Front Story: Kate, still being held prisoner, is abandoned when the Others put on gas masks and skedaddle, after throwing a gas cartridge into Kate's house. She awakens in the jungle, handcuffed to Juliet. Juliet is surprised by Kate's news that the Others packed up and moved. Kate insists they need to go back to the Others' settlement and drags Juliet along with her. Literally. Fisticuffs ensue when Juliet throws Jack in Kate's face. Not literally. Kate inadvertently dislocates Juliet's shoulder because of the handcuffs. And then there's a big scary noise in the jungle. They run and hide as the noise continues--it's the black smoke monster. Juliet is assaulted with flashes of bright light, then the monster retreats. Juliet tells Kate the truth about Jack seeing her with Sawyer to get her mad enough to fix her shoulder. The monster pursues them again, maneuvering them into some gratuitous mud wrestling. They're near the pylons. Juliet unlocks the cuffs and turns the pylons on. The monster hits the field produced by the pylons and retreats. Kate confronts Juliet--obviously she knows more than she's telling. She says they know about the monster, but not what it is. She's bitter about being abandoned, and is afraid Kate will abandon her, too. They continue back to the Others' settlement to retrieve Sayid and Jack. The four of them prepare to return to the beach, but Sayid isn't happy about Juliet's coming with them.
Beach Story: Hurley has a chat with Sawyer. The Islanders are going to have a vote whether to banish Sawyer to another area of the beach. Hurley suggests he might want to make amends, but Sawyer's not keen on that idea. He sets about learning to procure his own food. Gutting a fish proves his undoing, and he goes to Hurley to find out how Hurley thinks he can make amends. Hurley coaches Sawyer on making nice and kissing babies. Literally. Sawyer discovers there was never going to be a vote, and that Hurley just tricked him into being nice because he's determined Sawyer is the de facto leader now. Actually I think refinnej was right in her comments to last week's review, and Hurley is now the de facto leader, just nobody realizes it. Not even Hurley.
Back Story: In Iowa looking for her mother, Kate crosses paths with Sawyer's ex-girlfriend Cassidy. They bond. Kate tells her about killing her stepfather, and Cassidy agrees to help Kate connect with her mom. Kate goes to see her mother and is immediately accosted by the Yellow Eyed Demon. I mean the Federal Marshal. But it's not really Kate--it's Cassidy in a Kate-wig, to throw him off the trail. Cassidy and Kate pull a quick scam so Kate can talk with her mother at the diner where she works. Wait, I figured this out. Kate's mom had a kid who had psychic powers (Max from "Nightmare"), and that's why the Yellow Eyed Demon is after Kate. Okay, never mind. These fandom collisions really confuse me. Anyway, Kate gives it her best shot, but is unable to connect with Mom. Kate offers to help Cassidy find the guy who ripped her off, who of course is Sawyer. Cassidy's pregnant with Sawyer's baby. Cassidy declines, and they separate.
An interesting episode. We didn't learn much, but the story had good momentum and was fairly involving. I liked the tangential connection between Kate and Sawyer. A direct connection would have been too much (like Jack's dad being Claire's dad--I'm still not sure that wasn't pushing my suspension of disbelief too hard), but having Kate and Cassidy team up worked well. I wonder when all these connections will start coming out on the island. And Hurley's maneuvering of Sawyer was masterful. Hurley's definitely falling into a place of strength among the castaways. I wonder if he'll ever figure that out?
Favorite quote:
Kate: "Welcome to the wonderful world of not knowing what the hell's going on." Was this a nod by the writers to complainy viewers? One must wonder.
Lost at iTunes:
Patsy Cline, Walkin' After Midnight
