"LOST" (2004-2010): Favorite Character Centric Episodes - Part I

Below is Part I of a list of my favorite episodes featuring "LOST" characters:


"LOST" (2004-2010): FAVORITE CHARACTER CENTRIC EPISODES - Part I



Kate Austen



1. (2.09) "What Kate Did" - While Kate tends to a wounded Sawyer, flashbacks reveal her original crime, the murder of her father.




2. (1.22) "Born to Run" - Kate seeks a spot on Michael's raft, threatening to take Sawyer's place. Meanwhile, flashbacks reveal the circumstances behind the death of her childhood love, Tom.




3. "(5.04) "The Little Prince" - Kate and Jack discovers that Aaron's grandmother, Carole Littleton is in Los Angeles. A flashback reveals the truth behind Kate's decision to claim him as her son; while the remaining island survivors jump to the day when Aaron was born.







Juliet Burke



1. (3.16) "One of Us" - Juliet arrives at the castaways' camp, accompanied by Jack, Kate and Sayid. While the survivors question Jack's motives, a strange illness strikes down Claire. Flashbacks reveal Juliet's first three years on the island.




2. (3.07) "Not in Portland" - Flashbacks reveal the events behind the Others' recruitment of Juliet. Meanwhile, she assists Kate and Sawyer in their escape from one of the Others' camps.







Ana-Lucia Cortez



1. (2.07) "The Other 48 Days" - The first 48 days following the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 are shown from the Tail Section survivors' point of view, along with Ana-Lucia's leadership.




2. (2.08) "Collision" - Shannon's death causes a clash between Ana-Lucia and Sayid, near the Fuselage survivors' camp. Flashbacks reveal a tragic shooting in Ana-Lucia's past and her subsequent desire for revenge.







Michael Dawson



1. (4.08) "Meet Kevin Johnson" - Flashbacks reveal Michael's experiences in New York and the deal he made with the Others to spy upon the crew and passengers of Widmore's freighter.




2. (2.22) "Three Minutes" - Michael convinces Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sawyer to help him lead an attempt to rescue Walt, following Ana-Lucia and Libby's deaths. Flashbacks reveal the time he spent as a captive of the Others.




3. (1.14) "Special" - Michael clashes with Locke over his parenting of Walt. Meanwhile, flashbacks reveal the breakup between Michael and Walt's mother, Susan.







Mr. Eko



1. (2.10) "The 23rd Psalms" - While Charlie leads Mr. Eko to a drug smuggler's plane that contains the latter's brother, flashbacks reveal the path that led to his life as a warlord in Nigeria.




2. (2.21) "?" - While dealing with the deaths of Ana-Lucia and Libby, Mr. Eko accompanies Locke when they find another Dharma station. Flashbacks reveal his experiences in Australia before boarding Oceanic Flight 815.



Part II will feature the next five characters..

"LOST" (2004-2010): Favorite Character Centric Episodes - Part I

Below is Part I of a list of my favorite episodes featuring "LOST" characters: 


"LOST" (2004-2010): FAVORITE CHARACTER CENTRIC EPISODES - Part I



Kate Austen




1. (2.09) "What Kate Did" - While Kate tends to a wounded Sawyer, flashbacks reveal her original crime, the murder of her father.




2. (1.22) "Born to Run" - Kate seeks a spot on Michael's raft, threatening to take Sawyer's place. Meanwhile, flashbacks reveal the circumstances behind the death of her childhood love, Tom.




3. "(5.04) "The Little Prince" - Kate and Jack discovers that Aaron's grandmother, Carole Littleton is in Los Angeles. A flashback reveals the truth behind Kate's decision to claim him as her son; while the remaining island survivors jump to the day when Aaron was born.


==========================================




Juliet Burke




1. (3.16) "One of Us" - Juliet arrives at the castaways' camp, accompanied by Jack, Kate and Sayid. While the survivors question Jack's motives, a strange illness strikes down Claire. Flashbacks reveal Juliet's first three years on the island.




2. (3.07) "Not in Portland" - Flashbacks reveal the events behind the Others' recruitment of Juliet. Meanwhile, she assists Kate and Sawyer in their escape from one of the Others' camps.



===========================================




Ana-Lucia Cortez




1. (2.07) "The Other 48 Days" - The first 48 days following the crash of Oceanic 815 are shown from the Tail Section survivors' point of view, along with Ana-Lucia's leadership.




2. (2.08) "Collision" - Shannon's death causes a clash between Ana-Lucia and Sayid, near the Fuselage survivors' camp. Flashbacks reveal a tragic shooting in Ana-Lucia's past and her subsequent desire for revenge.


========================================




Michael Dawson




1. (4.08) "Meet Kevin Johnson" - Flashbacks reveal Michael's experiences in New York and the deal he made with the Others to spy upon the crew and passengers of Widmore's freighter.




2. (2.22) "Three Minutes" - Michael convinces Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sawyer to help him lead an attempt to rescue Walt, following Ana-Lucia and Libby's deaths. Flashbacks reveal the time he spent as a captive of the Others.




3. (1.14) "Special" - Michael clashes with Locke over his parenting of Walt. Meanwhile, flashbacks reveal the breakup between Michael and Walt's mother, Susan.


========================================




Mr. Eko




1. (2.10) "The 23rd Psalms" - While Charlie leads Mr. Eko to a drug smuggler's plane that contains the latter's brother, flashbacks reveal the path that led to his life as a warlord in Nigeria.




2. (2.21) "?" - While dealing with the deaths of Ana-Lucia and Libby, Mr. Eko accompanies Locke when they find another Dharma station. Flashbacks reveal his experiences in Australia before boarding Oceanic Flight 815.



Part II will feature the next five characters..

"LOST": A Tale of Two Fathers

"LOST": A Tale of Two Fathers

Back in Season 2, "LOST" aired an episode called "What Kate Did". The episode revealed the crime that led castaway Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly) to being a fugitive for three years - she had murdered her father, Wayne Jensen (James Horan), and used his death to collect insurance for her mother, Diane (Beth Broderick). The episode also revealed Kate's reason for her act of murder. She had just learned that Wayne - a man she had presumed to be her stepfather - was actually her father. 

Kate had made it perfectly clear that she disliked Wayne Jensen. She held him responsible for her mother's break-up with Sam Austen, the man she had longed believed was her father. She certainly disliked the fact that he was an alcoholic who physically abused Diane. And she found his habit of occasionally leering at her disgusting and beneath contempt. Many believed that Kate had been a victim of sexual abuse. And that Wayne had been the perpetrator. But "What Kate Did" hinted that Wayne may not have abused Kate. In this scene, Kate talks to an unconscious fellow castaway, Sawyer (Josh Holloway), whose body she believes has been temporarily possessed by her late father:

"Can you hear me? Sawyer? Wayne? [Sawyer stirs] I'm probably crazy and this doesn't matter, but maybe you're in there somehow. But you asked me a question. You asked me why I -- why I did it. It wasn't because you drove my father away, or the way you looked at me, or because you beat her. It's because I hated that you were a part of me -- that I would never be good. That I would never have anything good. And every time that I look at Sawyer -- every time I feel something for him -- I see you, Wayne. It makes me sick.".

Judging from her comments, it seems quite apparent that Wayne had never sexually abused her. Kate did accuse him of leering at her, which he proved in a flashback at the beginning of the episode. However, there are fans that still insist that Wayne may have abused her. They are entitled to their opinions. Frankly, I have doubts that Kate had ever been abused. But if she had . . . Wayne Jensen would not be on the top of my list of suspects.

When "What Kate Did" first aired during the 2005-2006 television season, I had also viewed an episode of "HOUSE" called“Skin Deep”. I noticed how Dr. Gregory House (portrayed by Hugh Laurie) had correctly guessed that a 15 year-old female patient, who happened to be a model, had been molested by “her” possessive father. How did House come to this conclusion? He noticed the close relationship between the model and her father. He noticed how the former seemed overtly concerned with pleasing said father. 

This scene also brought about memories of the movie, "DOLORES CLAIRBORNE". Based on a Stephen King novel, it told the story about a Maine woman (played by Kathy Bates) who murders her husband (David Straitharn) in order to stop him from continuing his sexual abuse of their daughter (Jennifer Jason-Leigh). What I had found interesting was that the daughter over-idealized her abusive father. And he (in flashbacks) over-idealized his mother, who may have sexually abused him.

Both that particular episode of "HOUSE" and "DOLORES CLAIRBORNE" led me to suspect that if Kate had been sexually abused, her abuser could possibly be her step-father, Sgt. Sam Austen (Lindsey Ginter). After all, Kate has expressed nothing but contempt for Wayne. Yet, she had a tendency to idealize her step-father. And in an odd way, she may have extended or projected this same tendency to idealize over to other men who probably reminded her of Sgt. Austen - Tom Brennan (MacKenzie Astin), her husband Kevin Callis (Nathan Fillon) and leader of the island castaways, Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox). 

Below is a link to a web page that lists traits of those (especially adult women) who may have suffered sexual abuse as a child - Beyond Victim. Included on the web page is a small list of the following traits of victims of sexual abuse: 

*You feel powerless in important relationships and are terrified of honest confrontations. Yet you try to control and manipulate other people.

*If you were sexually abused by your father, you also may have felt unconsciously empowered by him; you are his special girl and you can do and be whatever you choose (as long as you don't replace daddy with a new man in your life with whom you can be truly intimate). Your troubled relationships with men present a sharp contrast to other areas of your life.

*You over-idealize your father and fail to see his destructive side while seeing the negative side of your mother and ignoring her positive attributes. Consequently, you over-value and misperceive men while devaluing and discounting women. (Or you may over-idealize your mother and see your father as totally bad. this pattern is common with men who were sexually abused by either their mothers or their fathers.)

I am not saying that Kate was definitely a victim of sexual abuse. I honestly do not know. Over eight years have passed since "What Kate Did" aired and the producers of "LOST" never conveyed any further revelations abut that particular storyline. I do find it interesting that Kate's feelings toward Sam Austen seemed to follow a pattern similar to that of sexual abuse victims harbor toward their perpetrators - as described above. Kate not only tend to over-idealize Jack, a man who not only reminded her of Austen, she ended up becoming a victim of his emotional abuse on a few occasions.