This episode presented a rather unpleasant ethical situation; Sayid tortuted (and threatened to blind Sawyer). Not only did the means not justify the end, I just don't think I can look at Sayid in a sympathetic light anymore. I find torture to be unacceptable. Even though, at the end, it is revealed that Sayid was troubled by allowing himself to engage in that behavior again, that's a weak defense.
On the other hand, Sawyer is revealed to have a conscience. In a flashback, he pulls out of a scam because he doesn't want to see a child hurt. It really was a bit too much of a coincidence that his handwritten letter has a Bicentenial logo on it ( so it could be identified as being written in 1976)!
Man, the things some guys will endure for just a kiss...
Rona, I think you meant to say that the ends do not justify the means. That is to say, the goal (ends) did not justify the methods (means).
Personally, I thought this was the weakest of the origin stories, and the most confusing. I was having trouble understanding what was going on. By the end, I thought Sawyer was saying that the little kid was him, or something.
I felt bad for Sayid, though. In my opinion, the ends most certainly justified the means. By (supposedly) stealing a sick girl's asthma medication, Sawyer was in the process of possibly murdering her. I shed no tears for his pain, and wanted them to keep on going. I wanted Jack and Sayid to tell him to shove it and keep sticking those reeds into his nails when he gave his "condidtion".
You wanted him to keep on going? You mean Sayid should have blinded Sawyer? I think it was shown as something horrific (as with last week's torture scenes in Enterprise).
No, I mean they should not have ceded to Sawyer's condition that Kate be the one he tell.
By (supposedly) stealing a sick girl's asthma medication, Sawyer was in the process of possibly murdering her. - Luigi Novi
NO WAY!
Only by actually stealing the medication and not turning it in could he risking her life. If he didn't take it and didn't have it and didn't know where it was, then he's guilty of nothing (except maybe being a jerk, which isn't really a crime... and certainly not one that that justifies torture).
Supposedly stealing something is the type of guilty-until-proven-innocent mentality that puts so many lower-income youths in jail.
Hence the word "supposedly." He allowed Jack and Sayid to believe that he had it, when he could've made clear to them that he didn't have it. If he had it, he would've been guilty of attempted murder. If he didn't have it, it's his fault for allowing them to think so. If he really didn't want to be tortured, he could've prevented it. Those youths you mention don't deliberately make others believe they stole what they were accused of stealing for their twisted personal amusement.
Personally, I think Sawyer has not only a lot of misanthropy, but a lot of misplaced self-hatred too, which is why he wanted to have pain inflicted on himself.
I disagree. I don't think it is completely Sawyer's fault. It's Jack and Sayid (with some manipulation from Locke) who jump to the conclusion that Sawyer had the medication. Sawyer doesn't deny that he has it, but he never confirms it either. Sawyer wants to be tortured. He wants to be spat on and hated. He thinks he deserves it, and that's why he doesn't tell the truth until Kate kisses him. He never lies, though.
Watching theses first few episodes again, I forgot how much I liked the Kate/Sayid team. They work well together. It's too bad we don't see that much anymore.