Lost ReWatch: What Kate Did
Season 2, Episode 9
Hello, welcome to 4 Buckets a community for musings on life, food, books, and pop culture. Pop down below and leave a comment, I promise I don’t bite.
Hero of the episode: Mr. Eko Zero of the episode: Kate
Quote(s) of the episode: “Katherine, what did you do?” –Kate’s mom | “I’m sorry I’m not as perfect as you. I’m sorry I’m not as good.” –Kate to Jack
Music vibes: Deep sadness at the start of Shannon’s funeral, but sounds a bit hopeful at the end
Little things: Jack and Ana-Lucia finally have that drink | Kate plays Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight” | Jin finally gets the handcuffs cut off| Jack gives Kate a much-needed hug
Episode notebook:
Sayid is digging Shannon’s grave. It’s a somber shot as the rest of the survivors are starting the day.
Sawyer is mumbling in his sleep.
Kate sees a black horse in the jungle. Like everyone else who’s seen things in the jungle, this horse is tied to her past.
We finally learn what Kate did. She killed a man, Wayne. Her mother’s husband. But why?
Kate goes on the run. Mom gives her up, ratting her out to the police.
Mr. Eko attends Shannon’s funeral. Ana-Lucia declines. Eko tries to reassure her that most people know Shannon’s death was an accident.
Sayid expresses his love for Shannon, acknowledging they never would have met without the plane crash.
Michael explores the hatch, and notices there are blast doors.
Eko and Michael watch the Dharma video. Eko realizes he has the missing footage from the video.
Kate starts wondering if Wayne’s ghost is haunting her.
Sawyer awakens in the hatch, thinking they’ve been rescued. Kate brings him back to reality.
Eko and Locke watch the complete video.
Someone communicates with Michael via the computer, but is it a trap?
Episode recap: The first few minutes of this episode wastes no time in answering the question, “What did Kate do?” What did she do that led to a life on the run? She killed a man named Wayne. Someone she knew, but loathed enough to blow him to pieces in an explosion.
Sawyer is still recuperating, but in between labored breaths has started to mumble a few words. “I love her.” Is he talking about Kate? Jack certainly thinks so, leaving Sawyer in Kate’s care out of jealousy. There was no subtlety when it came to this love triangle. Jack wears his emotions on his sleeve. Rather than tell Kate how he feels, Jack runs away. Kate isn’t much better, choosing to keep all her feelings, about everything, under wraps. But the bubble is about to burst.
Kate starts seeing and hearing things, making her question her sanity. She sees a black horse in the middle of the jungle. She hears Sawyer utter five words that rattle her, “Why did you kill me?” Is Wayne reaching out from beyond the grave? How is this possible? It’s the island. The island has a knack for making people confront their trauma and their sins. It’s Kate’s turn to take a deeper look at herself.
What was so bad about Wayne? What did he do that made Kate take his life? What was so horrible about him? Was he abusive? Yes, he regularly beat Kate’s mother, Diane. Despite the abuse, Diane was deeply in love with Wayne, so much so that she told the police about Kate confessing to Wayne’s murder. But why did Kate do it? Even the marshal can’t get the truth out of her. After capturing Kate for the first time, the marshal ponders what made her turn. What turned a law-abiding citizen into a killer? He doesn’t get the answer, fate intervenes. They get into a car accident, swerving to avoid a horse—a black horse.
The answers to Kate’s descent into crime come to fruition in the past and the present. In the past, Kate learned that Wayne was her biological father. In the present, Kate confesses to a sleeping Sawyer that she killed Wayne because she hated that he was part of her. Hated that a man like Wayne was part of her DNA. She would forever be tainted if Wayne was part of her life. I’m quite skeptical as this being a justification for murder. If she did it to protect her mother from an abusive husband, that was plausible. But to kill because she hated what he was and was afraid to become like him, doesn’t make a lot of sense. This is fiction, it won’t always make sense. But that confession gives Kate some absolution as Sawyer wakes up shortly after. Waking up in the hatch, Sawyer believes they’ve been rescued. All the food and medicine make for a rosy picture, but once outside Sawyer realizes they’re still on the island—facing an uncertain future.
Mr. sheds some light on the road ahead. After Locke shows the Dharma video to him and Michael, Eko realizes he has some of the answers to the edited video. The bible Eko found in the other Dharma station was actually the hiding place for the rest of the video. Splicing the two pieces together results in more questions than answers. The man in the video warns not to use the computer for anything other than entering the numbers, deviating could result in another “incident.” What incident? What happened? Why is entering the numbers the computer’s only function? Questions Michael would have been asking if he had been in the room when the complete video was playing. Alone in the computer room, someone attempts to make contact with Michael. A mysterious person sends a message via the computer, which Michael answers. The mystery person claims to be Walt. Is this real or imagined? Is Michael seeing what he wants to see? He’s a grieving father, he wants his child back. But at what cost? Will making contact have consequences for the larger group? Please keep reading my recap for episode ten is posted.