Episode Analysis of 1.03 "Tabula Rasa"

WARNING: If you have not already seen all of LOST, please DO NOT READ THIS.

My LOST re-watch and episode analysis will include major details from the entirety that is LOST, and will be written with the perspective of having seen everything already. You will be SPOILED if you read any further. It is far better if you learn the story of LOST for yourself, as it is meant to be seen. Trust me on this, and don't say that I didn't warn you first. Seriously. Stop it. Now. Go watch it.

To read my original post on this episode, please refer to Tabula Rasa.

This episode was written by Damon Lindelof, and directed by Jack Bender. It originally aired on October 6th, 2004.

This is a Kate Austen flashback-centric episode.

We begin at the beach, with survivors sorting through luggage. Claire is looking through papers. Jack is tending to the Marshal, Edward Mars.

MARSHAL: "Don't trust her. She's dangerous."

JACK: "You should try not to move, man."

MARSHAL: "Have to find her. Have to bring her back."

JACK: "Yeah, you keep saying that, and every time I ask you who you have to bring back, you pass out on me again. Since your fever's running pretty high, I'm guessing you have no idea who you're talking about."

MARSHAL: "My cuffs, my handcuffs. Where are my cuffs?"

JACK: "What?"

MARSHAL: "My jacket pocket."

JACK: "I don't..."

MARSHAL: "Jacket pocket."

JACK: "Okay."

Jack goes through his jacket pocket and finds a piece of paper. He unfolds it and reveals a mugshot of Kate Austen, which says Harrison Valley Police on it.

MARSHAL: "Dangerous. She's dangerous."

The hikers are heading back from their trek to higher ground. Boone says that it's getting dark, so Sawyer says that they should move faster, but Sayid suggests that they make camp for the night. Of course, Sawyer argues with him, and asks for his gun clip back so he can walk through the jungle at night.

SAWYER: "I'm not stopping. You all have a nice cookout."

SAYID: "Excellent. Walk through the jungle in the dark."

SAWYER: "Oooo, afraid the trees are going to get us?"

SAYID: "No, what is knocking down the trees will get you."

I'm not sure how a gun would help with a MONSTER in the jungle, but whatever. Kate agrees with Sayid, and tells Sawyer that he won't make it back to the beach camp, to trust her.

SAWYER: [pulling out the gun] "Well, if you're so worried about me.. How about you give me the clip back?"

KATE: "Put the gun back in your pants, Sawyer. Sayid's right. If you keep walking, you're not going to make it to the beach."

SAWYER: "Yeah, why's that?"

[Shot of Charlie looking away.]

KATE: "Trust me."

The group makes camp for the night, and gathers around a fire to discuss the events of the crash and the information they have thus far.

[Sayid putting a rock on the ground, and holding a torch.]

SAYID: "This is Australia [indicating the rock]. This is us [indicating the torch]."

SAWYER: "Nice stick."

SAYID: "Two days ago, we take off from Sydney. We fly along the same northeast route every commercial airliner bound for Los Angeles does. Now, the pilot.. H said he lost communication with the ground, correct?"

KATE: "Yeah.. Six hours in. He turned around and headed for Fiji."

SAYID: "So, we changed course. Regrettably, no one knew we changed course. Then, turbulence hit. We know the rest." [Sayid puts the torch's fire out.]

KATE: "The pilot said we were over a thousand miles off course."

CHARLIE: "Yeah, but, they'll find us. They have satellites in space that can take pictures of your license plate."

SAYID: "If only we were all wearing license plates."

CHARLIE: "Well, aren't you the pessimist."

SAYID: "Basic photography.. Point and shoot. Satellites can shoot, but they must be told where to point."

CHARLIE: "Oh. Bollocks."

SAWYER: "Okay.. Really enjoyed the puppet show. Fantastic. But, we're stuck in the middle of damn nowhere. How about we talk about that other thing? You know that transmission Abdul picked up on his little radio? The French chick that said, "They're all dead." The transmission's been on a loop for.. how long was it, Freckles?"

KATE: [rolls eyes] "Sixteen years."

SAWYER: "Right. Let's talk about that."

BOONE: "Well, we have to tell the others when we get back."

SHANNON: "Tell them what, exactly?"

BOONE: "What we heard."

SHANNON: "You didn't hear anything. I'm not a stupid translator."

SAYID: "No one's going to tell them anything. To relay what we heard without fully understanding it will cause a panic. If we tell them what we know, we'll take away their hope. And hope is a very dangerous thing to lose."

KATE: "So we lie."

And so the lies and withholding information begins..

Jack and Hurley work on shelter on the beach, while discussing the MONSTER and what it might be.

HURLEY: "Was it a dinosaur?"

JACK: "It wasn't a dinosaur."

HURLEY: "You said you didn't see it."

JACK: "I didn't."

HURLEY: "So, how do you know it wasn't a dinosaur?"

JACK: "Because dinosaurs are extinct."

HURLEY: "Oh. Yeah. [Looking at the Marshal.] So, what's his story? He looks kind of.. dying."

Hurley says that the Marshal is yellow, but Jack insists that he's not going to die, that his wound is infected, but the antibiotics will fight it off. Hurley wonders what will happens if they don't, and Jack says that his abdomen will go rigid. Hurley says that he looks like he's in a lot of pain, and looks down to see the mugshot of Kate, which Jack found on the Marshal.

HURLEY: "What's this? Uh, dude? Uh... [Jack grabs the mug shot.] What do you think she did?"

JACK: "It's none of my business."

The hikers are asleep at their camp. Someone sneaks around while everyone is sleeping, and takes the magazine of the gun from Sayid, and he wakes up.

SAYID: "What are you doing?"

[Everyone wakes up.]

BOONE: [with the gun in his hand] "Standing guard. You heard what they said is out there."

SAWYER: "You took my gun off me, boy?"

SHANNON: [to Boone] "Please, you've never even held a gun. [to the group] He doesn't believe in guns. He goes on marches."

BOONE: "I don't go on marches."

SAYID: "Give it back to me."

SAWYER: "Yeah, give it to Al Jazeera. He'll protect us."

CHARLIE: "Al Jazeera is a network."

BOONE: "I'll keep the damn gun."

SHANNON: "We should give it to her." [indicating Kate.]

CHARLIE: "Yeah, Kate should hold the gun."

SAYID: "Fine with me. Well?"

[Boone gives the gun to Kate.]

In Kate's flashback, she is sleeping on hay inside a barn. A shotgun is cocked, and a man is pointing it at her. She wakes up. The Australian man says that she's sleeping in his sheep pen, and asks how she got there. Kate says that she walked from town, but the man says that the nearest town is fifteen kilometers away. Kate says that's why she was so exhausted, tells him her name is Annie. He asks if she's hungry. He makes her breakfast.

RAY: "So, you want to tell me why you're trespassing on my property?"

KATE: "I ran out of money."

RAY: "You're an American."

KATE: "Canadian. I graduated from college and figured I'd see the world. Australia was top of my list, so I hopped a flight to Melbourne.. but, I don't know anybody here, so I figured I'd walk for awhile, you know."

RAY: "Melbourne's 100 kilometers from here."

KATE: "I like walking."

RAY: "And, you just happened to wonder onto my farm."

KATE: "I like farms, too."

RAY: "Do you know how to work one?"

KATE: "Yeah."

RAY: "My wife died eight months ago Wednesday. She left me with too many chores, and a hell of a mortgage. If you help me with the first one, I'll give you a fair wage and a place to stay."

Kate makes a deal with Ray Mullen, and goes to shake his right hand, but he says that he's a lefty, and pulls his right arm up, slapping it on the table with a thud, and tapping it a few times to show that his right arm was amputated, and revealing the prosthetic.

Hurley notifies Jack that the hikers are back from their trek. Sayid informs everyone on the situation. Or, the story they've decided to tell them, that is. 

SAYID: "As you and the others know, we hiked up the mountain in an attempt to help the rescue team locate us. The transceiver failed to pick up a signal. We weren't able to send out a call for help. [Shot of Kate and Shannon.] But, we're not giving up. If we gather electronic equipment--your cell phones, laptops--I can boost the signal and we can try again.. But, that may take some time. So, for now, we should begin rationing our remaining food. If it rains, we should set up tarps to collect water. I need to organize three separate groups. Each group should have a leader. [Shot of Jack walking up.] One group for water.. I'll organize that. Who's going to organize electronics? [Kate starts walking toward Jack.] You? Rationing food? Okay. And, I believe a third group should concern themselves with the construction of.."

Kate and Jack begin to talk. Kate says that she has to tell Jack something.

KATE: "We couldn't send out a signal because there was another signal blocking it. The other signal.. we heard it. It was a distress call from a French woman. She said that the others were dead.. something had killed them all. She was alone on the Island. It's been playing for sixteen years, Jack. I wanted to tell you."

JACK: "Anything else?"

Kate asks about the man with the shrapnel in his side, and Jack says that he's "touch and go". Kate asks if he's woken up at all, but Jack lies and says that he only did for a few seconds during the surgery, but didn't say anything. Oh, these two have definitely started off on the right foot.

Hurley questions Jack about Kate, asking if she said anything. Jack says no, and that he didn't tell her, because he doesn't know anything, either.

HURLEY: "Well, you kind of know she's in that mugshot, and that we found those handcuffs. And, that guy keeps mumbling "She's dangerous, she's dangerous." over and over."

JACK: "It's not my business. Not my problem."

HURLEY: "Yeah. You're right. We'll let Johnny Fever take care of her when he gets better."

Jack says that the Marshal is never going to get better without some stronger antibiotics, that the stuff he got from the luggage is for ear infections and foot fungus. Hurley says that they went through everything, but Jack asks about the luggage in the overhead compartments in the fuselage.

HURLEY: "That's inside the plane."

JACK: "Yeah?"

HURLEY: "But, the bodies are in there, and they're all... dead."

Jack says that he'll handle it, and tells Hurley to keep an eye on the Marshal for him.

Jack is looking through the fuselage, using a small flashlight, held in his mouth, to rummage through luggage for any kind of medicine or antibiotics, as he hears something inside the plane with him.. Sawyer suddenly flashes a larger flashlight on his face, startling Jack.

SAWYER: "Boo."

Jack asks Sawyer what he's doing in the fuselage, and Sawyer says that he's trick-or-treating, just like him, but Jack disagrees, and says that Sawyer is looting. Jack asks Sawyer what he has in his bag.

SAWYER: "Booze, smokes, couple of Playboys. What's in yours?"

JACK: "Medicine."

SAWYER: "Well, that about sums it up, don't it?"

JACK: "Do you do this back home, too.. steal from the dead?"

SAWYER: "Brother, you've to got wake up and smell the bull crap here, rescue ain't comin'. You're just wasting your time. You're trying to save a guy who, last time I checked, had a piece of metal the size of my head sticking out of his bread basket. Let me ask you something? How many of those pills are you going to use to fix him up?"

JACK: "As many as it takes."

SAWYER: "Yeah? How many you got? You're just not looking at the big picture, Doc. You're still back in civilization."

JACK: "Yeah? And where are you?"

SAWYER: "Me? I'm in the wild."

On the beach, Claire is struggling with moving luggage, so Charlie helps her. He uses John Locke's wheelchair as a wheel-barrow.

CHARLIE: "Well, look on the bright side. Whoever's this was is probably better off than we are."

Sun thinks that she found Jin's suitcase, and brings it to him. He says it's not his, and she says that she'll keep looking, but he tells her that she's filthy, and to go and wash up. Jin tells Sun that he loves her.

Charlie asks Claire about her baby, and if her husband was on the flight.

CLAIRE: "Oh, no. I'm not married."

CHARLIE: "Oh."

CLAIRE: "I know.. How modern of me."

CHARLIE: "Well, who needs men, right? Bloody useless."

Hurley is leaving the infirmary to fill up some water bottles, and he runs into Kate.

KATE: "Hey, sorry."

HURLEY: "I was going to get some more water."

KATE: "We haven't met. I'm Kate."

HURLEY: "Hi, Kate."

KATE: "Hi."

HURLEY: "Hurley."

KATE: "I was just looking for Jack and I thought he might be in there."

HURLEY: "Yeah, no. Uh, he went to go get some medicine.. over there."

[Shot of Kate reveals a gun in her back waistband.]

KATE: "Where? In the fuselage?"

HURLEY: "What? Yeah, in the uh, uh, you know? I've got to get that water." [Hurley runs off.]

It begins to rain, and survivors start collecting water in tarps, as Sayid suggested. Kate goes into the infirmary and comes face to face with the Marshal.

In a flashback, Kate goes into a food pantry, removing a panel to get a can of money hidden inside. She takes the money out, and the light turns on. Ray Mullen discovers her. 

RAY: "The bank would have given you a heck of a toaster if you had kept that in a savings account."

KATE: "What do I need a toaster for?"

RAY: "You're hiding your wages in a tin can, Annie. I mean, I would have held on to it for you."

KATE: "I got trust issues."

RAY: "Weren't you going to say goodbye?"

KATE: "I wrote you a note."

RAY: "You've been here almost three months, Annie, and every time I ask you about yourself, you get that look in your eye. Yeah, that one. So, I mind my own business. I figured maybe you got off on the wrong side of a bad relationship. Maybe you ran. I always knew you'd leave here someday. I guess I hoped it wouldn't be in the middle of the night."

KATE: "I'm sorry."

RAY: Yeah, so am I.

[Kate starts to leave.]

RAY: "Hey, Annie.. Why don't you just stay one more night? I'll drive you to the train station first thing in the morning. I promise."

KATE: "Okay."

RAY: "I get it, you know. Everyone deserves a fresh start."

On the Island, Kate stares at the Marshal, when he suddenly wakes up, and begins choking her. Jack comes in and pulls him off of her, and the Marshal goes into convulsions. Jack tries to calm him down, telling him to breathe, and asks Kate what she did to him. Kate says that she was just checking on him, when he jumped on her, and grabbed her. She asks if he's okay.

JACK: "He's not responding to antibiotics.. He's bleeding internally.. His fever is pushing 104.. And his abdomen is rigid. He needs water."

[Jack leaves to get water, and Kate follows. It's still raining.]

KATE: "So, what are you going to do about it?"

JACK: "About what?"

KATE: "About him."

JACK: "I told you, he needs water."

KATE: "Will he suffer?"

JACK: "What?"

KATE: "Will it be quick?"

JACK: "No. It won't be quick.. two, three, maybe four days."

KATE: "And he'll feel it?"

JACK: "Yeah, he'll feel it."

KATE: "Can't you put him out of his misery?"

JACK: "I saw your mugshot, Kate. I am not a murderer."

..And we get out first Crazy Jack face.

In her flashback, Kate sits in Ray Mullen's truck, as he drives her to the train station. They listen to Leavin' On Your Mind by Patsy Cline.

RAY: "Do they listen to Patsy Cline in Canada?"

KATE: "They listen to Patsy Cline everywhere."

Ray asks Kate if she's hungry, but she says that she'll eat on the train. Ray asks if she's sure, saying that there's a place nearby that makes a mean burger, as he, suspiciously, checks his rear-view mirror, and Kate notices, looking back as well.

KATE: "What are you looking for, Ray?"

RAY: "What?"

KATE: "How long have you known?"

RAY: "Couple of days. I saw your picture in the Post Office. I guess they knew you were Down Under."

KATE: [looking hurt] "Why?"

RAY: "The reward's twenty-three thousand dollars. I told you when I met you.. I've got a hell of a mortgage. If it makes you feel any better, it was a hard decision, Annie."

KATE: "My name's not Annie."

[The truck following them speeds up to come alongside. We see the Marshal roll down his window and make a "shooting gun" gesture with his hand at Kate.]

On the Island, Kate stands in the rain on the beach.

Under cover from the train, Michael talks to Walt, asking about the bald guy he was hanging out with. Walt says that Mr. Locke told him that a miracle happened to him.

MICHAEL: "Yeah, well, a miracle happened to all of us, Walt. We survived a plane crash. Look, I don't want you hanging around with him anymore."

WALT: "Why not? He's my friend."

MICHAEL: "Hey, I'm your friend, too."

WALT: "If you were my friend, you'd find Vincent."

MICHAEL: "Walt, look.. I haven't given up on your dog. I'm going to do everything I can to find him."

WALT: "No, you won't."

MICHAEL: "Yeah, Walt, I will."

WALT: "You don't care about Vincent."

MICHAEL: "I'm going to get your dog back as soon as it stops raining. Hey, listen to me.. I'm going to get your dog back." [Walt looks at the rain, and it immediately stops. Walt glares at Michael.]

[Shot of jungle.]

MICHAEL: [Off camera at first, talking to himself.] "Yeah, as soon as it stops raining.. Good, nice. I'm going to find your dog.. Yeah, I'm just going to go walking through the haunted damn jungle looking for your.. [Michael hears something.] Vincent?"

[We hear some animal sounds.]

MICHAEL: "Vincent? That you buddy?"

[More animal growling sounds/movement. Michael takes off running. Eventually, he comes to a clearing where Sun is giving herself a sponge bath.]

MICHAEL: [Stopping suddenly.] "Oh. Something was chasing me so, uh.. I don't hear it now. But, you should probably head back. [He hands Sun her bra.] Uh, I didn't see anything, you know, if you're worried about it.. I didn't see anything."

The Marshal is crying out, in tremendous pain. John Locke is carving a small piece of wood. Charlie walks by, stopping to talk to him, with sounds of the Marshal in the background.

CHARLIE: "What are you making?"

LOCKE: "A whistle."

CHARLIE: "I used some tribal flutes once in a recording session. I'm in a band."

Everyone in the beach camp can hear the Marshal in agony. Shannon walks up to Boone, telling him that she wishes the Marshal would just die already. Sayid approaches Jack, who is getting water that they collected in a tarp, asking him if there's anything that he can do to help.

SAYID: "The others are getting upset. They want to know what's going on inside the tent."

JACK: "I'm trying to save his life."

SAYID: "Rumor has it you can't."

Jack walks away from Sayid, not responding. On the beach, Kate stacks logs, and makes a small fire. The Marshal continues to moan in the background, as Kate tries to light her fire with matches. A lighter is lit, as Sawyer approaches her.

SAWYER: "Need a light?"

[Kate nods. He throws her the lighter.]

SAWYER: "Came by to thank you.. [Pauses, waiting for a response.] You going to ask what for?"

KATE: "What for?"

SAWYER: "For taking that gun away from me."

KATE: "I didn't take it away from you."

SAWYER: "It's sticking out of your denims, ain't it? I sure wouldn't want to be the one with that gun right now. Because everyone sitting out there listening to that poor boy scream all night knows what's got to be done. Only one that can do it is the one with that gun.. Don't act so surprised. I heard you tell the hero the same thing. Hell, there's only one bullet left.. It'd be damned near poetic."

The Marshal continues to endure a lot of pain, as Jack squeezes some water into his mouth. The Marshal is conscious, talking to him, while Jack tells him that he needs to be quiet.

MARSHAL: "Listen to me. No matter what she does.. No matter how she makes you feel, don't you trust a word that she says. She will do anything to get away."

JACK: "What did she do?"

MARSHAL: "I want to talk to her."

JACK: "Tell me what she did."

MARSHAL: "I want to talk to her, alone. [Jack just looks at him.] She got to you, too, huh?"

Kate approaches the infirmary with the gun still in the back of her jeans. The Marshal continues to moan.

In her flashback, we see the Marshal making the "gun shooting" signal at Kate, as he drives alongside Ray Mullen's truck. A car chase ensues, as Kate grabs the wheel of Ray's truck, forcing them off the road and down an incline, resulting in the truck overturning, and catching fire. Kate pulls Ray out and away from the truck, with his prosthetic arm coming off while she's doing so. She drags him to the side of the road, and stops, exhausted and breathing deeply. A gun is pointed at her.

MARSHAL: [pointing his gun at Kate's head] "Hey, Kate."

On the Island, Kate is in the tent with the Marshal. She asks what it is that he wants. The Marshal says that she asked him for a favor before the plane crashed.

We get a really unnecessary flashback from the previous episode, so we can see Kate ask the Marshal for a favor right before the plane hits turbulence again.

KATE: "I wanted you to make sure that Ray Mullen got his twenty-three grand."

MARSHAL: "What—the guy who ratted you out?"

KATE: "He had a hell of a mortgage."

MARSHAL: "You really are one of a kind. You know, you would have got away if you hadn't saved him."

KATE: "In case you hadn't noticed, I did get away."

MARSHAL: "You don't look free to me. Kate, I'm going to die, right?"

KATE: "Yeah."

MARSHAL: "So, are you going to do it, or what?"

Jack sits on the beach, looking out at the ocean. Hurley approaches him, asking where the fugitive is. Jack says that she's in the tent, and Hurley wonders why he would let her in there alone.

HURLEY: "Yeah, but she's got that gun."

JACK: "What?"

HURLEY: "She's strapped, man. I saw it in her.. in her.. in her.. in her.."

[Jack runs toward the infirmary. He sees Kate walking out of the tent.]

JACK: "Kate?!"

[They hear a gunshot. Kate walks away. Sawyer comes walking out of the tent with the gun.]

JACK: "What did you do?"

SAWYER: "What you couldn't. Look, I get where you're coming from being a doctor and all, but he wanted it. Hell, he asked me. So, I don't like it any more than you do, but something had to be done."

[Sound of choking sounds come from the infirmary tent.]

HURLEY: "Oh, no way. Guys?"

Jack and Sawyer go back into the tent, while Jack tries to stop the bleeding, putting pressure on the Marshal's chest. He questions why Sawyer would shoot him in the chest, and Sawyer says that he was aiming for his heart, but Jack says that he missed. Hurley enters, asking if the Marshal is still breathing. Jack says that Sawyer perforated his lung, and it will take hours for him to bleed out. Sawyer says that he only had one bullet. Jack yells at them to get out of the infirmary.

Sawyer leaves the tent, clearly feeling guilty. He tries to light a cigarette, but his lighter doesn't work, and he throws the cigarette to the ground. The sounds coming from the tent stop, and Jack walks out.

John Locke sits on the beach, blowing the whistle that he made, and Vincent comes running out of the jungle.

Mr. Locke approaches Michael, who is resting next to a sleeping Walt, telling him that he found Vincent.

LOCKE: "Vincent--I tethered him to a tree just over there. I know that Walt lost his mom. I thought that you should be the one to bring his dog back to him."

MICHAEL: "Hey, thanks."

LOCKE: "Welcome."

Jack sits on the beach, looking at the ocean, as Kate joins him.

KATE: "I want to tell you what I did.. Why he was after me."

JACK: "I don't want to know. It doesn't matter, Kate.. Who we were, what we did before this, before the crash. It doesn't really.. Three days ago, we all died. We should all be able to start over."

Kate and Jack agree. Hurley sits on the beach, and listens to his headphones, while his disc-man plays Wash Away by Joe Purdy. Jin watches a sleeping Sun, brushing the hair away from her face. Boone walks up to Shannon, giving her a pair of sunglasses, making her smile. Sayid walks by Sawyer, tossing him an apple. Charlie changes the "F" on his finger tape to an "L" and revealing the word "LATE". Claire sits on the beach.

Michael approaches the beach camp with Vincent, as Walt sees him and they reunite.

John Locke looks on creepily, and the music changes.

Interesting Notes & Observations:

• We get our first "Previously on LOST" which was spoken by Lloyd Braun, the man who pitched the original concept for LOST, and would eventually be fired by ABC for basically giving J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof twelve million dollars (The highest amount ever given at that time.) to film a pilot, despite only having an outline, and not a script. Lloyd Braun's voice-over was secretly used for the "Previously on LOST" for years as an homage to him, before it was revealed by Howard Stern, who is a friend of Braun's.
• From Lostpedia: The character Lloyd Braun on the sitcom Seinfeld is named after Braun, who was the manager and lawyer of that show's creator, Larry David. 
• How can the Marshal explain everything about Kate being a fugitive, yet he can't even tell Jack her damn name? Oh, that's right. Suspense. Story-telling. Oh, and just so we can have the revelation of the mugshot. But, still. This dude is crazy. I bet he belongs locked up just as much as Kate does.
• On the Oceanic Airlines website (Which is no longer up.), Kate's mugshot could been found by clicking on her seat on Oceanic Flight 815's seating chart.  Here is Kate's full mugshot (Click to see the full image.).
• I bet Jack's internal monologue was like "Aw. C'mon, man. I was mackin' on the girl. You know, desert island.. Hot chick. I'm a doctor, dammit!" But, of course, that didn't stop him.
• Sawyer wants to talk about the transmission, and he slips in our very first "freckles" while he's at it.
• Sayid takes charge, and says not to tell the others anything. So, it's your fault it all started, Sayid.
• "So, we lie." Really, Kate? Because, I'm pretty sure that you ran and told Jack the first chance you got, just like you always do. For a lying fugitive, you're pretty bad at keeping a secret.
• "Yeah. Kate should hold the gun." Oh, brilliant idea, Charlie.
• I have a feeling that Kate knew Ray Mullen's situation beforehand, and took advantage of the fact that he was alone, that his wife just died, and he was disabled. Too bad he ratted her out.
• Kate says that she's a vegetarian, but she's eating bacon when Ray makes her breakfast.
• When they return from the hike, Sayid gives a speech to the survivors. I don't recall Sayid ever giving another speech after this one. Sayid isn't a leader, but he's a good soldier.
• KATE: "Hi." JACK: "Hey." And, so it begins.. I swear this is all these two ever say to eachother.
• "Anything else?" Seriously, Jack? Kate just told you that there was a French woman stuck on the damn Island too, and all you care about is your damn Island-fugitive girlfriend telling you the damn truth? You just met her. You don't know her, dude. She doesn't owe you anything.
• Jack tells Hurley, "It's not my business. Not my problem." about Kate's mugshot. Really, though, Jack? Because you almost immediately confront her about it.
• Hurley is nervous talking to Kate because he knows her secret, but I'm pretty sure that Kate thinks it's because she's hot. Get over yourself.
• I find it hard to believe that Kate got duped by a lonely Australian man after years of being on the run. Shouldn't she have been more experienced by the time she got to Australia? You'd think she would've at least found his behavior of trying to make her stay longer suspicious.
• "I saw your mugshot, Kate. I am not a murderer." Really, Jack? Who said she was? You don't know anything, dude. Stop acting like you do.
• When Kate rides in Ray Mullen's truck, they listen to Patsy Cline, which would come up in Kate's backstory several times throughout the series. It's kind of her thing.
• This is insignificant, but it always confuses me.. When Ray is driving, he is on the right side of the road, on a two-way road, but the driver's side is also on the right. Do they really drive this way in Australia, or did they just make a mistake? Was the shot flipped for some reason?
• Kate tells Ray "My name's not Annie." but shouldn't he know this already from seeing her mugshot in the Post Office?
• Kate forces Ray to crash his truck, but she saves him. She also asks Edward Mars to make sure that he gets his twenty-three thousand dollar reward, because he has a hell of a mortgage. See, she's not so bad.
• Okay. You only had one damn bullet, and you aim for his damn heart, Sawyer? Uh, how about the head? Seems like more of a sure thing.
• I guess you are a murderer now, Jack.
• Jack says that he doesn't need to know about what Kate did, but he's a liar. You're going to ask again, Jack. And again. And again. Because you think the world fucking revolves around you.
• Charlie writes the word "LATE" on his fingers.. Would it have been too meta if he had written "LOST" instead? Yeah, probably. I'm pretty sure that people Photoshopped that in, though.
• Hurley listens to his disc-man at the end of the episode. Why does it feel like the disc-man is fucking ancient now, already? This was only 2004. You mean the iPod hasn't always been around? You'd think with Hurley being so rich and all, he'd have some sort of future technology. When kids watch this show twenty years from now, they're going to be like "What the hell is that thing? Wait.. You listen to music on that? We have that built into our brains!" Just like kids now have no idea what records are.
• The episode ends focused on John Locke. Hmm.. I wonder if that means anything for the upcoming episode?

Answered Questions:

• In The New Man in Charge, it is implied that Walt is special because he belongs on the Island. 
• We find out Kate's crimes in Born to Run and What Kate Did.

Unanswered Questions:

• Did Kate purposely take advantage of Ray Mullen?
• Did Walt make it rain? If so, why is Walt special?
• Edward Mars tells Jack, about Kate, "No matter what she does, no matter how she makes you feel.." What is that supposed to even mean, dude? Why are you so emotionally involved?
• Why is this so personal for Edward Mars?

Favorite Moments:

• SAYID: "If only we were all wearing license plates."
• CHARLIE: "Well, aren't you the pessimist."
• HURLEY: "Was it a dinosaur?"
• HURLEY: "He looks kind of.. dying."
• I love when Hurley discovers Kate's mugshot. "Uh.. dude. Uh.. dude."
• Boone trying to be a hero. He's so bad at it.
• Everyone thinking that Kate should be the one to hold the damn gun.
• RAY: "I'm a lefty."
• HURLEY: "But, the bodies are in there, and they're all... dead."
• The conversation between Kate and Hurley when he comes out of the infirmary.
• MICHAEL: "I'm going to get your dog back as soon as it stops raining. Hey, listen to me.. I'm going to get your dog back." [Walt looks at the rain, and it immediately stops. Walt glares at Michael.]
• CHARLIE: "I used some tribal flutes once in a recording session. I'm in a band."
• Umm.. This face. What the hell, Jack? Don't be so damn dramatic, dude.
• Michael running up on Sun, naked.
• I love the montage at the end of the episode.

Overall Significance:

• Ray Mullen introduces our first amputation, or missing body part, which would be an on-going theme in the show. I'm not sure what real significance that's supposed to have, but it does show up quite often throughout the series.
• In Australia, Ray Mullen tells Kate that "Everyone deserves a fresh start." On the Island, Jack tells her that "It doesn't matter who we were, what we did before. Three days ago, we all died. We should all be able to start over." They both offer her a tabula rasa.
• From Lostpedia: The episode title is a reference to a philosophical thesis developed by the 17th Century Philosopher, John Locke. Locke meant that the mind of the individual was born "blank" (a clean slate), and emphasized the individual's freedom to author his or her own soul. Philosopher David Hume also contemplated the topic in his works.
• Boone taking the gun from Sayid while they're camping is kind of our first hint that there might be something to worry about on the Island besides the MONSTER. 
• Jack and Sawyer's conversation in the fuselage pretty much sums up their entire relationship. They are two sides of the same coin.
• When Michael tells Walt that he's going to get his dog, Vincent, back as soon as it stops raining, Walt looks at the rain, which immediately stops. This is our first indication of Walt begin special.
• Michael seeing Sun naked is probably the beginning of one of the dumbest theories ever on this show, which was that Michael and Sun had an affair. So dumb, in my opinion.
• When Sawyer talks to Kate about doing something about the Marshal, he says "Hell, there's only one bullet. It'd be damned near poetic." In The End, Kate kills the "Man in Black" with only one bullet left.
• From Lostpedia: On the Season Three DVD commentary for "I Do", Josh Holloway asks Carlton Cuse how Sawyer could have possibly missed in his attempt to euthanize the Marshal. Cuse notes that the writers thought this to be unlikely as well and discussed the concept of making Sawyer hyperopic, leading to him receiving a pair of glasses in "Deus Ex Machina".
• When Jack talks to Kate, he references the episode, What Kate Did in advance.
• The line spoken by Jack, "Three days ago, we all died." began the first major theory of the series, which was that they all died in the plane crash, and the Island was purgatory. And, no, that's not what it ended up being in the end.
• A DHARMA logo can be seen on the plane wreckage at the end of the episode..
• I love how, early on, they planted these tiny seeds for upcoming episodes. For instance, Charlie uses the wheelchair, and the episode also ends focused on John Locke, which will be featured prominently in the next episode, Walkabout. 
• We get our first montage of the series. This is something that I missed later on, when things got much darker and there weren't as many light moments.

Final Thoughts:

• I wish they had kept Kate as awesome as she was in the beginning throughout the entire series. I'm not a Kate-hater like most people are, but she did get really annoying in the middle of the series. I do believe that she redeemed herself in the end, but she was so damn awesome and interesting in the beginning, before the love-triangle and all the nonsense.
• I really enjoy their choice of non-Michael Giacchino music throughout the series.
• It's so refreshing to watch Season One again, when things were so much simpler.

Check back next week, where I will be covering one of my favorite episodes of the entire series, Walkabout. This is going to be a good one. Don't tell me what I can't do! This is my destiny, dammit.

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