I don’t know what it was. Did the season premiere raise my expectations so high, or have I really turned into the thing I’ve dreadest most (an annoying fanboy)? It’s just that the last episode didn’t really set off a spark with me – nor most of the people watching it with me. Why?

The Episode…

During the first three seasons, the thought of a Kate episode coming up was an instant alarm bell: this episode would be boring as hell, feature Kate running from point A to B, kill some bad guys on the way, and generally be a pain in the ass. Season Four’s episode “Eggtown” brought a change to that: the episode featured an actual story I was interested in! The trend continued in Season Five: saving Ben was an interesting feat – even if it did feature running around and away. Again.

But this episode? I just can’t justify the running anymore. It’s too much. The Kate parts of the episode (including the Sideways, who were more about Claire ) were so downright annoying that I was very disappointed – even for a Kate episode. Thank god two things saved it.

First off, I liked the fact that one of the main characters of the second season made his return: the sickness. Yes, apparently there is a sickness, and the whole thing wasn’t just a Dharma trick to get the people to stay down the hatch. We also found out – with the usual bit of LOST extrapolation – that it is related to the Monster. Will Sayid be able to conquer it? He’s the one character where the “salvation” question has been the most prodominant. He’s also the character who, in my opinion, kind of needs it the most. Sawyer said it all.

The second saving moment was – believe it or not – related to Kate, if only slightly. I’m of course talking about Sawyer’s goodbye to Juliet. Man, I really feel for the guy. I like how they’re really building towards his downfall: for that last five seasons, he’s slowly become a better person. Juliet’s death, however, plunged the guy right back into the abyss. I’m excited to see where they take this.

The Questions…

Apart from the whole sickness thing (which I didn’t mention in the questions because I considered it answered), this episode was very low on questions. Now we know that Claire is still on the island, and that she’s possibly gone insane – Rousseau style. That raises the questions: was Rousseau sick? Or was she telling the truth, and were her comrades the sick ones? Maybe I’m looking into it too much: she was probably telling the truth.

Next Week…

Next week’s episode, the subsitute, will probably feature Locke. I wonder if he’s going to call Jack up? I hope we’ll get a bit more insight on who this mysterious Man in Black (or the Monster) is. On the Sideways of things, I wonder if Locke really went on his Walkabout. And: who, if there was no island and hence no reason for Abaddon to recruit John, told him to go on it in the first place…

In All…

There were some interesting things going on in this episodes – some nice reveals. But seriously, if I’ve gotten this far, it means I’m not just in it for the reveals. I’m just not fond of Kate. I guess this is my problem – only my problem seems to be shared with everyone in the room.

I sometimes wonder: where are the Kate fans? If every episode is written for a different audience, then who are the people they write Kate episodes for?

Favourite Quote: SAWYER: He’s an Iraqi torturer who shoots kids, he definitely deserves another go around.