One of the things the writers pointed out in their commentary podcast (which I hope they do often) is that these characters have problems with people off the island, and these unresolved issues spill over to those who are on the island. This does help her settle her problems with her father, as Wayne appears to channel the catatonic Sawyer. She never thought she could be good since Wayne would always be a part of her, yet she is still drawn to Sawyer. Sgt Austen is similar to Jack as Wayne is similar to Sawyer. Are we born with a blank slate, with our personalities formed by our surroundings and experiences, or are we born with some intrinsic blueprint? Kate clearly thinks the first, but that could be disproven.īoth of Kate’s fathers parallel the men she’s interested in on the island. Kate doesn’t believe in the idea of tabula rasa, a theory developed by the real John Locke (ironically, her first episode was titled “Tabula Rasa”). It is interesting to see the philosophical ideas brought forth on Lost. She felt that because her father was a bad man, she could never be a good woman.
Kate, like some on the island, believes in fate. She killed him because she found out he was her real father and her mother was too blinded by her “love” to realize what kind of person he was. Kate was never molested, raped or beaten by Wayne, although he did make some really disgusting, incestuous (even if he didn’t know it) comments to her. The end reason isn’t as obvious as we were lead to expect, which some found hard to believe. It is a rather audacious thing to do for someone who never had any run ins with the law before. Now we’re at the beginning with her original crime: killing her sleazy father. Like Jack, Kate’s flashbacks to date have been told in reverse. The actual crime, even though it is patricide, may be disappointing, but it may be interesting to see in Lost’s long term scope. By revealing it, they must’ve hoped that it would ease some worries. What Kate did is one of the biggest questions among fans (probably the biggest is how Locke became paralyzed). The writers know how huge a fanbase Lost has and how much discussion it provokes at watercoolers and on internet forums, so they must be aware of the criticism that this season has progressed slowly. This episode details the origin of Kate’s criminal past and, unlike other events like this, the reveal happens in the prologue. As Lost is largely based on its mysteries, the writers must decide how long to keep the viewers in the dark before revealing a satisfying answer, along with what hints they’ll drop along the way.