Saturday, January 30, 2010

Over to You: Question Two!

That picture is pretty much giving away what I'm going to say, isn't it?

So, in my series of "questions I keep getting asked by interviewers," here is question 2:

“Who should Kate end up with, Jack or Sawyer? And why?”

Oh, how I loathe this question. Mostly because I know some people out there have strong feelings on this question and are completely inflexible in their stance on it, and no matter how I respond, I’m going to tick someone off. But isn’t that the FUN of shipping? (Did you catch the sarcasm there?) So let’s see if we can answer it by playing nice. I'm going to refrain from giving you my answer on it (if you're a regular reader of the blog, you already know my answer) and instead I'll throw it to you. State who (if either) you think she should end up with, and why. Or, if you don't care, explain why we shouldn't care. And either way, please just state your position without bashing anyone else's.

I know I'm walking into dangerous territory with this one. Why do you think I'm posting it on a Saturday where many people will miss it?

Tune in Monday morning for my Lost questionnaire. I'll be posting a series of questions for you to answer and we'll see how many we can gather in the 24 hours leading up to Lost.

THREE MORE DAYS!!!!

37 comments:

The Question Mark said...

Ugh. Shipping. Okay, here goes.

I love LOST, but I honestly don't care which of those men Kate ends up with. Why shouldn't we care? Because if anybody is tuning into a TV show for the sole purpose of debating "Who loves who how much", then they wouldn't be watching quality programming like LOST.
There's a little show called Grey's Anatomy to sate those needs.

Anonymous said...

I think Jack should end up with Sawyer.

Joan Crawford said...

@Redeem - Hahaha!

I think Jack should be reunited with his testicles.

Megan said...

Yeah, I really don't care. LOST has so many exciting mysteries, this ridiculous question is a total snorefest.

MonkeyFace said...

I think each of these characters need to learn to love themselves before they can be good with anyone else.

Batcabbage said...

I think redeem147 should write Lost.

JennM said...

@redeem147

Brilliant. Seriously.

@Megan

Well said.

However, to answer the question, who should Kate end up with? My first instict was to say Sawyer, because Jack has all of those Jack-related issues, and plus Sawyer is much better looking.

But then I thought, why should Kate have all the fun? Let her have Jack, leaving Sawyer a single Confidence Man just lookin' for a lady like me to take on a Long Con.

Ha!

Jono said...

@MonkeyFace- I couldn't agree with you more.

Jack, Kate, and Sawyer have been through SO MUCH with each other, I think it would almost be silly if Kate chose either of them. Their relationships on the island, and off the island, have gone through the ringer. There's almost too much baggage, for them to be truly content for the rest of their lives.

(I do think that it COULD have worked out for Jack & Kate, if Jack hadn't gone all possessively crazy in S4.)

But, to answer your question, I believe Jack/Kate/Sawyer/Cassidy/Sarah/Kevin/whomever should be neighbors like Desperate Housewives and live the polygamist life like Big Love.

Please don't bash me. I come in peace! :)

Fred said...

Easy. Hurley. Who doesn't love Hurley. Besides, he's a better golfer than Jack. And he can outcon Sawyer.

A.G.Wooding said...

Jack and Kate, all the way Jack and Kate. I'm not a shipper and before season five I didn't care but after seeing Sawyer and Juliet together, I loathe the idea of Kate getting with Sawyer again. I really hope Darlton don't do this, does anyone else not think it will totally undermine the relationship that Sawyer and Juliet had.

Plus Jack and Kate were the first couple, before Sawyer even got into the loop. From the pilot episode they were drawn to each other and I sincerely believe they should end up together.

A.G.Wooding said...

On second thought I must agree with Joan Crawford, that reunion has been a long time coming XD

humanebean said...

NO. You can't make me. I refuse. No, it's no use trying to twist my arm into having an opinion on this. I'm drawing a line right here in the sand. That's IT. I'm just going to sit here and hold my breath until my face turns blue or Nikki posts the next question.

...
...
...

Okay, Kate should wind up back with Nathan Fillion. It'll probably just make Stana Katic jealous but, what can you do? ; ]

Kevie Metal said...

...Mulder?

Kate never had it in her to pick one and commit to it. Even when she got the chance to settle down with Jack, she kept him at arm's length emotionally, which only fueled his paranoia that she really wanted to be with Sawyer. If she'd been with Sawyer, probably the same result.

No good can come of this situation! Best for everyone involved to outgrow it.

Rebecca T. said...

Well, I was going to be the first comment, oh, two and a half hours ago. But my parent's computer hates me... so here is my original thought, which I managed to save. I will post it as is, then go back to read what all of you had to say -

All right, I'll be the first to brave this question, but my answer is rather long and circuitous and may not actually answer to anyone's satisfaction.

I believe that none of them were ready for any kind of romantic relationship at the beginning. None of them were grounded enough to be able to care about another person enough to make a relationship work. We all know very well what each of their shortcomings were, so I won't rehash them here.

Having said all of that, I will tread onto slippery ground and say that, now, after three years have passed, two of them have grown and developed enough that they might actually be able to make a relationship work. Kate has found what it is to be rooted and centered by caring for Aaron. She has learned to love someone more than anything else. Sawyer has learned much the same thing. In my opinion he truly loved Juliet (I believe the scene of her being pulled down the shaft shows this well). He has learned to settle in, be responsible for himself and for others, to care for someone. Whether the two of them have a chance to try to make things work remains to be seen, but of the infamous quadrangle, I think those are the two that have grown and matured the most.

Rebecca T. said...

@Jenn: eaving Sawyer a single Confidence Man just lookin' for a lady like me to take on a Long Con.

Hahaha... hmmmm I didn't take that into consideration. Let me go revise my answer :D

@humanebean: Kate should wind up back with Nathan Fillion.

YES! Yet another viable option I hadn't considered. Hmmmmmm....

Hunter said...

I'm with A.G. I'm not too concerned with the relationships, but I never saw Kate and Sawyer as even a possibility. What they had was always just a fling. Even when Kate was with Sawyer in season 3, she was thinking about Jack. Add to it, Sawyer and Juliet had such a good thing in season 5, I'd hate to see it cheapened by Sawyer going back to Kate.

Jack and Kate have been destined for each other since the beginning.

sbeck said...

This is a fun (albiet dangerous) idea, Nikki! I am a big-time "shipper" of Jack and Kate, and I have answered the question of "why" many times. I am going to copy/paste a "pro-jack/kate" argument I send in to E online's Watch With Kristin a couple of years ago, since I think I summed up my feelings best then.

Kate and Jack are the real one true pairing of Lost: Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy and girl sleep together. Boy and girl are torn apart (sometimes by a third party). Boy and girl experience six seasons of angst. Boy and girl finally get together. There is your typical prime-time romance. It's been tested, tried, and true for years and years now, and usually it works. But when has the Lost we've come to know and love (and obsess over and dream about and theorize with) ever been typical?
Perhaps that's what makes Lost's romantic storyline of the relationship between Jack and Kate so compelling and so perfectly right: The fact that—just like the hatch with the crazy man and the button that has to be pushed every 108 minutes, or the mad scientist Others who live on the magical island that can regenerate previously thought-to-be-dead friends or loved ones of the castaways, or the kooky characters and their seemingly impossibly interconnected pasts—Jack and Kate's love story is anything but predictable, anything but conventional, and everything that Lost needs to invest viewers in the character aspect of this genre-defying series.
For starters, rather than the aforementioned "boy meets girl" formula, Jack and Kate's story is more of a, well, "doctor meets convicted criminal" storyline—which is pretty much anything but ordinary. You'd expect for a couple in the wonderful world of TV to consist of a couple of doctors (Jacket?) or a couple of criminals (Skate?), but remember, this is Lost...and it just gets better from there.
Fans of Jack and Kate, like myself, have grown so invested in the romance of these two fictional characters because it is so unmistakably human and so wonderfully flawed and real. None of the characters on Lost are perfect. We've learned over time that the Island is a place of salvation for all of them—a second chance at the life they never got to have, for the goals they could never achieve back home. And, quite simply, Jack and Kate are each other's salvation.
From their very first meeting, when Kate stitched Jack's wounded back, their relationship has been founded on trust, on love and on salvation. It's best summarized in the memorable phrase Kate said to Jack in the season-one finale, "I've got your back, remember?"
You can see it in the way Kate looked at Jack when he first told her he had no desire in knowing the crime she committed back home—like he was the first person who had ever cared about who she really was and not what she'd done to achieve her fugitive status. You can see it in the way Jack wouldn't let Kate come along on a dangerous trek to meet the Others and go through with a hostage exchange (in season two's "The Hunting Party"), her safety mattering more to him than his own. You can see it in the way Jack jimmied Ben's surgery in order to free Kate from the Others even after he'd seen Kate in Sawyer's arms through a TV monitor only hours before (season three's "I Do").
Their bond, is so far beyond the stage of intimacy—it's purely and perfectly emotional. And sure, they've had their share of angst and anger, of miscommunications and betrayals, but it's their imperfections that make Jate's romance so, well...perfect.
It all makes you think that, really, in the end, could good old Johnny Locke's mantra really apply to Jack and Kate? If you ask me, yeah, Jate is—unquestionably—fate.

By the way, I usually post under the internet name Nancy but I'm under a new google account now so hello!

fb said...

i think lost is one of the few shows/fandoms where i can truthfully say i really don't care about the shipping; i'm more involved and concerned with the story. which is weird for me ... i'm usually ALL about the shipping, so it says a lot about the quality of this show that it never even crosses my mind. i was entertained when kate was with jack, i was entertained when kate was with sawyer and i was entertained when juliet was with sawyer (actually, if i HAD to choose, i think i like juliet with sawyer best). whether they put her with one or the other or neither (shades of kelly taylor: "i pick me!"), i don't really care as long as it's done plausibly and convincingly.

the only couples i ship on lost are rose/bernard, sun/jin and clare/charlie. *sniff!*

Susan said...

I have to say that I think the story is leading towards Jack and Kate together at the end, and (just my personal guess) that maybe Sawyer will sacrifice himself somewhere during the season.

I also agree that it would cheapen Sawyer's relationship with Juliet if he got over her too quickly.

The thing I think some shippers have trouble with (I guess I mean Skaters more than the others) is that even though to us Sawyer has liked Kate for 4 years (seasons), it was really only 3 months for him, whereas his relationship with Juliet lasted about 3 years.

And yes, most of us don't care about this, but obviously Damon and Carlton do, because they've certainly spent a lot of screen time on it.

Sharon said...

Jacob has spoken. Word verification...equal

There is no ultimate pairing and this ship is tossed into the "unanswered mysteries of the island" pile, docked right beside the Black Rock. Jack and Kate cannot work because Kate has "fixed" herself, leaving nothing for poor Jack to do. Sawyer and Kate cannot work because (even though I fought it when it came about) Sawyer and Juliet did work.

Linnea said...

Jack should end up with Sawyer.
And Kate should end up with Hurley.
That's the epic love folks.

But seriously, the best chemistry is between Kate and Sawyer, I can admit that. But in my opinion the most emotional relationship would be between Jack and Kate. And the best epic relationship would be between Jack and Sawyer, with chemistry and emotions. It's logic.

Lee said...

I think Beckett and Castle should get together, but that the development of their relationship should be strung along slowly, so that we, the viewers, can enjoy every delicious warm-up scene to their inevitable union...

Oh, wait. Wrong show. Boy, is my face RED!

While I do believe in the Beckett-Castle storyline, and I do want those characters to get together EVENTUALLY, when it comes to the Jack-Kate-Sawyer love triangle, I have only three words for that.

Couldn't. Care. Less.

There are so many things I want to see answered in the final season of "Lost," that which middle-aged white guy Kate ends up with is at the very bottom of that list. I do hope for resolution for the characters, certainly, but things like the love triangle...or love square...or love rhombus...or whatever the heck people are calling it anymore...has been beat to death, and I don't care.

If Damon and Carlton had any balls, they wouldn't have Kate choose anybody. She would be her own independent person and leave Jack and Sawyer to figure out who they are as people, since, honestly, neither one has at this point.

JS said...

Couples in conflict getting together is boring television. Plus, Kate is a tv Gemini, so "he" will have to be chosen for her, she will not choose.

Kate was with Sawyer when she thought he was going to die (and Jack was not available), then continued to "keep her options open" until he was no longer available b/c he was kind of with Juliet. Kate was with Jack once he calmed down off island (and Sawyer was not available), and until he freaked out 30 episode min later. She can not choose. They will always want her because they can not have her.

The most exciting story line? Kate ends up with Sayid, and survives, almost. But then doesn't. And if she does, she doesn't stay with him b/c Joan Crawford Kicks Her Ass.

Anonymous said...

Neither. Can she somehow end up w/Ana Lucia?

I'm just saying.

-Tim Alan

Anonymous said...

...The most exciting story line? Kate ends up with Sayid...

Then I could finally identify with her? :)

poggy said...

If it depended on me, I'd second Jono and say polygamy is the answer... why bother choosing?!? Alas, I know it's not going to happen.

Honestly though, I have no clue about the possible outcome of this story. I'm really neutral about the Kate centric triangle (while I liked the Juliet romance more, either with Jack and with Sawyer) and, truth be told, some shippers on both sides of it have succesfully gotten on my nerves. Of course it's a rabid minority we're talking about, but it's frustrating to see entire threads hijacked by "my ship is better than yours!!1!!" debates. I'm glad your commenters aren't like that, Nikki :)

Anyway: if I really had to give an opinion - I think Jack and Kate represent two different sides of Kate's character. There's a part of her who wants stability; who wants to be "normal". It's the Kate who once married a policeman, and that we always see perfectly styled and dressed when she's off the island. That's the Kate who is attracted to Jack, who is a respected professional and likes (needs to?) protect/take care of people. The downside of this combination is that Jack has his own issues, and we've seen that his protectiveness can turn into possessiveness; and Kate, as much as she *wants* to stop and build her own nest somewhere, seem to eventually always get the urge to run away.

Sawyer gets the Kate who runs around in a tank top without makeup and does snarky banter. Tbh, that's the Kate I like best, but if we look at her character arc, that's the "old" Kate who's always on the run and lives day by day. She has this sparkle with Sawyer because they're both (ex?) stray cats. But does it result in her being her true self, or simply sticking to her old ways without evolving?

In a nutshell, I don't see either of the pairings as super functional, and I guess that we won't know until the end of the story with the characters completing their arcs. Right now my gut reaction would be that, with the evolution he's had, Sawyer might be a better match for Kate - but he had been with Juliet for three years, and it seems Jack is changing, too. So... yeah, no definite answer there.

Maggie Dixon said...

As much fun as shipping is, I completely agree with The Question Mark, and I think redeem147 is absolutely brilliant.
But.... if I HAD to have an opinion... ;)
I think that Kate is fickle, and Jack is so rediculously anal and "holier-than-thou" that they deserve each other. Don't get me wrong, I love them both, but I think that Kate is too obsessed with running away,for her to be with Sawyer. We'll let Jack deal with that.
I hated "Suliet" at first, but by the end of season five, they were my favourite ship in the world. They were both so happy :) Which is why I hated it when Kate came back and messed things up.
So, I think that if I had to chose, I would put Kate with Jack, and Sawyer with Juliet, (She's GOT to be alive!!!!!!! I've not lost hope....) because Jack and Kate deserve each other, and Sawyer and Juliet were/are a very very lovely couple.
:D

Anonymous said...

Clearly Sawyer and Jack are both really into Kate. Sawyer lies to Juliet (complete with deer-in-the-headlights giant lying eyes) when he finds out Kate is back, and then begs her to go with them back to the beach. Jack is willing to detonate a bomb in order to erase Kate's memory of his being a giant idiot hopped up on drugs & booze, which he hopes will afford him a second chance with her.

Kate, OTOH, continuously plays them both, choosing whichever is nearby or whichever hasn't pissed her off the most recently.

Neither of them deserve that.

Sawyer should end up with Juliet and Jack with, hmmm, maybe Ana-Lucia, who needs a lot of fixing. Of course, Juliet & A-L will magically be alive again, so this will work.

Kate? She can be with the Marshall (also magically alive again) to whom she was handcuffed at the beginning. He clearly has a thing for her. And since she loves to run and he loves to chase, theirs would be a very satisfying relationship.

Jazzygirl said...

I'm sort of with poggy on this one. And I think my avatar says it all too. LOL
I don't know how I feel anymore for many reasons. One, there's more to the show than this issue. Two, SO much has happened with all three of them to change and develop their characters that I'm not sure it would be healthy for any of them to be together. Poggy is right that Kate had/has a sparkle with Sawyer but it could being her old self, which would mean she hasn't changed. I used to think Jack represented stability until recent seasons. I think Kate was his stability which is not healthy. After seeing Sawyer with Juliet, I'm not sure he should be with Kate, though I feel there's still something there.
So ya, I'm on the fence and I think I'll be content with whatever outcome Darlton decides on. Becuase the show is ultimately about the characters, their arcs, their personal tragedies and growth. Whatever happens, happens.

Ali Bags said...

@humanebean Okay, Kate should wind up back with Nathan Fillion. It'll probably just make Stana Katic jealous but, what can you do? ; ]

Now I am going to spend the rest of the day debating this question:
Which would I choose - Sawyer or Nathan Fillion? What a dilemma.

Anonymous said...

Not shippy, but an interesting ad placement on the LOST recap special.

Charlie: Where are we?

At Dairy Queen...

Anonymous said...

Not shippy, but an interesting ad placement on the LOST recap special.

Charlie: Where are we?

At Dairy Queen...

Ambivalentman said...

I've never had a problem with the romantic tensions on the show. I think they add an extra dimension of character intrigue, and reveal the need for connection in a world where the characters are indeed lost.

With that said, I'm not sure I want to take a side, because I see the benefits of both. Since I never allow my students to ride the fence during a debate, though, I will take a stance (although I will no doubt change my mind a few times during season 6).

Kate should end up with Jack. Jack is on a path to redemption, and will become the man she wants. Sawyer may well be too hung up and confused about Juliet to allow himself to fully love Kate; perhaps he will remember Juliet's angst over the look he gave Kate at Rose and Bernard's camp and feel guilty, as if changing that moment could have effected the outcome at the Swan site.

Theory: Jack will redeem himself, but have to die to save everyone. This will somehow mirror the end of season 5, with Kate taking on the Sawyer role.

Austin Gorton said...

Yeah, I can't say I care. Way back in the beginning, I was much more of a Kate/Sawyer guy, just because Jack annoyed the piss out of me and I liked the whole "bad guy with a kernel of good inside him" side of Sawyer, which Kate tended to bring out.

Now that Sawyer is, more or less, a good guy and Kate annoys me almost as much as Jack used to, I don't really care who she ends up with anymore. Frankly, they're probably all better off alone/with other people (I enjoyed the Sawyer/Juliet pairing).

flexible said...

:) I am going to respond without reading previous posts just so I dont find myself responding to someone instead of answering the question. It may be long so I am going to split it.

Kate should end with Sawyer. IMHO, Kate will end up with Sawyer. Thats why Juliet was killed. Why should she end up with Sawyer? ...because thats the way the story has been going. Jack and Sawyer represent two sides of a coin for Kate. Jack is the man that she believes she SHOULD be with. The man that will make her better. Noble hero. Sawyer is the man that she WANTS. That she can't help but be DRAWN TO. She was ashamed of that(I am a woman. Almost every woman knows this dilemma:) Like her mother said "You cant help who you love" and that is what Kate has learned now. Sawyer reminds her of Wayne(season 2-anytime she feels something for Sawyer, it sickens her). Kates feelings for Sawyer have absolutely nothing to do with Jack. Jack had nothing to do with it when Kate took it upon herself to read Sawyers daddy letter to know him better. When she chose to try and make him mingle. When she cared if he had a headache or not. When she searched for him when the raft was taking off or how she feverishly searched the messages in the bottle, because she had not said goodbye to Sawyer. That had nothing to do with Jack. It was all about her feelings for Sawyer. To categorise the Kate/Sawyer relationship as a reflection of her feelings for Jack is too simplistic because the only way anyone can think that is because they are following the fact that Jack and Kate met each other first. If you follow the story, you will judge those 2 relationships exactly how they have been presented. Differently. No one forced Kate to go with Sawyer in search of the boar. Infact, Jack told her not to...but she went and thank goodness she did because that "I never" scene is one of the best character interaction scenes in the whole 5 seasons of LOST so far. We have their connections off Island. Sawyer dined where Kates mother worked. Kate met cassidy and was the one who even encouraged her to go to the police about this con man(Sawyer) and in Boones dream, Kate and Sawyer were on the escalator together. This is LOST. Those things are not just there for the hell of it. Just because its not about the statue, does not mean its not a mystery to be solved. Some may have no interest in it but there are millions that do which is why everyone from Nikki to Damon to Evangeline, still get asked the question 5 years in.

flexible said...

I am also curious as to why Sawyer and Kate were the only 2 touched by Jacob as children. Maybe thats another connection? We shall see. The fact is, Kate loves both men. She cares very deeply about Jack and has his back. She believes in him. However, the Kate and Jack connection is not a romantic connection. This is why, when they tried it off island, it did not work. Sawyers ghost was a catalyst to its end. Jack has almost been a 3rd wheel to this thing. He watched their first making love scene. He watched the kiss on the helicopter. He also watched the reunion. He is always shown in the background, watching a Sawyer and Kate scene. Whatever reasons people want to give to why Kate and Sawyer consummated their relationship in the cage, the fact is, there was a post-co-ital scene. Those do not happen if you are having a romp in the hay because you think thats the last chance you are gonna get. Kate was ready to die for Sawyer. "I'll do anything you want". When Picket was about to shoot Sawyer by the boat, she ran towards Sawyer until he held her behind him. These are not the actions of a woman who is having a fling. Kate cried and begged Jack to operate on Ben. Not so they could sail off in the sunset, but so, Sawyer would not be killed. Ofcourse she got jealous that Jack got another woman in the club and she wasn't part of the jungle jaunts anymore. Jack had a new right hand woman. So as is Kate, she went to Sawyer...not to make Jack jealous because Jack did not see that or did not know that, so thats a wrong assumption people have made. She went to Sawyer for her own selfish reasons. People can come up with whatever those reasons are as it best suits them but in Catch 22, Kate went to sleep with sawyer for Kate. Again, in The Brig, why were they all cuddled up after sex again..what had Jack got to do with that? In Eggtown, Kate woke up kissing Sawyers cheeks...nothing to do with Jack. She had gone to sawyer and he had said "I'll keep you safe". Kate is looking for a hero. Then he became normal Sawyer again, doing a jig that she wasn't preggers and she wondered "would that be so horrible". Sawyer said "It would be the worst thing". What woman wants to hear that? That only confirmed Kates belief that Sawyer was a no good sonofabitch. She better get back to team Jack that are trying to get off the island. Sawyer wants to stay. At the end of it all, TPTB have taken time to show the 1st kiss, 1st love scene, fights, separations, reunions of ONE couple out of this quadrangle. Its Sawyer and Kate. It is not Jack and Kate. That was established and destroyed in one episode. Same thing with Sawyer and Juliet. Established in La Fleur but what happens at the end of La Fleur? Kate returns and we all know what happens from then on. Sawyers ghost destroyed Jate and Kates return destroyed Suliet. Its not a coincidence. I do not think all those pining looks and Juliets insecurities or Sawyer looking at Kate when Rose and Bernie were waxing lyrical about eternal love, were filmed just for the hell of it. Sawyer could have looked straight ahead because Juliet looked straight ahead...but he turned his head to look at Kate. Sawyers heart is with Kate and will always be with Kate. He loved Juliet. She had his back. She loved him. She gave him all the things he lacked in life. Loyalty and stability, but Sawyer and Juliet were not meant to be.

flexible said...

Juliet was used to propel the Sawyer story forward. There had to be an obstacle in season 5 which was mostly a filler season if you ask me. When Juliet confronted Sawyer before she agreed with blowing up the spot, she said the most important thing of the Suliet relationship "She loves Sawyer because he would stay with her IF SHE LET HIM". That's it in a nugget folks. She feared and knew that Sawyer deep down wanted someone else but would stay with her because thats the man that he had become but like her mother said in her fb, just because 2 people love each other, does not mean they are meant to be together.

-I forgot to add, the scene in The Little Prince where sawyer witnesses Kate helping to birth Aaron was also not filmed just for the hell of it. We got to see in Katecentric WHH, that, Kates reasons for keeping Aaron also included using him as a balm to heal the wound of losing Sawyer. Some of us said this as far back as season 4, because on that boat where she told Jack"I've always been with you". She said, We've lost, Jin, Michael, Sawyer" Jack goes "Sawyer is not dead" and she says, but he is gone..and she just could not bear to lose Aaron too. Her dialogue with Claires mother confirms that Cassidy hit the spot and she did keep Aaron because she needed him but in the end it helped her grow. Just like Sawyer asked Juliet to stay because he was waiting for Locke to bring back Kate and all, but at the end, she helped him grow. They have both grown. Sawyer is now a proud man capable of leading just as he showed off to Kate when he was helping her with Ben and she smiled as if "how far you have come". Sawyer is now the man she wanted him to be and after Jack showed that he is just as much like Wayne as sawyer, she has realised that it is Sawyer she loves. Sawyer now knows that he is deserving enough of love and he is fit enough to be somebodys boyfriend. Kate returned and found Sawyer happy and she let him be. Sawyer remained in denial. Juliet is dead. Its unfortunate but life goes on and these characters will fulfill their destiny. Whether in death or in life, Sawyer and Kate as the story has unveiled over 5 years are for some mythical reason, meant to be. So, they shall be. There is no law in fiction or in reality that states that if your live in lover dies, you are not allowed to move on. Not to speak of moving on to your destiny from a live in lover that only became one because the woman you are moving on with was out of the picture. There is no such rule.

Sawyer and Juliet had a mature and stable love but that was not good enough for Juliet so she made her tragic decision. This is where her death propels the Sawyer story..now he probably returns to Season 1 Sawyer. Angry and Guilty and once again, his love for Kate and Kate herself are going to be the one and the thing to restore some humanity and remind him of how far he has come. Its unfortunate that it got messed up and annoyed people along the way but IMHO, its a beautiful and wonderful love story and I can not wait to see how they wrap it up this year.