Ah, it’s been a while. I’ve been scrambling to keep up so I almost forgot about this series! I’m a terrible writer. Anyway, this week’s character hate has a long history — circa 2004. I never liked Kate since the first episode I watched of Lost. She rubbed me the wrong way. I didn’t even learn to tolerate her character. It’s probably sad I still get aggravated to this day thinking about her character.
Who is She?
Kate Austen was one of the survivors of the ill fated Oceanic Flight 815 on the TV hit Lost. She was played by Evangeline Lilly — who I really do like as an actress. Just wanted to be clear on that. Kate was a prisoner being transported back to the States to serve her time. She was the female with the shady past that, quite frankly, got on my nerves.
Why So Cringeworthy?
Oh, where do I start? I guess I can start with I hate users. Kate would manipulate and use anyone to get what she wanted. She played Jack, Sawyer, and a bevy of other characters to meet her needs. She didn’t want people to feel sorry for her but she had no problem playing the victim when it suited her. Look at that poor old man who lived on the farm. The way she would bounce between Sawyer and Jack annoyed me even further. I hate love triangles in general… but when you dislike the character the other two are fighting over it’s even worse. I remember throwing a shoe at the television the first time Kate and Sawyer kissed.
I didn’t see what the fuss about Kate was about. There were more interesting female characters on the island with shady backstories. She was a convict. Yay. Sun was married to a Korean gang enforcer and Shannon kept conning men out of money. Kate was not special. I like strong female leads but Kate is one of the exceptions. She would charge off into the jungle without thinking of the safety of others. She was gung ho to the detriment of others. Oh, and there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do. I suppose viewers were supposed to feel sympathy with Kate. Perhaps she was supposed to redeem herself on the island. I really didn’t see much of that. This post is in danger of becoming a long character rant, so I shall keep it short and sweet.
