"I Do"

NOVEMBER 22, 2010

FOCUS: KATE
EPISODE: 3.6
AIRED: NOVEMBER 8, 2006

When “I Do” originally aired, it was scheduled as sort of a mini-season finale. The idea for this (and only this) season was to have a 6 episode block airing back to back, then take a long hiatus and come back in February and air new episodes non-stop until the end of the season, which was their way to combat complaints about the frequent 2-4 week gaps that would occur during the usual September to May TV season.

Thus, it seemed like a very real possibility that Sawyer would get killed at the end of the episode, because holy shit! What better sock to the gut and “what will happen next?” moment could there possibly be? Plus he’s in the rain, and Giacchino’s music swells to nearly Thomas Newman-ian heights... all signs point to goner. Well, it was not to be (admittedly, I’m glad), and the cliffhanger was just Jack telling Kate to run, which wasn’t quite the awesome cliffhanger we were expecting. Kate, running? No shit! That’s all she ever does anyway! Might as well have a cliffhanger on whether or not Hurley will eat a sandwich.

Indeed, the flashbacks for the episode remind us, again, that Kate can’t sit still for too long (and if she does, she grows her hair out hideously). And to hammer this point home, they have her even try marriage, to Nathan Fillion no less – one of the greatest men alive, as far as nerd TV watchers are concerned anyway. If she can’t even “settle” for marital bliss with this guy, there truly is no hope for her. So she confesses her secret to him after slipping him some drugged lemonade, cries, apologizes, and takes off. I always wondered why they didn’t even mention him again – I mean, she is technically MARRIED to the guy, right? Did they ever get a divorce? Why wasn’t he at her trial? Etc. Stupid Castle/Drive!

Speaking of things they just dropped the ball on – what the hell is up with her calling Edward? From what little hints they offer, she calls every holy day, which is weird enough – but why is she calling him, PERIOD? Can they just come right out and tell us whether or not these two ever had a fling? It drove me nuts while I was watching the show for the first time, and it drives me nuts now. But I do like how he baits her by telling her he won’t chase her anymore if she promises to stay put, which is pretty much what sets her off (she didn’t seem to have a problem with Taco Night prior to their conversation. Furthermore – I would very much enjoy weekly tacos, preferably with Evangeline Lilly. Or Nathan Fillion, for what matter.)

The big thrust behind the episode is whether or not Jack will perform surgery on Ben, and if so, will he do it right or will he kill him like Juliet asked him to. Or will he just take advantage of the Others’ rather poor lapse in judgment and nick Ben’s artery and threaten to let him die unless they let Kate go. And he does this for her AFTER he watches her nail Sawyer in his cage. Score one for Jack in this episode – that is the highest of high roads.

There’s also the business of burying Eko, but it’s pretty much just two or three scenes’ worth of the episode. I get why they wouldn’t want to bum everyone out with another funeral, but wouldn’t they be MORE suspicious of some of the island’s more mysterious people (Locke, Desmond, Nikki and Goddamn Paulo), plus Sayid the torturer, coming back and saying “Eko is dead, we buried him, let’s move on”? And they could have at least gotten Bernard to join them for their little half-assed ceremony – he was pretty close to the guy, and they were the last of the 23 tail survivors.

Oh, and Jacob is mentioned, though curiously Pickett says Jack “wasn’t on Jacob’s list”. What list? Because if it was the list of potential heirs to his island throne, then that’s way fucking wrong, isn’t it? Maybe it was a list of people who got some on the island.

Anyway, it wasn’t as good as a real season finale, and it’s probably the weakest of this 6 episode “arc”, but since things would drag for a while when it returned, it’s nice to see a sense of urgency – it would be a while before things got real exciting again (besides the Charlie death storyline).

Where are we?

(Yes, this video came up when I searched "I Do" - don't ask me why, just enjoy!)