What Kate Does

"What Kate Does," directed by Paul Edwards, shifts the focus to Kate Austen, exploring her motivations and struggles in both the island reality and the alternate timeline. This episode provides insight into Kate's character, delving into her past actions and the consequences that continue to shape her journey. While the episode takes a more introspective approach, it also advances the overarching plot, particularly in the island timeline, where tensions between the survivors and the Others continue to escalate.

Evangeline Lilly delivers a nuanced performance as Kate, capturing the character's internal conflict and determination. In the alternate timeline, Kate's interactions with Claire, played by Emilie de Ravin, add layers to her character, as she grapples with her past decisions and their impact on others. The scenes between Kate and Claire are particularly compelling, highlighting the bond that forms between them despite the circumstances. On the island, Kate's dynamic with Sawyer, played by Josh Holloway, continues to evolve, with both characters dealing with their own sense of loss and guilt.

The script, written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, is character-driven, focusing on Kate's journey while also weaving in key plot developments. The episode's title, "What Kate Does," is a play on the season two episode "What Kate Did," reflecting the ongoing exploration of Kate's actions and their consequences. The pacing is more deliberate, allowing for character development and introspection, particularly in the scenes involving Kate and Sawyer. The writing effectively balances the emotional depth of Kate's story with the broader themes of redemption and choice that permeate the series.

Cinematography in "What Kate Does" is more intimate, with the use of close-ups and tight framing emphasizing the characters' emotional states. The direction by Paul Edwards is focused on the characters' interactions, allowing the performances to take center stage. The episode's visual style is more subdued, reflecting the introspective tone, with the island's muted colors contrasting with the warmer, more vibrant palette of the alternate timeline.

The sound design and score continue to play a crucial role in setting the tone for the episode. Giacchino's music is used sparingly, allowing the performances to shine while also enhancing the emotional beats of the narrative. The use of sound effects, particularly in the island scenes, adds to the episode's atmosphere of tension and uncertainty, reinforcing the sense that the characters are navigating uncharted territory.

In conclusion, "What Kate Does" is a character-driven episode that provides valuable insight into Kate's motivations and struggles, while also advancing the broader narrative. Evangeline Lilly's performance is strong, capturing the complexity of Kate's journey, and the script effectively balances character development with plot progression. The episode's intimate visual style, combined with its subtle use of music and sound, creates a reflective and emotionally resonant viewing experience, adding depth to the final season of Lost.

When 'Lost' was in its prime, it was must-watch television. Remember first watching it, found it remarkably easy to get into, was hooked from the start and was on Season 3 by the end of one week. The general consensus is that the final season is a disappointment and cannot disagree.

"LA X", both parts, was having said that was a very good start, not as good as Season 5's (for me a very solid season with all the episodes decent to wonderful) season finale and not one of 'Lost's' best season openers, but promising enough. Definitely one of the exceptions to the above. Wish the same can be said for the following episode "What Kate Does", but sadly that is not the case, while better than "Fire + Water" and especially "Stranger in a Strange Land" as far as previous episodes go, this really isn't 'Lost' at its A-game or indicative of the show being in its prime.

A large part of the problem is that too much of the story did not grip me. The alternate LA storyline didn't serve much point, distracted too much from what was happening on the island and didn't say an awful lot interesting about Kate or her motivations. Didn't feel she advanced much and she was not rootable either, some of her decision making frustrates and as silly as the writing. That is a big problem for a character that featured quite prominently (Kate-centric actually) and who is not one of 'Lost's' most interesting characters anyway. The dialogue tended to be quite soapy and bordering on silly rather than taut and it was on the dull side in terms of pace.

Similarly, the Sayid storyline took up too much of the episode and tended to lack tension or suspense with not enough surprises. Other episodes do much better when it comes to progressing storytelling and developing characters and the whole episode just felt too subdued when there were scenes calling for tension.

It is a shame because there are a fair amount of good points. In terms of little character moments, storytelling and characterisation, the best assets are the truly emotional dock scene, Hurley providing some welcome and well-timed comic relief and some nice development for Jack. The character of Dogen has mystery and gravitas and it was interesting to see a different side to Sayid, more tortured than usual.

Of the acting, Josh Holloway is especially fantastic, very deeply felt acting and a large part of why the scene on the dock works so well. Evangeline Lilly plays Kate with subtlety, Naveen Andrews' portrays Sayid's pain and confusion with intensity and pathos and Hiroyuki Sanada is suitably mysterious. "What Kate Does" looks great throughout, very stylishly shot and the beauty and mystery of the island as ever is captured well. The music is understated and chilling and the direction shows signs of control.

Concluding, not bad but a disappointment, up to this point it was the most disappointing 'Lost' episode for me since "Expose", "Eggtown" and "The Other Woman" disappointed too but not as much. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Like it very much.it's the lost that i was waiting for.Even though i didn't find answers for my uncountable questions,this keep me more and more interested and like i can't stop thinking about it.that's right that we saw the same usual suspense,and many are like sick of it but that doesn't mean that lost'creators not in control of the whole season!we all know it.What i loved about this episode is sawyer,i mean the way he played the role of the desperate just got into my heart,great performance by each of kate,jack...like that man who tortured sayid,forgot the name,damn...well lost will always remain the best of the best of the best.it's always LOSTY!

My wife and I both thought this episode disappointed. Weak stories all around, especially in the temple. It seems that the writers are trying to recreate some of the suspense from the early seasons with mysterious and mum characters. I think the behavior of Jack, Sayid, and Hurley was not only out of character but pretty much unbelievable. Kate and Sayer's parts were weak as well. I could give examples of all this, but its not worth the time.

There is so much that is interesting happening in the world of Lost but this episode only contained 10 minutes worth of reasonable content. There's not enough time left in the series to waste it.

PS red-shirts are annoying. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshirt_%28character%29

Even if this episode title revealed the featured character for once it didn't negatively affect the experience. In fact it made the anticipation even more intriguing because Kate is definitely my favorite female character. Evangeline Lilly is so beautiful and talented. Moreover Kate is not the stereotype of the murderer next door because we all know her story is that much more complex than that. And that's exactly what this episode was about, better understand who she is.

As expected the story was split like in LA X. The island and urban arcs developed further. The first one was not only about her but also a lot about Sayid and Sawyer. Josh Holloway gave by far his best performance and his emotional words and authentic acting could even turn a stone into a vivid gem. His con profile makes him so unpredictable that guessing his next move is always a pleasure for the mind. And like on a chessboard once the black island arc had developed for a few minutes the focus turned to the white urban arc featuring Kate and Claire. To tell the truth I never really liked Emilie de Ravin as Claire Littleton but I think she did a better job in this episode and her interaction with Kate was quite interesting. Moreover I'm sure some young or pregnant women relate to her so she's definitely a mandatory character.

However even if I found the acting really good at times and the dual story captivating I have to admit that there're still a few elements that bug me. For example I'm not really fond of the temple and don't think the Japanese guy is convincing. He reminds me too much of the Asian scientist who managed the Dharma Initiative. Therefore he's less believable. I also don't like the its sets because they're far too cheap and almost jar with the jungle. It should be more chaotic and wild, like the characters. It's specially disappointing considering the attention to some details like the caustic effect during the pool scenes, where Sayid was drowned. The different make-ups, specially on Matthew Fox and Lilly, also greatly contribute to make the two arcs believable. Both Kates are wild but the one on the island is definitely dirtier, and it only makes her more irresistible.

Last but not least let's not forget how some new elements are intriguing. They definitely opened new connections between the characters and left a few question marks on their way. What's the link between Sayid and Jack ? What's next for Claire and Swayer ? But in the end the cliffhanger definitely stole the screen because I had waited for it during the whole LA X episode and it never happened. Now they're getting at what this 6th and last season should be all about, the connection. The one that probably binds the variable and the constant. The one that links both worlds, the island to the rest. Do I see some smoke far away or is the monster already upon us ? If the events were occurring on Skull Island, King Kong would definitely be scared like a little and fragile monkey. But the problem with Lost is that watching it makes you dream of electric polar bears so I wouldn't be surprised to see John Locke turn into a giant ape, destroy the temple walls and escape with our gorgeous Kate in distress.

What Kate did. Why don't you find it out all by yourself ?