TV Shows I'm Watching - Lost (Episode 3.15)

Episode 3.15 – Left Behind

Alright, after writing about this episode, which aired all of a couple hours ago, I will be officially caught up in all things Lost.

Main Story - *** out of 4

It’s Kate and Juliet in The Defiant Ones as they are exiled to the jungle, handcuffed together. Apparently, due to a bunch of mysterious decisions made in the Others chain of command, that also somehow included Locke (yeah, after getting a few answers the last couple of weeks, we’re back to vague), the Others vacate suburbia. Oddly enough, their plans don’t include Juliet, who as the title implies, is left behind with Kate.

So here we have the two women vying for Jack’s affections trying to survive against the smoke monster. It’s pretty suspenseful, and despite seeming like nothing new is added reveals quite a bit about the nature of the monster. The Others don’t know much about it, and that wall we saw a few episodes back repels it.

I also have to admit, that after two seasons of being moderately bored by Kate, I have found that she has at last earned my attention this season. The writers have put her in the center of a couple of romantic triangles, and each one has been nicely handled. Kate’s reconciliation with Jack at the end of this episode is a brutal example of how what isn’t said can be extremely harsh. Kate breaks down, obviously hoping to receive some form of comfort from Jack only to have him ask about Juliet. It’s soap opera material handled with a subtle touch.

And as for Juliet, I am amazed at how sympathetic and weary I am of her. Clearly she is an outsider to some degree amongst the Others, but her lies and constant need to control everyone is still mysterious. And the way she took Kate down at the beginning of the episode shows she is no pushover.

I suppose the episode is slightly underwhelming just because it doesn’t give us another huge twist like the past few episodes. It ends with a hint of more conflict, and feels like the gears are in motion for a new storyline to take shape in the next few weeks.

I did enjoy the comedic subplot back on the island about Sawyer being told he had to be a nicer person or people were going to vote him off the island. There has been a nice bond between Hurley and Sawyer in recent weeks, and I liked how Hugo gets the upperhand on Sawyer.

Flashback - **1/2 out of 4

An interesting, but not too involving flashback basically explores aspects of Kate’s personality that we already figured out much earlier; essentially that her mother didn’t see the whole murdering her husband thing as an act of kindness.

The only new aspect is that she teams up with Sawyer’s ex-girlfriend in order to talk to her mother. It’s another one of those random coincidences that will hopefully be explained later on (I mean , I think by now everyone is connected to everyone and nobody knows it yet). I have to admit that this is actually fairly clever. Kate has been away from Sawyer for a few episodes now, so it’s nice to remind the audience of that relationship, even if it’s not in your face.

Maybe down the road the flashback will hold more significance, but right now, it’s a decent one that gently reminds the audience of that other guy in Kate’s life.