One Of Us
“See you in a week.” Indeed. A spectacular episode, most definitely beginning the sprint to the season finale. And for all the clues and answers we get in “One Of Us,” what kept Jen and I dazzled was the performances, the writing, the pacing. Some episodes feel a little off, but tonight, “LOST” was in top form.
I’ll say it again, Elizabeth Mitchell deserves an Emmy. Or two. Even though she and Michael Emerson are late additions to the cast, they are hands down the strongest actors on the show. And while our old friends have been around too long to be consistent, tonight I’d say almost everyone was spot on. Jack and Sayid at loggerheads. Sawyer and Kate all a’tingle. (I’m no “shipper,” but Sawyer’s expression upon spotting Kate melted my cold, cold heart.) Claire and Charlie, Sun and Jin… Altogether, quite possibly the most perfect episode in a while.
Juliet’s confrontation with Ben in the kitchen stands out in my mind. Emerson does creepy well, but he does “rattled” pretty good, too. Jen went back to watch Rachel and little Julian in the park twice… and got weepy both times. And Juliet and Goodwin in bed? It’s official. Juliet is crazy cool, and smokin’ hot.
But oh yes, the clues. The clues! Through a handful of familiar scenes from seasons past — including a surprisingly effective return to the eye-popping season premiere — many blanks are filled in. Seeing The Flame in action was great, and the news coverage of Oceanic Flight 815’s disappearance helps shut down a few of the more elaborate theories. At least until “the sky turned purple,” Ben and friends have clearly not lacked for access to information.
It was also a relief to have much of the emphasis on pregnancy and children spelled out. From why Juliet was recruited to why Ethan kidnapped Claire to why dear Sun is apparently in danger, there’s something about the island that’s unfriendly to offspring. Even more intriguing, Ben’s assertion that cancer is non-existant on the Island, and Juliet’s very good question: “If you can cure cancer Ben, then why do you have it?”
We also get another hint at Jacob’s endless talents. He can cure cancer. And the way Ben questioned Juliet’s faith in him sounded like a little more than being a good employee.
And the twist at the end, revealing the “left behind” Juliet to be the intensely talented manipulator we always knew her to be? Incredible.
Notes and notions:
- So does the pregnancy problem happen at conception or not? That was Juliet’s theory before finding out about Claire. But if Claire, who conceived before arriving on the island, developed symptoms, then Sun will too (which was strongly hinted at). What changed? And now I’m wondering… did Danielle give birth to Alex on the island, or before getting shipwrecked? (Presuming you believe her story at all.)
- It’s interesting to track how Juliet deals, or doesn’t deal, with death. She specifically told Jack she’s not comfortable with it. And Goodwin had to comfort her when Sabine died. Then again, she didn’t seem too conflicted about killing Pickett. Or, perhaps, even losing Goodwin.
- What is so special about the “last leg” of the journey to the island? If it requires a submarine, sedation, and restraints, it can’t just be deep sea currents. A submarine is a wonderful vessel for all kinds of sci-fi theories, and having finally watched “Donnie Darko” (after many fans linked it to “LOST” in Season 1), some of them actually make sense.
- The mark on the tree by Ethan’s old drop point looks like the same symbol Juliet was branded with. What does it mean? Someone at The Fuselage suggests it may be a variant of Pisces, or http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/11/1110.html “>sal ammoniacus. Whatever it is, its use on the tree seemed pretty innocuous compared to being “marked.”
- Location notes: The mysterious private airport in Miami was the Gannett printing facility in Kapolei, where The Honolulu Advertiser is printed. The Herarat Aviation (Herarat = Earhart?) lobby looked like the main branch of First Hawaiian Bank on Bishop Street. The submarine and pier are in the private ponds at Kualoa (where Jin visited his father in Season 2). Not sure where Rachel and Julian’s playground was, but I suspect it was Palolo again (where Jack stalked Sarah).
- Links: “One Of Us” discussion on TheFuselage.com, Lost-Forum.com, and USA Today’s Pop Candy
April 11th, 2007 at 7:31 am
i wonder if any baby on the island automatically gets the disease, and claire caugh it from aron? maybe alex had i and her team go sick, because her team didnt die, they joined the others. that would be an awesome twist. i mean, why would she kill her family and friends? i guess once we find out what kind of disease it is we’ll understand a lot more
April 11th, 2007 at 10:34 am
Babies, Are the Key to immunity on the Island.
They are born with whatever disease is. and a Natural immunity.
————————————————————-
Not sure exactly what Ethan was doing injecting Claire’s Belly, or drawing out, but that is odd treatment for, a virus or Communicable disease. Even Children may have Blank Slate kinda immune systems.
But the give and Take of this Island , has some bizzare, effects on folks, Giving Health to Locke, Rose and Sun/Jin
It make me think they are all in a state of Grace Like “Matrix” People…Fully believing that they are living full lives …but they are Doped up and in a stasis bed hooked up to a Big Brother Brain Machine…… That would account for all the
Kate Horse, Jack and his Dad, Walt Appering to Shannon and Sayid… Hurley and Dave…Locke and his Papa….Smokey.. Lockes Vision Quest..ect.
…There are so many events that COULD be explained by a BrainProjectionRoom…
Especially since All the Losties were on A Plane/All in the Same area and Easily controlled/Easily Doped and Convinced that their reality is what they want it to be.
Giving Health to Locke, Rose and Sun/Jin
April 11th, 2007 at 11:35 am
You know, I thought that for a long time a ploy like that would give the writers a “realistic” escape. Using the imagination in a coma-dream state front, nothing would be impossible- it could all be explained by a realistic grounding.
But, scenes like from the end of season 2 make me think otherwise. Why include a scene from the outside world if this is all a dream? I doubt the theory for that reason.
April 11th, 2007 at 11:52 am
But, anything Is possible to Coma-dream State even Group Imagry. (Outside world) It would be a cop out like
St. ElseWhere snow Globe Autistic Boy rip-off.
I would hope our writters, would go with SciFi TimeLoop or even Purgatory and the afterlife as a Bit more Palatable explanation.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very good..it answered a few questions with out…closing the doors on anything. This is what I expect….and just as Jack and others have said..they’ll do “anything” to get off the island….
April 11th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
All I can say is “MENSCH!” Tonite’s episode was fantastisch!!!!! Juliet is evil as hell!
April 11th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
One thing really stuck out to me in that scene at the Flame- the disappearance of Oceanic 815 was on the news and Mikhail was watching it. So it’s cool to know that the ‘outside world’ took notice of the missing flight; I guess the question now would be: are they still looking? The last 5 minutes were so twisted, but I’m hoping that Juliet is just ‘doing whatever she can to get off the island.’ Even if that means to infiltrate the 815′ers by the command of Ben. Elizabeth Mitchell, please stay on Lost forever.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
oh yes Juliet is evil…and then some…see ya in a week. I have money that all the others were back at the compound before Jack and the rest hit the perimeter. Along with Juliet…Ben is an evil mother also.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Juliet, you trifling bitch!
April 11th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
wow, those last 5 minutes were pretty devastating. i got taken by the “goodness” of juliet. i can’t believe it! obviously everyone is in mortal danger, especially sun. everyone should listen to sayiid and sawyer, at least they can detect the b.s., she is dishing. i think these last five espisodes of season three will be great.
April 11th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Once again, an awesome episode.
I do not know what to think of how we saw Juliet in hte last scenes of the show. Usually, the writers have kept this kind of evil hidden for a while; but now we all know for sure that Juliet is just pretending, infiltrating the 815′ers under the command of Ben. This opens a big question: why? what is her real mission at the beach camp?
However, I got to see some sort of “good” side to the Others’ behavior and motivations. Ethan “improvised” when he kidnapped Claire (Jack should have asked why Ethan almost killed Charlie back then, just to see what kind of answer Juliet would give). But all the Others wanted (again, according to Juliet) was to save both Aaron and Claire. I don’t know, but that shows to me a “good” side of them, even if we still do not fully understand the motivation behind that, or behind the research Juliet “HAS BEEN” conducting –notice I do not want to use past tense because I am guessing she is still working on the fertility issue on the island.
But we gather so far that this community of people living on the island just can’t procreate in the island. I would guess it has something to do with time. We know for sure (the producers have said it) that “time on the island may be different to time off the island”; so, given that human gestation requires 36 or so weeks in normal circumstances, the mysterious island powers affecting time prevents women from giving birth.
And I wonder how long it will take Kate to speak up about Sun’s alledged (miraculous) pregnancy. this show keeps getting better and better.
Peace.
April 11th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Just a couple of Questions for anyone who can answer them:
The preview for next week says something about the final FIVE episodes for this season. Does that mean that this season will end on May 16 (not May 23rd as I had thought)? Does it mean that we only get 21 episodes this season instead of 23 (the last episode is usually a two hour show) like in the past two seasons? Please HELP!
April 11th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
I fell for it
I hated her then i liked her now i am completely mystified by her…juliet you have completely f’d with my head…..
wow what an episode
the way she handled sawyer and sayid was was the most emasculating scene ever put on tv…bravo to the writers and Elizabeth Mitchell!!!!
April 11th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Did anyone else think they saw micheal on the sub. I think he was one of the guys sitting in the sub when juliet woke up.
April 11th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
What the heck!!! That episode answered so many questions! I also tend to think Juliet is evil, but she may be planning a switcheroo on Ben…we don’t know what transpired between the time he took her to the Flame station and the time when they were planning her fake “left behind” scenario. Also, I don’t see any of Ethan’s or the Others’ actions as altrustic at all. The Losties were just fresh meat for them to do more experiments on like rats in a lab and that is their only value to the Others. It was important to keep Claire alive not because she is a fellow human being, but because she could help them to solve their population problem. Such a good episode! My husband thinks I’m a Lost-obsessed nut! He may be right!
April 11th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Did Juliet tell Jack that Ethan kept medicine in the cage where he was being kept? Because how is she to explain how fast she got to the 815 camp or did any1 notice?
April 11th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Fernando – I believe the preview stated that it was the last five episodes BEFORE the season finale.
April 11th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Losr in Lost – I think she said ‘near the caves’.
April 12th, 2007 at 12:49 am
Two observations about what I thought was an outstanding episode. 1) Mikhail was able to gather info at the Flame because it appeared he was monitoring TV news stations etc…. but how did they know about the man Sawyer killed the night before he got on the plane? That wasn’t on any newscast and certainly wasn’t public knowledge. 2) Juliet, I think, is clearly not a diehard “other” like Ben and Richard and Ethan, she wants away from those people as badly as anything. I compare her to Michael, she’s willing to do just about anything Ben suggests to her if there is even the slightest chance it’ll get her off the island (including selling out the 815′ers). By the way, what do you think happens in a week? Will Juliet go back to the others or will the others come to the beach?
April 12th, 2007 at 2:03 am
I knew Julia was a plant. What I don’t know is if she will turn on Ben again.
I’m slapping myself for not realizing sooner about the “infertility” issue on the island. It came to me just a few minutes before they revealed it on the show, but I should have seen it before. Julia is an infertility researcher. Excluding Ben most of the “Others” were not born on the island, and that makes Ben special in some way. The focus on the children, etc, it all makes sense now.
Brian, I had a similar question. How would they have known about Sawyer killing the fellow? I guess it is conceivable that the police could have come up with him as a suspect and it could have become a news event. Just not liking that explanation too much.
Does anyone have any ideas about Jacob? I suspect he lives in our world rather than on the island, but I don’t have much of a concept of him outside of that.
April 12th, 2007 at 2:44 am
This sounds out of left field, but I think Hurley is more of a sinister character than we know yet….
April 12th, 2007 at 2:55 am
Daniel Pennant-
please advertise somewhere else.
April 12th, 2007 at 3:16 am
Does anyone know why Ben’s tumour is referred to as being in his fourth lumbar vertebra (in this episode and previous ones) yet the xrays clearly show the abnormality to be in the second lumbar vertebra? This is something even the most ignorant medical adviser could not get wrong so it must be deliberate.
April 12th, 2007 at 3:32 am
Great fulfilling episode — the script, direction and acting was superb! Juliet is a player; she’s learned from the best. She’s capable of ANYTHING! One thing I’ve learned about this show — don’t believe ANYTHING unless it’s a flashback, and then I’m not too sure about Desmond’s flashbacks. I thought it interesting when Ben volunteered the word “cancer” and Juliet said, ” No, I didn’t say cancer, I said tumor” Did Ben go to the wishing box and develop operable cancer to exploit a weakness in someone? Hm-m-mm ?
April 12th, 2007 at 3:45 am
This is bit..out of this episode..but how often are there suppose to be food drops?
April 12th, 2007 at 3:54 am
Oh yeah, when Juliet was requested to drink the orange juice laced with tranquilizer, that sent up a flare. They were NOT at a private airport as she was led to believe. She may have made the final leg of the trip in the submarine, but before that, who knows what the travel vehicle was. And where is Rose and Bernard? I’m thinking the final episode of the season will have Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton, along with a committe from Affirmative Action demanding to know what happened to Michael, Walt, Walt’s mother, Rose, Ms. Klugh and Mr. Eko.
April 12th, 2007 at 4:00 am
not funny Bill ;-l
April 12th, 2007 at 4:03 am
Yes, that distinction between ‘cancer’ and ‘tumor’ was puzzling!
I was thinking… What if Juliet has been sent out to get Sun? But how do they know she’s pregnant? Well… Kate knows. And what happened when she was taken to Ben at the beginning of this season? Maybe they somehow “made” her tell them about Sun’s pregnancy?
I’d LOVE to have a Donnie Darko reference on the show. The vessel theory definitely makes sense to some extent, but how does that relate to the “incident” Desmond provoked? Could it have opened a wormhole?
April 12th, 2007 at 4:09 am
Punjabi – it wasn’t really meant to be funny — I think it’s an important issue.
April 12th, 2007 at 4:32 am
Claire didn’t HAVE symptoms! The Others implanted something in her to trigger her illness. We know that because of what Juliet and Ben said in the last scene.
April 12th, 2007 at 4:34 am
It’s been getting clearer for a couple weeks that Locke has his own mission on this island, but do you think he knew how important the flame station was to the others when he blew it up? I’m coming around to the idea that Locke’s knowledge of the Island’s ways is more than just instinct.
April 12th, 2007 at 5:02 am
As far as affirmative action goes… Mr. Eko was a drug lord, who did not repent for his “sins’, so he was jack-ed up by Smokey. Michael and Walt I am sure will be back! They were not let go so easily methinks… and Mrs. Klugh seemed to be just put in for effect. I mean, anyone could have been there with Mikhail to take a bullet…Rose and Bernard were just not integral to the rest of the story. Look at all the not-so-ethnic deaths thus far… The Others…(woman and Asian man the first night in the Tailies camp),Boone,Shannon,Libby,Colleen,Pickett,Goodwin,Ethan,The Asian ‘Other’ on Michael’s traitorous trek to get our heroes to the Others’ Camp,Nikki,Paolo,Anna-Lucia,Arszt, (also the idea brought up earlier that Arszt is still alive… it’s kinda hard to fake your brains on someone’s t-shirt after an explosion!)
I think death on this show is fairly come-one-come-all! I think it spreads the wealth so-to-speak rather well…
BTW – awesome episode- Juliet has now surpassed all but Hurley as my favorite character on LOST!
April 12th, 2007 at 5:07 am
When will our Losties realize that Jack IS NOT a good leader? A good doctor, but not a good leader. And when they do realize that, what will they do?
April 12th, 2007 at 5:54 am
I’m with you Mel! I love Jack but he is to trusting or brain washed?. Sayid is the man he knows when peeps are hiding stuff Jack should at least listen to him. The only reason I can think Jack is allowing Juliet to be there is he has his own motives for keeping her close. Also did anyone notice during the exchange between Hurley and Juliet that when Hurley brought up killing Ethan and looking up to where the survivors buried him Juliet had a knowing look on her face? Wonder if Ethan is really dead? Great episode!!
April 12th, 2007 at 6:04 am
One thing that I find intriguing is the fact that the writers have been quite up-front this time about what the Others are doing. I mean, it’s probably the first time we get such a prompt confirmation that the Others are planning something and that they’re trying to deceive the Losties. Usually we have to wait for a few episodes until the story evolves to a point where the confirmation arrives because the story itself demands it. But now? Maybe they’re trying to decieve us? Should we be suspicious?
April 12th, 2007 at 6:19 am
Jack is not a good Leader. Period.
Sayid and James were Programmed to Back off when Juliet used the “Blood on Their Hands “Comment.
Juliet has learned from the best and is a challange to Ben/Jacob
I think Juliet’s sister video was a fake, It was What Juliet wanted/Needed to see to CONTROL her actions.. Notice sister video is grainy and Kid could be any kid. Too short and directed-dubbed- Voiced over by Ben-.It is what Ben Does. Give you what you want, or manipulate you with what is most important to you. see may be the Ultimate “Manchurian Canadate,” or trapped in a “Parrallax Veiw “Scenerio
Mr Science Arntz, COULD have Faked his Death Easily, ..Explosion..(No Body Plenty of Pig Brains and Guts from a pre Loaded Rig..Notice or Remember he made Everyone Back way off and set up Scene perfectly.
“Him Alone,Safe and He contrlled the Whole TNT moving thing”
Nope Mr Science Arnst is Mr. Big , and an ecentric Genius.
Rember his Crash Scene , LOOK at ME Notice ME, am I OK?!”
To think that far ahead to Put an implant in Claire to simulate a Dread Illness that can be remote triggered. Evil and confirms that Juliet “Poisoned” Claire, Sun is on the Hot seat as PregoPerson.
But,I still think The Dharma Initiative folks have a unique Island Test Tube thta has Healing powers, and some link to time travel.
They are protective of their Utopia that is why limited People know about it and when Oceanic crashed they were forced to deal with Random elements to the “Sterile” environment, “One of them may be a mother”. They Know who all the Oceanic People are. And they can Slip into the past and revise,circumstances to ‘Herd them onto plane , to prepare them for the Island by programing them for Arrival.
Because of the ability to tavel in Time they Are controlling future outcomes.
Oh and just another ‘random thought’ how were they able to Trigger Claire’s implant ,since all communications had been disrupted by Pulse
April 12th, 2007 at 6:44 am
Artz could have faked his death like a David Copperfield trick. One thing that I always thought was quite odd was that he was a Ph.D “high school” teacher. I’ve never heard of a high school teacher being a Ph.D. It’s uncommon for rank and file community college instructors to be doctors, let alone high school teachers.
April 12th, 2007 at 6:48 am
Great call on video MontaukJ! That makes so much sense! Ben is so evil. Wonder why Juliet didn’t question it? Guess she’d believe anything for her sister to be alive. With Claire’s implant mabey they just lost communication with outside world but they still have it on island. Did Sawyer check to see if that walkie talkie worked that they found on Paulo??
April 12th, 2007 at 6:53 am
“Middle School” none the less.
Didn’t Rouseau show them the Ship in the Jungle?
convienent?
and Arntz, was all over the Explosive Pursuit/extraction
Too Planned and staged not to have been . a Siefried and Roy Moment’”"Po o f”!
April 12th, 2007 at 6:56 am
I might be all alone here, but I’m more convinced than ever that Jack is neither dumb nor hopelessly naive. Instead, he is the most consistently written character on the show. I don’t think he’s never considered the possibility that Juliet is a plant, or that there’s a lot he doesn’t know about her, or that she could have her own motivations. But, true to Jack form, he’s determined to “save” her. And saving her means keeping her close by and extracting her from the others; one way to do that is to put faith in her in spite of what he knows – and knows he doesn’t know – about her background. He did the same thing with Kate (he knew she’d murdered and was wanted, but didn’t need the whole story to start trusting her). His willingness to put faith in people – i.e. to trust that they do have free choice and if they have someone who believes in them, might just make the “right” choice – is actually what makes him a *great* leader, in my mind. A leader doesn’t have to have all the answers, but he has to motivate people.
Similarly, I thought the whole thing with Sawyer as leader was a set up last week to make him more accepting of Jack in the role – he learned just how hard it must have been for Jack to take the role when he didn’t want it. On Sawyer and Sayid – I thought they came off badly, and I cheered Juliet. Yes, they saw through her. She sees through them. And she has a really valid point – if they get a blank slate for their past crimes, why shouldn’t she? Why do they get to judge her?
I thought Juliet’s point that she is truly alone means that her loyalties are not yet decided (so she’s not yet undeniably “evil”). She could still come through for Jack, or she could betray all the 815 people to the others… what happens in the next week (island time) may well determine it.
April 12th, 2007 at 7:03 am
did anyone notice on the paper with the ekg or whatever it was that ben gave to juliet to show her that her sisters cancer came back–that on the page it said the patient was male and 5′11” tall and 187 lbs.
i think the flame allows the others to see the losties time loops–that is how they would know sawyor killed someone the night before taking off–or what sayyid did in basra—they can see the loop through the eyes of the lostie.–maybe even the video of the sister was a viewing of a time loop where the sister was okay–
April 12th, 2007 at 7:08 am
The marks on the sub belong to part of the Bagua, which is the Dharma logo. This particular part of the symbol is called a trigram. There are eight altogether, each representing an aspect of life. This Trigram represents the ‘front door’ , the beginning or your life path, and career.
April 12th, 2007 at 7:10 am
The mysterious mark on the tree is a letter from the Cyrillic alphabet. The symbol is also prominent in UFO folklore:
“some ufologists claim it is a symbol for a planet in another sun system, called Ummo, some of whose inhabitants they say have been in contact with humans on our planet.”
April 12th, 2007 at 7:13 am
Juliet is self serving ,but she may be being convinced she is in more control than she is.
Ben knows she is bright and may see through him, and he is using that against her..letting her believe that she is getting away with something when she is not, He is making her appear to be part of Management when she is in fact just another Pawn albeit a Super pawn ,but still ,basically powerless.
One more minor Point that may be HUGE, as Juliet ties the final knot on her leanToo, she pulls that knot tight as if garroting someone. a very aggressive motion……Will she hang /strangle someone?
Will she Hang herself (Fake of course).As much as I hated it I noticed that someone was hung from a tree in Next weeks previews
Real or not Hype or not there it is.
April 12th, 2007 at 7:15 am
I really just enjoy the show, and all the questions it brings to mind. I love the surprise of watching it every week. Although I read the forums and have some input now and then, I refuse to overthink things the way some others do, as if it were of monumental importance, to the point of obsession, where all I do all day is go over and over the previous night’s show, critiquing every word and nuance. It would be exhausting, and quite honestly would ruin the show for me! Rock on Losties! Explore your theories for our entertainment! Save the rest of us the trouble and give us more to read! LOL
April 12th, 2007 at 7:16 am
I want to show my support for Bill’s Affirmative Action initiative. And several of us here have mentioned it before: they have gotten rid of all black characters. What is going on here? (I am aware that other non-black characters have been killed off as well and blacks are not hte only ones dying).
As for other issues, I have a theory about how Ben conned Juliet using her sister’s cancer. Simply: the test results he showed Juliet were fake. The sister was never in remission, and she lived happily ever-after. That explains why it was “so easy” for Richard to find her at the park. And even if the video-feed looks grainy, Juliet did recognize her own sister; so we know for sure it was her.
Also, I can see in the near future Jack, Sayid, Sawyer, Kate, and Locke having implants as well. All of them have been in handcuffs under the control of the Others. So it is possible.
Aitor, you expressed with better words what I had said earlier: Something is up, when the show’s writers and producers are letting us now this soon what the Others are up to. I see it as some sort of teasing or warning for the audience that says: you better watch out, what comes next is even more amazing.
And I am waiting…
April 12th, 2007 at 7:39 am
One simple question: Why are the Others (Ben and CO) hostile towards the plane crash survivors? Still, based on what we learned last night, I cannot understand why they couldn’t have just been friendly with them from the start. Their must be a reason… any theories?
April 12th, 2007 at 8:25 am
My mind is going with the coffee I’ve had this morning. OK, the fake air service company that Juliet was to travel on was HERARAT Aviation — that’s also EARHART as in Amelia. A. Earhart disappeared in the vicinty of the LOST island (Gardner Island) in 1937 and was flying a Lockheed L-10E Electra — same as the African drug smugglers’ plane. The symbol carved in drug-drop tree looked like the symbol branded on Juliet’s back following her “traitor trial”. Hm-m-m-m?
April 12th, 2007 at 8:26 am
I wonder if Jack didn’t have his own sit down with Ben before the gas attack. Perhaps it was his job to insinuate Juliette into the Losties’ group in order to “save” Claire.
Ben could have told him that a) the transmitter has already been turned on, so Claire will die if you don’t do this, or b) he just said there was something on the island that afflicts pregnant women, like the story that Juliette told Jack. Jack believes that being getting Juliette into camp he will earn his ticket home, again.
April 12th, 2007 at 8:38 am
They are not of the Island,
the are Test Subjects.
and as such you don’t wanna get too close when you may have to . Cancel them at any time.
Or the Island Folks in Village are such elitiists that they want NO Outsiders in their little Utopia.
And a theory
Those “On the List’ are the ones they (Dharma) specifically
manipulated and researched completely before the great “Reset” button was pushed.
Rose was maybe just a side effect healing, or
she maybe more connected than earlier believed.
The Black people will return to story line ,they are obvious in their absence.
I also feel Mrs. Klugh is not dead, agin ,no Body
House Blew up ,no follow-up burial.
that was staged as well.
her and Pathcy are in another monitoring station .
While sensitive to racial issue , let’s not go all Sharpton, more “Look at Me”I am more indignant”,
stuff, My family can not tolerate, and before anyone over reacts we are a mixed Marriage Japanese /Okinawan Wife Irish/Seminole/White Husband and one son,Combo of above blend.
April 12th, 2007 at 8:40 am
great episode the last minutes gave me goose bumps. Two comments/ questions though.
One, I was thinking about the season one and season two season finales and I realized that the main theme that exists between the rush to the end of seasons 1 and 2, and this season is the desperation that exists among the inhabitants of the Island, be them crash survivors or an Other (Juliet) to get off the Island. Maybe an undiscovered theme in the LOST universe is lengths at which persons will go to in order to realize their desires.
Two, what exactly are Juliet’s motivations for the deception that she is using against Jack and the Others? Is it to gain back the trust of the Others? or did Ben again promise her that he would let her leave the island, perhaps through different means since the submarine appeared to be destroyed.
April 12th, 2007 at 8:45 am
I saw a post elsewhere that speculates that Juliet’s sister may at one time have been a man and that is why the “Male” reference on her chart did not set off any alarms in Juliet. If you remember, her research allowed her to impregnate a MALE mouse. Maybe Ben wants to get pregnant!
Also, if the Lostie camp has been infiltrated by a heretofore unknown “mole”, that person may have somehow, due to close proximity, been able to activate Claire’s implant manually or hypnotically or some other bizarre way.
April 12th, 2007 at 9:38 am
Lots of things to think about last night. There are a few points that I am surprised that no one has brought up yet:
- Ben always keeps his word. This theme has popped up a few times. For one reason or another, he must keep his word. From Michael to Jack to Juliet. What is it that binds him to his word?
- No one can have a baby on the island, yet Ben was born there. What is the connection with him, Aaron, and Rouseau daughter?
- No one on the show has ever died and come back. Why are there so many speculations that people are ‘faking their death’ or not really dead?
-There is more that is going on with Juliet then meets the eye. She is not going to be what we are meant to believe….just wait.
- Finally….who is Richard that Ben was in contact with?
April 12th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Richard is the dark haired man that looks like he wears eyeliner. The one that was trying to recruit Juliet to work for Mittelos, in Not in Portland. Ethan appears to work for him.
April 12th, 2007 at 10:25 am
Dodie007,
Richard (his lastname is Alpert) is the other guy that along with Ethan Rom recruited Juliet back in Miami in “Not in Portland”. He also appeared prominently in “The Man From Tallahassee”: He is the one Ben asks to bring the man from Tallahassee, and later he uncuffs Locke and ends up pushing Ben’s wheelchair around.
Wikipedia says this about Ruchard Alpert:
Real-life Dr. Richard Alpert (a.k.a. Ram Dass) is a noted psychologist and Hindu spiritualist. In 1963 he was dismissed from Harvard University for his research (in collaboration with Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley, Allen Ginsberg and others) into psilocybin, LSD-25, and other psychedelic chemicals. Later he traveled to India where he was given his Hindu spiritual name “Ram Dass” which translates as “Servant of God”.
===================
Merry, I agree with you Jack “is the most consistently written character on the show” however, I am getting tired of him because he constantly screws up, not only in his own personal life, but his mistakes affect others. The way things are right now at the beach, Jack would not be missed much if he was “killed off”; somebody else would step up as a leader. I really think this is a possibility the writers should consider now. Jack was supposed to be the first casualty in the show. It is time to let him go. Besides, there are rumors that Matthew Fox wants out, since his career may skyrocket after his succesful performance in “We Are Marshall”.
==================
My turn to ask a question:
When Ben and Juliet are “reviewing” their mysterious plan of infiltration, Ben says that the case with the serum will be left at Ethan’s old drop point; he says that Pryce is already on his way to the drop point. Do we know who this Pryce guy is?
April 12th, 2007 at 10:33 am
does that mean the Ben was not born on the island then, if women can’t give birth?
April 12th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Eko’ s Brother
Boone-by Locke
Dave by Hurley
Jack’s Dad-by Jack
Big Black Horse-by Kate
Maybe Walt (by Sayid & Shannon) in Drowned Future Echo right before Shannon got shot
All Dead who were seen by Alive People
Maybe Dave is Jacob?
April 12th, 2007 at 10:39 am
Ben did not safe Juliet’s sister… he lies when he said the cancer was back… he never find a cure… its just a trick to manipulate Juliet… if Juliet think Ben can save her sister.. she will do anything for Ben… but Ben have nothing to do.. she was already in health…
April 12th, 2007 at 10:39 am
No clue who Pryce is yet, and Ben stated he has spent his entire life on the island. Maybe the island IS mystical in some way, and is punishing them for trying to mess with nature in the experiments, who knows?! If they explain it well enough, I’ll watch!
April 12th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Got it!
Ryan Pryce is an Other who seems to hold a bit of influence over the policing of The Others’ community. He was put in charge of supervising Sayid while he was bound to the swing set, and attempted to quiet Sayid when he began divulging information about Alex’s mother to her.
On the island, Pryce seems to have a security function similar to the one Danny Pickett had before he was killed. He commands the team that guards Jack, captures Kate and Sayid, and discovers Locke at the submarine.
He’s the guy watching Sayid at the swing set….
April 12th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Fernando-
Thanks for the identification of Richard. I was not sure if it was him or not.
MJimbo-
None of these people have come back to life. Eko even found his dead brother’s body by the plane.
Arntz- Dead
Mrs. Klugh- Dead
Libby- Dead
Ethan- Dead
Nikki / Paulo- ….Sleeping
April 12th, 2007 at 10:55 am
What Juliet will do with a gaz mask ?? Its a beach.. they cannot use gaz.. why she need that ??
April 12th, 2007 at 10:58 am
haaaaa ok.. its for the Left Behind episode !!
April 12th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Dodie007,
I only point out that those thought Dead were seen by alive people,
And Eko’s Bro’s body was only Id’d by Crucafix, and “Habit”,
could be anyone.
B U T !!!
“”Things Don’t Stay Buried on this Island”"
I knew Ethan’s case was RECENT plant because freshly cut GREENbrush covered it…. It had not been there long…
April 12th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Great episodes. Does anyone remember the season 2 finale where penelope (desmonds girlfriend) was somewhere in antarctica but when the hatch blew up, two portugeuse guys said we’ve got them??? That means that the speculated charcter that is supposed to come to the island and join the character could possible be desmonds girlfriend. I am almost certain that desmond has a massive role in the finale, he is a very intriguing character and his story is going to connect some major plot line. Also, michael and walter might come back I think, or at leeast walter. remember that desmond tried to leave the island in season two and mysteriously returned to the island. Aside from the fact that Ben probably did not let them leave (according to Ben’s statement with Locke (I think) a few episodes ago about it would make him look weak in front of the others if he let Jack leave) desmond’s inability to leave the island on the yacht may be key to the fate of michael and walt. They may be stuck on the other island or something.
April 12th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Penelope was not in Antarctica. She got a call FROM the Portugese guys in Antarctica.
April 12th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Ben has said he was born on the island. Does the mother die and the baby live?
April 12th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Artz – no way – - MontaukJimbo Says:
Mr Science Arntz, COULD have Faked his Death Easily, ..Explosion..(No Body Plenty of Pig Brains and Guts from a pre Loaded Rig..Notice or Remember he made Everyone Back way off and set up Scene perfectly.
“Him Alone,Safe and He contrlled the Whole TNT moving thing”
Nope Mr Science Arnst is Mr. Big , and an ecentric Genius.
Rember his Crash Scene , LOOK at ME Notice ME, am I OK?!”
PART 1: – - – - I think this is a little stretch – - and I am a LOST fan, so I’m obviously willing to be stretched a long way – - I can agree that he seems to fit the mold of someone eccentric and overlooked by some of the comments he says like “you all think you’re so important, but there are other people here” and telling the 815ers that they acted like clicks in high school…that it would have been a neat twist to be able to pull off that he in fact was the plant/other agent mastermind….however…. that dude definately blew up…..and if I rememeber correctly he was almost attacked by smokey and came back to the team because of being afraid….he didn’t willingly go all the way…which to me says that he didn’t mastermind an “follow the ball under the coconut” trick against Jack, Hurley, Kate, Locke, and whoever else all went….
Around that same time though, John Locke met smokey and had some revelations that we are still not sure what happened – - he faced smokey and lived, once, and Mr. Ecko unfortunately was taken by smokey and torn to shreds….my guess is that whatever Locke is doing now is somehow related to that incident and his overall “island fever”…
If anyone needs to be thought of at this point as a recruiter or another “other” infiltrator it would be the girl that appears to Jack’s cage that was originally w/ Anna Lucia and the tailies….that said they were there “observing” – - that scene was out of left field and I can’t remember anyone discussing it much further – - – If anyone else that we got to know at all in the past few years was an “other” from the start I would have to suspect Libby….she was the only tied to many of the people on the island like Hurley, Desmond and who knows who just yet, and the pillow was over her stomach when she was shot…however I remember her having a slow and painful death on the couch in the end ( shirt covering bullet wounds…did anyone look at the wounds directly? Don’t remember any squiriting Saving Private Ryan type of wounds in the hatch…..but if we are now suggesting that Ben and the “Others” can make implants that force people to spew up blood from their mouths like Claire did then I would think she could have used that to fake her death and all….sounds better than Artz the science teacher! PhD and all….he’s gone.
PART 2:
Programming – Is it just me or why would I think that it would take more than just a day or two to program someone…if it can be done at all….I’m waiting on a scientific explanation like some of the other people posting here….and I hope that this will not be the case….People have been suggesting that the “Others” are programming people to behave in ways and to react to key words like a psychologist would make a guy bark like a dog to certain key words after a quick “relax…breath deep…I’m going to count backwards from 10 and by the time you wake up, blah blah” hypnosis session….I know we’ve seen some of the DHARMA films that deal w/ this a little and some of the “clockwork orange” scenes where boyfriend is strapped in for a sleep deprevation mind fu@% – - but am I to believe that Sawyer, Sayid and some of our 815ers are now under a majic spell and can’t choose their own paths…..this is bad if this is the case…. I would expect that from some daytime Soap Opera but not LOST…. I don’t mind some of this introduced as a control for some of the “Others” but it had better not be a major plot in dealing w/ the 815ers….It seemed to me that Michael was under some control…and perhaps you are right about these other two…I just think that 3 or 4 days of messing w/ someone isn’t enough to put them in a trance…..
Any Thoughts?
PART 3 :
This is scary—- last night I almost had some sympathy for the “Others” after Juliet’s comment about our boys Sawyer and Sayid….that said…..and this is what is scary…wouldn’t this be the greatest show ever if somehow over the next few years ( at least, let’s hope, right? ) that evenually our feelings on the 815ers is completely turned around and we start to believe in what the “Others” are doing as truely being the good thing and that the Losties are basically the bad guys, thugs, killers, liars, cheats, con-men, thieves, drug addicts, fornicators, torturers, loonies, cowards, mobsters and all…..wow….when I think about it….I’m really scared I’m falling for the wrong types of people….maybe even though his methods are bad, Benry and crew aren’t? Another reason that in Part 2 of this novel I believe that the others cannot take away free will from our Losties…how else can they clense themselves of their sins and then be taken away by smokey?
April 12th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
OMG THAT EPISODE WAS AWESOME!!!! No time to write my thoughts now, but I’ll be back to read what everyone else has to say. I LOVE LOST!!!!
April 12th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
I think it’s important that we saw Juliet and Goodwin together in bed. I think we are to assume they were having more than just a fling, but a real loving relationship. A number of interesting situations arise when you think how their relationship could have affected past events on the island. Chew on this adapted timeline:
Goodwin is sent to the Tailies and is eventually is murdered by Ana Lucia. Juliet would obviously be heartbroken and vengeful.
Michael infiltrates the Others to get Walt back. The Others make a deal with Michael. Free Ben, and we will give you Walt. But…. That was only half of his orders. Juliet orders Michael to kill Ana Lucia, effectively avenging her lover’s death.
Michael goes back to the Losties and waits for the moment when he is alone in the hatch with Ana Lucia. He tells Lucia, “I’m Sorry.” And shoots her. Libby was not intended to die, but needed to be written off the show.
Which leads to Juliet being on the beach now and perhaps she wants to avenge another death, Ethan. Ethan is in every Juliet flashback. Perhaps they formed a very tight friendship. Could it possibly be times up for Charlie?
sidebar theory: What if Juliet and Goodwin took their romance to the next level and Juliet is pregnant? She would be 3 months pregnant at this point. This changes everything. Juliet’s motivation to fix Ben’s fertility problem is not to get off the island, necessarily, but to save her own life.
This was the best all-around episode of Season 3… so far.
April 12th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
What a great episode. I must admit, I was bored by last weeks episode, and that hasn’t happened in a while with Lost (really enjoyed the Expose episode incidentally!). However this episode was very well written, with great performances.
I don’t think that Juliet is particularly ‘evil’, its just as Jack says to her “She wants to get off the Island more than anyone”, i.e. she’ll do absolutely anything to achieve it – which makes her more dangerous than Jack estimates.
April 12th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Couple of random things:
Was just watching Star Trek Voyager on Spike – the episode “Blink of an Eye” starred Daniel Dae Kim.
Someone needs to call Sawyer “Kid Rock.”
April 12th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Pregnant:
Sunw/Jin or dead boyfriend
Julietw/Goodwin
Kate w/James
Alex???w/Bobby Brady
NorCal Matt,
I love the Revenge angle.
it ties into the Hateful Look and Knot Trying by Juliet….WatchOut HobbitCharlie!!
But, I again DisAgree Arntz, May still turn out as CrazyMadGenius.
Dude,….they only buried parts of him or did not at all.
Penny’s Dad could be the Bucks behind the Brains(Leslie Anrntz)
and US/UN Military could be Intent behind Dharma
Initiative.
Dude,….they only buried parts of him or did not at all.
PhD in Middle School ….my unpatched Eye!!
The Pigs are Walking!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 12th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Wow. Lots of good comments.
My 2 cents…
Fernando — Dr Richard Alpert went by the name Ram Dass? Is he friends with Ben Dover? =) Hugh G. Rection?
Brian et. al. — Juliet clearly is more manipulative than we were initially led to believe. But is she truly deceiving the Losties as Ben’s command? Or is she a double agent who plans to get the strength of the Losties to overthrow Ben? OR… is she only out for herself? She has clearly shown a desire to break free of Ben on several occasions…
Also, I think Mikhail and Ben can find out more than was reported on the news. They could learn about Sawyer killing a man in the same way they could videotape Juliet’s sister.
Connie from AK — excellent point about Juliet’s sister being male. One of the things I wondered was whether her cancer was a female reproductive cancer wherein maybe she had a hysterectomy or oophorectomy (uterus or ovaries out for the lay people reading) and would be physically incapable of pregnancy, and that’s why Juliet’s work would have been so groundebreaking. There are a few references to young people having the internal organs of elderly people (? early atrophy or cancers ?). Maybe they considered her male due to lack of female reproductive organs? Maybe she really is a man? Maybe Ben *does* want to get pregnant… not that far fetched based on what we know of them!
NorCal Matt — Wonder if Juliet is pregnant. That might give more credence to the theory that Juliet is only out for herself. And I wonder if they did anything to Kate when they took her away and made things “unpleasant” for her earlier this season…
And one last big thought for Bill, whose multiple postings here were insightful and really made me think a lot about the episode:
Ben talks about “cancers,” and Juliet “tumors.” Tumors can be benign or malignant. “Cancer” usually implies a malignant tumor (although some cancers, like certain skin cancers, are non-malignant). Tumors are also known as NEOPLASMS, or new growths. By a very loose definition, embryos/fetuses/children in utero are all NEOPLASMS in that they are new growths. They are not cancerous — though sometimes women will get a malignant product of conception called a choriocarcinoma — but they are neoplasms, and if they were to grow to the point that their growth killed the host organism, they could be considered cancers. So maybe this is a very carefully chosen word and a very interesting parallel, since apparently all women who get pregnant on the island die from their pregnancy.
And of course the ultimate irony would be that there are no neoplastic processes on this island. Babies or tumors.
April 12th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Not all woman die from pregnancy on the Island. Nothing would have happened to Claire without the Others manipulations. She would be just fine
as well as the baby would. The Island chose Claire to gave the birth on It. I’m pretty sure that all that Others problems where because they are intruders on the Island and that all that Jacob Fucka altough powerful is not welcomed on it most definite. I really hope that Locke will cancel him.
April 12th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Pardon my ignorance but can someone fill me in on who Jacob is?
April 13th, 2007 at 3:43 am
Kopytko — Claire did not CONCEIVE on the island. That is the issue. It’s not an issue of delivery; it’s an issue of conception.
April 13th, 2007 at 6:13 am
Great episode. I guess I am in the “Juliet really is one of us (losties)” camp, if there is one. I think that Juliet is working for herself only. Whatever scheme she and Ben have worked out, Ben is in for a surprise. Let’s not forget that Ben pardoned Juliet from a death penalty only because of Jack. Also, because of Jack, Juliet was about to finally leave the Island. Juliet is playing Ben…just not sure how and why yet, but we’ll see soon enough.
I think the real imposter will have been Locke, when all is said and done. Perhaps Locke was a natural other all along and Juliet was a natural lostie. Either way this character trade is very interesting. I’ll take Juliet over Locke any day.
April 13th, 2007 at 6:32 am
The problem as Juliet said (and she is the research expert) was it begins “at conception”. So I’m thinking, anyone who arrives on the island already pregnant is ok. Sawyer made it with Ana Lucia and Kate. Ana Lucia was written off for bad behavior / case closed. Kate may have a problem. Sun may have a problem.
April 13th, 2007 at 6:38 am
Maybe Ben’s “four-toed” father gave birth to him. (Juliet’s experiment impregnated a male mouse, so anything’s possible).
Why did Ben used the word “cancer” instead of “tumor?” Juliet DID question him about the change of word, so it wasn’t a writers’ slip-up. This could point to Ben getting confused with a previous Time-Loop in which he did have cancer. (you realize that Desmond’s Fashback episode brought up the Time-Loop concept, I didn’t)
How did Juliet drag Kate a mile or so away from the Other’s camp, alone? Have you ever tried to drag someone 10 feet? It’s not easy.
Why was it important for Juliet to be handcuffed to Kate, when Juliet was prepared to admit to lying about it to Kate? Juliet could have stayed at the camp with the other Losties, and pretended to be gassed there. Unless, Kate is pregnant (from Sawyer), and Juliet needed to observe/assist the first 24 hours of pregnancy.
I’m beginning to think Mr. Middle-School PhD Science Teacher is Jacob. Where did he come up with all those bottles for his insects (could be a writers goof)… the hatch hadn’t been discovered yet and I don’t think there had been a food drop either.
The only lie Ben was ever caught in, was when he told the Losties he was Henry Gale (yet another Black dead person.. hmm). Juliet has no problem lying, over and over again. Juliet’s motivation is to get off the Island anyway she can. As a rule, Ben doesn’t lie, otherwise he would have no credibility to the Others.
Again, in this episode Ben was rarely surprised about anything (except for the fact that he had a tumor, instead of cancer). Ben and Locke both act like they know what’s going to happen on the Island, what’s happened many times before, and they plan for it… with minor deviations.. “Dad?”
April 13th, 2007 at 6:43 am
Dave, insight from your obvious medical knowledge made me think about something. Could Ben’s spinal tumor be the result of Juliet’s impregnation technique gone dreadfully wrong? He IS afraid of needles!
April 13th, 2007 at 7:39 am
Bill — I wonder. Juliet was pretty specific that it was a tumor, and not a cancer. Maybe she’s being semantically nitpicky (can’t know whether a tumor is cancer unless you have a biopsy specimen). Maybe she’s being intentionally snarky. My read is that if Jack saw a tumor on Ben’s spine, as a spinal surgeon, he’d know it. I can’t imagine he’d see a fetus and think it was a spine tumor. Unless Ben has a choriocarcinoma/hydatidiform mole (look ‘em up, they’re gross) and Jack mistook it for a spine tumor.
Ben/Henry lies all the time. He makes a habit of lying. He’s like the guy in the parable who either always tells the truth or always lies and you can only ask him one question. The statement that he never lies was a lie.
April 13th, 2007 at 8:29 am
It could be that Ben intentionally (through Jacob or the Magic Box) arranged to develop a cancerous tumor as part if his convoluted manipulations of…well…everything. The x-rays would only show the presence of a mass, not that it was cancerous. Ben already knows he has a cancerous tumor. Juliet just sees a mass. So it is a slip of the lip for him to declare he has “cancer”, when Juliet said no such thing. He’s jumping the diagnostic gun and giving himself away. Maybe he is testing the Island to see if it will heal him, much as a child will act out for a parent’s attention.
April 13th, 2007 at 9:26 am
During the Episode “One of Us”there is a scene where Ethan is filling vial to inject Claire. Please tell if I am wrong but, isn’t this the SAME SERUM Desmond would inject into himself when he when living in the hatch pressing the button? Why was Desmond taking the serum. Why was the same stuff being administered to Claire for a pregnancy related condition? Make me wonder. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Marc

April 13th, 2007 at 9:53 am
I thought the Desmond’s serum was part of the deception of making him think that he couldn’t leave the hatch because of the “sickness” outside the hatch. Perhaps that was part of Juliet’s research…keep an off-island potential male breeder in a controlled environment, inject him with her serum and test to see if there is a successful conception.
April 13th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Dave, with Jack’s experience he would obviously recognize cancer from a fetus. I considered that. But suppose this is a fetus that really morphed into something wacky and monstrous. I think the fun thing about this show is that you can’t trust anything as you catalog the puzzle pieces. Ben IS the liar’s liar. I still want to know who the real Henry Gale was (I had forgotten, another Black person) and what he was doing in the Widmore hot air balloon. I sure hope the writers are careful to tidy-up all the loose ends they’ve scattered.
April 13th, 2007 at 10:24 am
would peoples please stop thinking that they saw micheal just because they are african-american in the background of some scenes.
believe me, when we see michael and walt again it will be a big deal on the show and not just an easter egg for the die hard fans.
April 13th, 2007 at 11:28 am
I’m just wondering if we have ever seen the Others actually Kill anyone? They are rough and threatening, but my recollection is that all the killing has been done by the Losties. I wonder if NuckinFuts has the right take in his part 3 message that we will end up finding that we like the Others and find the Losties to be seriously flawed and the true bad guys?! Just think how much of the Others’ infrastructure, communications, and important personnel have been “lost” by the actions of the Losties.
April 13th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Greg — Ethan leaving Charlie hung up in that tree didn’t look all that altruistic to me. The Lostie kill, the the Others mainly abduct, brainwash, lie, bully, batter, etc. But who knows — anything’s possible with human beings fighting for dominance or survival and a staff of very creative writers can do anything they please. Hang on.
April 13th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Whew! I can’t keep up. Great stuff. But I did want to say I love the theory that Juliet was the one that added Ana Lucia to the hit list for Michael because Ana Lucia killed Goodwin. And it’d be great if she, not Sun or Jin, orchestrate Charlie’s hinted demise.
April 13th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
I wonder if Jack is going to die in the next few episodes. He’s losing more and more of his leadership qualities and I think the episode (Left Behind) where Hurely tries to trick Sawyer into becoming more of the leader of the Losties wasn’t just filler. They didn’t just set Sawyer up in that episode as more of leader to have it taken away the next episode (One of Us) by Jack returning to the group……I love Jack, but I love guessing and this is something I see coming….Again, I think Hurley isn’t as innocent and fun-loving as we think…
April 13th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Yeah, It dawned on me today, that it would be the best twist EVER: That the 815ers are really The Others-Those on Jacob’s List-were brainwashed by the remaining leaders of Dharma and were sent to infultrate this Utopia-{Like in the movie ‘The Others’-the twist was that we emphathised with the main characters afraid of ghosts the whole time-and actually the whole time- the main characters WERE “The Others”-the ghosts}-These 815ers are pretty flawed manipulative desperate savages..if you ask me..
April 13th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Did anyone else notice during the scene in the airport when Richard Alpert mentions that Juliet’s 6 months on the island will seem like years because time flies there. Besides everything else about the show that is great, the dialogue is tremendous. Not only does it move from subtle, to poignant to chilling in a way that makes it just really great TV writing, it also often seems to be speaking to the show’s larger mysteries–as if, so many ‘easter eggs’ are hidden in the dialogue besides just the visual landscape of the show.
I couldn’t help, therefore, but feel that Alpert’s line about ‘time flying’ was to further tip the show’s hat to the theory that time on the island is being ‘lost’ and that what feels to Juliet like 3 years may really just be 6 months.
Also, does anyone else now have the impression–after Juliet’s big con–that, so too, is Jack running a con? Everything we’ve seen about Jack so far indicates that his character flaws/weaknesses do not come in the department of wits. He can be bossy, temperamental and obsessive but he seems to be the smartest and most capable character. He not only can do brain surgery, but he also shoots targets more skillfully than Sayid, Kate or Sawyer; can run a con better than Sawyer or Ben (as proven earlier in this season); not to mention his many other talents. It seems like the producers were indicating as much (about Jack’s possibly, again, having a larger plan to ensnare Juliet) in the scene he had at the beginning of the episode with Kate. Clearly, she thought his “I just kept my head down the last week” claim not very believable. And either this means he has been brainwashed or is lying. And, since, there is no way he is working with the Others, the only reason he has to lie is b/c he has a plan of his own that he needs to keep secret, for now, from everyone so that neither Juliet nor Ben suspect that he is on to them. In fact, it seems that Jack’s whole posture about wanting to take Ben up on the deal of getting off the island, may really have always been more about helping his fellow survivors than it ever really was about helping himself, a la Michael in season 2. Afterall, what else was the purpose of the inclusion of another bit of dialogue that is now, in retrospect, starting to take on a much deeper meaning than it first seemed to: i.e. Jack’s response to the Sheriff of Othersville, at the end of the episode with his Thailand back story, that “that is what the tattoos say”, about him ‘walking among’ his community, but not being part of it, but that “that is not what they mean.” WHen he first spoke this, it sounded–like with most Lost dialogue–like just a nicely written line that was a fitting capper to that episode and its back story. But it also may well have been a way to foreshadow Jack’s being hip to the Others’ latest infiltration, and, thus, it may not have been a testament, as it seemed at the end of the Thailand episode, to how Jack would be ‘walking amongst’ and being ‘one with’ the Others (consistent with what he tells the Sheriff of Othersville that his tattoos **mean**), given that at this point in the overall plotline of the series he is being shown to be sailing back to the Others’ camp. Instead, doesn’t it now seem that that bit of dialogue about the real meaning of Jack’s tat’s was to assure the viewer that we should keep our faith and trust in his leadership and wits in the episodes to come, especially at this point when it is now starting, on the surface of things, to appear that Jack selfishly wanted off the island and, to make things even worse, has been totally duped by Juliet and the Others.
April 13th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
Ok, supposedly been has spent his entire life on the island. But if we believe the early propaganda, the Dharma Initiative began in the late 60’s/early 70’s. Been appears to be in his mid-40’s. He is too old to be a child of one of the Dharma group.
April 13th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
That should say Ben not been. oops
April 13th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Just watched this after a long night…. First of all, how do we really know that what Ethan did actually happened? We only know the truth as Juliet uses it to deceive Kate and the rest of the 815 survivors. Also, we don’t know if Sawyer was found out by authorities, thereby leading her to know of his most recent behavior–They may have not shown this information also being revealed in the news. It appears that they either monitor the news or infiltrate and watch others (i.e. Juliet’s sister or Locke’s father) as a tool for manipulation. In other words, we only truly know what the writers chose to reveal in flashbacks and in how the characters portray their own truths for manipulative purposes–I think the Hurley/Sawyer interaction from the previous episodes show that there is a fine line between faith and trust in what someone or something and gullibility (i.e. Locke and his father and Jack and his weakness for blonds). So as the writers and producers continue to play with the viewers, we will be getting more answers, but still left with more questions. It appears that at this point Juliet could find herself falling for Jack and be torn (based on her decreasing faith in Ben) or that Ben has promised she will go home as long as she makes this effort for him. Or maybe there is an entirely different plan she has cooked up. More importantly, a friend watching with me picked up on the scene between Juliet and Jack when they were heading back to camp. She openly discussed how she had deceived Kate as though it was part of a larger plan they were both aware of. Could Jack be more mainpulated than we think? This is great writing and great acting. I cannot wait for the final episodes!
April 14th, 2007 at 9:52 am
# Bill Says:
April 13th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Greg — Ethan leaving Charlie hung up in that tree didn’t look all that altruistic to me. The Lostie kill, the the Others mainly abduct, brainwash, lie, bully, batter, etc. But who knows — anything’s possible with human beings fighting for dominance or survival and a staff of very creative writers can do anything they please. Hang on.
——————————————–
What if Charlie hung himself? He was so distraught at not being able to save Clair, he couldn’t live with himself. It makes sense Jack was able to save him because he had just hadn’t been hanging there that long. He might not even remember doing it, due to lack of oxygen to the brain, or is to embarrassed to confess.
Of course we think Ethan killed Scott (or is it Steve?) But what if Nikki or Paulo did it because he learned about the diamonds? And maybe the Others sent Michael to free Ben and Michael botched the attempt and shot Anna Lucia of his own accord?
But then again, during one of the Podcasts the producers said the Others are even more evil than you think, so anything is possible.
April 14th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
This episode rocked!!!!!!! I read some spoilers that said that the french woman will return and will be captred by the others. WHO IS JACOB?
April 14th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
This episode rocked!!!!!!! I read some spoilers that said that the french woman will return and will be captred by the others.
April 15th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
wow.. we busted 100 comments !!
April 15th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
and Steven… keep your spoiler for you !!!!
April 16th, 2007 at 5:47 am
In the very last scene, Juliet looks at Sun and Jin, and then over to Clair and Charley, with knowing smiles at each (the women are pregnant).. and finally Juliet looks at someone else with a distressed frown… and this is when she pulls the knot tight on her tent poll with an “I got you now” look. Who was she looking at? My two picks are Sayid or Jack.. does anyone else have an idea?
Also, after Ben gives Juliet the gas mask and moves away from her, Juliet’s lips move as if to say something under her breath (maybe “razzle dazzle” ). Anyone else notice that? I doubt it was a goof, since it would have been pretty obvious to the show’s editors. If you have TIVO, take a look.
April 16th, 2007 at 9:42 am
I Thought she pulled Knot tight after looking at Charlie,specifically.
They had to Gas Sayid and Kate and maybe Jack and some ,other non-others…..Kate and Sayid are way too dangerous to try to handle by force.
STEVEN: Jacob is “Mr. Big”as the one who is pulling strings, that the Others keep alluding to,
Juliet has to apparently “Kill” someone(s) within these seven Days,”see you in a week”, there is the REAL Possibility that she will administer something to simulate Death in order to remove them from Losties Camp.
Not Jack
Not Kate
Not Sayid
Not Sawyer
Not Hurley
as they had shots at them in Others “Village”.
My bet is one of the Pregnant Women.
And Maybe a real Killing to Seperate them from Losties
{{{{Charlie or Jin}}}}
I know all this talk of People coming back from Dead is disruptive BUT, It wll happen, it has to some extent but,WE WILL see the Dead walk again.
N+P may be toast unless we see an empty grave this week or next
April 16th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Oh, I forgot,
Juliet may still have her gas Mask for a Gassing of our Losties,
We get them all herded into one spot and SSSSSSSSSSSSSssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss………..ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz……
April 16th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Ryan, Thanks for the positive feedback on my theory about Juliet adding Ana Lucia to Michael’s hit list. Why else would the producers show us Juliet and Goodwin in bed? Connections, connections, connections.
Also, forgot to mention. At the end of the episode when Juliet is looking around the camp and (intense musical score here) tightens the rope, I think that is symbolic of what she wants to do with Charlie. The first time Charlie got hung by a rope it didn’t work. Juliet’s got unfinished business.
April 16th, 2007 at 11:52 am
MontaukJimbo and NorCal Matt ..
I thought she would be after Charley’s hide too, since he killed Ethan. But if you replay that last scene, she smiles when looking at Charley and Clair, then she turns to look at someone else and tighens the knot hard. I think the Producers would have seperated Charley from Clair if he was the target of her rath.
Possibilites..
Sayid threatened to kill her
Jack might be playing her, and she realizes it
Sawyer hurt his girlfriend in his flashback, who was then befriended by Kate
Hurley? No way!
Who’s left?
April 17th, 2007 at 3:23 am
I don’t want to discount the theories that Juliet is a “spy” for the Others, but let’s not discount the notion that she could be a “double agent” (interested in helping the Losties… or at least some of them) or a “rogue agent” (out only for herself).
We have clearly seen that the Others are expert liars, don’t always trust one another, and are willing to die (or kill) for their cause if need be. So OF COURSE Juliet will play along with Ben when he says, “See you in a week.” Just like she believed he would send her home. But we have seen too much of her — and her combined dislike and distrust of Ben, along with some grudging respect/awe — for me to believe that she is simply subservient.
That is why, to me, she is the most interesting character this year. Similarly, I though Ben (as Henry Gale) was the most interesting character last year: we never quite knew when he was honest and when he was dishonest. (Or when he was both simultaneously, like when he gave the map to the hot air balloon.)
April 17th, 2007 at 4:18 am
Listeners of the “Official Lost Podcast” are aware that Damon and Carlton have specifically said several times that once someone is dead on the island… they are dead.
They constantly joke about vampires too. I hate to break it to ya, but no one is coming back from the dead.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:55 am
Damon and Carlton have also specifically said that answers to Lost would not be explained by Time Travel, yet Desmond’s Flashback episode and Desmond’s ability to help Charley escape death all (without a doubt) involve a Time-Loop.
Are Damon and Carlton being as truthful as Ben?
April 17th, 2007 at 8:19 am
I don’t think Juliet is telling the whole truth about the pregnancy thing. Or just flat out lying. Remember in Claire’s flashback from when she was kidnapped, Alex was trying to wake her up and help her escape, and she said something like, “You’ve got to get out of here, they’re going to kill you!”
tvscifi.com Says:
April 14th, 2007 at 9:52 am
‘But then again, during one of the Podcasts the producers said the Others are even more evil than you think, so anything is possible.’
I think there is definitely something wrong with Jack. He’s acting really strange and being totally intolerant to people who are sceptical about Juliet. You’d think he would know why people are acting like that since they were enemies before. It just seems really fishy to me.
April 17th, 2007 at 9:17 am
# Kopytko Says:
April 12th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
“Not all woman die from pregnancy on the Island. Nothing would have happened to Claire without the Others manipulations. She would be just fine
as well as the baby would. The Island chose Claire to gave the birth on It. I’m pretty sure that all that Others problems where because they are intruders on the Island and that all that Jacob Fucka altough powerful is not welcomed on it most definite. I really hope that Locke will cancel him.”
—————————————————————————————-
Yes! I am totally with you on this one. Locke is obviously “in tune” with the island and the others are obviously not. The island is the real protagonist here. It’s why the others had to create an EMP fence to keep the “smoke” monster out (which is electromagnetism, I am sure of it, – I will post my bit of research and theories on it if anyone is interested), the monster was not created by the others. It was created by the island, which is why it hasn’t killed Rousseau in all these years, even though she seemingly has no protection from it (and as a side note, she called it a “security system”).
I think the others are not able to utilize this “box” (a variation of Pandora’s box, I think), but they think that Locke can. The island is not fond of Ben, and he is going to use Locke to get what he wants.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:44 am
I Don’t trust anything Just about ANYONE related to this Show Says about Plot/Future/Endings.
In fact,I am willing to bet they themselves don’t know where story is headed and Change Course, whenever the do a re-Write-week to week .
Yes ,I know it is
In-The -Can already,
But nothing is set in stone
four Toed Stone that is.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Good Stuff – - Greg – - thanks for the encouragement – - weird theory I know – - but I must admit that I do remember at least one for sure kill by the “others” – - Goodwin killed that guy trapped in the pit by Ana Lucia – - other than that – - yeah- – not too many have been killed or so we think – - maybe French Woman’s team…but could have been other hostiles – - whoever the heck they are – -
Don’t know who brought it up – - maybe Frank – – but Jack as ” A great leader, a great man, but because of this he is alone ” as his tatoo means and then if it says ” He walks among us but is not one of us ” – - sorta chilling when combined with the fact that he may have been brainwashed ( by his own instruction, I am assuming ) so that even he wouldn’t know who he was….then to come back to the island as a Lostie and be the Jacob figure is a wild theory – - but I don’t think I’m ready to go quite that far yet…I’d be more willing to go w/ the Arzt theory from before…reason….it would be hard to think that he would go to all of that trouble and risk to his life to do this and for what….of course you would have to assume he knew exactly how everything was going to turn out and that his dad and all of his flashbacks are bogus…doesn’t make since to me….but then again…..nothing on this show does and that’s why I love it….
MY CURRENT THEORY OF EVERYTHING — Thanks to anyone who will read and respond – -
Comic Book – - in the first episodes we saw a comic and it had polar bears and a radio tower and doctors and ALIENS…Walt had picked it up from the crash but it was Hurley’s spanish comic…. since then we have seen in many flashbacks and backgrounds Easter eggs that point to some of these things ( Like in Desmonds when he meets Mr. Widmore and in the background is the Polar bear upside down on the picture ) Any news on this that should make some sense?
Based on the fact that there were ALIENS in the comic….
Perhaps DHARMA was a cover for the military ( from several countries around the world – at least U.S. and RUSSIA so far ) who have for years at the highest levels been in contact w/ Aliens. Jacob in particular. Remember “Close Encounters Of the Third Kind” where aliens meet w/ humans and have test subjects aboard their craft who have lived for many years since abduction…and the military makes the mountain seem like it has been diseased…to keep it private….then an exchange takes place….but through telepathy the aliens contact certain humans to come to the mountain who they want to take w/ them on the next voyage…along w/ certain scientists….OK….
The aliens make a deal w/ the governments of the world to have a place on the earth to be left alone and isolated…perhaps their resources are depleted and in return for the humans not destroying the earth by having a war with the aliens, the military agrees to let them have a place on Earth as long as the military is assured that they will be allowed to watch over the aliens and communicate w/ their own people who are there to observe the aliens. For years the military has been sending volunteer test subjects to the island who are told they were there to “save the world” and doing something good for their country ). They are there to report the goings on of the aliens or other strange occurrences under the umbrella of the military and the DHARMA project, but have no real idea about the overall reason. DHARMA people are the scientists that may or may not be military who have agreed to go to the island. Upon truce w/ the aliens, the military built the island and it’s hatch system as a place to study along side the aliens and learn from them. The aliens thought that humans were a good species, until eventually the leader – “Jacob” who is whole alien and whose telepathy abilities can see into peoples past / souls and possible futures are manifested into the smoke monster…think Firestarter / Carrie ( which would be a good reason Ben who is closest to Jacob would not like the idea of the book Carrie to be read ) sensed that most are flawed and not altruistic ( like our 815ers ) and decides that in order to save the human race from itself / and keep his place to live / he decides to make the species evolve they will have to eventually kill all the humans or mix races w/ them. The rare magnetic properties and other island forces are a bi-product of the alien presence/technology. The sonic fence is some alien technology originally lent / shared with the military / original Dharma folks who before the takeover were promised a safety zone against Jacobs gifts. Most all DHARMA and military are now dead b/c of the alien takeover. The military was promised the place inside the fence as a protection against Jacob for when his temper flares / he sleeps and unconsciously harms people. The current “Others” are the first alien hybrids…perhaps the “hostiles” that are mentioned are the humans w/ DHARMA and military who were on the island during the “incident” or “uprising”….who discovered Jacob’s plan and didn’t want to go along w/ his and the alien demands for control…remember the movie Coccoon where the pods had healing and life extending powers…sorta like the island…perhaps the island is actually an alien ship that has been cloaked in the sea….or if not the entire island then it is maybe under the waters there or something….perhaps hovering constantly over the island….they could be using a cloaking device explaining why it cannot be seen on radar and no one can find it from the outside world….It would also explain why the plane simply broke in two…almost as if it hit something…anyways…there was some strange picture in the comic with a floating landmass or something that I’ll go back and watch from that comic….
This could make some sense as to why “Others” ( Alien Hybrids ) can’t get pregnant on the island…the first batch of hybrids worked, but since then ( after Ben was one of the first, perhaps Jacob’s eldest son ) something has changed…perhaps it was the introduction of the atmosphere, who knows at this point, but perhaps because “full humans” still can reproduce and because many of the hostiles were the best fertility people, then the alien hybrids must recruit new doctors and people from the outside world there to further the technology to make this happen…maybe they recruit because if Jacob and the “Others” aliens take the ship or move it the military will take it as a sign of aggression and break of the truce and start a war……..
This hypothesis could help explain some mental telepathy type stuff going on…if Jacob has telepathy and abilities and his hybrid offspring have to some degree, then that to me would make some sense as to why Ben knows what he knows….it might also explain the interest in Walt…perhaps the “Others” wanted to find out if they thought Walt was some hybrid from an earlier or separate alien landing….that’s why the questions to Michael if he was sure he was the father……
If Jacob’s power to use the smoke monster is a manifestation he controls he has complete control over the island and can see every one of the 815er’s…..my only guess as to why people must come to the island or to the help of the “Others” willingly as opposed to being forced to is that if they come by force they will not do what needs to be done correctly. Besides the need for human help for reproducing, Jacob and the “Others” use the 815ers as an example to the willing humans who find there way there either by accident or choice ( Jacob would know who would like to be included using his telepathy, thus the people taken from the crash who have not been killed ) as an example of what the human species will be if they were left alone….perhaps for some of our Losties he takes them when they have changed or he makes the circumstances change so that when they prove their ability to change that is when they die….he would not want the people observing to realize that it is in their power to control their destiny and that humans have the ability to make mistakes and then to change their ways…once they have repented their sins and quit being evil they are of no use to Jacob on this island any longer….in fact they are a threat…
I only come here and I respect everyone’s opinion that I have read….and do not go to spoiler sites — have the producers ever mentioned anything to do w/ Aliens or said that they play no part? Thanks to all – - I love reading everyone’s thoughts here – -
Feel free to poke holes – - no hard feelings here – -
April 18th, 2007 at 6:53 am
F’N'NutZ-
I respect your Thoughts,
I see no holes, This Therory weaves many of my thoughts…ie. Military,and Village People(Aliens) Caring little or nothing for Outsiders, unless they are BreedingStock, or of use.
Think About it
Ben and Juliet seem to look upon the 815ers as lab animals,or pets from a lower species and not worthy of making real deals with…
…..can you make a binding agreement with a cat or dog,monkey???
I like Jacob as the UberAlien….and I think It is Mr. Odd Science Leslie Arntz………
Who Faked his death in a “Magic Disappearing act” BOOOOM!
April 18th, 2007 at 6:57 am
Nuckin, if the Lost producers ever mention, elude, or bring aliens into the show I will immediately stop watching, throw all of my DVDs away and deny that I ever watched the show to begin with. Not that I have a problem with aliens, but after three years of investing my TV-watching life to this show I, along with many other Lost fans, would be utterly disappointed and let down.
Anyway, just my two cents. Nothing against your theory though. I just hope you’re wrong.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:09 am
NorCal-
I felt the same way as St. Elsewhere ended,
And have not watched a TV Hospital/Medical Show since.
As a Nurse, it insulted and abused my trust.
In Lost’s case , I will accept Aliens…But It better be extremeely well done.
I can handle ..Crash landed Stranded Aliens,who are Trapped on Island,Earth and only Slightly Advanced of us… Kinda like “The Aliens, with Roy Thinness …a Quinn Martin Production”
altho they were Invading us.., And they would able to Technically Manipulate the World of the 815ers and their real Life World
But if it is well developed and well written and slowly introduced …E.T.s would/could work, I only want itto be well done……
Ben rejecting “Carrie” would be an Alien Oppinion, as if, “That’s Silly” how unbelieveable”.
Peace and Good Watching Tonite.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:55 am
Maybe whatever is causing women dying from pregnancy didn’t start happening until somewhat recently. This would explain why Ben was born on the island, and Alex, if in fact she was born on the island. Maybe ‘the purge” has something to do with it?
April 19th, 2007 at 11:41 am
The “Alien” theory would explain 10 puzzles
1. The Four-Toed statue
2. Ben’s amazing strength when he fought Sawyer in the Bear Cage (and with a tumor in his spine, even!)
3. Juliets amazing strength and quick reactions after she was attacked by Kate in the game room, delivering a sandwich
4. The Smoke Monster
5. Why the Others know so much about the Losties (like Sawyer killing the wrong man)
6. The sonic fence
7. The magical healing properties on the Island
8. The whispers in the forest
9. The injections used by the Others
10. The origin of the Numbers
April 24th, 2007 at 8:36 am
Aliens,
Who have been here a long …long time but cannot Leave, or communicate with “Other” home world.
I do kinda like that if their “Time loopTravel” ability is limited to say; a 50 year cycle and a limited in interactions they themselves can perform. that would explain many things, mainly them altering Losties lives to manipulate potential outcomes and future possibilities for them to return home.
Kinda like, “Final Countdown”, although they were not Aliens ,two people were thrown into past on an “Island” near Pearl Harbor 12/7/1941 and were able to alter outcomes and have a hand in the building of the Nimitz and their own “Future Echo / Time Travel” experience. But they could not interact with them selves directly only effecting situations around the
couple that they had been during their journey back in time.
Paradox Paradox
in as such….
“‘I always lie’ is a paradox because if it is true it must be false”
Our Ben is classic example of such a Paradoxical theme.