Lost: Season 1 Episode 16 "Outlaws" Review

"That's why the Red Sox will never win the damn Series."

-Christian Shephard

The 16th episode of Lost begins with a flashback to when Sawyer (Josh Holloway) was a kid and witnesses his father murder his mother before killing himself.  Years later, Sawyer is approached by an old associate, Hibbs (Robert Patrick), who has found the man who conned Sawyer's parents.  His name is Frank Duckett (Jeff Perry) and he lives in Australia.  Sawyer travels down under and finds Frank with the intention of killing him, but he chickens out and goes to drink at a bar, where he meets Christian Shepard (John Terry), who reveals he is proud of Jack (Matthew Fox) for ratting on him.  

Christian encourages Sawyer to do what he needs to do to end his suffering.  Sawyer goes back and shoots Frank and starts to read the letter he wrote when he was a kid.  However, Frank has no idea what Sawyer is talking about.  He simply owed Hibbs money.  Hibbs tricked Sawyer and Frank dies from his injury.

On the island, Sawyer wakes up to find a boar in his tent, which runs off with his tarp.  He chases the boar into the jungle, but loses it.  He starts to hear whispering and catches the last words of Frank Duckett among the whispers.  The next day, he tracks down the tarp, but the boar attacks him and knocks him into the mud

Jack gets most of the guns back from the previous episode and returns them to the case, but Sawyer keeps his.  Kate (Evangeline Lilly) offers to get it back.  Sawyer goes off to hunt down the boar, but can't track to save his life.  Kate offers to help in return for the gun.  They end up playing a drinking game to get to know each other better.  Kate reveals she was briefly married and killed a man.

The boar returns and destroys Sawyer's supplies, but doesn't touch Kate's.  They find the boar's home and a piglet, which Sawyer wants to use as bait, but Kate forces him to let the pig go and leaves him in the jungle.  Finally, Sawyer runs into the boar and contemplates shooting it.  He hears Frank's last words again and decides to let it go.  Later, he gives the gun back to Jack and realizes that Christian was Jack's father, but doesn't say anything to Jack.

Meanwhile, Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) is having trouble coming to terms with killing Ethan (William Mapother) and Hurley (Jorge Garcia) grows concerned.  He asks Sayid (Naveen Andrews) to talk to Charlie, which he does.  Sayid reminds Charlie that he isn't alone and shouldn't pretend to be.

What Works:

"Outlaws" has one of the strongest flashback stories in the entire series and it is far superior to the on-island story, which is very unusual.  It kicks off with the murder-suicide of Sawyer's parents and it's all seen from his point of view.  It's disturbing, scary, and extremely well handled.  It really helps us understand Sawyer and why he is the way he is.

Josh Holloway is fantastic throughout the episode, but he is truly incredible in his scenes with Frank.  It's evident the guy is suffering and struggling with his decision to kill Frank.  And the horror on Sawyer's face when he realizes he has killed the wrong man is unforgettable.

There is some good stuff on the island as well, with the best being the scene with Sawyer and Kate playing "I Never".  The dialogue is fantastic and the performances are top notch.  This may be my favorite Kate scene in the entire series.  As the game gets more and more personal, the scene only gets better.

Finally, I love the moment where Sayid pokes fun at Sawyer for the boar incident.  Sayid admitting that he is enjoying watching Sawyer rage is hilarious.  The funny Sayid moments are rare, but when they happen they are priceless.

What Sucks:

The on-island storyline is a bit silly, but about as good as revenge-on-a-boar story could be.  It's just not in the same league as the flashbacks and not as interesting.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most useful character in a given episode.  For "Outlaws", the award goes to Hurley.  He helped Charlie bury Ethan so he wouldn't have to go through that ordeal alone.  He also noticed Charlie was acting strange and got him some help in the form of Sayid.  Hurley wins by being a good friend.  This is the 3rd time Hurley has won the award, which ties him with Locke for 2nd place.

Verdict:

"Outlaws" has one of the best flashback stories in the entire series, with an amazing performance from Josh Holloway.  It also has some funny and interesting scenes with Kate and Sayid.  The on-island plot isn't as strong as it could have been, but this episode has still got it going on.

 9/10: Great