One of the things I really like about Lost is comfortable producers feel adapting its characters to the actor. One character that has really benefited from this is Sawyer. Sawyer was always a con man, but initially he was a Prada-wearing con man. The producers liked Josh Holloway’s audition so much that Sawyer went from a city-slicker to a Southern boy. It took the actor a while to catch on that the producers wanted him to use his natural Southern accent (Holloway was raised in Georgia). Even “Freckles”, Sawyer’s nickname for Kate, was also Holloway-born.
Sawyer’s Finest Year…or Three
This season, Sawyer had to do the seemingly impossible: accept the fact that he was skipping through time. In their first flash, the Left Behinders discover that their beach camp is gone. Sawyer, meeting Daniel for the first time, scoffs when the physicist says the camp hadn’t been built yet. When Daniel at first refuses to explain what he believes is going on (saying it would be difficult to explain to a quantum physicist), Sawyer slaps Daniel, threatening to slap Charlotte if she interferes. Daniel tries to explain, of course, but Sawyer wants nothing of it. Instead, he wants to break back into the Swan Station to get clothing and food, but Daniel stops him – “You can’t change the past, James.” And indeed, James did not. Desmond never responded to Sawyer’s pounding on the Swan Hatch. When he sees Kate assisting Claire give birth, he stands by, staring in agony. By Jughead, the third episode of the season, Sawyer doesn’t seem to question John when John refers to time travel. What was really funny was watching James trying to explain their time travel situation to Jin.
This season, Sawyer had to do the seemingly impossible: accept the fact that he was skipping through time. In their first flash, the Left Behinders discover that their beach camp is gone. Sawyer, meeting Daniel for the first time, scoffs when the physicist says the camp hadn’t been built yet. When Daniel at first refuses to explain what he believes is going on (saying it would be difficult to explain to a quantum physicist), Sawyer slaps Daniel, threatening to slap Charlotte if she interferes. Daniel tries to explain, of course, but Sawyer wants nothing of it. Instead, he wants to break back into the Swan Station to get clothing and food, but Daniel stops him – “You can’t change the past, James.” And indeed, James did not. Desmond never responded to Sawyer’s pounding on the Swan Hatch. When he sees Kate assisting Claire give birth, he stands by, staring in agony. By Jughead, the third episode of the season, Sawyer doesn’t seem to question John when John refers to time travel. What was really funny was watching James trying to explain their time travel situation to Jin.
We also see James take on the role of a leader. In The Little Prince, Sawyer, taking John’s suggestion they go the Orchid, determined that was were the Left Behinders needed to go. After John turns the wheel, Sawyer announces that they’ll wait for John to come back, no matter how long it takes. When he pronounces his plan to wait at the beach and Miles questions the plan, Juliet supports Sawyer (though she later tells Sawyer she thinks it was a stupid idea). Miles then asks, to no one in particular, “Who put him in charge?”
When the Left Behinders find Amy in trouble, Sawyer acts heroically, rescuing her from the Hostiles. He then turns into con man-mode, creating a story on the fly (I guess he didn’t think that confessing they were from the future would be believed). James renamed himself “Jim LaFleur”, and said that the Left Behinders were shipwrecked while trying to find the slave ship, the Black Rock. They were wandering the jungle looking for missing crewmen. Horace believes James, but tells him they have to leave, because “Jim” is clearly not “DHARMA material.” An interaction with Richard Alpert later, James has bought them two weeks to search for their missing crew.
Jim is Accepted by Society
By the time three years have passed, the” “crew” remains missing, and James has become chief of DHARMA Initiative security. Further, everyone in security (and apparently janitorial) are terrified of him. He commands respect, something he’s never had before. And he’s comfortable in that skin. So much so, that he can confront Jack when pushed:
SAWYER: Evening, Doc. … Take a load off. You want a beer?
JACK: No. No, I'm fine.
SAWYER: What can I do for you, Jack?
JACK: I don't even know where to start. Uh... how about with Sayid?
SAWYER: I had no choice. He was running around in the jungle, got caught by my people. And seein' as how he can't tell the truth about how he got here, I had to improvise.
JACK: Improvise?
SAWYER: Uh-huh. And for now, Sayid is safe, which is all that matters.
JACK: So where do we go from here?
SAWYER: I'm working on it.
JACK: Really? Because it looked to me like you were reading a book.
SAWYER: I heard once Winston Churchill read a book every night, even during the Blitz. He said it made him think better. It's how I like to run things. I think. I'm sure that doesn't mean that much to you, 'cause back when you were calling the shots, you pretty much just reacted. See, you didn't think, Jack, and as I recall, a lot of people ended up dead.
JACK: I got us off the Island.
SAWYER: But here you are... right back where you started. So I'm gonna go back to reading my book, and I'm gonna think, 'cause that's how I saved your ass today. And that's how I'm gonna save Sayid's tomorrow. All you gotta do is go home, get a good night's rest. Let me do what I do ...now ain't that a relief?
JACK: Yeah.
Later, Sawyer tells Sayid: these people trust me! I've built a life here – and a pretty good one.
I have to wonder, is this the first time that Sawyer has fit into a community? Been an upstanding member of society? Respected and feared not because he is a thief and a con man but because he is good – really good – at his job – being a security guard. It’s the most conventional and traditional that Sawyer has ever been. Granted, he’s in the DHARMA Initiative, which is hardly conservative.
Part of the wonderful life that James builds involves a romantic relationship with Juliet. I will, of course, talk more about this in a later post. But I will state here that it appears to be a strong bond between the two, and Juliet’s beliefs clearly inform much of Sawyer’s behavior, as I noted later in this post.
Phil’s discovery of the videotape implicating Sawyer in taking Ben was the final nail in Sawyer’s comfortable life in the DHARMA Initiative. Sawyer saw two options: take the sub to escape or hide in the jungle. He was against finding Daniel’s mother. He tried to talk Kate into joining him on the beach, but Juliet, angered at the use of the nickname “Freckles” gave Kate the information she needed to pass the sonic fence. This was the first fracture in James’ relationship with Juliet (explored more in another post).
Not that he had been hidden, but the old Sawyer seemed to return as Radzinsky beat him, once the remaining DHARMA learned that James and Juliet were not who they seemed to be. He refused to answer any questions, pointing out to Juliet that they wouldn’t believe him anyway. However, once Phil figures out that hitting Juliet will make James talk, he does, drawing a map to the Hostiles so that Sawyer and Juliet can get on the submarine. And when Kate joins them on the sub, breaking the sweetest moment ever, James clearly couldn’t care that Jack planned to detonate a hydrogen bomb. Instead, he wanted to finally leave the Island. Just like saving Ben, he only changed his mind because of Juliet.
When the Left Behinders find Amy in trouble, Sawyer acts heroically, rescuing her from the Hostiles. He then turns into con man-mode, creating a story on the fly (I guess he didn’t think that confessing they were from the future would be believed). James renamed himself “Jim LaFleur”, and said that the Left Behinders were shipwrecked while trying to find the slave ship, the Black Rock. They were wandering the jungle looking for missing crewmen. Horace believes James, but tells him they have to leave, because “Jim” is clearly not “DHARMA material.” An interaction with Richard Alpert later, James has bought them two weeks to search for their missing crew.
Jim is Accepted by SocietyBy the time three years have passed, the” “crew” remains missing, and James has become chief of DHARMA Initiative security. Further, everyone in security (and apparently janitorial) are terrified of him. He commands respect, something he’s never had before. And he’s comfortable in that skin. So much so, that he can confront Jack when pushed:
SAWYER: Evening, Doc. … Take a load off. You want a beer?
JACK: No. No, I'm fine.
SAWYER: What can I do for you, Jack?
JACK: I don't even know where to start. Uh... how about with Sayid?
SAWYER: I had no choice. He was running around in the jungle, got caught by my people. And seein' as how he can't tell the truth about how he got here, I had to improvise.
JACK: Improvise?
SAWYER: Uh-huh. And for now, Sayid is safe, which is all that matters.
JACK: So where do we go from here?
SAWYER: I'm working on it.
JACK: Really? Because it looked to me like you were reading a book.
SAWYER: I heard once Winston Churchill read a book every night, even during the Blitz. He said it made him think better. It's how I like to run things. I think. I'm sure that doesn't mean that much to you, 'cause back when you were calling the shots, you pretty much just reacted. See, you didn't think, Jack, and as I recall, a lot of people ended up dead.
JACK: I got us off the Island.
SAWYER: But here you are... right back where you started. So I'm gonna go back to reading my book, and I'm gonna think, 'cause that's how I saved your ass today. And that's how I'm gonna save Sayid's tomorrow. All you gotta do is go home, get a good night's rest. Let me do what I do ...now ain't that a relief?
JACK: Yeah.
Later, Sawyer tells Sayid: these people trust me! I've built a life here – and a pretty good one.
I have to wonder, is this the first time that Sawyer has fit into a community? Been an upstanding member of society? Respected and feared not because he is a thief and a con man but because he is good – really good – at his job – being a security guard. It’s the most conventional and traditional that Sawyer has ever been. Granted, he’s in the DHARMA Initiative, which is hardly conservative.
Part of the wonderful life that James builds involves a romantic relationship with Juliet. I will, of course, talk more about this in a later post. But I will state here that it appears to be a strong bond between the two, and Juliet’s beliefs clearly inform much of Sawyer’s behavior, as I noted later in this post.
Sawyer’s Alternative World Comes Crashing Down
Unfortunately, the return of the Oceanic Six (technically Four since Aaron was left with Carole Littleton and Sun was left in 2007) changed everything. Sawyer fought it for a long time, doing everything he could to integrate the Four into the DHARMA Initiative. He didn’t see how their return ended his comfortable life. He just didn’t get it. He couldn’t control events. He couldn’t prevent 12-year-old Ben trying to escape his horrible life by freeing Sayid. He couldn’t prevent Sayid from trying to kill Ben. He couldn’t control the DHARMA Initiative. Or any of the things that brought his life spiraling out of control.
After Sayid shot Ben, Sawyer was less concerned about the boy’s fate than in doing what Juliet wanted him to do. Thus, he sought Jack’s medical help. Thus, he helped Kate take Ben to the Others: “When I found out Ben was gone, and Juliet told me what you were up to, I asked that exact damn question. Why are you helping Ben? And she said...no matter what he's gonna grow up to be, it's wrong to let a kid die. So...that's why I'm doing this. I'm doing it for her.”
Unfortunately, the return of the Oceanic Six (technically Four since Aaron was left with Carole Littleton and Sun was left in 2007) changed everything. Sawyer fought it for a long time, doing everything he could to integrate the Four into the DHARMA Initiative. He didn’t see how their return ended his comfortable life. He just didn’t get it. He couldn’t control events. He couldn’t prevent 12-year-old Ben trying to escape his horrible life by freeing Sayid. He couldn’t prevent Sayid from trying to kill Ben. He couldn’t control the DHARMA Initiative. Or any of the things that brought his life spiraling out of control.
After Sayid shot Ben, Sawyer was less concerned about the boy’s fate than in doing what Juliet wanted him to do. Thus, he sought Jack’s medical help. Thus, he helped Kate take Ben to the Others: “When I found out Ben was gone, and Juliet told me what you were up to, I asked that exact damn question. Why are you helping Ben? And she said...no matter what he's gonna grow up to be, it's wrong to let a kid die. So...that's why I'm doing this. I'm doing it for her.”
Phil’s discovery of the videotape implicating Sawyer in taking Ben was the final nail in Sawyer’s comfortable life in the DHARMA Initiative. Sawyer saw two options: take the sub to escape or hide in the jungle. He was against finding Daniel’s mother. He tried to talk Kate into joining him on the beach, but Juliet, angered at the use of the nickname “Freckles” gave Kate the information she needed to pass the sonic fence. This was the first fracture in James’ relationship with Juliet (explored more in another post).
Not that he had been hidden, but the old Sawyer seemed to return as Radzinsky beat him, once the remaining DHARMA learned that James and Juliet were not who they seemed to be. He refused to answer any questions, pointing out to Juliet that they wouldn’t believe him anyway. However, once Phil figures out that hitting Juliet will make James talk, he does, drawing a map to the Hostiles so that Sawyer and Juliet can get on the submarine. And when Kate joins them on the sub, breaking the sweetest moment ever, James clearly couldn’t care that Jack planned to detonate a hydrogen bomb. Instead, he wanted to finally leave the Island. Just like saving Ben, he only changed his mind because of Juliet.
So, Sawyer tries to talk Jack out of blowing up the Island. This is one of the best scenes involving these two in the episode. It starts with:
SAWYER: I ain't gettin' in the van. I need five minutes, that's all. I'll say what I gotta say, and then you can do whatever the hell you want to. But you're gonna listen. You owe me that much, Jack.
JACK: Five minutes.
SAWYER: Take a load off, Doc.
JACK: No, thanks.
SAWYER: Sit down, Jack.
SAWYER: My folks died when I was 8 years old. I ever tell you that?
JACK: No.
SAWYER: Con man took my dad for everything he had. He didn't deal with it very well. He shot my mom, then he blew his own head off. I was hiding under the bed when it happened. I heard the whole thing.
JACK: I'm sorry.
SAWYER: Yeah. That was a year ago.
JACK: What?
SAWYER: Right now it's July 1977, which means that happened last year. So I could've hopped on the sub, gone back to the States, walked right in my house and stopped my daddy from killing anybody.
JACK: Why didn't you?
SAWYER: Because, Jack... what's done is done.
JACK: It doesn't have to be that way.
SAWYER: What did you screw up so bad the first time around you're willing to blow up a damn nuke just for a second chance?
JACK: That's not what this is about.
SAWYER: Then what is it about?
JACK: Three years ago, Locke told me that all this was happening for a reason, that us being here was our destiny.
SAWYER: I don't speak "destiny". What I do understand is a man does what he does 'cause he wants something for himself. What do you want, Jack?
JACK: I had her. I had her, and I lost her.
SAWYER: Kate? Well, damn, Doc, she's standing right on the other side of those trees. You want her back, just go and ask her.
JACK: Nah, it's too late for that. Your five minutes is up.
SAWYER: Jack... if what you're doin' even works, you and Kate will be strangers, and she'll be in damn handcuffs.
JACK: If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.
SAWYER: Well, I guess there's nothing I can say that's gonna change your mind.
JACK: No, I guess there's not.
Then, of course, the fight that’s been brewing between these two since the Oceanic 816 crashed. I’m normally bored by fights, but this one was so essential to these two characters, that I just enjoyed it. Until Juliet broke it off. She’d changed her mind. More on that in a later post. But once again, Sawyer agrees to act in a way contrary to his nature because of Juliet. And we all know what happens next.
The Actor
Josh Holloway seems to stay under the radar. However, he had one bit of exciting news this year, the birth of his daughter, Java Kumala Holloway, born April 9, 2009. I’m sure the name has some kind of meaning. I just don’t know what.
In my research for this post, I learned something I didn’t know about Josh Holloway and one of my other favorite shows. You may have known that Daniel Dae Kim and Sam Anderson had both guest starred on Angel. It turns out that Holloway was the first vampire that Angel dusted in LA. Who knew?
SAWYER: I ain't gettin' in the van. I need five minutes, that's all. I'll say what I gotta say, and then you can do whatever the hell you want to. But you're gonna listen. You owe me that much, Jack.
JACK: Five minutes.
SAWYER: Take a load off, Doc.
JACK: No, thanks.
SAWYER: Sit down, Jack.
SAWYER: My folks died when I was 8 years old. I ever tell you that?
JACK: No.
SAWYER: Con man took my dad for everything he had. He didn't deal with it very well. He shot my mom, then he blew his own head off. I was hiding under the bed when it happened. I heard the whole thing.
JACK: I'm sorry.
SAWYER: Yeah. That was a year ago.
JACK: What?
SAWYER: Right now it's July 1977, which means that happened last year. So I could've hopped on the sub, gone back to the States, walked right in my house and stopped my daddy from killing anybody.
JACK: Why didn't you?
SAWYER: Because, Jack... what's done is done.
JACK: It doesn't have to be that way.
SAWYER: What did you screw up so bad the first time around you're willing to blow up a damn nuke just for a second chance?
JACK: That's not what this is about.
SAWYER: Then what is it about?
JACK: Three years ago, Locke told me that all this was happening for a reason, that us being here was our destiny.
SAWYER: I don't speak "destiny". What I do understand is a man does what he does 'cause he wants something for himself. What do you want, Jack?
JACK: I had her. I had her, and I lost her.
SAWYER: Kate? Well, damn, Doc, she's standing right on the other side of those trees. You want her back, just go and ask her.
JACK: Nah, it's too late for that. Your five minutes is up.
SAWYER: Jack... if what you're doin' even works, you and Kate will be strangers, and she'll be in damn handcuffs.
JACK: If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.
SAWYER: Well, I guess there's nothing I can say that's gonna change your mind.
JACK: No, I guess there's not.
Then, of course, the fight that’s been brewing between these two since the Oceanic 816 crashed. I’m normally bored by fights, but this one was so essential to these two characters, that I just enjoyed it. Until Juliet broke it off. She’d changed her mind. More on that in a later post. But once again, Sawyer agrees to act in a way contrary to his nature because of Juliet. And we all know what happens next.
The Actor
Josh Holloway seems to stay under the radar. However, he had one bit of exciting news this year, the birth of his daughter, Java Kumala Holloway, born April 9, 2009. I’m sure the name has some kind of meaning. I just don’t know what.
In my research for this post, I learned something I didn’t know about Josh Holloway and one of my other favorite shows. You may have known that Daniel Dae Kim and Sam Anderson had both guest starred on Angel. It turns out that Holloway was the first vampire that Angel dusted in LA. Who knew?
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