I wish Kate had been buried alive‏

The main thing I came away with this week: If they wanted me to dislike Kate
even more than I already did, they succeeded.

I've never really been the biggest Kate fan - especially when related to her
romantic entanglements - but maybe that's because I don't understand why
Jack or Sawyer would want to get involved with someone so annoying, no
matter how attractive she is. She was at least interesting when the series
began, because we didn't know anything about her, but now, like Jack, I feel
like they are beating a dead horse every time they have a Kate flashback. Do
we really need an episode that tells us that Kate is selfish and has no
self-awareness? Now, I'm not entirely opposed to more Kate (or Jack)
flashbacks, but if the flashbacks are used to illuminate character traits,
maybe they shouldn't be wasted on such paper thin characters.

And I as much as I am intrigued by Juliet and want to see more of her, I was
hoping that the monster would kill both of them, just so I wouldn't have to
deal with Kate anymore.

I guess my other problem was with the actress that plays Cassidy, Kim
Dickens. She was a regular on Deadwood, and I don't really get her as an
actress - she talks in a monotone, almost deadpan voice all the time. I
guess that works for some people cuz she keeps getting work, but for me, it
detaches from whatever she is trying to do. The woman who played Juliet's
sister (Robin Weigert) was also on Deadwood (and actually shared a lot of
screen time with Dickens) and I hated her on Deadwood, and found her to be
exceptionally distracting, but thought she was quite good in Juliet's
episode. I mean, Kim Dickens is no Bai Ling, but she's no William Mapother
(Ethan) either.

Hey, we got definite confirmation that the baby is Sawyer's, so that's
something, I guess.

Also, mud wrestling? Cat fights? Seriously? Are they really that hard up for
the horny male vote?

But there were things I liked:
- The crazy look in Locke's eyes when he talked with Kate.
- Juliet getting the drop on Kate with her crazy kung fu moves
- Juliet having the key all along
- The Others don't understand the monster, but are aware of it
- After Kate cries and apologizes to Jack, he asks about Juliet. Awesome.
- The stuff with Hurley and Sawyer, but only because it was "the lamest con
in the history of cons." If they were actually going to exile him, well that
would be stupider than trusting Ben.
- Is Ben playing mind games with Juliet by leaving her behind or is he
screwing with Jack, Kate and Sayid? Is she Henry Gale v. 2.0?

I think there are a lot of basic similarities in characters of Locke and
Kate. But while Locke is awfully frustrating at times, at least he remains
interesting and he doesn't lie to himself. He lies to everyone else on the
island, but he knows his motives are selfish and that everything is does is
for his advantage. Does Kate really think that she went back to save Jack
for Jack's sake? How could anyone still have such little self awareness,
especially after everyone else is telling her otherwise: Sawyer, Sayid, Jack
and Juliet?

It wasn't bad, but I hope things pick up again next week.