Every Man for Himself
Original
Airdate: October 25, 2006
Writers:
Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Director: Stephen Williams
Considering the mini-season’s length, it would
make sense to have as many episodes focused on popular/big name characters in
the series. So obviously, a Sawyer
episode was a good choice. This point
would be considered a turning point in the arc, with the culmination being
episode six. This is probably one of the
biggest problems of the mini-season, as fans saw is as something it wasn’t. This wasn’t a major storyline so much as its
introduction. So while the lack of major
revelations may be still frustrating, it needs to be seen in a proper context
within the entire season.
Being held captive by The Others, it would make
sense that Sawyer’s mind would go to his time in prison. To complete the comparison to “House of
Games” made in my “The Long Con” review, Cassidy’s revenge was far more moral,
turning Sawyer in for his crimes.
However, this episode introduced a new dynamic. Sawyer fathered her child, Clementine. Of course, this could be a part of another
con altogether, since all he has to verify this is a picture and Cassidy’s
word.
Sawyer conning “Costanza”
out of the ten million, only to turn it over to the authorities and to give anonymously
his finder’s fee to Clementine adds to his reluctant good guy persona. A man so reluctant to be good that he doesn’t
want anyone to know about any good he’s done.
This all stems from him losing his family. He can’t be with other people and get
attached without the fear that it’ll all be ripped from him. That distance is always present in Sawyer.
When it comes to breaking out in the flashback,
it could’ve gone like an old fashioned prison break, however, Sawyer “lies and
cheats” to freedom. Here, The Others switch it around, having Sawyer attempt a break
out scheme while The Others use their cunning to keep Sawyer from
escaping. Sawyer can be incredibly
clever, as successful con men have to be.
However, he can be easily susceptible to cons himself.
The Others know how to
con people, including Sawyer. When The Others were nothing but an abstract concept, it could’ve
been construed that they were some type of super-human creature, even though
they are as human as their castaway counterparts. Ben was a master manipulator during his time
in The Swan, picking apart Locke and Jack’s head butting to his advantage. Now that he’s with “[his] people” and has
access to their operations, the game is tilted in his favor.
He plays this to a sadistic high with
Sawyer. The most controversial element
of this episode is the extensive beatings they gave him. It wouldn’t have been hard to believe that he
did give Sawyer a pacemaker wired to blow if his heart rate exceeded 140 beats
per minute. However, this cruelty serves
to convince Sawyer that the threat is real and to allow him to give information
willingly that they can use. Despite his
wishes to be the loner and live by the credo of “every man for himself”, he
cares for Kate. The Others
are clearly aware of the attraction between the two of them, and it pays off
for them to have Kate have the same feelings for Sawyer.
Kate’s cage is rather odd. For something The Others use to hold
captives, what’s with the huge holes in the top that can be easily climbed
through? Although that is negated with
the revelation that they are on another island altogether, it still feels like
The Others wanted her to get out.
Why they brought those two along is still
unclear, but this episode reveals a big reason why they brought Jack. Someone has a large tumor on their
vertebrae. It’s no coincidence that
Jack’s a talented spinal surgeon. Why The Others aren’t pushing Jack to want to help the patient
more than they are pushing Sawyer to open up is still unknown.
Jack has smartened up with regards to The
Others’ operations, and even turns the tables on them the same way Ben did when
he was captured last season. Undermining
Juliet’s confidence in her position played out similarly to the way Ben did to
Locke in “Maternity Leave”. He isn’t out
to make friends with The Others, even if he may be developing a soft spot for
Juliet.
Pickett, the most aggressively antagonistic of
The Others, didn’t have any reason to be the bad guy before this episode. However, with Colleen succumbing to the
gunshot Sun gave her, he feels justified in beating the crap out of
Sawyer. This could be read differently,
as The Others are acting in a way similar to how the castaways would react to
the actions of The Others. Not every
member of The Others is antagonistic towards the castaways, but because of the
actions of some members, it makes sense for them to lash out at all of
them. Of course, the lack of trust and
disclosure from both sides amplifies this problem.
The toughest sell for this episode would be the
final reveal that there is a smaller island about a mile away from the main
island. A reasonable complaint would be
why hasn’t anyone noticed this island before?
There have been several expeditions that would give them access to this
island, like the
Such an event can lead people to accuse the show
of making it up as they go along, throwing in game changing twists like this
simply to throw us off guard and to show how clever they are. Without being as harsh, this was my initial
impression. However, producers have said
that there is an island present on Rousseau’s maps seen from season one. This is a good reason to take out the DVDs
again. Even reviewing this episode months later makes some of the sins of the mini-season more
forgivable than when I first saw them.
As seen in “Further Instructions”, Desmond has
some degree of precognition. This
episode shows that it isn’t an isolated event by building a lightning rod,
saving Claire’s life. With that type of
talent, Desmond will be very useful, but how much can he see and how much power
does he have over this?
While hardly a bad episode, this is a good
representative of the problems of the mini-season: little emphasis on the main
castaways, excessively cruel treatment from The Others and a flashback that
leaves something to be desired. However,
the intellectual con game is interesting enough.
Overall
Score: 7/10
Back to “Further
Instructions”
Next to “The
Cost of Living”
Back Home