Kate (as well as Juliet and Sawyer) had no business deciding how to care for Ben.
His father was right there, it should have been his decision.

Kate panics in the grocery store when she thinks someone is taking Aaron, yet she does the same thing to Ben's dad.

It was Ben's dad's decision to decide how to treat his son.
They basically treat him like dirt.

Admittedly, his Dad might not know what the others can do, although I'm not sure that Kate or Juliet know for sure as well.

And they might also have trouble explaining how they know anything to him and the rest.

But, that was their obligation. They could have said Ben would die if he remained there, but might could be treated by the Hostiles. They could explain the options and provide recommendations.

Their plan had a lot of risks, and when they get to the end, some costs as well.
What makes them think that they should decide Ben's fate?

They aren't deciding his fate, they know that he goes on to live, and they help, so they know they must be part of the reason he is alive. They probably figured his dad would never agree to let the others help Ben and they didnt have much time, so they did what had to be done.

Kate (as well as Juliet and Sawyer) had no business deciding how to care for Ben.
His father was right there, it should have been his decision.

Kate panics in the grocery store when she thinks someone is taking Aaron, yet she does the same thing to Ben's dad.


Interesting point. Come to think of it, Roger was with Kate in the hospital. Where was he when they put Ben into the van? So as you say, why do two carpool workers get to decide the fate of a fatally injured DI member, a minor whose father is right there?

Interesting point. Come to think of it, Roger was with Kate in the hospital. Where was he when they put Ben into the van? So as you say, why do two carpool workers get to decide the fate of a fatally injured DI member, a minor whose father is right there?

Very interesting stuff. While everyone was condemning Jack for not helping, Kate and Jules did some nastiness...didn't even think of them talking to Roger or anything. Hmmm.
On this show, no one is ever totally right, no one's ever totally wrong.

Yes, grey areas indeed. To be fair, Kate and Juliet witnessed Roger's anxiety and grief, so they knew he was desperate to save Ben (who else would he kick around and torment otherwise?).

Still, I agree they took matters completely into their own hands. I don't think they did it for the reasons stated by NotanOther (no offence :) ) I think they were motivated primarily by 'saving a child', rather than 'he has to survive because he grows up.' There was clear distress on Kate's face for Ben, and Sawyer told Kate that Juliet had said 'she wouldn't let a kid die,' despite that kid being Ben.

Besides, when Kate asked Juliet 'but he can't die, right?' implying he'd make it due to his future self being alive, Juliet wasn't sure at all: he will die, his medical condition is unresolvable. It's just that by doing what they did, they fulfilled their own roles (sort of like a self fulfilling prophecy almost).

I could be wrong, of course :) It's been known to happen!

Kate (as well as Juliet and Sawyer) had no business deciding how to care for Ben. His father was right there, it should have been his decision.
This is a most excellent thread and posting, RiverRat. I totally agree with you. Being a father myself, I couldn't help but notice this, too, and I'm glad someone brought it up here.

Roger is such a tragic figure. He's almost so tragic that his character is at the risk of being a cardboard cutout instead of a real human being. I can think of no one - except perhaps his son Ben - whose life story has more outright tragedy in Lost than Roger.

Perhaps that's why Kate is so drawn to him. She's had a lot of tragedy in her life, too. And even though she knows he will some day be discovered by Vincent as "Skeletor" in the VW van in the woods, she still seems to be inexplicably drawn to him. Fascinating.

Because Roger isn't Ben's biological father. Juliet knew all this would happen because Ben told her and she knew she would need to take him to the others. The entire scene was manipulated by Juliet to achieve that outcome.

Juliet has been working with Ben all along. Anyone who thinks she is either sincere or honest hasn't been reading the tea leaves.

Juliet and Ben = running the long con :cool:

anyway back on topic I think Juliet and Kate thought they needed to do something because it was Sayid who shot little Ben, it was one of them that did it so they felt some how responsible. If they had never come back lil Ben would never have been shot.

Interesting point. Come to think of it, Roger was with Kate in the hospital. Where was he when they put Ben into the van? So as you say, why do two carpool workers get to decide the fate of a fatally injured DI member, a minor whose father is right there?

Wasn't Roger at (or at least heading toward) the medical station to get supplies for Juliet? Maybe another instance where Juliet wanted Roger out of the way so she could get Ben to the others. It's a stretch, but maybe...

Wasn't Roger at (or at least heading toward) the medical station to get supplies for Juliet?

Yes, it looked like she got the idea of taking him to the Hostiles shortly after she had sent Roger to the medical station for supplies. So it could possibly be argued that there wasn't any time to lose, and action had to be taken then or else he was going to die, and they couldn't wait around for Roger to return to give his informed consent. It's a good point though. I have to admit it didn't even occur to me.

Yes, it looked like she got the idea of taking him to the Hostiles shortly after she had sent Roger to the medical station for supplies. So it could possibly be argued that there wasn't any time to lose, and action had to be taken then or else he was going to die, and they couldn't wait around for Roger to return to give his informed consent. It's a good point though. I have to admit it didn't even occur to me.
Yeah, and if they'd have tried to explain to Roger why they were taking little Ben to the Hostiles, it would have probably not been a very easy thing to do. Indeed, there are many reasons why this would have been a bad idea. But be that as it may, they did screw up by taking Ben to Richard without his father's consent. I wonder what Roger's reaction is going to be when he gets back from the medical station with the supplies, and his son is missing. Hmmm....

My hunch is that Juliet realized from Kate's reaction when she came in to give blood that Jack wasn't going to help and she had to move to plan B (Plan A was to get Jack to help and out him as a spy and neutralize his threat to Sawyer's authority-another thread, I know.) At that time, Kate gives the blood and Roger comes in. Ben has his "episode" and Juliet tells the nurse to get Roger out of there. Shortly thereafter, she sends him off on what appears to be a "get him out of the way" mission to pick up some supplies. Then the revelation of the power of the Others to heal comes out of Juliet's mouth. She makes it seem as if Kate and she made the decision, but actually she got Roger out of the way so the seed could be planted and Kate could take action. Her plan backfired when Sawyer decided to help Kate, ironically, for Juliet. Now Sawyer is in the forbidden zone WITH Kate, and if they are caught, the jig is up and Sawyer is in trouble. THAT is why she was so upset with Jack, he messed up her plan.
So it was not Kate's decision, it was Juliet's plan.