Lost: Season 2, Episode 9 "What Kate Did" Review

"Don't mistake coincidence for fate."

-Mr. Eko

The 9th episode of the second season of Lost gives us some important Kate (Evangeline Lilly) flashbacks.  We see her blow up her house with her drunk and abusive stepfather, Wayne (James Horan), inside.  After seeing her mother and hinting at what happened, Kate tries to run, but is quickly captured by U.S. Marshal Ed Mars (Fredric Lane).  She escapes when a black horse runs in front of their car causing them to crash.  Kate goes to see her father, Sam (Lindsey Ginter), and tells him she figured out Wayne was actually her biological father.  Sam says he didn't tell her because he knew Kate would kill Wayne.

On the island, Kate collects fruit out in the jungle to feed to the recovering Sawyer (Josh Holloway).  On her way back, she runs into the black horse that saved her from the Marshal.  She takes over nursing duties from Jack (Matthew Fox), so he can attend Shannon's (Maggie Grace) funeral.  A delirious Sawyer attacks Kate claiming she killed him and Kate flees the hatch.

Jack and Locke (Terry O'Quinn) return to the hatch and barely press the button in time.  Jack tracks down Kate and questions her about why she left.  In the middle of an emotional breakdown, Kate kisses Jack and runs away.  She ends up back at the hatch where she speaks to Sawyer as if he were Wayne.  She says she killed him because she hated that he was a part of her and she felt like she would never be good because of that.  Sawyer wakes up and Kate takes him outside where they see the horse.

Locke shows Michael (Harold Perrineau) and Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) around the hatch and then the orientation film.  Mr. Eko reveals he found a missing segment of the film in the Arrow station.  They splice it in and they learn that the computer can't be used to do anything other than input the code or it could cause another incident.  A message appears on the computer and Michael responds only to learn it might be Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) on the other end.

What Works:

"What Kate Did" is my least favorite episode of Lost, but even my least favorite episode has stuff I like.  The strongest story in the episode is the flashbacks.  They aren't spectacular, but there are some emotional moments that I found interesting.  My favorite part of the episode is the first flashback where Kate blows up Wayne.  It caught me off guard and I appreciate that they answer the question about Kate so early in the episode.

The b-plot about the orientation film is pretty interesting the first time you watch this series, but definitely loses impact on the rewatch, which I'll get into below.  At least it gives us more screen time between Locke and Mr. Eko who are both great.

Finally, the cliffhanger is pretty excellent.  Michael discovering he might be talking to Walt is great and I like how the reveal is done with just a single word.  It definitely got me hyped for the next step in Michael's story.

What Sucks:

The biggest problem with "What Kate Did" is the main story.  It's painfully uninteresting.  I really don't want to watch Kate run around the jungle, kiss guys, and keep running around while crying.  It's not interesting at all.  Kate is not one of my favorite characters on Lost and this episode is one of the main reasons why.  She's incredibly frustrating and I hate how she abandons the hatch and nearly lets the timer hit zero.  

The Jack and Kate romance is fine, but not my favorite part of the show.  That said, the first kiss between them should be exciting, but it comes during my least favorite scene of the series with Kate crying and arguing with Jack.  I didn't feel anything besides annoyance when they finally kissed.  And the horse mystery is another dud.  Who cares?!

The b-plot has almost no impact on the show as a whole.  It tells us that the computer can't be used for communication or it could cause another incident.  In the next scene, Michael uses the computer without any issues.  This reveal never comes up again and it feels like a colossal waste of time.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most useful character in a given episode.  "What Kate Did" was the toughest decision I've had to make in regards to this award.  Nobody really did anything all that useful.  Finally, I decided to give it to Mr. Eko for bringing the missing piece of the film all the way across the island and helping Locke splice it back together.  That's all I've got.  This is Mr. Eko's 3rd time winning the award.

Verdict:

"What Kate Did" is hands down my least favorite episode of Lost.  I hate Kate's island story.  I find it boring and frustrating.  Kate herself sucks throughout and the horse mystery and missing piece of film have no real payoff.  The flashback is fine and the cliffhanger is solid, but this is not a good episode of Lost or a good episode of TV in general.

 4/10: Bad