Lost, Episode 2.13: The Long Con
Well... this was an... ok episode. Some neat twists, but really I found myself almost bored with it at times. We see that Sawyer is really smart and really bad. He makes a very skilled con man. I think this was mainly a build-up episode, since it set up so many different levels of tension -- Jack and Locke, Kate and Ana Lucia, everyone and Sawyer (especially future conflicts between Jin and Sawyer and Charlie). Also, this episode seemed to succeed in again flip-flopping our perception of people. For example, Locke is now good again, and Sawyer is again bad.
Anyhow, here are some random notes I took during the episode. I'll add more when I've had a chance to browse the fan boards some more.
Combo to the safe room: right 7, left 11, 33?
Sawyerism: "that's like getting Ghandi to beat his kids" - referencing Locke hitting Charlie
When Hurley is talking to Sayid the first time, he makes mention of the song "Lime in the Coconut" by Harry Nilsson. We also learn from Hurley that Bernard is a dentist.
Jack won't tell Ana Lucia the combo to the gun room.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I had a feeling from the start that Sun's abduction was an inside job since Vincent didn't bark. I wasn't expecting it to be Charlie, though. Evidentally you can see Charlie's watch when he grabs her, though.
During the jewelry con, one of the guys at the gas station is apparently the guy Ana Lucia shoots. Can't wait to see some screen shots of that to verify.
Jin is quite pissed off and demands Jack get "gun... gun". He's not going to be a happy camper when he finds out Sawyer is behind all this. Nice payback for Jin carrying him across the island, isn't it?
What was Locke looking for in those books when he was "starting the damn dewey decimal system"? Perhaps searching for more film clips, like Eko found in that Bible? Lock was holding the book "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge".
Another Sawyer nickname: "Tokyo Rose", in reference to Sun
Locke was very humanized in this episode. He looked almost scared when Sawyer was telling him that Jack & Co were coming for the guns. Instead of fanatical, like he's been the past few episodes, Locke again seemed good. Ex:
1. He gave control of the guns (and his trust) to Jack.
2. Gave a good reason why kept the statues whcih was in everyones best interest.
3. Took responsibily for Micheal
4. Felt bad about Micheal
5. His moving the guns was for the good of the group.
6. Waited for Jack like a man after he moved the guns
During the meeting with his con partner (Gordy?), we again hear Sawyer referred to as "James".
The waitress at the coffee shop is Kate's mom. At least that's what the boards are saying. Yet another thing I'm waiting to see the pictures for verification.
Sawyer: "There's a new sheriff in town". I certainly wasn't expecting to see him
Sawyer said "the devil's in the details" -- twice. What details are we missing? He made mention of the color and weave of the hood. That's pretty detailed.
Cass was the long con. Question: where is Gordy when Sawyer takes the money? Where was the other bag that Sawyer ended up swapping with the "real" bag of cash? What did Sawyer do with the $600k between those flashbacks and the plane crash?
Sawyer to Kate: "You run... I con. A tiger don't change his stripes."
Hurley finds a manuscript in a suitcase called "Bad Twin".
Hurley and Sayind tune in the song "Moonlight Serenade" by the Glenn Miller Band (1940's). Hurley asks if the broadcast is close and Sayid talks about bouncing off the ionospace and "It could have come from anywhere.", Hurley added, "Or any time."
Charlie is the one who attacked Sun, and he did it to make Locke look bad.
Sawyer offers Charlie a statue and he refuses, saying he didn't do it for that, that he did it to make Locke look bad. Those two have another showdown coming.
Charlie asks Sawyer what kind of person thinks up that sort of plan, and Sawyer replies "I'm not a good person, Charlie... never did a good thing in my life."
That's it for now. Next week looks good. We shall see. Can't wait to read the boards some more tomorrow and see you what you guys come up with. Comment away!!
Anyhow, here are some random notes I took during the episode. I'll add more when I've had a chance to browse the fan boards some more.
Combo to the safe room: right 7, left 11, 33?
Sawyerism: "that's like getting Ghandi to beat his kids" - referencing Locke hitting Charlie
When Hurley is talking to Sayid the first time, he makes mention of the song "Lime in the Coconut" by Harry Nilsson. We also learn from Hurley that Bernard is a dentist.
Jack won't tell Ana Lucia the combo to the gun room.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I had a feeling from the start that Sun's abduction was an inside job since Vincent didn't bark. I wasn't expecting it to be Charlie, though. Evidentally you can see Charlie's watch when he grabs her, though.
During the jewelry con, one of the guys at the gas station is apparently the guy Ana Lucia shoots. Can't wait to see some screen shots of that to verify.
Jin is quite pissed off and demands Jack get "gun... gun". He's not going to be a happy camper when he finds out Sawyer is behind all this. Nice payback for Jin carrying him across the island, isn't it?
What was Locke looking for in those books when he was "starting the damn dewey decimal system"? Perhaps searching for more film clips, like Eko found in that Bible? Lock was holding the book "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge".
Another Sawyer nickname: "Tokyo Rose", in reference to Sun
Locke was very humanized in this episode. He looked almost scared when Sawyer was telling him that Jack & Co were coming for the guns. Instead of fanatical, like he's been the past few episodes, Locke again seemed good. Ex:
1. He gave control of the guns (and his trust) to Jack.
2. Gave a good reason why kept the statues whcih was in everyones best interest.
3. Took responsibily for Micheal
4. Felt bad about Micheal
5. His moving the guns was for the good of the group.
6. Waited for Jack like a man after he moved the guns
During the meeting with his con partner (Gordy?), we again hear Sawyer referred to as "James".
The waitress at the coffee shop is Kate's mom. At least that's what the boards are saying. Yet another thing I'm waiting to see the pictures for verification.
Sawyer: "There's a new sheriff in town". I certainly wasn't expecting to see him
Sawyer said "the devil's in the details" -- twice. What details are we missing? He made mention of the color and weave of the hood. That's pretty detailed.
Cass was the long con. Question: where is Gordy when Sawyer takes the money? Where was the other bag that Sawyer ended up swapping with the "real" bag of cash? What did Sawyer do with the $600k between those flashbacks and the plane crash?
Sawyer to Kate: "You run... I con. A tiger don't change his stripes."
Hurley finds a manuscript in a suitcase called "Bad Twin".
Hurley and Sayind tune in the song "Moonlight Serenade" by the Glenn Miller Band (1940's). Hurley asks if the broadcast is close and Sayid talks about bouncing off the ionospace and "It could have come from anywhere.", Hurley added, "Or any time."
Charlie is the one who attacked Sun, and he did it to make Locke look bad.
Sawyer offers Charlie a statue and he refuses, saying he didn't do it for that, that he did it to make Locke look bad. Those two have another showdown coming.
Charlie asks Sawyer what kind of person thinks up that sort of plan, and Sawyer replies "I'm not a good person, Charlie... never did a good thing in my life."
That's it for now. Next week looks good. We shall see. Can't wait to read the boards some more tomorrow and see you what you guys come up with. Comment away!!
posted by Slacker at 6:49 PM
14 Comments:
LOST – S2E13 – The Long Con (Sawyer Flashbacks)
Although this episode moved a little slow at times, I would still rank it as my #3 episode of the year (behind the season opener and Mr. Eko’s back-story). It was also a nice change that they spent more of the episode on the island than in the back-story.
Numbers:
Combo lock – R7-L33-R18 – adds up to 58.
6 guns in the briefcase that Jack brings in to the gun closet
7 Virgin Mary statues
Time on nightstand clock is 01:37
Cassidy only has $40,000 in a mutual fund from the divorce
Later on, we learn that she actually has $600,000
Prices on fake necklaces were $1,299 and $1,399
Sawyer orders a steak sandwich and two beers
Sawyer tells Cassidy to go to the Sage Flower Motel off Hwy 29
Hurley reads manuscript with a publishing date of 2001 (screen shot?)
Flashback thoughts:
1. It was very clever of the writers to withhold Cassidy’s name until the end. I was trying to picture her from other episodes. I even went so far as to guess Mary Jo (who was the lottery girl in last week’s episode).
2. Cassidy was divorced but Sawyer seemed responsible someway for that. How?
3. Interested to see screen shots regarding the people at the gas station to see if they have appeared before.
4. Also interested to see if Sawyer’s waitress (Diane) is Kate’s mom. Didn’t Kate live in Iowa?
5. Sawyer’s partner, Gordie, tells him that “a tiger doesn’t change his stripes.” Interesting that they used that phrase instead of “a leopard doesn’t change his spots.” Significance?
6. Was Gordie outside of Cassidy’s house in the black car or was that a setup by Sawyer?
7. Sawyer tells Cassidy that there is a rental car in the back, go to Sioux City, and go to the Sage Flower Motel off Hwy 29. There is a Sioux City in Iowa and it is off Hwy 29 but there is no real motel named that (that I could find). The state flower of Iowa is the Wild Prairie Rose.
8. Sawyer tells Cassidy that he loves her – but didn’t Sawyer tell Kate in the Drinking Game from Season 1 that he had never been in love? Or was he? Was he just conning Cassidy or did he really mean it?
9. Did Sawyer end up with all the money? Or did he have to give it to Gordie?
10. How much time was between this flashback and Sawyer’s flashback from Season 1 where he went to Australia to find the real “Sawyer”?
Island thoughts:
1. Is there a screen shot of the magazine that Kate handed Sawyer? Looked like an Elle magazine. Could anyone see the publishing date?
2. Locke walks by Sawyer and Kate with a bunch of bananas and a red something? Was it a thermos, or some type of fruit?
3. Interesting that Kate didn’t know about the army – especially when Jack and A-L are trying to recruit people. Jack must be giving Kate time with Sawyer, I guess.
4. Will Bernard being a dentist help Jack out with medical assistance? When will we see Bernard and Rose again? Hopefully soon.
5. Very tense scene with Sun’s kidnapping attempt. Would like to see a screen shot to see if Charlie’s watch can be seen. Good observation, Kevin, about Vincent not barking.
6. Kate was kidnapped by the Others and then given back to Sawyer, Jack and Locke at night. You would think that Kate would recognize that the hood was different – more so than Sawyer. That struck me a little odd at the time.
7. Great to hear the Steve / Scott confusion conversation again. Ana-Lucia is trying to warm up a little but she is still very suspicious and cannot be trusted yet.
8. Locke was obviously looking for more film hidden in the books. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is the story of a Civil War soldier that was hung off that bridge but the rope broke and he escaped. He found his way back to his home and saw his wife. But before they could embrace, he “woke up” from his dream and found himself at the end of the rope – which hadn’t broken. He had imagined the whole thing in just a few seconds.
9. Hurley is reading a manuscript titled “Bad Twin’ by Gary Troup. The bottom of the cover page reads Hyperion Publishing 2001. Can we see a screen shot to confirm this? Great line from Hurley “Or any time” and the follow-up “Just kiddin’, dude.”
10. Sawyer and Charlie sure fooled me. Of course, it all made sense since Charlie and Sawyer were neighbors now and they both felt outcast. I don’t know exactly why Sawyer felt to do this con, but he also managed to push away Kate – who was his only real friend on the island. It will be interesting to see what happens with everyone’s relationships over the next few episodes.
Previews for next week:
Looks like another great episode as we see the clock count down to zero, a stranger is captured and it looks like Sayid and Ana-Lucia and searching together in the jungle.
When I first saw the stranger in the trap, I thought that he looked like Dr. Curtis from Hurley’s episode from last week, but the second shot of the prisoner (when Sayid is hitting him) makes him look different. I guess we will see.
One last note:
I finally figured out where I know Zeke (the main Other) from. The actor who plays him also played the criminal pilot in the movie Con Air. His name is M.C. Gainey.
Two other quick notes:
1. Sayid and Hurley listen to Glenn Miller's Moonlight Serenade on the radio. Glenn Miller disappeared in a plane crash over the Atlantic Ocean while traveling to Paris on December 15, 1944.
2. If you noticed that Hurely was reading a manuscript called "Bad Twin" that is because ABC has announced plans to introduce a Lost subplot about a character named Gary Troup, a fictitious author who supposedly perished in the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, but left behind the manuscript on which he had been working, having dropped it off with his publisher just days before boarding the fatal flight.
Titled Bad Twin, the private eye thriller is said to be about a rich heir's search for his devious sibling. Hyperion said it has commissioned a well-known scribe to pen the book, with the help of writers from the show.
"Kate was kidnapped by the Others and then given back to Sawyer, Jack and Locke at night. You would think that Kate would recognize that the hood was different – more so than Sawyer."
...since Sawyer set up the whole thing he knew the hood would be different.
Reply to Sawyer, Kate and the hood.
Yes, Sawyer did see Kate in the hood with the Others. But it was dark. My thought was that if anyone would notice a difference in the hood, then it would have been Kate - since she actually wore one. She could tell that the material was different. However, she may have assumed that there could be more than one hood and made differently from the one she had on.
So, that brings us to Sawyer. Yes, he should have recognized that it is different because he set the whole thing up. And by him noticing that it was different, it got Kate to think that it was someone from the beach that attacked Sun. I just thought that Sawyer tipped his hand a little by noting that it was different right away. He had to say it to get Kate to go along with the con, I just thought it was a little suspicious.
That's all.
Good stuff. Can't wait to browse the boards some more tonight.
I just realized a good analogy for this episode -- the movie "The Usual Suspects". Most the movie is pretty slow, but when you get to the end and see the twist it makes the whole thing worthwhile.
Interesting article in the LA Times on the manuscript "Bad Twin" which Hurley is reading at the end of the episode. Seems they are turning it into a real book. Here's the link: Fiction into fact into fiction
Thanks to Jim for emailing me this to me.
The Glenn Miller song is another reference to 1940's. We have a knife that Goodwin had, a gun that Zeke held, the bodies of Adam and Eve and now music. It is like the writers are hinting at something but I can't tell what. Did something happen on the island during the 1940's? Most likely this would involve WW II. The south pacific was of course the scene of many battles and there are many little islands out there.
What will be the results if Sun and Jin ever find out what Charlie did? Will Jin go all ballistic with a fist or gun? He has had violence in his past and let us not forget he beat up on Michael once. No stranger to violence. Beware Charlie, beware.
And I just found this link to MSNBC's weekly recap. It's short, sweet and by character http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6867118/
This week's Entertainment Weekly recap is online.
I rewatched this week's episode last night (I know, I know) and had these thoughts.
1. I still don't know how Sawyer ended up with Cassidy's money at the end. He brought in the duffel bag and put some (half?) of the money from her briefcase in the duffel bag, gave the duffle bag to Cassidy and told her to leave through the back door. He then goes out to the car in front with the briefcase and gets in. He notices that Gordie is not there and then begins to count. He goes back inside the house and the duffel bag has reappeared on the chair. How? I am surmising that Gordie was in the car but got out to surprise Cassidy coming out the back. Sawyer's face showed surprise, anger and disappointment when he looked over to the driver's seat. But if Gordie got the money from Cassidy (and maybe killing her), why did Gordie then go back in the house and leave it on the chair? Why didn't he take it to the car? Again, my surmise is that Sawyer and Gordie have played this con before and this allows both men to be involved in the crime but never seen together. Any thoughts?
2. I did spy a watch on the right wrist of the kidnapper. Does Charlie wear his watch on that wrist? Probably, but that did jump out at me.
3. The publsihing date on the manuscript was 2004, not 2001.
4. I did see Mr. Eko in the background in a couple of shots.
5. If Sawyer and Charlie are living out "in the suburbs" because they are outcast, why are there so many other people out there, too. There were four or five other tents around them.
6. Sawyer may not have been involved in Cassidy's divorce but Gordie does tell Sawyer "what do you think she will think of you when she finds out who you REALLY are?" I guess meaning a con man through and through - or something else?
7. The magazine wan not Elle, but Elegant.
8. I'm thinking that maybe Sawyer took the guns to protect everyone. If Jack and Jin did get a gun, then they would have gone off into the woods - to do what? To find the Others? The Others were not involved and only Sawyer and Charlie knew that. It would be quite likely that Jack and/or Jin would have been captured or killed by the Others if they went out there. At the very least, if they could find a trail from the attack, it might lead them back to Charlie, who would lead them to Sawyer. So, Sawyer had to take the guns. Just a thought.
Looks like we have a new episode next week (Sayid-centric) and then I heard that they will show the 2-hour pilot episode from Season 1 the following week.
Have a good weekend, everybody. Keep blogging.
First, I LOVED THIS EPISODE! This has been one of the best of the season. I know many of you will think I am evil, but anytime the people who believe they are in charge lose control I rejoice ... it would be extrememly borning if Locke and Jack kept running the show. It was time Jack was put in his place ... It was also time for Charlie to have his revenge b/c what Locke did was uncalled for in previous episodes and Charlie called him on it if you rmemeber.
Second, the ideas and clues regarding the 1940's are very interesting. I hope this in some way shapes the future.
Finally, I am not confused about how the money ended up in Sawyer's hands. JIMC, I think you are reading into how he ended up with the money. I would be more worried about how the people could survive a plane crash a mile above the earth. My explanation ... The black car in front was planted by Sawyer as a decoy ... He had two bags for the money put the money in one and placed it under the chair and gave the other to his girl. Once he left, he counted to give his girl time to leave and then went back and collected the cash. Gordy was right ... I tiger does not change his stripes. I assumption is that Sawyer shared the normal percentage with Gordy and avoided being shot in the ear. He didn't love this woman, he said it to ensure trust ... Sawyer also does not love Kate.
NEXT WEEK ... I hope something big happens when the clock ticks out! SOMETHING BIG ... It better not be NOTHING!
Dear Daily Planet -
I agree with you that Sawyer tricked Cassidy out of the money, but I thought he came into the house with a flat bag which he then opened up to fill with money from the suitcase. Sure, he could have had two bags - one already filled with the fake stacks of cash that he switched and gave to Cassidy - and put the bag with the real money from the suitcase on the chair to retrieve later. That does make sense, but I just didn't see him carrying a bag that would have something in it when he came inside the house. It looked like a folded flat duffel bag. But, hey, I could be wrong. Your explanation does make sense.
I also hope that the numbers counting down to zero is real this week. But the numbers are a different color. The real numbers are black numbers on a white background. The numbers that cound down to zero are white numbers on a black background. This could be a dream sequence - like when Hurley dreamed that Jin could speak English.
We shall see. Take care and I look forward to further discussions on this and future episodes.
JimC
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
JIMC, Excellent Point. Most likely the producers didn't give it much thought ... We LOST fans tend to over analyze everything.
I had not noticed the black/white - white/black on the numbers before. Great Find ...
If it turns out to be a dream sequence, I am going to be very disappointed.
Hope you have a great week ... Talk to you again on Wednesday.
(Sorry for the deletion, I misspelled a word.)
This was an episode that went no where. What was the purpose of it in the first place, other than establishing Sawyer's penchant for vindictive behavior?
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