Letters from the Flame: 'Lost' about 'What Kate Does'? I have your answers
"What Kate Does" didn't generate the same volume of questions that "LA X," did, but "Lost" fans still had some pressing queries coming out of last week's episode. On tap in this weekly edition of "Letters to the Flame": the sickness, Aaron's role, and Sayid's fate. Let's get to your queries!
Ryan: Are you starting to rethink about your posting long ago that the meeting in Widmore's bedroom with Ben waking up Charles was the real first episode of the show, since they seemed to be at the heart of the good vs. bad problem or war going on with the island? To me if was Jacob and MIB last year talking on the beach. The show seems to have elevated itself to a higher authority and power that even outstrips Ben and Charles. Just look at Ben now ... he is a mere pawn in the MIB's camp. I am sure he will be up to no good at some point but he definately isn't running the show anymore. He has become the island's Dr. Smith ("Lost in Space" reference ): a spineless follower who would do whatever he could to get whatever he wanted, even if it meant working with the bad guys.
Jacoby
So, you're asking me if I am rethinking a statement I threw out there 1) two full years ago, 2) before the Island moved, 3) before time travel was heavily introduced, and 4) before the concept of Cabin Christian, The Man in Black, and the concept of the loophole was even put forth? The answer is, of course, no. In fact, everything I think about "Lost" comes from the pilot, which means that I still hold onto my belief that the monster is the mutated version of the polar bear that Sawyer shot. Cough.
One thing that I had to let go of early on, both as a "Lost" fan and blogger, is that I was going to be wrong, and be wrong often, and be wrong in a very public forum. For some that's paralyzing, but about a month into this gig I started worrying less about being "right" and more about being "interesting to read." That doesn't mean I willingly put forth theories that I knew 100% to be wrong for the sake of eyeballs here on the site, but it also meant that I ceded that only a handful of people truly know what's going to happen on "Lost," and they are all in the writers' room.
I work with what the show has presented as best I can, knowing that 90% of what I throw out there will be altered in some fashion. The end of "The Shape of Things to Come" offered a great zoom out on the War of the Island, with the intro to "The Incident" being the final zoom out (maybe) in terms of truly showing the audience the scope of what's going on. As for Ben being spinelessly following The Man in Black to get what he wants: I'm not sure Ben even knows what he wants at this point. I am sure the show will eventually address his moral stance at choosing either death or serving at the right hand of the entity that may or may not try and destroy not only the Island, but the entire freakin' world.
Now when The Man in Black/smoke monster takes over one's insides, do you think that means you are serving him or are you just tormented?
Jeff M
There's a couple levels to what the monster can do: infect someone, look/act like someone that's died, and physically be someone that's died. The Man in Black's been doing the former two things for a while now, possibly in practice/preparation for third. But I think we're supposed to understand that his current status as Locke 2.0 (Smocke? Flocke? The Locke-less Monster? Locke, Stock, and Two Smoking Monsters?) is a unique, singular event that had never happened before.
Let's look at the one person we've seen at any length acting differently before and after infection: Robert, Alex's daddy. Even here, we have little info to go on. But in "This Place is Death," he walked like a Robert and talked like a Robert after the supposed infection, only to turn cold and attempt to kill a pregnant Danielle. Was killing Danielle a programmed command? Doubtful. I think it's more than "infection" strips away all the "progress" that humanity has made since Jacob started bringing people to the Island, bringing them back to the base elements that The Man in Black thinks sits at the heart of every human. When The Man in Black infects someone, that's the "proof" he offers to Jacob that underneath it all, people never change.
Since the green pill was not so much "medicine" as a last resort/euthanasia, do we really know if there is a cure for this sickness? Is what makes Aaron so special that he will pull Claire back from the brink once they are reunited, and that's why Malkin put her onto Oceanic 815, knowing that someday in some way, Aaron would save Claire?
And along with that, with the revelation to Jack that his sister has "fallen to the dark side", will he be more motivated now to find her and fight the Man in Black in order to free her?
Other Sean
I think that pill was equivalent to the type of women Bell Biv Devoe wants us to avoid: poison. Pretty much as simple as that. (Never trust a green pill and a smile, that pill is poooiiissssooonnn.) As far as the "cure" to the sickness, I think this would work on an emotional, not physiological, level. I think having Aaron's blood be the cure for the "sickness" is taking things to that "midichlorian" level that Darlton (as well as millions of "Lost" fans) hope to avoid. If The Others had a physical cure, they would use have found it by now.
If I had to make an analogy to something else in pop culture with which to compare "the sickness," (and since this is me, I will), I'd compare it to the Swamp of Sadness from "The Neverending Story." The sickness eats away at you from the inside, but is triggered by (and eventually controlled by) an emotional response. With Sayid still reeling from the death of Nadia and the shooting of Ben, I think he's a prime example of someone who is unable to resist full infection. Claire, sans Aaron, might also fall into that category. (Also, I'm now going to tear up a bit thinking about Artax sinking into the Swamp of Sadness, one of the five most traumatic things I saw as a child.)
But reader "Fading-Dream" has a question that lets me pivot off this and continue looking at how the Claire/Aaron relationship might play out.
My main question is "How does Kate plan to reunite Aaron and Claire?" It took them three months to actually find a way to leave the island the first time. What does Kate plan to do once she finds her?
Fading-Dream
On one level, Kate has NO IDEA how she's going to accomplish this. Her "let's take this one step at a time" approach was evident in "What Kate Does," and by and large I'm fine with this approach. Were she able to accurately predict cause and effect in this crazy world, such improvisation would be foolish. But from the time she got on Ajira 316, it's been one crazy thing after another. Rolling with the punches and dealing with the problem in front of her face and only that seems appropriate.
But here's the other thing to think about: Kate reuniting Claire and Aaron might not have to happen in the Island universe for her plan to work. It could be as simple as Claire giving birth and raising Aaron in the sideways universe. In fact, a lot of things that "need" to happen in order for this show to reach conclusion will happen in the sideways universe. How will this all play out? Beats me. There's an energy (and a Desmond) that connects these two timelines. That's all we know. But that energy might be stronger than any powered by a frozen donkey wheel, and will be key to the show's endgame.
Finally today, a two-fer about Sayid.
So, what do you think Jack is going to do about the info on Sayid he received? Is he going to believe it? Is he going to tell Sayid? Is he going to tell Miles & Hurley? If they believe it, how will they handle it? What will Sayid do if he knows?
Sanchez
Is Sayid beyond saving? I got the impression that the poison was going to kill the infection, not Sayid. It sounded like there was a point of no return, but that Sayid wasn't beyond it yet, unlike Claire. Maybe that was just my wishful thinking since Sayid is one of my favorite characters.
Titus
I think if Sayid knew, he'd take eight green pills before turning into something that could harm his friends. So, naturally, Jack won't tell him or anyone else about this condition. One major source of tension this season will come around Sayid's terminal illness, for lack of a better phrase. Above, I hinted at a way to emotionally combat said sickness, but I'm not sure Sayid can ever achieve it.
My latest prediction-to-be-debunked-at-a-later-date: Becoming infected will allow The Others to gain an inside track on information about the monster and how to defeat it. Not-Quite-Zombie Sayid will become important as our heroes look for a dent in The Man in Black's seemingly impenetrable armor.
Coming tomorrow: the latest edition of "Orientation: Ryan Station," as The Chicago Tribune's Mo Ryan and I break down "What Kate Does" one final time in anticipation of the next episode: "The Substitute." See you then!
Ryan invites you to join the hundreds already in Zap2It's Guide to Lost Facebook group.
Photo credit: ABC
Very cool insight Ryan. One thing I would add, in regards to Titus' question, is that it seems pretty clear the poison pill WAS in fact meant to kill Sayid, not just stop the infection.
Toward the end of the episode, Jack asks Dogen why they would try to kill Sayid, and they said becuase he had been "claimed". Since they didn't deny that's what they were trying to do, I think it lends credence to the idea that there IS no cure for the infection -- at least at this time.
I'm a big Sayid fan though, so I sure hope they find one!
Regarding the Sayid comments, do you think that Jacob is so far ahead of MIB that he would ensure that Hurley & crew brought Sayid to the springs, specifically when it would not be working (clear), possibly as a result of Jacob's own death, so that Sayid would get "infected" (not saved) and then give the Others insight on how to fight MIB? And that it had to be Sayid because his desperation for redemption would drive him to do something the average infected person would not? Jacob sent Hurley on his mission to save Sayid AFTER being killed by MIB, so if his death did affect the water, then he had to know what would happen (i.e., zombie).
It's been shown that Miles has the ability to "read people" when they are alive, right?
He did it with Michael when he first boarded the freighter, and again with Charlotte when she made her decision to stay on island.
Could Miles be able to sense if something bad was up with Sayid?
Or has the show dropped this bit from Miles' unique abilities?
Ryan- I have a thought that maybe we've been looking at this wrong the whole time when it comes to the sickness. Maybe Dannielle was the one that was infected the whole time and NOT Robert or the rest of the crew. I mean, what made them all infected? The fact that they entered the outer wall of the temple? So did Jack, Hurley, Kate, etc. Maybe Robert was trying to kill Danielle before she could kill him. I think the only reason we believe her side of the story is because we've known of "the crazy French woman" since season 1. Now that Claire is "infected" and acting an awful lot like how Danielle was, I would bet money on her being infected this whole time. Again, just a thought and I'd love to get your opinion on the matter.
Awesome blog as always, keep up the great work.
Ryan: thanks for answering my question. I wasn't trying to point out that you were wrong but merely how far the show has really come from people being deserted on an island to having two people at odds with one another manipulating people for hundreds of years. I too thought that the war at hand was between a Widmore Camp and a Ben Linus Camp. We came to find out they were just minor compared to who was really controlling things. Though I would still like to understand Widmore's comments that the island was his and Ben took it away. For if he really thought it was his island, then he too never met or spoke to Jacob in the same way Ben never did either. Yet Locke and Hurley were able to speak to Jacob.
@BNC Yeah, you're right. I just wasn't paying enough attention. I echo your hopes, though, that Sayid isn't simply a pawn of MIB for the rest of the series but can yet be saved. I'm hoping his heroism will be on display in more ways than just killing himself to spare his friends or something of that nature.
Jughead never blew up. Whatever happened, happened. Jack etc. didn't change anything from how it always happened. Otherwise, what are we to believe happened the "first" time around, the time that they all went back in time and didn't blow up Jughead? We know they went back in time and that in 2007 their Dharma recruit photo is still up on the wall at the Barracks. So this is still the same timeline in which they went back and lived in Dharma 70s, the same timeline in which Oceanic 815 crashed, and the same timeline in which the Swan station's still been built. So if we're to believe that in this timeline, they didn't blow up the bomb, what did they do and where did those people go? The same Jack Shephard who dropped a thermonuclear device into a hole in 1977 has reappeared along the same timeline but 30 years later. So what happened to the Jack Shephard who supposedly didn't drop a bomb down a hole? Answer is: such a man never existed. To me, this means that the "alternate" timeline, is not a result of them having done anything "different". The two major mysteries introduced this season are 1: what is this alternate/parallel/other timeline? and 2: How/why/when did the island sink? We've been led to believe and did a good job of convincing ourselves that the answer is that they blew up the bomb and changed the past and this alternate reality where the island has sunk is the result. I now believe that that is all completely wrong.
I think this makes sense. One major thing I can't work into this is why Richard Alpert told Sun he saw them all die. Did he just think they died because they all vanished around the site of where the real incident, an event involving electro-magnetic energy, occurred?
I hope there's a moment down the line where it is revealed that Jughead was always a dud.
1) "But I think we're supposed to understand that his current status as Locke 2.0 (Smocke? Flocke? The Locke-less Monster? Locke, Stock, and Two Smoking Monsters?) is a unique, singular event that had never happened before."
I'm not certain I understand what you're saying here... it doesn't seem to me that The Locke-less Monster (love it!) is physically any different than TMIB's other appearances, other than how long this one has hung around. But if by the "singular event" you are not referring to the physics of the incarnation so much as TMIB's long-con loophole strategy, then I understand.
2) Agree with you about Kate and her "roll with the punches" can-do attitude that somehow she's going to reunite Aaron, even though she has no idea of the specifics. Maybe that's one of the reasons I like her.
3) Regarding the "poison pill", it seems like everyone is assuming that the pill really is poison. Which it may well be (or at least if anyone other than the infected person takes it).
But isn't it possible that it is merely a placebo, some kind of psychological thing? In this scenario the fact that Dojo acted so forcefully when Jack tried to swallow the pill is simply consistent with him telling Jack that the pill will only work if Sayid takes it willingly. (That is, telling Jack that it is poison -- which they had to know Jack would suspect it is from the moment he was told he had to be the one to give Sayid the pill -- is simply part of the con.)
To me, it just seems most plausible that what is really going on here is getting Jack to convince Sayid to take the pill, not what is in the pill. I'd be disappointed if it turns out that there really is something chemical/physical in the pill that will only work if it is taken voluntarily. That to me seems pretty nonsensical, or at least hokey. (Of course, on the island anything is possible, so if it does turn out to be the case I'll get over it quickly.)
Finally, below are excerpts from some really interesting observations that I can't confirm but I thought others might be able to but haven't because they may not be aware of them since they are recent additions to Ryan's essays from a few days ago:
ANZ: "Something was falling from the hospital building when Claire and Kate arrived at the hospital - You can see it reflected clearly on the hood of a car - And that's the camera shot that opens the scene - so it was on purpose. Any ideas on what this could be - the sideways world's answer to falling Locke?"
DOT BENDER: "In 'What Kate Does' the sound that marks the transition between realities had an added rattling noise that sounded a lot like the noises made by Oceanic 815 as it began to break apart before the crash. I watched both episodes with headphones and it struck me. In "LA X," the transition sound is different. Hunh."
Atreyu's Mom: "...Jacob sent Hurley on his mission to save Sayid AFTER being killed by MIB, so if his death did affect the water, then he had to know what would happen (i.e., zombie)."
I think this may turn out to be a case of mother knowing best! Sounds plausible to me.
On the other hand, are we even sure that it really was Jacob that told Hurley to take Sayid to the waters?
You see, this is the problem I have with the "Mission: Impossible" (TV show) turn LOST has taken lately. Just like with that show, when you least expected it a character would whip off their mask to reveal they were actually somebody else (usually one of our heros), we can (unfortunately) now never be sure of what we see -- can we?
I mean, I hope Darlton won't resort to any more of this kind of deception. It was fun with notLocke, and we always kind of assumed the previous island appearances of Christian and others were visions somehow related to the powers of the island (so I don't feel ripped off by that).
But am I right that we would feel ripped off (that is, a writer contrivance beneath the high standards that LOST set for itself early on) if it turned out that the Jacob that appeared to Hurley was really TMIB? Or if any other people (besides notLocke) turn out to be TMIB?
Or am I missing something?
I'm with commenter Michael on the Miles question. I think Miles' abilities will be shown more clearly soon. He had some very weird looks on his face whenever he was around Sayid.
Did anyone else notice this or think anything of it:
In "What Kate Does" the sound that marks the transition between realities had an added rattling noise that sounded a lot like the noises made by Oceanic 815 as it began to break apart. I watched both episodes with headphones and it struck me. In "LA X," the transition sound is different. Hunh. ("Lost" deserves all kinds of awards for sound and for music.)
I liked the Charlie reference when Kate responds to Mrs. Baskum's explanation for forgetting to tell Claire she won't be adopting her baby with:
"She came fall the way from Australia and you don't call?!?"
Reminiscent of Charlie's frequent line to characters he hasn't seen for a while, "You don't call, you don't write...?!" Nice touch.
This episode reinforced the idea that mirrors are key links between the realities, at least for the characters' awareness. Maybe.
Excellent recap and question-anwering. Fine episode. Alterna-Kate seems a little cranky, but that's understandable.