Season Six Starts February 2!

This is just to let you know - a date has been set!

Sayid Jarrah, Season Five

Ah, the futility of it all. When I think of Sayid during Season Five, that’s all I can think of. How futile it all was for him. A man of action, he took the opportunity to kill a future evil, to put it to rest, and to change his own life and those of so many others. Sadly, what he couldn’t know is that his act actually set into motion the very events that turned Ben into Ben.

I’ve been told that my post on Ben Linus was a very emotional one, and looking back, I realize that is so. This post, I believe, will be no less so, because the evolution of this character, one of my very favorites, has truly saddened me. Sayid is a good man, with a good heart, who made a decision that to me, was so horrific and wrong-minded, that I fear he can never achieve atonement. That his decision, his act, was futile makes it all that harder for me

Sayid had one episode this season. For many episodes, Sayid was either unconscious or hiding in the jungle. He was a minor character, even at the end, throughout the season, with the exception of one episode, He’s Our You.

As I posted following the episode, I found He’s Our You to be somewhat off. The episode seemed designed to show us that from the very beginning of his life, Sayid was nothing more than a heartless killer. I’ve never seen him that way. For one thing, I don’t know that we ever saw Sayid kill anyone until he broke the neck of an Other (Jason) with his feet in Through the Looking Glass. Until The Economist, Sayid only killed to protect his own life or those of others. After The Shape of Things to Come, we understood how Ben manipulated Sayid’s grief over Nadia’s death to use Sayid’s military skills to kill Ben’s enemies. Not a great moment for Sayid – hello, where’s your infamous intuition? But we saw in He’s Our You that Sayid seemed to relish his role with Ben, and was devastated when it ended so abruptly.

How could Ben’s words in the Dominican Republic turn Sayid into a killer of twelve-year-old boys? What made Sayid decide that Ben was so evil that he needed to be killed as a child? These are questions that I feel were not answered this season. They certainly weren’t answered in He’s Our You.

I won’t go into great detail about the events of He’s Our You, because I know that my thinking hasn’t altered that much since I posted on the episode. Sayid’s shooting of the twelve-year-old was foreshadowed in previous episodes, but his decision still shocked and appalled me. That his was the first step that turned Ben into Ben wasn’t known until later, and makes the act not just futile but also senseless.

I have read other commentators who believe that this is the end of Sayid – that nothing he can do will ever make up for that one act. Even if everything is erased by Juliet’s explosion of Jughead, the act remains engraved on Sayid’s heart one way or another. And that saddens me, because, up until The Economist, Sayid was one of the most redeemable of our characters.

Sayid spent the remainder of the season first, hiding in the jungle. He rescued Kate and Jack from an overly hostile Hostile, and learned that Kate saved Ben. He helped Jack figure out Jughead, and was shot trying to carry it out of the Barracks. He suffered a fatal wound, I suspect, but Jack did his best to save Sayid. Sayid remained in the van while Jack, Sawyer, Juliet, Kate, and Miles worked to set Jughead off (where was Hurley? Taking care of Sayid?). Obviously, we have no idea what happens after Jughead detonated.

The Actor

Naveen Andrews has had a long-term relationship with actress Barbara Hershey. However, during a “break”, he had an affair with actress Elena Eustache, and sired a son, Naveen Joshua Andrews. Andrews the actor reunited with Hershey, and shared joint custody with Eustache. However, on January 7, 2009, Andrews won sole custody after Eustache took the boy out of LA County in defiance of a court order and accused Hershey of practicing witchcraft and poisoning Naveen Jr. Eustache was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, and a full hearing was scheduled for February. Sadly, I’ve seen nothing on the internet about that hearing, but I’ve seen pictures of Andrews with his son as late as September.

I didn't even bother with pictures today. Sorry.

Benjamin Linus, Season Five

I’ve been delaying this post, and I’m not sure why. I think that part of it is that in the writing, I know I will have to face a fact I’m not sure I’m willing to face: Ben killed Locke for his own purposes, not for what was best for the Island. Any doubt about that was removed when he looked at Sun and said, “Dead is dead.” He had no idea that John Locke could be resurrected, or, as the case turned out to be, the Man in Black was reincarnated into John Locke.

Like John, we saw Ben at his lowest point this season (both in the 1970s and in “current time”). Unlike John, we never saw Ben at the height of his powers. Indeed, we saw Ben take an often passive, reactive role this season, something we haven’t seen from him. No matter how bad the situation, Ben has always been able to turn it to his advantage. But not this season.

Let’s start with Ben in the 1970s…

The Transformation of Ben into an Other

When a young boy brought Sayid a meal, it was no surprise that it was Ben. Three years had passed since the events of The Man Behind the Curtain, and Ben had been waiting patiently as instructed by Richard. He was clearly excited to see Sayid, thinking that perhaps the time for patience was over. Not content to any longer wait patiently, Ben characteristically took matters into his own hands, arranging for a distraction so he could rescue Sayid.

Unfortunately, Ben’s eyes were blinded as to Sayid’s true purpose, as he learned later to his regret. And why shouldn’t he have been naïve? We saw the abuse that Ben suffered at his father’s hands – emotional and physical. And Ben was only twelve, with little experience of the world outside of the DHARMA Initiative. Sayid’s presence gave Ben hope that his time of misery and suffering were over.

But Sayid was not a Hostile, and knowing what a monster Ben would become in the future, after escaping the Initiative, Sayid turned his gun on Ben, shot the boy, and left him for dead.

Other than apologizing for taking his father’s keys, Ben was a passive participant in the remaining events in the 1970s. Juliet tried desperately to save Ben, to no avail, and the only surgeon around refuse to help. Juliet, knowing the character and abilities of the Others, made a decision with Kate – the boy had to be taken to the Others. Richard agreed to take the boy, but warned his would-be rescuers that the process would forever change Ben, who would lose his innocence and become one of the Others. Further, his memory of the events that transpired would be lost.

I’ve stated elsewhere my disappointment that Ben had no memory of the events that transpired in his getting shot. He mentioned it briefly in Dead is Dead, but otherwise we have no real idea as to how much his memory was impaired by the process of saving his life. When Sun showed him a picture of the 1977 recruits into the DHARMA Initiative, Ben was genuinely surprised to see Jack, Hurley, and Kate among them. Maybe he wouldn’t have remembered them anyway, since he seemed to have little contact with them as a boy (at least while conscious), but it appears he also had no memory of Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, Sun, or Daniel. The fact that Ben lost his memory of the events resulting in his being shot meant that when he was caught in Danielle’s net, he didn’t recognize Sayid. When Ben called Sayid a stone cold killer, he didn’t know that it would result in his transformation 30-something years earlier from a boy to an Other. I still feel this was a missed opportunity.

Ben Gathers the Oceanic 6

Between the time that Ben turned the wheel and brought Sun and Jack to Eloise Hawking, Ben worked as he always did, through manipulation, behind the scenes. He manipulated Sayid into killing his enemies, most likely Widmore’s men. He manipulated Jack into gathering the remaining Oceanic 6 for the trip back to the Island. He coldly dropped Sayid as soon as he no longer needed him, then convinced Sayid to kill Hurley’s “guards” as a means to “protect” Hurley. He managed to convince Sun to follow him, hiding Jin’s wedding ring until they were at the church where Hawking was.

Ben’s powers of manipulation failed him only twice. Hurley refused to follow him back to the Island, even though he had once believed it was the thing to do. Only Jacob’s intervention brought Hurley back. And Ben couldn’t manipulate himself to kill Penny Widmore in retaliation.

Ben’s “shining” moment was his one interaction with John Locke, in Locke’s hotel room. I’m not convinced that Ben himself knew he was entering Locke’s room to kill him. If Ben had planned to kill John, no matter what, then he truly was a master actor, a manipulator of the highest skill.

But I wonder if Ben killed John Locke not because Locke had given Ben the final piece to the puzzle needed to return to the Island (Eloise Hawking’s name), or because he believed that Jacob communicated with John again. As we saw in Ben’s final scene of the episode, Ben has felt the pain of being ignored by Jacob while John Locke has been special. This reminder of Ben’s seemingly unimportance to Jacob, and John’s place on the Island, may have been the final straw. And John Locke’s life was ended in a brutal fashion.

I’ll miss you John. I really will.

Back Home on the Island

Ben showed up on Ajira 316 beaten and bloodied from his encounter with the Hume family. Like Frank and Sun, Ben did not flash into the 1970s. Instead, he stayed mostly to himself, but seemed pleased that Sun was following him. He seemingly talked her into going with him to the main Island, but his confidence in his skill and his mark was misplaced. Sun didn’t trust him, and as soon as she had the knowledge from him that she needed, she knocked him unconscious. And thus, thousands if not millions of Lost fans sighed, “Finally.”

But then Ben woke up to his worst nightmare. John Locke greeted Ben as he awakened, “Welcome to the land of the living.” Did Ben give up just a little at this point, knowing the Island favored John so greatly? Maybe not. Ben skillfully manipulated Caesar to mistrust John, with the ostensible reason of getting the shotgun away from Caesar.

In my opinion, Ben’s manipulation of Caesar was Ben’s last. For him, it was essentially downhill from there on out. At one point, Sun asked Ben what happened to the rest of the infamous statute. He told her it had been that way for as long as he had been on the Island. She looked at him and asked if he expected her to believe him. The master manipulator sighs, “Not really.”

We know, of course, that John Locke remained dead. Instead, Ben was accompanied by not-Locke who insisted on following Ben back to the Island. Ben alleged that he planned to be judged by the Island for breaking the rules – returning to the Island after turning the wheel – but not-Locke forced Ben to admit he sought judgment for Alex’s death. Now accompanied by Sun, Ben and not-Locke sought the Temple. Once there, Ben was surprised that not-Locke knew a different way inside it.

In the Temple, Ben’s life continued to turn upside down. For the Smoke Monster showed up, giving Ben a visual of Alex’s death, and then it turned into Alex. At first Alex pretended to listen to Ben, but then, she pinned him against a pillar:

Listen to me, you bastard! I know that you’re planning to kill John again, and I want you to know that if you so much as touch him, I will hunt you down and destroy you. You will listen to every word that John Locke says, and you will follow his every order. Do you understand?

When the Smoke Monster left, Ben looked devastated, not least by the fact that it left him alive.

From there on out, Ben was not-Locke’s lackey. Not-Locke was the lying , deadly manipulator, and Ben was the easy mark. Not-Locke slowly but surely let Ben in on his plan, that they must find Jacob, that Jacob must die, and that Ben must kill Jacob. And why wouldn’t Ben want to kill Jacob? After all, despite years of loyal service to the Island and to Jacob, following every order, Ben never saw Jacob. Instead, he contracted cancer, watched his daughter die, and was banished from the Island. Oh, how skillfully not-Locke found Ben’s every weakness.

At the final confrontation between not-Locke and Jacob, Ben was the actor, but not the focus. Although Ben observed that not-Locke and Jacob appeared to know each other, he didn’t explore it. For he finally was face to face with Jacob, the entity he had heard about for 3 decades, the entity who never met him, who never found him special. When Jacob reminded Ben that he had a choice, Ben exploded.

Oh... so now, after all this time, you've decided to stop ignoring me. Thirty-five years I lived on this island, and all I ever heard was your name over and over. Richard would bring me your instructions--all those slips of paper, all those lists--and I never questioned anything. I did as I was told. But when I dared to ask to see you myself, I was told, "You have to wait. You have to be patient." But when he asked to see you? He gets marched straight up here as if was Moses. So... why him? Hmm? What was it that was so wrong with me? What about me?!

Then Jacob responds, “What about you?” And then Ben stabs Jacob over and over.

In that final episode, we learned that John Locke was never resurrected, and that it was someone else who acted as John. From what Jacob said to not-Locke, we have assumed that not-Locke was actually the Man in Black, or Esau. What will happen to Ben when he realizes that he was the pawn in a game that may be centuries old?

The Actor

After the season ended, Michael Emerson made the media rounds doing interviews. I’m sure it had nothing to do with a plan to encourage Emmy voters to select him as Outstanding Supporting Actor, but either way, he did win! Yeah! A well-deserved win.

Emerson also appeared at Comic-Con this summer, and took an active part in the humor of the Lost panel, showing his “audition” for the role of Hurley, and making fun of Josh Holloway for not being able to read. It appears that everyone had a great time.

Editor's Note

I had fabulous pictures for this post, but I had problems with Blogger this time. I honestly don't know if the problem is with the pictures or some other problem. It was annoying.

John Locke, Season 5

My next three posts will focus on the characters that changed the most, in my opinion, in Season Five: John Locke, Benjamin Linus, and Sayid Jarrah. Of the three, John changed the most, simply because he went from being alive to being dead, which is quite a big change. It turns out that the man we thought was John Locke in half of the season was not, in fact, John Locke at all. In fact, John died, and remained dead. We know who was pretending to be John Locke, but we know little about him. All of us, myself included, forgot that there is a difference between reincarnation and resurrection. The clue was there, but we thought the producers were sloppy. It turns out, we were.

This season showed us John at his strongest and his weakest (ignoring the dead part for the moment). The season opened with John, the new leader of the Others, separated from them by the time flashes. Because of his location – the Beechcraft airplane in which Yemi died – John quickly ascertained that he was traveling through time. Unfortunately, Ethan didn’t get the memo about the new leader, and he shot John in the leg. John would have probably died had Not-Locke not sent Richard to bandage John up. I won’t go over that conversation right now, especially since we learned that it was actually Not-Locke who told Richard that John would have to die to get his friends back to the Island. That will be covered in my “Not-Locke” post.

John later finds Sawyer and Juliet, saving them from some murderous Others. John didn’t know he killed Others, though, until Juliet identified them as such after hearing “Jones” and his cohort speak Latin. When “Jones” takes off, John refuses to shoot him because, “he’s one of my people.”

For the remainder of the time that John is on the Island, he is clearly the leader. Unlike last season, though, he’s not a dictator, but seems to care about Sawyer, Charlotte, and the remaining Left Behinders. Perhaps buoyed by his conversation with Richard, he has a plan to save them and acts on it. And the rest follow, even Miles. Sawyer questions John a couple of times, but it is a respectful questioning (for Sawyer), and he helps John enact his plan.

Thanks to a time skip, the Orchid disappears, but the well, predicted by Charlotte, remains. John goes down the well on a rope, but the rope was cut in two by yet another time skip, and John plummeted to the bottom, severely injuring his leg. At this point, John changes from the confident and powerful leader to a disabled and disheartened man.

Off the Island, John can convince no one to return to the Island. Kate and Jack treat him with contempt and disbelief, Hurley thinks he’s a ghost, and Sayid outright refuses. John doesn’t even both asking Walt. John seems out of touch during his return, as we saw when Walt told John about his dream, a dream that John summarily dismisses.

At last, John gives up, and starts the process of committing suicide. And that is how Benjamin Linus finds him.

I’ll discuss Ben and this scene in a later post, but I know I’m not the only one who was tremendously surprised, first, at how kind he was to John, and then how cruelly he killed him. Ben told John that he was special, and that they would work together to bring the Jack, Kate, and the others back to the Island. Just what John wanted to hear. But John mentioned the name Eloise Hawking, and that was his death warrant.

The Meaning of John

I’ve made several assumptions through the years about John Locke. I’ve always assumed that he is special. He was healed of his paralysis on the Island. He met the smoke monster and survived. He knew and understood the hearts of his fellow Lostaways. I wanted to believe that he did have that destiny that he desperately sought.

John’s seeming resurrection only buttressed me believe in his destiny. How confident and strong he was, how truly connected to the Island he was. Except, it wasn’t him, it was Not-Locke. John was still in his casket, dead.

Richard even asked Jack about John, in the 1970s-era DHARMA days. Richard saw nothing special in John in the two times he had met him (up-to-then). Even though Richard was not impressed by John, he still tried to recruit him when he was in high school. But John rejected the offer.

So, was John a dupe, a sap? Was he truly just a loser with dreams bigger than his potential? Was he so desperate to be special that the Man-in-Black was able to manipulate John into being the vessel he needed to kill Jacob? But why would Jacob touch John if he weren't important?

Is John Gone?

Watching the final half of last season, I felt that John was truly coming into his own. He died, but he had to die to save the Island and his friends. Only in the last minutes of The Incident did we learn that John was still dead – he had not been resurrected but lay in his coffin. I was shocked, horrified, sad. And worried. Is John permanently dead? Will he never have a chance to have a destiny? Other bloggers, primarily Ryan McGee on Zap2It, believe that John is dead, and is never returning. I hope that he’s wrong. But I’m also afraid that Ryan might be right.

The Actor

As far as I can tell, Terry O’Quinn hasn’t done much this year other than Lost. He didn’t seem to do a media blitz as Michael Emerson and Evangeline Lilly did. No commercials, no guest roles. I did find a video of O’Quinn on The View, but it was from 2008. It seems that he has decided to not submit his name for Emmy consideration, because once you’ve won for a role, you shouldn’t try for another Emmy until you have a new role. I believe that he did attend the Kentucky Derby, which is where this picture is from. Maybe he's just enjoying Hawaiian life.

The Dreaded Quad, Season 5

This post has been a long time coming, partially because my initial efforts have meant that the post will be the longest post ever. This show has played with the relationships between and among these characters since Jack first opened his eye in the first episode. Kate has vacillated between Jack and Sawyer as she deals with her daddy issues. In Season 2, Ana Lucia Cortez was brought in to be the first to create a quad from a triangle, but she was so disliked by fans that her character was soon permanently retired by Michael. Our current quad started in Season 3 with the introduction of Juliet.

It is my firm belief that the quad is now dead. If nothing else, the final scene of Juliet trying to set off Jughead leads me to this conclusion. I think it also notable that Jacob never touched Juliet. And let's not forget that Elizabeth Mitchell has a starring role in V.

I must admit that the original triangle could be quite tiresome, perhaps because of Kate’s own inability to understand what she wants. I know someone who calls Kate a strong woman, but she is not when it comes to Sawyer and Jack. In the first four seasons she couldn't choose between the recalcitrant Sawyer or the noble Jack. Her feelings for Sawyer are the first to be consummated, but she clearly feels guilty later and devastated when she realizes that Jack knows of it. She later returns to Sawyer’s bed (sleeping bag? Tent?) after watching Jack and Juliet together. Sawyer is no fool, but he agrees to the arrangement – any Kate is better than no Kate. Kate’s choice appears to be made for her when Sawyer whispers his request of her and jumps out of the helicopter into the ocean.

She agrees to marry Jack when they are off the Island. But her need to protect Sawyer’s secrets and Jack’s substance abuse led to the destruction of that engagement. Even when she briefly reunited with him before the “trip to Guam”, she made it clear to Jack that just because they were in the same place doesn’t mean that they were together.

Although Sawyer slept with Ana Lucia, both he and Jack clearly are attracted to Kate. Yes, Jack appeared to have feelings for Juliet, but Juliet was aware that he prefered Kate. Sawyer’s feelings for Kate were clear this past season as he dealt with his belief that Kate was dead and that he would never see her again. The cruelties of time travel led to Sawyer staring hungrily at Kate as she helped Claire give birth. Somehow, three years later, he honestly believed that he was over Kate. Just as he made this realization, of course, Kate returns to the Island, and Sawyer’s face makes it clear that he was wrong.

I was never convinced that Jack and Juliet were a real couple. She was clearly attracted to him, and he to her, but they both knew that his heart wasn’t in it. Why did Juliet accept this? What attracted her to him, anyway, besides the obvious? His skill, his desire to escape the Island, his leadership skills? Was her attraction for him part of the emotional turmoil as she escaped from Ben’s clutches amongst a group of people who clearly didn’t trust her? Or was it because he seemed to be the opposite of Ben? I don’t know.

But, in watching Namaste and Whatever Happened, Happened, I am certain that whatever feelings existed between the two of them are now gone. When Jack knocked on Sawyer’s door to be let in by Juliet, he appeared pleased to see her, but nothing more. The “shock” he felt after realizing the state of affairs between Juliet and Sawyer seemed nothing more than the narcissistic injury of realizing that a former flame is with a rival. The confrontation in the shower further buttresses my belief. Juliet was horrified that Jack refused to operate on a 12-year-old, even if that 12-year-old was the future Ben, and his explanation didn’t assuage her. She lost respect for him, and he betrayed everything that she believed in. When she stormed out of there, I felt that this relationship, in that form, was dead.

I had heard that Juliet would become a romantic interest for Sawyer, but I rather forgot it as the season started. Sawyer and Juliet started out as equals, respecting each other and looking out for each other. She was able to calm him down without denigrating him, and he was able to talk her into helping Amy give birth. For the first time in this quad, we saw a couple that were friends and lovers, and it was clear that they were good for each other. How many of us women swooned as Sawyer picked a flower for Juliet and kissed her in the kitchen? How many of us felt our hearts ripped out as Sawyer grasped Juliet’s hand, refusing to let her go down the well to her death? And who doubts that he was devastated?

Kate was surprised by the relationship, and observed it warily upon her return to the Island. Although she and Juliet were wary around each other initially, as time passed they became allies in their shared determination to save Ben’s life. But Kate still flinched whenever Sawyer referred to his feelings for Juliet, especially when he told Kate he was helping her with Ben because Juliet wanted him to. Some commentators I’ve read have expressed their belief that this conversation was the end of the affair. I’m not so convinced. Here is the conversation:

KATE: Hey. Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?

SAWYER: When I found out Ben was gone, and Juliet told me what you were up to, I asked that exact damn question. Why are you helping Ben? And she said...no matter what he's gonna grow up to be, it's wrong to let a kid die. So...that's why I'm doing this. I'm doing it for her.

***

KATE: Is that why you asked me to take care of your daughter?

SAWYER: Did you?

KATE: Of course I did.

SAWYER: What's she like?

KATE: Clementine?

SAWYER: Yeah, Clementine.

KATE: Oh, she's beautiful. Looks just like you when she smiles. She's growing up fast. Already has a little attitude.

SAWYER: I bet you and Cassidy had a lot to talk about.

KATE: She had an interesting theory on why you jumped off the chopper.

SAWYER: Yeah, what's that?

KATE: She thought you were worried about what would happen if you didn't.

SAWYER: You and me would've never worked out, Kate. I wasn't any more fit to be your boyfriend than I am to be that little girl's father.

KATE: You seem to be doing all right with Juliet.

SAWYER: Yeah. I've done a lot of growing up the past three years.

Cassidy provided an interesting mirror to Kate, challenging Kate’s view of Sawyer as a selfless hero who sacrificed himself for her. Kate clearly can’t tell how she feels, as her attraction to Sawyer remains as strong as ever. Sawyer is apparently equally attracted, staring at Kate, and calling her “Freckles” at inopportune times. Indeed, his obvious attraction perhaps fractured his relationship with Juliet, leading her to do whatever she could to prevent their relationship from starting in the first place.

I was also struck by the fact that Jack and Kate did not continue their affair on the Island. Jack would have been justified for thinking that they were back together after their night together. But perhaps it was just mutual pity-party sex, because neither party made an effort to stay together on the Island.

So what is next? Well, I’m fairly certain that Juliet is out of the picture, at least initially. We have no idea what will happen with our Losties in the new season. Will they land at LAX in 2004, all strangers to each other? Will they end up in Locke’s time, ready to battle Esau? What memories will they have of the past five years? Will there be no memories but impressions and feelings? Of course, I don’t know. The producers can do just about whatever they want to at this point. Whatever it is, I know I’ll be watching.

Michael Emerson Wins the Emmy!

I'm sure that most of y'all were like me, glued to the TV last night watching the Emmys. It was a better ceremony than most, but the best moment of all was when Michael Emerson won an Emmy for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama. His speech was short and awkward:

Oh, my goodness, what a fine honor. I feel like I'm living out a character actor's dream. One day I flew to Hawaii to do a guest spot, and four years later it's become the role of a lifetime. I salute the other formidable actors in my category [William Hurt had been expected to win, despite a lackluster performance in Damages]. I salute my steadfast and beautiful wife, Carrie, and my fine representation, and all the brilliant writers, producers, and artists that make up the Lost family to which I belong. As they say in Honolulu [I don't speak Hawaiian]... Goodnight.

Sadly, Lost did not win for Outstanding Drama, losing to Mad Men. That's okay. Maybe next year.

Zap2It Locke Lost Event

I must give Lesley credit for this post - it was she who pointed out I would blog about bloggers meeting. Good point! And so I will.

Sadly, no one else was able to attend with me. People had all kind of excuses, including prior plans or wedding anniversaries - whatever! So I was on my own. I was a little nervous at first - people don't believe me, but I'm very shy.

I didn't arrive at The Dark Horse until a little after 7. I heard I missed a little drama - a reenactment of the conflict between frat boys and geeks. The Lost party was in the beer garden in back, but the organizers found it already occupied by a number of Steelers fans in town for the game. Apparently, when the Steelers play, their fans start drinking early and often. So they were a little rowdy and had to be moved to the bar area. Later, I heard that they would open the bathroom door while a friend was using the facilities. Fun times!

By the time I got there, the Steelers fans were gone, and the garden was decorated with the cover page shots of Lost characters from TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly. "DHARMA cookies" and other DHARMA products were present, including DHARMA cozies. Appetizers were already available - Mr. Cluck's Chicken Wings, Paulo's Pulled Pork Nachos, Katesadillas, and Hurley's Hummus. We could also indulge in drinks such as Jack & Coke, Jin & Tonic, and Wrecks on the Beach. It was a cash bar, and I decided to drink Chardonnay. Perhaps I should have called it "Charliennay"?

MacCutcheon Whiskey was not available, and even if it had been, I don't think that any of us could have afforded it.

One of the organizers immediately greeted me. I think y'all would like Erika. She has a beautiful picture of herself with Terry O'Quinn at Long Live Locke that you just have to see. I must be honest and say that I had not known of her blog until the announcement of this event, but I have enjoyed what I've read. She told me later in the evening that Lost has really changed her life - she changed her profession to become a freelance writer!

I met Bo and Mac (I think that is his name) while gathering some appetizers, and I was starting to get nervous. It looked like most people were with friends! My social anxiety was kicking in. I sat at an unoccupied table to eat and enjoy my Charliennay, but Mac called me over to the table where he was. He was with his wife (whose name sadly escapes me), a young couple (whose names also escape me), Bo and his friend Jake, and Maria (pronounced like Mariah of Mariah Carey but without the "h"). Maria was quite a character. She was an acting major in college and I believe has finished her MBA. She knew about this event because she is a long-time follower of Ryan from Zap2It. Needing a reason to leave Charlotte behind for the weekend, she flew into Chicago.

Later, we were joined by Wayne, a guy who bore a passing resemblance to Locke with his shorn hair. He also wore a shirt that had a geometric pattern similar to the DHARMA octagon which started a few conversations.

The conversation focused mostly on Lost, of course. Our favorite quotes (mine include "son of a bitch" and "Others 101"), our favorite characters (Kate is quite unpopular), and our hopes for the next season. Bo, it turns out, had attended Comic Con in San Diego, so he told us a little about that. He also attended the Comic Con the year prior, asking the first question, so I will have to look that up.

We also talked about other shows we enjoy, including Fringe, 30 Rock, and Mad Men. This was a little difficult for me because I'm behind on all three shows! We are also anticipating FlashForward, though no one really believes it can replace Lost.

We also talked about our favorite blogs, including Ryan's Zap2It blog. And I did get to meet Ryan himself. Apparently, he has a "real job" and is also a blogger. I guess being a blogger doesn't pay well? I didn't get to spend as much time talking with him as I would have liked, but I must recommend his blog. He recently posted his theory that Hurley might be the true heir to the Island (I'm sure I'll have some thoughts on that later).

I did admit to Wayne at some point that I have a blog, and he promised to look it up. I felt a little foolish later, though. There was a raffle (I won diddly-squat), which gave away Blueray versions of Lost and a book, which Wayne had given, because he had written the glossary for it. Oh. The book is called Getting Lost, and appears to be edited by Orson Scott Card. A little investigation on my part revealed that Wayne is local author Wayne Allen Sallee. I've not heard of him because he appears to write mostly horror, which I don't read. But I am sure I will check out his book.

I left shortly thereafter, having thoroughly enjoyed my evening with other fans of Lost. We were a motley crew of folks, with some professionals, some suburbanites, some young, some not-so-young. It would be really cool to have something like this again.

I must give a shout-out to Brian who taught me how to make links. Thanks Brian!

Zap2It Lost Event in Chicago

I want to invite everyone in the Chicagoland area to a Lost event in Chicago on September 18 at The Dark Horse Bar and Grille (chosen because of Kate's black horse) at 3443 N Sheffield Avenue, starting at 7 PM. It is being hosted by one of the bloggers I read, Ryan McGee of Zap2It and his girl (wife?) Erika Olson behind the blog Long Live Locke. I've really enjoyed McGee's blogs over the years, and his theorizing has given me much to think about. It's a cash bar, and it will totally be fun!

Juliet Burke, Season 5

This season brought me to the heights of sublimity and the depths of despair, both times, related to the good doctor.

Not that Juliet has always been the “good doctor”. In her first season, we had no idea whose side she was on. She kept Jack captive, threatened to kill Kate (to keep Sawyer in line), and worked with Ben. But, at the same time, she orchestrated an opportunity to let Jack know that she wanted to “overthrow” Ben, and that she needed his help doing it. Later, she pretended to be cast out from the Others to gain the trust of the 815ers. Even after we discovered that she had told Jack she was working with Ben, it still seemed hard to trust her. What were her alliances, anyway? At first, her only goal was to get home to her sister.

But somehow, Juliet slowly but surely changed. She told Jack she was tired of following Ben’s dreams, and she developed feelings for Jack. By the end of Season Three, Juliet was walking in lockstep with our heroes, helping Sawyer and Hurley rescue Sayid, Jin and Bernard from the Others.

Juliet was a full-fledged member of the team by Season 4, so much so that I was actually surprised to remember that she hadn’t crashed on the Island on 815. The only time I didn’t like her is when she told Jin that Sun had had an affair. But by the end of the season, even Kate seemed to like Juliet.

We saw nothing this season that made me even remotely dislike Juliet. Instead, she continued to develop into one of my favorite characters. Unlike the 815ers, she was always calm in a crisis and seemed to know the right questions to ask. She also demonstrated a unique skill – the ability to speak Latin. She learned it in Others 101.

Other than her romance with Sawyer and that blasted final episode of the season, I found three things about Juliet this season to be remarkable.

First, she had the chance to leave the island. Twice. And she never made if off. Not even once. In prior seasons we learned that Juliet was originally supposed to be on the Island for six months. After the six months, she asked to go home so she could attend to her pregnant sister. Ben refused, saying that Juliet’s sister would die of cancer before she gave birth. However, if Juliet stayed, Ben would make sure that Jacob healed Rachel. Three years later, she was still on the Island, working with Ben to manipulate Jack into operating on Ben…

Then, in LaFleur, the Left Behinders were told that they were being summarily shipped back to the States in the submarine. At last, a chance to leave! But Sawyer arranged for a two-week period of grace (you know, to find “his people”). And yet one of the most tender scenes of a tender episode:

SAWYER: I bought us two weeks. Horace said we can wait for the next sub. Any luck, Locke'll be back by then.
JULIET: And then what?
SAWYER: What do you mean, "Then what"?
JULIET: Locke said he was leaving to save us. The flashes have stopped. They're over. No more bloody noses. We're already saved. That sub behind you brought me here. I've been trying to get off of this island for more than three years, and now I've got my chance.
JULIET: I'm going to leave.
SAWYER: You do realize it's 1974, that whatever it is you think you're going back to... it don't exist yet.
JULIET: It's not a reason not to go.
SAWYER: Well, what about me? You really gonna leave me here with the mad scientist and Mr. "I Speak to Dead People"? And Jin, who's a hell of a nice guy but not exactly the greatest conversationalist.
JULIET: You'll be fine.
SAWYER: Maybe... but who's gonna get my back? Come on. Just give me two weeks, that's all I'm asking. Two weeks.
JULIET: All right. Two weeks.

We know what happens then. Three more years pass. Suddenly, everything changes: Jack, Kate, and Hurley are back. It’s not long before the DHARMA Initiative learns that James and Juliet are not who they thought. The DHARMA Initiative agrees to let James and Juliet go. Another tender moment, sadly disrupted by Kate:

SAWYER: We'll buy Microsoft.
JULIET: Excuse me?
SAWYER: Then we'll bet the Cowboys in the '78 Super Bowl. We're gonna be rich. Look, I'm sorry. I should've listened to you when you wanted to get on this sub three years ago.
JULIET: I'm glad you talked me out of it.
. . .
JULIET: What are we gonna do when we get to Ann Arbor?
SAWYER: We ain't going to Ann Arbor.
JULIET: What do you mean?
SAWYER: These guys ain't cops. They got no authority over us back in the real world. So once we dock, wherever we dock... we're free.
JULIET: "Real world." I don't even know what that means anymore.
SAWYER: Hey, come here. Whatever happens, I got your back, remember?
JULIET: I love you.
SAWYER: I love you back.

But their escape from the Island was as short-lived as that tender scene. Sawyer point blank refuses to help Kate stop Jack from blowing up the Island. But Juliet has other plans, telling Sawyer: “We decided to leave this Island, James, we did. And now we're going back.”

Secondly, she successfully delivered her first baby in six years. Remember that whole pregnancy problem? Ben arranged for Juliet to come to the Island to help women carry their babies to term without dying. When a woman conceived on the Island, she died approximately 100 days after conception. Claire was the first woman to give birth on the Island, which Juliet attributed to Aaron’s conception 8 months earlier off the Island. At least nine other pregnant women Juliet worked with in three years were not so lucky. For reasons she could not explain, the mother’s immune system would shut down. Juliet feared that the same would happen to Sun, a fate she wanted to avoid at all costs.

For whatever reason, Juliet did not operate as a doctor in the DHARMA Initiative. Instead, she worked in the motor pool. At first, I thought she might have chosen that path to avoid having to deal with pregnant women. But then it occurred to me, how could Juliet prove that she was a doctor? I don’t know when Juliet attended medical school, but I strongly suspect it was not before 1974. I’m guessing it was just easier to join the motor pool.

Which is where James found her when Amy went into labor two weeks early. Amy was never supposed to give birth on the Island. She was supposed to be on the submarine that “delivered” Jack, Kate, and Hurley. It occurs to me that Amy long passed the threshold that women 30 years later never survived. Still, the birth was supposed to take place off the island. Presumably, Miles was also born off-Island. (Baby Miles was 4 months old, according to Lostpedia, at the time of The Incident). But pregnancies never go as planned, and so it was that Amy entered labor. It was not the Island’s sinister influence on pregnant women that made the birth so difficult, however – Ethan was breech. The DHARMA doctor was clearly unable to cope with this development. And Sawyer, ever the problem-solver, knew who could cope.

Juliet initially demurred, reminding Sawyer that they “had an agreement”, and “Don't you understand that every time I try to help a woman on this island give birth, it hasn't worked?” But James would not be persuaded. When Juliet walked into the medical office, she was all business, asking questions of the doctor and then giving orders. The doctor was understandably puzzled, but Amy recognized someone who could help her.

And finally, after six long years, Juliet did what she had come to the Island to do, help a woman give birth.

Thirdly, Juliet was never touched by Jacob. Instead, in The Incident, all we saw was what felt like a clumsy add-on of Juliet’s parents telling their children of their impending divorce. The little girl, Juliet, cried, saying that she didn’t want to understand how two people who were supposed to be together wouldn’t be. We are given the impression that this incident was the real motive for why Juliet decided to support Jack’s plan to blow up the Island. If the plan worked as promised, everything starts over, and Juliet will then never lose Sawyer.

But aside from the faulty psychological reasoning by the producers, the lack of Jacob touching Juliet has, unfortunately, far reaching consequences for the character. I believe that Jacob and Esau have been in conflict for decades, if not centuries, and Jacob must have known that his enemy had plans for Jacob’s death. Knowing what those plans entailed, and who, Jacob visited a select group, and touched them all. We don’t know the significance of the touch, of course, but I strongly believe that he needs all those touched in his battle with Esau. For whatever reason, Jacob doesn’t need Juliet. She therefore seems more disposable to the Island than the others, and that worries me.

We all know the end of the season, however, with Juliet, severely if not mortally wounded, determinedly hitting Jughead to make it explode. The screen faded to white (and I’ve seen many swear the heard the sounds of an explosion at that time). We have no idea what happened, to Juliet or to anyone else.

The Actress

Perhaps Elizabeth Mitchell knew in advance and sought the role, or perhaps she earned the role and that caused the producers to let her go, but either way, Mitchell will be starring in a TV remake of V this fall. The series premieres November 3 on ABC. Mitchell plays Erica Evans, an FBI agent in the Counter Terrorist Division, who is the single mother of a troubled teenaged son (aren’t all teenagers on TV troubled?). Eventually Evans becomes involved in a conspiracy, presumably against the aliens, but I don’t know that for sure. I’m going to guess that this will make the actress less available for Lost. And that makes me very sad.

I Stand Corrected

Some of you may have heard that I have good reason to believe that Jorge Garcia, Hurley on Lost, left a comment on a recent post. I have my reasons for actually believing this, which, if you’re curious, let me know and I’ll fill you in.

Among other things, his comment made me realize my dependence on an unreliable source. I strive for accuracy in everything I do and everything I say. When I theorize, I research faithfully the facts behind my theories. When I ponder on a character, I want to understand their past as shown in previous episodes. And I’ve been using Lostpedia to help. Well, using, I think, is an understatement. I rely on it totally. Whether I’m looking at their transcripts to review and/or steal dialogue, character biographies, or pictures from the episodes, I find Lostpedia to be, well, encyclopedic in its breadth and depth of knowledge about Lost. But I stopped using Lostpedia as a tool and started relying on it solely. I forgot something very important about Lostpedia. Like Wikipedia, Lostpedia is created, written, and edited by people like me. Like you. Like the person in the office or cubicle next to you. Or in the seat next to you in the coffee shop. Etc. In other words, I forgot that, while most of what I find on Lostpedia is accurate, not all of it is, and I should always look at the information I find there with skepticism.

So I thank Mr. Garcia, not just for noticing my blog, but for taking the time to correct an error in my post. Because I never want disseminate wrong information. I hope it is clear that I love to hear when you disagree with me on a theory or character motivation. But because I’m committed to never adding to misinformation, I also hope you tell me when I’m wrong. That includes grammar and spelling. As much as I love to write this blog, I also love to hear from you.

My error, by the way? I read on Lostpedia that Mr. Garcia, among other Lost actors, read the lines of Sawyer when auditioning. I found two theories about this on Lostpedia: one, that those were the only lines available, and two, that the actors were actually auditioning for the role of Sawyer. Mr. Garcia let me know that he never auditioned for Sawyer. I guess I'm just gonna have to sign up to edit Lostpedia posts to right that wrong.

Jorge Garcia as Sawyer

I had hoped to attach this to the Sawyer post, but I just can't seem to make it work. So I'm going to try on a separate one.

The lead-in paragraph would have said:

I’ve heard two different theories about this, but it is a fact that Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, and Dominic Monaghan all read Sawyer’s lines when auditioning for the show. I’ve heard they read Sawyer’s lines simply because his was the only character fully written. I’ve also heard that Garcia and Monaghan both were actually auditioning for the role of Sawyer. Can you imagine Garcia as Sawyer? If not, this should help:

James "Sawyer" Ford, Season 5

One of the things I really like about Lost is comfortable producers feel adapting its characters to the actor. One character that has really benefited from this is Sawyer. Sawyer was always a con man, but initially he was a Prada-wearing con man. The producers liked Josh Holloway’s audition so much that Sawyer went from a city-slicker to a Southern boy. It took the actor a while to catch on that the producers wanted him to use his natural Southern accent (Holloway was raised in Georgia). Even “Freckles”, Sawyer’s nickname for Kate, was also Holloway-born.

Sawyer’s Finest Year…or Three

This season, Sawyer had to do the seemingly impossible: accept the fact that he was skipping through time. In their first flash, the Left Behinders discover that their beach camp is gone. Sawyer, meeting Daniel for the first time, scoffs when the physicist says the camp hadn’t been built yet. When Daniel at first refuses to explain what he believes is going on (saying it would be difficult to explain to a quantum physicist), Sawyer slaps Daniel, threatening to slap Charlotte if she interferes. Daniel tries to explain, of course, but Sawyer wants nothing of it. Instead, he wants to break back into the Swan Station to get clothing and food, but Daniel stops him – “You can’t change the past, James.” And indeed, James did not. Desmond never responded to Sawyer’s pounding on the Swan Hatch. When he sees Kate assisting Claire give birth, he stands by, staring in agony. By Jughead, the third episode of the season, Sawyer doesn’t seem to question John when John refers to time travel. What was really funny was watching James trying to explain their time travel situation to Jin.

We also see James take on the role of a leader. In The Little Prince, Sawyer, taking John’s suggestion they go the Orchid, determined that was were the Left Behinders needed to go. After John turns the wheel, Sawyer announces that they’ll wait for John to come back, no matter how long it takes. When he pronounces his plan to wait at the beach and Miles questions the plan, Juliet supports Sawyer (though she later tells Sawyer she thinks it was a stupid idea). Miles then asks, to no one in particular, “Who put him in charge?”

When the Left Behinders find Amy in trouble, Sawyer acts heroically, rescuing her from the Hostiles. He then turns into con man-mode, creating a story on the fly (I guess he didn’t think that confessing they were from the future would be believed). James renamed himself “Jim LaFleur”, and said that the Left Behinders were shipwrecked while trying to find the slave ship, the Black Rock. They were wandering the jungle looking for missing crewmen. Horace believes James, but tells him they have to leave, because “Jim” is clearly not “DHARMA material.” An interaction with Richard Alpert later, James has bought them two weeks to search for their missing crew.

Jim is Accepted by Society

By the time three years have passed, the” “crew” remains missing, and James has become chief of DHARMA Initiative security. Further, everyone in security (and apparently janitorial) are terrified of him. He commands respect, something he’s never had before. And he’s comfortable in that skin. So much so, that he can confront Jack when pushed:

SAWYER: Evening, Doc. … Take a load off. You want a beer?
JACK: No. No, I'm fine.
SAWYER: What can I do for you, Jack?
JACK: I don't even know where to start. Uh... how about with Sayid?
SAWYER: I had no choice. He was running around in the jungle, got caught by my people. And seein' as how he can't tell the truth about how he got here, I had to improvise.
JACK: Improvise?
SAWYER: Uh-huh. And for now, Sayid is safe, which is all that matters.
JACK: So where do we go from here?
SAWYER: I'm working on it.
JACK: Really? Because it looked to me like you were reading a book.
SAWYER: I heard once Winston Churchill read a book every night, even during the Blitz. He said it made him think better. It's how I like to run things. I think. I'm sure that doesn't mean that much to you, 'cause back when you were calling the shots, you pretty much just reacted. See, you didn't think, Jack, and as I recall, a lot of people ended up dead.
JACK: I got us off the Island.
SAWYER: But here you are... right back where you started. So I'm gonna go back to reading my book, and I'm gonna think, 'cause that's how I saved your ass today. And that's how I'm gonna save Sayid's tomorrow. All you gotta do is go home, get a good night's rest. Let me do what I do ...now ain't that a relief?
JACK: Yeah.

Later, Sawyer tells Sayid: these people trust me! I've built a life here – and a pretty good one.

I have to wonder, is this the first time that Sawyer has fit into a community? Been an upstanding member of society? Respected and feared not because he is a thief and a con man but because he is good – really good – at his job – being a security guard. It’s the most conventional and traditional that Sawyer has ever been. Granted, he’s in the DHARMA Initiative, which is hardly conservative.

Part of the wonderful life that James builds involves a romantic relationship with Juliet. I will, of course, talk more about this in a later post. But I will state here that it appears to be a strong bond between the two, and Juliet’s beliefs clearly inform much of Sawyer’s behavior, as I noted later in this post.

Sawyer’s Alternative World Comes Crashing Down

Unfortunately, the return of the Oceanic Six (technically Four since Aaron was left with Carole Littleton and Sun was left in 2007) changed everything. Sawyer fought it for a long time, doing everything he could to integrate the Four into the DHARMA Initiative. He didn’t see how their return ended his comfortable life. He just didn’t get it. He couldn’t control events. He couldn’t prevent 12-year-old Ben trying to escape his horrible life by freeing Sayid. He couldn’t prevent Sayid from trying to kill Ben. He couldn’t control the DHARMA Initiative. Or any of the things that brought his life spiraling out of control.

After Sayid shot Ben, Sawyer was less concerned about the boy’s fate than in doing what Juliet wanted him to do. Thus, he sought Jack’s medical help. Thus, he helped Kate take Ben to the Others: “When I found out Ben was gone, and Juliet told me what you were up to, I asked that exact damn question. Why are you helping Ben? And she said...no matter what he's gonna grow up to be, it's wrong to let a kid die. So...that's why I'm doing this. I'm doing it for her.”

Phil’s discovery of the videotape implicating Sawyer in taking Ben was the final nail in Sawyer’s comfortable life in the DHARMA Initiative. Sawyer saw two options: take the sub to escape or hide in the jungle. He was against finding Daniel’s mother. He tried to talk Kate into joining him on the beach, but Juliet, angered at the use of the nickname “Freckles” gave Kate the information she needed to pass the sonic fence. This was the first fracture in James’ relationship with Juliet (explored more in another post).

Not that he had been hidden, but the old Sawyer seemed to return as Radzinsky beat him, once the remaining DHARMA learned that James and Juliet were not who they seemed to be. He refused to answer any questions, pointing out to Juliet that they wouldn’t believe him anyway. However, once Phil figures out that hitting Juliet will make James talk, he does, drawing a map to the Hostiles so that Sawyer and Juliet can get on the submarine. And when Kate joins them on the sub, breaking the sweetest moment ever, James clearly couldn’t care that Jack planned to detonate a hydrogen bomb. Instead, he wanted to finally leave the Island. Just like saving Ben, he only changed his mind because of Juliet.

So, Sawyer tries to talk Jack out of blowing up the Island. This is one of the best scenes involving these two in the episode. It starts with:

SAWYER: I ain't gettin' in the van. I need five minutes, that's all. I'll say what I gotta say, and then you can do whatever the hell you want to. But you're gonna listen. You owe me that much, Jack.
JACK: Five minutes.
SAWYER: Take a load off, Doc.
JACK: No, thanks.
SAWYER: Sit down, Jack.
SAWYER: My folks died when I was 8 years old. I ever tell you that?
JACK: No.
SAWYER: Con man took my dad for everything he had. He didn't deal with it very well. He shot my mom, then he blew his own head off. I was hiding under the bed when it happened. I heard the whole thing.
JACK: I'm sorry.
SAWYER: Yeah. That was a year ago.
JACK: What?
SAWYER: Right now it's July 1977, which means that happened last year. So I could've hopped on the sub, gone back to the States, walked right in my house and stopped my daddy from killing anybody.
JACK: Why didn't you?
SAWYER: Because, Jack... what's done is done.
JACK: It doesn't have to be that way.
SAWYER: What did you screw up so bad the first time around you're willing to blow up a damn nuke just for a second chance?
JACK: That's not what this is about.
SAWYER: Then what is it about?
JACK: Three years ago, Locke told me that all this was happening for a reason, that us being here was our destiny.
SAWYER: I don't speak "destiny". What I do understand is a man does what he does 'cause he wants something for himself. What do you want, Jack?
JACK: I had her. I had her, and I lost her.
SAWYER: Kate? Well, damn, Doc, she's standing right on the other side of those trees. You want her back, just go and ask her.
JACK: Nah, it's too late for that. Your five minutes is up.
SAWYER: Jack... if what you're doin' even works, you and Kate will be strangers, and she'll be in damn handcuffs.
JACK: If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.
SAWYER: Well, I guess there's nothing I can say that's gonna change your mind.
JACK: No, I guess there's not.

Then, of course, the fight that’s been brewing between these two since the Oceanic 816 crashed. I’m normally bored by fights, but this one was so essential to these two characters, that I just enjoyed it. Until Juliet broke it off. She’d changed her mind. More on that in a later post. But once again, Sawyer agrees to act in a way contrary to his nature because of Juliet. And we all know what happens next.

The Actor

Josh Holloway seems to stay under the radar. However, he had one bit of exciting news this year, the birth of his daughter, Java Kumala Holloway, born April 9, 2009. I’m sure the name has some kind of meaning. I just don’t know what.

In my research for this post, I learned something I didn’t know about Josh Holloway and one of my other favorite shows. You may have known that Daniel Dae Kim and Sam Anderson had both guest starred on Angel. It turns out that Holloway was the first vampire that Angel dusted in LA. Who knew?

Kate Austen, Season Five

I wish that I could say I like Kate more than I do. I haven’t quite figured out whether my disdain for her is because of the actress or the character. I rather think that it is the character. I think the actress if perfectly fine, and I really like the way she expresses some of Kate’s stronger emotions without saying a word. But at times I have found Kate to be tedious, judgmental, and selfish.




You would think that with her compelling story I would be more sympathetic. Kate’s mother divorced the man Kate thought was her father, Sam Austen, to marry Wayne Jannsen, an abusive alcoholic. After nearly being caught shoplifting as a girl, Kate apparently led an exemplary life, a straight A student with only a couple of speeding tickets. But her world came apart when she was 24. In creating a scrapbook for Sam, she found evidence that her mother became pregnant while Sam was posted overseas. It was not Sam, but Wayne who fathered her. That night, Wayne came home drunk. While he tried to grope Kate, she helped him get into bed. She sped away on her motorcycle as the house exploded, killing her father. She later told an unconscious Sawyer, as though he were Wayne, that she killed Wayne because: It's because I hated that you were a part of me -- that I would never be good. That I would never have anything good.

Kate was thus a fugitive when she was caught in Australia by U.S. Marshal Edward Mars. Although she took the opportunity to start fresh on the Island, she never wavered in her desire to leave, either. A woman of strong convictions, she was always horrified when someone put another’s life in danger. She stayed in the middle of things because she was never content to sit still when action was needed. And let’s not forget, of course, her attraction to both Jack and Sawyer. This, of course, is the subject of a later posting.

In Season 4, we saw what Kate’s life off the Island was like, and frankly, it looked idyllic. Kate was raising Aaron as her own son, in a nice home, and apparently out of trouble with the law. Thanks to a settlement with Oceanic, money was not a problem. Although her relationship with Jack ended unpleasantly, her life looked pretty sweet.





So the very first episode of the season saw Kate’s wonderful life in jeopardy. Dan Norton came a-knocking, armed with a court order for a blood test to determine maternity. Kate did what she spent a lifetime doing, she packed up and left. I don’t think she had a clear goal in mind, and she accepted Sun’s call with gratitude. It didn’t take Kate long to figure out it was Ben trying to take Aaron from her.

We learned how Kate came to be known as Aaron’s mother. She told Jack (and presumably the remaining survivors) she should pretend he’s her child because “After everyone we’ve lost..Michael, Jin, Sawyer…I can’t lose [Aaron] too.” As if to buttress her argument, she told Jack that Claire had planned to give the baby up for adoption. (That makes it okay, right?) In other words, Kate kept Aaron not because it was what was best for Aaron, but because it was best for her.

We also saw the results of the hinted-at and hardly surprising promise Kate made to Sawyer. Kate found Cassidy and Clementine, bearing lies and cash. She told Cassidy the truth about the Oceanic 6, but not about Aaron. That’s okay, because Cassidy is one of the most intuitive people on Lost, and she figured it out. Three years later, after Kate loses Aaron in the grocery store, it is Cassidy who tells Kate the truth. Kate took Aaron because “Sawyer broke your heart. How else were you supposed to fix it?”

And that’s when Kate does the most unselfish thing she’s ever done. She gives Aaron back. Well, she gives him to his grandmother, who hadn’t even known he existed. Then she decided to return to the Island, not to find Sawyer (yeah, right) but to find Claire.

Kate’s devastation was palpable. She made Jack promise to never ask about Aaron, later admitting her anger at Jack for insisting she return to the Island. On the plane, she sat alone, telling Jack that just because they were all on the plane didn’t mean that they were together.

Back on the Island, Kate remained the Kate we know and love. She is still clearly attracted to Sawyer (more on that in a later post), she is still uncomfortable around Juliet, and she is still a woman of action. When a house was set on fire by Ben’s runaway VW van, she jumped right in to rescue the inhabitants.

And she shone, frankly, when Ben was shot by Sayid. True to form, she was horrified when Jack refused to operate on the 12-year-old Ben. Not being a surgeon, she did the only she knew how to do – she donated blood as a universal donor and tried to comfort the worried father. When Juliet came up with an alternative solution to Ben’s medical care, Kate jumped, even though the plan sounded awfully wacky. When told that Ben would forever be altered if given over to the Others, Kate didn’t hesitate for him to receive care.

Whatever Happened, Happened was Kate’s finest hour.

Despite my growing affection for Kate, I still wouldn’t have been unhappy if Kate had been shot by the Other in Follow the Leader. And how I groaned as Juliet and Sawyer’s tender moment on the submarine was interrupted by the inclusion of a captured Kate (was I the only one who was reminded of the time Kate followed Jack, Sawyer and John as they tried to find Michael, only to be caught by the Others in The Hunting?).

Notwithstanding my fleeting affection and disaffection for Kate, it’s really not her fault that we learned in The Incident that it was her presence, indeed, her very existence, that sparked much of the action that ensued. Jack decided that it was a good idea to blow up the bomb because he lost Kate. Juliet decided that Jack was right to want to blow everyone up after Sawyer looked at Kate, not Juliet, while Rose and Bernard talked about the importance of being together. Kate just wanted to do what was right, and she found it hard to believe that blowing up everyone on the Island to erase the past was a sane option. True to form, she was horrified when Sawyer first refused to help her stop Jack. She was incredulous that Rose and Bernard didn’t care if the bomb was exploded.

But she folded too, eventually listening to Jack, and agreeing to support him. I’m not sure that I bought her conversion. But once she did, she was, as always, all in.

The Actress

The blogosphere was buzzing in February over rumors that Evangeline Lilly was auditioning for pilots that would air in 2009. Did this mean that Kate would be killed? Lilly’s reps denied the rumors as numerous fans rejoiced at the impending end of Kate. Of course, it didn’t happen that way. Kate lives, and Lilly really wasn’t auditioning for a pilot.

The actress made a number of interviews at the beginning of the season, including Good Morning, America, Jimmy Kimmel, Dave Letterman, and Conan O’Brian. In interviews with Entertainment Weekly, she revealed that the science fiction aspect of the show was her least favorite. She also denied a personal preference in Kate’s choices between Sawyer and Jack.

Evangeline Lilly and Dominic Monaghan have been in an on-again, off-again relationship for quite some time. Rarely seen together, they reportedly are currently still a pair.

My Pledge to…Well, Karen

As a regular fan of Lost, I could just join the numerous other fans in the anti-Kate club. But as a blogger, I feel that I should be able to explain my own dislike of Kate better. I can’t explain why I don’t like Kate. And I respect the fact that one of my readers finds Kate to be likable, strong and flawed. So, once I’ve finished with these Season Five profiles, I plan to spend time watching all the Kate-centric episodes, with the goal of giving Kate a chance. Or, giving myself a chance to verbalize just what it is about the character I don’t like. To be continued…