Where do I begin? With Jack, once again, being awesome? With Claire, seemingly, returning as Rousseau no.2 (traps, gun, and all)? With how awesome Dogen is? The fantastic flash sideway with Ethan Goodspeed and the relationship between Kate, Claire, and Aaron? I'm such a fanboy that this recap is going to go every which way and insane! I told myself I'd settle down with these recaps, watch word count, and try to write with some coherency. I think I can do that. Don't count 2,000 words out.
"What Kate Does" is the title of episode three of season six of LOST. "What Kate Did" is the title of season two's ninth episode. This episode brought back some season two-ness and some season one-ness and some season three-ness AND some season four-ness AND SEASON FIVE-NESS. I'll get into all of that later. I'm going to stay focused on the central Kate story first.
There have many Kate episodes throughout this fantastic series. For the most part, in her flashbacks, she's been running and she's hurt a lot of people in the process. There's Tom who was killed in "Born To Run" as she fled police. She caused a car crash when Ray, the farmer who took her in in Australia in "Tabula Rasa," though she does drag him to safety. But she's not a heartless, cold hearted person and never has been. She helped Cassidy while on the lam. She DID drag Ray to safety. She did a whole lot to preserve Tom's memory ("Whatever The Case May Be"). She protected Kevin from any legal trouble once she realized she couldn't have a life with him. Tonight, she WENT BACK to help Claire. After being terribly rude to Claire, she was moved to go back to her when she discovered she had things Aaron in her bag. She's still very much on the run but she took time to drive Claire to the adopted parents (oh there'll be more on that) and to the hospital when Claire experienced contractions. It was so awesome. My favorite scene in the sideways is the Ethan scene. Ethan Goodspeed. Confirmation that he's the son of Horace and Amy. The interaction between he and Claire was such a reversal from the flashbacks seen in "Maternity Leave." He tells her the last thing he wants to do is drug her, to stick a bunch of needles in her. That's all he did to her while in The Arrow. She had a choice to make as well. Whether to have Aaron now or later. She decided later to wait to deliver Aaron and, after a brief scare, Aaron was a healthy as can be. I really enjoyed the scene that followed when they discussed Aaron's name and how Claire said it just came to her. Kate told her that she should keep him. The most moving moment was when the camera revealed Claire holding Kate's hand. I'm very glad that Claire is back.
I've written ad-nauseum about Kate, Claire, and Aaron (as recently as last week!) but I can't help it. I love their story. I love how it's evolved and how meaningful it's become. Why would Claire trust Kate after that experience in the cab? I think it goes back to the idea of predeterminism and free will. Fate and destiny imply that individuals are pawns of fate but what if that isn't necessarily it? I'm with Jacob. They have a choice. Kate had a choice. She could've kept running after going through her bag. She didn't have to return to the Island but she did. What I'm writing is connected with Kierkegaard's notion of the absurdity of faith. Of couse I think it's all meaningful. These characters and their interactions and their experience on the Island. The episode is very aptly titled. It's about what she does and about what they all do. The Temple represents this idea of predeterminism. The Others need Sawyer, Kate, and Jin in The Temple because, I presume, of what was written on that list of Jacob's that was in the ankh. The sideways world is a representation of active free-will. I think the two ideas will reconcile as will the sideways and the present.
On The Island, in 2007, Kate followed Sawyer to New-Old Otherton where he really just wants to be alone. He's just very sad. He blames himself for Juliet's death because he asked her to stay with him that night in 1974. He didn't want to be alone and now feels like he's destined to be alone. I wrote last week that I thought Sawyer and Kate would end up together but I don't think that'll happen anymore. His love for Juliet might be diminished. While trekking with Jin, she told Jin that she was escaping and showed no interest in helping him find Sun which wasn't too cool. She implied that she wanted to be with Sawyer and to stay with Sawyer somewhere that wasn't anywhere near The Temple. She also asked for his help finding Claire but he just wanted to be alone. I can't fault the dude. He needs to properly grieve. Kate cried and then it seemed like she'll be returning to The Temple.
Elsewhere, in The Temple, some really, really, really cool stuff was taking place. Dogen and Lennon sought to diagnose Sayid after he returned to life after dying. Jack was there throughout, looking after Sayid and making sure he was protected. Dogen wanted to poison Sayid because he detected a darkness in Sayid that would consume him. Sayid had been claimed. Dogen stated that what would happen with Sayid happened to Claire. The entire story was/is fascinating. They tortured the torturer. I don't quite buy what Dogen and Lennon were selling. Dogen attempted to use Jack's past to get him to give Sayid the pill but Jack has learned from Jughead. He didn't want to give anything to Sayid that he didn't know everything about it. To learn, he put the pill in his mouth. Dogen finally told him the pill was poison. This story contained a whole lot about The Others, for a lack of a better word, methodology and lended discussion to the idea of predeterminism. In "LA X," Dogen didn't signal for the removal of Sayid from the water until the hour glass ran out. Did they run into Claire and cast her out? I get the impression she's been Rousseau for the last three years, totally on her own, building traps and doing all she can to survive. Man of faith Jack took a backseat to man of science Jack tonight and I LOVED IT!
As for Island Claire, I loved the return. I've been waiting. I don't believe she's been consumed by darkness. She's Claire! She's goodness and light. I hope we get a flashback for whatever happened to her the last three years. I'm glad Claire ran into Jin. She looked absolutely insane (and still so pretty) but she and Jin were close. He's in good hands. I didn't really pick up on what Aldo was doing when stopping Justin from saying anything. Now I understand. Justin was close to telling Kate and Jin about Claire on several occasions but Aldo stopped him every time. I'm thinking Claire did die after the explosion but was saved by the Spring. So, where does Christian fall into all of this?
I'm loving season six so far. Here's some more thoughts:
--Emilie de Ravin was wonderful. I loved everything about the sideways story. Back to sideways Claire for a moment, a couple actually existed in Los Angeles. I wish Malkin would return for one episode. "?" is still messing with my mind!
--Speaking of the sidways world, listen to the latest Official Lost Podcast if you're confused. Darlton are preaching patience and not thinking too deeply or too much about it. Just let it progress, folks. Let the story unfold.
--Dogen is amazing. The scene between he and Jack, in his office, when Jack asked questions that Dogen actually answered rocked. Dogen said he was brought here just like Jack. And Jack seemed like he scoffed a tiny bit at that.
--Kate was absolutely badass tonight.
--I mentioned the season one-ness so I'll explain it here. Kate's first flashback is the third episode of season one and she got the third episode of season six. Man in Black/NotLocke next week? The season three-ness was explained by Aldo himself. He was a guard on Alcatrez Island. The actor who created 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.'
--Miles and Hurley were just hanging out somewhere around The Temple. I re-watched "LA X" and read the scene when Miles is attempting to communicate with Sayid differently. He says 'nothing' to Hurley when Hurley asks 'what?' Given the revelation about Claire, perhaps Miles sensed the same thing but didn't want to cause alarm. I don't know. I might be looking too much into it. We shall see.
--Josh Holloway's been knocking it out of the park this season. The scene on the dock was terrific. I'm a fan of what they've been doing with Sawyer so far this season.
--Hurley asked Sayid if he's a zombie. The Zombie season awaits, folks.
--Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz wrote one heck of an episode. I loved every moment of it. Paul Edwards helmed the episode.
Such a great episode. I'll be buzzed all week. I'm going to really miss this show. The rankings will be up ASAP. Me and STEVE didn't have the chance to rank last night and I like to get a recap up as soon as I possibly can. Expect the rankings later in the week as well as additional thoughts.
