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Lost: What Kate Does

Hurley: "You're not a zombie, right?"
Sayid: "No, I am not a zombie."

Sounds corny, but Kate helps people — that's what Kate does. (Well, she runs, too.) She tried to help Sawyer in the Island timeline, and Claire in the LAX timeline (just like Cassidy, who was also pregnant). And she told Claire that she was innocent. Is she? She used to admit straight out that she killed Wayne. Dwayne. Whatever. Why lie now? She didn't steal Claire's money, either.

LAX Timeline

Is the LAX timeline all about sideways karma? Maybe the Losties are experiencing a better world where they're benefiting from lessons they already learned on the Island. Like Ethan Goodspeed, formerly the psychopath known as Ethan Rom. I was completely freaked by him showing up as Claire's kind and gentle obstetrician instead of the slimy, scary guy who sticks needles into pregnant women. It looks like Claire is going to keep Aaron and raise him herself, without being kidnapped or abused or trekking endlessly through the jungle. So Kate might actually be innocent of killing what's his face.

I thought for a moment that Kate was going to deliver Claire's baby again. I suppose it could still happen.

Island Timeline

I don't like Dogen. He's a lying, secretive, craptastic leader. If Jack et al. were literally touched by Jacob, shouldn't they be getting more respect, as well as the truth?



The electrodes and hot poker supposedly told Dogen and Lennon something important, while I was weirded out by the way Sayid screamed and begged for mercy. Yes, pretty much anyone, even a super tough guy like Sayid, would scream under the circumstances, but Sayid has gone through terrible things before without showing great fear and begging for mercy. Is Sayid gone? Is there anything left? What would have happened during the "diagnosis" if Sayid hadn't been "infected?" Was Sayid oblivious to pain and faking it, and could they tell? That would explain why Ben gets beat up all the time but just seems to pop right back.

Jack fixes people. I wonder if Jack can fix Sayid and Claire? Miles was asking Sayid about his after death experiences; I keep getting the impression that Miles has something to say about Sayid's condition. Speak up, Miles.

With all of the torture and mystery and pregnant women in danger, the best scene was Sawyer on the dock crying about losing Juliet. That Josh Holloway. What a scene stealer. This week's Most Obvious Symbolism was probably the ring Sawyer went to so much trouble to retrieve from under the floor in his old house, only to toss it in the lagoon. It doesn't seem fair.

What have we learned?

— Claire and Sayid are "infected," like Rousseau's team, because they were "claimed." And it happened because they were injured while helping Jack. Claimed? That makes them like chess pieces taken by the opposing side! Wow, that idea fits, doesn't it?



— Claire being "infected" instead of dead sort of explains Christian and Claire in the cabin together, if Christian was the MIB and Claire was "infected" by him.

— Dogen (whom I keep wanting to call Rogaine; maybe it's all the hair) said that everyone is brought to the Island.

— According to new player Aldo who is probably already dead, the smoke monster makes that clicka clicka sound when it's mad. Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like it when I'm angry.

What I missed last week

— LAX timeline Sun was called "Miss Paik." Are she and Jin not married?

Character bits:

Kate was using the alias "Joan Hart," which she used in a previous episode. No, I don't remember which one.

In this week's love triangle news, Jack was going to kiss Kate goodbye, but no. Sawyer was planning to propose to Juliet. *sigh* Kate left Jack to follow Sawyer. I assume she'll ricochet back to Jack now?

Jin was rescued by the infected Claire, who has gone Rousseau. How did Dogen know that Claire was Jack's sister?

Doc Arzt's luggage got run over. Better than getting blown up, one could argue.

We didn't know Ms. Bascom, who was going to adopt Claire's baby. I thought that we might. Did someone arranged for Mr. Bascom to leave his wife?

No Sawyer nicknames, but Aldo called Kate "Princess."

There's a Detective Rasmussen looking for Kate in Los Angeles. That would have been a primo place to insert Ana Lucia, but she's probably doing a movie. She's always doing a movie.

Rousseau may be gone, but her booby traps live on. Except those were Claire's traps, weren't they?

Bits and pieces:

— Henry Ian Cusick is still in the cast but listed in a different spot, after Emilie de Ravin. It's always been alphabetical. Was this intentional or was someone asleep at the switch?



— I was worried about Claire when Kate dumped her out of the cab; the area around LAX is not a great neighborhood. Brentwood, however, is extremely expensive. Which is why OJ lived there. And Brentwood is not close to the airport.

— I'm probably over-obsessing, but the house in Brentwood was shaped like the Temple. Can one actually over-obsess about Lost?

— Hurley's numbers were still popping up in the "flash sideways:" 15 on the wall at LAX, and the cab's license plate started with 4. Clearly, the Losties' non-Island lives are still intertwined, too.

— Claire's ultrasound was dated October 22, 2004, a whole month after the crash. Interesting.

— The whale toy was the same one Aaron had before, wasn't it? Like I said then, I think they had another primo opportunity to work in a polar bear and they blew it.

— The cab driver was played by nasty puppet guy from Heroes. I'm just posting that to prove that I haven't completely blocked Heroes from my mind. And Jeff Kober, the guy who popped Kate's handcuffs, played a couple of key parts on Buffy.

— Why do Rogaine and Lemon keep wanting to talk to people alone?

Quotes: (this was a very quotable episode)

Sawyer: "He's an Iraqi torturer who shoots kids. He definitely deserves another go-round."

Hurley: "See, private talks kinda freak me out, because they usually lead to me having to do something I don't quite understand."
Jack: "I'm right there with you."
Miles: "It's fine. We'll be in the food court if you need us."

Claire: "Drugs? Will that hurt the baby?"
Ethan: "They're perfectly safe. I just don't want to stick you with needles if I don't have to."

Kate: "I'm sorry. I never should have followed you."
Sawyer: "Which time?"

Sawyer: "I think some of us are meant to be alone."

Dogen: "I was brought here, like everyone else."
Jack: "What do you mean, brought here?"
Dogen: "You know exactly what I mean."

I'm not a fan of Kate-centric episodes, and I'll admit I was underwhelmed after the all-encompassing, high quality freakiness of "LA X." But I still think this one deserves three out of four polar bears,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

16 comments:

  1. I love, Love, LOVE you reviews!!!

    They are by far my favorite period.


    -- In this week's love triangle news, Jack was going to kiss Kate goodbye, but no. Sawyer was planning to propose to Juliet. *sigh* Kate left Jack to follow Sawyer. I assume she'll ricochet back to Jack now?

    I think Sawyer's relationship with Juliet is the only time in James' life where he truly loved a woman who honestly (without any underlying motive on either part) loved him back.

    I know this is probably a long shot, but I would love it if the final scenes of the series are of
    Sawyer sitting at an outdoor café in Tunisia and we see Juliet walk up and sit next to him and as they go in for a kiss, the show will fade out.

    That's how I hope it ends.

    -- Rousseau may be gone, but her booby traps live on. Except those were Claire's traps, weren't they?

    Even though we only saw her for like a second, I already love Claire Rousseau.

    I cannot stand Dogen and Lennon really irks me. I don’t trust either of them and I think they may be working for The Man-In-Black. But I am most likely wrong about that. It’s just that they are so sneaky and creepy.

    Do you think Ethan was still born on the island?

    If Claire is really claimed, I think she was claimed by Jacob. I don’t have a reason why, other than Hurley (as far as I am concerned) has been claimed by Jacob and he’s an “innocent.” I’ve always thought of Claire as an “innocent.”


    PS - BUFFY Season 8 #32 was superb. The best issue so far in the run. I was stunned by how good it was.

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  2. This is what I think about the "claimed" people: they are infected by the manin black/smoke monster only if they have died. Sayid died from the gunshot, Claire got blown up, Christian was already dead when he landed on the island. And we saw the skeleton of the french guy with no hand in the temple, while we know that the "claimed" version of him, walked around the island, and was trying to convince rousseau that he simply escaped the monster. I don't think it has anything to do with the character of each person, while they were still alive.

    Oh, and Miles definitely knew that something was wrong with sayid, even before he "resurected". He kept looking at him with a strange look.

    And even though it sounds weird, i really like Doggen and Lennon. I think that especially Dogen is good, in a strict kind of way. And I really think jack should give sayid the pill.

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  3. I have the feeling that the LA X timeline isn't real. Everyone seem to recognise everyone else in a bizzare way, Kate for example, recognised Jack when she was in that cab. And the way Claire knew the name of the baby was nothing like when she knew it on the island, this time it was kind of creepy...And people speak to each other like they know them somehow, Lock and Boone, Jack and Locke, Sayid and Jack, and the tension in the elevator between Kate and Sawyer.. I don't know.. It's like everyone know deep inside them that something is not right. Remember the face of Jack in the first episode of the season? He looked almost shocked in the first few seconds. It's obvious he didn't know where he was.

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  4. Hi, Billie, excellent review, as always.

    I think one of the biggest questions is: what happened from 2004 to 2007? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we haven't seen anything neither from 2005 nor from 2006 yet. Why this three-year lag? I am talking of course about the original timeline here, as we know that in the alternate timeline the island is underwater in 2004.

    Claire spent three years in the jungle, Kate is looking for her, so I guess the two will meet soon. I look forward to it, although Claire is 'infected' and may not be willing to follow Kate. We need someone able to 'heal' infected people. I mean, without poisoning them, as Dogeon does. I guess Jack is the best candidate for this task.

    Another great scene will have to be Jin finding Sun.

    Sayid is infected and will probably soon turn into some kind of bad guy, unless Jack finds a way to 'disinfect' him. It will be interesting to see his metamorphosis.

    Something I don't really get is Locke's body being there while the MIB-Locke is around. So far I had assumed MIB was like living in dead bodies (like Christian's). The fact that two bodies of Locke are both there at the same time is too weird, even for Lost.

    And Desmond? Ok, he was on the plane in 2004, but that is in the other timeline. In 2007 he is in Los Angeles, as he refused to get on the Ajira flight. And he is 'special'. Will he join the rest of the group on the island? I think we are going to deal with an additional set, which will be Los Angeles 2007, where Desmond, Penny, Widmore and Eloise (maybe Faraday) are doing something.

    Last: I am not sure the date stamped on the sonogram (22 Oct 2004) is an error. If past has changed, then also the date of the flight might have. Or not?

    Bye

    Red

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  5. About the thing with Sun and Jin possibly not being married: I think that in Korea women don't take their husband's names when they get married, so maybe they're trying to correct an earlier mistake. But they're always pretty meticulous about details on Lost, so maybe not.

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  6. @HellBlazerRaiser - right there with you about Claire being seen as 'innocent'.

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  7. Right now, I am thinking that the 2007 Losties are going to do something that destroys the island forever--in every time period--and that the 2004 scenes we're getting are the future that comes about after the island is irrevocably removed from existence. So once the island goes kablooey, we'll still know what happened to everyone when their lives course-corrected. Just an hypothesis.


    And Kate didn't actually tell Claire she was innocent, she just asked, "Would you believe me if I told you I was innocent?", which is a clever way of not answering a question and not telling a lie. Can you tell I have extensively studied rhetoric?

    KAM

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  8. "I don't like Dogen. He's a lying, secretive, craptastic leader. If Jack et al. were literally touched by Jacob, shouldn't they be getting more respect, as well as the truth?"

    aw c'mon, you dont like Samurai Jack, the zen torturer? best new character so far. they did get respect though--they werent shot on sight. and when has any Other told the truth of their own accord? the truth is they need all eight of them to "resurrect" jacob, including dead locke. that's suddenly become a tall order with sayid being infected and all.

    "That makes them like chess pieces taken by the opposing side! Wow, that idea fits, doesn't it?"

    backgammon might be a better analogy, because opponents pieces can be captured, yet remain in play. we say locke playing backgammon on the beach in S1.


    "How did Dogen know that Claire was Jack's sister?" good catch -- and good question. this raises the issue of the Shepard legacy and their connection to the island, as well as the importance of little Aaron.

    "Did someone arranged for Mr. Bascom to leave his wife?" that's kinda Widmore-ish but not really necessary in the alt-timeline, where coincidences happen all by themselves, without string-pullers behind the scenes.

    "Henry Ian Cusick is still in the cast but listed in a different spot, after Emilie de Ravin. It's always been alphabetical. Was this intentional"

    hmm, EXCELLENT question. maybe a hint as to Desmond's true role this season? remember, he disappeared from the plane when charlie appeared.

    "Claire's ultrasound was dated *October* 22, 2004, a whole month after the crash. Interesting."

    what do you think this means?

    overall, this episode was underwhelming after LA X. it looks better on paper than it did on screen. i think we got more clues than it seemed at first, but had Sawyer shot Kate in dharmaville, i would have been okay withthat.

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  9. @HellBlazerRaiser - right there with you about Claire being seen as 'innocent'.

    I'm pretty sure that Claire is one of the only main characters that hasn't directly or indirectly killed someone, which is the reason I see her as an "innocent."

    As far as I can remember, Hurley has also never directly taken someone's life. The "numbers" have been responsible for a death or two or three, but Hurley himself hasn't killed anyone that I can recall.

    I can't remember if Bernard killed anyone in the Season Three finale, but Rose is another who hasn't taken a life.

    All of the rest – including Boone and maybe even Walt – have caused directly a death with their actions or taken a life with their hands.

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  10. Actually, Claire was driving the car when she got into the accident that put her mother into a coma. She didn't kill anyone, but she did unintentionally cause a lot of suffering.

    And Hurley was in the psych ward because of the guilt he felt over the accident HE was involved in--he walked onto an overcrowded balcony that then collapsed, and I believe at least one person died from that.

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  11. Also, I don't think Shannon killed anyone, did she? She was irritating at first, but she didn't kill anyone.

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  12. This was a rather weird episode for me. Come to think about it, it was a whole lot of 'What Kate Did' (an episode in season 2) mirroring 'What Kate Does' now. Still, I am lost to the significance of this connection, besides the fact that it's most likely a deliberate one.

    For one, both were very heavy on the Kate/Sawyer bond. And, perhaps most glaringly; both episodes involved the removal of the same pair of handcuffs. As yet again, I wonder what it all means... Sigh.

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  13. I have no idea how i felt about this episode. I loved seeing Claire again and i'm enjoying how in the LA timeline they've basically taken all the characters, shaken them all up and dropped them back down on the board in new positions. It makes for many intriguing future posibilities. But despite the reveals about Claire and Sayid i feel like we're still waiting for the story to begin. I want more Jacob and MIB and more importantly i want the answers to start happening.

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  14. I must confess that after LAX I was a little disappointed by this new episode. Many more questions and I'm dying FOR ANSWERS. I was pretty sure jacob would use Sayid's body and now I see why they said theywould be in trouble if Sayid died. He was claimed. Poor him and poor Claire, it makes you think what will happen to them, but it was somehow nice seeing Claire as the new Rosseau - she had her baby "taken" too. What will happen when Kate meets her?
    Also I used to want Kate and Sawyer together, but now seeing him so brokenhearted after Juliet's death, him with the engagement ring, I don't think it would be ok for them to be together. I mean He trully loved Juliet, will he just forget her and move to Kate? No way, and he kind of showed that when he told Kate she could be back to the temple by nightfall. What about that creepy leader in the temple. I LOVE RICHARD, eyeliner and all. Can we please see more of the Nemesis and Jacob plot? But one thing I loved was to see Artz bags destroyed by Kate's fleeing cab. He's such an annoying character he deserves it. Let's wait for the next episode, hope it brings a few more answers than questions.

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  15. Two in a row that I have actually loved watching. This hasn't happened since season four. And, it's because we are back to character. Yes, we have the dual story lines, but they are focused on our friends, not time jumps or weird feet statues or people we hardly know.

    I am absolutely loving the LA sections and how they tie into the story as we know it. Claire and Kate bonding was lovely and listening to Claire lie for Kate was touching.

    The glimpse of Claire on the Island was fantastic. Can't wait to see more of that!

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  16. Can't imagine Ben and Dogan getting along...at all. No wonder most of the Others lived in psuedo-suburbia wearing preppie clothes.

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