Kate The Great

Before discussing "What Kate Does," this week's episode of Lost, let's have a quick review of the opening of last week's show. I was hoping someone would do a side-by-side recreation of "LA X" and the pilot:


Anyway, just like the debut season, the first regular episode this year was Kate-centric. And while some (like me) thought this season would rush headlong to the finale, I was surprised to find a quiet show, with lots of time for character moments.

Fans tend to not like Kate episodes. Well, look at it like this then--you got your Kate episode out of the way early. Will she get another? Possibly. There are 15 hours left. Who is guaranteed to get an episode? I would think Locke, Sawyer, Sayid, Sun & Jin (at least one), Richard, Ilana (we gotta find out how she got hurt), Ben and Hurley. Probably Claire, Miles and Desmond. Probably another for Jack (I'm giving him the season opener). Maybe one for Jacob and his nemesis. That doesn't leave much, and the big finale has to be about everyone.

This episode didn't play too well with a lot of viewers, who want action and answers (and less Kate). Okay, there was nothing shocking, but it was still pretty good--even average Lost is pretty good, and I think I'd take this over "I Do" or "Eggtown." Though I do fear viewers who tuned in especially for the premiere might drop away after something like this. (I liked the first Kate flashback, but that wasn't the episode that made me a Lost fan.)

The show starts where we left off. Sayid has recovered. But only after dying first. This has the Temple Others baffled and worried. Let me say that this batch of Others has something in common with many other Others--they're dicks. It reminds me of the Others' camp in the 50s, or the secondary Others on Hydra Island.

But I guess there's something about being an Other that makes you that way. We're still not privy to all their inside info, but a fanatical devotion to Jacob and a feeling that the stakes are high might make you appear jerky to outsiders. (Though we can't be sure how much Otherness to ascribe to Ben, who ruled things as he saw fit--we know Jacob is into free will, so maybe he let Ben play it his way. And I doubt Ellie or Widmore were much better.)

So Sayid wants to know what's going on, while everyone else wants to know what's going on with Sayid. Lennon and Dogen (who's using an old typewriter--is he interested in old knick knacks or do they not have the latest equipment in the Temple? I assume the typewriter and the baseball he looks at later mean something) are very concerned.

Meanwhile, Sawyer is still grieving. I know it's been a whole season, and over thirty years island time, but to him it's been less than a day since Juliet died--and he was the one who opposed Jack's plan. While I said last week I didn't like this subplot, I can understand the Sawyer needs some time. But he better snap out of it and start participating in the main plot, and not just moon around. The show has bigger fish to fry. As President Obama puts it, time to stop all the petty bickering.

Back (or sideways) at LAX, Kate has hijacked the taxi with Claire. (Is the taxi driver the same guy who plays the Puppeteer on Heroes?) Tough girl Kate kicks Claire out of the cab and takes her stuff.

At the Temple, the top boys want to speak to a confused Sayid alone. Jack isn't happy--he wants answers. What show does he think he's on? No one gives answers on Lost. (I think we keep getting slight Smokey sound cues in this episode, though it's not clear why, especially on first viewing.) I don't quite get what relationship the Temple leaders have with the Losties, who did, after all, come in under the protection of Jacob, and seem to be on one of his lists. I guess they won't kill them, but that doesn't mean they have to be nice. It's like having reservations in a snooty restaurant.

Sawyer makes a break for it. The Temple leaders are more worried about keeping people out, not in, so Sawyer doesn't have too much trouble. Kate convinces the Temple people to let her out so she can bring back Sawyer, since apparently they need the Losties (or at least the ones Jacob touched?). She's lying, by the way. Jin comes along too, and also has ulterior motives. Jack stays behind to deal with Sayid.

Back in LA, Kate finds a comrade in arms at an auto shop and gets out of her handcuffs. This is Kate in her natural habitat, on the run and thinking fast. She has Claire's handbag and sees her pregnancy. She also sees a toy whale like she's seen in the alternate universe. This draws her back to Claire, who's still where she got kicked off, waiting for a bus. Amazingly, Claire agrees to have Kate (in a stolen taxi--did I miss the scene where Kate changes the plates?) shuttle her to Brentwood to meet the waiting adoptive parents. There are a number of reasons Claire may be doing this, but I'd think part of it is the unknown island connection. In fact, much of what happens to Claire and her baby parallels what had happened on the island--things move in certain directions no matter what?

Sayid goes through a "test" from Dogen which looks like torture. What is it about Sayid that brings out the torture in people? He screams out in pain. Lennon tells him he passed the test, but he's lying. What's the deal? If the spring works properly, you get the spirit of Jacob (and love him) and don't feel pain for a few hours, or at least don't complain? Or is Sayid whining like a little bitch clearly a different Sayid in a way that tells them he's "infected." Sayid is returned to the Losties, confused and hurt.

So Claire and Kate in a taxi. By the way, they're playing the same age they were when the series started, but I'd say Evangeline Lilly seems to have aged more. (Too bad we can't see Maggie Grace. Last year she played a teenager in Taken.) The new parents are in Brentwood. (Do they live near O.J.'s place?) There was some speculation they didn't even exist--it was a complete ruse from the psychic who wanted Claire on that plane.

Back in the jungle, Kate and Jin are walking with two Others, one of whom, Aldo, is being especially dicklike. He does have an excuse--three years ago, on Hydra Island, Kate gave him the butt of a rifle. (He remembers, but she's done so much since then who can recall day players?) Kate responds by knocking him out again, and taking care of the other guy as well. She plans to follow Sawyer (and not come back). Jin has other ideas--one of the talkative Others mentioned the Ajira flight, and he wants to find Sun.

Jack, pissed at Sayid's treatment, marches into Dogen's office. Just as Dogen hoped. (Last week they wanted to meet with Jack and he refused to go. Reverse psychology?) Lennon tells Jack Sayid is infected, but not in the way an M.D. would understand. (I'm still not sure what to make of Lennon and Dogen, but they're sort of a dry comedy team.) Dogen mixes up a pill and tells Jack to give it to Sayid. Apparently it's no good unless he takes it willingly. What is this, homeopathy? I'm guessing this is either some sort of Jacob "free will" deal--nothing counts unless it's freely done--or another psychological trick, knowing that Jack can convince Sayid easier than they can force it down him. Dogen (who starts talking English) lays a guilt trip on Jack--you got him shot, now redeem yourself. (Dogen later explains he doesn't talk English to the the Others because as leader he needs to maintain a certain separation. Others may have a fanatical devotion to Jacob, but they're always ready to turn on their leaders.)

Hurley gets Sayid to promise he's not a zombie. (They could have the agreement that Sheldon and Leonard signed in Big Bang Theory--if Sheldon turns into a zombie, Leonard has promised he won't kill him, even if Sheldon starts eating his brains.) Jack comes in with the pills and we get one of those quiet scenes where he and Sayid discuss what's going on. Sayid trusts Dr. Shephard and will take the pill if Jack says so. (BID?)

Jin quizzes Kate on the Ajira flight, but she can't help. It's true, her exit was abrupt. They have some tough words and split. She's following Sawyer's trail, even if there won't be a pot of gold at the end.

The couple in Brentwood, it turns out, have split up, and can't take the baby. Too bad, since Claire goes into labor on the porch. Kate rushes her to a hospital. Is the meter still running?

Kate tracks Sawyer to deserted Otherton. (Thought I heard another Smoke Monster sound cue here--maybe that'll mean something next week.) Sawyer wants to mourn Juliet where they lived (30 years ago), and is digging up mementoes. The two meet. Here's Kate, the one who broke you up. Or was it something else?

At the hospital (pursued by cops, by the way), Kate looks for a doctor to help Claire. And who should turn up but doctor Ethan! (When he was killed in season one, did anyone think he'd come back so much?) He tried to deliver it on the island, and Kate was there when the baby came, so the parallels continue. This Ethan seems to be on the up-and-up. Not an Other.

On the pier at the island, the longest, quietest scene of the show. Sawyer and Kate discuss their regrets. Kate feels her coming back (to get Claire, as it turns out--watching Claire on the mainland, I was thinking when are they gonna get back to Claire on the island?) is what led to Juliet's death. But it turns out what's churning most inside Sawyer is not his anger at others, but himself--he convinced Juliet on that pier to stay on the island. She could have gone home, but Sawyer wanted her to stay for selfish reasons. He also was going to ask her to marry him--he has a ring, which he tosses. (There seemed to be an inordinated amount of commercials for rings and jewelry until I remembered Valentine's Day is next week.)

There'll probably be a lot of unhappy fans if usurper Kate ends up with Sawyer after he's lost the love of his life, but the two characters seemed to connect in this scene. It may be the first time I believed she was going to end up with him, and not Jack (who may be destined for bigger things). Of all the characters on the show, they're the two peas in a pod. It reminded me of the drinking game in Season 1--when you look at their mainland lives, they have a lot of similarities.

Jack and Dogen talk. Dogen dodges. But it turns out Jack didn't give Sayid the pill. He doesn't trust them. Or himself. Dogen still won't say what's in the pill. In a surprise move--maybe the biggest of the show--Jack swallows the pill. Dogen forces it out and finally tells Jack what's in it. Poison.

Hey, there's an ad on for the new ABC show The Forgotten, coming next. This episode seems to feature Alex and Bernard from Lost.

At the hospital, Claire lies to the cops to protect Kate. They've definitely bonded. She wants to know what Kate did, just like Jack wondered in the first season.

Back on the island, when you think of it, there's a heck of a lot going on. You got Kate and Sawyer in the old shacks, the gang at the Temple, the gang at the Statue (who we don't see at all this week--I expect them to come on strong next week), and some freelancers like Jin floating around.

Dogen and Lennon finally come clean to Jack. I guess the spring treatment didn't take. Sayid is infected. He's been "claimed." Claimed by the dark side I guess--haven't most Others been claimed by Jacob? Anyway, the darkness is growing. They've seen it before. It happened to Jack's sister, says Dogen. (Dogen seemed surprised to see all these newbies last week and sure didn't know their names--guess he's done some reading up on them, even without an internet connection.) So that's what happened to Claire (last seen smiling in Jacob's Cabin with Christian/Smoke Monster). Is this the "sickness" we've been hearing about since season one? It makes sense. Rousseau talked about it (she did more than talk--she killed her crew once they were infected), and it happened after they took a trip into the lair of the smoke monster. Those infected may appear to be the same, but they become dangerous.

We cut to Jin, who's attacked by the Others he'd left behind. Aldo seems ready to kill, which is odd--even if he wants to make it look like an accident, does he really want to go against Jacob's list? But before the Others can harm Jin, they're shot. By dark Claire.

LOST.