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"What Kate Does" is the third episode of Season 6 of Lost and the 106th produced hour of the series as a whole. It was first broadcast on February 9, 2010. Kate finds herself on the run while Jack is tasked with something that could endanger a friend's life.

Synopsis[]

Previously on Lost[]

On the Island[]

At the Temple[]

6x03 StayWAway

Sawyer declares he is leaving the Temple.

A barefooted Lennon hurries through corridors in order to tell Dogen the news - Sayid is alive. Jack tells Sayid he died. The last thing Sayid remembers is being shot back at the Barracks. Sawyer is resentful a torturer and child shooter should have another chance and tells Kate he is thinking about running. Sayid's gunshot wound is almost completely healed and he thanks Jack for saving his life. Jack doesn't have time to answer when Dogen arrives and asks to speak with Sayid but Jack wants answers first. Dogen sets his men on Jack, Miles and Jin as Sawyer appears and begins firing a gun saying he's leaving. Dogen says he has to stay and they won't hurt his friend, Sawyer replies Sayid is not his friend and leaves saying "Don't come after me."

Jack is held at gunpoint by Aldo and told to calm down. Lennon wants to know where Sawyer has gone. Kate claims she can bring Sawyer back. Jin volunteers to go with her. Lennon, still cautious as to whether Kate can accomplish her task asks what makes her think Sawyer will listen to her. Kate replies she can be very convincing when she wants to be.

Dogen-tortures-sayid

Dogen tortures Sayid with a red-hot poker.

Once Sayid is in what appears to be Dogen's lab he is strapped down to a gurney. Dogen blows ash over his chest and then hooks him up to an electric generator. Dogen uses the motor to shock Sayid. Dogen stops as soon as Sayid screams in agony and then burns Sayid's abdomen with a red-hot poker. Sayid is released and Lennon apologizes and says that this was a test which he had passed. After Sayid has been taken out, Lennon correctly guesses he has just lied about the "test results" on behalf of Dogen.

6x03 FateInHisHand

Jack decides whether or not to give the pill to Sayid.

After Sayid returns and tells Jack he was tortured, Jack demands to enter Dogen's room and, once allowed there without trouble, questions why would he torture Sayid. Lennon translates for Dogen that Sayid has been "infected" — for lack of a better translation of the word Dogen used — and that they were diagnosing him. Dogen then asks Jack to give Sayid a pill which he claims will stop the infection from spreading; when Jack asks why are they tasking him with that, Dogen says it won't work unless it's taken willingly. Jack takes the pill to Sayid who says he will take the pill if Jack thinks he should. After considering it for a while, Jack decides not to give it to him.

Jack returns to Dogen's room and asks him why he uses a translator when he can speak English. Dogen replies that it helps him maintain a barrier between himself and those he is in charge of. When Jack asks whether Dogen is from the Island, Dogen says he was "brought here" like everyone else. Jack questions this and Dogen replies, "You know exactly what I mean." Dogen then asks why Jack did not give Sayid the pill. Jack answers that it's because he does not know what is in it. He then repeatedly demands to know its contents. Dogen says that Jack will just have to trust him to which Jack sneers, saying he doesn't even trust himself. Exclaiming, "Let's see where trust takes us," Jack then ingests the pill. Dogen promptly tackles Jack and with a desperate Heimlich Maneuver, he manages to make Jack spit out the pill and then he admits that the pill is poison.

Jack-takes-dogens-pill

Jack about to take the pill.

Dogen makes tea for Jack and himself. Jack questions Dogen and Lennon about why they wish to poison Sayid. Dogen uses a Japanese word to explain what has happened to Sayid and Lennon says that the closest word for it in English is "claimed". As Jack struggles with the concept, Dogen explains in English that "there is a darkness growing in him and when it reaches his heart, everything Sayid once was will be gone". He does not say what has "claimed" Sayid. When Jack asks how he can be sure, Dogen tells Jack that it was what happened to his sister.

Jin and Kate[]

6x03 IWasThatGuard

Kate being confronted by Aldo.

In the jungle, Kate leads Jin, Aldo and Justin after Sawyer. Kate questions what they are trying to protect them from. Aldo states they are protecting them from the "big pillar of black smoke that makes a 'ticka-ticka' noise and looks pissed off." Jin asks about the Ajira flight, which Aldo refuses to talk about and scolds Justin when he insinuates he knows about the plane.

Justin suddenly grabs Kate, preventing her from tripping a wire hidden in the foliage which appears to be connected to one of Rousseau's old traps. Justin seems puzzled about this, exclaiming that Rousseau died "years ago," and is once again cut off by Aldo when he starts expounding on the origin of the trap. Kate demands to know what is Aldo trying to hide. Aldo becomes defensive and hostile, explaining that he's the one Kate knocked out with a rifle butt during the Hydra Island escape three years ago. He argues and harasses her until Kate hits him and springs the trap, incapacitating both Aldo and Justin. Jin is bewildered by these actions, and Kate explains that they are escaping.

Jin wants to know where Kate is going. Kate says she is catching up with Sawyer and that she has no intention of bringing Sawyer back to the Temple nor being a prisoner there. Jin asks where the plane she was on landed, as he wants to find Sun, but she doesn't know. Kate says the Others don't care about any of them. Jin asks, "Who do you care about, Kate?" at which Kate leaves, angrily wishing Jin good luck. She says she will figure out with Sawyer what to do next.

6x03 LordOfTheRing

Sawyer holds onto Juliet's engagement ring, before throwing it into the water.

6x03 ClaiRousseau

Claire re-appears after three years in the jungle.

Kate finds Sawyer in the now abandoned house he and Juliet lived in at the Barracks. Kate spies on Sawyer as he removes a box from under the floor boards in the bedroom and takes an unknown item out of the box. He is clearly very upset. Kate turns to leave and causes the floorboards to creak. Sawyer comes out into the hall with his gun raised and is surprised to find Kate there. The scene shifts to Sawyer and Kate sitting at the end of the submarine jetty where Kate explains that she came back to the Island to find Claire to reunite her with Aaron. Kate attempts to enlist Sawyer's help in her quest, but Sawyer displays an utter lack of interest in the plan. Kate then apologizes for Juliet's death, as she feels it is her fault. Sawyer, however, blames himself for Juliet's death, admitting that he convinced her to stay on the Island with him three years ago (in 1974) because he didn't want to "be alone." He says he was going to ask Juliet to marry him, showing an engagement ring he had clasped in his hand. Clearly a broken man, Sawyer suggests that perhaps some people are just meant to be alone. He then throws the engagement ring into the water, and proceeds back to his former house at the Barracks, solemnly telling Kate she can probably make it back to the Temple by nightfall. When left alone, Kate starts to cry.

On his way back to the Temple, Jin is attacked by an embittered Aldo who wants to kill him despite Jin's claims of wanting to go back and Justin's reproaches. As Jin attempts to flee, his foot is caught in a bear trap. Just as Aldo is about to shoot him, an unseen person fires on them, killing Aldo and wounding Justin. Jin turns around and is stunned to see that the shooter is a disheveled-looking Claire.

Flash sideways[]

6x03 MyBabyPhoto

Kate finds a photo of a pregnant Claire.

At Los Angeles International Airport, Kate holds the taxi driver at gunpoint and orders him to drive. Claire begs to be let out of the taxi but Kate refuses. When the driver stops in front of Arzt, who is in a crosswalk, picking up his luggage which has fallen in the street, Claire tries to get out, but Kate won't let her. Kate momentarily sees Jack and both look quizzically at each other. Then, they finally get past by running over one of Arzt's bags. On the street outside, the taxi driver flees the car, and Kate takes the wheel. She pulls over and allows Claire to get out, though she refuses to let her get her luggage from the trunk, and then speeds away. Next, Kate stops at a garage and pays a mechanic 200 dollars to remove the handcuffs with a punch press. While there, she uses the washroom to change and she sees herself in a mirror. Kate searches Claire's bag and discovers a photo of a pregnant Claire, baby clothes and a toy stuffed killer whale.

6x03 HelloNewMommy

Kate and Claire meet the adoptive mother.

Kate, guilty at putting the pregnant woman through the ordeal, drives the taxi back to where she left Claire. She offers to bring Claire to her destination. Claire is initially hesitant, but agrees. The couple that were to adopt Claire's baby had not shown up at the airport, so Claire assumed they had gotten their days mixed up. When they arrive at the house, Claire asks Kate to accompany her inside, much to the latter's surprise. A woman answers the door in tears and tells Claire her husband had just left her. She then tells Claire they cannot take the baby and she is truly sorry. Kate starts criticising the woman for her actions towards Claire, but the latter becomes upset upon the news and goes into labor.

6x03 DoctorGoodspeed

Doctor Goodspeed shows Claire her unborn baby.

Kate drives her to the hospital, where a nurse admits her. Doctor Ethan Goodspeed asks Claire if she is ready to have her baby, which confuses her. It appears the baby is ready to be delivered, even though it is still slightly premature. Ethan then tells her she can have the baby now or he can give her drugs which are safe and may stop the labor. Claire decides she isn't ready and she will take the drugs. When a monitoring device loses the unborn baby's heartbeat, Claire panics momentarily, crying out, "Is Aaron okay?" Ethan, assisted by a nurse, performs an ultrasound to show that the baby had simply changed position and appears to be healthy.

6x03 TakeMyCreditCard

Claire gives Kate her credit card.

Later, Detective Rasmussen and Officer Westly enter the hospital room, searching for Kate. Claire covers for her, claiming she was just a cab driver who helped her into the hospital. After the police officers depart, Kate emerges from an adjoining room and thanks Claire for her help. When Claire asks Kate what she had done, Kate asks "Would you believe me if I said I was innocent?" Claire says she would and, in gratitude, gives Kate her credit card. Claire says she used the name "Aaron" because she "knew it or something," and Kate tells Claire she should keep him. The two wish each other luck as Kate departs.

Trivia[]

  • With this episode, Kate becomes the first character to have a flashback episode, a flash-forward episode, and a flash sideways episode centered solely around her.
  • Kate was both the first character to have an episode dedicated to her flashbacks and the first character to have an episode dedicated to her flash sideways - "Tabula Rasa" and this episode, respectively. Earlier flashbacks and flash sideways appeared in multi-centric episodes.
    • This is the first episode to have a solo-centric episode focused on a Flight 815 survivor since the Season 5 "Whatever Happened, Happened"—also a Kate-centric—a span of 9 episodes.
  • When Hurley asks Sayid if he was a zombie, this is an inside reference to the running joke on the Official Lost Podcast that (the non-existent) Season 7 will be called "The Zombie Season."
  • The title of this episode is a reference to the Season 2 episode "What Kate Did". (Official Lost Podcast/February 4, 2010)
  • In the flash sideways scene where Kate and Claire are in the cab and the cab driver slams on the brakes so as not to hit Arzt, Arzt yells "I'm walkin' here! I'm walkin' here!" This is a memorable line uttered by the crippled Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman) in the film Midnight Cowboy, in a scene where he is crossing a street and is nearly hit by a taxi.
  • This episode is rated TV-14-V

Production notes[]

Bloopers and continuity errors[]

ClaireWhatKateDoes

Aaron's ultrasound showing a date of October 22, 2004.

  • The date in Claire's sonogram (10-22-2004) was confirmed as an error by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse in the official Lost podcast of February 22, 2010. Previously, Gregg Nations had stated in a post on The Fuselage that the date contains both a clue and an error. Damon and Carlton in the podcast confirmed as well that the plane in the flash-sideways timeline landed on September 22, 2004, so, Gregg Nations' post refers to the month (October) as the error and the year (2004) as the clue.
  • Kate's dialogue when she hijacks the taxi differs slightly from the dialogue in "LA X, Part 2".
  • After Kate climbs to the front of the taxi after the taxi driver runs out of it, she closes the front door while one of her hands is on the steering wheel. The length of the chain of her handcuffs should prevent her hands from moving the distance needed to accomplish that.
  • In the scene in which Kate gets the handcuffs cut off, what may be the date "5-8-07" (though it is ambiguous) is marked on the windshield of a car. It may be a production oversight. Dates are written on windshields when cars are impounded and/or wrecked and this prop may have been purchased at a junkyard/auction. It may also be the delivery date or the date to complete work.
  • We see a small blue thing attached on the upper left part of Claire's body when Ethan first approaches Claire in the Hospital. Moments later, when he wants to have an ultrasound the sensor on her stomach is black and on the right side.
  • During the scene when Sawyer was holding the Others at gunpoint his pistol changed. He started out with a Sig Sauer and left with a Glock.
  • During the scene where Jack was inspecting Sayid's gunshot wound, the wound was on the left side of Sayid. During the scene where he was shot in "The Incident, Part 1", he was shot on the right side of his stomach.
  • During the enhanced repeat, when Hurley rushes to Sayid, the on screen text reads "As seen in the Season 5 Premiere, "LA X"..." It should be Season 6.

Music[]

The Season 6 soundtrack includes the following tracks from this episode:

Analysis[]

Recurring themes[]


  • Sawyer reveals he was going to ask Juliet to marry him. (Relationships)
  • Claire begins to give birth to Aaron. (Pregnancies)
  • Sawyer forcefully leaves the Temple to go back to the Barracks and be alone. (Isolation)
  • Sawyer removes a black and white box he had hidden in the Barracks. (Black and white)
  • Claire finds out that the adoptive parents who were to raise her son broke up. (Relationships)
  • Dogen admits he does not speak English in front of the Others to avoid them arguing his orders. (Deceptions and cons)
  • Dogen and Sayid both say that Sayid will take the pill Dogen created only if Jack asks him to do so; Jack doesn't ask Sayid to do so because he doesn't trust Dogen without knowing exactly what's in the pill. (Trust)
  • Dogen attempts to convince Jack to give Sayid "medication", which turns out to be poison, by appealing to Jack's sense of guilt. (Deceptions and cons)  (Redemption)
  • After looking through Claire's luggage, Kate decides to return it to her. (Redemption)
  • Dogen is seen spinning a baseball on his desk. A baseball has 108 double stitches. (The Numbers)  (Games)
  • Dogen has a bowl of black stones on his desk. (Black and white)
  • While looking through Claire's luggage, Kate finds a stuffed Orca. (Black and white)  (Animals)
  • Dogen and Lennon tell Sayid he passed their test when in fact he hadn't. (Deceptions and cons)
  • Claire gives Kate her credit card as she is leaving the hospital room. (Character connections)
  • Aldo attempts to not reveal information about the trap in the jungle and the landing of Ajira Flight 316 to Kate and Jin. (Deceptions and cons)
  • While they are doing it for their protection, the Others are keeping the survivors in the Temple against their will. (Imprisonment)
  • Dogen tells Jack that by convincing Sayid to take the pill, Jack will redeem himself for all of those who have been hurt or killed because of his actions. (Redemption)
  • Dogen forces Jack to spit the poison pill, saving his life. (Life and death)
  • Jack tells Sayid that he died and Miles inquires about his post-death experience with no response. (Death)
  • Aldo calls Kate, "Princess". (Nicknames)
  • Dogen says Sawyer must come back voluntarily. (Fate versus free will)
  • The numbers in the license plate (4DQ5554) of the taxi, besides beginning and ending in 4, add up to 23. (The Numbers)
  • Kate looks into the mirror in the flash sideways in the garage. (Mirrors)
  • Kate is handcuffed in the flash sideways. (Imprisonment)

Literary techniques[]

  • Sayid the torturer is himself tortured. (Irony)
  • Ethan, in the flash-sideways timeline, says that he doesn't want to stick a bunch of needles into Claire if he doesn't have to, which is exactly what he does to her in the original timeline. (Irony)
  • Claire reappears after three years in the jungle. (Plot twist)  (Cliffhanger)
  • Ethan jokes that Aaron 'likes to move around' and he is going to be a 'handful'. In the original timeline, Aaron has already moved between several mothers at such a young age (Claire, Kate, then Carole Littleton) and has been one of the many problems the survivors have had to deal with on and off the island. (Irony)
  • Miles makes note of Hurley's leadership position. (Foreshadowing)
  • Dogen tells Jack the pill will save Sayid, but it will actually kill him. (Juxtaposition)


Storyline analysis[]


Episode connections[]

Episode references[]

Episode allusions[]

  • Kate uses the same alias, "Joan Hart" she used in the normal timeline. ("Born to Run")
  • The title of this episode is a nod to a Season 2 Kate-centric episode. Both episodes were directed by Paul Edwards. ("What Kate Did")
  • Ethan examines Claire's baby off the Island, much in the same way he did on the Island. ("Maternity Leave")
  • The stuffed animal Kate finds in Claire's luggage is the same stuffed Orca whale Aaron is carrying as a toddler when Kate and Jack fight about him. ("Something Nice Back Home")


Unanswered questions[]

Unanswered questions
  1. Do not answer the questions here.
  2. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer.
For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: What Kate Does/Theories
  • How/when/where did the infection/darkness enter Sayid's body?
  • How did Claire become infected?


External links[]

References[]

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