Welcome to the LOST Rewind for episode 1x16, "Outlaws"
*This episode features one of LOST's great crosses: Christian meeting Sawyer. Both affect each other in remarkable ways:
-Christian here finds a sort of peace with Jack through Sawyer (another instance where the two can almost be looked at as brothers in a way). We still don't know how Christian died in Sydney, but this was probably one of the last things to happen to him, and he was able to unburden himself and face his own weaknesses at the end.
-Meanwhile Christian unwittingly convinces Sawyer to kill Duckett. If Christian knew what decision Sawyer was struggling over, would he have told Sawyer the same things, that it would be a "simple" decision to make? Did Sawyer end up in hell anyway, contrary to what Christian thought if he went through with his decision?
*The Red Sox references begin here setting up the epic scene in 3x02, "The Glass Ballerina" where Ben shows Jack what he missed: the Sox finally breaking the curse and winning the series. With the Sox winning how seriously should we still take Christian's statement that "Some people are just supposed to suffer."
*The Tampa Job gets referred to here for the first time, but is brought up a few times more. In 3x06, "I Do" when Kate's husband Kevin brings up a fugitive recovery in Tampa. Might the Tampa Job be revealed to be where two men in Kate's life, Kevin and Sawyer, meet?
*The phrase "It'll come back around" comes up in the whispers and as Duckett's last words. Can a thematic connection be made between it and the Buddhist concept of karma, itself related to dharma? And can this also be interpreted as a reference to time loop theories?
*Laurence tells Sawyer, "You look a man in eye and you point a gun at him, you find who you really are". Who does Sawyer think he is after he kills Duckett? Does he really consider himself a killer here or only after he kills Anthony Cooper? Keep this in mind when he kills Tom with a certain kind of ease in 3x22, "Through the Looking Glass".
*Meanwhile Charlie appears to be experiencing a kind of post-traumatic stress from killing Ethan. Compare the way he and Sawyer deal with killing, especially the way both justify it.
*This is where we find out Kate's been married before, a story later told in "3x06, "I Do".
*This episode marks an interesting moment in Kate and Sawyer's relations with each other. Kate says of Sawyer, "I speak his language" and tells Sawyer he hasn't gotten over his baggage -- something she certainly knows about herself.
*What do you make of the whispers transcripts (from DarkUFO)?
Transcript By 'RVTurnage'
(Overlapping Left, Center & Right Audio Tracks)
Audio by Penyours & RVTurnage MP3's
Quote:
(Sawyer breathing)
There goes another poking his head in here
(could be 'There goes somebody')
Yeah, let's see what he's doing
Let's
Let me decide
Come back
Wait
I see another one
It'll come back around
(Frank Ducketts voice)
------
Oh my god there's a guy out there
Dennis (?) find out what's going on
Did he see us?
Maybe
Open it
Did you see what direction he went?
Right through those trees
Go and get him
There is an explanation (resolution?) and I bet you haven't thought of it
What is it?
He's been in a plane crash
Are you sure?
I know what it's like for a plane to crash
Complain, complain, complain
I want to get closer
I know what you said, but he's looking around
What if he shoots us or something?
------
There may be something, but it may be slack (?)
Let's go
Has he seen us?
(Alarms go off)
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry
(faint...could be echo from alarm)
Intruder, Intruder
Hide against the bushes
Open the door
I know what it's like for a plane to crash
Complain, complain, complain
I know what you said, but...
*This episode marks an interesting moment in Kate and Sawyer's relations with each other. Kate says of Sawyer, "I speak his language" and tells Sawyer he hasn't gotten over his baggage -- something she certainly knows about herself.
I don't know why I never thought about this, but the title "Outlaws" refers to both Sawyer and Kate. I guess when I first saw it, I just never thought of it because I was trying to catch up to season two. So both Kate and Sawyer speak the same language (apparently) and they're both outlaws. I'll have to keep this in mind as I continue to rewind through seasons one, two and three.
One thing that stuck out to me was the line where Christian tells Sawyer the they're in hell and Sawyer responds with something like "So this is hell." If I'm remembering correctly he says something very similar to Cooper in their conversation before he strangles him.
They just LOVE doing that "repeat of conversation" thing, don't they? It was actually Cooper who made the hell comparison--but you are quite right in it being a kind of replay of the Christian/James scene.
Of course, there's a great contrast, too: Christian was truly remorseful for what he'd been and done; Cooper was crowing in pride about his unsavory life.
~ nice Alice ref and about Coop crowing too unashamed gittery to the end ~
After some hefty – and I hope judicious – editing; I’m going to tread the path less followed (knowing full well it’s that way for a reason – so much for the solidity of my reasoning so far) and mention a few bits uncommented upon:
But indulge me for a moment in saying how much I like any episode with Christian in it and praise John Terry and Josh Holloway on a job well done. They were both terrific.
Kudos to Duckett too, shone in a small part, and accolades to the ever reliable Hurley/Charlie pairing – there’s a relationship that will be sorely missed – and to Charlie in particular for taking responsibility for Ethan in death.
Hibbs: missing part of a finger on his left hand? (noticed when he was seen holding a glass) …a gaijin Yakuza? Koreans are permitted in their ranks so perhaps Westerners too.
Duckett: (whose surname means ‘little duke’ and whose first name suggests we might at least take his word at face value), as described by Hibbs was a drunk with the same MO as Cooper. While this information was essentially given to con James, I wonder - if it were true - he ever ‘romanced’ anyone known to us. But not for long – a passing fancy for interconnectivity.
Loved the city on the far horizon during the Shrimp Shack scene – looked like the Emerald City to me; my Wizard of Oz moment.
Kate: her and Jack dressed in shades of the same hue …pink or purple – your pick. Was she parroting John on the boar wallow and tusk marks on the tree? she claimed to be able to name who made the footfalls of a trail by their stride. That’s pretty good.
But then she tells us sometime of her dad, that ‘being in the woods was like his religion’ - that says John to me.
There’s a neat cut from a puddle at the shrimp shack to a puddle in the woods I like, and I like also that having left James in the woods …she goes back for him.
Sawyer: voted Democrat! I don’t know why that’s funny – but it is. Sawyer the Liberal flies in the face of our expectations. Maybe he was one of their working class supporters. And sensible Kate; too busy running or lying about who she is to vote - or doesn’t she care?
But I’m a political animal, which is why I do. So, so much going on with James in this episode – and none of it so-so. A peach of an epi.
He wasn’t gored like Mike was by the boar - which was so pretty I took it to be female – it didn’t have a surly disposition at all!
John: knowledgeable, but not always right. A real insight into him too – and his sister shares his name; Jeannie sounds like the female form of the French Jean (John) and makes me think ‘Jeanne’ the Maid of Orleans, Joan of Arc - and another Saint reference.
But then I’m a fan of the play by George Bernard Shaw – who won a Nobel Prize with it. Jeanne’s story is much concerned with the nature of miracles and the veracity of her ‘voices’.
The Whispers: clear as a bell in this episode – not at all the fuzzy white noise I usually associate with them. But for all their karmic sounding ring, I think if we’re hearing anything at all beyond James’ imaginative interpretation, it’s an explanation between two of ‘them’ about something real-world physical not ethereal, metaphysical or ‘other-worldly’. I’m thinking –a rail-way carriage rather than retribution.
How old was (young?) John when his mother ‘passed’ - where’d he go then? If it weren’t for his lack of record, I might suggest he found a surrogate mom in the Army.
Christian: there’s a lot going on that’s unsaid with him too: did he want to be stopped by Jack? Did someone stop him attempting to contact his son? (his absent wallet suggests he dies soon after his meeting James – nice watch though …I shall have to keep an eye out for it).
…was he sick? His hand shaking compromised surgery might have had a neurological disease cause it, not his alcohol dependency (okay – I may be loosing it now).
And finally… I thought I saw a ‘flash’ on the DVD: after the credits, below the Touchstone logo, prior to the appearance of Bad Robot. Something in white letters. (Yep. I Lost it.)
When Sawyer goes hunting the boar all prepared with his pack and gun, I know he's supposed to be all manly-man, especially after the opening sequence of totally gratuitous shirtlessness, but it only reminded me of Winne-the-Pooh and Piglet Nearly Catch a Woozle.
Quote:
"Hallo!" said Piglet, "what are you doing?"
"Hunting," said Pooh.
"Hunting what?"
"Tracking something," said Winnie-the-Pooh very mysteriously.
Kate is the Christopher Robin here to point out that he's been circling for hours and only managing to track himself and possibly Boone. So, like in the Pooh story, they do the sensible thing and break for lunch.
This episode had some on-island storytelling too dealing with the episode's theme of death and guilt. Locke not only shows up with coffee but tells a fascinating story of a dog coming to relieve his foster mother of her guilt - to let her off the hook - a frequently recurring phrase. That sets us and Sawyer up to believe that the boar could be Duckett coming back to let him off the hook somehow.
And Sayid's story to Charlie about being on a firing squad and the aftereffects it had on him showed a rare glimpse of the Losties revealing something of their background to each other - here in an effort to let Charlie know he'll be having guilt feelings too.
Now I know Jack gets a lot of heat for slamming various people up against a wall, but Sawyer is the first to do it here in this flashback when he confronts Hibbs and nearly strangles him. The move seems to be a favorite of the directors.
This episode had some on-island storytelling too dealing with the episode's theme of death and guilt. Locke not only shows up with coffee but tells a fascinating story of a dog coming to relieve his foster mother of her guilt - to let her off the hook - a frequently recurring phrase. That sets us and Sawyer up to believe that the boar could be Duckett coming back to let him off the hook somehow.
Oh Yeah. I love that scene. We found out Locke's (foster?) sister and foster mother died. In general we got a lot (relatively) of background information about many characters. This is one of my favorite episodes of the series and it has one of my favorite lines – “Thank you Boar Expert!”
the Christian/James bar scene!
we're probably NEVER gonna get an FB about it!
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