There's something about Kate

[swatkat]

Am v sleepy, but I needed to get this out before going to bed.

So delle, about Kate. What's up with her? I want to like her, I really do. She's got *such* an interesting background. There are these flashes where she's tough and cool. But mostly, she's the sweet friendly girl who's always eager to help. Most of the times, she's almost *Claire*. Which, given her background, given some of her actions (like when she tells Sawyer that if she wanted her spot, he'd KNOW), does not compute. There's something off about her. And I'm wondering, is the sweet little helpful girl thing a persona? (This is, of course, not to imply that she can't be nice, or can't genuinely care for people. Not that.)

Comments

[delle.livejournal.com]

the easy answer? is that the writing for Kate sucks. plain and simple. they simply can't seem to decide what and who they want Kate to be.

ok, I'll try not to be flip and give you a better answer. I think Kate is a sweet, friendly girl. But what she's been through - what I've hypothesized about her history - is that she's been through hell and that's given her a hard skin that still shows up now and then on the island. the facade she usually presents is the Kate That Was, the Kate she wishes she could be again. That's the one we see in her second flashback, when we find out about the 'man she killed'.

Here's my theory - I'm suspecting Kate was abused, either by someone in her family or someone she knew. And I think she killed him, not necessarily in self-defense, but to make it stop. Because she wasn't in Imminent Danger at the time, she was sentenced to time in jail. When she came out, she had this Huge Strike Against Her, or she escaped from jail, I'm not sure which. She touched base with the Good Kind Boy from high school and he ended up dead. She's never gotten a break from the criminal justice system and everytime she *thinks* she's getting away from her past, it comes back and makes things worse.

That's left her with some mental scars. I don't think she trusts easily, which is why she connects with Sawyer so much. I think she truly regrets the death of her friend and blames herself, which gives her a connection with Sayid. She truly wishes she were the innocent soul she perceives Jack to be, so she feels drawn to him and yet simultaneously repelled, like a magnet, because she's NOT what he assumes she is and she's already been responsible for the death of one innocent tied to her.

She's trying to make a fresh start and yet keeps stumbling over her fears and barriers that she's made due to her past. That makes her a complex character, hard to pin down and hard to predict.

There. does that help at all?

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

the facade she usually presents is the Kate That Was, the Kate she wishes she could be again.

The Kate she never can be? How much of the hard skin is a part of her *now*?

That's left her with some mental scars. I don't think she trusts easily, which is why she connects with Sawyer so much. I think she truly regrets the death of her friend and blames herself, which gives her a connection with Sayid. She truly wishes she were the innocent soul she perceives Jack to be, so she feels drawn to him and yet simultaneously repelled, like a magnet, because she's NOT what he assumes she is and she's already been responsible for the death of one innocent tied to her.

Oh, that's very, very good. *g*

Swatkat

[jaybee65.livejournal.com]

I'm going to chime in and agree with delle here: the writing for Kate just sucks so completely that the character is all over the place. She's got a self-righteous attitude when her background gives her absolutely ZERO reason to act that way. Ugh. I hope the island gets her, although knowing my luck she'll be around for 5 seasons.

Now, this season, I do like a certain female character quite a bit, but I'll say nothing further to avoid spoilers.

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

Ana Lucia, hmm? Do you think I'll like her?

Swatkat