"So how does it feel?"
"How's what feel?"
"Taking my place on top of everyone's "Most Hated" list... sucks, don't it?"

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The Lostie-a-Day-a-Thon : [link]


There will always be archetypes. As long as there are fictional characters being created, there will always be certain moulds; the prissy bitch, the brooder, the new guy with a mysterious past, the good-hearted hero all pop up in books, movies, television, comics, and just about any place they can poke their attention-seeking faces.

A perennial favorite is the 'bad-boy.' Ohhh, ladies, he's the one you can never tame. He has a swagger and a scowl and a raging libido, but can you ever win his heart? Of all of the character stereotypes, the 'bad-boy' is one of those most likely to fall into cliche. Sexy, yet ultimately boring cliche.

It's a pleasant surprise, then, when a character comes along to take some jabs at their lot-in-television-life. Thank god for Sawyer. Sawyer... well Sawyer has, er many talents.

Yes, he is the 'bad-boy.' Yes, he cons and punches and is rather sexually forward, and he doesn't like shirts and he has a kickass beard-thing and he looks out for 'numba one' and he swaggers like a drunken ostrich and he has dimples and a Southern growl that makes a large percentage of women (and men) instantly want to rip off their underwear, and from an initial overview you could easily think him a lame (but very sexy) cliche. Oh course, this is Lost, and Lost takes its archetypes to strange and interesting territory, abandoning them with a jar of Dharma-brand peanut butter and a flashlight and hoping things turn out okay.

He has a dark past that has made him the way he is, and he has a good heart... and yes, despite the fact that this plays right into the stereotype, it never feels like it's forced. It's handled in the right way, and with the right sort of emotion, as too never feel trite. As his story reveals and Sawyer matures, the outcomes are satisfying instead of schmaltzy. He falls in love, and YES, I can overlook the bad-boy-cliche of it all because it's done with some actual heart, and good writing, and... uh... well, tottttally for other legitimate reasons than his smoldering hotness. Yes.

He has his quirks. Sawyer is an avid reader. He'd probably rather sit down with a book than go and stir up trouble. He likes Watership Down, and ping-pong. He has a great sense of humour, and a truly impressive collection of nicknames.

Every character, especially those still standing from season 1, have morphed and changed ( sometimes rather dramatically ) from the beginning. Sometimes for the worse, and sometimes for the better. Sawyer is definitely in the latter category. And no, it's not the easy route of 'awww, the bad-boy fell in love and became good INSTANTLY awww.' It's subtle, it's gradual. His sacrifice on the helicopter to his adult relationship with Juliet, and his attempt at redemption.

...

Annnnd, he's hot. He's really rather hot. Opposed to clothing and hot. Goddamn Kate and her flip-flopping; is there really a choice, lady? Good god. Well, Sawyer has had some interesting relationships, and I hope that he has a happy ending, whatever happens...