“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?â€
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
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.
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.
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?
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.
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”.
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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”.
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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?
does that mean the Ben was not born on the island then, if women can’t give birth?
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?
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…
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!
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….
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
What Juliet will do with a gaz mask ?? Its a beach.. they cannot use gaz.. why she need that ??
haaaaa ok.. its for the Left Behind episode !!
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…
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.
Penelope was not in Antarctica. She got a call FROM the Portugese guys in Antarctica.
Ben has said he was born on the island. Does the mother die and the baby live?
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 thingâ€
Nope Mr Science Arnst is Mr. Big , and an ecentric Genius.
Rember his Crash Scene , LOOK at ME Notice ME, am I OK?!â€
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?
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!!!!
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.
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.
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.”
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!!!!!!!!!!!!
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.
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.
Pardon my ignorance but can someone fill me in on who Jacob is?
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.
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.
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.
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?”
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!
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.
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.
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

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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..
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.
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.
That should say Ben not been. oops
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!
# 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.
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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.
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?
This episode rocked!!!!!!! I read some spoilers that said that the french woman will return and will be captred by the others.
wow.. we busted 100 comments !!