An episode of Lost without Ben Linus or John Locke is a risky proposition, and that goes double for an episode that tries to get us invested in the creaky old Jack-Kate-Sawyer love triangle again. But "What Kate Does" might be the most engaging Kate-centric episode since season one, giving us both evidence of how the altered, Los Angeles-based timeline might reflect the old one and an emotional crux for the island story that ends in a whopper of a surprise. We didn't get all that far over the course of the episode, but the answers we got-- the nature of these new Others in the temple, what the hell is happening with Sayid, the point of the Los Angeles timeline-- seem crucial parts of where we go from here. I mean, there's only 15 or so episodes left-- they'd better be crucial.
Questions Answered
Is Sayid still Sayid? Depends on who you ask. The Japanese leader of the Temple Others-- his name is apparently Dogen, by the way-- seems to believe that Sayid is about to be "claimed" by "a darkness" that will take over everything that's left of the real Sayid. Now given that the Smoke Monster, the guy known for "claiming" people on the island thus far, is currently residing inside John Locke over by the four-toed statue, it's possible Dogen has nothing to worry about. But there's also another explanation…
What happened to Claire? She's been setting traps and turning into the new Rousseau, in a series of events that will clearly be their own flashback soon enough. Is she inhabited by darkness or is this just island living? Who knows. The last-minute reveal of a gun-toting, totally filthy Claire-- who appeared to be responsible for the traps that felled random Temple Others and Jin-- was a nice twist on an episode that brought her back for the Los Angeles scenes. I honestly thought we were going to get some sob-story explanation about how Claire died or was being held captive by some supernatural force; seeing one of the show's most passive characters actually coming into her own, even for just a few seconds, was immensely satisfying.
Is the new timeline course-correcting to match the old one? Seems like it. Even though Claire made it to Los Angeles, where she intended to give Aaron up, the world had other plans. The couple intending to adopt the baby had broken up, and just as Claire went into inconveniently timed labor, Kate was there to help her-- just like on the island. And who's that helpful, smiling doctor who just wants to help Claire get through the labor? Our old kidnapping friend Ethan, who had all kinds of different medical plans for Claire's body back on the island. It's still unclear exactly what we're to get out of these alternative-reality scenes in Los Angeles, but it's nice that the writers have already started dropping hints about course-correction, letting us know that no matter how hard the Losties tried to avoid the island, it has a way of coming back to them.
Is Jack's hero complex still alive and well? As if you had a doubt. Last week it was saving Charlie when he didn't want to be saved, this week it was sticking up for Sayid when the Temple Others were trying to force a pill on him, and finding out through a crazy stunt that the pill is poison. Dogen and company believe Sayid will turn into a monster like Claire soon enough, and while Claire looks as awesome as Annie Oakley out there with her rifle, the Others also tend to be right about predicting awful things happening on the island. Jack may have once again saved someone who probably didn't need rescuing.
Is Sayid a zombie? No, at least as far as Sayid is concerned. Hurley asked the question we all had on our minds and got one of the only laughs of the episode. It's a shame they don't let him do more, but the comic relief is always welcome.
New Questions
Who is Claire? Dogen thinks she's been claimed by some evil being, while those of us who remember Rousseau probably always figured that the "sickness" that felled her crew probably messed up her head a bit as well. Claire sure didn't seem sick when she popped up out of the jungle, and really, setting traps seems like a pretty logical response to getting abandoned in the woods. But only time will tell who really turn out to be the crazy ones here.
What happens when that darkness takes over? Again, it depends on who you ask-- we really have no reason to trust Dogen and company beyond their resources within the temple, and Sayid sure doesn't seem to think he's about to die. How much do you want to bet SmokeLocke will show up to clear all this up.
Where's Sawyer off to? The fact that Sawyer was given another episode to cope with Juliet's death says a lot about the writers' allegiance to the character, even if it was all coupled with yet another instance of Kate running out where she didn't belong. Sawyer flings the ring he intended for Juliet out into the water, and last we see him, he's retreated back into one of the homes of New Otherton. He's got a lot of things to figure out, we know that much.
Where We Go From Here
Explain Claire-- like, now. It's been so long since we've seen her that it's not worth risking we forget her again, and now that she and Sayid-- two beloved characters, of course--are both threatened by the same potential illness, now's the time to explain what's going on and prepare us to have our hearts broken. Plus, it's been too long since Rousseau died. The island needs another crazy-eyed badass.
Keep connecting the timeline dots. Ethan and Kate helping Claire deliver Aaron despite the fact that none of them were on the island is good-- now go further. Find Locke and get him to build Aaron a crib. Break Boone's leg. Introduce Hurley and Libby. Give us enough of those season one and two signposts, and more and more of them, to let us know that things are careening together quickly. It's going to be hard to sustain interest in these Los Angeles story lines otherwise.
Give Sawyer one last redemption. His character stalled for what seemed like forever once he found the real Sawyer and killed him, but romance with Juliet gave him another shot. Now Sawyer is once again a man with something to fight for, and he's never better than when he's holding a gun with that passion in his eyes. We love the sarcastic leader in the Dharma jumpsuit, but it's time to see Sawyer do battle again. For what? Eh, that's for the writers to figure out.
Make Jack's leadership meaningful again. The man who never backed down from a challenge is on a roll this season, despite the fact that no one on the island knows the reset actually worked. From taking the pill instead of Sayid to punching the Temple Others who wouldn't give him answer, Jack has been much less brooding and much more of a real leader this season. Keep it up. We loved him as our leader in season one, and after all this time, it'd be nice to circle back around.
