Lost (TV Series) What Kate Did (2005) User Reviews

Do not Use the Computer for Communication

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 1 May 2006]

While taking care of a feverish Sawyer, Kate freaks out and recalls her crime trying to protect her mother against her abusive and drunken stepfather. Shannon is buried with the presence of the survivors except Kate, Sawyer and Ana Lucia. John Locke shows the film to Mr. Eko and Michael, and Mr. Eko gives the missing part, which was found in the other side of the island, with the instruction to not use the computer for communication.

In this episode, the original crime of Kate is finally disclosed. The advice in the piece of film retrieved by Mr. Eko is the greatest attraction for the next episode, since Michael is using the computer for a mysterious communication with Waltz. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Note: On 29 March 2013, I saw this episode again.

I Don't Have Murder in my Heart

[aliensprez · 8/10 · 15 February 2021]

Kate is one of my least favorite characters on Lost. She cannot have her story told without flirting with Jack and Sawyer in-between flashbacks. However, the flashbacks here were interesting. I liked the story, even though it might feel cliché. My problem is the love triangle. Stop that. Kate is practically playing with Jack's feelings every episode. Aside from that, Locke is excellent and Mr. Eko is too. In typical Lost fashion, the cliff hanger ending leaves me wanting to watch the next episode, and then the one after that, and then the one after that.

This place is crazy!

[gridoon2024 · 8/10 · 15 April 2009]

The LOST episodes centering on Kate often get criticized for the repetitive nature of their flashbacks, and for too much focus on the Jack-Kate-Sawyer love triangle. Well, "What Kate Did"'s flashbacks are pretty revealing (they should be, with that title!) and tense, and her on-island scenes have a touch of mysticism that you don't often get in her episodes; the island is starting to play its little mind games on her. I think Evangeline Lilly does not get enough credit for her acting, she has been consistently up to the demands of her role. But although the episode is centered on Kate, it gives good moments to a lot of other characters too (Hurley's line about Bernard had me laughing for about a minute), and ends with a Michael-related cliffhanger that makes you go "What the hell?" in typical LOST fashion. It also establishes Eko as a very compelling new character and his chemistry with Locke is instantaneous. *** out of 4.

Fathers and daughters

[MaxBorg89 · 10/10 · 4 December 2010]

SPOILER: This is another brilliant case of "does exactly what it says on the tin": the title of the episode is What Kate Did, and what the writing team made up of Steven Maeda and Craig Wright does is precisely what fans have asked for since the show began - reveal why Kate Austen was on the run. And it's every bit as good as it sounds.

On the Island, the castaways are preparing for Shannon's funeral, while Jack keeps watching over a convalescent Sawyer and Locke sets up shifts to push the button in the hatch now that Desmond is gone, striking a friendship of sorts with Mr. Eko in the process. Kate, meanwhile, fears she is going insane after seeing a black horse in the jungle, which leads to her having a talk with Sawyer on the subject of mental instability, and Michael discovers a way to get in touch with his captive son.

As for what Kate did, it turns out she murdered her abusive stepfather by blowing up his house. She was arrested by US Marshal Grant (Fredric Lehne, always a welcome presence) but managed to escape - a black horse was involved, weirdly enough - and confronted her birth parents about her crime, making a shocking discovery about her step-dad.

What Kate Did is a spellbinding combination of standalone character bits and relevant mythology plotting: in the former camp, we have all scenes featuring Evageline Lilly, whose performance hits all the right notes and remains sympathetic even in the darkest moments; in the latter, we have the bond between Locke and Eko, which is strengthened by the appearance of another Marvin Candle tape, and two climactic revelations that suggest the rest of the season will amp up the danger factor. Oh, and did I mention Kate and Jack kiss?

Solid episode, exceptionally well-directed

[ametaphysicalshark · 14 September 2008]

SPOILER: "What Kate Did" is definitely one of the better Kate-centric episodes, and probably the best (although I will have to see "I Do" again before deciding on my favorite) of the bunch overall, actually. While the reveal of the 'mystery' of what Kate did is somewhat disappointing, and certainly caused some less than favorable feedback from fans, the episode as a whole is quite strong thanks to a solid script from Steven Maeda and Craig Wright.

The flashbacks show Kate's torching of the house, her meeting with her mother just after, and her later encounter with the man she thought to be her father. It's a decent flashback episode, but not much worth discussing, really. The island events are far more interesting, in spite of being a bit grating on occasion- this is the real beginning of the love triangle nonsense. Still, we do get some really interesting scenes between Eko and Locke which are excellently-written and provide a lot of food for thought. Similarly the scenes with the orientation film are entertaining, as is the cliffhanger ending.

The episode is particularly notable for the outstanding direction by Paul Edwards. Already, just a few episodes into the second season, "Lost" has easily surpassed, visually, the first season of the show, where half of the episodes showed incompetence on the part of the directors (other than Jack Bender and other regulars, and some other exceptions as well). This was his debut, but there's a lot of beautiful shots here and for an episode which hardly features any tumultuous events it moves at a fairly fast pace.

"What Kate Did" is especially notable for its visuals and Eko-Locke interaction, but it remains the most tolerable Kate-centric episode (outside of "I Do", perhaps), and is a fairly solid episode with certain outstanding scenes (Sayid's placing of his prayer beads on the cross at Shannon's grave, for example).

7/10

Revealing Kate's past

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 7 February 2018]

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.

It is very difficult following on from two tension-filled show high-points in "The Other 48 Days" and "Collision" and be as good, but "What Kate Did", while not as great as those two, accomplishes this very well. It is by quite some way one of the best Kate-centric episodes (don't dislike her as much as some do but there are far stronger characters on 'Lost'), and does see her at her most interesting in quite some time.

The flashback, no matter how pretty clichéd it is, gives one more of an insight into Kate's past and answers the long unanswered question of why Kate was a fugitive. The mystery itself is handled well though the whole black horse stuff leading up to the reveal for my tastes was a touch on the silly side. It also is successful in allowing us to sympathise with Kate's situation despite her un-condonable actions.

Having said that, the island events and mysteries are more compelling and advance the story and characters much more. Particularly the bond between Locke and Eko, which is mysterious and thought-provoking (Eko really intrigues as a character, and is every bit as intriguingly acted), the shocking cliff-hanger and with Sawyer, where his pain and anguish is very believable as is the mental instability dialogue. Hurley's line about Bernard is very funny.

"What Kate Did" benefits from great acting. Terry O'Quinn can do no wrong and Josh Holloway's Sawyer is fantastic. Evangeline Lily continues to grow vastly as Kate and having an episode centred around her may have induced some groans and worries but it does allow Lily to stretch her acting abilities and she does in a very emotionally committed performance.

A great job is done with the writing and development of the characters thanks to a taut, smart, passionate and complex script that has a lot happening while not feeling over-stuffed.

On a visual level, "What Kate Did" is beautifully photographed, as always making the most of the island setting. The music is as always chilling and understated and some of the show's best direction is present here.

In summation, an excellent episode that progresses everything beautifully and makes Kate the most interesting she'd been on 'Lost' up to this point. 9/10 Bethany Cox

"Because ..."

[Jackbv123 · 3/10 · 7 January 2022]

The most telling quote of this episode is "Because I didn't have murder in my heart." This is Kate's father's answer as to why he didn't kill Wayne.

Kate confesses, speaking to phantom Wayne inside Sawyer, "because I had you inside me". Not because Wayne beat her mom. Not because he looked at Kate that way. She killed him because he represented the evil inside Kate herself.

Are we supposed to like these people? Oh, I already was ambivalent toward Kate. After all she killed those bank robbers, her accomplices, pretty easily just so she could get her toy plane back. On the other hand she can be pretty likeable on the island, and she does have great physical appeal I can't quite put my finger on. And now we see that she is perhaps the worst character on the island. I'm pretty sure she continues to be one of the "protagonists" of the series.

The people on the island are an interesting mix. Sawyer appears to have nothing good in his character, but who knows what we will yet learn. Ana Lucia killed a man in cold blood. Justified? She certainly had motives to hate him, but is murder justifiable, ever? And she had just turned down the opportunity to let the justice system punish him.

Then there are the people who seem to be getting the unfair end of things. Shannon, Claire, Walt and Michael, and probably Sun.

It's popular now adays to glorify criminals and should-be heroes who do wrong thing in TV and movies.

Have no idea why this is rated highly

[NatashaJAmos2015 · 3/10 · 11 February 2021]

I loath Kate .

This episode was full of plot holes . And I have a question . Why did Jack send Kate off to look for food for Sawyer when they have a pantry full of it ?

A filler episode at its best .

Can you explain why...

[BruceWayne3 · 5/10 · 21 September 2020]

If the old movie roll you have is missing a scene but you find a identical movie on the island that is not missing that scene why would you cut the missing piece out and put it on your video ? Just watch the complete movie, poor show writing