Sawyer: Jumping out of Responsibility?

[D-Roc]

(Please note..this is in no way a Sawyer bashing thread, and I am not bashing him..i'm just asking the question as it's something which interests me in relation to Sawyer character make-up. It's also a consequence of the man becoming slightly more interesting after a slow start to S4 )

Anyway, I was thinking..we have all praised Sawyer for 'sacrificing' himself by jumping out of the chopper so that Frank could have an extra 4 seconds worth of fuel....and we all appreciate his asking of Kate to keep an eye on his daughter for him.

But, considering Ben's words about not being able to compete for the likes of Kate in the real-world, were probably still ringing in Sawyer's ears..was his sacrifice really that big?

And perhaps more crucially..by choosing to jump out of the chopper and remain on the island..was this just a case of Sawyer getting cold feet and jumping out of any potential responsibility that he has for Clementine Phillips?

Has Sawyer acted cowardly here?

Again, not bashing the big man..me and him are working out our differences..but I just wanted to free these thoughts from my cerebrum

[JB Sawyer]

No.

If this was the case he wouldn't have been wooping and celebrating when they took off. He would have been ashen faced all the time, instead you can see his features turn and his face ashen the exact moment Frank says "I'd feel alot better if we were 200 pounds lighter". It's only with the knowledge that weight needs to be lost for them to survive that Sawyer makes his mind up and jumps.

[lost-lover]

I have to agree with JB. Sawyer looked ashen when Frank said about being 100 pounds lighter, and he decided to jump out. He looked ashen, no doubt, upon realising that by jumping out he wouldn't be able to leave the "rock" he was so tired of, judging by his earlier reaction when he first got on the chopper, I'd say he really wanted to leave. By jumping off I believe he acted solely to save his friends, rather than to shrink from reponsibilty, which was very noble of him.
If he'd been trying to "jump out" on his responsiblity, then I doubt he'd have said everything to Kate about Clementine, his daughter in Alberque (sp).

[firebreathingfishies]

Yup I agree with JB too. He loves Kate (for some reason ) and he wants to see her off the island, plus Aaron was in the helicopter. He wanted them to be safe and he jumped so no one else would have to/the helicopter wouldn't go down altogether. Plus, he didn't know that there was chaos on the freighter. He would have thought they were going to come back for him.

[sweet_cheeks]

Sawyer also did not want his new best friend Hurley being made, to feel a burden over his weight.
I feel Sawyer acted in an honorable way.

[Miss Austen]

Sawyer was heroic all through the last couple of episodes in Season 4. He saved Claire, and was most solicitious of her welfare. He also warned Ben not to hurt one curly hair on Hurley's head. He also went back with Jack to search for the stragglers who would otherwise have missed the boat (literally).

Then he jumped out the copter to save some weight. I think being around Aaron and Walt a lot on the island has probably made him wonder and care about his little daughter; but he realises he hasn't got off to the best start with her. I think THAT is what is worrying him (nothing to do with Kate). It's almost like he is sending Kate to pave the way for him.

I wouldn't be surprised if Kate and Sawyer end up together. They both seem to have got very maternal and paternal lately whereas Jack, although he was reading nicely to Aaron, seems to doubt that he is good father material.

I think initially Kate thought Jack was the more 'settling down' type but after Sawyer's display of paternal caring for his daughter, she may start to have second thoughts.

[KatesFate]

I have to agree with everyone else here. Sawyer jumped to save lives, not to shirk out on responsibility. He did behave responsibly. If Jack was so keen on saving everyones lives and getting them all off of the island, he would have jumped the second someone said the chopper was too heavy. Sawyer does not care that Jack is a doctor in the real world. If he wanted Kate in the real world, trust me behaving the way he has been, there is no doubt in my mind that Kate would pick Sawyer over Jack to settle down with.

I think Jack should have made that jump out of the chopper. He owed it to everyone else. The only person he worried about was himself. I won't even say he worried about Kate, I think she is more like a prize to him. He worries about losing her only because he would get hurt.

[D-Roc]

Hmm, ive been thinking about this, and i'm not so sure guys. I think Sawyer kinda chickened out of the whole responsibility thing. I understand that his actions can be interpreted as being all brave and James-Bond jumping out of a helicopteresque etc. But take away the dramatic leap and the sad music, and I think we're left with a man who REALLY didn't want to go back home.

Sawyer himself said that he had nothing back there for him. Now let's look at that. This is a man who basically denied the existence of his daughter right there and then in this instance. Yes, he may have had a fleeting desire to go home once he saw the tangibility of it all..but in reality I think he did what was best for Sawyer.

Also, him jumping out did little in terms of allowing the helicopter to get to the ship. Don't forget, he jumped out at the point where it made sense to jump out in terms of it being possible for him to swim back to shore without drowning from exhaustion. It's not like he did a Charlie and actually sacrificed his life.

I'm not trying to start WW3 here, but I'm kinda coming round to the idea that he was being cowardly, in ducking outof responsibility and the real potential of losing out to Kate in the real world. I mean, what has Sawyer done to make us think that he's not still the old "everyman for himself" ratbag that he was at the start and middle of a fairly short season?

Yes, he did some good, but guilt is a mother.

That said, I do hope he goes on to actually show some form or redemption. it'll take more than jumping out of a helicopter and whispering in Kates ear to make me go weak at the knees. I think that Clemintine Phillips could actually do with her father being therefore her, not some surrogate mother with her hands full with a surragate child. If you do the deed, you should love and be there fore hat child..even if it means dying in an attempt to get to them. Clem is still at that age where she wouldn't hold any resentment towards James. So instead of whispering in Kates ear, how about he whisper lullabyes to his baby girl?

However, those are just my honest views in retrospect and i do see where y'all are coming from.

[Miss Austen]

Wouldn't Sawyer have expected the freighter to have sent another form of transport for him and the other Losties? Or that the helicopter could have been fixed (even temporarily) before it refuelled?

He could have whispered to Kate in case that didn't happen; but I don't think he had ruled being rescued permanently out of the equation.

It's quite a good strategy to send someone to smooth the path before his arrival at his daughter's door. After all, the mother has severe issues with Sawyer (quite rightly) and might not want to welcome Sawyer back into her life even for her daughter's sake.

Just another way of looking at it.

[charlierocks]

Do we definately know what Sawyer whispered to Kate??
For some reason I think that it's not as obvious as we think, especially how Jack reacted to whatever Kate was doing for him. I reckon the writers have something up their sleeve, which will answer whether Sawyer was thinking of himself or someone else.

[Miss Austen]

I thought it was pretty certain that Sawyer had whispered in Kate's ear about him having a daughter etc etc but I won't be adamant as pride goes before a fall.

[charlierocks]

Being pretty certain with Lost isn't really a good idea, once bitten twice shy. Even when things are shown they're not as obvious as I think. I took ages to work out the Jin flashback when Sun was in labour, and there's loads more examples so I still feel that as we didn't hear what he said, then it probably isn't what we think it is. Damn those clever writers!!!

[KatesFate]

That said, I do hope he goes on to actually show some form or redemption. it'll take more than jumping out of a helicopter and whispering in Kates ear to make me go weak at the knees.

LOL Sawyers made me weak in the knees since the Pilot Episode. In the Season 4 Finale my knees finally gave way!!