Eggtown

Infobox Television episode
Title = Eggtown
Series = Lost


Caption = Kate on trial
Season = 4
Episode = 4
Guests = Shawn Doyle
Susan Gibney
Beth Broderick
Zoë Bell
Traber Burns
Fred Q. Collins
Tania Kahale
William Blanchette
Writer = Elizabeth Sarnoff
Greggory Nations
Director = Stephen Williams
Airdate = February 21, 2008
Production = 404 ["ABC", (February 22, 2008) " [http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=photos#t=54633 'Eggtown' Photos] ". Retrieved on February 28, 2008.]
Episode list = "Lost" (season 4)
List of "Lost" episodes
Prev = The Economist
Next = The Constant

"Eggtown" is the fourth episode of the American Broadcasting Company's fourth season of the serial drama television series "Lost" and seventy-third episode overall. It was aired on February 21, 2008 on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada."ABC Medianet", (January 25, 2008) " [http://www.abcmedianet.com/primeschedule/ABCGRIDSJAN28FEB24.xls Weekly Primetime Program Schedule] ." Retrieved on January 25, 2008.] It was written by supervising producer Elizabeth Sarnoff and script coordinator Greggory Nations and directed by co-executive producer Stephen Williams."ABC Medianet", (February 4, 2008) " [http://www.abcmedianet.com/web/progcal/progcal.aspx?Date=02%2f04%2f2008&DNR=1 Kate's Standing with Locke and Sawyer May Be Jeopardized When Her Need to Get Information from the Hostage Becomes Her Top Priority] " Retrieved on February 4, 2008.] This is the first episode written by Nations.

The episode's island plot takes place in late December 2004, ninety-plus days after the crash of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815. Flashforwards show Kate Austen (played by Evangeline Lilly) on trial for her numerous pre-island crimes, after her escape from the island. ["ABC", (February 22, 2008) " [http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=recap#t=46481&d=81573 'Eggtown': Season 4, Episode 404 Recap] ". Retrieved on February 28, 2008.] "Eggtown" was watched by fifteen million Americans and received mixed reviews from critics. The cliffhanger was generally praised; however, the slow pace was criticized.

Plot

John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) is keeping Ben Linus (Michael Emerson) prisoner in the basement of the house that he has claimed in the Barracks. He prepares breakfast for him, but Ben taunts him and Locke becomes frustrated. Kate cuts a deal with Locke's prisoner Miles Straume (Ken Leung): he will tell her what he knows about her if he can speak to Ben for a minute. Miles wants to extort $3.2 million from Ben and, in return, Miles promises to lie to his employer that Ben is dead. Miles gives Ben a week to produce the cash. Before Locke finds them, Miles reveals that he knows all about Kate's past. Locke banishes Kate from the Barracks and goes to a lake house where Miles is being held captive. Locke puts a grenade in Miles's mouth so that if he ceases to bite, he will die. Kate sleeps with James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway) but does not have sex with him. Before Kate leaves for the camp at the beach, she slaps Sawyer across the face after he suggests that she is just pretending to be mad as an excuse to go back to Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) and continue their love triangle.Sarnoff, Elizabeth (writer) & Nations, Greggory (writer) & Williams, Stephen (director), "Eggtown". "Lost", ABC. Episode 4, season 4. Aired on February 21, 2008.]

Meanwhile, Jack returns to the survivors' beach camp with Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell) and newcomers Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) and Charlotte Lewis (Rebecca Mader). Jack and Juliet grow increasingly uneasy over a series of unsuccessful attempts to contact the freighter by satellite phone and verify that Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick), Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews) and Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey), who departed for the freighter by helicopter the previous evening, [Kitsis, Edward (writer) & Horowitz, Adam (writer) & Bender, Jack (director), "The Economist". "Lost", ABC. Episode 3, season 4. Aired on February 14, 2008.] have arrived safely. That evening, as Charlotte tests Daniel's memory using playing cards (Daniel successfully remembers two out of three cards, and Charlotte remarks that this is "progress"), Jack and Juliet ask if there is another phone number they could try. Charlotte dials an emergency number and speaks to Regina (Zoë Bell), who reports that the helicopter never arrived.

After leaving the island, Kate is famous as one of the Oceanic Six. She is tried for her numerous crimes committed before the crash and pleads not guilty. Because Kate is opposed to bringing her son into the trial, Jack is called in as a character witness. He lies in his testimony, saying that Flight 815 crashed in the water; eight survived the crash but two have since died and Kate was primarily responsible for the Oceanic Six's survival. Kate speaks with her mother Diane Janssen (Beth Broderick) for the first time in four years. Diane is no longer angry at Kate because her perspective changed when she thought that Kate had died in the plane crash. When Diane, the prosecution's star witness, no longer wants to testify against her daughter, the District Attorney makes a plea deal: Kate gets ten years probation, but must stay in the state of California. Jack meets Kate in the parking garage. He admits that he still loves her and asks to go out for coffee with her. Kate responds that they cannot go out until he is willing to visit her baby. Kate is raising Claire Littleton's (Emilie de Ravin) son Aaron (William Blanchette) as her own.Lilly, Evangeline, (February 22, 2008) " [http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=podcast Official "Lost" Video Podcast #404] ", "ABC". Retrieved on February 23, 2008.]

Production

Greggory "Gregg" Nations worked as the script coordinator for the late 1990s CBS television series "Nash Bridges". [" [http://tv.yahoo.com/greggory-nations/contributor/759989 Greggory Nations Credits] ", "Yahoo!". Retrieved on February 27, 2008.] "Lost"'s show runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse—the former was a writer and the latter was the show runner for "Nash Bridges"—hired Nations to serve as "Lost"'s script coordinator in the 2005 alongside pre-production of the second season. [Robinson, Shawna, (October 4, 2006) " [http://www.mydjconnection.com/articles/2006/10/04/community/news5.txt Farmington Man Has Inside Scoop on "Lost"—But Don't Ask Him What's Next] ", "Daily Journal Online". Retrieved on February 27, 2008.] Nations re-watched every episode and created a series "bible" and timeline. [Nations, Greggory, (January 10, 2006) " [http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=31627 What a Script Coordinator Does] ", "The Fuselage". Retrieved on February 27, 2008.] Nations made his direct "Lost" writing debut with "Eggtown". Nations would be promoted to a co-producer for the show's fifth season. [Dos Santos, Kristin, (May 9, 2008) " [http://ca.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=30ea40d8-c950-4ae6-af8e-3c7cd60d6384 Is Claire Dead? Are They Really Time Traveling? "Lost"'s Bosses Speak!] ", E!. Retrieved on June 27, 2008.]

Lindelof and Cuse hyped in September 2007 that "Eggtown" would conclude Kate's potential pregnancy. [Lindelof, Damon & Cuse, Carlton (September 21, 2007) " [http://ll.media.abc.com/podcast/audio/abc/Lostpodcast_20070921.mp3 Official "Lost" Audio Podcast] ", "ABC". Retrieved on March 9, 2008.] After having sex a few times in the third season, [Lindelof, Damon (writer) & Cuse, Carlton (writer) & Gates, Tucker (director), "I Do". "Lost", ABC. Episode 6, season 3. Aired on November 8, 2006.] Kate and Sawyer begin to wonder if Kate is pregnant. [Lindelof, Damon (writer) & Cuse, Carlton (writer) & Bender, Jack (director), "Through the Looking Glass". "Lost", ABC. Episode 22, season 3. Aired on May 23, 2007.] In "Eggtown", Kate exclaims to Sawyer that she is not pregnant and Sawyer rejoices, causing Kate to become angry with him and suddenly leave the Barracks. Evangeline Lilly was excited by Kate's new connection to Aaron. Lilly has said that if she could choose to play another "Lost" character, it would be Claire because of Aaron; now she gets to have Aaron while portraying Kate. She also enjoyed Kate having more responsibility because it puts her in a different situation from previous seasons.

The word "Eggtown" is not directly referenced in the episode, resulting in online speculation and confusion.Stafford, Nikki, (February 22, 2008) " [http://www.wizarduniverse.com/022208getlost.html Lies and the Lying Oceanic Six Liars Who Tell Them…] ", "Wizard". Retrieved on February 23, 2008.] According to Lindelof and Cuse, it has been "the most questioned title of the show". [Lindelof, Damon & Cuse, Carlton, (March 11, 2008) " [http://ll.media.abc.com/podcast/audio/itunes/LOST_407_audio_podcast_2639b9f3-d701-4360-b0d4-ae298886bd2d_1591126.mp3 Official "Lost" Audio Podcast] ", "ABC". Retrieved on March 1, 2008.] Jeff Jensen of "Entertainment Weekly" suggested that the title was a reference to the ancient cosmic egg concept or the chicken or the egg causality dilemma,Jensen, Doc "Jeff", (February 22, 2008) " [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20179616_3,00.html Not What We Eggspected] ", "Entertainment Weekly". Retrieved on February 23, 2008.] while John Kubicek of "BuddyTV" guessed that it was a shout-out to the children's book and film called "The Easter Egg Adventure", which depicts roosters attempting to steal Easter eggs from the animals of a place called Egg Town or that it was an allusion to the Great Depression slang term, which was used in the 1930s when describing a bad deal. [Kubicek, John, (February 22, 2008) " [http://www.buddytv.com/articles/lost/lost-easter-eggs-episode-44-eg-16901.aspx "Lost" Easter Eggs: Episode 4.4 'Eggtown'] ", "BuddyTV". Retrieved on March 2, 2008.] Lindelof and Cuse confirmed that the episode was primarily named as such because Locke fries eggs for Ben's breakfast and secondarily because the story deals with Kate's possible pregnancy. [Lindelof, Damon & Cuse, Carlton (February 29, 2008) " [http://ll.media.abc.com/podcast/audio/abc/LOST_406_audio_podcast_1577829_9c4b902f-9f7a-4bee-b52c-56931d18ff90.mp3 Official "Lost" Audio Podcast] ", "ABC". Retrieved on March 1, 2008.]

"Eggtown" continues "Lost"'s pattern of featuring numerous literary references, [Oldenburg, Ann, (October 4, 2006) " [http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2005-10-04-lost-literature_x.htm Is "Lost" a Literal Enigma?] ", "USA Today". Retrieved on February 27, 2008.] which may allude to a favourite book of the writers or a story similar to that of a character. ["The "Lost" Book Club". "", Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Featurette, disc 7. Released on December 11, 2007.] Locke gives Ben Philip K. Dick's "VALIS", a 1981 science fiction novel about a gnostic vision of one aspect of God. [Dick, Philip K., (1981) "VALIS". Bantam Books, ISBN 0-553-14156-2.] Sawyer reads "The Invention of Morel", a 1940 science fiction novel by Argentinian writer Adolfo Bioy Casares about a fugitive who hides on a deserted Indican island where the people are only images and do not exist. [Casares, Adolfo Bioy, (1940) "The Invention of Morel". Editorial Losada.]

Reception

"Eggtown" was watched by 13.647 million American viewers, ranking "Lost" seventh of the week in Nielsen Ratings. [Bauder, David, (February 26, 2008) " [http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/2008-02-26-2667842887_x.htm Three Nights of "Idol" Beat One "Oscars" Night] ", "Associated Press". Retrieved on February 26, 2008.] The episode was watched by a total of 15.438 million viewers, including those who watched within seven days of broadcast, making it the most recorded show of the week; this number went toward the year-end season average. [Gorman, Bill, (March 10, 2008) " [http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/03/10/top-timeshifted-broadcast-shows-february-18-24/2888 Top Time-Shifted Broadcast Shows, February 18–24] ", "TV by the Numbers". Retrieved on March 26, 2008.] It received at least 5.7/13 in the key adults 18–49 demographic. ["ABC Medianet", (February 26, 2008) " [http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=022608_02 Primetime Ratings Report] ". Retrieved on February 26, 2008.] The Canadian broadcast was seen by 1.615 million people, making it the ninth most watched show of the week. ["BBM Canada", (February 28, 2008) " [http://www.bbm.ca/en/nat02182008.pdf Top Programs: Total Canada (English)] ". Retrieved on March 3, 2008.] In the United Kingdom, "Lost" brought in 1.1 million viewers. [Holmwood, Leigh, (February 25, 2008) " [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/feb/25/tvratings.television To See You Nice, Say Brucie's 6.5 Million] ", "The Guardian". Retrieved on March 3, 2008.] Amidst speculation that "Lost" would be pulled from the schedule, 780,000 Australians tuned in to "Eggtown" and made it the nineteenth most watched show of the night. [Dale, David, (February 29, 2008) " [http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2008/02/next_ratings.html The Who We Are Update: Week 9 of the Ratings Race] ", "The Sun-Herald". Retrieved on March 3, 2008.] Nevertheless it was in the top ten programs of the night in each of the key adults 25–54, 18–49 and 16–39 demographics. ["Seven Network", (February 28, 2008) " [http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/enews/seven/Seven-Daily-Ratings-Report-290208.html Daily Ratings Report] ". Retrieved on March 8, 2008.]

Robert Bianco of "USA Today" praised Lilly's performance, saying that it was almost worthy of a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. [Bianco, Robert, (June 12, 2008) " [http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/televisionawards/emmys/2008-06-12-emmy-ballot_N.htm Who Will Make Emmy Happy?] ", "USA Today". Retrieved on June 13, 2008.] "TV Guide"'s Michael Ausiello dubbed "Eggtown" the best episode of the first four episodes of the fourth season. [Ausiello, Michael, (February 21, 2008) " [http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Ausiello-Scoop-Asterisk/800033916 Last Night's "Lost": An Asterisk Quiz Solved!] ", "TV Guide". Retrieved on February 22, 2008.] Nikki Stafford of "Wizard" described it as a "great episode" and observed that it features "the first conversation between Jin and Sun [of the] season. Interesting that last season so many fans were up in arms for the [early third season] because we didn't get to see enough of the other characters, and this season we're seeing even less of the others, yet no one is complaining. Looks like the writers finally found the right balance." "Entertainment Weekly"'s Jeff Jensen thought that the episode "was all about moving all the simmering subplots forward so the next episodes can drive them home". Kristin Dos Santos of "E!" called the episode's final plot twist "fantastic" and "unexpected". [Dos Santos, Kristin, (February 22, 2008) " [http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=c8b60faf-6fec-459d-b75b-88d842ad9f9b Holy Mother of *****!] ", "E!". Retrieved on February 22, 2008.] "Digital Spy"'s Ben Rawson-Jones called it the best of the first four episodes of the season with four out of five stars, saying that "the courtroom scenes were very well executed, with a marked difference in the characterisation of Jack [who] has become known as the trustworthy, honest type since Oceanic Flight 815 crashed, so his blatant lies about the island under oath were definitely dramatic." [Rawson-Jones, Ben, (February 24, 2008) " [http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a90097/s04e04-eggtown.html S04E04: 'Eggtown'] ", "Digital Spy". Retrieved on June 16, 2008.] Erin Martell of AOL's "TV Squad" reviewed "Eggtown" positively, writing that it "not many shows could mix topics like blackmail, grenades, and motherhood into one episode, but "Lost" pulled it off." [Martell, Erin, (February 22, 2008) " [http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/02/22/lost-eggtown "Lost": 'Eggtown'] ", "TV Squad". Retrieved on February 23, 2008.] Jon Lachonis of "UGO" claimed that "Lost" "again blew everybody's minds" with "Eggtown". [Lachonis, Jon "DocArzt", (February 21, 2008) " [http://tvblog.ugo.com/index.php/tvblog/more/lost_the_constant_spoilery_preview 'The Constant' Spoilery Preview] ", "UGO". Retrieved on February 23, 2008.] "BuddyTV"'s Oscar Dahl commented that "those last few [flash] forward scenes were genius. The writers really out-did themselves." [Dahl, Oscar, (February 22, 2008) " [http://www.buddytv.com/articles/lost/lost-what-about-the-baybay-16887.aspx What About the 'Bay-Bay?'] ", "BuddyTV". Retrieved on February 23, 2008.] Jay Glatfelter of "The Huffington Post" thought that "Eggtown" "effectively kept up the frantic pace that this season has set, answering some really good questions while effectively bringing up new ones." [Glatfelter, Jay, (February 22, 2008) " [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-glatfelter/on-lost-eggtown_b_87980.html On "Lost": 'Eggtown'] ", "The Huffington Post". Retrieved on June 16, 2008.]

Patrick Day of the "Los Angeles Times" found "Eggtown" to be set at a slower pace than other episodes of the season and said that "the witness stand as forum for revelation … holds no appeal for me." [Day, Patrick, (February 22, 2008) " [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2008/02/lost-1.html Get Your Lies Straight] ", "Los Angeles Times". Retrieved on February 26, 2008.] "Newsday"'s Diane Werts of had mixed feelings about "Eggtown". She criticized the lack of plot twists, stating that "that last-second 'reveal' of [Kate raising Aaron] turned out to be a bit of a dud". Werts also critiqued the execution and acting, calling the trial "blandly delivered" and Lilly and Fox "expressionless". [Werts, Diane, (February 22, 2008) " [http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/blog/2008/02/lost_gets_lost_in_katedom.html "Lost" Gets Lost in Kate-Dom] ", "Newsday". Retrieved on February 26, 2008.] Alan Sepinwall of "The Star-Ledger" dubbed "Eggtown" "the weakest episode of the season", [Sepinwall, Alan, (March 6, 2008) " [http://blog.nj.com/alltv/2008/03/lost_goodwin_some_lose_some.html Goodwin Some, Lose Some] ", "The Star-Ledger". Retrieved on March 7, 2008.] partially because he also was unimpressed with the lack of plot twists and does not find Kate to be a compelling character. [Sepinwall, Alan, (February 21, 2008) " [http://blog.nj.com/alltv/2008/02/lost_gone_baby_gone.html Gone Baby Gone] ", "The Star-Ledger". Retrieved on February 28, 2008.] "The San Diego Union-Tribune"'s Karla Peterson gave a mixed review, writing that "last night's "Lost" was not amazing, until it slammed us upside the head with a plot curveball that left us unable to remember whatever doubts we may have had, say, one minute before." [Peterson, Karla, (February 22, 2008) " [http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/tvtracker/archives/019990.html "Lost": 'Eggtown'] ", "The San Diego Union-Tribune". Retrieved on June 16, 2008.] Daniel of "TMZ" gave the episode a "D", partially because the twist ending had been spoiled for him. [Daniel, (February 22, 2008) " [http://my.tmz.com/2008/02/22/lost-diary-eggtown "Lost" Diary: 'Eggtown'] ", "TMZ". Retrieved on March 15, 2008.] "IGN"'s Chris Carabott rated it the worst of the first four by scoring it as a 7.6/10. He wrote that the flashforward was "out of place" and that the "final revelation was shocking … but "Lost" can't survive on shock value alone." [Carabott, Chris, (February 22, 2008) " [http://tv.ign.com/articles/854/854179p1.html Kate Causes Trouble for Locke and His Group] ", "IGN". Retrieved on February 23, 2008.] Daniel MacEachern of "Television Without Pity" gave the episode a "B", the lowest grade for a fourth season episode from the website. [MacEachern, Daniel, (February 27, 2008) " [http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/Shows/Lost/Stories/Eggtown Thanks, But I'm Not Hungry] ", "Television Without Pity". Retrieved on March 7, 2008.]

References