Outlaws

Several storylines to follow, mainly Sawyer but also charlies, Jacks and Locke and hes little campfire story. Outstanding episode, amazingly writted

"Outlaws" continues to grow in my estimation every single time I see it. Although "Confidence Man" will perhaps always be the more respected and admired season one Sawyer-centric episode, I find "Outlaws" an even more compelling and fascinating character study and what's more- it is one of the best scripts written to date for the series in my opinion.

The story that the main island events are based around is utterly ludicrous on paper, but turns into much more thanks to the evocative and intelligent script by Drew Goddard, an extremely talented scriptwriter known outside "Lost" for his much-praised episodes for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and his box office success "Cloverfield". Aside from a couple of rough moments (very) early in the episode I simply cannot find any serious flaws in this astonishing script. The depth and insight into Sawyer's character and the development of the mythology of the character is outstanding here. Essentially, "Outlaws" is a silly episode on paper: Sawyer hunts a boar and in flashbacks he gets tricked into killing a guy. The end result is filled with memorable dialogue and insightful character development- note especially the brilliantly-photographed, well-directed, and brilliantly-written scene where Sawyer encounters Christian Shepard in an Australian bar. When I first saw it I could not wait for it to end but I was utterly entranced this time around as I saw more of where Goddard was going with the scene.

"Outlaws" is purely a character-based episode, highly refreshing after the outrageously indulgent and silly if watchable "Homecoming". Goddard's script is great, but the episode is a landmark to me on "Lost" because John Bartley's cinematography works brilliantly with Jack Bender's work as director here, creating what is perhaps the first episode of "Lost" to feature genuinely arresting visuals.

An episode I originally regarded as shallow filler, came to see as a poor, shallow attempt at characterization, and finally came to absolutely adore on this viewing, a further viewing of "Outlaws" may cause me to regret writing this review, but as I write this I firmly believe that this is a truly great television script brought to life stunningly well by the crew and actors.

10/10

Continuing the show's balancing act, the mythology-heavy Homecoming is followed by a character piece, the intriguingly titled Outlaws, a genuine class act that boasts two regular Abrams collaborators behind the camera (director Jack Bender and writer Drew Goddard, who later came up with Cloverfield) and fine work from Josh Holloway, whose portrayal of Sawyer is the focus of the episode.

The edgy conman has a good reason to be angry this time, as a wild boar came into his tent during the night. When he goes after it, he hears a whisper: "It'll come back around." He's joined by Kate for another expedition, during which each of the two discovers some of the other's dark secrets.

These are partly covered in the flashbacks, which expand on the revelation in Confidence Man that Sawyer got his alias from the man who ruined his family (both his parents died, although the other Sawyer wasn't directly involved). Determined to find him, Sawyer is contacted by a former associate (Robert Patrick), who tells him the man he's looking for is currently in Australia. While waiting to finish the job, Sawyer has a chance encounter with a man in a bar and starts a conversation about fixing mistakes and how some men deserve to suffer. The man in question is none other than Jack's father, Christian.

While character development is the primary focus of the episode, the presence of John Terry in the flashbacks adds to the notion of destiny that has featured in previous episodes (most notably Claire's back-story), while simultaneously allowing for truly great Sawyer material, with Holloway getting another welcome chance to relish the character's darker side, even in a supposedly harmless scene like the drinking game with Kate. Also, it's nice to see Robert Patrick on villainous duties again after his more sympathetic turns in The Sopranos and The X-Files. Too bad it's his only appearance on the show...

When 'Lost' was in its prime, it was must-watch television. Remember first watching it, found it remarkably easy to get into, was hooked from the start and was on Season 3 by the end of one week. The general consensus is that the final season is a disappointment and cannot disagree.

Season 1 generally has been a very good one, with a few dips (though not catastrophically major). "Outlaws" for me is one of its best, and the best 'Lost' episode since "Raised By Another" (though "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" and "Special" were also wonderful). Sawyer's character study is one of the season's darkest and most fascinating, with an ending that shocks us just as much as it does Sawyer.

The flashback scenes are a welcome return to the ones that added to the story and the character it centres round (for Sawyer it added significantly to his character) and offering something new rather than reiterating old stuff.

All the performances are very good, with Josh Holloway and Terry O'Quinn fantastic. Naveen Andrews, with some of his most interesting material up to this point, and John Terry shine just as much.

Visually, "Outlaws" is well made with the island as beautiful and mysterious as ever and is stylishly shot. The music is understated and chilling, even beautiful at times.

The writing is some of the smartest and most taut of the first season, while the story absorbs and the whole stuff with the boar doesn't confuse the viewer at all, instead adding more to Sawyer's character.

Overall, wonderful episode and among the best and most important Sawyer-centric ones. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This episode is my favorite, having become so rather surprisingly.

Its simple set up - that of Sawyer setting out to slay a boar with a vendetta - seems grounded in ridiculousness. After all, how can a pig hold a grudge? This little task turns into a deeper journey, a pleasing respite from the Lost story arc. It certainly outperforms your expectations.

Sawyer's journey with Kate turns out comedy - as the script allows the two characters to alternatively bounce off and spark at each other - and development, as Sawyer's tragic past is further explored and his persona softened. It is hard not to build a lot of sympathy for what happens to him.

I highly recommend this episode for viewers and hope that they will anticipate it. However don't skip to it, or else you'll miss a little back story shading that is essential to the Sawyer character.