Who cares? Why on earth should anyone care whom a screwed up murderess/kidnapper like Kate Austen will choose as her mate? If Lindenhof and Cuse had any decency, Kate Austen would die a gruesome death before Jack or Sawyer get stuck with her. She isn’t worthy of either of them. And the fact that a fuck up like Kate is the show’s main leading lady isn’t helping matters.

For several seasons I have longed to see a redemptive arc — any beginning of healing for Jack’s profoundly crippled (angry, avoidant, reactive) soul, but unfortunately it has not been furthered by his relationships thus far, neither with Kate nor Juliet, because every time he gets to a crucial junction, it seems he just he opts out — walks away, detaches, rages, possesses, sulks, medicates — anything to avoid facing the pain of his life. Along with and perhaps because of this, the effect of relationship with Kate doesn’t seem to bring out the best in him; his physical heroism is not accompanied by a willingness to assess where he has been and walk a different path. His intentions (fixing and rescuing) are (ostensibly) noble but his unresolved “issues” warp his actions and distort his outcomes.

In contrast Sawyer, in a very imperfect yet genuine way, allows himself to be reached, to be transformed — even amid his flawed choices and even by all the crazy-scary-outrageous stuff that happens on the mysterious Island. Along with and perhaps because of this, the effect of relationship with each of these two women (themselves very imperfect and responding to the significantly unresolved content of their own lives) seems to have a profound effect of bringing out his greatest virtues. He is the anti-hero who was not diminished by suffering, but instead made whole — reborn. As a leader, his actions seem more an outcome of a desire to serve rather than to control. Jin and other characters have undergone a comparable process.

But so far redemption of the heart has eluded Jack, for whom suffering has diminished him in ways terribly painful to watch over these past 5 seasons, to the point where he himself has become something of a cautionary tale, an example of “what not to do” or become. Even his newfound “purpose” (altering the timeline) feels more like the manic controlling flipside to passive detachment. Perhaps I am missing something, but it seems he is still being blown about as much as ever by the winds of his reactive condition. There is no peace inside of him; his choices are still hooked into (thus permeated by) the troubled subterranean roots of his unresolved “issues”.

Ultimately it’s painful because most of us (at least I believe most) want so much more for him. No matter how repulsed at some of his choices, we still care greatly about what happens to this hero who has been relentlessly deconstructed, systematically broken down without renewal. We long for a redemption that touches and heals the roots of all the losses and rejections that have so mercilessly driven him to the brink –a reconstructive process that so far has been elusive as the White Rabbit in Season 1.

And, confident in the as-yet unrevealed trajectory mapped by Lost’s exceptional writers, for this we need only wait for Season 6.

So. You’ve never met me, but “that’s how it is and there’s nothing more to say” about your amateur psychoanalysis of me. How does that trick work for you at parties, dude?

And I hesitate to correct someone so erudite, but your first sentence there makes no grammatical sense. The subject of the final clause is “you” (meaning me) and you’re comparing it to “romance”. I trust your major isn’t English.

Proust’s “Swanns Way”? Oh my. Honey, you DO need some fresh air.

There’s not a fixation with “mature relationships”– especially on television– nor in real life since so few people actually experience anything of the sort.

I’m not sure what you mean by “real romance.” If you’re talking about dysfunctional relationships built on sex or some aspect of attraction (physical or otherwise), cool, I get it. Whether one has a relationship like this or one finds value in this kind of relationship for the enjoyment of voyeurism or transference isn’t something that interests me (at least concerning fans). If you’re bored during the few months before Season Six, you should read “Swann’s Way” by Marcel Proust (if you haven’t already.) You will see an interesting treatment of romance and love triangles and the perspective one gains with distance. Then you might want to think about how some of the ideas from the book could be used to read the romances on LOST. I still think “Fathers and Sons” by Ivan Turgenev also fits this as well.

Then I’d also find a dictionary and look up the word “myopic.”

It’s so funny how people say there’s no time to reunite Sawyer and Kate on a show where islands can disappear into thin air and people can leap randomly between different timelines. Use some imagination. I hope the writers aren’t as stuck in the mud and boring as the nerd herd that dominates online discussion.

I can understand why the geeks think it makes sense that no one has suffered more than anyone else. They identify so naturally with Jack, even if its subconsciously, that they can’t tell the difference between people who are killed or have a child stolen or lose loved ones in horrifying ways and a spoiled whiney doctor who constantly makes mistakes and never suffers any consequences other than self pity. But just try to step out of the bubble once in awhile. I think Fish’s perspective only seems myopic to you because you’re so unfamiliar with anyone who doesn’t parrot the exact same myopic perspective you personally are comfortable with. You don’t see m the type that’s capable of thinking outside the box, but give it a try.

“Can anyone believe this whole mysteriious story would just be about one self indulgent rich guy who deserves happiness, while other people die and are tortured and suffer all kinds of things all around him?” Yes, I can believe this, because that’s Jack’s story: a self-indulged rich white man plays hero and leads thirty-something people to death. I don’t think it’s fair to say “this person suffered more” or “this person has a better story because s/he was not privileged.” If I’m not mistaken, just about every character’s story is about “his issues keep[ing] him from being happy.”

Kate kills her step-father because she thinks she knows what is best.
Sawyer is driven by the death of his parents.
Locke struggles with alienation (and a crappy father).
Jack is a crappy leader who wants redemption for all the suffering he caused– whether it be his father’s suffering or the deaths of O815 survivors who trusted him (Jack’s redemption story did not begin until after he was rescued).
Michael struggles with being a father.

I don’t think duty or obligation is a personal issue. The regret to successfully complete one’s duty is a personal issue.

I don’t find romance and sexuality boring. I find the surface level discussion of romance and sexuality boring.

And I still don’t think the final season will give Kate and Sawyer a fair shot at a mature relationship. There’s also a huge divide between what the audience thinks Kate should have, what Kate wants, and what Kate should have (that s5 episode does a great job of quickly discussing this). These things are not interchangable as the same thing. Who knows what we will see? I have no expectations.

The characteristics that I take from somebody that “settles down” is grounded, secure, doesn’t take risks, a planner, and confident in their choices which is why I suggested that settling would represent Jack because those are a few characterisitics I see in him. Now a person who doesn’t want to settle might be wild, impulsive, carefree, and takes risks which are a few characteristics I see in Sawyer. It’s really not that bizarre.

Now to dive into it a little further this past season I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to notice that her feelings for either one of them weren’t as strong or clear as in the past. Why do I think this? Easy the characterisitics that she may have fell in love with in both Jack and Sawyer were…kind of reversed. “The Incedent” makes this clear when Jack became the impulsive one, no real plan, and didn’t want to settle, where Sawyer was the content one in Dharmaville and didn’t want change, became grounded, and who wanted to settle. Kate gives Jack the same “who are you” look she gives Sawyer when Jack explains how he wants to continue Daniel’s plan and reset everything while Sawyer wants to leave the island and settle on the mainland with Juliet.

Hopefully it makes more sense.