This is the first episode to really use the love triangle in a prominent way. For all the criticism it comes under, there has certainly been a lot of character and plot development to come out of it, and the show would definitely be worse off without it. This episode would've been impossible without it.
OK, might as well nail my colours to the mast - I'm on team Jate. Like I said in my last recap, I don't even really consider the Sawyer angle a legitimate option. Sawyer is just an obstacle to stop the OTP from getting together too soon. Who was there to share Kate's first scene in the Pilot? Jack, of course. It took until over half way through before Sawyer even interacted with her. Sorry Sawyer, Jack saw her first.
However, I must admit...the kiss was pretty hot. It almost converted me. Almost.
OK, might as well nail my colours to the mast - I'm on team Jate. Like I said in my last recap, I don't even really consider the Sawyer angle a legitimate option. Sawyer is just an obstacle to stop the OTP from getting together too soon. Who was there to share Kate's first scene in the Pilot? Jack, of course. It took until over half way through before Sawyer even interacted with her. Sorry Sawyer, Jack saw her first.
However, I must admit...the kiss was pretty hot. It almost converted me. Almost.
Anyway, let's not get ahead of ourselves...we open on a beefcake shot of a shirtless Sawyer. He playfully harasses Kate, who sarcastically responds "you sure now how to make a girl feel special". Key flashback cut to some chick who Sawyer has clearly just made very happy. The briefcase full of money falls down, and that serves to intrigue us more. For some reason it reminds me of Kate's case in Whatever The Case May Be.
Kate's two love interests are pitted against eachother throughout this episode, and this is not my Jate bias talking...Jack is clearly the good guy and Sawyer is the bad guy. It starts with Sawyer beating up Boone, who was just looking for the inhalers he thinks Sawyer took. It only gets worse from then on - every scene makes him look like more of douche. When Jack punches his lights out, we cheer him on. Jack is just trying to save his patient, and even has a Jedi moment. Sawyer doesn't even explain his motives, and we can't side with someone who has no motives.
The only person who seems to be interested in finding out what makes Sawyer tick is Kate. This is where they do make a good pairing. Kate is pretty successful at it - which is good for the viewers, because obviously we want to know more about Sawyer too. It's a long awkward silence when Kate gets more than she bargained for, and Sawyer show her his precious letter, which is a note from a boy who holds "Sawyer" responsible for killing his parents.
Kate's two love interests are pitted against eachother throughout this episode, and this is not my Jate bias talking...Jack is clearly the good guy and Sawyer is the bad guy. It starts with Sawyer beating up Boone, who was just looking for the inhalers he thinks Sawyer took. It only gets worse from then on - every scene makes him look like more of douche. When Jack punches his lights out, we cheer him on. Jack is just trying to save his patient, and even has a Jedi moment. Sawyer doesn't even explain his motives, and we can't side with someone who has no motives.
The only person who seems to be interested in finding out what makes Sawyer tick is Kate. This is where they do make a good pairing. Kate is pretty successful at it - which is good for the viewers, because obviously we want to know more about Sawyer too. It's a long awkward silence when Kate gets more than she bargained for, and Sawyer show her his precious letter, which is a note from a boy who holds "Sawyer" responsible for killing his parents.
So, yep, we now know Sawyer is a damn dirty con man, who sleeps with married women, steals money and possibly causes deaths indirectly. Not exactly projecting a positive image so far. We're not even meant to sympathize with Sawyer during the torture scene, as it's made clear repeatedly that all he has to do is tell them where the inhalers are and all this pointless nonsense will stop. When Sawyer reveals he never even had the inhalers, Sayid flips out and stabs him.
Locke's role in this episode is small, but surprising. Sayid had been trying to figure out who clonked him on the head in the previous episode. Locke not only blames Sawyer for it (when it was him), but even gives Sayid his knife, seemingly encouraging him to hurt Sawyer. What's the deal with that, I wonder.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention the other character-driven subplot of the episode. That's Claire and Charlie of course, who continue to be as cute as a pair of buttons. Following a conversation about their cravings, Charlie promises Claire peanut butter if she moves to caves with him. In the end, they have to settle for imaginary peanut butter. It's a sweet moment though. Sweet like peanut butter....mmmmmm.
Locke's role in this episode is small, but surprising. Sayid had been trying to figure out who clonked him on the head in the previous episode. Locke not only blames Sawyer for it (when it was him), but even gives Sayid his knife, seemingly encouraging him to hurt Sawyer. What's the deal with that, I wonder.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention the other character-driven subplot of the episode. That's Claire and Charlie of course, who continue to be as cute as a pair of buttons. Following a conversation about their cravings, Charlie promises Claire peanut butter if she moves to caves with him. In the end, they have to settle for imaginary peanut butter. It's a sweet moment though. Sweet like peanut butter....mmmmmm.
I wonder what this episode would've been like as a Sayid-centric, we learn some interesting things about him. When he walks off at the end, he tells Kate "I hope we meet again" - pfft, I didn't believe for a second that that wouldn't happen. Kate gets another kiss, but on the hand this time.
Sun saves the day using a plant. We saw her playing with plants at the start of episode 6, remember? We never got a flashback to explain why she's so good with them. Shannon's asthma was never mentioned again, and she never found her inhaler. Are we to believe she just kept on using eucalyptus? Probably, I guess.
You gotta love the reveal at the end, and how it puts a whole different spin on things. Just when you think you've got it all figured out, something unexpected happens. Sawyer walks away from the con he's set up, after seeing the kid who we thought would be the letter writer. Kate then points out it was Sawyer who wrote the letter. The viewers have been conned by the writers!
And finally, we have our motive. Kate theorizes that Sawyer intentionally pisses people off to punish himself. He wants to be hated because he's scared of getting close to people. I guess it makes sense, though it doesn't seem like something most normal people would do. But Sawyer said it himself in episode 1 - "I'm a complex guy, sweetheart".
9/10 - One of the strongest character episodes of season 1, proving the show could survive just fine without relying on mythology.
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