Hi, Javi. First, just let me say that I am as enamored with LOST as I've ever been with a television show. I think it's the most intelligently written show on television. That being said, I had one small issue with Matthew Fox's character in Hearts and Minds, and I'm hoping I just missed something, because my husband kept calling me away from the television at the most inopportune moments, and if it happens again, I might have to pull a Kate, but I digress. Maybe you can clarify the situation from the writer's perspective...

In the previous episode, when Kate deceives Jack about the key to the briefcase, he was about as incensed as I've seen him. This is a man who was willing to rat out his father to the medical review board because of his dishonest and reprehensibly irresponsible behavior, and many times with Kate he seems to be intolerant of her dishonesty, as well as disturbed by his knowledge, albeit limited, of her criminal past. Then, all of a sudden, in Hearts and Minds, Jack seemed to be very friendly toward her again. Did I miss something? Was some kind of cathartic interaction between the two implied? Maybe he just feels that, as the (reluctant) leader of the group, he should be magnanimous? I realize he's been the forgive and forget type with her in the past, but it just seems to me that after she told him she killed a man, a sudden sympathetic turnaround didn't seem likely to me. I could be wrong.

I would appreciate any clarification you might be able to give, unless it's going to give away the whole secret of the show and ruin all of my fun...in which case, keep it to yourself!

Thanks for putting your heart and soul into this show--and keep up the good work, please!!

Very best regards,

Jeanna

jeanna -

thanks for you kind words about the show. the answer to your question is simple - jack already knew that kate had a criminal past that possibly included murder (as seen in "tabula rasa") and he was incensed at her lying to him - but she is also one of the few people on the island with whom he has developed a meaningful bond, and jack knows that kate isn't the conciliatory type. what you saw in "hearts and minds" was his trying to put aside his own pride and extend an olive branch to someone to whom he has a bond but someone he knew would be unlikely to extend it on her own.

hope that covers it!

ja
vi

That covers it, indeed. That's a perfectly reasonable explanation. Thanks very much!! Can't wait for tonight's episode--we are all counting down the hours!

Jeanna