Kate Hewson

Kate Hewson, later known as Kate Ballinger, is a former Secret Service Agent and one of the two who mysteriously went missing in Sayward Pines.

History
Kate started working for the American Secret Service in their offices in Seattle and at some point, she was assigned to be the partner of Ethan Burke. After Ethan's leniency in one of one of his cases led to the murders of many innocent people, she tried to comfort him. Their relationship soon evolved from professional partners to lovers. Eventually, she decided to transfer to Boise.

Later, while Kate was travelling with partner Bill Evans trough Idaho looking for a man called David Pilcher, they got in an accident and she woke up in a mysterious town called Wayward Pines. Initially, she tried to escape, and after one week, she managed to call her boss trough a secure line. He told her that she was in a goverment experiment, and that some day, she could be tested, even by a fellow agent.[1]

She fought to escape the town, and discovered the electrified fence. However, Kate was captured, taken to a padded room, and forced to use a straitjacket. For two months, Kate was under Dr. Jenkins's care. He evaluated her progress, and heard her rambling about the town she was in. Many times, Nurse Pam injected her to calm her.

Eventually, she realised that she had to pretend to fit in, in order to leave that cell. She pretended to understand the life in Wayward Pines, and she was allowed to leave her cell and start a life on her own. Kate had nightmares about her time locked in, and went to see Dr. Jenkins at the hospital regularly. She talked about her feelings with him, making him believe that she was fitting in better, and he prescribed her with antidepressives.[2]

During her time out, Kate met people like her, willing to talk about the past and their lives at Wayward Pines. She found in them a support group, and commented with them how much she missed her friends from her life before. There, she met Harold Ballinger, Franklin Dobbs, and several other people.[3]

Nurse Pam introduced her to Harold outside those meeting, hoping that they would get married and have children together.[1] Kate got to know Harold, and his past. To make their facade better, after one year of Kate's arrival to Wayward Pines, she married Harold, with Kate taking his last name.[4]

As the years went by, Kate kept going to meetings with Jenkins.[2] She and Harold visited Pam at the hospital annually. In these meetings, they discussed about the possibilities of Kate having kids with Harold.[1]

Near four years after Kate's arrival to Wayward Pines, Harold and her opened a toy store on Main Street. Harold made the toys, and Kate sold them.[4]

For ten years, Kate Ballinger lived a "happy life" with her husband, following the Seven Rules of the town. One day, her fellow agent, Bill Evans showed up in town, but he hadn't aged a day since the last time she saw him ten years ago.

Two years later, another of her fellow agents, Ethan Burke, appeared in town. She was at a barbecue in a park, and Ethan followed her and her husband to their house after they left. When Harold told Kate that an old friend was there, she stepped outside to talk to Ethan. She informed him about how twelve years had passed for her, and how there were being watched. When Ethan tried to get more out of her, she told him that he was putting not just his life in danger, but also hers and Harlord's. Finally, she stood up, and went inside the house, but not before telling his former partner that he could have a happy life in Wayward Pines.[5]

The next day, Ethan went into the toy store where Kate worked, and confronted her about the fake money the town was using. Despite his best efforts, Kate kept her facade and ignored Ethan's statements. However, she did tell him about Bill's wife, and where to find her. Before he left, Kate told Ethan the rules of the town.

She and Harold saw Beverly Brown and Ethan together, and invited them to their home to have dinner the next night. When Beverly accidentally talked about the past, Kate began to encourage her to say more on the topic, seemingly trying to make her break the rules further, but the bartender avoid the conversation by leaving the table. After not hearing from her, Kate tried to check on Beverly, but Ethan insisted in doing it. When he came back, he announced that Beverly was having an issue, and that they would have to leave. Now alone, Harold asked his wife if she thought that they would run, something she was sure about. The town's phones started ringing, and the couple joined the rest of the town when Beverly was captured to be reckoned.

Before Sheriff Pope cut Beverly's throat, he thanked Kate and Harold for turning her in, or at least helping the process.[6] The couple watched Beverly bleed out and then joined the rest of the town in reciting the Seven Rules.

Once the reckoning was over, Kate returned to her house, where she found Ethan waiting for her. She used the noise of the pot to avoid being heard, and told Ethan that they weren't the ones who turned Beverly in, but Arnold. She admited that she had blood on her hands for not stopping it, and told Ethan to take his second chance and to hold on to his chip. When Ethan offered to come with him, she replied that he would never make it.

Kate met Ethan by his new house, and they went to the forest to talk. Ethan let Kate know that his family was there. They talked about Evans, and the time that had passed since she woke up there. She admitted that she tried to escape, but eventually she gave up, and started playing along. Before parting ways, Ethan told her that she should go to talk to him whenever she was ready to stop pretending.[7]

While she was in the toy store, Kate saw Theresa coming trough the door asking for something for her son. When Kate let a music box playing its music, Kate whispered to Theresa that she had thirty seconds to say what she needed. Theresa asked her if Ethan made the same choice as her when it came about family, and Kate told her he hadn't. She apologized for hurting Theresa's family, and when the music stopped, Theresa left the store.

That night, Kate and Harold went to the Biergarten, and she noticed Ethan and Theresa having diner with Major Fisher and his wife Megan, which distracted her from a conversation she was having with her husband.[8]

For the twelve years she spent in Wayward Pines, Kate Ballinger had been living a double life. On one hand, she was a toy store worker living happily with her husband, but on the other, she was part of a faction that had removed their tracking chips and organized a plan to take down the fence. She, along with her husband, Ted Laufer, Peter McCall, and several other residents worked together. But when Peter died, an important package that he had went missing.

Ted passed by the toy store and delivered a package to Kate, and then asked for a package that was on the back. Kate guided the mailman to the other room to meet with Harold. Knowing that that place didn't have surveillance, they freely talk about their plan. When Kate figured that the missing piece could be in Peter's office, Kate took the new employee, Theresa, out to leave the place as empty as possible.

On the coffee shop, Kate tried to start a conversation about moving to a new house, but Theresa cut her off, asking what was really happening. Kate admitted that she was trying to make peace with her, since they wouldn't be able to hide from each other in such a small town. When the waitress mentioned that she didn't know that they knew each other, the women said that they did, from older times. Kate proceeded to say that she wanted a change, that that was something it took her time to realize, and she didn't want to pretend like everything was okay. She ended the conversation saying that in those times, everyone needed to be friends.

Back at the toy store, Kate found that Harold had already finished his project, and discussed with him about the innocents that may get hurt. She highlighted the fact that she needed Harold to do that, and asked him if he was with her.[3]

The following day, Harold met Kate and told her that Ethan had taken him to the Sheriff Office, and then released him with a note for her. After reading it, she went to the sheriff's house, where he told Kate that he had removed all surveillance, meaning they could talk freely. Kate started by saying that she didn't put the bomb on his car, but Ethan said that she did know who had put it in there, since she was the group's leader. Though initially Kate tried to deny it, it became evident that she had to talk about the topic. She declared that that group was the only thing keeping her sane, and that it didn't start as a mean to escape, but as a support group. When Ethan asked her why hadn't she told him any of that when he got there, Kate explained that she had been twelve years there, and that she saw him becoming the sheriff in just one week. Ethan then told her that they needed to stop, but when Kate asked why should she stop trying to escape, Ethan confessed that the world had changed a lot, and that many years had gone by. Ethan asked Kate to surrender their weapons and give up, and everything would stay between them. Convinced that what he was saying was a lie, but needing to leave, she agreed.

After her talk with Ethan, Kate went to the toy store, where she declared to Harold that they should execute their plan that night. Her husband reasoned that they shouldn't, since the sheriff was onto them, but the agent said that because of that, they had a narrow window to do it. She asked him to call everyone to let them know, but when the phone rang at the store rang and she answered, Pam remembered the woman that the couple had their annual fertility consultation at the hospital. Tough Kate tried to reschedule, Pam said that it wasn't possible, so the Ballingers went to the hospital to avoid raising suspicions.

During the consultation, Harold held his wife's hand, and before they left, he heard how Pam had such high hopes for them fathering a child, since their genes would make a great kid. In the hallway, Harold talked to Kate about gathering everyone and getting the two bombs they had ready, since they would only have one shot. When her husband asked her how much time did she need, she asked for all that he could get. The couple splitted and Kate took the elevator, but on her way down, it stopped on the second floor. Theresa entered the elevator, and the women shared their ride down in silence.

When Kate got off the elevator, however, Theresa asked to talk to her, since she was worried about Ethan. When Theresa asked her what was going was happening in Wayward Pines, Kate confessed that she thought that Ethan had been brainwashed, and told Kate about her phone call with agent Hassler. Before leaving, Kate mentioned that Theresa was a good person, and wished that they met in different circumstances.

That night, Kate met with part of her group at the fence, and told them that if anyone was having second thoughts, that was the time to leave. However, Ethan arrived asking Franklin to disarm the bomb. Seeing that none of them was willing to stop the timer, Ethan grabbed Kate and held her at gunpoint. Although she asked Franklin not to listen to the sheriff, the man disarmed the bomb. Ethan then took everyone to the station, and locked Kate separated from the other members of her group.

Ethan went into her cell, and tried to convince her to talk to the rest of the group to stop their operations. Instead, Kate told Ethan that although he didn't know, someone had done something to him and that her group wouldn't stop. When she said that, Ethan asked her where her husband was, and deduced that there was a backup bomb. The sheriff then rushed out, leaving Kate in her cell.[1]

The next morning, Kate woke up in her cell after a nightmare about her time hospitalized under Dr. Jenkins care. Next, she was questioned by Ethan, who told her about the bomb that exploded the night before, almost killing his son. When she heard that, Kate stood up concerned about the boy, but Ethan told her not to say his name. However, she apologised to him, deducing that the timer must have been wrong. When the sheriff insisted on knowing the whereabouts of the subversives, Kate told Ethan that she wouldn't tell him, since she, unlike Ethan, believed on what she was doing, while he was just following orders. She ended up the conversation explaining that the people that were still on the loose wanted to be free, and that she owed them that chance.

Later, Dr. Jenkins went to visit her. He informed her about the death of Ted, the two kids in hospital, and the missing people. He said that the actions that she was leading were the ones of a fanatic. Instead of replying to his accusations, Kate asked him if he was talking about her, or him, and revealed that she knew that he was David Pilcher. She said that she wanted to know what Wayward Pines really was, but Pilcher didn't respond. He said that it was a question of keeping people alive, and while he was leaving, she asked who gave him the authority to make that choice, to which he responded that he did.[2]

Members of the First Generation wanted justice for Amy and Ben, so they protested Ethan's lax justice. Three of them, headed by Jason Higgins, went to the sheriff's office and held everyone hostage, leading to the point-blank murder of Harold in front of Kate, as well as the death of all the other conspirators. She was nearly shot before Ethan shot and Jason.

Ethan kindly interrogated Kate again after the incident, but was interrupted by Theresa, who asked both of them to come with her to Plot 33. There, she discovered the truth about the town. During the mock reckoning, she assisted Ethan in telling the townspeople the truth and was defended by Theresa against Megan Fisher's cultish remarks about David Pilcher.