Summary: In flashforwards, Kate is on trial for her crimes and things aren't going in her favour. In a desperate attempt to help her, Kate's lawyer brings Jack to the witness stand where he attests for Kate's character to make her appear more likeable. Kate speaks with her mom, the main witness and gets her to decide not to testify. Kate is given a deal, 10 years probation and no leaving the state which she takes. Jack and Kate meet outside and discuss their future. It's revealed that Kate has a child, and it's Aaron. On the island, Kate sneakily talks to Miles when Locke doesn't let her see him. Kate wants to know if they know who she is. Miles agrees to tell her if Kate can get him with Ben for 1 minute. With Sawyer's help, Kate sneaks Miles into Locke's house where Ben is. Miles offers to tell the freighter that Ben is dead for 3.2 million dollars. Locke realizes what Kate has done and sends her home. He learns what Miles said to Ben and then banishes Kate from the barracks. Sawyer tries to get Kate to stay but when it's clear that Kate is planning to leave anyways, a resigned and annoyed Sawyer lets her go back to Jack's camp. Meanwhile, Jack gets upset when Desmond and Sayid haven't called in from the freighter and that nobody knows where they have gone.
The Good: Once more, this episode was really compact and had a great pace to it. The drama on the island was really engaging and there was a sense of importance in the main plot. Kate's goal to get Miles to speak with Ben was an engaging story, and it set up some fun setpieces as Kate and Sawyer schemed their way past Locke to make this meet-up happen. It's enjoyable television that leads to a tense climax as Miles gives Ben a very intriguing offer that continues to amp up the mystery surrounding the freighter (see: The Unknown). Outside of the plot, this episode spends a lot of time teasing the idea of Kate as a mother. It's mentioned frequently on the island and it's contrasted by the reveal of Kate having a son in the flashforwards. The episode heavily teases that the baby is Sawyer's, and there's a lot of time spent setting this up as a possibility. It seemed so heavy-handed to me and initially I wasn't a fan of how the show was so heavily building to this obvious reveal. But of course no show can surprise like "Lost" can, and we get the surprise ending reveal that Kate's "son" is actually Aaron. It's an excellent twist that's not only really surprising, but is also quite ominous when you remember Claire's flashbacks with Richard Malkin and how Claire is supposed to raise Aaron. This extra information turns a pleasant surprise into something that could be a major twist that completely changes the show. I'm very excited to see what comes next. I thought that this episode did a superb job depicting the characters. Kate is of course as selfish as ever as she refuses to settle in with Sawyer on the island, and outright rejects her mother in the flashforwards. Ben is fittingly quite manipulative as he preys on Locke's insecurity as effectively as ever. Locke on the other hand is completely lost despite having his faith renewed and is totally unsure of what to do. Terry O'Quinn is excellent as always and it's great to see Locke's frustrations coming out again. Sawyer comes off superbly well. He genuinely looks to be in love with Kate and wants nothing more than to spend more time with her. However, he isn't a fool and we get to see him very openly chastise Kate over her poor treatment of him. It's a lovely bit of character growth as Sawyer adjusts to the flaws in the woman he loves. Hurley is as loveable as ever in the episode as he cluelessly falls for Kate's trap. Finally there's Jack who is suitably angry about the lack of news from the freighter and quickly turns on Charlotte and Daniel to get what he needs for his people. As a final point, I thought that the flashforwards had some really strong scenes. Jack on the witness stand (see: Best Moment), Kate reuniting with her mother, Kate and Jack's conversation near the end of the episode, and of course the Aaron reveal were all very good scenes. The Bad: Some of the writing here was extremely sloppy and it prevents this episode from scoring higher. What particularly irked me was the lack of attention to detail during the trial scenes. The trial itself is practically nonsensical and all logic was thrown out the window for the sake of drama. It was clear that the show did not care at all about authenticity when setting up these courtroom scenes. Hell, the courtroom didn't even look like a courtroom! It's very easy to poke holes in the drama we are presented. The witnesses are called up in the incorrect order. Furthermore, it's amazing how there was only one witness against Kate (her mother). Were there really not any other people who would attest to what she has done. How able the guy from the bank in "Whatever the Case May Be" or the thugs that Kate worked with? How about her ex-husband? Any other strangers who witnessed any of the multiple crimes she committed? It's absurd that Diane was the only witness to build the case upon. I'm sure if you have a greater knowledge of legal proceedings than I do, there are even more holes that can be poked into this story. Kate's arc on the island is pretty difficult to buy into. Is she really willing to go to such an extreme only to figure out if the freighter people know who she is? Of course they know who she is! She was preparing for this exact situation back in "Born to Run" in season 1! Did Kate expect people to just forget about her? It's ridiculous. Furthermore, why does she have to ask Miles, who seems like the least likely person to answer her question. All she has to do is go back to Jack's camp and ask Daniel or Charlotte instead, which is much less risky. I get that the writers wanted Locke to do somethign dramatic in response to Miles orchestrating something behind his back. But sticking a grenade in his mouth and pulling out the pin is the height of stupidity. It takes one tiny mistake from Miles and he's blowing up. One jaw cramp, or one sneeze will kill Miles. What use is it to keep a hostage like that if you're going to take such a huge risk with his life? The Unknown: What is the exact story that the Oceanic Six told the press? Why did they lie about what happened? Is somebody forcing them to stay quiet? Why does Miles want 3.2 million dollars specifically? It's a very odd number. Is this the whole reason he signed up for this mission? To make more money from Ben? There's still a lot to be uncovered about his motives. Why has it taken so long for Desmond, Sayid and Frank to arrive at the freighter? Did something happen to the helicopter? Does this have something to do with Daniel's experiment from the previous episode with the time discrepancy? What was with Daniel's memory test? Has he been having memory problems? How did that happen? He seems to be quite bright. What went wrong with Jack and Kate? They were on much better terms here than in "Through the Looking Glass". Is Sawyer not one of the Oceanic Six? It seems odd to have a Kate-centric episode and not have him appear if he is actually off the island. Why is Kate the one raising Aaron? What happened to Claire? Did she die? How did Kate end up with Aaron in this situation? What are the consequences of Aaron not being raised by Claire? How is this going to effect the future of the show? Best Moment: The most powerful moment to me was Jack effortlessly throwing out lies on the stand as he sticks to the false story that the Oceanic Six have apparently been telling everyone. Kate's evident discomfort as Jack says things about her that are inherently false is terrific and it was the part of the episode that hooked me the most. Character of the Episode: Kate. Conclusion: Kate episodes have always been a weakness of "Lost" and that remains true here. However, a strong plot twist, engaging drama and some really good scenes ensured that this wasn't a bad episode and was actually quite fun in spite of some writing issues. Season 4 is running at a much better pace than the first 3 seasons and I'm intrigued to see if this pacing can be maintained throughout the season. Score: 65
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|