Season 1, Episode 12:
Whatever the Case May Be
While collecting fruit out in the jungle, Kate hears a noise and suspects it might be a creature, or one of "the Others"... but it's only Sawyer, keeping an eye on her. Heading back to the caves, they stumble onto a picturesque lagoon and go for a swim, only to find more bodies and luggage from Oceanic 815 at the bottom. Sawyer searches through them for more items for his stash: Kate is disgusted, until she sees a silver case and grabs it, claiming it's hers. When Sawyer spots the lie and takes the case for himself, Kate pretends—badly—that it's no big deal.
At the beach, a sudden tidal change is threatening to flood the fuselage wreckage and the survivors' entire beach camp. Jack and Sayid help get the supplies out of harm's way and plan to set up a new camp slightly further down the coast, though Jack still thinks its best if everyone moves to the caves. He asks Sayid to take him to Rousseau so that he can ask about the Others, but Sayid thinks Rousseau is insane. They discuss the maps and documents Sayid stole from Rousseau's shack, but the mathematical equations on them are too either too advanced or too nonsensical for Sayid to understand, and parts are written in French. Sayid wonders if some things are best left untranslated, but Jack responds that maybe Sayid should tell that to Charlie, who's been completely despondent since Claire's kidnapping. Boone comments on how Shannon is reading a magazine while everyone else moves the beach camp. Her response is to ask what Boone and Locke have been doing every day in the jungle. Boone claims they're looking for Claire.
That evening, Kate sees Sawyer with the case.
Kate, calling herself "Miss Ryan" and claiming to be a photographer, is filling out a loan application at a small New Mexico bank. Thieves with guns and masks burst in and force everyone to the ground except for the manager, who they want to let them into the money cage.
Kate tries to steal the case from Sawyer while he sleeps, but he's just pretending and manages to keep it. The next morning, Shannon is sunbathing when Sayid asks her help in translating Rousseau's documents. At first, she thinks Boone put him up to it, but Sayid convinces her to do it. Sawyer tries unsuccessfully to pick the lock on the case, and Michael tells him that he'll need force, and a lot of it, to open it. Boone brings the axe to Locke in the jungle and assures him that no one knows what they're doing. Rose finds Charlie in his stupor and snaps him out of it, convincing him to help move the beach camp. In the jungle, Sawyer tries smashing the case against a rock, but it won't open. He tries dropping it from the top of a tree, but not only does it not open, Kate swoops in and steals it. However, Sawyer manages to catch up to Kate and takes the case back. He makes her a proposition: tell him what's in the case, and he'll hand it over. She refuses.
The thieves' leader threatens to kill the bank manager if he doesn't hand over the money cage key. One of the hostages manages to get the jump on one of the thieves and kicks a gun over to Kate, but she claims to not know how to use it and the thieves get control of the situation again. Their leader grabs Kate and pushes her into an office... where it's revealed that Kate is part of the gang and the leader, Jason, is her lover.
Shannon helps Sayid to translate Rousseau's maps and documents, and she talks about living in Saint Tropez and learning French there. As Sun brings an herbal headache remedy back to the caves to show Jack, Kate arrives and asks for his help. She claims the case contains four nine-millimetre handguns and several boxes of ammo, and the key to open it is in the Marshal's wallet, which Jack buried with him. Jack agrees to help her get the case on the condition they open it together. On the beach, Charlie and Rose are moving supplies to the new campsite. She has a very positive outlook, despite all the terrible things that've happened, which Charlie proceeds to list.
Jason hits Kate several times then takes her out to the bank manager and threatens to kill her if the manager doesn't open the money cage. Thinking they're gonna kill Kate, the manager agrees.
Jack and Kate dig up the Marshal and she palms the key, but Jack sees and takes it. At the beach, Shannon is translating the documents, but the things written in French are nonsensical and bear no relation to the maps or equations. Frustrated, Sayid decides it was all a bad idea and Shannon, remarking about how "useless" she is, tromps off. Jack goes to Sawyer and threatens to withhold medication for his knife wound unless he hands over the case. Sawyer hands over the case, but not before telling Jack that whatever Kate said to convince him to help her, it was a lie. Jack brings Kate the case, but insists they open it together.
Once inside the money cage, Jason and his cronies start taking cash. The bank manager demands they let Kate go, but Jason reveals that not only is Kate (who he calls "Maggie") one of the thieves, she's the mastermind. When Jason moves to shoot the manager, Kate grabs a gun and shoots all the thieves before demanding from the bank manager the key to one of the safe deposit boxes. Inside is a plain white envelope with something small inside.
Jack and Kate open the case. Inside are the guns, the ammo, a wad of cash and that same white envelope, which contains a small toy airplane.
As Kate cries over the airplane, Jack puts everything else back in the case, takes it and leaves. That evening, the survivors set up their new beach camp. Charlie asks Rose how she knows her husband is still alive, and she replies that "It's a fine line between denial and faith. It's much better on my side." Sobbing, Charlie asks for her help. Shannon goes to Sayid and tells him that she figured out what Rousseau's notations mean: they're song lyrics
. Boone watches as Shannon and Sayid sit together, and Jack watches as Kate sits with the toy airplane.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Blatant Lies:
- Kate's claim that the case belongs to her, and her claim that it doesn't matter if Sawyer takes it. Sawyer doesn't believe either claim. She also tells Jack that the guns are the only thing of interest to her in the case; Jack clearly doesn't believe her either.
- During her flashbacks, Kate claims that she doesn't know how to use a gun.
- "Blind Idiot" Translation: In-universe, Shannon's first attempt at translating Rousseau's notes comes across as nonsensical because she doesn't realize it's meant to be a song and is overly literal. Once she recognizes the lyrics, she's able to sing the song in French.
- Continuity Nod: Sayid is still limping from the injury he took after getting caught in Rousseau's trap.
- Dramatic Irony: Unaware that she speaks English, Jack and Kate discuss the case's contents in front of Sun, who is visibly worried when she hears that the case contains guns.
- Due to the Dead: Jack reveals that he buried the Marshal after euthanizing him, even admitting that he needed to bury the Marshal, rather than burn his body with the rest of the dead.
- Entertainingly Wrong: Hearing Shannon's seemingly nonsensical translations, Sayid assumes that the notations on Rousseau's maps are the ravings of Rousseau's disturbed mind; a closer inspection by Shannon reveals them to song lyrics Rousseau transcribed onto the maps.
- Everyone Has Standards: In the flashbacks, Kate is fine with robbing a bank, manipulating her fellow thieves for her own purposes, and shooting them in self-defense, but she draws the line when her partner in crime tries to murder the bank manager.
- Fanservice: Sawyer takes off his shirt and Kate takes off her pants for a swim when they find a waterfall.
- Good Is Not Soft: Jack's terrifying threat to stop Sawyer's antibiotic treatment proves to be enough to make Sawyer give up the case; despite doubting that Jack would be willing to go through with it, Sawyer is quickly convinced.
- Heroic BSoD: Charlie remains in a state of shock after Claire's abduction and his own near-death. With a bit of effort, Rose gets him to open up again and accept that what happened wasn't his fault.
- Hidden Depths: Shannon shows off some singing talent after realizing that Rousseau's seemingly-nonsensical notes were transcribed song lyrics ("La Mer", the French version of "Beyond the Sea").
- It's All My Fault: Charlie blames himself for Claire's abduction, and even tells Rose that he feels he should have died when Ethan hanged him. With Rose's help, he comes to forgive himself.
- Mood Whiplash: Kate and Sawyer's pleasant, light-hearted swim takes a dark turn when they find two decaying bodies in the lake.
- Oh, Crap!: Sun is visibly alarmed to overhear from Jack and Kate that the case contains five handguns; she quickly grabs the medicinal plant she was showing Jack and leaves.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Boone gives one to Shannon, calling her out on sitting around sunbathing while everyone else is helping move the camp up the beach.
- Ship Tease: There are some hints at a romance between Sayid and Shannon as they work together to translate Rousseau's notations.
- Shout-Out: Shannon recognizes "La Mer" from the closing credits of the French dub of Finding Nemo.
- Sleight of Handiness: When Kate finds the Marshal's wallet, she appears to be disgusted by the maggots inside and drops it. Unfortunately for her, Jack quickly realizes that she was trying to distract him and deduces that she palmed the key.
- Stupid Crooks: Jason needlessly admits to Kate's role in the robbery and unmasks himself to the bank manager despite already getting everything the robbers were after, seemingly just for kicks. It gets him shot by Kate and left for the police.
- To the Pain: Jack gives a graphic and very unpleasant description of what will happen if Sawyer refuses to hand over the case:Sawyer: So, what? We gonna wrestle for it?
Jack: No, you're gonna give it to me.
Sawyer: Am I?
Jack: Yeah.
Sawyer: I'm just gonna give it to you?
Jack: Yeah.
Sawyer: Why would I want to do that?
Jack: Cephalexin.
Sawyer: Yeah, go on?
Jack: That's the antibiotic I've been giving you for the knife wound in your arm. You're right in the middle of a treatment cycle; now, if I keep giving you the pills, you're gonna be as right as rain. But I'm gonna stop giving you the pills. And for two days, you're gonna think you're all good. Then it's gonna start to itch. Day after that, the fever's gonna start to come, and you're gonna start seeing red lines running up and down your arm. A day or two after that... you'll beg me to take the case, just to cut off your arm.
Sawyer: That's a nice story, Jack, and even if it were true, I don't think you could do it.
Jack: You're wrong. - Took a Level in Kindness:
- Downplayed with Sawyer; he follows Kate into the jungle to watch out for her after recent events, and they enjoy a pleasant swim together. That said, Jack and Kate are alarmed at the idea of him getting his hands on guns, and Sawyer is predictably unenthusiastic about handing the case over when Jack forces him into it.
- Shannon starts to get over her It's All About Me attitude and helps Sayid to translate Rousseau's notes.
- Tragic Keepsake: It turns out that the item Kate wanted to steal from the bank, and that she was looking for in the case, was a toy airplane that belonged to the man she loved.
- Use Your Head: Kate headbutts Sawyer twice in this episode; the second time is immediately after he dodged an attempt and told her that she needed a new trick.
