Tabula Rasa

Season 1, Episode 3, Aired
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Episode Summary

Tensions begin to rise among the signal party as they return from the mountains. At the beach, Jack becomes increasingly suspicious of Kate, the fugitive the marshal was escorting back to America. Flashbacks center on Kate's time in Australia prior to the crash, where she lived with a farmer named Ray Mullen.moreless
9.2
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Fan Episode Reviews (69)

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  • 103

    7.5
    "Good"
    By Canogaparkcindy, Feb 16, 2011 Report Abuse
    A Kate-centric episode, and we definitely get a lot of character development. Kate is a fugitive, this plot really showed us how much characters can be explored and how their past affects them on the island. This was the format that Lost used for the rest of the series, and like all, this episode was really good.

    My favorite part of the episode was definitely when Locke found the boy's dog, that was such a nice scene. Kate's flashbacks were a little slow paced at the start there, but I like how things fell in to place with the dying man.

    I love all these characters, and it's a wonder how all these characters can get so much three dimensional development in one episode. None of them are toned down to stereotypes, their just all different in their own way. I loved the irony in Sawyer shooting the dying man in the chest which actually made his death much more painful (no second bullet). Also the title was very suitable for this episode. Overall, a good installment.moreless

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    0 0

  • Awesome.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Sarah_LOST, Oct 12, 2010 Report Abuse
    Jack learns about Kate's past as a fugitive. The signal party returns, but decides not to tell the others about the transmission. Sawyer shoots the marshal, thinking that it will relieve him of his misery. However, this only punctures his lung, so Jack euthanizes him. Flashbacks show Kate's life on an Australian farm, until she is captured by the marshal. You just got to love Lost, it's too amazing seriously! The episode are so enjoyable to watch, and it's never boring...even after watching them about five times! So - everyone has secrets, and there will be more of them, as we all know. I love the way Hurley acts towards Kate in this episode, it's so funny!moreless

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    3 1

  • No more bullets to save them from Polar Bears and Monsters...

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By Jacob316, Feb 09, 2010 Report Abuse
    Ilike this episode it is slower than the Pilot but I think that is because it is meant to be calmer, people are starting too settle down and come to terms with being on the island for longer than they originally thought. There is a lot of character development in this one and it continues like this throughout the first three seasons, we see a lot more of Hurley in this episode and Locke who had smaller parts in the prevous episode. Locke was still mysterious e didn't know anything about him. Hurley's scene were my favourites here most notable the one with Kate which is always hilarious. I also liked his reaction to the gunfire very funny. We learn about how Kate was caught which was great timing by the writers because they could have dragged it out a bit but it was good to see straight after learning she was the fugitibe in the Pilot. I really enjoy the scene with Jack and Sawyer in the fuselage and the final scene with the portable CD player, a great and uplofting montage of the surviours but also a cool final shot of Locke.moreless

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    0 0

  • Good follow-up

    8.7
    "Great"
    By JaCkKbAuEr2424, Jan 04, 2010 Report Abuse
    The follow-up to the pilot of Lost proves to continue introducing the storyline at a pace that will soon become known as a Lost standard: have the episode revolve around one character, have a flashback of their life and slowly (sometimes painfully slow) let us learn more about the island. Coming into this season with prior knowledge about what will be happening, it's fun to watch how these characters used to be. This wasn't the best episode of the show by a mile, but it started off the way Lost would run for many seasons after.

    Kate's plots never interested me all that much, and this episode is no exception. However, it did leave us intrigued.. what exactly did Kate do? This is something that would be held over our heads for at least a couple seasons until we finally find out.

    One of the more interesting things is how we're subtly lead towards things. The way the episode ends, with a long focus on Locke's face with ominous music surrounding him.. well, let's just say it's heavy foreshadowing, even if the showrunners had no idea how Locke would turn out. It was just a strange scene and really makes me think that the writers have had this show completely planned out from day one.. sometimes, the connections are too much to pin it on coincidence.

    A good episode.. not a great one, but it got the show jumpstarted.moreless

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  • Appearances Are Deceptive

    8.0
    "Great"
    By Rufam, Dec 26, 2009 Report Abuse
    Kate is not the good girl who we all thought she was being forced down our throats as. Or is she? Because she may be a fugitive, but her heart is large and shiny. Plus, she's falling for Jack. And Jack cannot be deceived. Never. -

    So, the traditional format of LOST is introduced. Overall, this isn't a memorable episode, just a decent one, with interesting flashbacks that, however, don't reveal much while minimum action takes place on the Island. It is a good episode, but not a great one and an interesting setup for Kate's backstory which is going to unfold fully in the seasons to come.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • The farmer tells Kate that he saw her photo in the post office and that her capture would result in a $23,000 reward. However, Australian wanted posters are usually shown in police stations. Post offices never have them and they normally do not specify rewards. Edit
    • Jack tells Kate that the US Marshal may survive "2, 3, or 4 days." 4 is one of "The Numbers." Edit
    • Charlie retapes the finger that had the letter 'F' and writes the letter 'L', now spelling - L A T E. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Music: 1. Leavin' On Your Mind by Patsy Cline. 2. Wash Away by Joe Purdy. Edit
    • In Latin America, this episode was known as "Borron Y Cuenta Nueva", which is an expression used for making a fresh start in life. Edit
    • International Airdates: Denmark: January 21, 2005 on Kanal 5 Greece: August 6, 2008 at 23.00 on ANT1 Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Ray: Melbourne's a hundred kilometers from here. Kate: I like walking. Ray: And you just happened to wander onto my farm? Kate: I like farms, too. Edit
    • Jack: What's in the bag? Sawyer: Booze, smokes, a couple Playboys. What's in yours? Jack: Medicine. Sawyer: Well that about sums it up, don't it? Edit
    • Charlie: What are you making? Locke: A whistle. Charlie: I once played some tribal flutes in a recording studio ... I'm in a band. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • ONE-ARMED MAN It is revealed that the farmer that temporarily hires fugitive Kate to help around the farm has a prosthetic arm. This is a possible to allusion to the 1960's television series The Fugitive where Dr. Richard Kimble (played by David Janssen) spends the entire run of the series outrunning the authorities and hunting the real killer, the "one-armed man." The show was made into a feature film in 1993 starring Harrison Ford as Dr. Kimble. Edit
    • Charlie: Al-Jazeera is a network. Is in reference to the Arabic television channel based in Qatar. It is the largest and most controversial Arabic news channel in the Middle East. It was established in 1996. Edit
    • Episode name: Tabula rasa (Latin: "scraped tablet", though often translated "blank slate") is the notion that individual human beings are born "blank" (with no built-in mental content), and that their identity is defined entirely by events after birth. Coincidentally, this was thought up by the philosopher John Locke, who shares his name with a character. Tabula Rasa is a fitting name for this episode. At the end, Jack tells Kate that they all died on the plane crash and they are all new people portrayed by their activities on the island and not their past. Edit

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