1.8 Confidence Man

It’s time to find out Sawyer’s backstory this time. He’s good with the ladies and he’s a clever grifter. Back in the present, Sawyer catches Boone digging through his stash of goods and beats him up pretty good. Boone had been looking for inhales for his asthmatic sister. When Kate comes to get the inhalers, Sawyer makes her read a letter he received from a child, blaming him for killing his parents (Sawyer had swindled them out of their money).

Searching for his assailant, Sayid confronts Locke. Locke convinces Sayid that Sawyer is the most likely suspect. Locke says Sawyer could have used a slow fuse to detonate the bottle rocket at the moment he was attacking Sayid.

Shannon is now having serious trouble breathing. Jack is losing it and punches Sawyer repeatedly, but Sawyer will not give up the medicine. Sayid agrees to torture Sawyer until he tells. Sawyer finally agrees, but will only tell Kate. He asks her for a kiss, and she gives in, kissing him for longer than the required time. Then he tells her that he never had the medicine. Incensed at finding this out, Sayid rushes back to extract the truth. Sawyer has freed his hands. They grapple and Sayid stabs Sawyer in the arm.

Jack patches Sawyer up. Sawyer tells Kate that his parents were swindled by a grifter and then his father killed his mother and himself. But Sawyer became a grifter nonetheless.

With Michael’s help to gather herbs, Sun is able to help Shannon to overcome her asthma.

Sayid leaves the group to map the island until he can come to terms with the torture that he did.

Comments

This is an interesting contrast to Charlie’s arc that was explored in the previous episode. Sawyer does not change a bit, despite what he has been put through.

Nits

Some of the clothes the stranded people are wearing (in particular, Kate’s new green top) look too perfectly ironed and clean.

Granted, Sawyer could have used a slow fuse to delay detonation of the bottle rocket, but how would he have gotten the rocket to go off precisely at 5pm like it did? Sayid should have realized this straightaway.

It’s unlikely that Sayid could survive for long on his own, carrying only the contents of the small daypack that he has on his back.

Memorable Moments

• Kate and Sawyer’s kiss

Quotable Quotes

"Wow man, like, that was awesome. That was like a – Jedi moment."
- Hurley