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Lost: Not in Portland

Juliet: "Whatever you think I am, I'm not."

We finally got the Other side of the story, pun intended. Juliet is a prisoner. She's as helpless as Jack is. And she's not just a fertility doctor; she's a groundbreaking genius who broke the rules for her sister's sake.

We got a few answers. "Alcatraz" does exist. Ben really did have a tumor on his spine, but not any more. Alex is indeed Ben's daughter. (Whether or not he's her biological father is another question.) And I'm guessing that if the evil Mittelos Bioscience is behind the "Others," then it doesn't have much, or anything, to do with the original Peace Corp-like mission of the Dharma Initiative.

Why would Mittelos Bioscience want Juliet so much that they would assassinate a prominent physician just to acquire her services? (I'm assuming she didn't sign up voluntarily, either.) Are they trying to save the world, and are just being really mean about it? Are they channeling the Nazis and trying to build a master race, perhaps?

And there's a whole lotta Clockwork Orange brainwashing going on. I didn't spend a lot of time analyzing what they were showing poor Carl, but I noticed that there were a lot of repeated shapes, like lots of eyes, lots of circles. There was a final shot of some scraggly guy wearing goggles. (Like Carl was?) And one of the screen shots said, "God loves you as he loved Jacob." Jacob was mentioned in the previous episode. Is he the guy with the eyepatch? The mastermind behind it all?



In an episode chock full of good stuff, I loved the intrepid Alex rescuing Kate and Sawyer with her slingshot. I loved Jack making Tom blanch by dangling gore at him. I loved Jack's noble determination to get Kate and Sawyer out of there. I even started to like Juliet.

But my favorite scene was Kate telling Jack the "five seconds of fear" story he told her in the pilot. The emotion between them was just so strong; I could feel their love for each other. And I don't necessarily mean romantic love, because I truly believe Kate loves Sawyer.

"Promise me you'll never come back here for me." Yeah, Jack. That'll happen.

Character bits:

Dr. Juliet Burke worked at the Medical Research Laboratory at Miami Central University, until she was "acquired" by "Mittelos Bioscience." Which I just realized is an anagram for "lost time."

Juliet has been on the Island for three years, two months, and 28 days.

Juliet seems to have continuing problems with powerful, morally ambiguous men, like Henry Ben and her ex-husband, Dr. Edmund Burke. Jack might be a nice change for her. They do seem to be setting up something there.

"Edmund Burke" was a political philosopher who believed in "liberty connected with order." Pretty much the opposite of Juliet's ex.

Juliet's sister Rachel tested positive for pregnancy. (Widmore pregnancy test.) We never learned what her illness was. I was guessing cancer because of the turban.

Zeke/Tom was actually rather fun. Turns out that like Hurley, he's not so good around blood. Is he gay? I mean Tom, not Hurley.

Juliet killed Danny. I don't plan to mourn. I can also get behind her reasons for trying to kill Ben.

Sawyer gave Alex a whole bunch of nicknames: Sheena, Underdog, Sister, and Lollipop. And I think he called Carl "Cheech."


When we saw Ethan in the teaser, I was shocked. I thought it was his twin or something.

The bus crash was a shocker. Although I shouldn't have been surprised, since it was the 815th vehicle accident so far on Lost. (I really should count them; 815 is probably an exaggeration on my part.)

Bits and pieces:

— Adewale BigLongName is out of the cast. So we're down to a paltry fifteen cast members.

— There was some fabulous acting in this episode. Gold stars in particular for Elizabeth Mitchell, Matthew Fox, and Evangeline Lilly.

— Rachel was played by yet another Deadwood alumni, Robin Weigert, who was amazing as drunken, foul-mouthed Calamity Jane.

— It was hard to see, but I'm certain the plane we saw in the teaser had an Oceanic logo on it.

— I'm assuming Juliet wasn't lying about what she and Ben discussed when they were alone. Anyone out there who can read lips upside down?

— Aldo, the unfortunate and incompetent young guard, was reading Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. I wonder if it relates to what is happening to Desmond?

— The Clockwork Orange room was number 23.

— Gun battle. We don't get a lot of gun battles on Lost.

— Who was the 26-year-old woman with the elderly womb? Anyone we know?

Quotes:

Kate: "We need a boat."
Sawyer: "Yeah. And a couple of towels and a buffet lunch."


Tom: "Shephard says he's a spinal surgeon, not an anesthesiologist." I immediately thought, "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer."

Sawyer: "Don't get mad at me just because you were dumb enough to fall for the Wookiee prisoner gag."

This episode was gripping and fascinating, Lost at its best. I loved it. Four out of four polar bears,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

6 comments:

  1. After the wonderful episode that preceded this one, I had no expectations. Again, I was very pleasantly surprised by how good it was and how caught up in it I became.

    Juliet is becoming a more complicated character, but I'm still not sure I trust her. I think she may be willing to do anything to get home. If she were telling the truth about what Ben said to her, it's almost sad. She's is finally free from the emotional bullying of Edward only to immediately be caught up in the emotional bullying of Ben. Maybe Jack would be a nice change of pace for her, and I agree that it feels as though we are headed in that direction.

    Three minutes seems to be the time limit for private conversations with the Others. First Walt and Michael and now Juliet and Ben.

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  2. A friend of mine used to work for a company that had a little phrase they used all the time: the "nickel opinion." It was their twist on the proverbial "two cents." (It drove my friend crazy.)

    I think the "three minutes" thing is Others-slang. And I love that Lost added that sort of nuance--a group of people relatively removed from the rest of the world would develop their own slang. Of course, that's just my nickel opinion.

    "Are they trying to save the world, and are just being really mean about it?"

    I'd like to nominate this for best rhetorical question ever asked.

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  3. Great the Juliet's flaschback. We finally understand because she wants to come back home so badly.
    The surgery'scene is brilliant.
    The goodbye between Jack and Kate is so moving(great score of Giacchino,Life and Death),she cries,he cries,she'so hopeless,she hates herself for leaving him behind. It's their story,their first meeting,both of them have to overcome the fear(count to five). Kate loves Jack,and Sawyer and Juliet are unwillingly witnesses of this intimate connection.

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    Replies
    1. ["Jack's noble determination to get Kate and Sawyer out of there."]

      What noble determination? That was more about Jack trying to wash Kate out of his hands after seeing her with Sawyer inside that cage. Out of sight, out of mind.

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  4. Hahaha wow I can't believe Richard's first appearance on the show is in a flashback. That just feels wrong somehow

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