We also got another speaking character from the pack.

Daniel Roebuck as "Dr Artz" [link]

Some may recall him from "Nash Bridges" or "Matlock," Two shows I recall watching an ep here and there, but never really got into.

Your Kate theory sounds sound Lady 'O. Her friend clearly didn't have issues with her past while her mother was freaked. Of course, I'd prefer a bad to the bone Kate, but misunderstood is more likely.

I have mixed feelings about the death of her friend/ex/radiologist.

In no particular order:

1. He was stupid not to get out of the car.

2. The cop was stupid in firing at the car with a potential hostage in it.

3. Kate was stupid in running the roadblock with former childhood sweetheart in the car.

4. Guard was stupid in not escorting Kate's mom into the lab and securing it.

There are probably more, but I'm going to be late for work if I dwell.

Some interesting, genuine tension instead of annoying hissyfits or coy bantering between Jack and Locke, and Kate and Sawyer.

When Kate said that she was going to get on that raft, I actually believed her to be a potential bad-ass. So, every time she pulls out the Soft Fluffy Bunny Kate look from here on out, I'm going to have my suspicions, and so are the other islanders, I think.

I liked this ep--it did a good job of bringing in just about all of the main characters and giving them decent screen time, and tied in most of the relationship development we've had this season: Jack and Kate, Kate and Sawyer, Sawyer and his stash, Charlie and Claire (and Turniphead), Michael and Walt, Michael and Jin, Walt and Locke, Jin and Sun, Sun and Kate, Locke and the hatch...just about everyone except Charlie and Hurley.

I think this episode got me over this show. Kate started out the season as being kind of intriguing and bad-ass, and now we find out the man she loved/killed was her high school sweetie (awww) who was too dumb to get out of the way when she told him to (sniff). If her original crime was also sympathetic, like killing an abusive father figure ... why, she's not Bad, she's Just Drawn That Way.

I don't want Kate to be a psycho killer, but I did want her to have done genuinely, seriously bad shit. Why can't we have a non-woobieriffic character on the show? Just one?

was anyone else thinking, "oh, yeah, not telling the others has worked WONDERFULY well so far on this island!"

t raises hand

Though the first words out of my mouth were "Yeah, let's let everyone think Kate or Sawyer must have done it, no moral quandaries there".

The Kate backstory is disappointing me. Unless she does something really badass soon I'm afraid I won't be able to care about her at all.

Walt's psychicness on the other hand, is coming along nicely.

But we don't know what her original crime was. I'm thinking that Tom just didn't believe she did whatever freaked her mother out. Just a few days ago, the FIL of the childkiller here in Zion, IL defended the guy to the press when he was first being accused of killing his daughter and her friend. The FIL hasn't said anything now that the man's confessed, but that original defense came to mind when I was watching the ep.

I cerntainly hope we see Charlie find out there's a plane full of smack out there. Without moths.

Episode time 40:19, plus 0:39 of previews and closing credits.

That's about right, maybe a bit short. We get timecoded worktapes at work and hour-long shows are 43-44 minutes, including opening and closing credits and promos--never longer. Half hour show are 21-23 minutes.

I would think that Charlie will find the heroin. Otherwise, it just seems an odd coincidence. Or it will be used to keep him in line.

The actor that played Walt had a good episode. I genuinely got chills when he told Locke not to open the hatch. Also, a great scene between he and Michael when he told his dad that he'd burnt the raft. I LOVE Harold Perrineau.