Lost - "Left Behind" Recap and Theories

If you don't want to be spoiled on Season three's episode 'Left Behind", don't read this.

Last night's Lost episode was revealing and intertwining once again. All of the characters in the flashbacks and in the present day around the island were left behind in some way. The episode was "Katecentric" as in it was her flashback. On the island Kate is handcuffed to an "other", Juliet, while they try to make it back to the others' camp in the face of the smoke monster and the pouring rain. On the other side of the island, Hurley tells Sawyer that he is about to literally be kicked off the island (halfway down the beach anyway) unless he makes nice with everyone so that they will accept him again. And in the flashback, we see Kate meeting up Sawyer's ex, Cassidy while Kate tries to reach her Mom.

The flashback didn't have a revealing smoke monster in it or anything but it did have a some character stuff in it which is . . .oh my gosh . . .what the show is all about!!!!!

Things we learned from this episode:

Sawyer's con had his baby. In the end of the episode, we find out that the woman Sawyer conned was pregnant with Sawyer's child. Cassidy doesn't give Sawyer's name so Kate has no idea.

Kate's mother disowned her. Kate is still torn up about that. After Kate blew up her abusive stepfather, her mother set the police on her. Kate wanted to know why and her mother pretty much gave the feeling that she loved the stepfather more than her own daughter. Ouch.

The Smoke Monster is also feared by the others. Read down further.

Kate:

Kate's character was really rounded through the flashback and the entire 3 months on the island. If you'll notice, the title is called "Left behind. Her mother left her behind. Jack was going to leave her behind when he left the island. But since Kate screwed it up by trying to save Jack, Jack only left her behind in the end of the episode when he walked away with Juliet. And all because she wanted to help them. She wanted to help and her help was not wanted or needed in their eyes. All her help did was cause more problems and now she realizes she is not needed by anyone.

But for Kate, she has this tough exterior where she always wants to be in charge of everything but always screws it up. That was the point of the episode, to explore Kate's feelings about herself and also make the connection Sawyer's ex which will most definitely come back to haunt her. And in all three situations, the women all have the same feeling for the dead husband, jack and sawyer - "You can't help who you love" so perfectly phrased by Kate's mother. Her mother loved her abusive husband. Kate loves Jack who feels betrayed that she was with Sawyer and Cassidy still loves Sawyer even though he conned and betrayed her.

Kate's definitely sympathetic to me. Having that guy as a stepfather and then taking it upon herself to get revenge by killing him? It's a horrible thing to do but a very human thing to do. I mean, we liked Kate before we found out all this stuff about her back in season 1. But just because you like a person doesn't mean they're all good. Point taken for this episode. Kate's mother says, "you can't help who you love" which responds around the island referring to jack, Sawyer, Kate, Cassidy, Juliet.

I don't think Kate is beyond forgiveness. Honestly I feel bad for her. Yes, she murdered in cold blood. But think of what you would do if your mother refused to leave a man who beat her and treated her like a dog. And think of what you would do if your mother had no intention of ever leaving this man and you were scared for her life. Now put yourself in the devilish, cold-hearted shoes of Kate. She feels like he was a waste of space. And for her, that was enough to kill him. For other people who take the moral high ground, it wasn't.

Juliet:

So the others left Juliet behind along with Kate, Sayid and Jack. Or did they. Juliet told Kate that the others gassed her as they did Kate and Jack and Sayid and then left them both handcuffed t each other in the jungle. But we find out as the smoke monster comes upon them near the end that Juliet has a key to those handcuffs.

She lied about having a key. She lied about not knowing what the smoke monster thing is to Kate as well. She pretends to be scared of the monster but in the end knows exactly what to do when it attacks. I don't believe a word that comes out of her mouth unless she's talking to Jack, sometimes.

Juliet's vulnerability, not wanting to be left behind. I'm not sure if I buy it because all of the others are manipulators by nature. They were trained by the best. I think Juliet can be vulnerable and she definitely has resentment toward Ben but I take her vulnerability with a grain of salt.

The Others:

Where are they? Under their own camp? On the other island? Someplace else? Possibly. But my theory is they cleared out to another section for the time being and Juliet knows where they are. She is a dirty little liar that one.

Kate and Juliet:

We are meant to trust Juliet through Jack's eyes but with all the lies Juliet tells, she may be a spy for the others. Who knows if she was really left behind or if she's a spy for Ben. 1) She woke up without feeling groggy like Kate and Jack from the gas. 2) She had a key and didn't tell Kate. 3) She had no reason to lie about the smoke monster. 4) Even Juliet said that Ben likes to play mind games.
5) Getting the losties to lead Juliet to their camp would be genius and a way for Juliet to secure her ticket home from Ben.

Kate was so upset when she realized that she messed everything up for jack from Juliet that she pulled her arm out of her socket. That was fantastic. An other getting what they deserve. Oh, we love Juliet but she did have Sawyer and Kate in a cage for a week. Juliet also discloses that Jack saw she and Sawyer getting jiggy with it. That really rips Kate apart.

The Smoke Monster:

I think it was after Kate. But Juliet! That little liar! Pretending not have a key and pretending not to know what the monster was! I totally believed her! But she knew how to stop it meaning, they have had to stop it before, meaning the monster doesn't just go after losties. The others do know about it which is an answer we've been wanting. And even Juliet said that "they" don't know what it is.

Locke:

And Locke again this week surprises us with his lack of caring for anyone other than himself. He leaves Kate and Jack and Sayid to suffer to gas when the others take him somewhere. He says goodbye to Kate only and I bet this conversation will come up in a revealing Locke episode where we find out why his father is on the island.

We only thought Jack was possibly with the others for a week. Then they revealed that it was because they said he could go home. Locke on the other hand is not a mystery at all. He's not with the others and the writers didn't make it seem that way either. Kate and only Kate thinks that. But the audience knows it has something to do with his father and he's probably off to get revenge.

Kate and Jack (And Sayid)

And the end when Sayid challenges Jack to leave Juliet there at the others camp, he is shot down when jack allows Juliet to go with them to camp. Kate and Sayid are left behind while Juliet walks upfront with Jack. What a blow that Juliet has become more important to Jack than Kate has. The hurt she had in her eyes when he asked if Juliet had left him behind as well after Kate woke him up. How hurtful. And then when he saw Juliet, the first thing he asked is if she was okay. He didn't even ask Kate that. How painful. She was slighted by her mother and now by Jack. She has no one else left but Sawyer, yet she really loves Jack. What a messed up quadrangle we got here.

Hurley and Sawyer:

Hurley tells Sawyer that he will be kicked off the island unless he makes amends to the other losties. His notion of banishment also plays into Sawyer feeling as if he will be left behind and all alone half a mile down the island shore. And so Hurley leads Sawyer around as he makes nice to everyone on the island. He brings them boar, he's nice to Claire's baby. And then Sawyer finds out that Hurley manipulated him so that he would be nice in general. Sawyer got owned last night. But Hurley's logic was pure. He knew that if Jack or Sayid or Locke didn't come back that Sawyer was the only other candidate for leader. He recognized that Jack didn't want to be the leader either and said so. So now that Jack is coming back, will it be a power struggle between him and Sawyer?

So next week we find out if Juliet is really a spy, hopefully. How far will Sayid go to find out the truth? Lost airs Wednesday night on ABC 10/9pm central.