Friday, February 12, 2010

S6Ep3 - What Kate Does

Hello my dear friends -

As I did last week, I'm going to kick off this post by tying up a few loose ends from the premiere:

1) A huge "Thanks!" to the approximately 1,457 people who reminded me that the gaping hole in the Temple's perimeter was caused by Ben's fall when he was on his way to be judged by Smokey last season...
2)... and that the chick who drowned in Season One was named Joanna...
3) ... and that in Korea, married women often keep their last name, so it might not have been any sort of clue when the security guard called Sun "Mrs. Paik."

Some people also wrote in to say that perhaps Fake Locke's reference to Richard's chains wasn't because Richard was on the Black Rock, but rather because he was originally a slave in ancient Egypt who was brought to the Island by Jacob (hence tying in the multitude of nods to that culture on the show over the years). Others thought the chains were just the metaphorical kind -- like now that Jacob's dead, Richard's no longer at his beck and call.

Since I am positive we'll get more background on the Ageless One before the final credits roll on the series, let's move on to "What Kate Does." I've heard some grumblings about this episode having "too much filler," "moving too slowly," and "not giving enough answers." I felt quite differently. Perhaps it's because I rewatched all of Season One this past summer (that's as far as my own personal re-watch got, though, unfortunately) and have a new appreciation for what makes an hour of Lost enjoyable enough that it stands the test of time. I'd forgotten how much simpler the show used to be -- hell, Jack spent half of "Deux Ex Machina" trying to figure out why Sawyer was having bad headaches (remember his classic line of questioning about STDs?) and melding together Harry Potter glasses for his rival.

And guess what folks? Whether you realize it or not, those were the kind of scenes that made you fall in love with the show and stick with it for the past five years. "What Kate Does" brought back that type of intimate vibe that is hard to achieve in a more action-packed episode. I'd take meaningful, heartfelt exchanges between characters over Smokey sequences and rumbles in the jungle any day. So what I'm trying to say is, I liked this episode. And for the record, I don't care if they dole out ONE more answer on this show. I mean it. I can explain everything we've seen so far courtesy of my over-active imagination. And that way I can still get some elves into the picture.

Now that I've made my plea to you all to just ENJOY the remaining hours of the show, let's get into the meat of this Kate-centric installment. Casual viewers (aka: "normal people") might have forgotten that in Season Two there was an episode entitled "What Kate Did," which clued us in to her (successful) attempt to blow up her mom's house... which contained her abusive stepfather. In "What Kate Does" she's still on the run for murder in the alternate timeline, but aside from the video played at Comic-Con, we have no other details about exactly what landed her in handcuffs.

So let's take the do-over/reset/reboot/bizarro world/if-there's-a-common-name-the-alternate-timeline-is-being-referred-to-across-the-messageboards-please-tell-me scenes first.


I KNOW YOU
I WALKED WITH YOU ONCE UPON A DREAM

I KNOW YOU
THAT GLEAM IN YOUR EYES IS SO FAMILIAR A GLEAM


After Kate jumped in the cab with Claire, good ol' Arzt blocked their way with all of his dropped luggage. You can bet that I thought he was going to be run over since we all know he didn't meet a very happy ending on the Island, either. But he stepped aside, and only his luggage was worse for the wear.

What was more important about this part, however, is the weird look that flashed across Kate's face when she locked eyes with Jack as he stood outside the terminal and was making calls to try and straighten out his dad's non-funeral. Yes, Jack and Kate bumped into each other on the plane and he'd made googly eyes at her, but she was pretty busy stealing his pen and I don't think their quick encounter was anything that would've caused her to make such an expression of recognition when she saw him again a half-hour or so later. Jack also had a "Hey, huh, wha...?" air about him when he saw Kate from afar. Some people think that if this timeline was running concurrently with the timeline in which Flight 815 crashed, that by this point Kate and Jack would've met each other on the Island and that's why they're now seeming to recognize one another in this instance of events. That doesn't really explain why Jack would've already felt like he'd met Desmond before, though... and I'm honestly not sure that Jack and Kate met THAT quickly after the crash, but it's still something to consider.

I'm going with a more general theory that all of the 815ers are going to start experiencing some sort of nagging feelings... like they're meant to be somewhere else. Or they'll feel oddly drawn to certain people, much like we've already seen starting to happen between Jack and Locke, and now Kate and Claire.


GOT A WHALE OF A TALE TO TELL YA, LADS
A WHALE OF A TALE OR TWO


After Kate left Claire stranded on the side of the road, she sweet-talked a mechanic into breaking open her handcuffs and then went into the body shop's bathroom to change into Claire's stuff. Except that there were no clothes in Claire's bag, there was just a bunch of baby stuff. Including the very same stuffed animal that Kate would end up buying Aaron in the original timeline in "Something Nice Back Home." I totally freaked out when I saw that thing.



So Kate then felt all guilty and decided to go back to get Claire, who was still in the exact same spot, waiting for the bus. Now, did the woman who stole Jack's pen, bashed the marshal's head into a counter, held a cab driver and pregnant chick at gunpoint and then manipulated her way into getting out of her 'cuffs strike you as the type of considerate lady who would have a change of heart about someone she screwed over that she didn't even know? No. Up until Kate looked in the bag, she had no intention of going back for Claire. I personally don't think she would've gone back even if she'd seen Claire's Polaroid or the pack of onesies. It was that orca stuffed animal, I tell ya, calling to Kate from a different dimension -- luring her back to be reunited with someone she was connected to in another life.


HE'S THE ONE THEY CALL DR. FEELGOOD
HE'S THE ONE THAT MAKES YA FEEL ALL RIGHT


That otherworldly connection Kate and Claire share is probably the same thing that swayed Claire into hitching a ride with the very same woman who had hijacked her cab earlier in the day. How else can you explain that decision?

Since I had seen William Mapother's name on the Guest Starring list at the beginning of the episode, I expected that Ethan would be the adoptive father who would open the door when Claire showed up in Brentwood. When he wasn't -- and when Claire started going into labor after being delivered the news that there was in fact no happy couple waiting to adopt her baby -- then I knew Ethan would have to turn up in the hospital. Damn spoilery beginning credits!

And yep, there he was, Dr. Ethan Goodspeed. I've been asked to address how he could be alive in this instance of events, so I'll remind you all that when Miles had forewarned Daddy Chang that the Island might blow up, the Dharma peeps started shipping out all of the women and children. So baby Ethan would've been safe, as would've baby Miles, and toddler Charlotte, etc., etc. So see -- Faraday DID save Charlotte, the death of the skinny tie was not in vain!

But back to the hospital room -- Ethan's all nicety-nice and makes a point of saying that he doesn't want to stick Claire with needles if he doesn't have to. Uh-huh. She chooses to delay the delivery, and then Unnamed, Unborn Turniphead throws a hissy fit and the machine beeps out some sort of flatline. The second Claire shouts, "Is Aaron OK?", however, normalcy returns and the ultrasound shows that everything's just dandy. This was clearly not a coincidence. Later, Claire claimed that it was like she just "knew it or something" when Kate inquired about the fact that Claire'd given her child a name. Kate also threw in that she felt Claire "should keep him."

Now, let's think back a bit about what originally put Claire on Oceanic 815. The psychic -- who I truly believe WAS a psychic -- who felt so strongly that Claire must be the one to raise Aaron that he put her on a flight he knew would either strand her with her son on a crazy island or -- gulp -- kill them both. What if in this new timeline she visited the same guy and he put her on the Oceanic flight because he knew that even though the adoption would fall through and the plane would land safely in LA, Claire would meet Kate and the labor scare they went through together -- as well as Kate's words -- would ultimately lead Claire to raise Aaron herself?

Finally, before we move on to the present-day events, I want to address something I mentioned at the end of my "LA X (Part 1)" post. I'd speculated that the new Oceanic flight we were watching might have been taking place three years after the original, in order for the on-Island and off-Island events to be moving in parallel and things to some how sync up in the series' finale. But, besides Jack's old-school cell phone, I think we now have other proof that the rebooted flight took place exactly when it did before: 9/22/04. Why? Because on Claire's ultrasound there was a date: 10/22/04. Some peeps wrote in to Gregg Nations, who keeps track of each and every little crazy detail about the show, and asked if the 10/22/04 was a mistake or a clue. He said it was a bit of both, and in this thread on Lost's creative team's official site, you can all but discern that the date should've been 9/22/04 (the mistake being the "10," and the clue being the "04"). The crew's just human folks -- they can goof up every once in a while just like the rest of us. So moving forward I will be working from the all-but-confirmed assumption that the alternate timeline is taking place in the fall of 2004.

Let's head to the Island!

HEY, I AIN'T NEVER COMING HOME
HEY, I'LL JUST WANDER MY OWN ROAD

HEY, HEY, I CAN'T MEET YOU HERE TOMORROW

NO, NO

SAY GOODBYE

DON'T FOLLOW

MISERY SO HOLLOW


At the Temple, Sawyer glares at the rest of the group from the sidelines and informs Kate that he intends to escape. The Others return and demand some alone time with Sayid and Jack attempts to fight them off, but Sawyer starts firing shots in the air and lets everyone know that he'll be leaving now. Dogen the Japanese Other Leader decides that this would be an appropriate time to start speaking English and pleads, quite seriously,
"Please, you have to stay." Shuh, right! "James Ford" has totally reverted back to being Season One Sawyer -- hating on Sayid, out for himself, and just wanting to be alone. "Don't follow me," he warns Kate.
But OF COURSE Kate is going to go after him, and Jin -- sensing his chance to get closer to finding Sun -- offers to join her and two Others on the search mission. After a near-smooch with Jack (I really thought it was gonna happen), Kate takes off with Jin and Sayid is dragged away to a very Princess Bride-like Pit of Despair, minus the freaky albino wheelbarrow-toting guy.


BAD MEDICINE IS WHAT I NEED
SHAKE IT UP

JUST LIKE BAD MEDICINE

THERE AIN'T NO DOCTOR
WHO CAN CURE MY DISEASE

When Lennon first informed Dogen that Sayid had awoken, did you notice how Dogen kept fingering that weird silver scroll pendant thingy around his neck? That's gotta mean something. I just don't know what yet. I also liked how he was corresponding with god knows who using a TYPEWRITER -- I think he was even pounding away at the keys one-finger style. I don't get these Others, they so crazy.

Anyway, once they get Sayid to the torture chamber, they do a bunch of stuff that 1) really reminded me of when Rousseau first captured Sayid back in Season One, and 2) is clearly related to the Man in Black/Smokey because Dogen was blowing ash all over the place. He shocks Sayid, brands him with a hot poker and then proclaims, "Nope, you don't have H1N1 -- that vaccine you got at Walgreens actually worked, whaddaya know!"

Sayid stumbles back out into the main chamber and Jack has just about had it when he learns that has friend has been hurt. My FAVORITE part of the episode was when Jack's all, "Step aside," to those two burly guards... and then they do it! He had a classic look on his face like "That worked?" before brushing by them. It reminded me of that little smile he had in "The Incident" when Hurley pulled up in the Dharma Van to rescue him and Bleeding Out Sayid.

Jack confronts Lennon and Dogen, who deliver the bad news that Sayid is "infected," and that if he doesn't take the green pill Dogen's whipped up, the "infection will spread." They stress that it's critical Sayid take the pill willingly and that Jack be the one who gives it to him. Dogen also mentions that since it's Jack's fault Sayid got shot in the first place (and reminds him of how so many others had been hurt or killed following him, their leader), this would be a good way to redeem himself.


WHAT'S IN YOUR HEAD
IN YOUR HEAD

ZOMBIE
ZOMBIE
ZOMBIE

Back in the spring room, Sayid is like "WTF just happened to me, for real," and Hurley's all, "Don't you remember? You signed on for the top-secret Zombie Season -- it's really gonna happen, just like Damon and Carlton promised! And you get to be the first zombie!"
Jack returns to have a quick private chat about the mystery pill with Sayid, whose attitude is, "I'll do whatever you want, bro. I apparently already died, what else could happen to me?"

Jack goes back to Dogen's lair once more and this time Dogen's messing around with a baseball. WHAT?!?! I was trying to remember if we've seen a baseball on the show before, but I've got nothing. We do know that Jack is a big BoSox fan, and one of the items that Ageless Richard had Young Locke choose from when he was "testing" him in "Cabin Fever" was a baseball glove, but that's all I could come up with. The mystery of the baseball gets added below the mysteries of the silver necklace thingy and the typewriter. But if the next time we see Dogen he's in a Snuggie, I will stop watching this show.

Anywho, Jack asks Dogen why he uses a translator when he doesn't need one, and Dogen gave a very diplomatic answer: "I have to remain separate from the people I'm in charge of. It makes it easier when they don't like the decisions I make for them." This immediately brought to mind the dreaded Episode About Jack's Tattoos, where we learn that one of the Mad Doctor's markings reads, "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us." Ah, the life of a leader is often a lonely one. Dogen and Jack have a bit in common, it seems.

But they're not yet at the same level of acceptance about the power of the Island, though. When Jack asked Dogen if he's "from" the Island, Dogen looked very confused and replied, "I was brought here like everyone else," and then Jack was the one feigning ignorance.

Not for long, however, because when Dogen continued to refuse to tell Jack the secret recipe for not only Mrs. Field's Cookies, but also Coca-Cola, KFC chicken and the mysterious green pill, Jack straight-up popped the little bugger down his throat. I did NOT see that one coming. I think I actually yelled out, "D'OH!!!!"


SWALLOW IT DOWN
SUCH A JAGGED LITTLE PILL


Bad move, Jack. It was poison. Double-d'oh!

Thankfully, Dogen was up to date with his Heimlich training and was able to retrieve the "medicine." Then he had no choice but to explain, with Lennon's help, that Sayid had been "claimed." They said a darkness was growing in Jack's Iraqi friend and once it reached his heart, everything that we all love about He of the Black Tank Tops will be gone forever. Nooooooo! Jack asks, "How do you know this?" and they clued him in to the fact that the same thing had happened to his half-sis, and she'd officially gone cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. (More on that later.)

Elsewhere on the Island...

SHE'S GONE
OH I, OH I'D
BETTER LEARN HOW TO FACE IT
SHE'S GONE
OH I, OH I'D
PAY THE DEVIL TO REPLACE HER

SHE'S GONE

WHAT WENT WRONG?


Kate, Jin and Others Aldo and Justin are tracking Sawyer, and Aldo confirms that all the hullabaloo at the Temple was in order to prepare the grounds against a Smoke Monster attack. Before too long, however, Kate finds a way to knock both of her captors out, and after a tense exchange with Jin ("Who do YOU care about, Kate?") she makes a beeline for New Otherton.

And dammit if Sawyer isn't there pulling up the floorboards to retrieve the engagement ring he'd planned to give Juliet. He allows Kate to come with him to the pier and she tries to convince him to help her find Claire. Their ensuing "some of us are meant to be alone" conversation was almost too hard for me to watch, as they each took turns blaming themselves for Juliet's death. But -- my dog as my witness -- I totally, totally lost it when Sawyer threw the ring into the water and then broke down once again... and then after he left KATE broke down. This show has championship-level criers, it always has. Matthew Fox still reigns supreme as the Most Outstanding Man-Crier, but Josh Holloway came close to swiping the title with this scene. It was beautiful and awful all at the same time. I'm glad they're not just having Sawyer "get over" everything. And it doesn't look like he'll be trotting after Kate back to the Temple any time soon, either.


YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE?
YOU'RE IN THE JUNGLE, BABY!
YOU'RE GONNA DIE...

Meanwhile, poor Jin's wandering around by himself trying to figure out how he can make it to wherever the Ajira flight might have landed when Aldo and Justin find him again. Aldo threatens to kill Jin, but before he gets a chance, he's shot down and then so is his fellow Other. By a very unkempt Claire. I've got to give props to Tom T for writing me milliseconds after the show ended and coining the nickname "Clousseau" for the Rousseau-ish Claire. I've since seen it elsewhere, but in my mind Tom T gets the kudos for that one.

So what's going on with Claire, and why are Dogen and Lennon convinced that whatever happened to her will also happen to Sayid?

When we last saw Completely Normal Claire, she was at her home in New Otherton before Keamy's team attacked. Her house was blown up, but Sawyer found her in the rubble and she appeared to be alive... though Miles was giving her funny looks from that point on, which made many of us think that she might actually be in some sort of undead state. That theory was strengthened once she up and left Aaron in the jungle and ran off with Zombie Dad to Jacob's cabin. Locke later saw her there and she was acting like she'd had one too many shots of MacCutcheon's since she claimed to be "fine" and that Aaron was "where he needed to be."

What can we make of all this?


THE DEVIL INSIDE
THE DEVIL INSIDE
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US
THE DEVIL INSIDE

Sticking with the "the easiest explanation is probably the right one" approach, I'm going with the theory that supports Locke and Walt's chat about backgammon waaaay back in the series' pilot. "There are two players: one side is light, one side is dark." On the Island, these sides are represented by Team Jacob and Team Edw--oops, I mean Team Man in Black. Jacob and his adversary have been lining up players for their various "armies" -- Jacob's got the Others and the 815ers that he visited and physically touched in the past. The Man in Black is able to pick off anyone's who's died and hasn't been properly disposed of (which is why, as we guessed before, the Others have always been so concerned with how to handle their dearly departed members).

This would lead us to believe that Claire did in fact die in that explosion at the barracks, and that the Man in Black got to her immediately. Same goes for Sayid. It doesn't matter that the Man in Black is also taking Locke's form right now -- he can be many places at once thanks to his ability to control the Black Smoke. At least this is how I'm explaining everything to myself in my own mind. Anyone else have any other relatively simple (key phrase) explanations?

Let me leave you with this thought so that you don't lose all hope for our favorite torturer: Dogen and Lennon generally seem to be telling the truth to Jack, it's just that -- like Ben -- what they say may often have a double or hidden meaning. So consider the fact that Dogen said the pill was made of poison. OK, we've got that, but at no point did he say that the pill would KILL Sayid. Now, think about how many medications are often actually poisons, but they double as antidotes if the person they're given to already has a disease or has been afflicted by something... that's essentially what ANY vaccine is. That's what chemotherapy is. So what if the pill contains poison that would've killed Jack because he's not been infected by Smokey, but it will actually help Sayid? I think there's some hope yet for him. There has to be.


BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE

Hurley: You’re not a zombie, right?
Sayid: No, I am NOT a zombie.


Miles: We’ll be in the food court if you need us.


Kate: ... I’m sorry, I never should’ve followed you.
Sawyer: Which time?


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Back in August when the Season Six premiere title ("LA X") had just been announced, I joined other members of the DarkUFO team -- Karen from Karen's Lost Notebook, The ODI from TheODI.com and Vozzek from Things I Noticed -- for a fun chat about the show and our predictions about Season Six. At the start of our talk I give a little background about how Long Live Locke came to be -- I think this might be the only time I've ever shared the full story!

You can listen to it on ODI's site here, or download it from iTunes here. Our discussion starts at the four-minute mark. Enjoy!

Until next time,
- e

52 comments:

Erika (aka "e") said...

The lyrical headings in this post were from:

"Once Upon a Dream" from Disney's "Sleeping Beauty"
"A Whale of a Tale" from Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"
"Dr. Feelgood" by Motley Crue
"Don't Follow" by Alice in Chains
"Bad Medicine" by Bon Jovi
"Zombie" by The Cranberries
"Jagged Little Pill" by Alanis Morissette
"She's Gone" by Hall & Oates
"Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses
"Devil Inside" by INXS

Thanks for reading!

- e

Ernie said...

Darlton are calling the new timeline flash-sideways. They are adamant against using the term alternative timeline.

lorilooski said...

I think Dogan was corresponding with the shape-shifter on Fringe:o)

Lori

Unknown said...

hey, amazing post.
thank you so much for taking your time to make us laugh and enjoy Lost even more.

you said Jacob had the Others and the 815ers that were touched by him, but Sayid was also touched by Jacob.

So, maybe Dogen doesnt know that and has confused Jacob-touch with ManInBlack-touch??

Anonymous said...

Great read as always Erika thanks.

I agree, this episode should be a reminder to us that we are going to be following the season 1 format.

All the haters need to chill, each character will get their turn.

Personally I can't wait for more Des, but I have patience.

Darlton will produce the goods.

Thanks for the heads up from The Fuselage.

ps. I always new my handle was going to be a good choice ;)

Eric S said...

My theory regarding Dogen's baseball: maybe he's just a little homesick? Baseball is huge in Japan. And his refusal to speak English, in addition to making him separate from those he commands, could also be seen as an attempt to cling to his native culture. We know he was "brought" to the island, and he appears to take his responsibilities seriously... but maybe he too just kinda wants to go home.

betholson said...

Don't know if someone mentioned this yet, but Jack would have recognized Desmond on the plane because of their brief encounter at the stadium (?) where they were running the stairs for exercise... long before plane crashes and islands were involved.

It's interesting to think that the one person who shouldn't be on the plane at all (Desmond) is the one person Jack has any reason to recognize there.

NY Tim said...

Not a real explanation for the baseball, but the standard baseball does contain 108 double stitches......

Great post - thanks for putting this together as always. Great catch with the Orca doll.

Brian said...

My friend thinks there's a slip in logic regarding Ethan. I, like you, explained his appearance in the hospital as a result of getting on the sub. However, if he got on the sub before the timeline branched, then he shouldn't be on the island as an adult as we see him in season 1. I was in full explaining mode until she brought that out. Then I had a very Miles-to-Hurley-like "oh...I didn't think of that."

Tracey said...

My hope for Sayid and Claire is Jack's comment, 'Nothing is irreversible.' Been thinking about Man in Black's comment that nothing ever changes, they come, they fight, etc. Will the shepherd and the shepherdess (a la Doc J) be able to herd everyone (on Jacob's list?) onto the same page and defeat darkness? Live together, die alone! Lots of separate storylines and agendas but maybe the key is getting them all together - even the undead.

marie said...

I just want to say that I've been reading your episode reviews on Dark UFO for a while, and that they are the best and that I look forward to them every week as soon as the episode is over!

Anonymous said...

@Brian:

We're seeing that a lot of things were adversely affected by the Jughead detonation in this "sideways" reality. It's not far-fetched to think that Ethan may have been put on the sub in this timeline, even though he wasn't in the Season 1 timeline.

Heck, for all we know the bomb could have caused an electromagnetic anomaly that (as part of a chain reaction) caused the volcano to erupt, leading to the island being evacuated before it sunk.

We don't know how far-reaching the effect of The Incident is, we are just now learning that this season.

I have a feeling that a lot of things are going to be different.

It's like Season 1 all over again.

Anonymous said...

My niece said that the woman who met Kate and Claire at the door was Sawyer's wife. Any thoughts on that?

Bonnie

Jo aka Pandora said...

i might just have an over active imagination but when i watched this episode again tonight i had a thought about when Lennon said to Dogen, "and he swallowed it", could it have meant, "and he believed what you told him?" rather than the more literal "and he swallowed the pill". Dogen would have been speaking Japanese or Latin so Jack wouldn't have understood him. i don't know why Dogen would give Jack a fake poisen pill but it goes with Ben's earlier behaviour and lying is what Others do best!

Brasco said...

The baseball threw me too, so I 'binged" baseball and dogen and got something... maybe.
http://www.upaya.org/newsletter/view/2009/02/02 is a newsletter from a Zen center in New Mexico which has a whole section on the Master Dogen and Baseball in relationship to enlightenment. Ironically, there are Dharma sections of the site. No time to read everything on the site, but interesting tie in, especially since Namaste has been such a big word in the show. The other site was http://blog.beliefnet.com/treeleafzen/2009/08/practice-enlightenment-never-t.html which is a blog posting by a Master Dogen relating Bhuddism and Baseball.
Not sure if this helps, but maybe somebody else can pull more meat from the info or analogies.

Captain Peabody said...

The Baseball is totally a shout-out to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Keep in mind that Damon Lindelof is a self-proclaimed Trekkie, and the use of the baseball on the show matches pretty well with what we see on Lost.

In the series, Captain Sisko, the main hero and leader of the series, keeps a baseball on his desk through all seven seasons of the show, where he constantly plays with it, tosses it around, etc.

Within the show, the baseball also serves as a symbol of leadership, and particularly of Sisko's role as Commander of Deep Space Nine and beloved Emissary to the Bajoran people, a role that the main villain of the show, Dukat, greatly covets, even though he hates the Bajoran people and everything they stand for.

When the station is eventually taken over by Dukat, Sisko leaves his baseball behind on his desk, as a deliberate message that "he'll be back." During his brief reign over Bajor and DS9, Dukat assumes possession of the baseball as well as of Sisko's position of power; but in the end, when the station is retaken, Dukat lapses into insanity and ends up delivering the baseball right back to Sisko.

To me, at least, this seemed a pretty obvious reference. What do you think?

Anonymous said...

When Kate and the others were tracking Sayid, one of the others said to Kate something about not recognizing him. Evidently she knocked him out when Kate, Jack & Sawyer were being held captive. He also said that it was three years ago. I had assumed they had flashed forward to 2004, but are they really in 2007? Is that important or am I missing something?

Unknown said...

Hi there,
You're write-up was particulary hilarious this time! I cracked up when you wrote if Dogen appears in a Snuggie, you'll stop watching.
My thoughts about the temple scene:
The producers have always said LOST is primarily about redemption. I thought Sayid being "baptized" in the water (or whatever it was) and then being tortured was part of his redemption. He was the torturer being tortured. In addition, Sawyer was being his previous selfish self when he made a commotion about wanting to be alone. We then see that he cared deeply for Juliet. Jack who constantly wants to fix things and have things his way. We saw that with the pill..he wasn't going to be given orderes from Dogen. He had to do it his way. In addition, Kate finally admitted that she came back for Claire.
Everyone's issues they had in Season 1 and beyond came to a head in the temple. We saw the dichotomy between their previous selves and the ones they are now. Perhaps the temple is the place of redemption.

~T~ said...

My problem with Sayid being "claimed" by the man in black is 1. Jacob also touched Sayid and 2. The Others had put ash all around the temple perimeter....I'm surprised that the man in black would have been able to get to Sayid's body to do any claiming.

Unknown said...

Thank you for the write-up. As usual, it was the best one I've read. Also, congratulations on your book deal! You are a fantastic writer, and I am selfishly glad that you are going to be able to continue write-ups while you work on it.

Also, do you or anyone else know if Lost is going to be new next week and the next, or are they showing reruns because of the Olympics?

Andy said...

Hey E,
Great recap. I completely agree with you on your "choosing sides" theory, and wrote up my own the night of the episode.

We've heard for awhile now that "a war is coming" to the island. This "claiming" people seems to be the way that sides are being divided. Jacob has the Others, who he's brought to the island. The MIB has anyone who has died and not been properly buried.

My only question is that, besides Flocke, Sayid, and Claire, who else has the MIB "claimed"? We know of Rousseau's team, but she killed them all. The war seems pretty lop-sided if it's all those Others against 3 people.

Guess we'll have to wait and see!

Andy

Sherylm said...

Oh, what fun it in to read your posts and your snide asides (I'll say that in this show, I'm definitely on Team Jacob ;-) And I actually recognized a set of lyrics in this blog, which has to be a first for me!

I'm with you in your reasoning about how good this episode really was and about Kate recognizing Jack and vice-versa, Dogon, the pill, Sawyer/Kate (I've never seen an actor cry like a real person before...Josh Holloway is amazing this season), and how the two timelines seem to be influencing each other...not that things happen at the same time in both of them but that the important experiences and ties of the real timeline will increasing affect the sideways one. For me, in the end they will somehow rejoin to prove that Eloise Hawkings was right all along about the inevitability of time making the necessary course corrections.

Sawyer's comment about Sayid expressed my feelings completely since I cannot find any justification for shooting a child (or for a doctor like Jack being willing to just let that child die..) but I'm hoping that Jacob sensed that Sayid could and would be willing to do something so selfless that it would somehow redeem him. Having lived many years in the tropics where various parasite infections are common, most if not all the methods used to cure internal parasites involve taking medicine that poisons them and can make you very very ill. Given in the right amount and with carefully followed instructions, the poison cures you by killing them. That's what I think the pill is meant to do. After all, if Dogon had wanted to kill Sayid, he could have just forced the pill down his throat.

And I certainly hope that they find a way to help Clairesseau and get her back to her not-so-little-now "babay". And that the DS rings finds its way to Aaron.

Thanks again and let's keep our fingers crossed for elves ...and hobbits ;-)

Anonymous said...

Dogen in a Snuggie-LMAO!!!! One thing that confused me-Dogen is certain that Sayid has been claimed by the darkness and the Others seem to believe Jacob=good, Smokey/MIB=bad. Jacob gave Hurley the guitar case with the ankh with the note inside and told Hurley to take Sayid to the temple to save him. I can't believe that was all in vain when Jacob seems all-knowing and had set this whole plan in motion many years ago.

Unknown said...

I don't think Sayid joined the bad side exactly because: 1) This is what they want us to think, 2) This is what the Others say, 3) Jacob "touched" him.

Same for Claire: 1) The Monster entered in the village only after, when Ben called him, 2) This is what the Others want us to believe.

And I'm quite sure the Monster can take only ONE PERSON in ONE MOMENT... for example Lockes disappeared when Alex showed up on Ben's episode.

mukk said...

Nathan, I totally agree with you. The Baseball along with the talk about tough decision making was a clear reference to DS9 and Mr. Dismissed. I guess that the writers thought it to be appropriate to compare the situation the Others are in to the hopeless fight of Cpt. Sisko against the Dominion. Maybe it is even placed to ensure Logen to be seen as a clearly good guy. But there is surely another thing about it, this is still Lost :)

About the ongoing Zombie-scheme: I figured that Anti-Jacob cant be the guys in person. Rosseau mentioned that she shot both her colleagues after they changed. Along with the sound of it and the fact of Claire hanging out with Christian, there can be more than one zombie at a time. That fact combined with the claiming-procedure it is maybe a Buffy-Vampire-like thing, after a dead is claimed, they slowly develop the urge to act for the dark force but arent the bad overlord himself. Therefore, maybe, this can be Angel-like relativized, to stay in the Buffy-analogy. Nothing is irreversible and there is still hope for our dead buddys. Kind of wishfull thinking here, maybe :)

Unknown said...

e
always a good read but this week you had me chuckling a lot.

to the 2nd anonymous posting who wrote, "I had assumed they had flashed forward to 2004, but are they really in 2007? Is that important or am I missing something?"
Take a look back at the premier and you'll see definitive proof that indicates the time period when the temple others shoot off rockets and the others on the beach (richard, etc.) see it up in the sky. same time, same place.

to Brian:
I think your friend needs to remember that we're dealing with two versions here:
one where the island underwent something catastrophic in (we think) the 1970's which caused women and children to be evacuated before the whole damn thing went into the drink=ethan is a nice doctor in LA
and one where the island never went under and ethan was a crazy other who loved to stick needles in preggo's who's plane crashed on the island.

Beth@Not a Bow in Sight said...

You said that "Jacob has the others and the 815ers that he touched in the past." But Jacob touched Sayid...so how do you explain that Sayid was immediately taken by the MIB? Wouldn't Jacob's touch mean that Jacob "claimed" Sayid...therefore MIB cannot claim him? Just a thought...

Moses123 said...

Great recap, I always love yours.

One thing though, Those Others 100% wanted Sayid dead from that pill

Joshua said...

Another great recap, E! :)

Mellis said...

Awesome catch about the stuffed orca, e!! I didn't see that one at all. This show is soooo fun!

Here's a theory I read on the Temple vs. MiB: As you stated, MiB can claim those on the island who are not properly buried.

The waters of the Temple are healing waters for those who have been injured. However, there is "a risk," as Dogen admits. The risk is not death (which is what I thought Dogen meant) but infection. Seems like most times, infection is the rule. When the French team where injured by Smokie in the Temple, the Others put them in the water hoping for healing, but getting infection instead. Same thing happened to Claire and Sayid. Ben was the lucky one. He wasn't infected but healed. I thought it was a pretty good theory. Wish I could claim it as my own. :)

RebeccaZ said...

I think Jack sort of recognized Des on the plane because, in the other timeline, he would have met him running up and down the stairs.

I was totally reminded of Rousseau torturing Sayid, too ...

Anonymous said...

This is Sarah M. in MI - One speculation I've seen is that the date on Claire's ultrasound was her due date, as she wasn't due for 4 more weeks.
But if the production team says it's a mistake, I guess we have to go with that.

Great write up, as always!

Ian E said...

Hey e,

Not sure if anyone posted this, but regardless of women keeping their last names in Korea, if you watch the scene with security and their scene on the plane it's clear that neither Sun nor Jin are wearing wedding rings. My wife and I scanned it, and there are no rings on them. I doubt it would be a continuity thing since they made sure Desmond had a ring.

Anonymous said...

Hi

For those confused about Ethan as an Other and as Ethan Goodspeed, doctor, in the alternate timeline, he always left the island on the submarine. In the one where the island sank he could never return and so became a doctor. However where Jughead exploded but didn't sink the island, i.e. the current situation, he presumably returned with his mother Amy to his father Horace and then got in with Ben etc. etc.

jojolost said...

Great recap. Have a question and sorry if it has been answered already. How does Dogan know that Jack and Claire are brother and sister?

Anonymous said...

Did anyone notice that the Juliette/ Sawyer engagement ring looked like the Desmond/ Penny one ?? And that the rings were BOTH tossed in the water?? Any connection with that ?? And WHERE did Sawyer get an engagement ring anyway ?!

meh~ said...

Thanks for another great recap! ^^
Let me add my 2 cents:

I was very surprised at the fact that this is the Zombie season we've been hearing about all this time.!
Apart from that, I found this episode a little slow/boring (just like most of Kate-centric episodes) but once I got over the absence of all the "whooah!" moments I expected (looks like I missed one of those moments though, I didn't recognize Aaron's stuffed animal), I realized it provided us with very interesting new information.

- And for the record, I don't care if they dole out ONE more answer on this show. I mean it. I can explain everything we've seen so far courtesy of my over-active imagination.

Very well said.

Unknown said...

Hey e.

Great post as usual.


Just to let you know about a small thing you mentioned, that you're not sure if Kate and Jack had met on the Island at the same time that she gave him the look in this ALT.

But yes they did, because we saw that Jack was hurt and he was alone in the jungle, only to be joined by "not-able-to-sit-in-my-spot Kate when he told her about the 5 seconds rule of fear. It was immediately after running all over the passengers that needed help, that would be enough time for the plane to land in LA X.

Also, Jack and Desmond met before the plane, at the stadium.

Anonymous said...

Think this episode was also about 'the sickness' i.e. that that affected Rousseau's team. Think that the Man in Black can also infect the living if they go below the Temple where Smokey lives, and in a similar way to how he affects the dead. Hence why Rousseau killed her team as the sickness took hold of them and why she tortured Sayid back in Season 1to see if he had it also.

Also, did you realise the alternate timeline is caused by the action of someone who was never even born i.e. Daniel? Think about it. He caused Jughead to be exploded but in the alternate timeline the island sank, presumably killing his mother and his unborn self. This has to be the ultimate time travel paradox, unless of course it was somehow possible for the island to be evacuated before it sank. However this could cause unending confusion if you end up with 2 versions of Hawking and Widmore off the island. One in the alternate reality and one in the whatever happened happened.

Finally watch out for Rousseau and the french team (Montand complete with arm!) apppearing in the alternate reality. Also Alex and maybe even the real Henry Gale. None of them would have ever reached the island in the alternate time line, while Alex would have been born to Rousseau and Robert rather than being born on the island and taken by Ben.

john said...

Ahhhh Kate.... She is my ideal fantasy woman. If only... but I can dream...

Anonymous said...

Great post about what I thought was a very good episode (despite the general consensus). I went back and started watching Season 1 again this weekend and it was quite refreshing to have slower, more character-driven episodes. That's not to say I won't enjoy episodes later this season when I'm sure the show will kick into high gear, but I just as well can enjoy episodes like What Kate Does.

So, I guess all I'm trying to say is that I agree with you, Erika.

Michael said...

Hello Erika.
I really enjoy every word you write into your blog. And it's funny to read some german words like "heimlich" too.
Keep up the good work!

Viel Glück

Michael from Hannover (germany)

Lockman said...

Erika,
Wonderful recap as usual....
I was glad you said what I was thinking about Jack and Kate realizing that they knew each other.
And if you think about it plane crash vs. plane making it all the way to LAX could fill in the time that it took for Jack and Kate to actual start talking to each other on the island. just a thought. But I was definitely thinking that exact same thing.

Missed that Miles quote about the food court. Don't know how but that would have earned a laugh.

Frank said...

Im starting to think that Jack is from the same place that Jacob and MIB are. I.E. he's one of them but he can't remember for some reason.

'he who walks among us but is not one of us'

I don't have any reasons why apart from he seems to be a major player in Lost and the actor is the only one who knows the end.

Series de Bolsillo said...

Hi. Great recap as always.

Although you made clear that Ethan left the island in 1977, when Miles told his dad everything, I think you overlooked something.

Other-Ethan last name was ROM, and Doctor-Ethan-Alter is GODSPEED, like his dad Horace. Why he changed his last name to ROM. It could be Amy´s last name or something else...

Also, Dogan told Jack if Sayid doesn´t get "cured" the infection will spread. Claire has been "infected" tree years now. Who else is infected?

Regards from Spain

Laura

cgicgi said...

@lorilooski:

I think you're 100% right. In the fringe universe(s) the typewriter is used to communicate with an alternate universe (along with a mirror - which I missed on Dogen's desk).
I think JJAbrams will make sure, that after Season6 has been finished, everyone will go on to Fringe (that's why Fringe is on Hiatus just until Lost ends)

(Actually I hope nothing of the above is true, as I think it is quite lame to answer mysteries this way)

Anonymous said...

I love reading your recaps! I laughed outloud when you wrote Team Jacob Team Edw..oops! :)

hatch-man said...

OK, just to stir things up: what if Sayid is not infected by MIB, but rather by Jacob?

Two sides; one light, one dark. Neither is good or bad, just different.

Rachel said...

Hey! Great post, as usual :D
I've been re-watching series one myself recently, and you mentioned about Locke's 'one is light, one is dark'. If you remember in 'House of the Rising Sun', Jack finds 'Adam and Eve' in the caves, and one of them has a little bag with one white stone and one black stone in it. A reference to Jacob and MIB maybe?

Anonymous said...

I just had a silly thought: maybe Jacob wasn't protecting the Island playing the weird game with the 'Man in Black'(MiB), maybe he was protecting the world from the MiB and the war Widmore was talking about could only happen off the Island when the MiB was freed.That only occured to me after watching s604 when the fake Lock- MiB 'under cover'was trying to convince James to 'go home'(and apparently succeeded-please leave Sawyer, take me instead, beast!!!).
Probably that was only the trick MiB was using to 'recruit', but what if he needs someone to get him out of the Island?
I still cannot believe Sawyer accepted the offer. It is truth he was vulnerable, angry and he did not care about anthing anymore, but I was sure being a con himself he could easily read a con. I'm not too convinced about Sawyer's being recruited (i believe in you james!).
When asked if he wanted to go home Sawyer said:
'Hell yeah'
I'm afraid that's where he can end up if he follows the Man in Black...
Kasha

Mindy said...

"Team Edw-" I DIE!!! Thanks for cracking me up. Thanks also for getting "There's A Hole In My Bucket" stuck in my head. I didn't think anyone remembered that song but me and now I'll be singing it for days. Grrrreat.

Anonymous said...

Dear Erika,
tanx 4 ur lovely blog.A ques: Is there any significance 2 death of main characters' fathers?