Lost/What Kate Did

What Kate Did
Season 2, Episode 9
Airdate	November 30, 2005
Production Number	209
Written by	Stephen Maeda & Craig Wright
Directed by	Paul Edwards
← 2x08 Collision	2x10 → The 23rd Psalm
Lost — Season Two

What Kate Did is the ninth episode of the second season, and the thirty-fourth episode overall.

Kate's original crime that started her life on the run is revealed. Meanwhile, the survivors lay one of their own to rest, Kate sleeplessly watches over a feverish Sawyer, and Mr. Eko has a surprise for Locke regarding the hatch

Starring: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Mr. Eko), Naveen Andrews (Sayid), Emilie de Ravin (Claire), Matthew Fox (Jack), Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Yunjin Kim (Sun), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Dominic Monaghan (Charlie), Terry O'Quinn (John), Harold Perrineau, Jr. (Michael), Michelle Rodriguez (Ana-Lucia), Cynthia Watros (Libby).

Guest Starring: L. Scott Caldwell (Rose), Sam Anderson (Bernard), Fredric Lane (Edward Mars), Beth Broderick (Diane), Lindsey Ginter (Sam Austen),

Co-Starring: James Horan (Wayne Janssen), J. Edward Sclafani (Ticket Agent).

Uncredited: François Chau (Dr. Marvin Candle).

Plot Overview

The Island

• Sawyer, in and out of consciousness, is convalescing in the Swan. Jack is watching over him and, while drifting in and out of consciousness, Sawyer whispers that 'he loves her' (meaning Kate). Gathering fruit in the jungle, Kate sees a black horse that trots off. She stops by the Swan and offers to look after Sawyer and the countdown timer, so Jack can attend Shannon's funeral. But after Jack leaves, Sawyer attacks her in his feverish state, yelling "why did you kill me?" She throws him off and runs away, leaving the Swan's computer unattended. Jack and Locke return to the station as the timer alarm is sounding, and Locke enters the code just in time. Jack takes off to find Kate and tracks her down out in the jungle. Trying to calm her, Kate kisses Jack before running off again. Returning to the Swan, Kate finds Sun looking after Sawyer and she asks Kate if she could take over. Alone with a seemingly unconscious Sawyer and believing Wayne Janssen is somehow inside him, Kate tells him that she did it because she hated that he was a part of her, that she would never be good, that she would never have anything good. And every time that she looks at Sawyer, every time she feels something for him, she sees Wayne. Sawyer wakes up and tells Kate that was the sweetest thing he ever heard, but asks her who the hell Wayne is. Kate helps Sawyer outside and the two see a black horse in the jungle.
• Sayid digs a grave for Shannon's body and she's buried by her brother's grave, with most of the castaways attending the funeral. Afterwards, he finds Kate at Shannon's grave and she apologizes for missing the funeral. He confides in her that, just before Shannon was shot, he saw Walt in the jungle.
• Inside the Swan, Michael points out the blast doors to Locke. Locke shows him and Mr. Eko the DHARMA Initiative orientation film for the Swan, after which Eko tells Locke he found something he thinks Locke should see. Michael, meanwhile, decides to examine the hardware inside the geodesic dome. Alone with Locke, Eko tells him that on the other side of the island they found a place much like the Swan (The Arrow) and in that place they found a book. The book was hollowed-out and contained a roll of film — missing frames from the orientation film. Locke is able to splice the missing footage back into the film, and he and Eko watch the film together.
• In the reconstructed film Dr. Marvin Candle gives an additional warning about use of the computer. He warns the occupants of the Swan to not use the computer for anything other than entering the code. Attempting to use the computer to contact the outside world would compromise the integrity of the project and possibly lead to another incident.
• As he is poking around the computer equipment, Michael hears a beep from the countdown computer. Instead of the usual empty command prompt, it reads "Hello?"
  • "Hello?" he responds.
  • "Who is this?"
  • "This is Michael. Who is this?"
  • "Dad?"

The Flashback

• Flashback: Kate

Outside of a house at night, Kate is playing with a lighter when a truck pulls up. Her step-father, Wayne Janssen, stumbles out and grabs onto Kate. Annoyed by Wayne's presence, Kate helps him into his house and he asks what that smell is as they pass through the kitchen. Kate puts Wayne in his bed as he tells her she's beautiful, asking her why she isn't taking his pants off after she pulls his boots off and throws a blanket over him. Kate leaves the house and drives off on her motorcycle — and Wayne's house explodes.

Immediately after the explosion, Kate stops by a diner where her mother, Diane, is working as a waitress. Kate asks her mother how her wrist is and cryptically tells Diane that her problem is gone. She hands Diane and envelope with an insurance policy for her house that she took out secretly in her name. Diane asks Kate what she did, if Wayne knows about it, but Kate tells her that she's taken care of her and leaves.

At a bus station, Kate is buying a one-way ticket to Tallahassee. The man behind her, the Marshal, asks her why a pretty girl like her wants to go to Tallahassee where it's nothing but strip malls and Waffle Houses. Annoyed, Kate turns around and notices that something is off. As she tries to leave, the Marshal grabs her and tells her not to run, but Kate punches him and tries to escape. The Marshal apprehends her as other undercover officers appear, and he tells Kate that she's under arrest for murder - her mother gave her up.

On a rainy night, the Marshal is driving a handcuffed Kate to her arraignment. He asks her why a girl like herself - no history of violence, straight A's, no record, only a couple of speeding tickets - why she would kill him now. The Marshal tells her that the jury back in Iowa isn't going to get hung up on pre-meditation, that trying to make Wayne's death seem like the result of a gas leak was completely amateur. Kate tells him that he doesn't know anything about her. But the Marshal goes on about her white trash mom divorcing her dad, then starts up with some guy who's a drinker and knocks her around, but she marries him and defends him because she loves him. He tells Kate that would make a person want to kill somebody. Suddenly a black horse appears in the road ahead and the Marshal swerves the car into a telephone pole. Kate is able to take the keys to the handcuffs from the stunned Marshal and kick him out of the car. She sees the horse looking at her as she drives off.

Later, Kate walks into a U.S. Army recruitment center and stops at the desk of Sgt. Sam Austen - her father. She tells him she's been waiting outside for two hours and the U.S. Marshals aren't watching the building for her. Kate tells him that she was making a scrapbook as a surprise for his birthday and, when she got pictures of him in uniform from his commanding officers, the dates on the back of the pictures placed him in Korea up until four months before she was born. She asks Sam why he didn't tell her that Wayne was her real father. In response, Sam tells her it's because he knew she'd kill him and her mother wouldn't let him take Kate with him when he left. Asking why he didn't kill Wayne himself, Sam tells Kate that it's because he doesn't have murder in his heart. Sam agrees to give Kate a one hour head start before he calls the Marshals, and the two say goodbye.

Notes

Mysteries

• How would contact with the outside world compromise the integrity of the project and/or lead to another incident?
• Why were some of the missing frames for the Swan's orientation film hidden inside the Arrow on the other side of the island?
• How is Walt communicating with the computer in the Swan bunker? Is it really Walt?
• Why is there a horse on the island? How did it get there?

Answers

• The Marshal was chasing Kate because she murdered her father, Wayne Janssen. (1x03 - Tabula Rasa)
• The warning about the computer was not to use it to attempt to contact the outside world. (2x03 - Orientation)
• Part of what was cut from the film was the aforementioned warning. (2x03 - Orientation)

The Cursed Numbers

• When Locke is explaining how the computer works and gestures at the countdown clock on the wall, the countdown is at 23:00.
• Sam Austen was in Korea up until 4 months before Kate was born.

Scrutiny

• Dr. Candle's hairstyle and the pattern on the knot of his tie are both slightly different on the piece of film Locke and Eko insert into the orientation film. This is most likely a continuity error.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Jin finally gets the handcuff cut off his wrist, which he had worn since 1x06 - House of the Rising Sun.
• All the remaining tail survivors settle down with the other survivors from the plane.
• The tragedy of Shannon being shot by Ana-Lucia is perceived as an accident by most everyone.

Characters

• Sawyer recovers from his fever.

Trivia

The Show

• Goof: When Kate and Sawyer see the black horse at the end of the episode, a gloved hand or some other object can be seen at the very right-most edge of the screen. It can be seen when the camera cuts to the horse and the object slowly pulls back and out of frame, getting the attention of the horse so it's head moves to look at it. This can only be seen in widescreen.
• Caught on Camera: When Kate visits her father, Sayid can be seen on a television in the background. It's video showing footage from the Gulf War.
• Prop Error: Sam Austen's nameplate on his desk in to U.S. Army recruitment center says "SGT. SAM AUSTEN". However, he bears the rank of Sergeant Major on his uniform. The nameplate should read "SGM. SAM AUSTEN".

Behind the Scenes

• Location, Location, Location: The diner that Kate's mom, Diane, works at is the Liliha Bakery in Honolulu. The bus station where she is captured by the Marshal is a post office in downtown Honolulu.

Allusions and References

• Literature: The title of this episode is a reference to What Katy Did, a popular children's book published in the late 1800s. In the book, Katy is a young tomboy who must learn to care for her family after an accident leaves her unable to walk.

Quotes

• Eko: Don't mistake coincidence for fate.
• Kate: Do you see that?
  Sawyer: If you mean the big-ass horse standing in the middle of the jungle, yeah.

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