Season 3, Episode 15: "Left Behind"

This is a Kate-flashback episode. Once again, there is a link connecting survivors. Kate teams up with Cassidy, Sawyer's ex-girlfriend who he pulled "the long con" on, and together they work up a plan for Kate to see her mother. I love how we see all these connections between the pasts of all of the survivors. (What would REALLY be interesting, is if they are ever rescued, and their loved ones are waiting for them back home when they arrived, would all the survivors finally see how they are connected? For example, if Cassidy was waiting for Sawyer with their daughter, she would see that Kate was with him. Or would Claire and Jack finally realize they were siblings?) Anyway, moving on....

KATE'S FLASHBACKS:
Kate meets Cassidy the same way that Sawyer and Cassidy started out conning people - Cassidy is selling fake jewelry. Interesting that even after Sawyer conned her and took all her money, she is continuing on working as a "con artist" herself. Kate helps her out, but Cassidy is smart enough to know she's just helping her so the guy won't call the cops. They end up forming a bond - Kate explains that she killed her stepfather because "he was a bad man" and Cassidy tells her that she fell in love with the wrong guy, a conman who took all her money and that "he was a bad man" which is why she is willing to help her. One girl looking out for the other.

When Kate is finally able to confront her mother and ask why she turned her in, her mom tells her that she really did love Wayne. "We can't help who we fall in love with, and I loved him." She calls Kate a cold-blooded murderer, and Kate tells her she is not at all sorry for what she did. Kate's mom almost looked shocked, and tells her she never wants to see her again. She says if she ever comes back she will cry out for help (which, if you remember when Kate goes to the hospital when she hears her mom is sick, her mom starts screaming and yelling, causing Kate to run away which ends up getting her childhood boyfriend Tom killed in the getaway car.) This is a foreshadowing of Kate going back for Jack on the island. Because of something that SHE did, she has caused this chain of events leading to disaster. Although, the situation with her stepfather, Kate was not sorry about. She says she did it for her mom, but her mom tells her she really did it for herself. Now, on the island, when Kate goes back for Jack, she really is trying to help him. And she truly is sorry for what she did. Once she discovers that she has messed everything up for him, she breaks down and apologizes. For the first time in her life, she truly is sorry. I think it is a culmination of guilt that has built up, and for the first time, Kate truly does feel guilty for ALL of her past actions, and in a way, her apology is almost a way of asking forgiveness for all of her past sins.

THE MONSTER
In this episode Kate was being followed by the island "smoke monster" who as we have seen before seems to know who is guilty, who has sinned, who is willing to be forgiven, etc. As we saw with Eko, he was not sorry for what he did, and the monster took his life. But, now with Kate, at the end of the episode, she redeemed herself because deep down, she truly is sorry for everything she has done. It took this situation with Jack for everything to build up, and although she was apologizing to him specifically, I think she finally is sorry for the other things she has done. And, ironically enough, it was Cassidy who helped her get to that point. In her final flashback, when she offers to go after the conman as a way of saying thanks for helping her, Cassidy says no. She tells her she is pregnant with his baby, and that she still loves him. Kate finally understands about forgiveness and this finally brings her from being a "cold blooded murderer" like her mother called her, to more of a "good" person once she understands the feelings involved and truly being sorry.

I CAME TO SAY GOODBYE
Another interesting scene from this episode is when Locke comes in to say goodbye to Kate. He is apparently going with the Others. So does this mean he is one of "them" now? He tells her that he tried to help her, that he told them she was "a good person." But then they told him the truth about her, and he says "forgiveness is not one of their strong suits." Interesting choice of words. Then, as he leaves, he says "I'm sorry, Kate" - as if he knows what is to come (this is when they gas her). He said the same thing to Jack just before blowing up the submarine. ("I'm sorry, Jack"). It's like Locke, even though he knows the things he is doing will hurt those he has come to know - he is willing to pay that price if it will get him further in his own search for knowledge and understanding of the island.

LEFT BEHIND
Kate wakes up in the jungle handcuffed to Juliette. Juliette tells her she was left behind. However, when they are running from the smoke monster (which Juliette seems to know nothing about), she pulls out a key and unlocks the handcuffs before getting them safely inside their fences. Kate is furious that she lied to her, but Juliette tells her that she had to do it to gain her trust, so that Kate would feel like they were in this together. She says, "they left me behind, remember.")

At the end, they finally go back for Jack, and they all decide to head back to their camp. Sayid does not want Juliette to go with them, but Jack insists. He reminds them that the Others left her behind. Sayid does not seem happy about this. Remember, Sayid always seems to have a sixth sense about people - and he clearly does not trust Juliette. I guess we will see if his instincts are correct.