Confidence Man (Lost)

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“Confidence Man”
Lost (TV series) episode
Kate kisses Sawyer
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 8
Guest stars	Kristin Richardson (Jessica), Michael DeLuise (David), Billy Mayo (Kilo), Jim Woitas (Boy)
Written by	Damon Lindelof
Directed by	Tucker Gates
Production no.	106
Original airdate	November 10, 2004
Episode chronology
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Episode chronology

"Confidence Man" is the 8th episode of Lost. It is the eighth episode of the show's first season. The episode was directed by Tucker Gates and written by Damon Lindelof. It first aired on November 10, 2004 on ABC. The character of James "Sawyer" Ford is featured in the episode's flashback.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Plot

A flashback shows Sawyer sleeping with a woman, Jessica. He gets out of bed, and money falls out of a suitcase he picks up, shocking Jessica. On the island, Sawyer catches Boone rifling through his stash. Later, Shannon brings a bloody Boone to the caves, claiming Sawyer beat him. Jack confronts Sawyer, who doesn’t give any answers.

Shannon's asthma becomes a problem, and everyone becomes convinced that Sawyer is hoarding some inhalers from the wreck. Sawyer says he’ll give up the medicine if Kate kisses him. Kate calls his bluff and challenges him about the letter he often reads. Sawyer makes Kate read the letter aloud. It’s addressed to Mr. Sawyer. The author says Sawyer slept with his mother and stole his father’s money, causing the father to murder his mother and then kill himself. The author says he’ll find Sawyer and give him the letter, indicating he knows what Sawyer did to the author’s family.

In flashbacks, we learn that Sawyer is a confidence man. Sawyer is having lunch with Jessica and her husband where they agree to invest with Sawyer.

Sayid tortures Sawyer, by sticking a piece of bamboo under his fingernails, causing Sawyer a great deal of pain. Sawyer only agrees to give up the inhalers in return for a kiss from Kate. She kisses Sawyer, after which he reveals that he doesn't have them after all. Sayid believes Sawyer is lying, and they begin fighting. Sayid stabs Sawyer with Locke’s knife in the upper arm.

A flashback shows Sawyer closing the deal with Jessica and husband. Their son enters, and Sawyer calls the deal off. He wakes up on the island to find his arm bandaged. Kate has been rereading Sawyer’s letter. She sees the stamp on it from Knoxville, and deduces that the letter wasn’t written to Sawyer, but by him. Sawyer tells Kate about his flashback. When he saw that boy, he says he realized he had become the man he was hunting, and that he then took the alias Sawyer. He snatches the letter from Kate and tells her to leave.

Despite pleas from Kate, Sayid sets off to explore the island's shoreline in self-imposed isolation, needing time to come to terms with his actions in torturing Sawyer. Sun helps Shannon by making an eucalyptus salve to clear her bronchial passages. Charlie convinces Claire to move to the caves.

Lost
Production:	DVD releases \| Episode list \| Season 1 \| Season 2 \| Season 3 \| Soundtrack
Main characters:	Ana Lucia \| Ben \| Boone \| Charlie \| Claire \| Desmond \| Hurley \| Jack \| Jin \| Juliet \| Kate Libby \| Locke \| Michael \| Mr. Eko \| Nikki \| Paulo \| Sawyer \| Sayid \| Shannon \| Sun \| Walt
Supporting characters:	Alex \| Bernard \| Christian \| Cindy \| Ethan \| The Others \| Pickett \| Rose \| Rousseau \| Tom
Organizations:	DHARMA Initiative \| Hanso Foundation \| Oceanic Airlines
Elements:	Crossover list \| DHARMA Initiative stations \| Flight 815 \| Mythology \| Thematic motifs
Miscellaneous:	Gary Troup \| In popular culture \| Lost Experience \| Rachel Blake \| Video game