(S03E06) Wow... where to begin. That was certainly an episode worthy of being called a mid-season finale. Good doesn't even begin to describe it. Definitely gives us plenty to talk about while we wait for the show to return in February for it's uninterrupted run though.
This episode focused on Kate's flashbacks and those have always been sort of 50-50 for me, but this one was great I thought. Even better than when she blew up her father. Of course I'm slightly biased because these flashbacks featured Nathan Fillion and the idea of having Mal Reynolds on Lost... it's making my head hurt. Fillion played Kate's husband (she was married!) Kevin. So I suppose rather than "what Kate did" you could call these flashbacks "who Kate did."
So yeah, Kate tied the knot. Kevin was a local cop. They lived in Miami (it was on Kevin's police cruiser and he had a Heat shirt on) and Kate made tacos once a week. That is until she had a conversation with good ol' Federal Marshal Morris. He told her what she knew anyway. Kate can't settle down. So she apologized to her hubby, but not before she drugged him. Then she took the Oceanic Airlines tickets Kevin had bought for their Costa Rican honeymoon and Kate traded them in for a one-way to Australia. I think that's one of my favorite things in this show: finding out the circumstances that landed each character in Australia in the first place. So that was the gist of the flashbacks. It was nothing mind-blowing, but I still liked them a lot.
Back to the island. First off, let's talk about the romance between Kate and Sawyer. I've always been a "Jack and Kate" man myself. When I saw the previews for this episode, I wasn't pleased. But now that Kate and Sawyer have done the dance (he tapped her on the fish biscuit machine!), I'm OK with it. In fact, I was really satisfied with the whole scene and I think it worked. Part of it was certainly the tension that existed. Would they have been ripping each others clothes off if Sawyer's life wasn't on the line? I doubt it.
I found it odd that Ben let the sex slide though... at first. But if you think about the chain of events, it was all one big manipulation. When Juliet first brought in Kate to try and convince Jack to perform the surgery, Kate broke down when she told Jack that Sawyer would be killed if he didn't operate. Ben saw all this. He had that smart-ass smirk and it was clear to him that Kate loved Sawyer and that Jack loved Kate. So he used it to his advantage. He let the sexual encounter go on with no resistance and he made damn sure that Jack saw it on those monitors. Seeing the girl you want with another man is reason to get off an island and the key for Jack to get out? The operation. Too bad Ben's little plan backfired after he was already knocked out on the table.
Jack started the spinal surgery like normal, but once he had the opportunity, he sliced open Ben's kidney sac. Jack gives Pickett and Tom an ultimatum. Ben will die in one hour unless Kate is given the opportunity to run. Two things aren't factored in to this plan for Jack though. One? She ain't going to leave without Sawyer and Mr. Ford is temporarily out of commission since Pickett has a gun held at his head. Two? Kate now knows what Sawyer knows -- they're on a different island. There is no where to run.
So Jack's plan is a teensy bit flawed, but he doesn't know that. I loved what he asked of Kate though. Once she's free, contact him in an hour with Pickett's walkie-talkie. Jack wants to hear the story he told Kate on the very first day after the plane crash, while she stitched up the wound on his back. If he hears that story, he'll know she's safe. Remember that story? Jack talked about his first solo surgery. It was a spinal surgery on a teenage girl and right at the end of the op, Jack accidentally nicked her spinal sac. Nerve endings came pouring out and the fear washed over Jack -- but he only let it affect him for five seconds and then he fixed his mistake.
This was a pretty relevant story here I think. At this point, Jack has no fear - that's why he did what he did. If Ben dies then so be it. The question that we won't get until February is whether or not Kate takes Jack's advice in that story because the last shot of her face had Kate looking 100% terrified. With good reason I suppose. The man she loves is being held at gunpoint.
So that's big question number one: will Ben live and how will Jack, Kate, and Sawyer make out as a result of Jack's plan? But there are a few other questions. A ton of commenters have had the right idea about Eko's prayer stick and they were absolutely right. Locke found the sign he was looking for when he read this off of Eko's stick during the late priest's burial: "Lift up your eyes and look north." So what the heck is Locke going to find? Any ideas?
Can't forget Alex either. She was back with her slingshot again, trying to free Sawyer and Kate. But she was blabbering about wanting to see Ben and how her boyfriend was killed. Have we heard anything about a deceased boyfriend before? What's the deal with that? Is it someone we've met before in a flashback maybe? Plus Ben asked about her before he went under the knife and Juliet said they merely brought Alex home following the incident. Home?!? Where's Alex's home?
Too many questions but we've got all the time in the world to ponder them. Lost returns on February 7.
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Let's talk about spoilers ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
11-09-2006 @ 9:42AM
Cody said...
Could Alex's boyfriend be the Kid that was in the cage nex to Sawyer in the Season premiere?
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11-09-2006 @ 9:42AM
Caitlin said...
Alex's boyfriend was the kid who was in the cage across from Sawyer in the season premiere. We haven't seen him since then, so it's possible that the Others had him killed.
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11-09-2006 @ 9:42AM
TheMatt said...
Don't forget about Jacob. Remember when Danny was going out to kill Sawyer that he said something like Jacob made the list and he wasn't on it. I'm guessing that's the good and bad list that told the Others who to kidnap from the Tailies.
I'm still not too sure if he meant Jack or Sawyer. And, I'm guessing Jacob becomes important when the Tailie kids are reintroduced sometime.
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11-09-2006 @ 9:43AM
Jaimie said...
The Alex - Ben relationship is another open question. Notice how the pastor noted Kate's devotion. Similar to her devotion to Jack. She will not run leaving Jack behind. We still don't know what happened to Carl. He was Alex's boyfriend, and she thinks the Others killed him. However we have not seen that yet. A friend's spoilers blog is at http://www.lostexposed.com/ and probably will have a lot of spoilers on the second part of this season. We have so many hints and clues to sort out. Does Kate run? Does she form a plan of escape since she knows she needs a boat to get to the other island. Will Juliet kill Ben?
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11-09-2006 @ 9:43AM
Allen said...
test?
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11-09-2006 @ 9:43AM
Jeff said...
Never saw Kate trade in those tickets.
Totally disagree with your post: I thought that was a terrible episode with an awful ending. The whole arc of tonights episode felt like it was computer generated or something.
There was just no flow. And the flashbacks? What a waste of Nathan Fillon's ability.
I used to love Lost but I think I'll be fine waiting till Feb - in fact, not even sure that I will tune in again; It's just not the same show.
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11-09-2006 @ 9:44AM
JDog said...
So is Jacob is the "one eyed man" seen in the video monitor?
Lost is getting tiresome for me ... it's starting to become a series that I watch just to not feel like a total sucker for having watched all the episodes in a futile quest to actually get some answers ...
What ever happened to the African-American woman who gave Michal the list in exchange for Walt? What happend to Walt with his mysterious powers and Michael? What's up with that statue of the foot? What about Desmond's girlfriend whose team in the Artic had supposedly discovered the island? What is the black smoke? How and why are Ben and the others on the island?
Well .. at least we know Kate and Sawyer love each other ... it took 6 episodes to show us that? To paraphrase ... are you better off now than you were 6 episodes ago? A season ago?
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11-09-2006 @ 9:44AM
Mike said...
I think that the readings of the scripture on Eko's stick meant that if they do that they will see the other island! That Jack Kate And Sawyer Are On!!!!!
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11-09-2006 @ 9:44AM
Marlee said...
Danielle was pretty interesting. It is looking like she was once in Kate's position. A captive or someone who needed to be controlled. Her boyfriend was Carl. She thinks the evil Others killed him, but we have not seen that. A friend's clues and spoilers blog is at http://www.lostexposed.com/ . There were so many clues inthis episode. Locke needs to look north. What is there? I agree that is where he should look for Jack, Kate and Sawyer. And Jack loves Kate. You could see his disappointment in finding out she picked Sawyer both when she came to plead with him and when he spied her on the cameras with Sawyer.
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11-09-2006 @ 9:44AM
Lunkwill Fook said...
Jdog,
A-f'ing-men. I couldn't have said it better myself.
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11-09-2006 @ 9:44AM
stephen said...
episode 7 trailer:
http://www.dharmasecrets.com/forum/index.php/topic,9155.0.html
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11-09-2006 @ 9:45AM
Murphy said...
Maybe it’s just me but this episode really blew! So Kate got married and lied…um, who cares? Too much love making for me…and don’t they have cameras on their cages? If they even saw that Kate attempted to escape would they not be there in seconds? I mean, even though they can’t escape, but still…them having all the time in the wold to undress and make love doesn’t really add up…are The Others voyeuers?
Even though they may have gotten the upperhand with Ben laying on the table (is he really that important?), I still declare a very blah episode of Lost…
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11-09-2006 @ 9:45AM
boss said...
i agree the series is in too many directions now. my thoughts are more on the island and how it (the island) is alien. experiments taking place but all under its' watch (darhma being a company profiting, but only subcontracted to "help"). i believe something happened or went wrong and that the island is trying to fix it. this is to brief but i'd like to read other ideas too.
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11-09-2006 @ 9:45AM
TedSez said...
"At least we know Kate and Sawyer love each other...."
We don't even know that. When Sawyer asked, Kate didn't answer. And we still don't know what happened between Kate and Ben after he offered her that meal on the beach. Did they make a deal with each other, or did they "turn" her somehow?
We know that Kate wanted to have a baby, and that the island can apparently make even infertile women fertile. We also know the Others are obsessed with children. So maybe the whole thing between Kate and Sawyer was a ruse to get him to impregnate her.
So that's all sort of interesting... but not enough to make us care. "Lost" has finally annoyed me with its teases and lack of real action for so long that this episode left me cold. Does it really matter if there are "answers" that will finally be revealed six years after the questions were first asked? And how many new unanswered questions, and new boring characters, will be introduced in the meantime?
Basically, this started out as a good show, and it could have been a great show, but they ruined it. Although I'm guessing that it's still better than the program that's going to replace if for the next few months, "Action Hero Groundhog Day."
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11-09-2006 @ 1:24AM
TedSez said...
"At least we know Kate and Sawyer love each other...."
We don't even know that. When Sawyer asked, Kate didn't answer. And we still don't know what happened between Kate and Ben after he offered her that meal on the beach. Did they make a deal with each other, or did they "turn" her somehow?
We know that Kate wanted to have a baby, and that the island can apparently make even infertile women fertile. We also know the Others are obsessed with children. So maybe the whole thing between Kate and Sawyer was a ruse to get him to impregnate her.
So that's all sort of interesting... but not enough to make us care. "Lost" has finally annoyed me with its teases and lack of real action for so long that this episode left me cold. Does it really matter if there are "answers" that will finally be revealed six years after the questions were first asked? And how many new unanswered questions, and new boring characters, will be introduced in the meantime?
Basically, this started out as a good show, and it could have been a great show, but they ruined it. Although I'm guessing that it's still better than the program that's going to replace if for the next few months, "Action Hero Groundhog Day."
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11-09-2006 @ 9:45AM
Frances said...
i think most people's comments interesting and even enlightening...while others claim to be getting bored or tired of all the unanswered questions & mysteries of the island....which is exactly why i keep tuning in...Isn't that the main objective here? If everyone was to be left feeling totally fulfilled after every episode...then they could just call it "Fantasy Island" or "Lost & Found".
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11-09-2006 @ 9:45AM
A Student said...
I don't need to feel 'fulfilled' by TV at all. I just would rather not feel insulted. There are no mysteries, because the writers aren't going anywhere but in circles.
This show has no plan, no direction, no velocity at all. And if you missed the show tonight, here's the recap-- Sawyer and Kate did it. The pacing, and a lot of the dirction, especially before commercials is reminiscent of nothing more than a bad daytime soap with violin music over it in place of real tension.
The characters are weak, the 'others' are completely different than the superhuman hunters Danielle was faced with for 16 YEARS, and nobody noticed there was ANOTHER ISLAND next door, even while sailing around in a sailboat. People wander alone through the woods with polar bears and deadly smoke, not to mention TREE-STOMPING INVISIBLE MONSTERS, without much fear, and they choose to live in the dirt with sand fleas instead of in one of the burgeoning number of shelters WITH KITCHENS, HOT SHOWERS, AND TOILETS on the island.
If this is a character-driven show, it is driven by morons, deep into a recently-used toilet. The only person worse is me for watching it, but I promised to for a friend so we could talk about it. Oh regrets...
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11-09-2006 @ 9:46AM
John H said...
I thought the flashback was great, it showed that Kate is incapable of settling down, because of fear. It was a parallel to her current choice of choosing Sawyer. We knew she would choose Sawyer because of last week's preview, but the flashback made the choice more understandable and acceptable.
I also think we got a clue that Ben might be good (well not good, but less evil) as a result of Juliet's lie to Ben. Alex said, "let me talk to Ben!", as if Ben is a voice of reason she could speak to, or clear things up. but later, Ben asked Juliet if Alex asked about her and Juliet said no.
I also loved how Alex seemed to handle herself well in a fight; she took out 2 or 3 guys with a slingshot before another suprised her from behind. She really takes after her mother Danielle, doesn't she?
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11-09-2006 @ 9:46AM
John H said...
I meant to say Ben asked Juliet if Alex asked about HIM, and Juliet said no.
So, no need to point it out.
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11-09-2006 @ 9:47AM
Toby OB said...
I noticed Alex called Pickett "Daddy", so I guess he and Colleen raised her after she was stolen away from Rousseau?
And I believe the Marshall's last name is Mars, not Morris.
If the Others did kill Carl, it makes me think of that episode from the third version of 'Twilight Zone' - about the gated community which had a sick way of dealing with their malcontent teens. (It starred Amber Tamblyn.)
If you read those intriguing opening paragraphs from the EW interview with Elizabeth Mitchell, I think we can get a pretty good idea of how the series will pick up again in February. And it doesn't look good for somebody....
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