Left Behind

"Left Behind"
Season	3
Episode	15
Airdate	April 4, 2007
Flashback	Kate
Days	83-84
Writer	Damon Lindelof Elizabeth Sarnoff
Director	Karen Gaviola
Guests	Kim Dickens - Cassidy Beth Broderick - Diane Fredric Lehne - The Marshal Andrew Meader - Johnny Bill Ogilvie - Man Shawn Lathrop - Federal agent
Transcript	Left Behind transcript

"Left Behind" is the 15th episode of Season 3, and was first broadcast on April 4, 2007. After the events at the barracks reach a climax, Kate finds herself forced to team up with one of the enemy. Meanwhile, Sawyer is worried to learn from Hurley that the other survivors may be planning to banish him.

Synopsis

Flashbacks

Kate helps Cassidy out of a failed con.

Kate is stranded in Iowa with a bad fan belt in her car. She introduces herself to tow truck driver, Johnny as "Lucy" as he takes her to town. At the repair station she sees Cassidy trying to pull the jewelry con that Sawyer taught her. When her mark threatens to call the cops, Kate intervenes and, saying that her father owns a jewelry store, buys one of the fake necklaces. After the man leaves, Cassidy thanks Kate for her help, and Kate asks the money back. Cassidy says that she'd like to know why Kate would go to such trouble to avoid police attention. Noting that Kate is clearly stranded, she offers her a ride into town for a drink.

At a bar, Kate and Cassidy discuss conning. Kate says she uses the name of Lucy because she was a saint. She admits to killing her stepfather Wayne because he was "a bad guy" who beat her mother, and says she went on to escape from the marshal after being initially caught. She tells Cassidy she's in Iowa because she wants to talk to her mother. Cassidy offers to help her get to her mother because she knows what it's like to be betrayed--she fell in love with "the wrong guy" and gave him her life savings. She says "he was a bad guy" and that one of them deserves something good.

Mars assaults Cassidy, believing she is Kate.

"Kate" approaches her mother's house and knocks on the door. Diane answers and Edward Mars and his men jump out with guns pointed, addressing her as "Austen." The woman is actually Cassidy who is in disguise and "just selling Bibles." Kate watches the disgruntled Mars through binoculars from a car down the street.

Later, Cassidy comes to talk to Kate in a motel room after having been questioned for half an hour. She tells Kate that she can tell she must have done something to that marshal to make him so obsessed about catching her. Cassidy says that, if she's going to lie to the FBI, she wants to know more about what Kate did. Kate confesses that she killed Wayne by blowing up his house, but took out a an insurance policy on it beforehand, which financially would have set up her mother for life. Kate says she wants to know why her mother betrayed her when Kate had tried to protect and help her.

Kate visits her mother at her diner's washroom.

Cassidy orders a meal at Keith's Diner from Kate's mother Diane. She then intentionally spills her soup on Diane, who remains polite but goes to the bathroom to clean up her clothes. Kate is waiting there and asks why Diane told the authorities that Kate was responsible for Wayne's death. She says that, despite Wayne's abuse, "you can't help who you love." Kate says she did it for Diane, who retorts that Kate did it for herself. Diane says she thought Kate might be there to apologize, but Kate states that she's not sorry. Diane bluntly tells her daughter that, while she won't give her up right now to the men outside who follow Diane everywhere, if she ever sees Kate again, she'll yell for help. She leaves Kate crying in the bathroom.

Kate learns that Cassidy is pregnant.

Cassidy drives Kate back to her car. Kate thanks her and asks for the name of the guy who ripped Cassidy off, with the intention of returning Cassidy's kindness by helping her get revenge. Cassidy admits she is pregnant with Sawyer's child, but Kate still advises her to call the cops and get him locked up. Cassidy then asks if Kate would ever forgive her own mother for calling the cops on her, and Kate admits that she won't. The two women thank each other, and when Cassidy thanks "Lucy", Kate reveals her real name.

In the Jungle/At the Barracks

Locke tells Kate he's leaving her behind.

Kate has been left in the game room at the barracks, handcuffed and nervous. She sees someone coming and hides with a pool cue behind the door, preparing to hit them. It is Juliet, who ducks and flips Kate onto the floor. She says that she was just bringing her some food, and walks out leaving the sandwich splattered on the floor.

Later, Kate is distractedly playing with backgammon chips when Locke enters the room to say goodbye. His right hand is bandaged and his face is bruised. He says he's leaving with the Others, to Kate's disbelief. She tells Locke that whatever the Others told him about taking him home, they are lying and asks if they're brainwashing him. Locke tells her he doesn't want to go home.

The Others don gas masks.

Locke tells her Jack is going to have to stay behind like her. He says he put in a good word for her, but they told him what she had done back home--and "forgiveness isn't one of their strong suits." Kate asks about Jack, Sayid and Rousseau, but Locke only responds with silence and wishes her good luck. Kate asks what happened to him, but Locke leaves telling her only "I'm sorry."

In the game room, flies buzz over the remains of the sandwich. Kate grabs a piece of white bread off the floor and begins eating it. She hears a commotion outside and looks out to see the Others donning large hold-all backpacks, guns, and gas masks. Suddenly, a gas canister is thrown into the game room. Trying to escape with a rag over her mouth, Kate collapses and falls unconscious.

Kate wakes in the jungle, finding herself handcuffed to an unconscious Juliet.

Kate wakes up in the jungle, and realizes that she is handcuffed to Juliet, who is still unconscious. Kate spots a knife in Juliet's pocket and tries to steal it, but Juliet suddenly wakes and grabs Kate's wrist. Juliet seems as surprised as Kate to find herself there and lets go of her grip. Kate attempts to use the knife to pick the lock of her handcuffs, but Juliet tells her that the knife is too big for that, and they're unfortunately stuck together. Kate says she wants to go back to the village to get her friends, assuming that they've also been gassed, and that she saw the Others leave. Juliet says she doesn't know why "they" would just leave her in the jungle. Kate retorts, "You say 'they' like you didn't lock me in a cage and watch me break rocks all day".

The Monster shining light on Juliet.

Juliet leads Kate by following the track made by whoever dumped them in the jungle. Even though night is coming on and Juliet says it is going to rain, Kate insists on continuing back to the village. Juliet tells her that Ben likes to play mind games. As a thunderstorm starts, she tells Kate not to go back for Jack because Kate is the one who ruined Jack's chances of leaving the Island. Kate punches her, and the two start fighting. During the struggle, Kate accidentally dislocates Juliet's arm, causing her to scream with pain. Just then, Kate hears the sounds of the Monster. They run to hide in dense trees as Kate has learned to do in past encounters. Juliet seems shocked and says, "What the hell...?" but Kate covers her mouth. As they hide, intense lights flicker from above on their faces, and they hear a mechanical grinding noise. The women shield their eyes, and then the Monster seems to move away. Juliet behaves like she's never encountered it before, much to Kate's disbelief. Juliet asks, "Are we safe?" to which Kate replies, "You tell me."

Kate and Juliet make their way out of the jungle.

The two women spend the night hidden in the trees. When they wake up, Kate apologizes for Juliet's injury and that she didn't mean to inflict it. Juliet tells her not to flatter herself--it's the fourth time her arm has been dislocated. She tells Kate to help pop her dislocated shoulder back into place. Kate hesitates, and Juliet tells her that it feels like she has glass under her skin--and that it's her fault Juliet is stranded. She also tells Kate about the cameras at the Hydra station, and how Jack saw her and Sawyer together. Kate protests, saying that Jack only told her not to return to protect her, but Juliet says Jack didn't want her to come back because she broke his heart. Obviously hurt by the statement, Kate grabs Juliet's arm and forcefully puts her shoulder back in place as Juliet screams again.

Juliet enables the sonic fence, it would appear the Others turned it off before leaving the Barracks.

The women head out again. Kate asks if Jack actually said she "broke his heart." Juliet replies, "He didn't have to." Kate tells her that she doesn't know anything about him. Juliet then rattles off a list of personal details about Jack's background, and then asks what Kate knows. Suddenly, they hear the sounds of the Monster again, and they run forward towards the sonic barrier. They stumble and fall into a pool of mud but get up again and finally they get to the barrier. Kate stops and refuses to cross, remembering what happened to Mikhail. However, Juliet somehow knows it is currently turned off, but Kate doesn't trust her and forces her back. Juliet pulls out a key to the handcuffs from her own pocket, unlocks herself from Kate then runs through the barrier to an electronic numbered keypad. She enters a code including the Numbers 15 16 and 23. Juliet tells Kate she'd better join her. Hearing the Monster approach, Kate dives across the line, and they activate the barrier just as it arrives.

The Monster is stopped in its tracks by the sonic barrier.

As Juliet stands and faces it, smoke from the Monster advances but stops at the sonic barrier as though it were a physical wall. Seconds later it vanishes. Juliet admits she lied about being unaware of the creature, saying "We don't know what it is, but we know that it doesn't like our fences." Kate challenges Juliet about having the key all along. Juliet admits she didn't tell her she had a key because she wanted Kate to think they were "in it together". This way, she wouldn't be left behind again. Kate snatches the key from Juliet, removes her own cuff then dumps it on the ground as she walks away.

The people who were left behind heading back to camp.

They soon arrive back at the barracks to find the whole place practically deserted. Juliet says she'll get Sayid and tells Kate where to find Jack. Kate finds him unconscious in the house he's been staying in, which has been trashed. She wakes him and tells him that the Others all left. Because she thinks that Jack wasn't able to leave because she came back for him--and probably for other reasons--she tearfully tells him how sorry she is. Jack asks if Juliet left too; Kate tells him they left her behind, too. He decides that they should head back to the beach.

Outside, Jack meets Juliet. Sayid joins them and says he checked all the houses. He tells the other three that everyone else has gone and have left no tracks; it's as though 50 people simply vanished. He questions the fact that Juliet is coming with them, while Kate does not. Jack insists that they allow her to join them, saying, "They left her behind, too."

At the beach

Sawyer gives Claire a blanket for Aaron.

At the beach, Hurley tells Sawyer that there will be a vote on whether to banish him from the camp tomorrow. He suggests that Sawyer make amends to continue being part of the society, but Sawyer says, "I don't do amends."

Later, Sawyer successfully catches a fish but is unable to properly gut it. Realizing that he would have great difficulty surviving on his own, he approaches Hurley to find out how to make amends and change the vote. Hurley asks how he hasn't learned to gut a fish since they've been on the Island for so long, and demands an apology for the various names Sawyer has called him. Sawyer begrudgingly agrees, and they begin work.

That night, Hurley tells Sawyer to go over to Claire and say something nice about Aaron, giving him a blanket to give to her. Sawyer does so awkwardly (making Aaron cry, even though his voice used to apparently calm Aaron) and Claire is amused and puzzled, but appreciative.

Sawyer hosts a feast, after Desmond caught a boar.

The next morning, Sawyer and Desmond hide with guns, waiting for a boar to come by. When Desmond asks what Sawyer's "angle" is and why he's suddenly willing to be his hunting buddy, Sawyer tells him that he has "hearts and minds to change" and wants to give the people something they'll like, remarking that money has no value on the Island while meat does. Desmond then shoots a boar that comes into view.

Later, Sawyer help roast the boar as part of a feast for the camp. He admits to Charlie that he knows about the vote, but Charlie knows nothing of it. Sawyer then realizes that Hurley "conned" him into being "decent." On confrontation, Hurley says that with Jack, Kate, Locke and Sayid all gone, people need to be able to look to Sawyer for leadership, and thus, he needs to relate to them better if he's going to be their "temporary leader." Sawyer says that he doesn't want to be a leader, but Hurley points out that Jack didn't seem to want the role either. Hurley tells him that he's just done a good job making everyone in the camp happy. Sawyer seems to accept it, bringing food to Claire, who lets him hold Aaron. However, when Sawyer looks around and smiles at Sun, he is disappointed to receive nothing but a skeptical look.

Trivia

General

• Claire is seen reading a book called Rick Romer's Vision Of Astrology. Rick Romer is the set-decorator of Lost.
• The smoke grenade used against Kate is a "ALSG272 Continuous Discharge, Smoke Grenade, CS" [1] However, the gas in the canister is not CS gas. CS gas causes skin irritation and eye tearing, and contrary to the gas in the canister, it has no anesthetic effect.
• The knife from Juliet's pocket is a Kershaw Chive [2].
• Juliet's right hand is handcuffed to Kate's left, conferring Kate the advantage, as both are right-handed.
• When the Monster attacks Juliet the second time, three separate puffs of smoke converge before slamming into the sonic barrier. This supports common fan speculation about the Monster being called Cerberus, which in mythology had three heads.
• Furthermore, the Monster forms a shape of a number "3", before vanishing, after Juliet turned on the fence. (Can be seen in the picture above.)
• The motel bathroom is decorated with a picture framed with an octagonal shape.
• Kate's car's license plate can be seen at the end of the episode when Cassidy drops her off at the service station. It is 40N-DVB Missouri.
• Kate is left behind by her mother where as Juliet is left behind by Others

Production notes

• A podcast rehash for the episode was released on April 05th, 2007. (Official Lost Podcast/April 5, 2007)
• All main cast members were in this episode except Michael Emerson (Ben).
• Beginning with this episode, Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro (who played Nikki and Paulo) no longer appear in the opening credits.

Bloopers and continuity errors

• When Kate and Cassidy are in the bar having a drink, Cassidy is asking Kate a question and we see Kate playing with an empty glass. We then cut to a view of Kate face on, where she holds up the glass with a dark drink in it, and drinks it in one sip.
• When Kate and Juliet trip and fall while being chased by the Monster, they are already covered with mud, front and back, before they even hit the puddle.

Recurring themes

• Cassidy dresses as Kate to find out how many police officers are watching Kate's mother. (Deceptions and Cons)
• Kate meets Cassidy, the mother of Sawyer's then-unborn child, in a flashback and she helps Kate speak with her mother; this complements the moment in "The Long Con" (in which Cassidy was first introduced) when Sawyer was served by Kate's mother. (Connections)
• Sawyer got conned by Hurley into thinking there would be a vote to banish him from the camp. (Deceptions and Cons)
• Cassidy is trying to sell fake jewelry at a gas station and is almost exposed. (Deceptions and Cons)
• Cassidy reveals to Kate that she doesn't want a payback against Sawyer because she's pregnant with his child. (Pregnancies)
• Juliet attempts to manipulate Kate into thinking they are "in it together" by dragging her out into the jungle and handcuffing herself to her. (Deceptions and Cons)
• Locke tries to convince The Others that Kate is a good person. (Good and bad people)
• "Lucy" says that she killed her stepfather "cause he was a bad guy". (Good and bad people)
• In retribution, Cassidy says she wants to help because the man that conned her "was a bad guy". (Good and bad people)
• Juliet says it was the 4th time her shoulder had been dislocated. (The Numbers)
• The six-digit code that Juliet types in is 151623 - only the final four digits are shown, but six digits can be heard being typed. (The Numbers)

Juliet entering the code.

• Kate's mother tells Kate if she ever sees her again, she will call for help (which she does, despite her terminal condition, when Kate visits her in the hospital). Kate later says she'll never forgive her mother for calling the police. (Parent Issues)
• As Kate and Juliet's argument reaches it's climax, a heavy downpour accompanies their fight. (Rain)
• Kate's hat says "Cowboy Up." (Regularly spoken phrases)
• When Locke talks to Kate and tells her that he's leaving with the Others, he has a (bruised) black eye. This recalls Claire's dream in "Raised by Another" in which Locke has one black eyeball and one white eyeball. (Black and White)
• On the Island, Sawyer tries to look good for the other people, in order not to be (allegedly) banished. He actually finds it a good thing even after knowing the truth. (Redemption)
• Juliet is, allegedly, left behind by the Others. (Isolation)
• The whole flashback is due to Kate's car being busted. (Car accidents)
• The pool table in the flashback mirrors the pool table in which Kate's sitting while being held captive. Later, she observes a backgammon board to kill time. (Games)  (Black and White)
• The Monster flashes lights 4 times during the night attack on Kate and Juliet. (Numbers)

Cultural references

• Left Behind: The title of the episode, "Left Behind," is also the title of a series of novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, that give a fictional account of what might happen after the "rapture." (The rapture is the future vanishing of Christians to meet Christ in heaven, believed in by many evangelical and fundamentalist Christians.) After Kate, Juliet, Jack, and Sayid are left behind by the Others, Sayid says regarding the Others' sudden disappearance, "It's like fifty people disappeared into thin air." This also fits with Locke's conversation with Kate where he indicates she is not good enough to be taken because of what she has done. The tribulation, a time of war, death and destruction traditionally follows the rapture. (Literary works)
• "Walkin' After Midnight": The Patsy Cline song was played when Kate's car was being towed. (Music)
• The Bible: Cassidy disguised herself as a Bible saleswoman. (Religion)  (Literary works)
• Saint Lucy: Kate took the alias "Lucy", remarking that Lucy was a Saint. The Feast of Saint Lucy falls on December 13, the same day on which the events of this episode (including the Feast at the beach) occur. (Religion)
• Sunday school: Kate said she memorized the names of all the saints when she went to Sunday school. (Religion)
• Backgammon: Kate played with Backgammon pieces in the rec room. (Games)
• Mousetrap: The barracks' rec room had a Mousetrap game, previously revealed to be Locke's favorite. (Games)
• Watership Down: Sawyer was reading Watership Down again. (Literary works)
• "Fisherman's Blues": The non-diegetic music playing during the bar-be-que appears to be an instrumental variation of The Waterboys song "Fisherman's Blues." (Sawyer's inability to fish and provide for himself necessitated that he reluctantly accept the role as leader of the beach community). (Music)

See also: Possible cultural references for "Left Behind"

Storyline analysis

• In the flashback, Kate works unknowingly with a rival for Sawyer's affections. In realtime, she must work with a potential rival for Jack's affection. (Rivalries#Juliet vs. Kate)
• Sawyer is assigned by Hurley to be a new leader on the beach camp. (Leadership#Sawyer)
• Hurley tells Sawyer he doesn't think Jack wanted to be the leader either. (Leadership#Jack)
• Juliet told Kate that she had broken Jack's heart. (Relationships#Jack and Kate)
• Sawyer told Desmond that money has no value on the Island. (Economics#Capitalism (Sawyer))

Literary techniques

• Juliet handcuffs herself to Kate to try and symbolize to Kate that they need to work together and learn to trust each other. (Symbolism)
• All of the Others at the Barracks are gone, as if they disappeared. (Plot twist)  (Mindf*ck)
• Juliet says "Ben has a thing for mind games". Later, it's revealed that actually she cuffed herself to Kate, in order to also try a mindgame. (Plot twist)
• Sawyer, 'the conman', got conned by Hurley. (Irony)

Episode references

• This episode is strongly correlated to "The Long Con" in mirrored ways - both centered on Sawyer, despite this being a Kate-centered episode. The flashback follows Cassidy's aftermath from the occurrences on that previous episode, right after Sawyer left her; on the beach, Sawyer is mostly trying to redeem himself from conning the other Losties in the Island events that took place in that same episode, particularly for ordering Sun's kidnapping.
• Juliet's shoulder is dislocated and has to be popped back, similar to how Jack had to have his shoulder popped back in by Charlie in "The Moth". This may be a reference to them being very similar individuals.

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Left Behind/Theories

• Why does Locke seem to have a black eye?
• How did Juliet know it was going to be rain in terms of minutes when no clouds can be seen at night?
• What were the flashes of light as the Monster approached Juliet and Kate?
• Where did Juliet learn to fight?
• How did Juliet's shoulder get dislocated 3 times before?
• Why didn't the black smoke monster enter the barracks area after Kate and Juliet from above the sonic wall as Kate, Sayid and Locke did in ("Par Avion").

External links

• ABC Medianet: Primetime grid, Press Release Bundle 03/19/07: Word Doc / Press Release Bundle 03/19/07: PDF, Official Press release