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Summary

Biography

Prior to Oceanic Flight 815

A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Sawyer, whose real name is James Ford, is a con artist who has taken on the alias of the con man known as “Sawyer”, who was responsible for the destruction of his family.

The original Sawyer had an affair with the young James Ford’s mother in order to con his family out of their life savings, prompting James’ father to murder his mother and then commit suicide out of grief. He later dropped out of school in 9th grade. Vowing revenge, in an ironic twist Ford finds himself in financial trouble and is sucked into the world of con artistry himself, adopting Sawyer’s profession and even his specific modus operandi to survive, using his looks to seduce women and divide families. He also takes the original Sawyer’s name as an alias and, perhaps, as a symbol of his own self-loathing.

One of Sawyer’s cons is a divorced woman named Cassidy, who tells him that she did not get a significant settlement in the divorce proceedings. While getting dressed, Sawyer accidentally opens a briefcase filled with fake cash bundles, which is one of his favorite cons (meant to give off the impression that he is rich, so he can more easily con his victim into giving him money meant for an investment). Cassidy, however, sees through the con immediately, but is also intrigued, asking Sawyer to teach her how to con someone. The two scheme a jewelery con by overpricing fake goods, and con two men at a gas station. Cassidy later asks if he can teach her how to pull off a “long con”, and reveals that she got $600,000 from her ex-husband. Sawyer is later at a diner having lunch with Gordy, his partner, who tells him to keep doing his con on Cassidy despite Sawyer’s feelings for her. Sawyer returns to the house and tells Cassidy to run because Sawyer’s partner Gordy is going to kill them, and points to a car waiting outside. He reveals that the “long con” is Cassidy herself, and that he knew about her money from the beginning. He then sends her off with a bag which he appears to have stuffed with the money. However, this was all part of the con: the car was empty and the real money was hidden in another bag, ready for Sawyer to take once Cassidy left.

Before the crash, James is told that the man who ruined his childhood, the same man from whom he took his alias Sawyer, was in Australia. James goes there and kills him, only to find out he has been set up and the man he has killed was not Sawyer. Before making his final decision to kill the man who he thought was “Sawyer”, Sawyer meets a man in a bar whom, after the crash, he realizes was Christian Shephard, Jack’s father. Sawyer does not reveal this encounter to Jack until Exodus: Part 1.

In Boone’s flashback in “Hearts and Minds”, an uncooperative Sawyer is dragged into a police station by two police officers. This is later revealed to be because of Sawyer’s participation in a bar fight. A policeman informs Sawyer that the man he has head-butted in the bar was the Australian Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. He is deported from Australia and banned from ever returning, thus ending up on the fateful flight. The Australian authorities, who are aware of Sawyer’s real identity, deport him under his real name and it is listed as such on the flight manifest. It has not been explained why Hurley, who had the passenger manifest list, continues to refer to him as “Sawyer”. Hurley later shares the manifest with Locke, however, and Locke eventually reveals to Sawyer in “The Hunting Party” that he was aware of Sawyer’s real name and occasionally calls him James.

On the Island

Sawyer is known for collecting and hoarding items from the plane crash and for being the resident smart-talking rebel on the island. Along with Shannon, he is one of the island’s most prolific sources of colorful, often insulting nicknames for other castaways and island locations. These mannerisms make him easily hated and despised by most of the islanders, although it is eventually revealed that he purposely incites others into hostility against him; Kate uncovers his tragic past and forces him to admit his inferiority complex, and Michael, noting that the otherwise entirely self-centered Sawyer seems eager to volunteer for dangerous tasks, theorizes he may have a deathwish.

Initially Sawyer is Kate’s most aggressive suitor, making various crude advances toward her, at one instance extorting a kiss from her, but as time passes on, the two seem to develop a genuine friendship, both sharing a background as criminals and fugitives tormented by guilt. He kills time on the island by reading books (such as Watership Down, which is “about bunnies”, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, and A Wrinkle in Time) salvaged from the plane; this has caused Sawyer to develop hyperopia, forcing him to wear reading glasses made by Sayid. His voice also seems to entertain and comfort Claire’s baby.

While on the raft, he is heard singing Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song”, in a bit of metaphorical happenstance. When Sawyer, Jin, Michael, and Walt encounter another boat at sea whose passengers demand that Walt come with them, Sawyer pulls a gun, given to him by Jack before they left, to protect Walt. He gets shot by “The Others” and goes overboard. After the boat leaves, he climbs onto the wreckage of the raft with Michael and pulls the bullet out with his fingers from his shoulder. Due to infection and a loss of blood, Sawyer becomes ill and passes out in Abandoned. Michael, Jin, and Mr. Eko make a stretcher for him and proceed to carry him back to their camp. Back at camp, he is taken to the hatch, where Jack declares him septic. In “What Kate Did”, he is feverish, and says to Jack “I love her”. Several minutes later, he attacks Kate and asks her why she “killed” him. She takes this to be a sign that her deceased stepfather Wayne, whom she killed, is seeking her from beyond the grave, and flees the hatch. She later returns and explains herself to Wayne in the form of Sawyer; he awakens from the fever, having no idea what she is talking about. Kate escorts him through the hatch, and out to the jungle; Kate is visited by the black horse she has been seeing, which Sawyer also witnesses.

After unlocking Locke and Jack out of the gun cache, they go out on a trek to find Michael. John asks Sawyer why he doesn’t use his real name, James Ford, and where he got the name Sawyer. When the Others confront the hunting party, Sawyer is shot again, but only grazed in the face by a bullet. The leader of the Others, whom Sawyer nicknames “Zeke,” threatens Kate; Sawyer is obviously shaken and angered at the possibility of losing her, and hugs her when she is finally released. When they get back to camp Sawyer comforts Kate in saying that he would have done the same thing that she did.

In “The Long Con” Jack raids Sawyer’s tent and tells him that he stole medicine from the hatch. Kate and Sawyer hear Sun screaming and run to her. They find her unconscious and bring her back to camp. They later go back out to where she was attacked and Sawyer says that the bag used to cover Sun’s head was not the same as the one used by The Others on Kate, making Sawyer suspect that someone from camp did it. Jack is persuaded to distribute the guns from the hatch for self-protection, so Sawyer goes to the hatch to tell Locke that Jack and other survivors are coming for the guns, so Locke has time to move them. That night, when Jack confronts Locke about moving the guns, Sawyer reveals that he has stolen all of them, and if anyone wants a gun, they need to get it from him. He claims this was to give him back control of the group, which he felt he had lost to Jack and Locke while he was away on the raft. Kate confronts him later in the night, and asks him why he has to make everyone hate him. He replies that at least she still likes him. Even later that night Sawyer meets up with Charlie. Sawyer had employed Charlie to pretend to be an Other and “kidnap” Sun and that he had planned the entire thing. He later tells Charlie that he has never done a good thing in his life.

In “Lockdown”, Sawyer is playing Hurley and Kate in poker, winning a large pile of fruit. As Jack walks by, Sawyer goads him into playing a few rounds of poker. Jack surprisingly takes Sawyer for a run at the table, winning all the fruit from him. As Jack goes to leave, Sawyer ups the stakes by offering Jack one last hand where Jack can name the stakes. Jack names the medical supplies as the stakes and wins with a pair of nines. As Jack goes to leave, Sawyer asks him why he didn’t ask to get the guns back, and Jack replies, “When I need the guns- I’ll get the guns.” Sawyer also shows some intellect in talking with Jack, asking him what he was doing in Thailand when Jack says he learned to play poker in Phuket, leaving Jack somewhat suprised that Sawyer knew where Phuket was.

In “Dave”, Hurley comes to Sawyer, asking for some medication that would help him stop seeing hallucinations. Sawyer takes his usual demeaning attitude and makes fun of Hurley’s problem, which leads to Hurley surprisingly leaping on top of Sawyer and punching him while he’s on the ground. A few other survivors see this, but do not pull Hurley off too quickly, instead seeming to enjoy Sawyer getting his comeuppance for the way he treats everyone on the island.

In “Two For The Road”, Sawyer, who holds all the guns, is asked by Ana-Lucia to give her one. He refuses and the two battle on the ground briefly before Ana-Lucia starts to kiss him. They then have sex in a frenzied manner. Later, when Jack holds a gun to Sawyer’s head, it is revealed that Ana-Lucia stole Sawyer’s gun when seducing him.

In “?”, Sawyer reveals to Kate that his ‘stash’ of guns and other supplies is hidden in a small covered hole in his tent.

In “Three Minutes”, Sawyer enlists Sayid’s help to attack the Others, but is confused and annoyed when Michael angrily refuses to have Sayid come along, Sawyer being unaware of Michael’s treachery. Sawyer also expresses grief after Ana-Lucia’s death, and feels guilty that he had sex with her without even knowing her last name. He also tells Jack that he is the closest thing he has to a friend.

In “Live Together, Die Alone”, Sawyer is part of the party that goes to attack The Others and get Walt back, along with Jack, Kate, Michael and Hurley. He eventually gets shot in the neck with a tranquilizer dart by The Others. The episode ended with him, Jack & Kate being held gagged and at gunpoint by The Others.

Trivia

* The character of Sawyer was originally meant to be a slick, suit wearing city con man. However, when Josh Holloway forgot a line at his audition and subsequently kicked a chair in frustration, the writers liked the edge he brought to the Sawyer character and decided to write Sawyer as more of a Southern, edgy con man instead.[1]
* Jorge Garcia, Matthew Fox, and Dominic Monaghan all auditioned originally for the part of Sawyer as the other characters had not been developed at the time.[2]
* Sawyer is usually reading a book at some point in an episode. Originally his reading material was gleaned from the plane wreckage, later it tends to come from the hatch library.

Connections

Sawyer	And	Description
Sawyer	Cons and deception	Sawyer was a con man
Sawyer	Ana-Lucia Cortez	Sawyer "screwed" Ana-Lucia just before she died

Top theories referencing Sawyer

Title	Author	Cmnts	Votes	Rating
Lost was inspired by this book	lostincyberspace	65	82	+56
Theta consciousness and quantum physics	seedy	29	30	+22
About Claire….and how she’s dead	Marius	29	30	+20
My theory on theories and the creators of lost	holy1se	27	17	+15

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