—even to Sawyer. However, Sawyer is not one to be told what to do. He craves the power Jack and Locke have. But he can’t make it so obvious. Make everyone look one way, then make your move while they’re distracted. It’s an art Sawyer mastered off the island.
Flashbacks show Sawyer’s latest mark, Cassidy, a divorcee looking for a little excitement. She doesn’t fall for Sawyer’s initial schemes, but she is drawn to his lifestyle and desires to learn the art of the con. After the initial thrill of small jobs wears off, Cassidy wants a bigger job with a bigger payoff. Enter The Long Con, however Sawyer says it requires a large sum cash. Cassidy reveals she has $600,000, a fact she hid from Sawyer. After all the scams they pulled together, why didn’t Cassidy realize she was The Long Con? Sawyer knew about the money all along. He got her to reveal the money without directly asking about it, perhaps he was just waiting for the right moment to take it.
Love clouded their judgment. Love for Sawyer made Cassidy want to continue pulling con jobs. Love made Sawyer hesitate in stealing from Cassidy. But that hesitation could be deadly as Sawyer’s partner threatens to kill them both if he doesn’t get the money. A tough choice, but Sawyer saves Cassidy’s life while also stealing her money. In a lose-lose situation, he keeps Cassidy alive but loses the woman he loves at the same time.
Nothing good happened to him off the island, but Sawyer is determined to change his luck on the island—even if he has to hurt others to do it. Sun is peacefully working in her garden when she is attacked. Her screams catch the attention of Kate and Sawyer. They find Sun unconscious with a head wound. Immediately, suspicions arise, fingers pointing toward the Others as the culprits once again, igniting discussions about the necessity of a trained army with guns. Sawyer plants the seed that Sun’s attack might have happened to drum up support for the army—which Ana-Lucia has been pushing for. But who gets to decide who is armed and who isn’t? That little seed of doubt is enough to everyone’s suspicions on alert, including Locke.
Taking the guns out of the closet and hiding them seems like the better option to Locke. Jack thinks otherwise and is furious when he discovers the guns are gone. The defacto leaders were so ensnared in their own power struggle that they didn’t see Sawyer, and his covert accomplice Charlie, coming. Sawyer now has control of the guns, and everyone will have to come to him to get one. The balance of power has shifted. No one knows of Charlie’s involvement, but even he can’t understand Sawyer’s motivation. Charlie did it to embarrass Locke. Why did Sawyer do it? He doesn’t need or want to be liked, Sawyer just wants to be himself—a con artist. Please keep reading my recap for episode fourteen is posted.
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