Guava Seed Rating: 5[]
Highlights[]
- Jack and Kate meet for the first time, becoming the first two castaways to have a real conversation, as Kate stitches up Jack's injured back and Jack tells Kate a story about overcoming fear.
- In the evening, by the light of the fire, Jack and Kate find support in each other in the aftermath of the crash. They also flirt for the first time and formally introduce themselves. It should be noted that Kate, who has gone by numerous aliases in the past (Annie, Maggie, Monica, Lucy), tells Jack her real name. They are interrupted by sounds of the Monster shortly thereafter.
- While in the cockpit looking for the transceiver, Smokey makes another appearance, which prompts Jack to grab Kate and hold her against his body for protection.
- After running from the monster, Kate hides in a banyan tree. First, she screams Jack's name. When he doesn't answer, she uses the advice he gave her about fear and counts to five to regain her courage.
Recap[]
So, like. Jate. But before that, this plane crashed and Jack woke up in the jungle. He's the first person we saw, and is quickly established as the main character. He runs out of said jungle out onto not-yet-said beach, and there's all this havoc...and he deals with people, but then, ho shoot, he's hurt! So he wanders away from the melee once it all calms down a mite, so as not to freak people out by his not being 110% strong and leader-ish.
When who should wander out of the jungle as well...but a lovely lady? She's all "ahh!" to Jack's GAPING CHASM OF NON-FLESH at first, but soon enough she's all jokey and kinda comfortable, and Jack and Kate have the first private conversation of all the Losties in the show of Lost. When he convinces her that she could sew him up, they have this cute conversation about alcohol and thread color preference.
And then Jack tells her what we know now as "the story". This one's personal. It's about Jack, a different time when he was vulnerable:
"When I was in residency, my first solo procedure was a spinal surgery on a 16 year old kid, a girl. And at the end, after 13 hours, I was closing her up and I, I accidentally ripped her dural sac. Shredded the base of the spine where all the nerves come together, membrane as thin as tissue. And so it ripped open. And the nerves just spilled out of her like angel hair pasta, spinal fluid flowing out of her and I… And the terror was just so… crazy. So real. And I knew I had to deal with it. (He's crying). So I just made a choice. I'd let the fear in, let it take over, let it do its thing, but only for five seconds, that's all I was going to give it. So I started to count: One, two, three, four, five. Then it was gone. I went back to work, sewed her up and she was fine."
"You're not running now."
Kate's all 'I'm really not as cool as all that because I seriously would have bailed because I'm a fugitive and I have this thing for running'. But Jack's all 'nah'. And then Kate's all '...whoa'. And they almost make out not really okay.
So Jack and Kate form team Jate twenty minutes into the first ever episode, playing doctor and nurse to all the dead/dying/questionably familiar? people on the beach. Kate's not leaving Jack's side, and she makes this really small comment about a 'mysterious' man...shrouded in mystery...(spoiler alert I'm talking about the Marshal) and no joke. Jack gets a little note of 'should I be threatened?' when Kate mentions that she knows the dead/dying dude.
They end up at the fire together, and Jack makes an airplane out of a leaf and then they both exchange stories about how they reacted to the plane like. Breaking in half and all.
"I don't know your name."
And then this ADORABLE thing happens. Jack smiles, kinda laughs, and mentions that he doesn't even know Kate's name. And Kate - AWW! - she smiles all demure-like and tells him that her name is Kate. And we learn this is sort of important, because Kate's known a whole slew of other names (Annie, Monica, etc.) and she's just been presented with a very ample opportunity to blend in with the crowd and probably try to slip away again. But she doesn't, and the way they smile at each other after that seriously adorable introduction is seriously even MORE adorable because it's Jate, and they're into each other. Oooooo, it tingles. Somewhere. Deep inside.
Anyway. As soon as they're all flirty and shy, there's this crazy noise from the jungle where they. You know. Were planning on obtaining food and shelter and what not. And it's a seriously scary noise, and this adorable little interlude of Jate is INTERRUPTED by. You know. This bout of fear. Anyway, Charlie says something cute or whatever and that's it for the night.
In the morning Jack's all about being a leader so he just HAS to go off into the jungle looking for the dead/dying pilot and his little remoty controlly thing. Whatever, Kate's immediately right there and Charlie's all "Uh, I have no ulterior motive" and everyone's cool and they start wandering off...yadda yadda...
Okay, so that's - basically - whatever Jate hears when Charlie starts talking because they're all over each other. All. Over. They're all talkin', and hikin', and makin' googly eyes but then it starts raining and that's cool but then they kinda run into the fuselage and then it's all business. But somehow Jate manage a little groping, and then Kate somehow ends up in Jack's lap for a second and they forget about Charlie (again) and then they have to start running away from the Monster.
Kate freaks. Totally freaks, and when she finally finds shelter and doesn't see either of her companions, she starts SHRIEKING Jack's name. Nothing for it, so Kate - no joke - starts counting to five. Yup, just like Jack. Charlie eventually finds her and she freaks again and then reaally starts freaking about Jack not being with him. And in this gorgeous little sequence, she decides (basically. what. Avers? really strongly just SAYS) that she's going after Jack. Lucky for her and Charlie, Jack shows up. Kate's all cute and concerned and gets a little closer than necessary if not for that cute little name game earlier.
Well, the pilot stuck all bloodied and dead/dying in a tree is sort of a mood killer and the episode ends.