"LOST" Fans Illusions About Kate Austen

"LOST" FANS ILLUSIONS ABOUT KATE AUSTEN

I just discovered that six years after ABC’s "LOST" left the air, many fans are still harboring illusions about the Kate Austen character. Why? Because she was portrayed by Evangeline Lilly, the show’s leading lady? Did Kate being the leading female character was a reason why so many made excuses for her mistakes and crimes? What exactly did Kate do? Well . . . let’s see: 

*Murdered her stepfather Wayne Jensen, when she discovered that he was her real father. Apparently, she could not deal with the reality that she shared blood with him.

*In order to murder Wayne, she blew up his house, which also belonged to her mother, Diane Jensen.

*Kate dragged her mother into a false insurance claim over the destroyed house, so that Diane could profit from it and she could pretend to herself that she had murdered Wayne to protect her mother from his drunken abuse.

*Recruited former boyfriend Tom Brennan to help her gain access to Diane, while the latter was in the hospital and she was a fugitive. This led him to be shot and killed by the police, while Kate was trying to make her escape from the hospital.

*Planned a bank robbery in New Mexico that endangered the lives of innocent employees and customers, so that she could gain access to the suitcase left behind by U.S. Marshal Edward Mars, which contained a toy airplane that Tom had given to her when they were kids.

*Married a cop named Kevin Callis, using a false identity. When she thought she might be pregnant, she panicked, drugged Kevin and went on the run again.

*While on the island, she tried to manipulate and trick both Jack Shephard and James “Sawyer” Ford into giving her Marshal Mars’ suitcase, which she and Sawyer found, while swimming in a lagoon.

*She gave Sun Kwon the idea to poison the latter’s husband, Jin Kwon, so that he would remain on the island and not join Michael Dawson’s attempt to leave. Kate did this, because she wanted a spot on Michael’s raft in order to leave herself.

*Convinced Jack to create a story that she was Aaron Littleton’s mother, so that she could use the infant as an emotional comforter, following the trauma they had faced leaving the island . . .and not bother making any effort to find any of Aaron’s living relatives.

*Met Carole Littleton (Aaron’s grandmother) at the funeral of Christian Shephard, six months after returning to the States and never told the latter than she was a grandmother. Kate kept Aaron away from his grandmother for another two-and-a-half years, before she finally had the decency to finally hand the toddler over to his true guardian.

I noticed during the series’ run that Kate had a habit of resorting to violence (physical or verbal) whenever someone shatters her illusions. She had resorted to anger when both Jack and fellow castaway John Locke tried to tell her that they all needed to return to the island. She had resorted to physical abuse when former member of the Others, Juliet Burke, revealed that Jack had seen her have sex with Sawyer. And she did the same to Sawyer, when he accused her of using him for sex, whenever she had relationship problems with Jack.

Many fans have accused Kate’s parents of being monsters. Wayne Jensen was a drunk and wife abuser. Well . . . this is true. They also accused Diane Jensen of being a terrible mother by preferring Wayne over her daughter. Diane was merely guilty of having bad taste in men, preferring the alcoholic Wayne over her upstanding Army sergeant ex-husband, Sam Austen. Otherwise, she was a pretty decent mother. Yes, she did expose Kate’s murder of Wayne to the police. But Kate had murdered him . . . her husband. In cold blood. When Kate tried to claim that she was trying to save Diane from Wayne’s abuse in a flashback scene from (3.15) "Left Behind", the latter made it clear that she knew Kate was lying. Kate’s soliloquy in (2.09) "What Kate Did" confirmed that she was not even thinking of her mother when she murdered Wayne. And Sergeant Austen was not that surprised that Kate had murdered Wayne. He figured she would do it once she learned that Wayne was her real father, she would kill the latter.

Yes, Kate was not perfect. Yes, Kate made mistakes and committed crimes. Yes, many other "LOST" characters were guilty of mistakes and crimes. But why did so many fans make excuses for her lapses in morality? Not only did they make excuses for her murder of Wayne Jensen, they also made excuses for her kidnapping of Aaron Littleton, upon leaving the island for the first time in the Season Four finale, (4.13-4.14) "There's No Place Like Home (Part II)". That is correct. Kate had kidnapped Aaron. And Jack Shephard, along with Sun Kwon, Sayid Jarrah and Hugo "Hurley: Reyes were accessories to her crime. Episodes like (5.04) "The Little Prince", (5.11) "Whatever Happened, Happened" and(6.13) "The Last Recruit" made it clear that Kate had pretended to be Aaron’s blood mother for selfish reasons. Yet, some people are still claiming that she had merely "adopted" Aaron.

As I had earlier stated, it has been six years since "LOST" went off the air. And although there are some fans who are willing to openly admit that Kate had made mistakes and committed crimes, I have noticed that other fans – many of them, as a matter of fact – still continue to make excuses for her. Only one other "LOST" character has received such a large amount of excuses for past crimes and mistakes and that is James "Sawyer" Ford. And I do not know whether to find this pathetic, funny or both.

"ONCE UPON A TIME": The Frustration of an Outlaw Queen Shipper

"ONCE UPON A TIME": THE FRUSTRATION OF AN OUTLAW QUEEN SHIPPER

The latest plot development of ABC's "ONCE UPON A TIME" has left me in a state of frustration. This plot development . . . or twist has to do with the relationship between the characters Mayor Regina Mills aka the Evil Queen and Robin Hood aka Robin of Locksley. And the ironic thing is that my frustration is not centered on the actual plot twist, but has a good deal to do with the fan reaction to it. 

I guess we all know what happened. In a previous episode called (4.17) "Heart of Gold", Regina learned from her former mentor, Mr. Gold aka Rumpelstiltskin that not only was her half-sister Zelena aka the Wicked Witch of the West was still alive, she had been impersonating Maid Marian since the second half of the Season Three episode, (3.22) "There's No Place Like Home". After being defeated by Regina in (3.20) "Kansas", Zelena was murdered by a vengeful Rumpelstiltskin, who wanted her dead in retaliation for his son's death. However, after stabbing Zelena, the latter transformed into essence and eventually opened the time portal she had planned to use to wipe Regina, Snow White, Emma and young Henry Mills from existence. Zelena reformed into human shape in the Enchanted Forest past and followed Emma and Killian Jones aka Captain Hook around. She saw that Emma had decided to change the timeline and save the real Maid Marian from execution on the Evil Queen's order. Zelena took the opportunity to kill Marian when Emma and Hook were distracted and allow them to drag her to Storybrooke and the 21st century.

In (4.11) "Heroes and Villains", "Marian" decided that she no longer wanted to be with Robin, since he seemed to be very much in love with Regina. However, the Snow Queen's freezing spell, which was cast on Zelena in (4.03) "Rocky Road", began affecting the latter . . . despite the former's death in the previous episode, (4.10) "Shattered Sight". Regina insisted that she and Robin end their romance for good and for him to accompany "Marian" out of Storybrooke to take care of her and Roland. In"Heart of Gold", both she and Rumpelstiltskin learned that "Marian" was Zelena. When Regina accompanied Emma on a road trip to find Maleficent's daughter in (4.19) "Lily", they end up in New York City. Regina managed to expose "Marian" as Zelena to a very surprised Robin. But she received her own surprise when Zelena revealed that she was pregnant with Robin's child.



Not only did this revelation send shock waves throughout the "ONCE UPON A TIME" fandom, it also exposed some very interesting reactions to this plot twist. Well . . . I did not find these fan reactions "interesting" per se, merely annoying. I was surprised by the number of hostile reactions directed at Robin by the show's fans. Especially the Outlaw Queen (Regina/Robin) fans. They accused show runners Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis of bad writing. They labeled Zelena as something of a cross between a psychotic monster and a slut. But most of their hostility seemed to be directed at Robin. They accused him of stupidity, claiming that he should have known that his wife was not the real Maid Marian. They accused him of being betraying Regina's love. Some idiots even accused Robin of being fickle in regard to his feelings about Regina. Some fans even wondered how Regina could ever forgive Robin for choosing to be with "Marian" over staying in Storybrooke with her. When I read these complaints and accusations, I could not help but shake my head in disbelief. Does anyone understand what a story is about? Anyone? Did anyone understand what kind of man Robin was . . . or the era that he came from?

I wonder how many of the "ONCE UPON A TIME" fans were aware that Robin was not a veteran of the 21st century like Regina, the Charming family and most of Storybrooke's citizens. Mind you, he had experienced the 21st century longer than "Marian" (let us assume for a brief moment that we are talking about the real Marian). That is why Regina had convinced him to leave Storybrooke with "Marian" and Roland in the first place. In her mind, "Marian" had no real experience with the 21st century - in Storybrooke and elsewhere. And Roland is a mere child. Regina believed and Robin realized that neither would have been able to survive the outside world on their own. It was either accompany "Marian" and Roland to New York or allow "Marian to die from Ingrid's curse.

Did anyone ever understood the era that Robin came from? He came from a period in time that believed in honoring obligations. You know . . . . doing the right thing in the eyes of society, instead of doing what you want to do with no regard to the consequences. Even Regina came from that period, despite her questionable moral compass and three decades in late 20th and early 21st centuries Maine. When Zelena revealed her true identity to Rumpelstiltskin, she informed the latter that she had hoped to ruin Regina's happiness by making Robin fall in love with her (as "Marian"). However, Zelena realized that she could not use Robin's past life with Marian and simply seduce him. His feelings for Regina kept getting in the way. In fact, he spent a good deal of their initial time in New York mourning over the end of his relationship with Regina and causing a good deal of tension between him and "Marian". In the end, it took conversations with both Zelena and Rumpelstiltskin to make Robin believe he had to put Regina behind him for good and try to rebuild his old family for the sake of peace. Zelena saw Regina's image on Robin's cell phone and went into a rant about how his feelings for Regina prevented them from trying to re-establish their lives together in New York (actually, I do wonder how long it took them to get to New York without a car). In other words, Zelena dumped a massive guilt trip on Robin. It did not help that Rumpelstiltskin's advice about finding happiness wherever he can find it led Robin to believe that he needed to make due with what his life had provided and try to form a stable family life with "Marian" and Roland. 

And when Robin found out that "Marian" was Zelena, in his mind he still could not leave her. Especially since he believes that she is pregnant with his child. I doubt very much that Robin cares for Zelena. Chances are he is probably upset that she had deceived him . . . and probably killed the real Marian. But he is also thinking of his unborn child . . . that is if Zelena is actually pregnant. I simply do not believe that Robin is the type of many who would shirk his own responsibilities. He is simply not the deadbeat type. He obviously feels obligated to take care of his unborn child, whether he wants to or not. Robin is nothing like Zelena's own father, the gardener who had seduced and abandoned Cora after she became pregnant. And for this, along with his decision to take care of "Marian" and Roland in New York City, Robin is being criticized by many fans.

Personally, I find this anger toward Robin rather baffling. When the character was first introduced, no one had a problem with his "code of honor", along with his open-mindedness (especially toward Regina). But when it got in the way of a "happily ever after" with Regina - THEIR decision that he needed leave Storybrooke with "Marian" and his refusal to give up on the child he had conceived with "Marian"/Zelena - they dumped all sorts or ire on the man. These fans want him to be a good man . . . as long as his moral code does not get in the way of what they conceive as a perfect romance with Regina. Hypocritical much? Worse, they are now questioning Robin's true feelings for Regina. Why? Because he had moved past Regina . . . too fast. Robin never really moved past Regina. He simply adjusted to a new life and situation. He is still in love with her. Although it took him a while, Robin came to the conclusion that any kind of life with Regina will always be over as long as "Marian" remains affected by Ingrid's spell. And since "Marian" is still his wife, with whom he still shares a son . . . This is how Zelena was finally able to garner some kind of affection and intimacy with him, after her previously failed efforts to get him to fall in love with her. And she was only able to achieve this, disguised as Marian. Now, she has an unborn child as a weapon to keep Regina and Robin apart. How long this will last, I have no idea. 

Personally, I believe this whole situation with Robin and Zelena is karmic payback for Regina. She is paying the price for using the curse (along with Princess Abigail/Kathryn Nolan) to disrupt Snow and Charming's relationship. Just as Snow and Charming are experiencing karmic payback for not only taking an unborn Lily, but for using it to manipulate Emma's own moral compass. In fact, I suspect their earlier loss of Emma through the curse might be payback for kidnapping Lily. Even Emma has experienced karmic payback for giving away Henry (even though her action is not a crime). After all, he will never be completely hers. Never. The same could be said for Regina, who was responsible for the Charmings being forced to give up Emma. And for a brief moment, I believe Emma experienced karmic payback for car theft, when Lily drove away with the yellow Volkswagen bug - the same car that she and Neal had stolen in Portland. It remains to be seen if Emma and the other characters will experience consequences for their other questionable actions.

Following the news of Zelena's pregnancy, cries that Outlaw Queen was through were posted on the Internet - despite the fact that the series' run was far from over. These naysayers still believe that Robin needs to dump his "code of honor" in order to have a trouble-free relationship with Regina. They also accused Horowitz and Kitsis of transforming "ONCE UPON A TIME"into a soap opera. HUH? Who are they kidding? The series has always been a combination of a fantasy-adventure and SOAP OPERA. I mean . . . really! The number of bat-shit crazy story arcs and plot twists that have popped up on this show, since its debut in the Fall of 2011 is mind boggling. The most obvious aspect of this series' soap operish trait is Henry Mills' crazy family tree. His mother is the first born of Snow White and Prince Charming. His father is Rumpelstiltskin's son. His step-grandmother is Belle (from "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST") His paternal grandfather is Peter Pan, who proved to be the most evil and selfish character on this show, so far. His adoptive mother and step-great-grandmother is the Evil Queen. Robin Hood almost became his adoptive father (and he still might by the series' end). There is a chance that Captain Hook, who had an affair with his paternal grandmother, might become his stepfather. The Queen of Hearts (Cora Mills) is his adoptive grandmother. And the Wicked Witch of the West (Zelena Mills) is his adoptive aunt. I mean . . . what the fuck? Is this bat-shit crazy or what? How can any complain about the latest plot development between Robin and Zelena, when the series has been full of these crazy and soap operish plot twists since it began? Quality writing has never been the hallmark of this series. 

Part of me suspect that today's fans of movies, television and novels long for fictional romances that are trouble free? But why? What is it about today’s audiences that they cannot deal with any kind of emotional conflict or drama between a romantic couple? What is this stupid need for an established couple to be emotionally trouble free and only deal with external threats? It is just so fucking pathetic. It seems as if no one understand or appreciates real storytelling these days. I suspect this is what people really want:

"A couple or family are emotionally secure and lack any hints of moral ambiguity whatsoever. They never fight, make questionable judgments or endure emotional conflicts whatsoever. Instead, all of the conflicts they endure are from an external threat, which is quickly dealt with by the end of a television episode or a movie. 

In other words, they want ideal relationships with not moral ambiguity whatsoever and quickly resolved story arcs. I cannot even count the number of times I have spotted comments by television, movie and literary fans on the Internet, who long for an idealized and trouble-free romance between two fictional characters. And I not only fear that storytellers - in all mediums - might give them what they want, but that today’s culture is really going down the drain.

It is rather ironic that when Regina and Robin finally became romantically involved in late Season Three, some fans had complained that their romance seemed a bit too rushed. I had suggested that their story might be far from over. Ever since Emma and Hook brought "Marian"/Zelena to Storybrooke, I proved to be right. But now, these same fans are complaining over the numerous ways that Horowitz and Kitsis seemed to be complicating Regina and Robin's romance. I swear . . . people can be incredibly fickle.

"LOST" Fans and Kate Austen's Crimes

"LOST" FANS AND KATE AUSTEN'S CRIMES

I have been reading a good number of articles about past "LOST" episodes - especially those that relate to the character of Kate Austen. This has led me to realize that a good number of fans tend to make excuses regarding her two worst crimes - the murder of her father, Wayne Jensen and her claim that Aaron Littleton was her son.

Many fans of the series have claimed that Kate had committed both of these actions out of some sense of non-existent selflessness. They claimed that Kate murdered her father, Wayne Jensen, to protect her abused mother from him. And they also claimed that she lied about Aaron being her son and kept him from his grandmother, Carole Littleton, for nearly three years in order to protect him and the island from the likes of the wealthy former island leader, Charles Widmore. And yet . . . the series has proven otherwise.

In a flashback featured in the Season Three episode, (3.15) "Left Behind", Kate told her mother, Diane Jensen that she had killed Wayne to protect her from further spousal abuse. Diane immediately sensed that Kate was lying and said so:

[In the bathroom, Diane cleans her apron and sees someone enter in the mirror.]
KATE: Hi, Mom.

DIANE: What are you doing here, Katherine?

KATE: You look good.

DIANE: I asked you what you are doing here.

KATE: I wanna know why you told them what I did to Wayne.

DIANE: I thought maybe you came cause you wanted to say you were sorry.

KATE: I'm not sorry. He hit you, he treated you like a dog, and you...

DIANE: You can't help who you love, Katherine. And for good or bad, I loved him. And you burnt him alive. You turned on the gas, and you lit a match. You murdered him in cold blood!

KATE: I did it for you.

DIANE: No. What you did, you did for yourself. [Shrugs off her tears] I have to go back to work. Because you are my daughter, I'm not going to tell the two men sitting at the table who've been following me for the last month that you are here. But I swear to God, Katie, if I ever see you again, the first thing I will do is yell for help. Goodbye.

[Diane leaves, and Kate bursts into tears.]

It turned out that Diane was right. Kate had lied about her reason for killing Wayne. In fact, Kate finally admitted to herself the true reason why she had murdered Wayne in Season Two's (2.09) "What Kate Did"(island time):

[On-Island - Kate and Sawyer in the hatch.]
KATE: Can you hear me? Sawyer? -- Wayne? [Sawyer stirs.] I'm probably crazy and this doesn't matter, but maybe you're in there somehow. But you asked me a question. You asked me why I -- why I did it. It wasn't because you drove my father away, or the way you looked at me, or because you beat her. It's because I hated that you were a part of me -- that I would never be good. That I would never have anything good. And every time that I look at Sawyer -- every time I feel something for him -- I see you, Wayne. It makes me sick.


In other words, Kate had murdered Wayne, because she could not stand the idea of him being her father. I suspect that his abuse of Diane, the breakup of the Austen marriage and his occasional leers played a part in her hatred of him. But Kate harbored such a low opinion of Wayne that the idea of him being her father repulsed her. And she killed him because she could not face the idea of the both of them sharing the same blood. Or that she might be a lot like him. Ironically, many of Kate's actions - beginning with Wayne's murder - proved that she and Wayne shared a lot more than simply blood. Many fans, especially female fans, continue to cling to Kate's lie about protecting her mother as an excuse. Why?

Many of these same fans continued to see nothing wrong with Kate claiming Aaron Littleton as her son. Aaron was the son of a fellow castaway, Australian-born Claire Littleton. Claire had mysteriously disappeared in the Season Four episode, (4.10) "Something Nice Back Home", leaving Aaron behind. In a flashback featured in the Season Five episode, (5.04) "The Little Prince", Kate convinced the castaways' leader, Jack Shephard, to accept this lie, because she wanted to use Aaron as an emotion blanket after the traumas of leaving the island in the Season Four finale, (4.12-4.14) "There's No Place Like Home":

KATE: It's gonna take more than two nights for me to get used to sleeping in a normal bed. What are we gonna do about him? About Aaron.

JACK: I don't know.

KATE: I've been thinking a lot about him. Did you know that Claire was flying to L.A. to give him up for adoption?

JACK: No. No, I didn't.

KATE: I think we should say he's mine.

JACK: What?

KATE: We could say that I was six months pregnant when I was arrested and that I gave birth to him on the Island. No one would ever know.

JACK: Kate, no. You don't have to... [sighs] There's other ways too this.

KATE: After everyone we've lost--Michael, Jin, Sawyer... I can't lose him, too.

JACK: Sawyer's not dead.

KATE: No. But he's gone. Good night, Jack.

JACK: Kate... If we're gonna be safe, if we're gonna protect the people that we left behind, tomorrow morning, I'm gonna have to convince everyone to lie. If it's just me, they're never gonna go for it. So I'm gonna turn to you first. Are you with me?

KATE: I have always been with you.


"There's No Place Like Home" also revealed that Claire's mother, Carole Littleton, was alive and well . . . and unaware that she was a grandmother.

When Kate's plan to keep Aaron was revealed in "The Little Prince", most fans either ignored this revelation or expressed outrage over Ben manipulating Kate's fear of losing Aaron in order to convince her to return to the island. They preferred criticizing Ben for his con job and Jack for going along with Ben, than critizing Kate for selfishly keeping Aaron for herself and keeping him from his grandmother. Upon her return to the island, Kate eventually confessed to Claire that she had no business raising Aaron in the Season Six episode, (6.13) "The Last Recruit". Instead of accepting her act of redemption, a lot of fans expressed annoyance that Kate would make such a confession in the first place.

I find these fans' continuing refusal to accept the immorality of Kate's actions in regard to her father and Aaron rather curious. Does this refusal have to do with a high regard for the character . . . or Evangeline Lilly, the actress that portrayed her? My favorite character in the series was and still is Ana-Lucia Cortez. But unlike many other Ana-Lucia fans, I never made any excuses for her crimes. I have remained critical of her actions to this day. Even if the man she had murdered was responsible for the death of her unborn baby. But many fans use Wayne's abuse of Diane Jensen as an excuse for Kate to murder him . . . despite the fact that she made it clear that his abuse of Diane did not drive Kate to murder.

Recently, I engaged in a debate over Kate's reasons for murdering Wayne. When I pointed out that Wayne's abuse of Diane DID NOT drive Kate to the act of murder, I was accused of supporting the idea of Wayne's continued abuse of Diane. It was the most sickening and insulting excuse any "LOST" fan had contrived to defend Kate's actions. Are many of these fans so intent upon believing that Kate had every right to murder Wayne that they would resort to such arguments? Especially when the true reason that led her to murder had nothing to do with her mother? And what about Aaron? Why is it they feel that other than Claire, only Kate had the right to raise the toddler . . . instead of his grandmother? This inclination to make excuses for Kate's crimes continues to baffle me, even after "LOST" had been off the air for an entire year.

"LOST": "Kidnapping a Child"

"LOST": "KIDNAPPING A CHILD"

I was reading this ARTICLE about the girl who had been kidnapped at 11 and found, 18 years later. And it made me think of the numerous child kidnappings that have occurred on "LOST":



*Ben Linus' kidnapping of Alex Rousseau, Danielle's infant daughter. Ben had kidnapped Alex when she was an infant, against Charles Widmore's orders. He pretended to be her father for sixteen years. Eventually, mother and daughter were finally able to reunite. But they were never able to enjoy their reunion, due to them both being killed by Charles Widmore's hired thugs within a few days.



*Walt Lloyd's kidnapping by Tom, at Ben's orders. We all know the circumstances that resulted from that particular kidnapping. Walt's father, Michael Dawson, disappeared for a while to search for Walt. Once he found the Others, he made a deal with them to free Ben, who had become the Losties' prisoner. In order to free Ben, he murdered Ana-Lucia Cortez and accidentally killed Libby. Then he made a deal with the Others to lead Jack Shephard, Kate Austen, James Ford and Hugo Reyes to their camp. Upon leaving the island, Walt forced him to tell the truth about his deal with the Others and his shooting of Ana-Lucia and Libby. Father and son became estranged. And later, Michael returned to the island to atone for his actions . . . and ended up deal in a freighter explosion. All because Ben Linus had ordered Walt's kidnapping.




*Kate Austen's kidnapping of Aaron. Upset over Sawyer's decision to jump from a rescue helicopter and return to the island, Kate decided to claim Aaron Littleton, the infant son of missing castaway Claire Littleton, as her own. She convinced Jack to help her. And both of them convinced Sun Kwon, Sayid Jarrah, and Hurley Reyes to pretend that Aaron was Kate's son. Kate kept Aaron from his grandmother, Carole Littleton, for nearly three years; despite knowing that the woman was alive. And I cannot help but wonder if Carole Littleton would have ever learned about her grandson if Sawyer's ex-girlfriend, Clemmentine, had not convinced Kate to give him up or Kate had decided to do so on her own.

"LOST" - The Aaron Littleton Lie

"LOST" - The Aaron Littleton Lie

Last night, ”LOST” aired an episode called (5.04) ”The Little Prince”. In this episode, former fugitive Kate Austen discovered that that someone knows the secret of Aaron Littleton’s true parental lineage. When I first learned about this episode, I found myself wondering if the series would finally address the moral consequences of the Oceanic Six’s lie about Aaron. It did . . . on a very limited scale.

As everyone knows, Australian survivor, Claire Littleton had given birth to an infant son named Aaron on the castaways’ 41st day on the island. While on the run from the murderous Martin Keamy and his thugs; Claire, James “Sawyer” Ford and Miles Straume make camp for an overnight rest some fifty-seven days later. That night, a vision of her late father, Christian Shephard, led her to abandon Aaron and follow her father into the jungle. Sawyer and Miles spent nearly a day searching for her, before giving up and heading for the castaways’ beach camp. To make a long matter short, Aaron ended up with Kate Austen, a fugitive accused of murder, bank robbery and a few other crimes. Kate, Aaron, Desmond Hume, pilot Frank Lapidus and the other members of the Oceanic Six – Jack Shephard, Sun Kwon, Sayid Jarrah and Hugo Reyes – were rescued by Desmond’s lady love, Penelope Widmore, in her yacht. There, they made the decision to create a series of lies about their experiences on the island. One of those lies centered around Aaron’s parentage. In the Season Four episode, (4.12) ”There’s No Place Like Home, Part I”, Oceanic Airlines representative Karen Decker repeated the Oceanic Six’s lie to the press:

”Based on the location of the wreckage, our best estimate of the crash site is... (click) here. From there, the survivors were carried by the ocean's current to... (click) here--an uninhabited island in the Lesser Sunda Islands known as Membata. As you've all read in your briefing books, on day 103... (click) a typhoon washed up the remnants of an Indonesian fishing boat, including basic supplies and a survival raft. On day 108, the remaining six survivors, including Ms. Austen's baby which she gave birth to on the island of Membata, used this raft to journey here-- (click) an island called Sumba. They then came ashore near a village called Manukangga. This photo was taken by the local fisherman who found them. Once it was discovered who they were, they were transported to Honolulu by the U.S. Coast Guard. As you can imagine, this has been an extraordinarily trying experience. They have, however, agreed to answer a few questions. So, ladies and gentlemen, the survivors of Oceanic 8-1-5.”

Now, according to the Oceanic Six, Kate was six months pregnant when she was arrested by U.S. Marshal Edward Mars in Australia and later boarded Oceanic Flight 815 on September 22, 2004. Sometime between the crash and their arrival at an island called Sumba, Kate gave birth to Aaron. Six months following their return, the Shephard family – Jack and his mother, Marge – held a funeral for Christian Shephard, who had died in Australia before the crash. Kate (with Aaron), Sayid and his wife Nadia, and Hurley attended the funeral. Following the service, a blond woman approached Jack and informed him that she was Carole Littleton, Claire’s mother. While Kate stood nearby, holding Aaron, Carole also revealed that she had an affair with Christian and that Claire was Jack’s half-sister. This meant that Aaron was Jack’s nephew. Naturally, Jack was upset over the news. Even more important, both he and Kate failed to inform Ms. Littleton that she was standing just a few feet away from her grandson. The episode, (4.04) “Eggtown” revealed that Kate eventually stood trial for her crimes. Because her mother Diane Jensen – the prosecution’s star witness for the murder charge – refused to testify against her, Kate got away with the cold blooded murder of her father, Wayne Jensen. For some reason that still defies me, the prosecution decided to offer probation to Kate for her other crimes – which included bank robbery, assault of a Federal officer, grand larceny and grand theft auto. Kate agreed to ten (10) years of probation. In other words, she was not allowed to leave the state of California for a decade. I doubt that this verdict actually bothered Kate. It kept her out of prison and she was able to go home and continue her charade as Aaron’s mother.

In a recent episode of ”LOST” called (5.01) “Because You Left”, Kate had received a visit from two attorneys who claimed to have a court order demanding paternity tests be conducted to conclude if Kate is Aaron's biological mother. Kate used their visit as another opportunity to do what she does best – namely flee. This time, she did so with Aaron. In the following episode, (5.02) “The Lie”, Kate met up with her fellow Oceanic Six survivor, Sun Kwon, somewhere in Los Angeles and told the latter about the attorneys’ visit. Sun advised her to meet the attorneys again and kill them. According to Sun, the Oceanic Six had to maintain their lies in order to protect the island and those who had been left behind.

In the end, this excuse that Sun gave Kate is the same excuse that Jack first stated on Penny’s yacht some few years ago – namely their lies were necessary to protect those who had been left behind and the island itself from the authorities and especially Charles Widmore. In fact, many of the show’s fans have expressed their acceptance of this excuse on many ”LOST” forums, message boards and blogs. I must admit that I never understood the need for these lies, except for one reason – the media and the authorities would have found the truth ludicrous and committed the Oceanic Six to various mental institutions. Even if the authorities had believed their story, I doubt that anyone would have been able to find the island, considering that Ben Linus managed to move it using some ‘Donkey Wheel’ in the Season Four finale, (4.13) ”There’s No Place Like Home, Part III”. But what really annoys me to no end was the lie about Aaron and Kate.

Kate Austen must be a very popular character with the fans of ”LOST”. Of all the characters, she is the only one who has received more excuses for her crimes and mistakes than any of the others. Sawyer is probably a close second, but that is another matter. Many fans have spent more time on her ludicrous love triangle with Jack and Sawyer than on the fact that she is an unrepentant murderess and now, kidnapper. With Aaron, Kate has now committed the act of kidnapping via a lie. Mind you, she is not solely guilty of this latest crime. Jack, Sayid, Sun and Hurley are also guilty. Before ”The Little Prince” aired, everyone – including myself – believed that Jack had been the creator behind the lie surrounding Aaron. The episode eventually revealed that Kate was the one who had suggested the lie to Jack. He eventually accepted it and used it as part of his repertoire of other lies surrounding the island. Sayid, Sun and Hurley remained silent on the matter, while Kate carried out the lie. Along with the excuse mentioned in a previous paragraph, I have come across many excuses surrounding the lie about Aaron’s parentage. I have yet to come across an excuse or justification that made any sense to me. And God knows I have come across a good number of them. Here are just a few:

*Kate is a good mother.
*No one had any knowledge of whether Claire had any relations in Australia.
*Claire had originally been on her way to Los Angeles to give Aaron up for adoption.
*Sun’s Korean heritage prevented her from claiming to be Aaron’s mother.
*Claire had allowed Kate to leave the island with Aaron (this one was hard to swallow).
*In Kate’s dream, Claire told her not to bring Aaron back to the island.
*Carole Littleton’s affair with a much married Christian Shephard made her morally unacceptable as Aaron’s guardian (I swear, I actually came across this one)
*The psychic Richard Malkin had lied to Claire, when he told her that only she should raise Aaron. A “nice couple from L.A.” – namely Jack and Kate – were destined to raise him.
*Due to ”LOST” being a fictional story, there was nothing wrong with Kate pretending to be Aaron’s mother.
*By lying, the Oceanic Six did the best thing they could to protect Aaron.
*Claire left Aaron in the jungle to follow her father in (4.09) “The Shape of Things to Come”.

And so on. One of the forums that really demonstrated the need for fans to see nothing wrong in Kate’s custody of Aaron is The Fuselage. Other forums such as Lost-Forums, Souless Spike, Television Without Pity more or less skirted the issue. Although the Lost-TV Forum posted a thread in which someone had criticized Kate for creating the lie about Aaron, most of the members who have responded are defending Kate’s actions . . . and bashing Jack for agreeing to the lie. Amazing. This murderous bitch has gotten away with the kidnapping of a child and she is getting a free pass by certain fans. Fortunately, not all of the show’s fans on this forum are defending her. There are some of them on other threads who have criticized Kate for her actions in regard to Aaron.

There are many aspects to the lie surrounding Aaron Littleton that I find questionable. First all, I have doubts about the Oceanic Six’s decision to lie about the island. In one of the flashbacks for “The Lie”, Jack claimed that the lies would protect those left behind on the island:

JACK: Hurley, what about you?

HURLEY: I don't think we should lie, dude.

JACK: We need to protect the people that we left behind, Hurley.

HURLEY: How does lying protect them?

JACK: It protects them from Charles Widmore. The guy hired a boatload of people to kill all of us. He faked a plane crash. I mean, you think telling him the truth, he's just gonna--he's gonna leave them alone?

Hurley was right. How would this lie protect those left behind from Charles Widmore? The Oceanic Six had witnessed the island’s disappearance. How could Widmore learn about the island’s whereabouts if the Oceanic Six had no idea where it had disappeared to? Should it not have been more important for them to tell the authorities that others had been left behind, so that they could be rescued? Of all of the survivors from Flight 815, only two people had formed any attachment to the island – John Locke and Rose Nadler. Rose’s husband, Bernard, was only willing to remain due to his wife’s belief that the island kept her healthy and alive. I suspect that the Oceanic Six’s real motivation behind their lies was due to their guilt over leaving the others behind. None of them ever bothered to stop at the beach camp to see if all of the Losties had made it to the freighter. Instead, they had Frank Lapidus fly them straight to the freighter in their bid to escape from the island. I suspect that guilt was the main motivator behind their lies.

But what was the main motivation behind the lie surrounding Aaron Littleton? In this scene from ”The Little Prince”, Kate Austen gave her reasons to Jack Shephard – one of two men she has managed to wrap around her finger during her three month stay on the island:

JACK: (Chuckles) At least one of us can sleep. It's gonna take more than two nights for me to get used to sleeping in a normal bed. What are we gonna do about him? About Aaron.

JACK: I don't know.

KATE: I've been thinking a lot about him. Did you know that Claire was flying to L.A. to give him up for adoption?

JACK: No. No, I didn't.

KATE: I think we should say he's mine.

JACK: What?

KATE: We could say that I was six months pregnant when I was arrested and that I gave birth to him on the Island. No one would ever know.

JACK: Kate, no. You don't have to... (sighs) There's other ways too this.

KATE: After everyone we've lost--Michael, Jin, Sawyer... I can't lose him, too.

JACK: Sawyer's not dead.

KATE: No. But he's gone. Good night, Jack.

JACK: Kate... If we're gonna be safe, if we're gonna protect the people that we left behind, tomorrow morning, I'm gonna have to convince everyone to lie. If it's just me, they're never gonna go for it. So I'm gonna turn to you first. Are you with me?

KATE: I have always been with you.

That was probably one of the most flimsy excuses I have ever came across for keeping a child, based upon a lie. It made Kate look like an over-emotional nanny who had resorted to kidnapping to keep a favored child by her side. She had grown attached to Aaron and could not deal with another loss after Sawyer’s departure from Frank’s helicopter? On one level, I can understand this. It is possible that she had grown emotionally attached to Aaron, considering what they had experienced before Penny’s rescue. On another level, I find this excuse questionable. There is something niggling in the back of my mind that Kate may have been using Aaron as an excuse to avoid time in prison. It is possible that she realized that she could not flee from the authorities following their return to the States . . . and decided to use Aaron as some kind of character reference without allowing him to show up at the trial. She did not need Aaron at the trial. She had Jack. Looking back on the trial featured in ”Eggtown”, Kate did not put up much of a fight against Jack testifying for her. But like I had said . . . it is merely a possibility. But surely she must have realized that Aaron would come into the picture some way or the other by claiming to be his mother. What did she expect?

There are those who claimed that Kate and the rest of the Oceanic Six had done nothing wrong by supporting the lie about Aaron’s parentage. Here, I beg to differ. Frankly, I found the lie to be appalling. Kate used Claire’s revelation that the latter was planning to give Aaron up for adoption as an excuse to claim the baby as her child. What she, Jack and the rest of the Oceanic Six failed to realize was that none of them knew the circumstances surrounding Claire’s original intent. They decided to accept the possibility that Claire lacked a family . . . and hand over an innocent child to a woman who was facing charges of murder and other crimes in the U.S. No one had known whether Kate would be able to avoid prison and decided to allow her to claim Aaron as her son. I found that despicable.

There is also the argument that Kate really had no choice but to raise Aaron. Sun could not claim the baby as her own, due to her Korean heritage. Many fans claimed that someone had to raise Aaron. Why? To protect him? What on earth made them think that Kate could protect Aaron? This is the same woman who ended up getting jumped by a mortally wounded Naomi Dorrit in the Season 4 premiere, (4.01) “The Beginning of the End”. How on earth was Kate supposed to protect Aaron? Very people did not even bother to consider that the Oceanic Six could have told the truth about Aaron’s parentage . . . and maintain their lies about the island. All they had to do was reveal at the press conference hosted by Oceanic Airlines in ”There’s No Place Like Home” that Claire had survived the plane crash, given birth to Aaron and died before the five adult survivors could be rescued. Chances are that Aaron would have ended up with his grandmother, Carole Littleton. The ironic thing is that when Carole made her second appearance in ”The Little Prince”, both Kate and Jack viewed the woman as some kind of villain or threat to their existence. Especially Kate:

KATE: Oh, my God.

JACK: (Exhales deeply) It's Claire's mother.

Act 5
JACK: Wait.

KATE: What am I waiting for, Jack?

JACK: Wait. I just... let's just think about this for a minute.

KATE: She knows.

JACK: Maybe she doesn't know.

KATE: No, but she knows about Aaron, and that's all that matters!

JACK: (Sighs) Let me go talk to her.

KATE: What?

JACK: If I can just explain to her why we did it--maybe if I can get her to understand why... she'll listen to me. I can fix this, Kate. I can fix it. Hey. Aaron is my family, too.

(Knock on door)

(sighs)

CAROLE: Dr. Shephard?

JACK: Hello, Ms. Littleton. Um... may I come in?

CAROLE: Of course.

(Door closes)

CAROLE: You look drenched.

JACK: No, no. No, I'm fine.

CAROLE: God, I haven't seen you since your father's funeral. How did you even know I was here?

JACK: Um... I knew you were here, Ms. Littleton, because I followed your lawyer.

CAROLE: Why would you do that?

JACK: I'm--I did it because, um... I understand that you feel the need to do this. But I need you to know that everything that Kate and I have done--it was for Aaron.

CAROLE: Who's... Aaron? I--I'm afraid I'm not following you.

JACK: Ms. Littleton, um... what are you doing here in Los Angeles?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Thunder rumbles)

JACK: Let's go. Drive. Then call Sun and tell her to bring Aaron to the Long Beach Marina. We'll meet her there.

KATE: What--wh-what are you talking about? What happened?

JACK: Kate, we have to go now.

KATE: I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what just happened!

JACK: She doesn't know anything.

KATE: What?

JACK: She doesn't know. She still thinks that Claire is dead. (Pants) She doesn't even know that Aaron exists.

KATE: But the lawyer--

JACK: She sued Oceanic, and she's in town to pick up her settlement.

KATE: What, and it's just a coincidence that her lawyer happens to be the same one that's trying to take my son?

JACK: I don't know. But whoever's trying to take Aaron... it's not her.

KATE: Then who is it?

Amazing. Kate, Jack and the rest of the Oceanic Six were the ones guilty of kidnapping and both Jack and Kate end up viewing Carole Littleton as some potential kidnapper. It was enough to make me sick to my stomach.

Many fans have condoned the Oceanic Six’s actions by claiming that Kate turned out to be a wonderful mother for Aaron. Frankly, who gives a shit? I really DO NOT CARE what type of mother Kate turned out to be. What she and the rest of the Oceanic Six had done about Aaron was despicable. They had dragged an innocent child into an unnecessary deception with hardly any qualms, for their own selfish reasons. They really have no excuse for the lie about Aaron. And since the Oceanic Six have less than three (3) days to return to the island, they have ensured that the grieving Carole Littleton will never learn about the only link to her missing daughter – her grandson, Aaron. Of all the crimes that have been featured on ”LOST”, I found the lie about Aaron to be the most appalling I have ever witnessed on that show. The Oceanic Six disgusted me. Especially one Kate Austen.

"LOST": Claire, Aaron and the Couple From Los Angeles

"LOST": Claire, Aaron and the Couple From Los Angeles

Ever since the Season Four finale of ”LOST” aired, there have been speculations from some fans that both Jack Shephard and Kate Austen were destined to raise Aaron Littleton, the infant son of the fellow Oceanic Flight 815 survivor Australian-born Claire Littleton, born on the mysterious island.

This speculation arose from a scene in ”There’s No Place Like Home – Parts 2 and 3”, that featured a dream in which Kate had received a message from Claire, warning the former fugitive to never return Aaron to the island:

(telephone rings)
(ring)
KATE: Hello?
(Clicking)
KATE: Hello? Who's there?
(Ghostly voices whispering)
(buzzing)
(door opens, creaks)
(buzzing continues)
(gasps)
KATE: Don't move. Don't you touch my son!
(Gasps)
KATE: (Whispers) Claire? How did y--
CLAIRE: (voice breaks) Don't bring him back, Kate. (Chair creaks) Don't you dare bring him back.

Personally, I do not feel that Jack and Kate were meant to raise Aaron. If they were, Hurley Reyes, another survivor of Oceanic Flight 815 Or else Hurley would have never told Jack that he was not meant to raise Aaron in another Season Four episode, ”Something Nice Back Home”:

HURLEY: What'd you do today?
JACK: What did I do today? I, uh... (sighs) I woke up, took a shower. Uh, Kate and I fed the baby.
HURLEY: I thought you didn't want anything to do with her.
JACK: I changed my mind after the trial.
HURLEY: Living with Kate... taking care of Aaron... it all seems so perfect... just like heaven.
JACK: Just because I'm happy doesn't mean that this isn't real, Hurley.
HURLEY: I was happy, too, Jack... for a while, anyway. Then I saw Charlie. He likes to sit with me on the bench out on the front lawn. It's pretty cool, actually.
JACK: Okay. (Sighs) So what do the two of you talk about?
HURLEY: Well, yesterday, he told me you were gonna be coming by. He wanted me to give you a message.
JACK: A message?
(Drawer scrapes)
HURLEY: He made me write it down so I wouldn't mess it up. "You're not supposed to raise him, Jack." Does that make any sense?

As for Kate’s dream about Claire, I found it odd that the Australian woman had spoken to her in an American accent. But before I continue with this, I want to take a look at the Season One episode that first broached the subject of Claire, Aaron and the matter of who was destined to raise him:

From "Raised By Another":

In one of the flashbacks in this episode, a pregnant Claire discovered that her boyfriend Thomas had ran out on her, leaving her alone to raise their unborn child. She paid a visit to an Australian psychic named Richard Malkin. After “reading” her, he informed Claire that only she should raise her baby:

MALKIN: It is crucial that you, yourself, raise this child.
CLAIRE: You mean with Thomas? Is he..
MALKIN: The father of this child will play no part in its life, nor yours.
CLAIRE: So what exactly are you saying?
MALKIN: This child parented by anyone else, anyone other than you -- danger surrounds this baby. . .
CLAIRE: Danger?
MALKIN: Your nature, your spirit, your goodness, must be an influence in the development of this child.
CLAIRE: If Thomas and I don't get back together I'm putting this baby up for adoption. I just wanted to find out what would give the baby the happiest life.
MALKIN: There is no happy life -- not for this child, not without you.
CLAIRE: I don't. . .
MALKIN: It can't be another. You mustn't allow another to raise your baby.
CLAIRE: Okay, great. Thanks for taking my 200.
MALKIN: Oh, no look, take it. Ms. Littleton; I am begging you just to consider...
CLAIRE: I can't raise this child by myself.
MALKIN: You have to listen to me.
CLAIRE: Thanks for your time, and my money back.
MALKIN: Ms. Littleton, please. The baby needs your protection. Ms. Littleton, please.

In another scene, Malkin called Claire in the middle of the night and tried to convince her to keep the baby:

[Shot of Claire sleeping in a bed. The phone rings.]
CLAIRE: Hello?
MALKIN: Ms. Littleton, it's Richard Malkin.
CLAIRE: Oh, God.
MALKIN: Listen to me. I have a plan, something that will make this all better.
CLAIRE: You've got to stop calling me. It's too late, alright. I'm going to see adoptive services tomorrow.
MALKIN: I've been telling you for months, you cannot do that.
CLAIRE: Look, what I do with my baby is none of your business.
MALKIN: If you don't do what I'm suggesting, great danger will befall...
CLAIRE: Hey, great danger will befall you if you don't stop calling me in the middle of the night.
MALKIN: I know what you're feeling inside, Claire -- that you're doubting your decision to give up the baby. Look, I'm begging you, don't do it. At least hear my plan first.
CLAIRE: Good night.

Then Claire went to an attorney's office to sign over her baby to a couple named Eileen and Joseph. However, Claire found herself unable to sign the paper, due to lack of ink (the island?):

[Shot of the adopting couple and Claire in the lawyer's office.]
LAWYER: Eileen(?) and Joseph will bring you to Melbourne. They'll pay your living and medical expenses.
EILEEN: We found you an apartment. It's a really nice two bedroom place. And, well, we think you're going to be really comfortable in it.
LAWYER: As discussed, once the baby's born and handed over to the Stewart's you'll have no right to see the child again. You'll have no right to correspond with the child. It will entirely up to Eileen and Joseph whether to tell the child anything about you. Understood?
CLAIRE: Yes.
LAWYER: Upon your discharge from the hospital you'll be given an additional payment of 20, 000 dollars.
CLAIRE: I just want to make sure that you're going to take really good care of the baby.
EILEEN: Of course we will.
LAWYER: Now, I'll need you to sign and date here, where indicated.
[Shot of Claire starting to sign.]
CLAIRE: Do you know Catch a Falling Star? It's a song, like a lullaby.
EILEEN: Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket.
CLAIRE: My dad used to sing that to me when I was little. Do you think you could sing it to the baby once in a while?
EILEEN: Of course.
[Shot of Claire starting to sign the document but the pen is out of ink.]
CLAIRE: It's not working.
[Shot of the Lawyer handing her another pen.]
LAWYER: Here.
[That pen doesn't work either. Shot of Eileen passing another pen across the table.]
CLAIRE: I, I'm sorry. I can't do this.
EILEEN: What? No.

Then Claire paid another visit to Malkin:

[We see Claire at the psychic's house.]
CLAIRE: You spent the last 4 months telling me I have to raise the baby myself. Now you're giving me money and saying I don't have to?
MALKIN: I found a couple in Los Angeles who are very eager to adopt. The baby will be safe in their care. Now, I've foreseen. . .
CLAIRE: Heh, Foreseen? I don't even know why I'm here. I'm sorry.
MALKIN: I know this sound ridiculous, Claire. All this psychic business, and I appreciate that you must think I'm a raving madman. But this is what must happen.
CLAIRE: So you're giving me 6000 dollars to give my baby to a couple of strangers in Los Angeles?
MALKIN: 12,000. The other 6 when you arrive in Los Angeles. And they're not strangers, Claire. They're good people.

When the episode ”Something Nice Back Home” revealed Jack and Kate raising Aaron in the near future, certain fans took it as a sign that they were the nice Los Angeles couple destined to raise Aaron. But Claire . . . and other fans had another excuse for Malkin’s mention of that nice California couple. In another ”Raised By Another” flashback, Malkin gave Claire an airline ticket for Oceanic Flight 815:

[Shot of Claire accepting an airline ticket from Malkin.]
CLAIRE: I can't go tomorrow. I have to get my. . .
MALKIN: It has to be this flight. It can't be any other. They're already scheduled to meet you when you arrive. Flight 815. Flight 815.

I found it odd that Malkin was so determined that Claire board the ill-fated Oceanic Flight 815. Claire told Charlie that the psychic had intended for her to be on this island to raise Aaron:

[Shot of Claire and Charlie in the jungle.]
CLAIRE: There was no couple in Los Angeles. He knew. He knew about the plane, what was going to happen. Oh my god, he knew.

In Something Nice Back Home”, the figure of Christian – Claire and Jack’s father – appeared before the Australian woman to lead her away from a camp she was sharing with Sawyer and Miles in the middle of the jungle:

(Crickets chirp and a campfire crackles in the jungle. Miles is fast asleep. Sawyer snores. Claire stirs awake. Aaron is gone. She looks up to see a white-haired old man rocking the babe in his arms. It's Christian Shephard. Claire gasps.)
CLAIRE: Dad?

And in the following episode, ”Cabin Fever”, Flight 815 survivor John Locke met up with Claire and Christian in Jacob’s cabin:

(Loud creak)
LOCKE: Claire?
CLAIRE: Hi, John.
LOCKE: What're you doing here?
CLAIRE: Don't worry. I'm fine. I'm with him.
LOCKE: Wh--where's the baby?
CHRISTIAN: The baby's where he's supposed to be, and that's not here. It's probably best that you don't tell anyone that you saw her.

Certain fans viewed this scene as evidence that Aaron was not meant to be on the island, period. Unfortunately, the episode never really made it clear what ”here” meant. No one really knows why Christian had Claire to leave Aaron behind before taking her to Jacob's cabin. Nor does anyone know what he meant by ”here”. Had he meant inside the cabin? Or the island? Like I had said before, the episode never really made it clear.

Repeating what I had earlier stated, some fans believe this was a sign that both Jack and Kate was meant to raise Aaron. Or possibly Kate was meant to raise Aaron, since Hurley had informed Jack that he was not meant to raise the infant. I still have grave doubts that either Jack or Kate were meant to raise Aaron. Now, there are others who believe that Aaron might end up being used as a catalyst for the Oceanic Six to return to the island. Who knows? I guess we will have to wait and see.