1.03 - Tabula Rasa

Title’s significance: We’re adding a little something with this installment. LOST can have some pretty cryptic titles (“Pilot” was pretty self-explanatory). “Tabula rasa” means “blank slate” in Latin, a concept introduced by philosopher John Locke (hey, how about that?). Kate gets a blank slate by crashing on the island, but the same could be true of anyone on the plane. Jack tells her that he doesn’t want to know what happened before the crash. “Everyone,” Kate’s farm buddy tells us, “deserves a fresh start.”

Recap: Flashbacks explore Kate’s past as a fugitive without divulging what she did, though we learn she almost killed a man during her escape – but she was caught trying to save his life. Jack learns about Kate’s shady past. Sayid and the Scooby gang agree not to share what they know about the Frenchwoman’s transmission. The marshal wakes up and attacks Kate, but Jack saves her, admitting he knows that she has a shady past. Michael feels uncomfortable about Walt hanging with Locke before having an awkward encounter with Sun bathing (I couldn’t resist the pun). Sawyer tells Kate to euthanize the marshal, but even though Sawyer eventually takes it upon himself, the marshal still lives. Locke makes a whistle, and Vincent comes home; Walt and Michael bond during a kitschy montage.

Thoughts: This episode isn’t as rewatchable as some of the ones we’ll come across on this journey, but there’s a good deal of suspense and character development – especially for Kate – that later episodes come to rely upon. Hurley is really a star character here and for the early part of the season, since he’s downright hysterical; it’s a shame he gets downplayed a little from this initial major role, but it’s good that he didn’t become a mere distraction.

Favorite moment: Jack tells Hurley that the thing in the jungle can’t be a dinosaur “because dinosaurs are extinct.” Hurley: “Oh.”

Characters introduced (in order):

• SHRAPNEL MAN / THE MARSHAL becomes a bigger character in this episode.
• RAY MULLEN, the farmer who turned Kate in to the marshal

What we learned:

• The thing in the jungle is not a dinosaur.
• Charlie seems to have a bit of a fancy for Claire, and there may be a Jack/Kate/Sawyer love triangle brewing...
• The marshal (Shrapnel Man) has been following Kate for some time.
• Locke has experienced some kind of a miracle.
• The marshal is going to die.
• Kate’s favor was wanting to make sure that the man who turned her in got his reward money.

Questions:

• There’s a wheelchair lying about. Who does it belong to?
• It bears repeating – if she’s a fugitive, what did Kate do? Jack implies it was murder, but we don’t know for sure...
• What was Locke’s miracle?
• Michael promises to find Vincent “as soon as it stops raining.” Immediately, it stops raining. Is this situational humor, or is there something special about Walt?
• Why do the writers want us to think that Locke is a bad dude?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Nothing of any real mythological significance in this episode. Motifs of starting over recur throughout the show, but as the show winds down I can’t imagine much more rebirth and renewal happening.
• I have noticed that, even before the concept is introduced, The Numbers (4 8 15 16 23 42) are cropping up, suggesting that the writers really do know what they’re doing.