5 Reasons Sawyer Was the Real Hero of ‘Lost’

It’s been almost 15 years since Lost’s series finale aired on ABC, but we’re still in awe of so many things the drama did — especially its focus on its characters and the unexpected and memorable ways in which they interacted and impacted each other’s lives.

With such a massive ensemble cast, everyone had (and still has) their favorite island inhabitant; some might choose the good doctor and reluctant survivor leader Jack (Matthew Fox), while others might pick the brave and adventurous Kate (Evangeline Lilly), the resourceful and fiercely loyal Sayid (Naveen Andrews), or even the ultimate romantic Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick). They’re all solid choices, of course, but we’re big fans of Sawyer (Josh Holloway) a.k.a. James Ford.

Before Josh Holloway’s Duster brings the actor back for a new swaggery and shaggy beau named Jim in a new J.J. Abrams show, we’re running down why we think his Lost counterpart Sawyer was the show’s true hero — and what made him (eventually) worth believing in.

1. He started out as a villain, but so what?

It’s no secret that Sawyer’s early path in Lost wasn’t a heroic one. While Jack immediately positioned himself as a leader and the person most invested in every Oceanic Flight 815 survivor’s well-being, Sawyer made it evident in the initial post-crash days that he was out for number one. He hoarded and hid useful items like medicine and sunscreen — and extremely necessary items for basic survival, like guns. He so positioned himself as the resident jerk and he found himself accused of committing “survival crimes” that he actually hadn’t done, like stealing Shannon’s (Maggie Grace) inhalers.

Rightly, most of the survivors hated him at first. However, an essential component of a traditional hero’s journey is “refusing the call” — turning down an invitation to an epic adventure, hesitating to step forward in a time of peril, or choosing a quiet life over their destiny. In continuing with his selfish ways, Sawyer was just at the start of his arc; and we’d argue that going from a not-great guy to someone who could be trusted makes for a better story than starting out good and just … staying that way. (Note: That’s not a knock on Jack. In his case, he was “good” from the start but had some twistier tendencies come through on occasion, even if mostly in flashbacks and post-island life.)

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2. He was devoted to his own path of justice.

Taking Sawyer’s past into account, it’s probably a stretch to call him noble. He’d manipulated the vulnerable in his conman schemes, even getting a woman he’d conned pregnant. By comparison, Jack was testifying against his surgeon father when his father’s alcoholism cost the life of a patient — so, on the surface, there’s no comparison between the two as to who’s more upstanding.

That said, Lost was never much concerned with what was on the surface, and we’d argue that the reasons behind Sawyer’s descent into criminality should be taken into consideration. After having lost his parents at a young age due to a conman’s manipulation, Sawyer devoted his life to finding and killing the person responsible — so wholeheartedly, in fact, that he went by “Sawyer,” that man’s name, rather than his own, James Ford. Somewhere along the line, he got so caught up in his schemes and desperation for vengeance that he, by his own admission, became the person he was hunting.

Crucially, there were lines he wouldn’t cross. When he attempts to swindle a couple who he finds out have a child, he doesn’t go through with it. And on the subject of his daughter, while Sawyer wasn’t around to raise her, he did set up a savings account in her name. In a way, all Sawyer wanted was to get justice for his family. While he’s not as obviously good as others in the group, that pursuit of justice (or revenge), to us, makes him compelling.

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3. He formed close relationships with the survivors despite himself.

Even from his rocky start, Sawyer was never completely hostile — he was just antagonistic because he thought he deserved it. Slowly, as the seasons went on, he started making genuine friendships with the people he’d initially made enemies of; particularly Hurley (Jorge Garcia). The two started off disliking each other — and to Hurley’s point, Sawyer did stick him with a variety of hurtful nicknames. The longer they were all stranded, the more Sawyer started showing him kindness, and Hurley returned it. At one point, after Jack had made it off of the island, Hurley even wanted Sawyer to take over as the group’s leader.

Hurley wasn’t the only survivor Sawyer grew to protect and care for, either. After Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) died, Sawyer took on a big-brotherly type of role with and protected Claire (Emilie de Ravin) when she needed help caring for her infant child. And while he and Jack didn’t always see eye-to-eye and their relationship remained contentious, they did, in the end, respect each other. They helped each other when it was necessary, including when, in an amusing side-plot from Season 1, Sawyer needed glasses.

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4. We invested in him — and he made us laugh.

A good hero is one that sticks in viewers’ minds, and we’d argue that many memorable one-liners and moments on Lost came from James “Sawyer” Ford. While many of his off-color nicknames wouldn’t fly today, they are funny. In the nickname hall of fame? “Freckles,” which was, of course, for Kate; “Mr. Clean,” for Locke (Terry O’Quinn), “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” for Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) and Sun (Yunjin Kim), “Dr. Giggles” for Jack, and, unfortunately, “Jabba” for poor Hurley.

There’s really no discussing Sawyer without at least mentioning his romances, too. Viewers grew invested in his relationships, whether with Kate or Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell). The early seasons spent significant time on the Jack-Kate-Sawyer love triangle, with Kate constantly torn between Jack’s honorable leadership and Sawyer’s wholehearted understanding of her — the good, and the darker parts of her past. Sawyer and Kate sizzled together; for evidence, we’d present a certain steamy scene in the cages that took place during Season 3. Alas, in the end, Kate chose Jack… but Sawyer chose Juliet, who, all things considered, was better for him.

Sawyer and Juliet didn’t get along at first — she was a member of the “Others,” so the relationship was at first rife with mistrust — but he did see her toughness right away even when others didn’t. Then, when they went back in time together, they grew to understand and love each other, and they spent three happy years as a couple. While Sawyer and Kate had chemistry in abundance, Sawyer was the best version of himself when he was with Juliet, which made it ultra-devastating when he had to watch her die. Thankfully, the two reunited in the “flash-sideways.”

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5. He stepped up when it counted the most.

Sawyer might not have fit into a stereotypical leadership role as neatly as Jack, but when it mattered, he showed compassion. Many fans remember a key conversation that took place between him and Jack at the end of Season 1, during which Sawyer revealed that he’d met Jack’s father — and that despite the strain in their relationship, Jack’s dad loved him. Sawyer told Jack a story about meeting a man in a bar who’d lamented not having the guts to pick up the phone and call his son. Jack’s father told Sawyer all the things he’d never told Jack: that he was sorry, that Jack was a better doctor than he’d ever be, and that he loved him. Hearing this, Jack barely managed to contain his emotions; and Sawyer, in a moment of empathy, noted that “something tells me he never got around to making that call.”

Another key example of Sawyer’s heroism arrived at the end of Season 4, when several of the survivors need to make it to a boat to get back to civilization… but the helicopter they’re on is leaking fuel and won’t get to the boat unless they “lose a few hundred pounds.” Sawyer selflessly jumps out of the helicopter, giving up his chance to go back to the mainland in order to give his friends that chance (although ultimately, that boat isn’t the one that saves them). When the island went back in time, Sawyer became a leader in the Dharma Initiative, and he held that role for years. For a man who’d started out hoarding supplies, Sawyer came a long way — and we think that’s pretty heroic.

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