Lost: Season 3, Episode 18 Review: D.O.C.

D.O.C.
Original Airdate: April 25, 2007
Writer: Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Director: Frederick E. O. Toye

With the reveal that women who conceive on the island eventually die, the obvious question was how this affected Sun, who was pregnant and not sure who the father of her child was. If it was Jae Lee, she could be safe since it happened off island, but have to face a constant reminder of her mistake. If it was Jin, she could face a death sentence, but possibly experience some peace. Sun had to find out the problem with pregnant women on the island eventually, and Juliet’s arrival to the beach serves to give her access to the tools to tell her the truth.

Her thoughts could’ve been on her time with Jae, but instead they focus on another time she felt coerced into burying a secret, and the cost it took on her and Jin’s lives. Sun’s major flaw is that she will lie to protect her interests, regardless of who will be harmed in the process. In this episode, to pay off Jin’s mother she borrows a large sum of money from her gangster father, who in turn hires Jin to do his dirty work to pay off the debt. Essentially, Sun is responsible for both her and his husband’s character flaws.

Unlike the past, her ability to bury the secret of her affair (even if Jin has some idea that it happened) offers a possible road to redemption for her. With Jin being the father, she can completely put her affair behind her, even if that means he has to die for it to happen.

There is one problem that may never be addressed due to the handling of the reveal of the fetus’ age. According to Juliet’s estimates, Sun’s baby was conceived around the time of their estrangement in “…in Translation”. It seems unlikely that they would have sex at that time. However, sperm can live for some time after sex, and considering the island’s power, it could help survive for longer than on the mainland.

The island’s treatment of pregnant women juxtaposes against the fertility of men. Men on the island produce five times more sperm than those off, but if a child is conceived, the mother will die. It’s almost like the island has some deep rooted misogyny or adamant opposition to sex.

One of Juliet’s purposes in the main camp is the collecting of samples from the women of the camp, particularly Sun & Kate. On that note: what exactly would she get to use as a sample? This adds more to my theory that they wanted Kate and Sawyer to have sex in hopes that she would get pregnant. Considering they are having more sex, Kate’s likelihood of pregnancy grows, unless there is some birth control they don’t show.

Since Sun was a willing participant, Juliet was easily able to go to The Staff to relay information to Ben about Sun’s pregnancy and her status with the other castaways. It’s unlikely she would be able to get samples as easily from the rest of the women. However, her willingness to participate in Ben’s plan is questioned when she says she hates Ben after she finishes recording her message. This could be reluctance or her venting after playing along for the tape recorder.

While it was the B-plot, the continuation of the search party provided the bigger moments. For starters, Mikhail survived the sonic fence. Obviously it was tough to describe that event in my “Par Avion” review as I try to avoid explicit spoilers of future episodes, even if they aired months or years earlier. Whether the fence was designed to stun a person or wasn’t at its full capacity isn’t clear yet.

Having Mikhail survive places him in a position to alert the Others to this new arrival. He is also a medic (clearly he didn’t spend as much time in combat training as Jin), which allows him to help save Naomi. When she mentions she is not alone in Portuguese, he mistranslates it as thanks for saving her life. This adds some mystery to her and possible ulterior methods for reaching the island.

Desmond’s negotiation with Mikhail, save Naomi in exchange for his freedom, is rather controversial. Charlie, who in addition to what happened in the last episode has had several bad encounters with The Others, is obviously the most opposed to Desmond’s plan. The brief peace they made in “Catch-22” is dashed in this episode, as they continue to argue over the fateful decision to let Mikhail go.

An element that would’ve been interesting to explore is Mikhail wearing the Dharma jumpsuit. This would’ve piqued Desmond’s curiosity. This could’ve been a logical spot for them to explain why he is the only Other who wears Dharma jumpsuits, but sadly, it was never touched upon.

His attempt to take the satellite phone is also a worthy cause of alarm. Obviously, The Others would want that technology, if only to have an advantage over the castaways. It’s still not clear if the phone will work again, although Hurley has a little fun talking to “his mom”. But having a phone and Naomi both are big advantages for the castaways.

One problem with Naomi’s multi-linguistics: why wouldn’t she speak English first since that’s what they were speaking. It makes sense for Rousseau to try several languages when she was interrogating Sayid in “Solitary”, but not here, unless Naomi was so disoriented from her fall and punctured lung that she couldn’t make sense out of what they were saying.

“One of Us” showed a brief glimpse of news outlets’ coverage of Flight 815’s disappearance. With the arrival of Naomi, we find out what the rest of the world believes what happened. While it is far more realistic for them to all be dead as the result of the crash, it isn’t a confirmation that the characters really are dead and in purgatory, much to the chagrin of those still clinging to that long debunked theory. Instead it implies a conspiracy: someone or something very powerful, like Mittelos, wanted to get these people to the island and to give them enough reason not to look any further. Mikhail not translating properly adds to the possibility that she is on their side.

This episode is another solid installment, setting up the pieces for the conclusion of the season while throwing in a few answers. Once the cliffhanger is seen as something other than an obvious cop out, it adds a new layer of mystery and peril to the survivors. Someone has big plans for them, but who?

Overall Score: 8/10

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2, Episode 17 Review: Passion

Passion
Original Airdate: February 24, 1998
Writer: Ty King
Director: Michael E. Gershman

While this may have been highly controversial among fans when it aired, now it stands as one of the best episodes of “Buffy”, continuing the milestones since the middle of the season. The show goes through another growing pain: the first death of a recurring character who wasn’t a villain. Killing off a character can be dangerous for a show. Those who seek comfort in their weekly series may cry foul at such a shake up, but it is necessary for shows like “Buffy”, that frequently deal with death in arc based storylines. Other times it can be a desperate maneuver to shock audiences and garner some of its old buzz. However, this time the death makes sense in terms of the characters and the plot and it is executed (so to speak) perfectly.

They made it clear that Angelus liked to toy with his victims rather than killing them right away. He’s relished dismissing the relationship Angel once had with Buffy and leaving notes that tell her he’s watching, but that can only go so far where the big bad is concerned. They had to show Angel was a true villain, not one Buffy could ignore or who would “never chip in for gas”. Someone had to die to prove that. Originally, that was Oz, a safe choice considering his role was limited to this point. However, fan appreciation of Oz, as well as implied back stage bad behavior, turned Jenny into the first major casualty of Buffy’s gang.

Obviously, this episode resolves Jenny’s estrangement from the main group. While Giles picked Buffy to side on after Jenny’s secret was revealed, his feelings for her remained. Jenny and Giles speaking in the classroom early in the episode showed that need for reconciliation. Buffy, still reeling from her own heartbreak, saw it too and allowed Jenny to resume her relationship, albeit not going so far as to forgive her completely.

“Surprise” and “Innocence” revealed Jenny’s motivation for coming to Sunnydale and acquainting herself with the gang: she was a descendant of gypsies Angelus killed and they wanted her to keep him from experiencing perfect happiness. While she followed orders more out of obligation to family than passion, that secret caused her to fall out of the graces of the rest of the group. She would have to make up for her mistake somehow. She ultimately does so by siding with her new friends and love. Her attempt to find a way to restore Angel’s soul serves as a redemptive final act. This choice is shown in her tombstone, reading her alias rather than her gypsy name.

The scenes where the characters react to Jenny’s murder are the most potent of the series thus far. To show Buffy and Willow breaking down from Angelus’ point of view, with little dialogue audible, was a great touch. It’s interesting how effective this scene is considering it’s shown from the perspective of a monster.

Xander gets off easy as far as Angelus torment is concerned, but he can’t keep quiet after Jenny’s death. While he never liked Angel, largely out of jealousy for his romance with Buffy, he kept it to himself because he was friends with Buffy, and later to avoid hurting her further. The lack of discretion foreshadows the collapse of Buffy’s world that began when Angelus returned.

Giles arguably gets the worst of it among those alive. Angelus’ staging of his apartment, with the idea that the reconciled couple would get to have their first night together, is so perfectly done that makes the reveal nothing short of crushing. The addition of the operatic music only intensifies the scene. This goes beyond any cruel act Angelus has done so far.

Detachment is a major theme of this season. The characters struggle to control their passions to do what is necessary, or what is smart. Buffy’s said her emotions give her an advantage in a fight, but they are also a major liability as Giles warns her in the episode. She couldn’t kill Angelus in “Innocence” because of her connection to Angel, and Jenny’s death becomes symbolic of what that lack of detachment can do. Now she knows she has to fight him and that the man she loved is gone. However, she stops Giles from doing it knowing his reckless attack will kill him.

Ironically, Giles lets his passions interfere with his judgment. He would’ve gotten himself killed had Buffy not intervened, as Angel let him have those first few swings with the lit baseball bat (which looked cool regardless). This episode does a better job at showing Giles as a flawed human being than his own episode did earlier in the season. The scene where Buffy punches Giles after they leave the burning building is just perfect.

While Boreanaz may have overdone Angelus in “Innocence”, he hits all the right marks in this episode, as Angelus gets to do the things he loves most. He is a master manipulator, playing obsessed hunter, heartbroken ex and brutal killer extremely well. It makes Jenny’s death scene particularly thrilling and shocking. He graduates from a good minor villain to one worthy of the title “Big Bad”.

It’s unlikely that Angelus knew, but unceremoniously telling Joyce that he slept with Buffy further chipped away at the mother-daughter relationship. The bond between them has gotten increasingly strained as the season’s progressed, as it becomes harder for Buffy to keep her secret from her mother. Buffy even contemplates telling her when she realizes that her mother could potentially be in danger because Angel has a standing invitation.

Spike continues to argue over how to deal with Buffy and her friends, supporting a swift kill rather than “leaving gag gifts on teacher’s bed”. Toying with Buffy will only get her “brassed off” as he puts it. However, Angelus will do whatever he wants and with his advances towards Drusilla serve to intensify the feud between them.

Things in Sunnydale are now a lot darker. In the beginning, Buffy and her friends have a night of fun without a care towards what Angelus is planning. Willow’s even looking forward to being a substitute for Jenny if she is late (how a junior could substitute a class is not clear, but hardly noteworthy for this episode). By the end, such nights of fun are on hiatus and Willow gets to teach the class under the worst circumstances.

This episode sets a major precedent for the show. What could’ve been a disaster is made irrelevant by amazing writing (except for the out of place “Faster Pussycat” reference), direction and acting. It’s surprising Ty King wrote this episode after the disappointing “Some Assembly Required” and that he never wrote another episode. Things are very bad for the characters and hope is lost, symbolized with the floppy disk falling between the crack of desk and filing cabinet, but it makes for great television.

Overall Score: 10/10

Lost: Season 3, Episode 17 Review: Catch-22

Catch-22
Original Airdate: April 18, 2007
Writer: Jeff Pinkner and Brian K. Vaughn
Director: Stephen Williams

Of the loose ends from the season two cliffhanger, two haven’t been addressed: Michael and Walt on the boat and the discovery of the island by the Portuguese men. Many speculated how much time would be devoted to this storyline this season, and whether we’d be taken off the island for a long period for Penelope’s quest. Since they decided to keep the real-time story island based and that it would take some time to get the available crew to the area, it makes sense that we wouldn’t hear a follow up until now. So with that we turn to another Desmond story. It is the least satisfying of the three we’ve seen so far, but considering the two prior, it’s still a solid episode laying the foundation for the conclusion of the season. His flashbacks in this episode served more to deepen our understanding of Desmond and his cowardice than provide major revelations, unless how he came to call everyone “brother” counts.

Desmond, like Locke, is driven by faith and destiny. After a drunken night before his wedding, he met a monk and decided that a life devoted to the church was where he was supposed to be. That decision reflected a deep cowardice towards his relationship with Ruth, who clearly took it hard. Instead of facing the fact that he wasn’t in love or ready for marriage, he used fate as a justification for it.

Unlike Locke, Desmond hasn’t had the sense of a higher purpose. Desmond feels his life is leading somewhere, but he doesn’t know what that is. Anytime he made a mistake in his life, he considered it merely a step towards his destiny. In the flashbacks, his ill advised time in the monastery lead him to the love of his life. While Locke has gone for big signs (finding his missing father, crashing on the island), Desmond is picking up anything that comes by and reading it as a sign of his higher calling.

Ruth’s comments about Desmond placing so much importance upon who found him after his stupor offer an ironic foreshadowing. Eventually in the hatch, Desmond was discovered by a Shepard (Jack, albeit a different spelling than the profession). When Desmond contemplated suicide, it was Locke’s anguish that pulled him back from the brink. It’s never been clear, but it would be interesting to know what Desmond thought about the castaways breaking in to the hatch.

When he was first introduced, there were hints of Desmond’s cowardice, as he bolted towards the then unknown “Elizabeth” when the computer malfunctioned. After several more instances, it has become a defining aspect of his character. Now we’re given a scenario where Desmond’s behavior is in a different light. Desmond believes he has two possible outcomes: reunite with Penny or save Charlie. With the story of Abraham and Isaac on his mind, he’s wondering if saving Charlie is ultimately going against the fate he believes in. However, his active way of sparing Charlie could be the first step to his redemption. He’s willing to give up something he wanted for the safety of another and not ready to accept things outside of his control.

Desmond’s last flashback (so to speak) explained that the weird premonitions he had were flashes of future events, primarily involving Charlie’s death. This episode shows what he meant by flashes. It’s understandable that these are taking a toll on Desmond, as the random scattered images of events to come would be traumatizing to see played out repeatedly and to have no power over them. Whether he can learn to control this will likely be a major piece of his story.

It also set up the notion of “course correction”. While Desmond has the ability to change what will happen in his flashes, this will change the “image”. Preventing something bad in one instance could set up for another bad thing later. In this case, it is Charlie’s death, which recurs in different ways every time after Desmond saves him. This explains Desmond’s mindset, as he is unsure whether saving Charlie will prevent him from his reunion.

Unlike prior confirmed flashes, Desmond had an active role in making the trek in the jungle happen (besides Charlie dying), including bringing people along for the sole reason of them appearing in the flash. Would they have gone had Desmond not gotten the vision? Would they have gone out into the jungle had they stayed on the beach? Could they even hear the helicopter crash into the ocean from their camp? Such circular thinking makes this episode’s title especially appropriate.

This brings up many questions about the function of the flashes. It’s possible that they are a self-conscious entity and wanted Desmond to go into the jungle to find the parachutist, so they sent him a vision of the future where it happened. Perhaps Ms. Hawking was the manifestation of that, much like The Architect of “The Matrix” films.

Ms. Hawking, whom Desmond encountered in “Flashes” appears briefly in a horribly doctored photo (it’s like they just cut them out of other pictures and pasted them together). Is there a difference between that woman and the person Desmond encountered in his first flash or did the entity assume her form? It would be far more compelling them be the same and to have her working with Brother Campbell to guide Desmond to the island, which gives more weight to the popular “recruiter theory”.

Much like “Tricia Tanaka Is Dead”, we get a bunch of great comic scenes between Hurley, Charlie & Jin. Storytime with Jin was a highlight (I actually saw this episode with a native Korean speaker, who gave the rest of us the gist as to what the story was) and Charlie and Hurley’s debate over who would win in a foot race feels like the type of conversation they should be having more often.

The introduction of the parachutist, later named Naomi, is the effective starting point for the conclusion of the season. As Ben prepares for his major attack on the castaways, having a new person thrown in the mix could turn out to be a major problem for him, since he won’t be able to gather as much intel as possible about her (it hasn’t been mentioned how much The Others know about Desmond).

With the Portugese copy of “Catch-22” and a copy of Desmond’s photo, it’s a safe assumption that she is among those we saw in the listening station from “Live Together, Die Alone”, who were Portugese as well. It obviously took a few weeks for them to assemble and get there as well, so the timeline fits.

Producers had teased of a new, non-flashback, non-castaway, non-Other, character, and she is presumably it. While some, with Nikki and Paolo still fresh in their minds, may roll their eyes at this new arrival, it seems like the logical next step, which has been hinted at in “One of Us”. For the first time, we’re going to see how the outside world has reacted to Flight 815.

The least compelling of the storylines this week involved Kate’s jealousy over Juliet and Jack’s bonding. Too much emphasis is placed on which man Kate will choose, and ultimately her character suffers because of it. What would be compelling is to explore this from an alliance point of view. Although she helped Claire, Juliet still isn’t on solid ground with everyone and Jack’s prolonged absence could seriously affect his leadership status. Or they could’ve mentioned the consequences of the late night trysts between Kate and Sawyer. As mentioned several times, it’s not likely there are a lot of reliable birth control methods on the island (unless they don’t want to offend some people by showing Dharma condoms or birth control pills).

Ultimately, this episode does a good job setting up the stage for the final episodes, with certain elements brought back to the front that will become pivotal. More time is given to develop Desmond’s flashes, which will likely be a major force in Desmond’s story.

Overall Score: 8/10

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2, Episode 16 Review: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
Original Airdate: February 10, 1998
Writer: Marti Noxon
Director: James A. Contner

Spells gone awry is a common plot device in fantasy going back to Shakespeare, often allegorical for an easy solution to a difficult problem, which in turn makes the problem worse. Love with all its complexity is a very appropriate problem. This chaos can be played both seriously and comically. Considering its position in the season arc, right before even darker revelations and events than we’ve seen so far, it’s fitting for it to be done comically.

With the reference in the previous episode to the cheerleader trophy from “Witch”, it’s fitting to bring back Amy for another story, especially as magic grows in importance on the series. Despite having her witch mother switch bodies with her and hold her hostage in her home, the draw of magic to accomplish her own desires is too tempting, evidenced with the “invisible homework”. This is setting herself up for a big fall in the future.

Of the main couplings on the show, Cordelia and Xander’s is the most flawed. They came together out of fear of the bug man and since then have stayed together merely out of teenage lust. Once it happened, they kept it secret from the rest of the group until it was revealed at the least opportune moment possible. Despite them having some feelings, there isn’t a solid foundation for their future.

Perhaps the episode would’ve been strengthened had the focus been on Cordelia, not Xander, since her actions set up the episode. Cordelia broke up with Xander to meet the approval of her clique, who besides Harmony are nameless generic high school girls. Once the spell has gone awry and every female in sight is obsessed with him and attempt in zombie esque fashion to seize the Summers’ basement does she turn around. Even with her self assertion at the end of the episode, her decision to stay with Xander is influenced by how her friends reacted under the influence. Only she would find such a gesture romantic.

Also, a fact creator Joss Whedon acknowledges in some commentaries, Nicholas Brendon is much better looking than his nerd persona would suggest. So it’s easier to believe he could get a girl as good looking as Cordelia or that women would fawn over him (not that Nicholas Brendon likely cared), but not as easy for him to be completely humiliated when he gets dumped, as if his peers think he’ll never get close again. However, that humiliation is a good motivator for him to resort to witchcraft for an easy answer.

Quickly, Xander realizes the spell was a major mistake, as every female in sight becomes entranced by him. It also creates some uncomfortable moments when he faces his feelings with the two unavailable women in his life. These encounters, as hard to resist as they were (between Willow’s ear biting and Buffy’s sexy raincoat, I would’ve been catatonic), really show that Xander is a stand up guy, refusing their advances due to their intoxication with the “mystical roofie”. He even saves Cordelia from being torn apart by his admirers. While he caused a lot of trouble (so much that the only people who could help stop it were straight guys, one of whom was a briefly angry Oz), Xander attempted to avoid further harm for his friends.

More could’ve been made of Willow’s pain following the spell, since she’s the one who really loved Xander without magic, as Buffy reminds him in the end, and whose obsession was the most intense. Casting the spell showed an unusual amount of selfishness and almost resulted in serious consequences, particularly if Buffyrat went for the cheese before Amy could revoke the spell. Perhaps the light hearted nature of the episode prompted them to gloss over it: they’d have plenty of dark times ahead.

Considering the tone of the episode, it makes sense to set up the reconciliation between Giles and Jenny, whose relationship has been inactive since “Innocence”. This awkwardness is far worse than the episodes following Jenny’s possession in “The Dark Age”. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t have much time for that as Jenny falls victim to the spell. Giles’ telling Amy she’s not feeling love could be his way of expressing the angst over his own relationship.

While he never gets to craft any grand “poet[ic]” display to taunt Buffy, much to the delight of puppies everywhere, the hints of the menace Angelus poses to Buffy’s friends is still clear. One important piece that hasn’t been referenced since Angelus’ return is the fact that Angel’s invitation into Buffy’s home extends even to his monstrous alter-ego, evidenced when he reaches into Buffy’s room and pulls out Xander. Although he passed on slaughtering the bewitched women afterward, he still has total access to her home, a reality that isn’t addressed until the next episode.

Spike continues to sit impotently while Angelus moves in on Dru. For a vampire gift, a fresh human heart would be more endearing than a necklace. Every time Spike tries to do something in his less mobile state, Angelus is ready to upstage him with something more dramatic, something Dru, who is unable to be docile for too long, would be drawn to. Not to mention Angelus putting the necklace on her eats Spike up and Angelus couldn’t enjoy it more.

Side note on Spike: it’s interesting that he doesn’t automatically find a rhyming word for “lungs”, considering who he was before he turned.

Regardless of its flaws, this episode is still a fun piece of comic relief to throw us off guard before the dark twists in the final episodes of the season. It helps establish connections with magic and spells, something that would become very important to the series. The cast clearly has fun going over the top, which makes it even more enjoyable.

Overall Score: 8/10

Lost: Season 3, Episode 16 Review: One of Us

One of Us
Original Airdate: April 11, 2007
Writer: Carlton Cuse and Drew Goddard
Director: Jack Bender

While the “mini-season” started off uneven (or disastrous by myopic viewers), Juliet was consistently the most intriguing element of it. They even wisely started this successful leg of the season with her story, setting up how Mittelos recruited her to go “not quite [to] Portland”. Now as the rescue phase of the season ends, it’s fitting to turn to her again, which exposes a lot about who The Others are and what ramifications that’ll have on the castaways.

Elizabeth Mitchell delivers another great performance (the Emmys are for losers) as Juliet, showcasing even more shades of her character than we saw in her first flashback. The first episode showed her from a mousy, insecure, yet brilliant scientist in Miami to a determined, collected, and still brilliant woman on the island. What this episode does is bridge the gap and explain how exactly Juliet became the woman she is.

Juliet had always wanted validation, but was continually placed under the thumb of people who can easily control her. This condition may still exist, at least with her relationship with Ben. Even free of her husband’s control, she found herself buying into Mittelos’ plans; this time their encouragement was the form of control.

The two people who influenced Juliet the most were Ben and her sister Rachel. Juliet wanted to be with her sister in her recovery, as it is presumed little time passed between Rachel telling Juliet of her pregnancy to Juliet going to Herarat Aviation (anagram: The Ovarian Tiara, if that means anything). Unfortunately, that conflicted with her “opportunity” with Mittelos, and resulted in a decision that has greatly affected her motivations as her time on the island has gone on. Juliet’s decisions are motivated heavily to appease those who brought her to the island in hopes that they’ll bring her home.

Thankfully, they didn’t go the expected route and have Juliet and Ben be romantically involved, but rather had their history be related to Juliet’s desire to leave the island and Ben’s inability to let her. As the six month stay turned into three years, she has grown angry and resentful over Ben keeping her on the island forever. The revelation of Ben’s tumor casts doubt over whether Rachel was ever healed, which Juliet seemed confident would happen with Ben’s mentioning of Jacob.

Alpert’s video documentation of a living Rachel playing with her son Julian shows considerable premeditation on apart of Ben to convince Juliet that he was genuine and his tumor isn’t a sign of weakness of Jacob’s. Considering the time frame between their fight with the x-rays to the crash, this only intensifies the power or its perception. Ben said in “Exposé” that one of his keys in manipulation is using something someone values for his own needs, and Rachel is that for Juliet.

Old scenes are spliced into the episode excellently, and are not just mere rehashes to fill time. The prologue from the premiere is reintroduced and is given a new context and added depth. While “This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)” by Talking Heads would’ve been a better fit for the show and her situation (this is something my nerd heart can’t get over), Juliet listening to one of the few contacts she has with her sister, who she assumes after her confrontation with Ben has died and will never see again, is far more interesting than her jilted by an ex-lover.

Before Juliet’s arrival on the island, more information is given as to Mittelos’ functions. Juliet’s assertion that none of her peers have heard of this group is fitting to the mystery of The Others. Mittelos likely shells out a lot of money to keep this operation quiet. Their presumed involvement with the bus crash killing Juliet’s ex-husband showed the power The Others wield in the outside world, and their secrecy shows they are capable of much more.

It’s reinforced shortly after the plane crash, when Ben contacts Mikhail for the next phase of their operation: gathering intel on all 324 people on the flight (although only a fraction survived). To get as thorough a job as The Others have on finding out everything about the castaways, they need more than a reliable search engine to do so. It’s possible that they are in some way a competitor to The Hanso Foundation, the group responsible for Dharma.

This episode is the first one that gives some hint to what The Others’ mission is. One major problem people have had, particularly those first six episodes, is that the only explanation for The Others’ behavior is that they’re antagonistic for the sake of antagonism. Now we see that part of their mission is to create life on the island, which seems to make the growing baby some kind of virulent agent, destroying the mother.

The island killing pregnant women is an interesting concept. There were hints in “Not In Portland”, with the 26-year-old woman’s deteriorated uterus. Does the island not want human life on it and will consciously destroy any woman who comes close? It could be added that The Monster is the muscle to take care of those already born. This explains a major mystery lingering from midway through the first season: why they wanted Claire. Claire gave birth without incident and the only problem that arose besides the implant was Aaron’s bizarre rash in “Maternity Leave” (perhaps there is more to that).

One big factor is the conditions of Claire’s pregnancy. Unlike Sabine and the other unnamed female Others, she conceived her baby off the island. This could explain why Alex and Rousseau didn’t die because of the latter’s pregnancy. This also brings up major questions about Ben’s parentage, since we haven’t seen either of his parents, and he claims to have been on the island his whole life.

It does explain why they would want Kate and Sawyer to have sex and all the contrived ways to get them together. The Others must’ve ran out of willing females to try to carry a baby to term, so why would they care if a woman on the other side, one not on “the list”, died? The Others would be willing to place her in harm’s way if it could provide an answer to the fertility problem.

Juliet’s major motivation has been to get off the island to be with her sister again. Despite losing the submarine, she still has plenty of reason to believe that Ben has the capability to achieve that goal, whereas the castaways don’t have any plan, spending more time hoping something or someone will come along to help them. However, Juliet has been mislead as to when she can leave the island before, which adds a tinge of uncertainty of which side she’ll align with.

The con Ben orchestrates for Juliet is remarkable. Since the beginning of the season, Juliet has been coaxing Jack to side with her. With the primary leader of the castaways won over, she took to the only member of the rescue team who could possibly sympathize with her who wasn’t going with The Others. Now on the main camp, she has to win over the hearts and minds of the main group, who are wary of having one of the enemy come over to their side. So, what would be better than as Ben puts it, for Juliet to solve a “big crisis” involving the new mother?

Implanting something in Claire to make her sick when she was abducted for a plan almost two and a half months later shows an astonishing amount of preplanning for The Others, even if the writers didn’t think about that development way back in episode ten. It is a big step to swallow, but perhaps once we learn what Ben has in store a week from that final flashback, which should only be a few days ahead, it’ll make sense.

The success of the con and what its end game will be could drastically alter Jack’s status as leader of the group. Being gone for three weeks and Sawyer stepping up following Hurley’s advice, in addition to Sawyer not being one to relinquish power easily, adds to that. There is a clear rift between Jack and the other leaders, like Sawyer and Sayid. Both men have enough reason to distrust anyone from The Others and they’re likely to gain some followers.

One surprising thing is that no one calls Jack out for swaying his decision to protect Juliet based on his obvious feelings for her. Considering the heightened emphasis on romantic relationships between the lead characters, along with Sayid’s ability to read characters and his desire to punish The Others, it seems remarkable no one would mention it while they were scrambling to save Claire.

While Juliet saving Claire appears to have given her some leeway with the rest of the group, some members staunchly opposed to The Others, like Sawyer and Sayid, are bonding under their mutual enemy. Since Juliet isn’t going to win them over as quick as the rest, she shows she’s willing to step up for herself and call out the two for their past crimes. What happened in Basra is a likely story for Sayid in the future (added to his war hero father), as it could be on par with Sawyer killing a man in “Outlaws”.

Juliet’s arrival and revelations could place the castaways in serious danger. However, the two who seem most likely targets are Sun and Charlie. Sun is in harm’s way for being pregnant. In a twisted way, we’re now inclined to want Jin not to be the father. Charlie’s in peril because of Hurley’s slip about what happened to Ethan. Juliet is smart enough to read between the lines, but what is she going to do with that information? If she is playing for The Others, the identity of their prized surgeon would make up for a lot of bad blood.

He may not be in danger, but Juliet’s arrival on the beach introduces a new dynamic to Desmond’s storyline. He wasn’t on the flight and therefore Mikhail wouldn’t have researched him. However, in “Exposé” The Others monitored The Swan when the castaways inhabited it, which could imply that they watched him long before the castaways blew open the hatch door. This offers a plethora of questions, like were they somehow orchestrating events to get them into that hatch, so they could monitor the castaways better and hatch a plan to get Jack, or even allow the button not to be pushed? The closest piece of evidence to that is Locke and Boone’s discovery of the hatch occurred shortly after Ethan took Claire and almost killed Charlie.

The title of this episode recalls last seasons’ “One of Them”, where Ben was captured and brought to the Swan. Both moments were pivotal points in the seasonal arc. Ben’s arrival to The Swan rejuvenated the second season, and provided many of its best moments. Juliet coming back to the beach protected by long missing leader Jack is going to produce a lot of sparks amongst the rest of the cast, as seen during the camp meeting the night she came in (something you’d think would happen more often).

This episode is an effective start of the final phase of the season, offering us a lot of answers while setting up a lot of mysteries for the final leg. While it may not have explained as much about The Others as some wanted, it explains enough to add context and explanation behind some of their actions.

Overall Score: 9/10