Kate

Kate "Jack Hussy" Austen

Kate Austen is the de factor female leader of the 815 survivors, and she quickly emerged as Jack's closest ally on the island. Armed with a troubled past, Kate, over the years, created an impenetrable wall around her to shield her vulnerabilities from anyone who tried to get too close. But she soon discovered that her most basic instinct was to protect and care for the people around her, especially Jack and her adopted demonoid son, Aaron. Kate has spent the last three years annoying viewers with her inability to fully commit to one man. Sawyer didn't bother to wait around for her lazy ass. Jack, however, did, much to his probable detriment.

Pre-Crash

Kate contemplates rubbing out her "stepfather"...NOT.

Kate Austen - as implied in Episode 1x22 "Born to Run" - was born in 1977 and raised in Iowa, USA. Until her teen years, Kate thought Seargeant Major Samuel Austen was her father, which is what her mother, Dianne Janssen, led her to believe. Though they had a solid relationship, he left the family at some point after Kate graduated from high school with a straight-A average. After this, a man named Wayne (who she would later learn was her biological father after seeing a picture of Sam Austen in Korea four months before she was born) moved in with Kate and her mother.

In "What Kate Did" we learn that Wayne was an alocoholic, and admittedly a little too friendly with the daughter he didn't know was his. When she was 24, Kate took out an insurance policy on the house in Dianne's name and then blew it up with Wayne still inside. After this, Kate went to the diner her mother worked in. It is here we're shown that Wayne is also physically abusive (evidenced by Dianne's wrist guard) but in spite of all his misgivings, Dianne still loves him. Kate then tells her about and insurance policy taken out in her mother's name and also notified her that she wouldn't be around for a while. Her mother panicked and asked Kate what she did, but Kate walked out of the diner.

Kate then enters into a life on the run. Even though she thinks what she did was right (she has yet to show remorse of any kind), Dianne called the police and turned her daughter in. In "Left Behind" Kate (under the alias of Lucy) uses the help of Cassidy (Sawyer's jilted former lover and mother of his daughter, Clementine) to usurp the FBI agent assigned to her case - Edward Mars- and talk to her mother to find out why she was turned in. Kate gets the chance to confront her mother about the tattling and her mother says that what she didn wasn't for her mother, but for herself. She also tells Kate "You can't help who you love" and says that if she ever sees her again she's going to scream for help.

Kate exercises her knack for ruining everything she touches. Poor Tommy boy.

This comes into play later in "Born to Run" when Kate visits her childhood sweetheart Tom Brennan after she finds out Dianne has cancer. Tom, who is a doctor (Kate's got a thing for doctor's no?) agrees to help Kate to give Dianne an MRI. Kate tries to talk to her mother while she's waiting for the procedure, but Dianne was good on her word and called for help. Kate fled the hospital with Tom trailing after her. Unfortunately, on the way out of the parking garage an officer shoots at her car; she loses control and crashes it. Tom gets shot and before she flees, she grabs a small model airplane (that was buried in their time capsule) that belonged to him.

Another innocent sucker gets played by Her Royal Manipulator

During this time, Kate somehow loses the toy plane. In "Whatever the Case May Be", Kate, under the alias of Maggie, tricks a man named Jason into robbing a bank in Albuquerque. She acts like a victim to get access to the safety deposit box that the toy plane was placed in (presumably by Edward Mars) and later shoots Jason and tells him about her lies. She flees with the plane and continues her life on the run.

After this, she does the unthinkable and settles into a relationship with a man named Kevin Callis, an officer with the Miami County Police Department. In the episode "I Do" she marries him under the alias of Monica and for a short time it seems as though Kate has the life she finally wanted. During her tenure with Kevin, Kate calls Edward on Catholic Holy days (all of the names she uses as alias' are saints) and begs with him to just leave her alone. Unfortunately, he tells her that it's only a matter of time before she's caught and with this information, Kate drugs Kevin and leaves him.

Busted!

Later, in episode "Tabula Rasa", Kate, under the alias of Annie, flies to Australia to try and hide from the Marshal. She ends up on Ray Mullens farm and for a couple of months she works on his farm and earns a living. Ray catches her as she tries to leave in the middle of the night without saying goodbye and convinces her to wait in the morning so he can drive her to the train station. Kate agrees and the next morning she finds out that Ray is driving her to the police station to receive a reward from the United States government worth 23,000 dollars. Edward Mars shows up and runs them off the road. Ray is hurt and Kate, in an interesting turn of events, tries to save him. Unfortunately it is this kind act that ultimately gets her caught.

Post-Crash

Jack was the first survivor she met after the crash of 815.

Kate is an enigmatic, often frustrating and interesting character who provides a plethora of backstory to delve through and dissect. It is noted that she is the more fickle member of "Jate" and ineed, she does show some rather contradictory behavior. She is strong, independent, fiercely loyal (as seen in any conversation where she's talking with her mother) and loves hard (as seen in scenes with Tom and Kevin). However, due to her relationship with Wayne she doesn't feel as though she deserves anything good and tries incredibly hard to not end up like her mother. She tries desperately to have a life that she'd always dreamed of but ends up ruining it because of her lies and her insecurities (and her life as a fugitive).

On the Island, Kate forms very strong bonds with Jack and Sawyer. She enters into something of a relationship (it's trickier to define on the Island - it just is) with Sawyer for a time (see the Essays section if you sense some Jenial), though never seems to forget about Jack. From their first meeting in "Pilot, Part 1", Jack and Kate have had an undeniable connection. However, like any couple, they are not without their ups and downs. When they discover the caves in "House of the Rising Sun", Kate decides that she can't move with Jack to the new location, saying she can't dig in. After this they are separated and Kate's connection to Sawyer begins to grow. In "Confidence Man" Sawyer reveals that he was a little boy when his father committed a murder-suicide, and this changes Kate's view of him drastically. From then until their "I never" scene in "Outlaws" Kate and Sawyer find understanding and acceptance in the other person. However, the death of Boone, the launching of the raft and the trek to find dynamite for the hatch bring Jack and Kate closer together once more. They are, once again, going on missions and relying on the other person for support.

Kate joins the Am I Going Crazy? Club

In Season 2 the addition of the hatch starts bringing on A LOT of stress on Jack, who finds himself in a constant battle with John Locke over the stupid button. By the time "What Kate Did" comes around, Shannon has been shot and the Tail Section Survivors (the "Tailies" which also includes Ana Lucia) are introduced and incorporated into the main camp. Kate finds herself going a little crazy when she sees a black horse in the jungle. She thinks she is going crazy and for whatever reason (because she wanted to or to gain some hold on reality) she kisses Jack in the forest. She runs away from him and moves closer to Sawyer (anyone sensing a pattern yet?) and for a few episodes the two of them are around one another a lot.

Kate gazes upon Jack during their capture by the Others.

Sawyer continuously makes comments about Jack and Ana, which makes Kate jealous and unnerved. By the end of Season 2 Ana and Libby (another Tailie) are shot and Jack and Kate find themselves on yet another mission, this time to find Walt. Michael, as mentioned before, sabatoges the mission and Jack, Kate and Sawyer are captured.

In Season 2, the main crux of the show revolved around the Hatch. Kate took turns with everyone else pressing the button, helped Claire find out what happened to her when she disappeared (in "Maternity Leave") and also went on the A-mission to find Walt by the end of the season. Unfortunately, due to Michael's sabotage and Benjamin Linus' cunning ways she, along with Sawyer and Jack, are taken to "Othersville Alcatraz" and are held captive there.

Season 3 is arguably the toughest season for most Jaters. The first six episodes have Kate and Jack completely separated and Kate interacting solely with Sawyer. After finding out that they're going to kill Sawyer if Jack doesn't do Ben's surgery, Kate pleads with him to help but he refuses. After which Kate goes to Sawyer and they have sex in a cage. Post-coital, Sawyer says that he loves Kate, but she doesn't respond.

Skate does it "on-camera". It's fitting no one's watching except Jack.

Jack witnesses this on the monitor and agrees to do the surgery. During the procedure he makes it so that Kate and Sawyer can escape. In one of the best moments of the series, Jack tells Kate to take the walkie and Sawyer and leave, but Kate says that she can't leave without him. He tells her that he needs to go but when she gets to safety, he wants to hear the story he told her on the beach all those months ago after the crash. They finally escape and when Sawyer and Kate get a boat to leave, she retells Jack the story of their first meeting as Tom, Juliet and Sawyer look on. They leave and as soon as Kate gets back to the beach camp she leaves to find Jack with Locke, Sayid and Rousseau in tow. When she gets back to Othersville she talks with Jack, who tells her that he's going to get off the island to get help ("The Man From Tallahassee"). He never gets this chance and goes back home to the other island with Kate, Sayid, and Juliet. As always, by the time the Season 3 finale rolls around Jack and Kate are together again, taking all the Losties to the tower to be protected from the Others. On the hike, Jack tells Kate that he loves her (Every Jater's favorite three words...).

Kate goes berserk over Jack's "stomach bug".

Once it is revealed that Jack and Kate have made it off the island in "Through the Looking Glass," Season Four shows us a whole new side to our favorite couple's lives. Before we delve into the Flashforwards it is important to recap what happens on the island before rescue takes place. In "The Beginning of the End" Jack, Kate, and the other Losties are preparing for rescue.

TBC

Post-Rescue

In "Eggtown" we find out that Kate has been raising Aaron (who is about two years old). During her trial, Jack testifies that Kate was the hero and also said that he didn't love her anymore. After it's over he meets up with her and tells her that he didn't mean what he'd said. Kate then asks him over for a visit but he declines, saying he has to get back to the hospital. He invites her out for another time but she says that until he's OK with the baby there isn't him and her going out for coffee.

Cut to the episode "Something Nice Back Home" and we've seen that Jack has DEFINITELY changed his mind. We get a brief glimpse into the lives of Jack and Kate, who are now living together in Kate's house. Their lives are blissfully sweet - even so much so that Jack proposes to Kate, and she says yes.

TBC

References

1. The official ABC Kate music video

2. Evangeline's interview about Kate in Lost Magazine #20.