Wrangler Dani

(Geek patrol – if you don’t watch LOST, this post will probably mean nothing to you. Then again, if you don’t watch LOST, time to get on Ye Olde Bandwagon already. I mean really.)

Sawyer is by far my favorite Lostie, always has been. I love his nicknames, one-liners and the transformation his character has taken from swaggering con man to self-sacrificing hero. He’s probably one of the most openly redemptive characters on the show, proving that even someone who “doesn’t speak destiny” can be transformed through love and community.

I like Sawyer because I understand him. He’s tough and self-reliant, he sees holes in theology but is OK with them. He doesn’t need all the answers, just the ones that matter, and he is less concerned about broad issues of faith and destiny then he is about the safety of those he loves. LOST is rife with faith and reason debates and religious parallels, but the best ones are the most subtle.

We don’t need to beat people up with theology and end-times scare tactics ala Locke and Jack. There’s big things afoot, sure – but friendship and honesty – ala Hurley, Jin and Sawyer are the most powerful tools for persuasion. Quietly, kindly, (sometimes with wildly swinging punches, ok, so they aren’t perfect) the characters who capture our hearts aren’t always right, aren’t God-like or even very knowledgeable about anything, but they care. They care about each other, about human life, about the Right thing.

Isn’t that all we can care about? Isn’t the rest just talk?