James “Sawyer” Ford went through his life seeking revenge for a conman who ruined his
life, and in the process, he became a conman himself. “I became the man I was hunting.” He never
cared about anything except money. His life has been full of meaningless flings with all kinds
of different women, all for the common goal of gaining their husbands’ money. The only thing
that ever seemed to have meaning to him was a single letter that he wrote as a boy to the man he
was determined to kill. When flight 815 crashed, he was being deported back to the states from
Australia. He became the enemy among the fellow islanders, the “bad guy,” the “troublemaker,”
the “jackass.” There was only one person on the island, a fellow outcast, who he ever listened
to, who he ever did anything for, who he ever opened up to. His connection with her transformed
him, brought out who he truly was in the inside, showed what he was really made of. Despite his
attempts to get people to hate him because he felt like he deserved it, and even though he retaliated
with comments like “I ain’t no hero,” he is indeed the saviour of all those left on the island. At the
beginning he was called a parasite, “always taking, never giving.” Three months later, he was
jumping off a helicopter, ruining his chance at getting off the island, not to mention risking his life,
all to save the woman he loved. He’s a scoundrel and a hero, a fighter and a lover. And we know
that the love that transformed him will one day return to him, and he will be whole again.

Kate Austen was born to run. When Oceanic Flight 815 crashed on September 22nd, 2004,
a pair of handcuffs was found washed up in the debris. A few hours earlier, they were fastened
around Kate’s wrists, as she sat next to the U.S. Marshall on the plane. What was her crime?
She blew up her stepfather. She has gone through almost her entire life both running and
lying, and as the Marshall told her before she got on the plane; she has "no attachments." Nobody
to care about, or at least nobody to care enough about to stay in one place. It’s arguable that
the crash is the best thing that happened to Kate. She got a chance to start over. It was revealed
that she’s actually a strong-willed, independent, kick-ass woman who knows how to handle
a gun and beat up the bad guys better than almost anybody on the entire island. And yet at
the same time, she has a softer side, a vulnerable side that she only shows in certain situations,
around certain people, one person in particular. When she crashed on the island, she finally
had a home. And in that home, she found love, acceptance, and a reason to stand still. On
December 24th, 2004, Kate and five other islanders were rescued. At home she has come to
the realization that she has only Aaron. Off island, she has become the liar she once was. She yet
again put on a mask, a charade to make people believe she was someone other than who she
truly was. But Kate can only “pretend” for so long. One day she will return to the island, her home.

From the moment he called her “sweetheart” for the first time, it was clear that James Ford and Kate Austen had something. He had been with girls like her, he told her. But not girls exactly like her, she responded. And thus began the amazing, frustrating, rocky, enthralling relationship between the two outcasts.

In the fugitive’s mind, she should be a good woman, and in order to be a good woman, she needed a good man. And a good man wasn't a conman like Sawyer. But as the days passed, her heart would not allow her to stray away from him. As their time on the island progressed, they shared everything together, from the most passionate kisses, to their deepest, darkest secrets. It hasn’t always been easy, but the best love stories never are. Their relationship is something real, something that is a true joy to watch.

When they crashed on the island, they were strangers, whose one similarity was that they were lost. Or.. at least that's what it seemed like at first glance. Behind all of their fronts, and lies.. they really aren't all that different when it comes down to it. They both happened to be deported back to the US on the same flight, that same day. But when they found each other, they found themselves.

Sawyer loves her unconditionally, and he will always love her, no matter what her past looks like and no matter what her future holds. Kate sees right through Sawyer’s tough exterior, she always has, but she also sees into James’s heart, which beats only for her. She makes him a better person, and he gives her a reason to believe again. Their salvation lies in each other’s love.

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She glances at him, pretending like she doesn't care, and mutters "So you finally decided to join us." He walks forward, without even looking at her, and says "I'm a complex guy, sweetheart." And thus begins the amazing relationship of James "Sawyer" Ford and Kate Austen. From the first time he called her "Freckles," it was clear that the two of them were something special. After all, that was the first - and only - endearing nickname he had for anyone.

It was clear from their first interaction that the two of them triggered something unusual and undiscovered in the other, something that they were afraid to bring to the surface, something each had been trying to disguise. Kate called Sawyer out on his act to be the enemy, insisting that there's a "human being in there somewhere," and Sawyer made sure everyone knew the truth about Kate's status as a fugitive. The truth was Sawyer didn't care about Kate's past. He didn't care that she was a murderer; he was too. They're on equal terms. But he didn't want her to pull one over on him. They play dirty, and that's what makes them so great to watch. What resulted from him outing her was one of the greatest and yet most angst-filled scenes in the history of the show: Sawyer and Kate, by the fire, begging each other through their eyes to say something, anything, but neither spoke up, and Kate watched as Sawyer walked towards the raft to leave the island. The season ended with Kate desperately looking around to say goodbye to Sawyer, and Sawyer looking back towards Kate's camp-site only to find it deserted.

Season one taught us a lot about Sawyer and Kate, and as much as we love hearing Sawyer and Kate go back and forth with their banter, some of the greatest moments are the silent ones, the ones when Kate has to catch her breath after her "one little kiss" has finally come to an end, and looks into Sawyer's eyes to see him gazing back at her, as if he wants to cling to this one moment forever. The ones with the look that establishes an unbreakable connection from her suggestion of "one outcast to another." The ones where the camera zooms out on two outlaws, sitting by the fire, having just shared their deepest secrets with one another, realizing they can no longer hid the undeniable truth that they really do only want excuses to spend some time with the "only other person on the island who just don't belong."

And season one taught us that the two people who don't belong, belong together.

Season two had Sawyer and Kate - and us Skaters - feeling a variety of different emotions: sadness, bliss, deception, hope.

It started off with desperation: Kate back on the island, distraught about how she never got to say goodbye to Sawyer, clinging to the messages in the bottle, maybe her last chance at learning how he truly felt about her. But how he truly felt about her would be revealed, as when Sawyer was carried back to the island in a near-death state, and muttered to Jack, "I love her."

When he needed someone to stay with him and make sure he was okay, she was there and wouldn't leave his side. And when she was captured by The Others, he was the one who held her in his arms after they released her.

By the middle of the season, Skate scenes were a pure joy to watch. They were acting like a bonafide couple, complete with haircuts and reading magazines to one another. But the path did not stay smooth, as the two of them got afraid of their feelings for one another. But the path did not stay smooth, as the two of them got afraid of their feelings for one another. When Sawyer conducted his "Long Con" on everyone, Kate was absolutely heartbroken. It wasn't so much that he conned everyone else... it was that he played her. He had earned her trust, and he had gone and betrayed her. He loved her, but he had no idea how to deal with that love. So he reverted back to his old ways and used her in his con. but this con was different than any other one we've seen before, because you could see in his eyes that this one hurt him just as much as it hurt her.

These were dark times for Sawyer and Kate, and yet out of the darkness, there was hope. After the tragedy of Ana-Lucia and Libby's death' - despite the fact that the two hadn't been talking and had been on bad terms for over a week - as soon as Sawyer saw Kate crying he immediately became her protector, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to him. Kate had tried to hide her tears, tried to act like the tough woman she wants Sawyer to believe she is, but when Sawyer held her, she completely collapsed and allowed him to see her for all she was. That moment, if nothing else, was truth. They were allowing each other to see the parts of them that they didn't want the other to know they had. They were letting their guards down for each other, because their love for one another was stronger than their desire to hide.

If season two established anything, it was that no matter what, through the angst, the fear, the laughs, the tears, they are each other's home.

Season three took Sawyer and Kate's love to a completely new level.

It gave us a second kiss, a love confession from Kate, and of course, the beautiful scene where James and Kate made love in his cage, locking their hands together, symbolizing that though they were prisoners, they were free in each other's love.

It was their season. They began as captives, only able to stare at each other through their bars, sometimes communicating solely through their eyes. This season was the turning point in Skate's relationship, and James and Kate as individuals as well. And for the first time in her life, Kate wasn't running - she had the chance, and Sawyer told her to, but she didn't, she wouldn't run - she stayed by his side. And it was clear that Sawyer finally loved somebody, more than his desire for revenge, more than anything else in his life. He was ready to die for her, and she was ready to do "anything" to save his life.

There was so much emotion conveyed from the both of them throughout the entire season: love, frustration, longing, disappointment, forgiveness. The two of them were finally a real couple, a real relationship, and it certainly didn't come easy. They fought, and sometimes stubbornly refused to apologize or admit their mistakes. There were the moments that made us pull our hair out in anger, that made us scream at the television, perhaps thinking that they'd be able to hear us screaming at them to realize what fools the two of them were being. Can't they see that the other loves them? Why must they be so difficult?

But then there were the moments like their glances back at each other during their return to the beach, and their breathtaking hug after finally reuniting that told us despite everything the two had been through - from being nearly killed by the others, to their unfair placement of guilt and blame on the other - their love was much like that hug... unbreakable.

Season three taught us that the two of them, for the first time in their lives, had something worth fighting for. And that fight is nowhere near over.

Amidst all of the immense dishonesty and deception that dominated season four was the one truth and constant the show has had since it started, the relationship between our beloved couple.

At the start of the season, they went their separate ways only to be reunited again. Sawyer in the only way he knew how - made sure to let Kate know that he was ready to Play House. But only a day later, they were fighting again, and Kate was gone. The next time she would see him was the moment he emerged from the trees with Aaron, and the looks on their faces said it all. But hey, we're used to those luckily enough. If we didn't already know before, this season solidified that Sawyer and Kate are absolutely epic.

While we saw all of the Oceanic Six's lives crumble as they all got caught in their web of lies, the one thing that remained pure and untouched was the undying love between Kate and Sawyer. Kate's promise to Sawyer is far more powerful than any proposal of marriage, a false commitment which she has only run from in the past. It has been three years since Kate has seen Sawyer's face. He gave her one last spectacular kiss, and in one of the most emotional scenes the show has given us thus far, jumped from the helicopter, from rescue, from any happiness, to sacrifice himself for the woman he loves along with his friends. And Kate, devastated, crushed, and heartbroken, watched as her hero swam away, knowing that he did it all for her, and vowing to carry on his last request of her.

Although her life off the island is a mess, a reversion back to her identity as "Monica," and a shadow of who she truly is, the one thing she refused to betray, no matter what it cost her, was her word to Sawyer. "I was doing something for him," she muttered through her tears, knowing she didn't even have to say his name, the look in her eyes gave it away. The context of the promise doesn't even matter. It's not about what it is, it's about how she honors it and won't ever break it. That promise is their love, tested and doubted, but never broken down.

Season four gave us selfless sacrifice, heart-wrenching goodbyes, and unwavering devotion. It showed us one separated couple finally find each other after years and miles apart, while another couple was tragically separated by one man's love for his "Freckles." The parallels are there for all to see. They are each other's constants. They are only now learning what is to be lost, because without each other... they are.

But season four also proved that love can, and will, conquer. We don't know where season five will take us, but we are along for the ride, believing and knowing in our hearts that Sawyer and Kate will come back to each other in the end, just like they always do.

True love will find you in the end - and in season five, after three years of searching “as long as it takes”, and attempts at filling the gap left by the other’s absence, Kate and Sawyer finally found each other. And all it took was one look. And that’s really all this season was about. There wasn’t much dialogue and interaction between the two, but the looks across their faces spoke volumes. The look on Sawyer’s face when he told Daniel that everybody he cared about just blew up on that damn boat, and then later when he explained that he wanted to make sure “she- I mean…they” got back okay. The devastation across their faces when they each admitted separately that the other was “gone.” Sawyer’s face of adoration, love, and shock as he saw Kate in the jungle, and the slow descent into hopelessness when he realized it was a vision that would be torn away from him in literally a flash. Kate’s face when she had to pretend like the Sawyer she knew and loved was actually James LaFleur, someone she had never met in the past, never come in contact with, never talked to. And to see the look on her face of someone who didn’t want to believe the man she really loved had jumped out of a helicopter to run away from a future together. The resigned look on Kate’s face when Cassidy figured out her secret all along - that she needed Aaron to fix the heart Sawyer broke when he jumped.

For Skate this season, it was all in the eyes. Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking of all was the porch scene on Kate’s first night back, where they both acknowledge each other with small, sad waves, but realize that they have to go on living the lives they’ve set up now - that Sawyer has to continue pretending just as Kate did back on the mainland. That although these aren’t the lives they want, they are the lives they must now learn to deal with. For a short while anyways.

The one thing that Sawyer did say this season in terms of his relationship with Kate - that three years was enough to get over somebody that he used to never be able to stop thinking about - was betrayed by these looks that defined the season. The slow removal of his glasses as he realized who was standing in front of him, the moment he had been waiting for and hoping for for three years, made it clear that he did indeed remember every freckle on her face, despite his best attempts at forgetting so that he could distance himself from the pain. All of the hidden glances and longing stares between Sawyer and Kate in this season led up to the final one in the finale.. the one that confirmed it all.

We don’t know what’s going to happen in season six. We don’t know how Sawyer and Kate are going to reconnect and get back to the way things were, and we don’t know if they ever will be able to. But we do know that all Rose and Bernard care about is being together. That’s all that matters. And we know that off of the island, Kate had been reeling from the pain of losing Sawyer and trying to replace the wound with Aaron. And thanks to that one final look from Sawyer, we now know that the only thing Sawyer has ever cared about is being with Kate. As long as they’re together, nothing else matters.