Sawyer and Kate

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"You taste like strawberries." - James "Sawyer" Ford

"You taste like fishbiscuits." - Kate Austin

James "Sawyer" Ford and Kate Austin are from the tv show Lost. He was con-man and she was on the run from the law, but both ended up on a plane that crashed and stranded them on an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean. There was mutual attraction from the beginning that constantly drew them into each others orbits, but it took awhile for them to act upon it. Yes, they were both so emotionally stunted that they hurt each other often and could not truly be in a healthy relationship until they worked through their individual baggage, but throughout the series we were shown how much they were able to help each other grow and evolve as human beings. Kate was one of the only people to break through Sawyer's shell, and he was one of the only people to call Kate out on her crap. Time and time again they fell back into old patterns, but they could never stay away from each other for long and were always able to forgive each other.

The problem with shipping Sawyer and Kate is that their chemistry and love story far surpassed both the show and the inane storylines thrown their way. Sawyer and Kate were connected, and the first three seasons seemed to be building up to an epic love story spanning time and space that could have grounded the show in a wonderful way as it became more and more unbelievable in the later seasons. Instead, Kate was stuck in a love triangle and her "choice" became one of the central mysteries of the show. The disservice this did to both her character and all of her storylines was immensely detrimental to the entire show. While her motivations were always scattered throughout the early seasons, there was a shift in season four where it all became more pronounced as they tried to paint Jack as a viable romantic interest. It was all done to string along of the shippers until the end, yet, how anyone could be happy with the "resolution" of the love triangle is beyond me. While Kate "chose" Jack, she ended up escaping the island with Sawyer, where they would presumably finally continue their years long romance in earnest while Jack was dead. The Jack and Kate shippers couldn't fully celebrate because their couple ended before it began, and the Sawyer and Kate shippers couldn't fully celebrate because the show was telling us that we were wrong to our faces.

If you choose to ignore the sidways-verse of Jack's heaven in season 6, as I do, Sawyer and Kate did make it through the series relatively unscathed, and did make it off of the island together with only a handful of other people. There is absolutely no way that they would not remain a part of each others' lives, and I like to think that without the Lost writers dictating their fate anymore that they would have finally been able to be happy together. As it stands, I was obsessed with Lost when it was on, mainly due to the relationship between Sawyer and Kate, and I haven't watched a single episode after seeing it through to the bitter end. I still love the two together and think that they have the most amazing chemistry of any two characters I've ever seen, but what I will truly ship forever and ever is the fanfiction versions of Sawyer and Kate from Leah Kate's "In Hiding" and "On the Road" series. "In Hiding" takes place in an alternate universe where they were rescued from the island after season 1 and Kate hides out at Sawyer's house after escaping custody, and "On the Road" picks up right where the first part left off and is a whirlwind of an adventure as they try to find a place where they can be together and free. The Sawyer and Kate depicted in those stories are everything I ever wanted from the characters, and the future Leah Kate wrote for them is so much more satisfying and believable than the one they were given in canon.

In the end, I am grateful for Lost for providing the basis for these (and many other) works of art that were able to fully explore the dynamics between these great characters and provide their relationship the care that it deserved. Perhaps Sawyer and Kate were not the endgame couple of Lost the series as it was written, but versions of their characters with clearer motivations as well as a well thought out cohesive story from beginning to end were able to live on beyond the show.

Quotes

1x16: Outlaws

Sawyer: "I never cared about having carte blanche because I just wanted to spend some time with the only other person on this island that just don't belong."

Kate: [takes a drink]: "I never carried a letter around for 20 years because I couldn't get over my baggage."

Sawyer: [takes a drink]: "I never killed a man."

[they both drink]

Sawyer: "Well, looks like we got something in common, after all."

2x09: What Kate Did

Sawyer: "Where is she?"

Jack: "You mean Kate. She's been watching over you for the past 24 hours straight. The only way I could get rid of her was to send her out to get some food for you."

Sawyer: "I love her."

Jack: "What?"

Sawyer: "I love her."

3x04: Every Man for Himself

Danny: [punching Sawyer] "DO-YOU-LOVE-HIM?"

Kate: [sobbing and cradling a beaten Sawyer in her arms] "YES! Yes, I love him! I love him. I love him, please."

Sawyer: "Hang on a second Freckles. I told you, the time ain't right!"

[Kate climbs out of the top of her cage]

Kate: "You're the one that said we had to go!"

Sawyer: "Well that was before..."

Kate: "Before what? I don't know what they did to you, but I know you're scared enough to lie about it. And that scares me more than anything that they have done to us before!"

3x06: I Do

Sawyer: "Let me ask you something Freckles... the day blockhead was beating on me, and you said... "I love you," that was just to... get him to stop, right?"

[Kate picks her head up from where it rests on his chest, looks him right in the eyes, and kisses him. She then lowers her head down to his chest again]

Sawyer: [looks surprised and smiles] "I love you too."

[He wraps his arms around her tighter and holds her close to him]

4x03: The Economist

Kate: "How long, Sawyer? How long do you think we can play house?"

Sawyer: "Why don't we find out?"

4x04: Eggtown

Kate: "He wants me gone by tomorrow."

Sawyer: "What, he banished you? Well, I un-banish you. You can stay right here, 'cause this is my house. Okay, me and Montezuma's house. You're gonna be all right. I'll keep you safe." [they kiss]

5x11: Whatever Happened, Happened

Kate: [about Aaron] "Claire was gone. I mean, she left him. I had to take him. He needed me."

Cassidy: "You needed him. Sawyer broke your heart. How else were you supposed to fix it?"

Sawyer: "I bet you and Cassidy had a lot to talk about."

Kate: "She had an interesting theory on why you jumped off the chopper."

Sawyer: "Yeah? What's that?"

Kate: "She thought you were worried about what would happen if you didn't."

Sawyer: "You and me would've never worked out, Kate. I wasn't any more fit to be your boyfriend than I am to be that little girl's father."

Kate: "You seem to be doing all right with Juliet."

Sawyer: "Yeah. I've done a lot of growing up in the past three years."

5x16: The Incident

Bernard: "So we die. We just care about being together."

[Juliet looks at Sawyer, who is looking at Kate]

Bernard: "That's all that matters in the end."

6x08: Recon

Sawyer: "I'm gonna let them fight it out. And while they got their hands full with each other...you and me are gettin' the hell off this island."

Kate: [smiling] "Even if we could get on that plane, who's gonna fly it?"

Sawyer: "We ain't taking the plane, Freckles. We're taking the sub."

Photos

Season 1