“Tabula Rasa” gives us the show’s very first character-centric episode. That is, it’s the first episode in which the flashbacks focus solely on one particular character. As I’m sure you’re well aware, this Kate-centric episode creates the basic framework for storytelling: a balance of on-island events and flashbacks that help to illuminate why the characters act the way they do. So, without further ado, let’s jump into the episode that shows us how Kate Austen wound up on Oceanic Flight 815.
It was revealed in the second half of the pilot episode that Kate is a fugitive. At this point, we don’t know what she did or how she was apprehended, but she was seated next to the U.S. Marshall (Edward Mars) on Flight 815 and sporting a flashy pair of handcuffs. Of course we later learn that she was on the lam because she killed her father, who regularly beat the hell out of her mother. But that information remains a mystery in the early stages of the saga.
While in Australia, Kate took up work on a farm run by the widowed Ray Mullen. Ray tells Kate that his wife died eight months prior and that she left him with a “hell of a mortgage.” He hires Kate under-the-table because he needs help completing chores on the farm. His efficiency is hindered by a prosthetic right arm. Ray doesn’t mention how he lost his arm, but this detail about the Aussie should raise red flags in the minds of Lost fans. Although it’s purely coincidental, Pierre Chang (of the orientation video fame) also wears a prosthesis. It’s his left arm that’s missing, however. As we saw in the fifth season finale, Chang’s left arm became pinned during the incident when the electromagnetic force drew metal objects toward the drilling shaft. In some of the station orientation videos shot after the Incident, you’ll notice that he’s without his left arm; the prosthesis usually hangs at his side. Anyhow, this detail about Ray shouldn’t be scrutinized too closely, as it appears to be a coincidence, but it’s worth noting as we review these earlier episodes with the knowledge of following seasons.
As it goes, Ray eventually learns that Kate is wanted in the United States for murder. Stopping her late one night as she plans to flee, he doesn’t tell her that he knows she’s on the run and convinces her to wait until the morning so that he can drive her to a train station. But as the pair cruise down some desolate route in the Outback at daybreak, it’s revealed that he has turned her in so that he can collect the $23,000 reward to help pay his hefty mortgage. In a desperate attempt to escape, she grabs Ray’s steering wheel from the passenger seat and drives the truck off the road. But seeing that Ray is incapacitated and that the truck has caught fire, she pulls him to safety. Her oddly heroic efforts force her to stick around a little too long and lead to her capture by the Marshall. So her escape was all for naught and she’s under arrest and scheduled for extradition back to the States. And which airline do you suppose U.S. Marshalls prefer? Oceanic Airlines, apparently.
As Kate’s background unravels through the series of flashbacks, the on-island scenes in this episode continue to introduce us to the survivors of Flight 815 and explore some of their relationships. We see that Kate confides in Jack and tells him about the French distress call that the others in the “Polar bear party” agreed to keep a secret. This, of course, is something that will repeat itself often throughout the series. The cutesy—and at times, volatile—relationship between Charlie and Claire begins to take shape here as Charlie helps the mom-to-be assemble her luggage on the beach. And we see the strife between Michael and Walt as the two argue about finding Walt’s dog Vincent. Definitely not the most crucial argument between characters on the show, but it sets the trend for another one of Lost’s ever-present themes: the strained relationships between fathers and sons. Much like the “light versus dark” motif touched upon in the second half of the pilot episode, this sort of conflict appears again and again. Take for instance the interactions between Jack and his father Christian. Or how about Jin’s embarrassment over his father’s lowly livelihood as a fisherman (and to a lesser extent, his turbulent interactions with Sun’s father)? And even the genuinely good Hurley has a not-so-great rapport with his father. As another episode title suggests, all the best cowboys have daddy issues. And there sure are a whole lotta cowboys on this island.
“Tabula Rasa” marks another occasion in which the rain appears. This episode’s downpour sends the survivors on the beach scrambling for some sort of shelter, and its arrival coincides with Kate’s visit to the tent housing the ailing Marshall. His eyes flash open, connecting with Kate’s for an instant, and he summons a whole boatload of strength as he tries to strangle her. He collapses thereafter, with Jack informing Kate that the patient’s stomach has become rigid. The good Doc had said was a bad sign, and it signals the certain doom of Edward Mars. Mars later asks to be killed, a task which Kate gives to Sawyer. Sawyer shoots the Marshall in the chest, intending to hit his heart. The bullet instead punctures the Marshall’s lung, and he’s left to die an agonizingly slow death. Yikes.
The final portion of the episode shows us that Locke finds Vincent using the whistle he crafted on the beach. But rather than take credit for the job he did, he allows Michael to bring Vincent to Walt so that he can earn some parenting points. I remember when I first saw these episodes, I couldn’t figure out whether Locke was a good soul or pure malevolence. I mean, the writers sort of gave us a first impression of all the other characters, but they kept Locke mysterious for quite a while. I remember I was still having a hard time figuring him out when he was working on unearthing the hatch with Boone. So it’s interesting to review these early episodes. The final shot (following the musical montage of others on the beach) is a prelude to the Locke-centric episode that follows this one, but up until this point we only know John Locke as the reclusive backgammon man who finds Vincent. Knowing what we know now, perhaps this was the writers’ way of showing us how Locke was different from the rest; how he had the special commune with the island. I suppose the next episode does indeed show us how different Locke is! But that’s a capsule for another day (tomorrow, actually).
As always, thanks for reading! And comment away!
It was revealed in the second half of the pilot episode that Kate is a fugitive. At this point, we don’t know what she did or how she was apprehended, but she was seated next to the U.S. Marshall (Edward Mars) on Flight 815 and sporting a flashy pair of handcuffs. Of course we later learn that she was on the lam because she killed her father, who regularly beat the hell out of her mother. But that information remains a mystery in the early stages of the saga.
While in Australia, Kate took up work on a farm run by the widowed Ray Mullen. Ray tells Kate that his wife died eight months prior and that she left him with a “hell of a mortgage.” He hires Kate under-the-table because he needs help completing chores on the farm. His efficiency is hindered by a prosthetic right arm. Ray doesn’t mention how he lost his arm, but this detail about the Aussie should raise red flags in the minds of Lost fans. Although it’s purely coincidental, Pierre Chang (of the orientation video fame) also wears a prosthesis. It’s his left arm that’s missing, however. As we saw in the fifth season finale, Chang’s left arm became pinned during the incident when the electromagnetic force drew metal objects toward the drilling shaft. In some of the station orientation videos shot after the Incident, you’ll notice that he’s without his left arm; the prosthesis usually hangs at his side. Anyhow, this detail about Ray shouldn’t be scrutinized too closely, as it appears to be a coincidence, but it’s worth noting as we review these earlier episodes with the knowledge of following seasons.
As it goes, Ray eventually learns that Kate is wanted in the United States for murder. Stopping her late one night as she plans to flee, he doesn’t tell her that he knows she’s on the run and convinces her to wait until the morning so that he can drive her to a train station. But as the pair cruise down some desolate route in the Outback at daybreak, it’s revealed that he has turned her in so that he can collect the $23,000 reward to help pay his hefty mortgage. In a desperate attempt to escape, she grabs Ray’s steering wheel from the passenger seat and drives the truck off the road. But seeing that Ray is incapacitated and that the truck has caught fire, she pulls him to safety. Her oddly heroic efforts force her to stick around a little too long and lead to her capture by the Marshall. So her escape was all for naught and she’s under arrest and scheduled for extradition back to the States. And which airline do you suppose U.S. Marshalls prefer? Oceanic Airlines, apparently.
As Kate’s background unravels through the series of flashbacks, the on-island scenes in this episode continue to introduce us to the survivors of Flight 815 and explore some of their relationships. We see that Kate confides in Jack and tells him about the French distress call that the others in the “Polar bear party” agreed to keep a secret. This, of course, is something that will repeat itself often throughout the series. The cutesy—and at times, volatile—relationship between Charlie and Claire begins to take shape here as Charlie helps the mom-to-be assemble her luggage on the beach. And we see the strife between Michael and Walt as the two argue about finding Walt’s dog Vincent. Definitely not the most crucial argument between characters on the show, but it sets the trend for another one of Lost’s ever-present themes: the strained relationships between fathers and sons. Much like the “light versus dark” motif touched upon in the second half of the pilot episode, this sort of conflict appears again and again. Take for instance the interactions between Jack and his father Christian. Or how about Jin’s embarrassment over his father’s lowly livelihood as a fisherman (and to a lesser extent, his turbulent interactions with Sun’s father)? And even the genuinely good Hurley has a not-so-great rapport with his father. As another episode title suggests, all the best cowboys have daddy issues. And there sure are a whole lotta cowboys on this island.
“Tabula Rasa” marks another occasion in which the rain appears. This episode’s downpour sends the survivors on the beach scrambling for some sort of shelter, and its arrival coincides with Kate’s visit to the tent housing the ailing Marshall. His eyes flash open, connecting with Kate’s for an instant, and he summons a whole boatload of strength as he tries to strangle her. He collapses thereafter, with Jack informing Kate that the patient’s stomach has become rigid. The good Doc had said was a bad sign, and it signals the certain doom of Edward Mars. Mars later asks to be killed, a task which Kate gives to Sawyer. Sawyer shoots the Marshall in the chest, intending to hit his heart. The bullet instead punctures the Marshall’s lung, and he’s left to die an agonizingly slow death. Yikes.
The final portion of the episode shows us that Locke finds Vincent using the whistle he crafted on the beach. But rather than take credit for the job he did, he allows Michael to bring Vincent to Walt so that he can earn some parenting points. I remember when I first saw these episodes, I couldn’t figure out whether Locke was a good soul or pure malevolence. I mean, the writers sort of gave us a first impression of all the other characters, but they kept Locke mysterious for quite a while. I remember I was still having a hard time figuring him out when he was working on unearthing the hatch with Boone. So it’s interesting to review these early episodes. The final shot (following the musical montage of others on the beach) is a prelude to the Locke-centric episode that follows this one, but up until this point we only know John Locke as the reclusive backgammon man who finds Vincent. Knowing what we know now, perhaps this was the writers’ way of showing us how Locke was different from the rest; how he had the special commune with the island. I suppose the next episode does indeed show us how different Locke is! But that’s a capsule for another day (tomorrow, actually).
As always, thanks for reading! And comment away!
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