Lost ReWatch: Left Behind
Season 3, Episode 15
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Hero of the episode: Cassidy, Hurley Zero of the episode: Juliet
Quote(s) of the episode: “Just one girl watching another girl’s back, I guess.”—Kate on why she helped Cassidy | “I don’t want to go home, Kate.”—Locke | “Welcome to the wonderful world of not knowing what the hell is going on.”—Kate to Juliet | “What you did, you did for yourself.”—Kate’s mom
Music vibes: funny notes when Sawyer tries to fish; creepy and scary when Kate and Juliet run from the smoke monster
Little things: Hurley trying to talk covertly to Sawyer | Sawyer tries, unsuccessfully, to clean a fish | Sawyer struggling to be nice to people
Episode notebook:
Opens with a handcuffed Kate itching to hit someone. Kate hits Juliet, who is bringing her food, with a pool stick. Juliet flips her over.
More flashbacks to Kate’s life on the run. She runs into Cassidy (from The Long Con episode), who is running the same schemes Sawyer taught her.
Hurley tells Sawyer he needs to shape up or be banished from the beach.
Kate and Cassidy bond over drinks. Cassidy volunteers to help Kate speak with her mom.
Locke is leaving with the Others. Why? He stops to say goodbye to Kate.
The Others take off. Juliet is left behind, shackled to Kate.
Cassidy visits Kate’s mother in disguise, trying to gauge if the marshal is watching.
Kate tells Cassidy more about her past.
Kate and Juliet argue while walking in the jungle. Juliet blames Kate for ruining Jack’s chance to get off the island.
Juliet reveals that Jack saw Kate and Sawyer’s intimate moment.
Sawyer realizes Hurley conned him.
Kate gets her moment with Mom, but it isn’t what she was expecting.
Kate feels guilty in the past and the present.
Juliet reveals the truth. Jack, Kate, Sayid, and Juliet head back to the beach.
Episode recap: Kate is a wild spirit, impossible to control or contain. She’s always seeking an escape, whether it’s during her life before the island—running from the marshal—or on the island, where she keeps much of herself hidden. Jack told her not to come after him, and true to form she didn’t listen. Now, she’s paying the price, locked away in a clubhouse, searching not just for a way out but answers. Why is Jack really leaving?
Flashbacks in this episode reveal yet another chapter in Kate’s life on the run. Stranded by car trouble in a small Iowa town, she crosses paths with Cassidy—the same woman Sawyer swindled. Cassidy, running the jewelry scams that Sawyer taught her, tries to convince a man her merchandise is genuine. But when he threatens to call the cops, Kate steps in to save the day, buying a necklace. However, Kate asks for her money back once they’re alone. Cassidy is thankful for the assist but is certain Kate, who is going by the alias Lucy, is the one afraid of the cops. As they commiserate over drinks, Kate decides to tell Cassidy some personal details: she’s running from federal marshals after killing her stepfather. She’s actually in town to speak with her mother. Impressed with her honesty, Cassidy volunteers to help Kate. But first, they need to gauge if Kate’s mom is under surveillance.
On the island, Locke comes to say farewell to Kate. He’s leaving with his new comrades. John pleaded for Kate to come along, but according to the Others, she’s not a good person. People who kidnap children, kidnap a pregnant Claire, hold people captive, and run covert scientific experiments are the moral authority? The Others pack up and run, gassing Kate into unconsciousness. She wakes up in the jungle handcuffed to Juliet. Why? Why were these two women left behind in the jungle?
Off the island, Cassidy risks her freedom to find out if it’s safe for Kate to speak with her mom. Spoiler alert, it’s not. Disguised as Kate, Cassidy is immediately surrounded by the authorities, including the marshal, who has made it his mission to find the fugitive woman. Once Cassidy is released, she demands Kate tell her there is a good reason to put herself at risk. Why continue to help a stranger if it will cost her freedom? Kate reveals she tried to save her mother from an abuser and is desperate to know why her own mother turned her into the cops? Why did the woman who gave birth to her put a man above her daughter? It’s enough to convince Cassidy to continue helping. When the moment with her mother finally comes, Kate doesn’t get the answer she was hoping for. Her mom couldn’t control who she fell in love with, but Kate could have controlled her behavior. She didn’t kill out of protection; she did it for her own selfish reasons. This is the end of the road for mother and daughter, if Kate comes back, Mom will scream for help. Mom was true to her word, see the Born to Run episode.
Back in the jungle, Kate and Juliet are left wondering why they were left behind. The back-and-forth arguments are interrupted by an appearance of the smoke monster. Time to run, but what are they running from? Juliet claims not to know, but that’s not completely true. As they reach the pylons surrounding the camp, she’s forced to reveal that she has a key to the cuffs, and they can use the security system to fend off the monster. So, Juliet has been lying? She handcuffed herself to Kate after the people she called friends left her behind. If Kate thought they were in the same boat, maybe Juliet wouldn’t be left behind again. Everyone on this island is some kind of con artist, with Sawyer at the top of the list. Juliet should fit right in with everyone else. After returning to the camp to free Jack and Sayid, the good doctor declares Juliet is coming to the beach. How will that go over? The enemy will be in the tent next door instead of hiding deep in the jungle? Is this another con? Please keep reading, my recap for episode sixteen is posted.
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