Before I received the talking Charlie Pace figurine from McFarlane Toys last Christmas, I had no idea that there was a line of LOST
toys. While Charlie is almost certainly the best of the bunch in terms
of craftsmanship, I was eager to complete my trio of favorite characters
by securing John Locke and Hurley Reyes, and when I spotted the deluxe
diorama for half price, I snagged that too. I told myself I would stop
there. But this fall, I happened upon Kate Austen for half price while
attempting to sneak a peek at the second line of LOST figures,
which includes Sun and Jin Kwon, Sawyer Ford and Mr. Eko. Alas, there
was no sign of them, but when I spotted Kate sitting next to Charlie
with a big clearance tag on her, I was moved. Kate would be joining my
menagerie.
Kate is an interesting character, spunky and compassionate but full of dark secrets. Her back story reminds me of Catch Me If You Can,
with the U. S. Marshall Edward Mars dogging her steps as she hops from
town to town, leaving a trail of crime behind her. In her own way, Kate
is as much a con artist as Sawyer, but her intentions tend to be purer
than his. For the most part, I really like her in the first season,
though in the second and third season I've begun to find her frustrating
as she zips back and forth between Sawyer and Jack and acts in
headstrong ways that endanger her fellow castaways.
McFarlane
captures Kate in an early moment of derring-do. One of her laudable
traits is that she's not afraid to get filthy, making her much more
useful in the early post-crash days than Shannon, the pedicured
princess. Surrounding her on the stand are big bunches of bamboo. This
three-dimensional background is probably my favorite aspect of the
figure.
What I don't like is the way Kate's sleeves, wet,
wrinkled and dirty, look like tree branches, and that extends to her
hands as well. I kid you not. It was the first thing I noticed when I
laid eyes on her, and when I showed the figure to my friend Dan, he
declared, "She looks like Grandmother Willow!" That's not too far off
the mark. I'm all for Ents, but Kate is fully human and shouldn't look
like she's about to sprout leaves. Frankly, I find it disturbing -
though maybe it's a veiled reference to Evangeline Lilly's romance with
Dom Monaghan, former Ent-rider?
Her hair hangs lankly behind
her head in a ponytail, with strands brushing across her forehead. She
wears a muddy pair of jeans and a dingy blue tank top, over top of which
is the khaki shirt with the bizarre sleeves. Her hardy shoes are the
practical ones Jack insisted she wear.
I'm not overly impressed with Kate's sound clips, which include...
* "If you're thinking about going for the cockpit, I'm going with you."
* "Well, I only made out with him because torturing him didn't work."
* "JACK!!!!!!" *thunderclap* "One... two... three... four... five!"
That last one is particularly annoying because you have to press the
button between the thunderclap and the counting, which is practically
impossible to understand over top of the downpour in the background. All
three quotes, from the Pilot and Confidence Man, are directed
toward Jack, though the second involves Sawyer. Kate was certainly very
involved with Jack throughout the first season, and the inclusion of the
Sawyer quote is a reminder of the continuing tensions there. But it
seems slightly excessive that all three of her quotes basically are
about her chasing after Jack. I'd like to think there's a bit more to
Kate than that...
At least the prop has nothing to do with
Jack, though it is a souvenir of a sincere romantic attachment. I don't
remember if the plastic plane that she kept as a reminder of the
childhood sweetheart for whose death she feels responsible is supposed
to be missing a propeller. Mine is, but otherwise it's very nifty and
rather more durable than the paper props included with all of the series
one figures except for Charlie (whose ring, I found out the hard way,
is not quite as hardy as it looks).
If you're a big Kate fan,
you'll want to pick up this figure. If you can find it in the store,
it'll most likely be half-price; otherwise, check it out online, and
while you're at it, see if you are interested in any of the other folks.
The series two figures could especially use a little love, lest
McFarlane decide not to go ahead with series three, which is slated to
include Claire, Sayid, Ben and - joy of joys - Desmond. Though Kate is
not the most realistic-looking of the bunch, she's still a great
stand-alone or addition to an existing collection.
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