Lost - Jughead/Little Prince *

“Time travel’s a bitch” – Sawyer

Since the island has been going backwards and forwards in time, Sawyer has not been a happy man. He doesn’t really have much reason to be, quite frankly. With Daniel quite elusive in regards to the whole time travel situation, Locke leading him here and there with the ultimate destination The Orchid, guns pointed at him by soldiers in suits, seeing Kate from a slight distance when Claire was giving birth to Aaron, aggravated at the loss of his friends, the sudden revelation that with each time “trip” physical repercussions cause Charlotte (and eventually others, such as Miles and Juliet) nose bleeds from apparent brain hemorrhage, and losing members of the beach community due to flaming arrow attacks by hostiles on the island; Sawyer can’t help but be more than a bit disgruntled. Juliet has to tell him to calm down while Locke tries to talk sense to him. Locke was told by Alpert that he’d need to get off the island to the Oceanic Six to convince them to return, at the cost of his life. As Ben once turned the “time wheel”, Locke realizes that he will probably have to do the same in order to get off the island, recognizing the price. So Sawyer, abundantly fed up, hungry, tired, and weary, will agree with Locke as the aim is now to get to The Orchid. The constant problem, though, they encounter is the time hiccups that take them on courses to different periods resulting in danger expected with each jump. They just never know what to expect as the bright light catches them off kilter and the flash carries them some time else.

I really think this works so well because those caught in this time disturbance suffer the effects in a number of ways. Juliet and Daniel seem to adjust more easily than Sawyer who was so close to leaving the island and nonetheless is trapped like they are in this jarring extraordinary situation. I think that is the point of it all, though, to show Sawyer—thrust in this leadership role again although his temper (which is understandable) might be a detriment to those with him—having to adapt accordingly to what is happening to them all on the island, hoping there is some resolution to all the madness. Juliet is the perfect equalizer and Locke is reason and insight, both needing to serve as the calm to Sawyer’s storm. Both certainly depend on him, though, trying to keep Sawyer level-headed and of sound mind. Seeing Kate just devastates him, too. Juliet gets it out of him while Locke couldn’t. Finding a canoe on the beachfront and none of his folks there, Sawyer has the mode of transport to get Locke to The Orchid. Following behind was a second canoe and hostiles on the hunt, shooting at them! This flash was actually welcome by Sawyer, for once helped by the time hiccup. Well, until they come out of it bombarded by a storm! It just never goes well for poor Sawyer and his bunch. Sawyer’s agony at the sight of Kate, seeing her at a different time, reawakens just how much he cares about her. So to end all of this time flash nonsense, Sawyer will do whatever it takes, including canoeing them around the island towards The Orchid by water instead of through the jungle.

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What I personally love about the use of the time travel device in Lost and the flashback/flash-forward approach to story-telling is how revelations can come at us unexpectedly and unpredictablly. Like the curious case of Charles Widmore. I just had that feeling he'd been on the island before. He just knew too much, was too involved. Ben considered him a threat and trying to find the island remains of significant plot importance. And through the fifth season time travelers on the island theme, the encounter with a young Widmore, under the leadership of Richard Alpert, certainly is a jarring but exciting development. 1954, no less. The interactions with those in 1954 and present island just fascinate me because Daniel Farraday warns against it and yet he's ultimately more intertwined with the different alternate timelines than anyone else. Widmore established on the island gives us a past stay on it. How and when he got off the island should come later but just the brief visit to '54 let us know he has history on the island.