James "Sawyer" Ford
From Lostpedia
- "Sawyer" redirects here. For the alias of the man who conned Sawyer's parents, see: Anthony Cooper.
Portrayed by Josh Holloway
James Ford, better known by the alias "Sawyer", is one of the middle section survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. His rural Southern accent, selfishness, machismo, and folksy use of oft-abrasive nicknames belie his sophisticated and tender sides as an avid reader and a caring lover—elements of his personality that have become more apparent as he has spent more time on the island.
Sawyer's early life was ravaged when his father killed young James's mother and himself, a tragedy the boy blamed on the con artist who seduced and swindled his mother. As a child, James wrote a letter to this con man, whom he knew only as "Mr. Sawyer", hoping to deliver it and its promise of vengeance to him in person one day, and taking on the name as an alias for a series of his own con schemes.
On the Island, Sawyer has used his abilities to con people to accomplish various ends, and has hoarded material possessions to leverage power. He escaped from an enslavement by the Others with Kate, and he is in a romantic relationship with her. After finally killing the real Sawyer (revealed to be John Locke's biological father, Anthony Cooper), Sawyer joined Locke and a small number of survivors sheltered in the Barracks, but, after becoming fed up with Ben and Locke, left them to return to the beach.
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Before the crash
Born in 1969, James Ford is originally from Jasper, Alabama. At the age of eight, James' parents were swindled out of their life savings by a man known as "Sawyer", who slept with James' mother, Mary Ford, and conned her into believing he was going to take her with him out of Alabama. When the con was discovered by James' father, he came home enraged, banging on the front door, and screaming for Mary. Mary told young James to hide under the bed and not come out for any reason, so his father would assume he was at his grandparents. James heard his father break the door down, shoot his mother, and then shoot himself in despair, while sitting on the very bed James was hiding under.
Shortly thereafter, James wrote a letter to the con man, hoping to deliver it to him personally. It is unknown who took custody of James after this; the only relative besides his grandparents that we know of was his uncle, who died of a brain tumor. ("Confidence Man"). He may have been living in Knoxville, Tennessee when he wrote the letter, based on the markings on the envelope. At some point as a child, he contracted mononucleosis, which kept him out of school for two months. During that time, he lived in a trailer and watched a lot of Little House on the Prairie.
Having dropped out of school in the ninth grade, James became a confidence man at the age of 19. A time came when James owed some men $6,000, and James attempted to use the same confidence trick as his nemesis in order to obtain the money needed. Finally, Ford adopted the name of the man responsible for the death of his parents. He was persistent in tracking down the original Sawyer in order to have his vengeance, and to give him the letter he wrote as a child. Despite his vendetta against Sawyer, James became the very man he has been hunting. ("Confidence Man")
James later employed his earlier con on a woman named Jessica and her husband, David. He tried to swindle the couple out of $160,000 dollars. However, after looking into the eyes of his marks' son, James abruptly decides to call off the deal. He also had a relationship with Mary Jo, the woman who read out Hurley's lottery numbers. ("Confidence Man"), ("Outlaws")
James would later take on a woman named Cassidy as an apprentice, but this was actually part of a con to steal a small fortune from her. He seemed genuinely fond of Cassidy, and for a while appeared reluctant to go through with the scam. However, his partner in the con forced his hand by threatening Cassidy's life. It is unclear whether he actually loved her or not; yet, he stole the money anyway. In response to this betrayal, Cassidy gave him up to the authorities (on the advice of Kate, whom Cassidy had randomly met shortly after Cassidy's relationship ended). He received a prison sentence of approximately seven years. About nine months into his sentence, he was visited by Cassidy, who claimed she had given birth to a daughter named Clementine, and he was the father. In betraying a fellow prisoner, Munson, he managed to bargain away the last six years of his sentence with the authorities by telling them where Munson had hidden stolen money. He was also given a "commission" for his part in the con, and asked for it to be placed in Clementine's name, in a way she could never know who had given her the money. ("The Long Con"), ("Every Man for Himself")
Along with a partner, Hibbs, James participated in the Tampa Job, which by accounts did not turn out well for him. Hibbs later approached him, saying he was trying to make up for his part in the botched job. Hibbs said the original Sawyer was in fact named Frank Duckett, living in Sydney, Australia. Blinded by his rage, James traveled to Australia in search of Duckett. While there, he visited a bar and met with Christian Shephard. Christian told him about the situation with his son (Jack) and encouraged him to finish the business he had intended to do. With this in mind, James finally met Duckett. However, after shooting him, he realized Duckett was not the real Sawyer. Hibbs had once again tricked him, making him a common mercenary assassin sent to kill Duckett for previously offending Hibbs. Duckett revealed his innocence and made the ambiguous statement: "It'll come back around..." with his dying breaths. Reeling from the reality that he had murdered the wrong man, James ran. ("Outlaws")
He was later arrested for head-butting the Australian Minister of Agriculture in a bar fight, and he was ordered to be deported back to America on Oceanic Flight 815, with the stipulation he could never return to Australia again. ("Exodus, Part 1")
On the Island
Season 1 (Days 1-44)
After crashing on the Island, Sawyer's drifter instincts took over, with him hoarding anything salvageable from the wreckage that he could possibly use as currency. This included stealing from the luggage compartments, as well as the wallets or belongings of the corpses in the fuselage, giving him a shady reputation amongst the rest of the survivors. However, Sawyer soon got bored of keeping to himself, and accompanied the group of survivors heading for higher ground (in order to use the radio transmitter). It was here that he first started getting to know Kate and shot a polar bear, revealing that he had stolen a firearm from the U.S. Marshal after the crash. ("Pilot, Part 2")
Sawyer's stubborn and cocky attitude became very apparent soon after the crash when Shannon, Jack, and the rest of the group were convinced that he had stolen the young woman's asthma inhaler. His refusal to explicitly tell them the truth led Jack and Sayid to torture him. Sawyer finally agreed to tell the truth, but only to Kate, from whom he demanded a kiss first. He then revealed that he never had the medicine in the first place. When he attempted to escape captivity a few moments later, Sayid tackled him and severed an artery in his right arm with a knife. Jack's attempts to save him were rewarded by Sawyer hissing that if the tables were turned, he'd let the doctor die. Nevertheless, Jack succeeded in treating Sawyer's wound. ("Confidence Man")
Kate and Sawyer's relationship soon became more intense, after Kate found the letter Sawyer wrote as a boy to the man who conned his parents. In addition, while hunting a boar that ransacked Sawyer's tent, the pair played a notable game of "I never", in which Sawyer admitted a number of both significant and trivial points about his past. The following day, the two located the boar that they had been hunting, but at the last moment Sawyer decided to spare the animal's life, as it reminded him of the man he killed in Sydney. Also on that day, the two heard whispers in the jungle, supporting Sayid's account of a similar experience, and suggesting that they may not be alone on the Island. ("Outlaws")
Sawyer furthermore showed an odd passion for reading literature on the Island, but soon after began experiencing headaches. Coming to his aid, Jack realized he was farsighted, and gave him a pair of glasses welded together to match his prescription. Though the two seemed to be helping each other, both Sawyer and Jack still had an ongoing rivalry, particularly around Kate in whom both seemed to have an interest.
When Michael built his raft to attempt to find rescue, Sawyer bought his way on board using his essential stolen supplies. However, Kate attempted to steal "his spot", and in retaliation Sawyer exposed that Kate was a fugitive to the entire group, which caused a strong level of animosity between the two. Before leaving on the raft, Sawyer also told Jack that he had actually met his father in Sydney before he died, which seemed to partially mend the rivalry between the two men. While on the raft, Sawyer witnessed the attack by the Others, and when trying to stop them from taking Walt, was shot in the shoulder, knocking him overboard. As he scrambled in the water, the raft was destroyed by a Molotov. ("Exodus, Part 1")
Season 2 (Days 44-67)
While Jin seemingly vanished, Sawyer and Michael managed to grab onto the raft's wreckage. During their time adrift, Sawyer saved Michael with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (but never tells him), and later pulled the bullet out of his arm with his bare hands. Sawyer and Michael were slowly pulled back to the Island by the tides (and upon this realization, Sawyer quipped "Home sweet home"). Here, they found their missing friend, but discovered that he was being chased by a group of unknown individuals. Sawyer attempted to challenge these people, but ended up being hit round the head with a club by a man, later revealed as Mr. Eko. ("Adrift")
Sawyer, along with his other friends, was shoved into a pit. After being kept as prisoners for several days, they were eventually released by Ana Lucia, and, eventually, it became apparent that they were accompanying fellow survivors of the flight, from the tail section. The group led the new arrivals to their current home in the Arrow station. As the group trekked across the Island back to the main camp, Sawyer's condition (caused by his infected bullet wound) worsened, and he collapsed, which prompted the Islanders to build a stretcher to carry him on. ("Orientation") ("Everybody Hates Hugo") ("...And Found"), ("Abandoned")
Back at camp, Sawyer was angered at Jack, who stole some of his supplies. He warned Jack about taking his things, but when Jack ignored him, the con man hatched a plan to exact his vengeance. Sawyer enlisted Charlie's help in an elaborate scheme that included kidnapping Sun and blaming it on the Others. He also managed to deceive everyone in the group that Jack and Ana Lucia were preparing to hand out guns for an army. The deception allowed Sawyer a chance to steal all the guns and medicine housed in the Swan station armory, objects he knew that under his control would infuriate Jack. However, Jack managed to get the medicine back after both defeating and humiliating Sawyer in a game of poker. ("The Long Con") ("Lockdown")
Sawyer also gave up a number of his guns to fellow survivors. For instance, he gave Kate a gun to take with her on her trip to find the medical station. ("Maternity Leave") In addition, Ana Lucia also managed to steal a gun from Sawyer, right after the two had sex in the jungle. This led to Michael using the gun to shoot both Ana and Libby, leading to Sawyer feeling remorse over their loss, as well as giving up the location of the rest of his guns and medicine to Jack, as Libby was in need of the heroin for pain relief. ("Two for the Road") ("?")
Among the names on the list of people Michael was instructed to bring to the Others was Sawyer, and he was convinced to join Michael and the Others on their mission to find Walt. On the way, he killed an Other who was spying on the group. As they traveled, however, they were ambushed and taken to the Pala Ferry by the Others. With Hurley allowed to go free, the love triangle of Jack, Kate and Sawyer were kidnapped by the mysterious indigenous group. ("Three Minutes") ("Live Together, Die Alone")
Season 3 (Days 68-91)
A day later, Sawyer awoke in a cage at the Hydra station with his arm bandaged. He had to work out a way to find food, which he eventually did, much to his pleasure. However, his happiness was somewhat dampened by the fact that all he got was a fish biscuit, and by the fact that Tom quipped, "It only took the bears two hours." ("A Tale of Two Cities")
Sawyer's first escape attempt was aided by Karl, but it was all part of Karl's own plan to get free, and it did not work. Sawyer ended up being tasered by Juliet, and carried back to his cage. Eventually, he was joined by Kate, who was in the cage opposite his own. ("A Tale of Two Cities") He and Kate were made to work in a rock quarry, and during this time, Sawyer rebelled against his captors, and passionately kissed Kate before suffering at the hands of Pickett and his group of Others. While Sawyer maintained that this was done to test the Others as a group, a connection between himself and Kate was clearly visible. As the two discussed their options and escape plans, they did not realize that they were in fact being monitored remotely by Ben and the Others. ("The Glass Ballerina")
Sawyer planned a second escape by using the electric shock from the behavioral conditioning device in his cage to shock the next person that came for him. Ben was the one to come, but Sawyer's plan was unsuccessful, because they turned off the electricity. It is likely that this is because his plan was heard over the monitors. He was beaten by Ben and taken into the station where the Others injected an unknown substance into his heart. When he woke up, he was informed by Ben that he had been outfitted with a pacemaker that would cause his heart to explode if his heart rate went too high. He was also told that if he told Kate what happened, they would do the same thing to her. ("Every Man for Himself")
Sawyer's drastic change in behavior caused Kate to worry. He concealed his secret from her, not wanting her to suffer the same fate. Later, Pickett came into his cage, and beat him severely, as punishment for Colleen's death. He demanded of Kate if she loved Sawyer, and continued to bloody his face until she finally broke down and exclaimed that she did. Kate then learned that she could escape her cage, so Sawyer told her to run and save herself if she really loved him. However, she said that she only claimed to love him so Pickett would stop hitting him, and climbed back in her cage. ("Every Man for Himself")
Later, Ben and some Others took Sawyer on a hike in order to show him something. On the way, Ben revealed that nothing has been done to Sawyer's heart, and that it was a ruse to trick him. Ben said that the only way to gain the respect of a con man is to con him, and claimed to be much better at conning than Sawyer. At the top of the mountain, Ben showed Sawyer that they were on an island separate from the Island on which their plane crashed—proving to Sawyer that running was useless, as there was nowhere to go. ("Every Man for Himself")
From this point on, Sawyer seemed to lose his fighting spirit—Kate awoke to find him listlessly throwing rocks at the food button in his cage. Pickett then came, and told Kate that she had to go and work, and that Sawyer had a day off. However, she insisted that they worked as a team, so, Pickett got Sawyer to accompany her back to the quarry. Unbeknownst to Sawyer, Pickett would kill him if Kate was unable to convince Jack to perform surgery on Ben. Kate became desperate and broke the lock on Sawyer's cage, urging him to run. However, he didn't leave, explaining to Kate about them being on a second Island, and that he didn't tell her because he wanted her to keep believing they had a chance. At this, she kissed him and the two made love inside his cage. ("I Do")
Afterwards, Sawyer asked Kate if she only said she loved him to stop Pickett's beating. She responded by kissing him again and nestling into his arms, at which he smiles and says, "I love you, too." The morning after, Kate awakens beside Sawyer to find Pickett and an accomplice have arrived with guns, to kill Sawyer. ("I Do")
At first, Sawyer fought Pickett, but backed off when he saw the accomplice hold one of Kate's arms behind her back, pushing her up against the bars and holding a gun to her head. Even though she urged him to fight, he stepped out of the cage with Pickett and was forced to his knees. Pickett said he wants Kate to watch, and, in response, Sawyer told Kate to close her eyes. Pickett aimed the gun at Sawyer's head and says, "This is for Colleen," before Tom called on the walkie-talkie and interrupted him. Sawyer was left kneeling in the mud, his fate in the balance. ("I Do")
Sawyer eventually assaulted Pickett, taking away his gun and beating him, while Kate took out his backup. They locked both of them in the bear cage, though Sawyer butted Pickett's head against the food button three times, triggering the shock effect which left Pickett in pain. He and Kate ran, but only to the beach, seeing their main island two miles away by sea. They were chased down and Sawyer fired several shots at the Others, but ran out of bullets. He and Kate were rescued by Alex, who used her slingshot to wound Jason and lead them to a hiding-hole. ("Not in Portland")
Alex agreed to give him and Kate a boat if they would help her rescue Karl, her boyfriend. Kate suggested, and Sawyer implements the "Wookiee Prisoner gag", took out Aldo, and rescued Karl. While preparing to leave the Hydra Island by boat, Pickett appeared and was ready to shoot Sawyer, but Juliet fired first, killing Pickett. She allowed Sawyer, Kate and Karl to escape, and they paddled back to their own island. ("Not in Portland"). Once they reached there, they camped out when Sawyer won an argument as to whether they should look immediately for the castaways camp. They woke up the next morning to find Karl missing, and then heard him crying. Sawyer talked to him, encouraging him to go back for Alex. He and Kate also argued about whether or not she felt guilty for having sex with him. When Karl decided to leave, Sawyer let him, prompting another disagreement with Kate. ("Stranger in a Strange Land")
On their way back to the camp, Sawyer stepped on a dart, debris from the discharge. Kate tried to make up with him, but Sawyer said he has nothing to be sorry for. After their reunion with the other survivor, Sawyer's mood was not improved by finding out that all his stuff has been taken and divided among the castaways. The loss of the McCutcheon scotch was particularly irksome. He went after Hurley, who helped drink it. Hurley, who seemed very happy to see Sawyer is alive, hugged him, and bribed him with DHARMA beer to help him with the DHARMA Van. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")
After getting drunk with Jin, and teaching him some English, Sawyer helped Hurley with re-activating the van by pushing it, with Hurley and Charlie inside it down a hill, which ended with large black rocks. Although Sawyer believed it is their "funeral", he did so, and was shocked to see that the car did work. After a short ride in the van, Sawyer came back to camp, with his DHARMA beers, and looked for Kate, but could not find her. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")
Sawyer distracts himself from his worries about Kate by trying to win back his stash in a ping pong game against Hurley but is defeated and has to give up using nicknames for a week. ("Enter 77")
He and Hurley are playing ping-pong when Nikki staggers out of the jungle, and collapses in front of them. After Hurley deduces that her last words were "Paulo lies" they go looking for Paulo only to find him apparently dead as well. Together with Charlie, Jin and Sun they try to figure out what happened to them during the course of which it's revealed that Nikki asked Sawyer for a gun but he refused to give her one. Under the cover of doing a "perimeter search" he finds the diamonds later giving them to Sun who throws them back at him when she finds out that he and Charlie were the ones who assaulted and kidnapped her. Later he sprinkles them into Nikki and Paulo's grave and helps Hurley bury them, not noticing that Nikki, who's only been paralyzed has woken up. ("Exposé")
After burying Nikki and Paulo, Sawyer defiantly calls Hurley "rotund," upholding the letter of his week-long 'punishment' if not the spirit of it. Hurley advises Sawyer to try to get in the other survivors' good graces, as they are planning a vote of banishment. He suggests Sawyer do good deeds, such as giving Claire a blanket, catching and cleaning a fish, hunting boar with Desmond, and cooking it as a feast for the other survivors. However, when Sawyer 'casually' asks Charlie about the vote, Charlie has no idea what he's talking about and Sawyer realizes he's been had. Sawyer confronts Hurley about the con, and Hurley points out that, with Jack, Sayid, Kate and Locke away from camp, the other survivors were looking at him to fill the leadership role on the Island in the wake of Nikki and Paulo's deaths. He asks Sawyer if it feels good to be nice.("Left Behind")
When Juliet returns to camp with Jack, Kate and Sayid, Sawyer is very suspicious. When he and Sayid track Juliet to where she picks up the medicine for Claire she confronts him with her knowledge of him killing a man in cold blood the night before his flight that is enough to get him to back off.
Sawyer goes to Kate's tent to talk to her. He enters her tent and he sees her dressing. He asks her if she told Jack about them. Later, Kate enters Sawyer's tent and starts kissing him. They have sex for the second time. The next day, Sawyer gives Kate a Phil Collins tape and he asks she if she slept with him because she saw Jack with Juliet. He says that she doesn't need to use him, and that she could just ask. ("Catch-22")
While off in the jungle by himself, Sawyer is approached by Locke, who tells Sawyer that he has kidnapped Ben and wants Sawyer to kill him. Sawyer doesn't trust Locke, but follows him. When asked why he won't kill Ben himself, Locke responds that he is not a murderer, and reminds Sawyer about the man he killed in Australia (which Locke learned about from the Others' file on him).
The two arrive at the Black Rock, and head for the ship's brig, where Locke says Ben is being held. As soon as Sawyer steps in the room, Locke shuts the door and locks him in with a hooded figure, who turns out to not to be Ben, but Anthony Cooper. Through talking to him, Sawyer learns that Anthony was a con man. Sawyer asks him what names he had used, and one of them turns out to be Tom Sawyer. Sawyer (James Ford) realizes that Anthony is the man who conned his mother. He pulls out the letter he wrote as a child to "Mr. Sawyer" and orders Anthony to read it. He starts to but stops, and explains to Sawyer his theory that they are not on an island but, in fact, in hell. Sawyer tells Anthony to keep reading, but he tears the letter up. Sawyer then angrily strangles him to death with the chains he was being restrained by.
Locke thanks Sawyer for killing the man who ruined both of their lives, saying that, "he had it coming." He then tells Sawyer to return to camp, and gives him the cassette player Juliet left for Ben to prove that she is a mole in their camp. ("The Brig")
Sawyer returns to the beach camp with the tape, and confides in Sayid. Later that night, Sawyer is present when Sayid makes his speech regarding Naomi, Oceanic Flight 815, and his distrust of Jack and Juliet. Sawyer plays the tape for the everyone to hear. When Jack and Juliet return, Sawyer is obviously angry at both of them, but in the end listens to Juliet, turns to the tape over, and listens to Ben's plans on invading the beach. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")
After hearing about Jack's plans to use dynamite against the Others, Sawyer joins the main group in the trek to the radio tower. On the way, he brushes off Kate's talk that he has been acting distant ever since he got back from his mission with Locke. Sawyer soon decides he needs to help those at the beach, who could be in real peril. Though Kate wishes to join him, he refuses to allow it and goes instead with Juliet. The two make it to the camp after also refusing Hurley's offer to help. As they wonder how best to proceed, Hurley drives a DHARMA van into the fray, and together they take out the remaining Others and save everyone in the process. The last enemy survivor is Tom, who surrenders grudgingly. However, Sawyer shoots him in the chest, much to everyone's surprise. Before Tom dies, Sawyer tells him "That's for taking the kid off the raft." When Hurley comments that Tom had willingly surrendered, Sawyer replies, "I didn't believe him." ("Through the Looking Glass")
Season 4 (Days 91-100)
Sawyer is still celebrating at the beach. He watches Juliet dig Tom's grave while he drinks a beer as Hurley tells them of Jack's call. Then Desmond returns to inform them of Charlie's death, and his final warning. Sawyer says they must radio Jack to warn him, but Sayid tells Sawyer not to radio Jack to warn him that the "rescuers" may be deceiving them, believing that if their intentions are indeed bad, they are likely monitoring communications on the island. Hurley settles the debate by grabbing the radio and throwing it in the ocean. Instead, Sawyer, Hurley, Juliet, Jin, Bernard, Sayid, and Desmond set out to meet up with Jack and the others in the jungle.
Sawyer tries to comfort Hurley over Charlie's death, but Hurley doesn't want to talk about it. Journeying on to the cockpit, Sawyer eventually joins Locke's side. When Kate questions him on his actions, he tells her that he is doing what he's always been doing: surviving. He, Locke, and the other Losties who sided with Locke walk off into the jungle, headed for the barracks. ("The Beginning of the End")
The next day, as Locke's group is trekking across the island, Sawyer notes that the group is not going in the right direction to get to the Barracks. Locke replies that they have to take a detour to a cabin, to which Hurley replies that the cabin is in a different direction. Sawyer begins to question why Locke believes the freighter people are bad, and expresses doubt once Locke explains that it was Walt (or a vision of Walt) who instructed him to kill Naomi and attempt to stop the people on the boat from coming to the island. To prove his story, Locke lifts his shirt to show the gunshot wound inflicted by Ben.
Later, he intervenes when Karl is about to attack Ben, saying that Ben is only trying to get inside his head, only to end up attacking Ben himself when he antagonizes Sawyer about Kate. Sawyer tells Locke that they should kill Ben, saying that he is sure to find a way to cause trouble, but Locke says they need him.
The group later finds Charlotte Lewis and exhibits hostility and disbelief toward her as she tells her story. Ben steals a gun and shoots Charlotte, prompting Sawyer to beat him. Locke tells Sawyer that he was right about Ben, then Sawyer offers to kill him, but Locke says that he will do it himself. Sawyer then witnesses Ben reveal the information that he knows about Charlotte and her team. ("Confirmed Dead")
Shortly afterwards, Sawyer and the rest of Locke's group capture Sayid, Miles, and Kate at Ben's house in the barracks. Sawyer watches over Kate as Locke and Sayid negotiate. Sawyer reveals that he does not want to leave the island because he has nothing to go back to. He questions Kate's motives for leaving by reminding her that she has nothing to look forward to except jail if she leaves the island. Sawyer tells Kate that he would be content to stay and live on island. Kate asks him how long they could "play house." Sawyer says they should find out. ("The Economist")
After Kate arrives, she stays with Claire, and is visited by Sawyer. Sawyer then mentions the pregnancy, and is told by Kate to leave. She later visits him, asking if he can help her break Ben out. He then reports this to Locke, distracting him for Kate. However, Locke returns and catches Kate, banishing her. She comes to Sawyer's room, and he vows to protect her. They kiss passionately, but apparently don't have sex (according to Sawyer the following morning). Sawyer and Kate share a bed that night, but the following morning they get into a fight over the pregnancy. Kate assures Sawyer that she's not pregnant, but when Sawyer declares that them having a baby would be the "worst thing in the world," Kate gets upset and leaves. ("Eggtown")
While playing a game of horseshoes with Hurley, Sawyer sees Ben walking freely into his home. Amid their confusion as to why Ben is walking about freely, Ben cheerfully says "See you guys at dinner!" ("The Other Woman")
Later, Sawyer attends a group meeting at Locke's house, where he learns that the freighter's crew plan to kill everyone on the Island after they capture Ben. Afterward, Sawyer confronts Locke about the $3.2 million that Miles wants from Ben; Locke replies that he didn't think this matter was worth mentioning at the meeting. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")
Sawyer is playing a game of Risk against Hurley when the phone rings, heralding the imminent arrival of Keamy and his team. Sawyer attempts to get all the other residents of the Barracks inside their houses, but Keamy's group shoots three survivors dead and attempts to gun down Sawyer. Sawyer takes cover and makes his way to Claire's house, which one of the freighter people blows up with a rocket-propelled grenade. The attackers then cease fire, allowing Sawyer to enter the debris of Claire's house. Finding Claire still alive, he carries her back to the house in which Ben, Locke, and Hurley are taking shelter. Ben tries to prevent Sawyer from entering the house, but Sawyer and Claire make it safely inside through a window.
That night, Sawyer is present when the Monster attacks Keamy's team. While the freighter people are distracted by the Monster, Sawyer, Ben, Locke, Hurley, Claire, and Miles flee from the Barracks. Sawyer, fed up with Ben and Locke's mysterious plan to consult Jacob, declares his intention to return to Jack's group at the beach camp, and asks offers to take Claire and Aaron with him, to which Claire agrees, and Miles also decides to go with them. However, when Sawyer invites Hurley to go with them, Ben and Locke demand that Hurley come with them to Jacob's cabin. Sawyer aims his gun at Locke in defense of his friend, while Locke aims his gun at Sawyer. Ultimately, Hurley convinces Sawyer to let him leave with Ben and Locke, to which Sawyer complies, telling Locke that if he hurts one hair one Hurley's head, he'll kill him. Sawyer, Claire, and Miles set off toward the beach. ("The Shape of Things to Come")
Sawyer continued to behave protectively toward Claire and Aaron, imposing a "restraining order" on Miles as they headed for the beach. He was quick to get her out of the area upon the discovery of Rousseau's and Karl's bodies, and told her to get behind him when they heard someone approaching through the bushes. (This turned out to be Frank.) The next morning, Sawyer realized that Claire was gone. Sawyer's "restraining order" had backfired, as Miles had apparently let her wander off into the jungle in the dead of night with what appeared to be her father, Christian Shepherd. Equally furious and worried, Sawyer left Miles to find Aaron when he began to hear the baby crying. Upon finding him alone on his blanket at the base of a tree, Sawyer picked up the child and began yelling for the still missing Claire. ("Something Nice Back Home")
After the Rescue of the Oceanic 6
Little is known about Sawyer's state of affairs after the rescue of the Oceanic 6, but soon after becoming engaged to Jack, Kate indicated that Sawyer was alive on the island, and that he is there by choice. Kate also claimed to have been doing an undisclosed favor for him. ("Something Nice Back Home")
Trivia
- Sawyer was the sixth character to ever have a flashback.
- Sawyer's episode count so far is 72 (including his flashback appearance in "The Other 48 Days").
- Sawyer has killed 2 important characters on the island: Anthony Cooper and Tom.
- James Ford, 'Satan's Ferryman', was a historical character from Illinois. He acted as civic leader but in reality was a Mafia Don like criminal. See this site for more details: http://www.illinoishistory.com/jamesford.html
- James Sawyer is one of the people Edmund meets in the novel Edmund et les ours explosifs by Yaruch Bann. See more about this novel at Yaruch Bann (Wikipedia page).
- Sawyer appears to be a fan of the Star Wars films. On the raft he calls Jin Chewie, and Michael Han, in reference to Chewbacca and Han Solo. In "Not in Portland" he mentions The old Wookiee prisoner gag. He also calls Hurley Jabba and Ben Yoda at one point.
- Sawyer is left-handed: he writes, smokes and shoots with his left hand.
- Sawyer says that he has never had a blood transfusion or taken pills for malaria but he has paid for sex and received a sexually transmitted disease.
- Sawyer is assumed to live with his grandparents after the death of his mother and father. We know they were alive because they are referred to by Mary Ford.
- Lived in a trailer-home and watched Little House on the Prairie as a child.
- The report that Locke read that told him about Sawyer's past included an Interpol report written in French.
- Is the only castaway to be involved in a confrontation with the Others in all three season finales.
- Sawyer is responsible for the death of Locke's father and contributed to the death of Jack's father: He strangled Anthony Cooper and purchased alcohol for Christian Shephard that may have contributed to his heart attack.
Cultural references
- The name Sawyer is a reference to the character Tom Sawyer from Mark Twain's literary works. Tom Sawyer was an orphan and budding con artist from the south. His earliest and best known con involved whitewashing a fence, in which he convinced the local boys to pay him for the privilege of painting a rather long and difficult fence. "He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it – namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain." The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- The name sawyer may also be a reference to the fictional character Jack Sawyer who appears in the novels "The Talisman" and "Black House" by Stephen King and Peter Straub.
- The names James and Ford may possibly be a reference to the infamous American outlaws, Jesse James and Robert Ford. James was a notorious member of the James-Younger Gang, who staged a series of successful robberies in the mid-19th century. Ford was a young upstart outlaw who befriended James, and later murdered him, collecting the $10,000 bounty on James' head.
Biblical references
- Two of Jesus' disciples were named James.
- One of these disciples had a brother named John. Along with Peter, the brothers James and John formed the inner circle of disciples.
- This may refer to John's father having sex with Sawyer's mother and almost marrying with Peter Talbot's mother.
- James was the first of the disciples to be martyred.
- One of these disciples had a brother named John. Along with Peter, the brothers James and John formed the inner circle of disciples.
- The name James comes from the Hebrew name Jacob, which means "supplanter" or "cheater."
- As we see Sawyer's back story, we know that he was a hustler and cheated people out of their money for a living.
Additional casting
- Gordon Hardie played the role of Young Sawyer in "Outlaws".
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
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- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: James "Sawyer" Ford/Theories
- What was his relationship to Hibbs?
- Why did he drop out of school in grade 9?
- What did Gordy do to bail out Sawyer so that Sawyer "owed him one" (clearly occurring before the Tampa Job)?
- What exactly was the Tampa Job?
- What were the consequences of Kilo not getting his share from the David/Jessica con?
- What did he do in France to prompt an INTERPOL report, as shown in the Others' file on Sawyer ("The Brig")?
- What favor did Sawyer ask Kate to do for him once the Oceanic 6 got off of the Island?
See also
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron • Ana Lucia • Bernard • Boone • Charlie • Claire • Desmond • Eko • Hurley • Jack • Jin Kate • Libby • Locke • Michael • Nikki • Paulo • Rose • Sawyer • Sayid • Shannon • Sun • Walt | ||||||
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centric episodes | "Confidence Man" • "Outlaws" • "Exodus, Part 1" • "The Long Con" • "Every Man for Himself" | |||
| Flashback characters | Arthur • Bartender • Boy • Detective Calderwood • David • Frank Duckett • Mr. Ford • Mary Ford • Agent Freedman • Gordy • Warden Harris • Hibbs • Diane Janssen • Jessica • Kilo • Laurence • Mary Jo • Munson • Peter • Cassidy Phillips • Clementine Phillips • Prison guard • Christian Shephard | |||
| Items | Dart • Pacemaker • Sawyer's letter • Sawyer's stash | |||
| See also: Main Characters | ||||
