I can still remember watching my very first episode of Lost, "The Pilot," in my brother and sister-in-law's apartment when they lived in Boston. That was almost 6 years ago, which is a bit mind-boggling. I remember after the first couple of episodes, they asked me what I thought of the show, and if I liked any of the characters. I was like, "Well, I think I'm supposed to like Jack. And Kate is really cool. But that Sawyer guy -- what's up with him?" I was already trying to figure him out.
By the time I finished episode 8, "Confidence Man," I realized I was watching the show because I liked Sawyer, not so much because I liked the show. If you go far enough back on my Facebook wall, you'll find a post from when I had that realization. It says something like, "Not since Han Solo have I fallen for a scoundrel this hard or this fast." That pretty well sums it up.
Why do I love Sawyer? I think initially, I liked him because he was insistent that nobody should like him. I was sad for him, and wanted to know more and more about why he pushed everyone away so determinedly. Now, well, he adheres to all the things I Need in a character: he's helpful, he's nice, and he's practical. And if you've watched Lost and are scratching your head over those first two, well, yes, I see him as both helpful and nice. He might not want to help, but he generally does, unless people are being mean to him, in which case he'll push back. And inside, he is nice. As the series goes on, his niceness becomes more and more apparent, as does his helpfulness.
He reads a lot. He likes learning new things. He makes do with what he's got, lives by his wits. He's a con artist, and I am endlessly fascinated with con artists. I think it's because they can talk people into doing what they want them to, and I'm fairly bad at that, so I kind of wish I could do what they do. But use my powers for good, hee. Which Sawyer eventually does.
And yeah, his name is actually James Ford, but to me he'll always and forever be Sawyer. Because that's the name he chose for himself, and over the course of the series he changes more than any other character, going from a bitter loner to a caring leader. If he can reinvent himself, he can rename himself too. Actually, renames himself again later on, but by then he was cemented in my mind as Sawyer, and thus he remains.
So happy birthday, dear Sawyer! I'm going to watch my favorite Lost ep, "The Long Con," tonight to celebrate your birthday.
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| (This is totally a Josh Holloway smile, not a Sawyer smile, but it's so stinkin' cute I couldn't not include it.) |
:D We thought you might like him, but didn't want to spoil anything (since he isn't so nice at first)!
ReplyDeleteI love the episode where Hurley cons Sawyer into being nice.
I remember when you were both considering whether to introduce me to Lost, and John said to you, "I don't know -- I don't think she'll like Jack much." You said, "No, not Jack. Sawyer." You know me well!
DeleteHere it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Behind_%28Lost%29
ReplyDeleteYes! That's a great one; Sawyer first gets leadership foisted on him. And kind of leads up to the one I'm watching tonight, because Kate tells Cassidy she should get Sawyer thrown in jail, and of course in "The Long Con," he's in prison for stealing Cassidy's money.
DeleteI also love the one with the ping pong championship :-)
Hah! "The Long Con" is not the one I was thinking of at all -- I was thinking of the flashback parts of "Every Man for Himself" instead. Oops!
DeleteHi Hamlette! I'm planning to interview several writers on my blog soon, and I was wondering if you'd like to be one of them? If you're interested, please comment on my blog with your email-address (which I won't publish if you don't want me to.) Thank you! (but if you're not interested, feel free to ignore!)
ReplyDeleteSure! Check your blog for a comment soon :-)
DeleteWhich couple do you love the most based on chemistry, connection, etc - Kate-Sawyer or Kate-Jack ?
ReplyDeleteOh, that's tough. Kate and Jack never quite seemed to "get" each other, but Kate and Sawyer did. And yet, Jack tried to get Kate to like him by being a better version of himself, whereas Sawyer tended to kind of devolve a bit around Kate. Which is part of why I ship Sawyer and Juliet, because she brought out the best in him, while still seeing him for who he is and accepting him.
DeleteSo I think I like Kate-Jack better than Kate-Sawyer, simply because of the way they encouraged each other to become better people, whereas Kate and Sawyer almost accepted each others' faults a little too much. If that makes sense.
Which do you like better?
I love Kate and Sawyer together more. As a couple, their chemistry is electric. And, if Sawyer hadn't jumped from the chopper, we probably would have seen their relationship evolve and mature as well. And Jack and Kate, well, they don't have the connection that Kate and Sawyer did, and their relationship eventually breaks down anyway.
ReplyDeleteJuliet is a whole other thing. Juliet and Sawyer were a good couple, too. But that's probably because Sawyer has good chemistry with everyone, and Juliet is an excellent character.
So, if Juliet was out of the equation, who do you think would have made a better couple- Kate and Sawyer or Kate and Jack?
Coz, Kate and Sawyer had a lotta good moments together.
Kate and Sawyer do have better chemistry, and I like both of them better than Jack, who has never been a favorite of mine. But I don't know if I could see their relationship lasting. I'm afraid they'd continue to bicker and fight, be unhappy, and eventually split.
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