LOST: Episode 6.03 Recap, 'What Kate Does'

Episode Title: "What Kate Does"

Written By: Adam Horowitz & Edward Kitsis

Story: The shocking resurrection of Sayid Jarrah prompts a flurry of responses both from the castaways led by Jack Shephard and the Others led by Dogen. In the confusion, Sawyer escapes from the Temple, causing Kate Austen and Jin-Soo Kwon to volunteer to find him — and while Sawyer doesn't want to be found, someone entirely different finds Jin. Ultimately, Dogen and his assistant Lennon make a diagnosis regarding Sayid, one that has dark ties to Jack's family line.

In the sideways reality, Kate and Claire Littleton share a fateful cab ride that results in the naming of her unborn child, Aaron.

Claimed By Sickness: A mystery from season one resurfaces — the sickness. Danielle Rousseau first told Sayid of an infection that wiped out her entire science team, husband included, causing her to kill every last one of them. We eventually saw this story unfold in the fifth season, but the actual nature of the sickness was left unexplained, except for some vague ties to the Smoke Monster's activities under the temple.

But with Smocke out in full force, it hardly seems coincidental that Sayid comes back to life with a darkness headed straight for his heart. While the exact nature of the sickness isn't known quite yet, it certainly appears that it has claimed Sayid — and given his unique skill set, this could go very, very badly for everybody around him.

Claire's Back: Dogen informs Jack that his sister was also claimed by this infection, leading to the episode's closing moments where Claire emerges from the jungle, kills two Others and trains her rifle on Jin. Here's another answer — contrary to public opinion, Claire isn't exactly dead, but she's clearly changed. The Claire we used to know wouldn't mercilessly shoot a pair of goons. Heck, the Claire we knew barely knew how to raise a baby.

Since the last we saw of Claire was alongside Christian Shephard inside of the Cabin, and the popular theory is that Christian is linked to Smocke/Smoke Monster/Man in Black, is it safe to say that both Claire and Sayid have been chosen, or "claimed," for Team Smocke? We're sure to learn more in upcoming episodes, but it'll certainly be interesting to see Jack and Kate's reactions to the new Claire.

Broken Hearts: The death of Juliet has undone most of the progress that James Ford made over the course of six seasons, but not all of it. He's accepting responsibility for her death — even though it's not completely his to take — and even though he wasn't able to follow through on his plan to marry her, his thoughts hang heavily on Juliet.

In that regard, Kate is the one who hasn't changed all that much. While she claims to be on the island to find Claire and bring her home to Aaron, she's still very much hung up on Sawyer. But James' clear heartache over Juliet's death means that Kate isn't likely to get her desired man, so she might have to settle for Jack. Let the rivalry between Jaters and Skaters resume.

Tales From Bizarro Land: I wasn't a fan of tonight's sideways story. Alterna-Kate's relationship with Alterna-Claire felt entirely forced. It was fun to see Alterna-Ethan, but I fail to see the real significance in this particular story — how is this pushing the sideways plot forward? I'd much rather spend more time on the promise of Alterna-Jack and Alterna-Locke's spinal examination, or anything that has an apparent meaning towards the show's overall mythology. On that front, the sideways story fell completely flat.

Quote of the Evening: "Of course he's fine. He's an Iraqi torturer who shoots kids. He definitely deserves another go-around." — James "Sawyer" Ford on Sayid's apparent resurrection.

Monster Judgment: Overall, tonight's episode was a weak follow-up to last week's compelling season opener. Smocke was entirely absent, Claire wasn't in it enough, the sideways reality was a bore and the sickness was quite the tease.

But to be fair, almost every season's second episode has left something to be desired. Season two's "Adrift" dragged on, season three's "The Glass Ballerina" didn't get us back to Locke quickly enough, season four's "Confirmed Dead" was all over the map and season five's "The Lie" wasn't memorable save for Hurley's hot pocket. But here we are, even after all of those episodes, still clinging on for more "Lost." I wouldn't worry too much about the latest outing — if past seasons are any indicator, we'll have plenty more to hoot and holler about down the line.

The Shape Of Things To Come: James, seemingly shacked up in his old DHARMA house, is visited by the entity posing as John Locke. "I thought you were dead," Sawyer quips. "I am," Smocke cooly returns.

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