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Confidence Man (Lost)
Encyclopedia
"Confidence Man" is the eighth episode of the first season of Lost
. The episode was directed by Tucker Gates
and written by Damon Lindelof
. It first aired on November 10, 2004 on ABC
. The character of James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
) is featured in the episode's flashback.
in debt with a loan shark
, Kilo (Billy Mayo), who demands his money, plus fifty percent, by the next day. Sawyer goes to Jessica's house to finalize the deal, but reconsiders upon seeing a small boy emerge from another room. He suddenly calls off the con, drops his briefcase of money, and rushes out of their house.
(Ian Somerhalder
) rifling through his stash, and Jack Shephard
(Matthew Fox
) attends a wound on the head of Sayid Jarrah
(Naveen Andrews
). Sayid reports his failure in triangulating the distress signal, and the destruction of the transceiver by his attacker.
Later, Shannon Rutherford
(Maggie Grace
) brings a bloody Boone to the caves, claiming Sawyer beat him. Boone then explains to Jack that Shannon's asthma
becomes a problem, and everyone becomes convinced that Sawyer is hoarding some inhaler
s from the wreck. Jack unsuccessfully demands the inhalers from Sawyer, and when Kate does the same, Sawyer says he'll give up the medicine if Kate kisses him. Kate calls his bluff and challenges him about the letter he often reads. Sawyer makes Kate read the letter aloud. The letter is addressed to "Mr. Sawyer" and explains that Sawyer had sex with the letter writer's mother and stole all his father's money, resulting in the father killing his wife and himself.
As Sayid and John Locke
(Terry O'Quinn
) discuss about the attack on him, Locke suggests that Sawyer is the culprit, since he is doing well for himself on the island, hoarding other people's possessions, and also seems to dislike Sayid. Meanwhile, Shannon is beginning to have trouble breathing, due to her lack of medication and panic resulting from this problem. Jack tries punching answers out of Sawyer, but he stops when he sees others' disapproval. Then with Jack's approval, Sayid ties Sawyer to a tree and tortures him for answers, revealing that he has tortured people many times before.
Sawyer finally agrees to give up the inhalers, but only to Kate. He again says he will hand over the medication if she kisses him, which she reluctantly does, only to find that he does not have the medication after all. Kate slaps Sawyer, and an enraged Sayid attacks him, stabbing him in the arm and hitting an artery. Jack arrives to stop the bleeding and save Sawyer's life.
Sawyer wakes up the next day with his arm bandaged up, while Kate looks on. She explains that she figured out from the bicentennial label
on the envelope that the letter was not written to Sawyer, but by him to another man. He tells Kate that after a con man ruined his family, he ended up becoming a con man himself, so he took the name Sawyer as an alias. He snatches the letter from Kate and tells her not to feel sorry for him and to leave.
Despite pleas from Kate, Sayid sets off to explore the island's shoreline in self-imposed isolation, needing time to come to terms with his actions in torturing Sawyer, while Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yunjin Kim) helps Shannon by making a eucalyptus
salve
to clear her bronchial passages. Charlie Pace
(Dominic Monaghan
) convinces Claire Littleton
(Emilie de Ravin
) to move to the caves. Sawyer attempts to burn the letter he wrote, but he finds himself unable to go through with it.
between him, Kate and Jack. It also shows the moral ambiguity of characters to reveal more of their personalities, with the ones introduced as heroes doing things that are not heroic - Jack beating Sawyer and eventually asking Sayid to torture him - and a villainous one proving to be not much of a bad person - Sawyer's backstory and flashback.
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
. The episode was directed by Tucker Gates
Tucker Gates
Tucker Gates is an American television director and producer. He has directed several episodes of the J. J. Abrams shows, Alias and Lost, including the very last episode of Alias...
and written by Damon Lindelof
Damon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
. It first aired on November 10, 2004 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. The character of James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
) is featured in the episode's flashback.
Flashbacks
Sawyer is in bed with a young woman, Jessica (Kristin Richardson). After he declares his love for her, she realizes he is late for a meeting. As he rushes to leave, his briefcase falls open, revealing thousands of dollars in cash he says she was not supposed to have seen. Sawyer then informs her that he is meeting someone to get money for an investment that will triple his cash in two weeks, and Jessica tells him that she will get the money from her husband so that she and Sawyer can split the profit. Later, Sawyer is revealed to be a con artistConfidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
in debt with a loan shark
Loan shark
A loan shark is a person or body that offers unsecured loans at illegally high interest rates to individuals, often enforcing repayment by blackmail or threats of violence....
, Kilo (Billy Mayo), who demands his money, plus fifty percent, by the next day. Sawyer goes to Jessica's house to finalize the deal, but reconsiders upon seeing a small boy emerge from another room. He suddenly calls off the con, drops his briefcase of money, and rushes out of their house.
On the Island
On the beach, Sawyer catches Boone CarlyleBoone Carlyle
Boone Carlyle is a fictional character played by Ian Somerhalder on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the south Pacific. Boone is introduced in the pilot episode as the stepbrother of fellow crash survivor Shannon Rutherford...
(Ian Somerhalder
Ian Somerhalder
Ian Joseph Somerhalder is an American model, actor and producer, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.-Early life:...
) rifling through his stash, and Jack Shephard
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
) attends a wound on the head of Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Hassan Jarrah is a character from the ABC show Lost portrayed by Naveen Andrews.-Season 1:Sayid fixes the transceiver recovered from the cockpit, and leads a group into the jungle in order to send out a distress signal. Instead, he picks up a looping message . He tries to locate the...
(Naveen Andrews
Naveen Andrews
Naveen William Sidney Andrews is a British American actor. He is best known for portraying Kip in the movie The English Patient and Sayid Jarrah on the American television series Lost.-Early life:...
). Sayid reports his failure in triangulating the distress signal, and the destruction of the transceiver by his attacker.
Later, Shannon Rutherford
Shannon Rutherford
Shannon Rutherford is a fictional character played by Maggie Grace on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Shannon is introduced in the pilot episode as the stepsister of fellow crash survivor Boone Carlyle . She is...
(Maggie Grace
Maggie Grace
Margaret Grace Denig , best known as Maggie Grace, is an American actress. Originally from Worthington, Ohio, she dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles with her mother after her parents' divorce. While struggling financially, she landed her first role as the title character in the...
) brings a bloody Boone to the caves, claiming Sawyer beat him. Boone then explains to Jack that Shannon's asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
becomes a problem, and everyone becomes convinced that Sawyer is hoarding some inhaler
Inhaler
An inhaler or puffer is a medical device used for delivering medication into the body via the lungs. It is mainly used in the treatment of asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease . Zanamivir , used to treat influenza, must be administered via inhaler...
s from the wreck. Jack unsuccessfully demands the inhalers from Sawyer, and when Kate does the same, Sawyer says he'll give up the medicine if Kate kisses him. Kate calls his bluff and challenges him about the letter he often reads. Sawyer makes Kate read the letter aloud. The letter is addressed to "Mr. Sawyer" and explains that Sawyer had sex with the letter writer's mother and stole all his father's money, resulting in the father killing his wife and himself.
As Sayid and John Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) discuss about the attack on him, Locke suggests that Sawyer is the culprit, since he is doing well for himself on the island, hoarding other people's possessions, and also seems to dislike Sayid. Meanwhile, Shannon is beginning to have trouble breathing, due to her lack of medication and panic resulting from this problem. Jack tries punching answers out of Sawyer, but he stops when he sees others' disapproval. Then with Jack's approval, Sayid ties Sawyer to a tree and tortures him for answers, revealing that he has tortured people many times before.
Sawyer finally agrees to give up the inhalers, but only to Kate. He again says he will hand over the medication if she kisses him, which she reluctantly does, only to find that he does not have the medication after all. Kate slaps Sawyer, and an enraged Sayid attacks him, stabbing him in the arm and hitting an artery. Jack arrives to stop the bleeding and save Sawyer's life.
Sawyer wakes up the next day with his arm bandaged up, while Kate looks on. She explains that she figured out from the bicentennial label
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
on the envelope that the letter was not written to Sawyer, but by him to another man. He tells Kate that after a con man ruined his family, he ended up becoming a con man himself, so he took the name Sawyer as an alias. He snatches the letter from Kate and tells her not to feel sorry for him and to leave.
Despite pleas from Kate, Sayid sets off to explore the island's shoreline in self-imposed isolation, needing time to come to terms with his actions in torturing Sawyer, while Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yunjin Kim) helps Shannon by making a eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
salve
Salve
A salve is a medical ointment used to soothe the head or other body surface. A popular eye medicine known as "Phrygian powder" was one of Laodicea's sources of wealth...
to clear her bronchial passages. Charlie Pace
Charlie Pace
Charlie Hieronymus Pace is a fictional character on ABC's Lost, a television series chronicling the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island...
(Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
) convinces Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her...
(Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin born 27 December 1981)is an Australian actress. She is commonly associated with her roles as Tess Harding on Roswell and Claire Littleton on the ABC drama Lost....
) to move to the caves. Sawyer attempts to burn the letter he wrote, but he finds himself unable to go through with it.
Development
The episode was written to humanize Sawyer and set up the love triangleLove triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
between him, Kate and Jack. It also shows the moral ambiguity of characters to reveal more of their personalities, with the ones introduced as heroes doing things that are not heroic - Jack beating Sawyer and eventually asking Sayid to torture him - and a villainous one proving to be not much of a bad person - Sawyer's backstory and flashback.