The Unfiltered Ramblings of a DVR Addict

This season, Lost has introduced a new storytelling device to complement its flash-forward and flash-back devices:  the flash-sideways.  For my initial thoughts on this, what I would call a “parallax view,” check out last week’s recap.  But, since ABC is referring to it as a “flash-sideways,” that’s what I’ll call it here.  I think the purpose of this alternate universe/different perspective is to show the futility in all of this, as things will end up exactly the same no matter what anyone does.  That sounds rather gloomy.

This was, as the title would indicate, a Kate-centric episode.  We follow her actions both on the island, and back in LA after 815 successfully landed in her flash-sideways.  We’ll start with those two storylines first, then we’ll touch on the resurrection of Sayid.

In both of Kate’s stories we find her doing what she does best, running from problems.  On the island, she goes chasing after Sawyer (again) after he tells her not to follow him (again).  I think she might officially be a stalker.  Sawyer shows that his heart is still with Juliet by returning to their old Dharma-ville house.  He’s feeling guilty about Juliet’s death, which I guess is better than blaming it all on Jack.  The shocker of this episode was the re-appearance of Claire on the island, where she blasted both of the Others trying to recapture Jin.  More on Claire in a moment.

As for Kate in L.A., she manages to escape the feds and hijacks a taxi.  Claire happens to be the original passenger in this cab, but Kate kick her out – pregnant and without her suitcase or money.  After Kate realizes that Claire was pregnant by going through her stuff, she starts to feel guilty and miraculously finds Claire and offers her a ride.  Much to Claire’s dismay, the couple wanting to adopt Aaron are no longer a couple, so she’s on her own.  Then she does what any pregnant person on TV does, she goes into immediate labor.  And who’s in the OB ward to help her out?  Ethan Rom (aka Goodspeed, don’t forget he’s Horace’s son).  Sure, he previously stole Alex from Rousseau, but this Ethan is nice and he saves the day.  Ultimately, you get the feeling that Kate is going to end up taking care of Aaron.  We’ll see.

Back on the island, we find the resurrected Sayid getting “tested” or as he calls it, tortured.  The leader of the Others at the Temple calls himself Dogan (sp?) and explains to Jack that Sayid has been “infected” and must take medicine to be cured.  The last time I remember anyone being infected was when Rousseau’s crew were attacked by the smoke monster.  Jack attempts to take the medicine himself, but Dogan performs the Heimlich perfectly and tells Jack that it was actually poison.  He obviously feels threatened by the “infected” Sayid, and tells Jack that it’s the same thing that happened to his sister (Claire, again).  What does Christian have to do with the “infection?”

Wow, after typing all of that, this seems less like a Kate-centric episode and more like a Claire-centric episode.  She’s about to deliver Aaron with Kate by her side in the parallel universe, and she’s a gun-toting zombie back on the island.  That seems much more interesting than anything that happened to Kate this week.  All-in-all a solid episode, but seemingly presenting more questions and not many answers.