2009 Character Cup: Semifinal #2

Congratulations to John Locke! He has made his way back to the Finals with a solid win over Desmond Hume.

Locke 58% - Desmond 42%

Locke was predicted to win this semifinal matchup by an even 44% of our bracketeers. Desmond was predicted to win on just 18.3% of the brackets. This means that about a third of the folk in our bracket competition thought the semifinal would be won by one of the characters Locke and Desmond defeated along the way.

Luhks is still in the lead and still has a perfect bracket on his hands. Several competitors are still right behind him in the standings though. Today's semifinal bout has the potential to shakeup the standings quite a bit. Two heavyweight characters face off but only one will move on.

Our second semifinal pits two interesting men against each other. Both have led a life of lies, one as the shifty leader of the Island's inhabitants and the other as a successful con man. One came to the Island as a young boy while the other came there as a grown man. One started of his run on the show as a leader while the other positioned himself as an antihero. Both have had their share of remarkable feats while on the Island. Both have survived a few near-death experiences, though whether they both came out stronger on the other side is debatable.

The first time we saw their paths cross was when Ben Linus had his people abduct Sawyer and some of his fellow Losties. Ben tormented Sawyer by putting him in a cage, filling his mind with doubt and showing him the pointlessness in trying to escape Hydra Island. Sawyer eventually did escape and was given the opportunity to settle a score that had been haunting him for most of his life. Ben allowed several Losties to use the helicopter to leave the Island after they helped save his life. When that helicopter was running out of fuel on the way to the freighter, Sawyer jumped off to help his friends and swam back to shore. Then the Island disappeared.

The second time their paths crossed was actually in Ben's past. Sawyer, now trapped on the Island in the 1970s, managed to convince the DHARMA Initiative to allow him and his friends to stay and become part of the group. When a handful of Ajira 316 passengers appeared back in time, Sawyer found himself trying to save Ben's life, despite knowing the monster that he would eventually become. At the end of Season 5, Sawyer's fate was left unknown, while Ben had returned to the Island in the present and was tricked into killing Jacob by a mysterious new character.

Both men have blood on their hands but have also done great things. The question is this- which one deserves a shot at the championship more?

Semifinal #2: Ben vs. Sawyer