Whatever the Case May Be

"Whatever the Case May Be" is the twelfth episode of the first season of Lost. It was directed by Jack Bender and written by Damon Lindelof and Jennifer Johnson. It first aired on January 5, 2005, on ABC. The character of Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly) is featured in the episode's flashbacks.

Plot

Flashbacks

Kate is in New Mexico, applying for a loan at a bank using an alias ("Maggie", "Meg", "Miss Ryan"). Three masked men with guns enter and attempt to rob the bank. Kate is thrust to the floor in the chaos. A man tells Kate that they can stop them before he grabs and disarms one. Kate grabs the gun but when the man tells her to shoot the thief she claims that she can't use a gun. One of the thieves pulls Kate into a back room after the situation is handled and they share a kiss, revealing that Kate is a part of the robbery. The man hits Kate to make it look as if she's an innocent civilian, and threatens to kill her unless the manager takes them to the cash vaults. In the back, one of the robbers tells the manager that the whole robbery was Kate's idea. However, she shoots the felons and tells the manager to open the safety deposit box #815 — the true reason for the robbery. The manager opens the safety deposit box and Kate takes the contents inside: a single envelope.