Lost: Season 2, Episode 9: What Kate Did Review
What Kate Did
Original Airdate: November 30, 2005
Writers: Stephen Maeda & Craig Wright
Director: Paul Edwards
As Lost is largely based on its mysteries, the writers must decide how long to keep the viewers in the dark before revealing a satisfying answer, along with what hints they’ll drop along the way. This episode details the origin of Kate’s criminal past and, unlike other events like this, the reveal happens in the prologue. The writers know how huge a fanbase Lost has and how much discussion it provokes at watercoolers and on internet forums, so they must be aware of the criticism that this season has progressed slowly. What Kate did is one of the biggest questions among fans (probably the biggest is how Locke became paralyzed). By revealing it, they must’ve hoped that it would ease some worries. The actual crime, even though it is patricide, may be disappointing, but it may be interesting to see in Lost’s long term scope.
Like Jack, Kate’s flashbacks to date have been told in reverse. Now we’re at the beginning with her original crime: killing her sleazy father. It is a rather audacious thing to do for someone who never had any run ins with the law before. The end reason isn’t as obvious as we were lead to expect, which some found hard to believe. Kate was never molested, raped or beaten by Wayne, although he did make some really disgusting, incestuous (even if he didn’t know it) comments to her. She killed him because she found out he was her real father and her mother was too blinded by her “love” to realize what kind of person he was.
Kate, like some on the island, believes in fate. She felt that because her father was a bad man, she could never be a good woman. It is interesting to see the philosophical ideas brought forth on Lost. Kate doesn’t believe in the idea of tabula rasa, a theory developed by the real John Locke (ironically, her first episode was titled “Tabula Rasa”). Are we born with a blank slate, with our personalities formed by our surroundings and experiences, or are we born with some intrinsic blueprint? Kate clearly thinks the first, but that could be disproven.
Both of Kate’s fathers parallel the men she’s interested in on the island. Sgt Austen is similar to Jack as Wayne is similar to Sawyer. She never thought she could be good since Wayne would always be a part of her, yet she is still drawn to Sawyer. This does help her settle her problems with her father, as Wayne appears to channel the catatonic Sawyer. One of the things the writers pointed out in their commentary podcast (which I hope they do often) is that these characters have problems with people off the island, and these unresolved issues spill over to those who are on the island.
We see it on the island, as Kate’s lack of sleep causes her to become unglued. The transference of Wayne to Sawyer’s feverish system could’ve been the result of lack of sleep, much like Jack experienced in “White Rabbit”. She’s trying to figure out her daddy issues by talking to Sawyer, who thankfully wakes up (I’ve missed lively Sawyer) and by kissing Jack, which isn’t magic and just ends awkwardly.
Kate now joins several other characters who have some animal tied into their identity. Walt has the polar bear, Sawyer has the boar, Charlie has the moth and now Kate has the horse. For Kate, this horse represents freedom, as the horse provided Kate a venue to escape from the Marshall. It isn’t a halucination. How did *the* horse find its way to the island? It could be that the horse is involved in one of the Dharma Initiative’s experiments like the shark.
It was great to see the Marshall back on the show. The dynamic they’ve shared in past episodes may be a stock relationship (the criminal and the man who aggressively pursues the criminal), but through the writing and the acting, it is fresh. I would like to know more about him and how this particular case caught his interest, since it brought him, too, to the island.
One subtle clue thrown in the episode that many (including myself) missed the first time was the appearance of Sayid on a TV in Kate’s flashback. This was the scene where she sees Austen at the Army Recruitment center. Some wondered what Sayid would be doing on TV. Considering his time in the Republican Guard, it isn’t too hard to see why. I saw one telling promotional photo from this episode possibly explaining why he would be on TV, but I will avoid discussing it now because the Sayid cameo was even briefer than Hurley’s cameo in “…in Translation”.
Ana-Lucia, after a few high profile episodes, spends most of the episode on the sidelines, brooding over what she did (and making something out of those large sticks.) She is still confused, but is more peaceful than her panicked state which marked most of “Collision”. It’s nice that they didn’t just forget it and have her merge with the tribe. The funeral for Shannon certainly isn’t making her more eager to socialize either.
I’m so glad to see Jin and Sun together and happy (as evidenced by Hurley’s thumbs up and their peaceful walk out of that hut). However, it must be a little awkward for them to be intimate right in the middle of the camp. At least Shannon and Sayid were a ways off. I’m still looking forward to seeing some guy standing near the tent with a shocked expression on his face.
Michael, for lack of asking “what the hell is this” in the last episode gets to explore the hatch, which allows us to learn more about the hatch in return. Michael’s prowess with architecture shows him the blast doors, something no one else had seen and Desmond failed to tell them about. Blast doors certainly elevate the extremity of the incident in the audience’s imagination.
This curiosity leads him and Eko (who must’ve had a bell go off when he heard there was a film) to watch The Orientation video. Locke naively believes that whatever was cut was only a frame or two here and there, but fans knew that there was more missing, especially considering the film lapses at several important junctions, one of which details what the computer must not be used for. It is interesting that Locke is shown this way, and it helps set up the Eko-Locke relationship arc.
The missing segments of the film certainly raise certain questions. Why were these pieces removed from the original film? Who did it? Why is it stored on the other side of the island? The theory that the film was worn down and had to be cut from the film isn’t credible anymore: it would be too much of a coincidence even for Lost. Perhaps it is part of the experiment, if it is more psychological. Would someone try to use it for communication if they didn’t know it from the film?
Before Eko tells Locke about the film, he tells him the story of Josiah and the discovery of what would become the Old Testament. I’m not quite sure how parallel the missing footage is to the Old Testament, but the scene between these two men of faith, one more logical than the other, is critical to these two characters. Locke and Eko seem to be the characters who will get be bitter enemies, or become good friends (perhaps that’s why the Gilgamesh clue was thrown in the last episode).
The ending is particularly interesting considering the twist involving the Walt (or is it?) instant message. So much emphasis was placed on the missing piece of the Orientation film that it is unexpected, but still works in the frame of the show. We must remember that approximately six days have passed since Walt’s abduction, so Michael is still experiencing potent emotions. This moment could be served as a catalyst, as one person pointed out on a message board, for the second part of this season: the search for the lost children. Obviously Michael is not going to ignore it.
There are certainly a lot of questions. Was the person on the other end Walt? Was it a person? Where is the other end of this conversation coming from? If it was Walt, was he writing from another Dharma station or using the same type of power that he used to manifest himself for Shannon? Although Michael didn’t initiate it, would this qualify as something warranting of another incident? Is another incident iminent (probably yes by season’s end)? This was a great cliffhanger to leave the last episode of 2005 (a month and a half wait! Urgh!) Well, at least it gave me time to catch up on my Lost reviews.
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: November 30, 2005
Writers: Stephen Maeda & Craig Wright
Director: Paul Edwards
As Lost is largely based on its mysteries, the writers must decide how long to keep the viewers in the dark before revealing a satisfying answer, along with what hints they’ll drop along the way. This episode details the origin of Kate’s criminal past and, unlike other events like this, the reveal happens in the prologue. The writers know how huge a fanbase Lost has and how much discussion it provokes at watercoolers and on internet forums, so they must be aware of the criticism that this season has progressed slowly. What Kate did is one of the biggest questions among fans (probably the biggest is how Locke became paralyzed). By revealing it, they must’ve hoped that it would ease some worries. The actual crime, even though it is patricide, may be disappointing, but it may be interesting to see in Lost’s long term scope.
Like Jack, Kate’s flashbacks to date have been told in reverse. Now we’re at the beginning with her original crime: killing her sleazy father. It is a rather audacious thing to do for someone who never had any run ins with the law before. The end reason isn’t as obvious as we were lead to expect, which some found hard to believe. Kate was never molested, raped or beaten by Wayne, although he did make some really disgusting, incestuous (even if he didn’t know it) comments to her. She killed him because she found out he was her real father and her mother was too blinded by her “love” to realize what kind of person he was.
Kate, like some on the island, believes in fate. She felt that because her father was a bad man, she could never be a good woman. It is interesting to see the philosophical ideas brought forth on Lost. Kate doesn’t believe in the idea of tabula rasa, a theory developed by the real John Locke (ironically, her first episode was titled “Tabula Rasa”). Are we born with a blank slate, with our personalities formed by our surroundings and experiences, or are we born with some intrinsic blueprint? Kate clearly thinks the first, but that could be disproven.
Both of Kate’s fathers parallel the men she’s interested in on the island. Sgt Austen is similar to Jack as Wayne is similar to Sawyer. She never thought she could be good since Wayne would always be a part of her, yet she is still drawn to Sawyer. This does help her settle her problems with her father, as Wayne appears to channel the catatonic Sawyer. One of the things the writers pointed out in their commentary podcast (which I hope they do often) is that these characters have problems with people off the island, and these unresolved issues spill over to those who are on the island.
We see it on the island, as Kate’s lack of sleep causes her to become unglued. The transference of Wayne to Sawyer’s feverish system could’ve been the result of lack of sleep, much like Jack experienced in “White Rabbit”. She’s trying to figure out her daddy issues by talking to Sawyer, who thankfully wakes up (I’ve missed lively Sawyer) and by kissing Jack, which isn’t magic and just ends awkwardly.
Kate now joins several other characters who have some animal tied into their identity. Walt has the polar bear, Sawyer has the boar, Charlie has the moth and now Kate has the horse. For Kate, this horse represents freedom, as the horse provided Kate a venue to escape from the Marshall. It isn’t a halucination. How did *the* horse find its way to the island? It could be that the horse is involved in one of the Dharma Initiative’s experiments like the shark.
It was great to see the Marshall back on the show. The dynamic they’ve shared in past episodes may be a stock relationship (the criminal and the man who aggressively pursues the criminal), but through the writing and the acting, it is fresh. I would like to know more about him and how this particular case caught his interest, since it brought him, too, to the island.
One subtle clue thrown in the episode that many (including myself) missed the first time was the appearance of Sayid on a TV in Kate’s flashback. This was the scene where she sees Austen at the Army Recruitment center. Some wondered what Sayid would be doing on TV. Considering his time in the Republican Guard, it isn’t too hard to see why. I saw one telling promotional photo from this episode possibly explaining why he would be on TV, but I will avoid discussing it now because the Sayid cameo was even briefer than Hurley’s cameo in “…in Translation”.
Ana-Lucia, after a few high profile episodes, spends most of the episode on the sidelines, brooding over what she did (and making something out of those large sticks.) She is still confused, but is more peaceful than her panicked state which marked most of “Collision”. It’s nice that they didn’t just forget it and have her merge with the tribe. The funeral for Shannon certainly isn’t making her more eager to socialize either.
I’m so glad to see Jin and Sun together and happy (as evidenced by Hurley’s thumbs up and their peaceful walk out of that hut). However, it must be a little awkward for them to be intimate right in the middle of the camp. At least Shannon and Sayid were a ways off. I’m still looking forward to seeing some guy standing near the tent with a shocked expression on his face.
Michael, for lack of asking “what the hell is this” in the last episode gets to explore the hatch, which allows us to learn more about the hatch in return. Michael’s prowess with architecture shows him the blast doors, something no one else had seen and Desmond failed to tell them about. Blast doors certainly elevate the extremity of the incident in the audience’s imagination.
This curiosity leads him and Eko (who must’ve had a bell go off when he heard there was a film) to watch The Orientation video. Locke naively believes that whatever was cut was only a frame or two here and there, but fans knew that there was more missing, especially considering the film lapses at several important junctions, one of which details what the computer must not be used for. It is interesting that Locke is shown this way, and it helps set up the Eko-Locke relationship arc.
The missing segments of the film certainly raise certain questions. Why were these pieces removed from the original film? Who did it? Why is it stored on the other side of the island? The theory that the film was worn down and had to be cut from the film isn’t credible anymore: it would be too much of a coincidence even for Lost. Perhaps it is part of the experiment, if it is more psychological. Would someone try to use it for communication if they didn’t know it from the film?
Before Eko tells Locke about the film, he tells him the story of Josiah and the discovery of what would become the Old Testament. I’m not quite sure how parallel the missing footage is to the Old Testament, but the scene between these two men of faith, one more logical than the other, is critical to these two characters. Locke and Eko seem to be the characters who will get be bitter enemies, or become good friends (perhaps that’s why the Gilgamesh clue was thrown in the last episode).
The ending is particularly interesting considering the twist involving the Walt (or is it?) instant message. So much emphasis was placed on the missing piece of the Orientation film that it is unexpected, but still works in the frame of the show. We must remember that approximately six days have passed since Walt’s abduction, so Michael is still experiencing potent emotions. This moment could be served as a catalyst, as one person pointed out on a message board, for the second part of this season: the search for the lost children. Obviously Michael is not going to ignore it.
There are certainly a lot of questions. Was the person on the other end Walt? Was it a person? Where is the other end of this conversation coming from? If it was Walt, was he writing from another Dharma station or using the same type of power that he used to manifest himself for Shannon? Although Michael didn’t initiate it, would this qualify as something warranting of another incident? Is another incident iminent (probably yes by season’s end)? This was a great cliffhanger to leave the last episode of 2005 (a month and a half wait! Urgh!) Well, at least it gave me time to catch up on my Lost reviews.
Score: 8/10
posted by Matt @ 8:47 PM
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