Lost 3-6 (Spoilers!)

[devilish]

I think I enjoyed this one more than any other this season. Ben makes me laugh. "This rabbit didn't have a number on it, did it?" and "See you guys at dinner."

Who thinks the man on the boat is Michael?

We also will know who the 6 are by next week.

[dcarp23]

I enjoyed this one because the focus was on the characters and not the other worldliness of the island. Personally, I am a little overwhelmed by episodes like last week's, though I think Desmond is probably my favorite character.

I think Michael is the obvious choice, particularly given the teaser from the preview. It is obviously somebody that John knows, which would seemingly limit the choices. Sayid and Desmond are both on the boat, but neither of them seems likely. It could also be Charlie back from the dead, but that makes little sense.

The only question re: Michael is what would he have to gain by doing this?

[Pacer]

Re: Michael's motivations...

The leverage on Michael is always Walt. And leverage is how Ben operates. We know Walt is connected to the Island. I suspect either Walt never left, or Walt needs to get back to the island. And Michael agrees to work for Ben in order to achieve some goal necessitated by Walt.

[alteran]

First time I've really felt for Juliette since the ep with her sister. Usually I just want someone-- anyone-- to wipe the 24-7 smirk off her face.

Can't think of any reason that Ben would send HER to do The Tempest dirty work rather than Harper, as Harper presumably would have just followed orders. Obviously, with Ben, you have to assume that what happened is exactly what he wanted to happen, but I can't think of any motivation for turning Jack's crew harder against Ben AND allying them with the Freighters, but that seems to be the logical outcome.

Also, for someone so diabolically brilliant about human nature, Ben sure messed everything up with Juliette.

[blublood]

The most chilling thing to me about this episode was the transformation of Ben from "dude with an innocent crush" into something very close to psychotic in that last scene with Juliet. They did an excellent job of leading us on - even Michael Emerson's walk was different in that scene with the so-called dinner party and what guy hasn't been in the nervous position of preparing for the big date with the big crush? Yeah, he's all sweet and goofy until he snaps and kills off your adulterous lover!

[DukeDevil]

What if the "poison gas" IS the smoke monster, only in much larger quantities? I figured the shrink character (forgot her name) was the embodiment of the monster in that she vanished so quickly, the only problem there is how she was surprised from behind by Jack. They did say Ben released the gas once...and maybe smokey doesn't want them to make the rest of it's body or whatever is in those containers inert.

I don't actually think this is the case, would just make for interesting plot.

[Jfrosh]

I always enjoy the very beginning of the episodes where we are trying to figure out, "now is this a flash forward, flash back or current." This episode was no exception. They really wanted to make you think it was a flash forward with all her talk about feeling famous, but then, surprise!

[Clipsfan]

First time I've really felt for Juliette since the ep with her sister. Usually I just want someone-- anyone-- to wipe the 24-7 smirk off her face.

Can't think of any reason that Ben would send HER to do The Tempest dirty work rather than Harper, as Harper presumably would have just followed orders. Obviously, with Ben, you have to assume that what happened is exactly what he wanted to happen, but I can't think of any motivation for turning Jack's crew harder against Ben AND allying them with the Freighters, but that seems to be the logical outcome.

Also, for someone so diabolically brilliant about human nature, Ben sure messed everything up with Juliette.

I thought that Harper was an image created by the island/smoke. Juliette heard the noise the smoke makes before Harper appeared; Harper disappeared suddenly; the disappearance was accompanied by the black smoke running away.

I'm also surprised that Juliette doesn't want to beat down the red-haired women (drawing a blank on the name) after the woman tried to kill her. That was a no-holds-barred fight while Dan was messing around with the computer, and Juliette was lucky to live through it. Then all of a sudden Juliette wins the fight and everything is good? This show isn't all that good at having people keep grudges. I'm still surprised at the fact that Claire was made to forgive Charlie so quickly back in season 3.

[alteran]

I thought that Harper was an image created by the island/smoke. Juliette heard the noise the smoke makes before Harper appeared; Harper disappeared suddenly; the disappearance was accompanied by the black smoke running away.

Filed under "duh." As in , "duh, how could I miss this?"

It all makes much more sense now.


I'm also surprised that Juliette doesn't want to beat down the red-haired women (drawing a blank on the name) after the woman tried to kill her. That was a no-holds-barred fight while Dan was messing around with the computer, and Juliette was lucky to live through it. Then all of a sudden Juliette wins the fight and everything is good? This show isn't all that good at having people keep grudges. I'm still surprised at the fact that Claire was made to forgive Charlie so quickly back in season 3.

This is one the very few flaws of Lost. I agree with both of your examples.

I was wondering last night why doesn't one of the Losties knock off Ben.

Lord knows he's got it coming, and they occasionally have him under their thumb. He mocks them when they're upset. And he always seems to manipulate them into making their lot worse. Who cares what his motivations are-- into the void with him! Study the island and try to figure it out after he's gone. Better that then have him continually outmaneuvering you.

[DukeDevil]

I just remembered the episode where they used the gas to kill the Dharma people, I retract my theory on the "gas" being smokey.

[MarineTwinsDad]

Something that determines a good episode of me is, what do I know now that I didn't know before this show?


Locke's an idiot and is being easily manipulated by Ben - that's nothing new.
There's a remote place on the island which has a computer that counts down towards something. The two newbies say it's something about gasing the island. But if it were, wouldn't Ben have died in the gas attack as well (he didn't have a gas mask, right)?
Faraday and the red head somehow knew about the remote gas place. But we don't know why they went there. If Faraday was trying to make the gas inert, what was the alarm all about, what was going to happen?
Ben thinks he owns Juliette, and sent the guy she was sleeping with to be a spy. But Ben didn't kill the guy, we all saw him die, right?
The story is a bit different than it was back when the Losties were first captured, and Juliette was one of the leaders. And who was the judge that decided if people lived or died, what was that all about?



What I guess I'm saying is that this episode didn't really go anywhere. Ben is loose, and now Jack knows Juliette loves him (?), so they had a kiss. What was the point? What has changed? Probably nothing, it was a lost Lost.

[juise]

I thought that Harper was an image created by the island/smoke. Juliette heard the noise the smoke makes before Harper appeared; Harper disappeared suddenly; the disappearance was accompanied by the black smoke running away.

I thought that was the others' whisper sound. Hmm.... there is an others whisper sound, right?

[johnb]

Faraday and the red head somehow knew about the remote gas place. But we don't know why they went there. If Faraday was trying to make the gas inert, what was the alarm all about, what was going to happen?


What I guess I'm saying is that this episode didn't really go anywhere. Ben is loose, and now Jack knows Juliette loves him (?), so they had a kiss. What was the point?

More confusion. If their primary island goal was to make the island safe, why didn't thy just ask for help from Jack & Co? It's akin to the question of why Ben didn't just ask Jack for spinal surgery.

Do we really think that was their first kiss? Maybe I have been jaded by my years in New York, but as was memorably said by Ana Lucia, ~ "you're hot, she's hot, why aren't you getting it on?"

[Jarhead]

I have taken this week's episode as filling in the blanks on the characters. There still is much more to be learned about each of them. The story line continued only minimally, raising more questions than were answered. That's good. It keeps the interest up, and the story moving.

On your issue with the read head and the nerd not seeking help from Jack and friends, perhaps they did not want to alert them to the existence of the chemical disbursing site. They definitely were in a hurry to get there, so I interpret that as wanting to stop something rather than starting something. The gas masks were just a red herring, and Juliet had to know of the site's existence, and purpose. We are still guessing at it's purpose, aren't we?

[johnb]

They definitely were in a hurry to get there, so I interpret that as wanting to stop something rather than starting something.

Yeah--they seemed in a big hurry all of sudden. If I were on an island that was about to release a death gas that was somehow concentrated enough to kill every person on the island (and not, apparently, kill animals), I'd have headed straight to the station to give myself a bit of lead time. I might also have been hesitant to sign up for the project in the first place, making me think that they somehow got instructions while on the beach.

[Jarhead]

I might also have been hesitant to sign up for the project in the first place, making me think that they somehow got instructions while on the beach.

Yeah, that would explain the rush. They had wandered away while jack was somewhere with Juliet, I think.

[Mudge]

I have taken this week's episode as filling in the blanks on the characters. There still is much more to be learned about each of them. The story line continued only minimally, raising more questions than were answered. That's good. It keeps the interest up, and the story moving.

On your issue with the read head and the nerd not seeking help from Jack and friends, perhaps they did not want to alert them to the existence of the chemical disbursing site. They definitely were in a hurry to get there, so I interpret that as wanting to stop something rather than starting something. The gas masks were just a red herring, and Juliet had to know of the site's existence, and purpose. We are still guessing at it's purpose, aren't we?

My perception is that the gas was not imminently going to be released-- until Faraday began the process of trying to make it inert (or whatever he was doing to the system-- he claimed it was to make it inert); once he began that process, the system sensed an intrusion and began a defensive process of releasing the gas (or something to that effect was claimed in the audio and written warnings on the computer screen-- the warnings stated that the intrusion was unauthorized), at which point Faraday was in a "no-going back" position-- he had to finish making the gas inert, or it would be released and kill them.

I think they had the gas masks as a measure to allow them to continue to try to de-activate the system, even if/after the gas may have been released-- but once Juliet came in without one (and knocked theirs off), Faraday was compelled to get the job done before anything was released. Faraday's intrusion was like tampering with a landmine or pulling the pin on a grenade-- you have to do something once you start, or you're in big trouble.

[JasonEvans]

Folks, none of you are talking about the most important line in the episode:

Doc Harper says to Juliet in hinting at Ben's crush on Juliet: "You certainly look a lot like her."

Who is Harper tlaking about here? Probably Annie, the girl Ben befriended in his early Dharma days as a child. But, we have not seen Annie since Ben was about 12-years-old. It is extremely doubtful that she is still around today as Ben would not be desperate for Juliet or someone who looks like Annie if the real Annie was available. So, we can be fairly confident that Annie is not alive on the Island right now.

However, it is quite important to note that Doc Harper knows what Annie looks like -- knows well enough to be able to compare Juliet to her. If that is the case, then Annie has been on the island fairly recently -- recently enough so that Doc Harper knows her. It is safe to assume that this means Annie has been around post-purge, when Ben helped kill all the other Dharma folks.

We are going to hear more, a lot more, about Annie in the future, I am sure of this. Her relationship with Ben will likely provide us with an understanding of a lot of his motivations and actions. Perhaps she is at the root of his obsession with pregnancy (maybe she died having his baby and that is why he stole Alex from Danielle?). We do not have enough to go on, but that one line -- comparing Juliet to Annie -- is a big deal in my mind. When we look back on the tapestry of Lost in a couple years, I suspect that the most significant thing to come out of this episode will be the line that told us that The Others know what Annie looks like.

--Jason "we all know who Ben's 'man on the boat' is now too, right?" Evans

[Exiled_Devil]

Folks, none of you are talking about the most important line in the episode:

Doc Harper says to Juliet in hinting at Ben's crush on Juliet: "You certainly look a lot like her."

Funny, I thought the most important line was "It's stressful being an Other, Jack." :)



Who is Harper tlaking about here? Probably Annie, the girl Ben befriended in his early Dharma days as a child. But, we have not seen Annie since Ben was about 12-years-old. It is extremely doubtful that she is still around today as Ben would not be desperate for Juliet or someone who looks like Annie if the real Annie was available. So, we can be fairly confident that Annie is not alive on the Island right now.

However, it is quite important to note that Doc Harper knows what Annie looks like -- knows well enough to be able to compare Juliet to her. If that is the case, then Annie has been on the island fairly recently -- recently enough so that Doc Harper knows her. It is safe to assume that this means Annie has been around post-purge, when Ben helped kill all the other Dharma folks.

We are going to hear more, a lot more, about Annie in the future, I am sure of this. Her relationship with Ben will likely provide us with an understanding of a lot of his motivations and actions. Perhaps she is at the root of his obsession with pregnancy (maybe she died having his baby and that is why he stole Alex from Danielle?). We do not have enough to go on, but that one line -- comparing Juliet to Annie -- is a big deal in my mind. When we look back on the tapestry of Lost in a couple years, I suspect that the most significant thing to come out of this episode will be the line that told us that The Others know what Annie looks like.

--Jason "we all know who Ben's 'man on the boat' is now too, right?" Evans

I thought that they meant Annie, but that Ben had killed Annie in the purge. Your idea makes the most sense, though. That relationship will make a lot of sense. I wonder what Annie's last name is - maybe Widmore? That would be an interesting connection. I am not sure how it would work, but I wouldn't be shocked if Annie was Penny's lost sister or cousin.

Exiled

[JasonEvans]

I thought that they meant Annie, but that Ben had killed Annie in the purge. Your idea makes the most sense, though. That relationship will make a lot of sense. I wonder what Annie's last name is - maybe Widmore? That would be an interesting connection. I am not sure how it would work, but I wouldn't be shocked if Annie was Penny's lost sister or cousin.


Yeah, I am somewhat resigned to Annie being a Widmore or Hanso or something silly like that. Heck, maybe she is Jack's long-lost sister... No, wait, that can't be right because Claire is Jack's long-lost sister. Which means Kate is caring for Jack's nephew... though Jack does not know it.

The relationship coincidences get to be a little tough to take at some point.

Here's a fun one-- what if Annie is Penny's mother? We have never met Mrs. Widmore and Ben is probably old enough to be Desmond's father ;)

--Jason "not that Ben's age matters... after all, time is a fluid thing on The Island" Evans

[riverside6]

did everyone catch that harper's name was an anagram for "an other perhaps". That's from lostpedia, so I think Jason may be on to somethign about Harper's existence on the island being different than some other "others".

[onepresent]

Juliet looks like Ben's mom.

http://images.lostpedia.com/images/thumb/e/e1/3x20_emily_is_creepy.jpg/460px-3x20_emily_is_creepy.jpg

[pfrduke]

Juliet looks like Ben's mom.


Well isn't that Oedipal.

[juise]

Here's a fun one-- what if Annie is Penny's mother? We have never met Mrs. Widmore and Ben is probably old enough to be Desmond's father ;)

Ben: "No, Desmond.... I am your father."
Desmond: *Hi-pitched scream voice* "Noooooo!"

[dcarp23]

--Jason "we all know who Ben's 'man on the boat' is now too, right?" Evans

Well, if it was something that came up during the episode, then I sure missed it. If your answer is based on the trailer, then I think my guess is the same answer.

[johnb]

Well isn't that Oedipal.

Quick note on Oedipus.

It was prophecied at his birth that Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, so his parents abandoned him to presumed death (details vary, but in all, Oedipus gets his feet injured--hence his name, since Oedipus means 'swollen foot'). He was adopted by some neighboring royalty. When Oedipus finds out about the prophecy, and not knowing he'd been adopted, he flees the town to avoid doing mayhem. In his flight, he ends up killing his father without knowing his identity. He got to marry his mother, a queen, by answering the riddle of the sphinx, which is about aging. They found out what they'd done while trying to fix a mysterious plague that had descended on their kingdom. The Greeks finished the story in different ways; often, she kills herself and he pokes out his eyes and wanders the world alone while their children fight. At other times, he stays in the kingdom and the children fight. All in all, a big multigenerational tragedy that fits in with the Lost story.

By the way, one of the intriguing things about the Oedipus complex is that the behavior and motivation are unconscious--if Oed and the mother do not know at all what they did, why should they feel so guilty? It's clear that as the play wears on, they both try to avoid reality, and they both probably knew on some level what they were doing. And that would similar to the Oedipal complex, in which the romance between mother and son is intense--both ways--but neither person is likely to be especially eager to discuss the intense, physical longing that is part of the relationship. It is such theory that made Freud controversial and still makes people uncomfortable...

[JasonEvans]

Juliet looks like Ben's mom.

Wow, she does look like Juliet... but I don't think that is the answer.

How would Harper know what Ben's mom looks like unless she had seen Ben's mom's ghost... and seen the ghost enough to know that Juliet looked like it?

The show did not throw in that "you look like her" line for no reason. There was a plan behind that line and the plan will be explained at some point. If the explanation is "you look like a ghost I once saw" then that is a really weak explanation. I expect more from a show as consistently smart at this one.

I think Juliet looks like Annie. We have only seen young Annie, but I bet we will someday soon meet her as an adult and when we do we will see that she resembles Juliet.

Here is young Annie:
http://images.lostpedia.com/images/thumb/2/2a/3x20_annie02.jpg/435px-3x20_annie02.jpg

Here is Annie from behind, with long hair like Juliet. Her hair is darker than Juliet's but I bet that gets fixed when we meet the adult version of this character.

http://www.losthatch.com/images%5Cscreen_captures%5CS3E20_Ben_Annie_Swing_S et.jpg

Here is adult Juliet:
http://images.lostpedia.com/images/thumb/9/92/Juliet_Burke.jpg/404px-Juliet_Burke.jpg

-Jason "of course the answer could be someone else-- the show does make up some stuff as it goes along, like Michael being on the freighter" Evans

[JasonEvans]

If you want a fun read, for to this site (http://darkufo.blogspot.com/search/label/Fish%20Biscuit) and check out Fish Biscuit's recap of The Other Woman. Be careful navigating around that site though as there are places on it (they are clearly labeled) that contain spoilers.

-Jason "his recap touches on the 'who does she resemble?' issue" Evans

[yum dukie]

just because they are so adept at throwing them at us.

1) could Dr. Harper in-fact be Annie? don't get caught up on ages...remember Richard? and would also make Goodwin the guy who stole not just one but TWO women that Ben thought were his.

2) we're all assuming Michael is Ben's spy on the boat. could he ALSO be one of the Oceanic 6? not that i can support this logically. i'm just saying i won't be surprised if he's the sixth.

[blublood]

I'm doubly annoyed at this episode - first of all for that entirely unconvincing, icky Jack/Juliet kiss and secondly because it now seems all but certain that Michael is the guy on the boat. I hate Michael. Even if he saves all our friends on the island, the world, and the known universe it will not redeem him in my eyes.

Similarly, I really wish the writers could have come up with a different backstory for Juliet's character. The adultery angle erased a lot of the sympathy that they had built up for her, especially because her husband (or maybe recently ex-husband?) did almost the same thing to her. At least with Sun, they clearly portrayed that she knew her actions were wrong and that she felt guilty about it.

[JasonEvans]

I'm doubly annoyed at this episode - first of all for that entirely unconvincing, icky Jack/Juliet kiss and secondly because it now seems all but certain that Michael is the guy on the boat. I hate Michael. Even if he saves all our friends on the island, the world, and the known universe it will not redeem him in my eyes.

Similarly, I really wish the writers could have come up with a different backstory for Juliet's character. The adultery angle erased a lot of the sympathy that they had built up for her, especially because her husband (or maybe recently ex-husband?) did almost the same thing to her. At least with Sun, they clearly portrayed that she knew her actions were wrong and that she felt guilty about it.

Yeah, it is gonna be tough to like Michael again.

As for Juliet's affair, they did establish that Goodwin and his wife were on the outs. He commented that he'd been "sleeping on the couch" for a year or something like that. Still, it is adultery.

I dunno if doing something like that is all that bad in the Lost universe though. I mean, think about who the heroes on this show are:

Jack- A drinking, pill-popping doctor
Sawyer- A con man
Kate- A murderer on the lamb from the law who has committed bank robbery and many other crimes
Sayid- A torturer who has worked with terrorists and goes on to be a contract killer (for BEN!!!!)
Anna Lucia- A cop who used her badge to kill a man
Desmond- Also a murderer, even though it was sorta an accident. Pretty much a failure at life too.
Charlie- A drug-addicted former rocker living on the success of one song in the 80s.
Sun- Adulterer
Jin- Has he murdered for his father-in-law? He certainly roughed many people up.


Hurley and Locke are nice guys, I suppose, though Locke has become a killer since he arrived on the Island and Hurley would rather hang out in a looney bin than face his own personal demons.

I mean, is Juliet having an affair with a man who is almost separated from his wife really all that bad?

--Jason "being bad is part of being a good guy on Lost" Evans

[blublood]

I mean, is Juliet having an affair with a man who is almost separated from his wife really all that bad?



In the context of the Lostiverse, I'd say no, but insofar as how personal values affect my feelings about a character, then yes. It drives me bananas when adultery is portrayed as this noble escape hatch, that it's o.k. because the wife/husband doesn't really love this person, or that the two cheaters are each other's "true loves." If the person you're married to is not your true love then why did you marry them in the first place?

I think a lot of Juliet's sympathy came from the fact that she is an obviously smart, caring woman caught up in a situation too big for her. Yet the writers have done a great job at not making her helpless - she's adapted to life as an Other. She's still (at least presumably) working on her own plan to get back home. She never abandoned hope.

It seems like they tried to make the affair an outgrowth of Juliet's loneliness and despair (recall that she and Goodwin first met as she was crying about another patient's death), but I just don't think it was convincing. The guy who played Goodwin is incredibly uncharismatic and while we didn't need a melodramatic I-want-to-but-it's-so-wrong! scene, there needed to be some portrayal of emotional conflict or remorse. I mean, for God's sake would you have an affair with a man whose idea of romantic affection is to bring you an egg salad sandwich?

Anyway, just my 2 cents... but then I've always had difficulty with the idea that Jack could be attracted to a woman who imprisoned him in a big fish tank. :)

[onepresent]

Wow, she does look like Juliet... but I don't think that is the answer.

How would Harper know what Ben's mom looks like unless she had seen Ben's mom's ghost... and seen the ghost enough to know that Juliet looked like it?

The show did not throw in that "you look like her" line for no reason. There was a plan behind that line and the plan will be explained at some point. If the explanation is "you look like a ghost I once saw" then that is a really weak explanation. I expect more from a show as consistently smart at this one.



I am not really interested in pushing the Emily Linus and Juliet plot line, but I don't think your arguments against it are that strong. We see this photo of Roger and Emily in young Ben's barracks (The Man Behind the Curtain) and would more than likely be in current Ben's barrack also.

http://images.lostpedia.com/images/thumb/c/c2/3x20-roger-emily-photo.jpg/180px-3x20-roger-emily-photo.jpg

There is also a painting of a woman that looks like Emily Linus in young Ben's Barracks and that painting also shows up in current day Ben's barrack. (The Man from Tallahassee)

http://images.lostpedia.com/images/thumb/4/49/Woman-with-hampster.jpg/120px-Woman-with-hampster.jpg

I think it is safe to assume that Harper would have counseled Ben, and that she would have seen these images and Ben would have spoken to her about his mom. Harper also has a Hanso logo on her diploma, so has probably has been connected with the Dharma project and that might have given her access to Ben's history. The show has given the audience enough information for Harper to know of Emily Linus.

We know Ben has a strong interest in the failed pregnancies on the island. Add to that his mother died giving birth to him. Along with Juliet looking like Ben's mom, this pregnancy issue could explain his interest in Juliet.

In my opinion, this plot line holds much more interest than one with Ben being obssesed with an old childhood flame.

[Pacer]

So, if emily dies from childbirth, does he need Juliet to solve the pregnancy riddle so that someone can transport their consciousness back in time and tell the island dwellers the cure?

Nevermind, this would contradict Damon and Carlton's insistence that their time travel doesn't perturb the history we already know... (as stated in the podcast)

[BCGroup]

In the context of the Lostiverse, I'd say no, but insofar as how personal values affect my feelings about a character, then yes. It drives me bananas when adultery is portrayed as this noble escape hatch, that it's o.k. because the wife/husband doesn't really love this person, or that the two cheaters are each other's "true loves." If the person you're married to is not your true love then why did you marry them in the first place?

I think a lot of Juliet's sympathy came from the fact that she is an obviously smart, caring woman caught up in a situation too big for her. Yet the writers have done a great job at not making her helpless - she's adapted to life as an Other. She's still (at least presumably) working on her own plan to get back home. She never abandoned hope.

It seems like they tried to make the affair an outgrowth of Juliet's loneliness and despair (recall that she and Goodwin first met as she was crying about another patient's death), but I just don't think it was convincing. The guy who played Goodwin is incredibly uncharismatic and while we didn't need a melodramatic I-want-to-but-it's-so-wrong! scene, there needed to be some portrayal of emotional conflict or remorse. I mean, for God's sake would you have an affair with a man whose idea of romantic affection is to bring you an egg salad sandwich?

Anyway, just my 2 cents... but then I've always had difficulty with the idea that Jack could be attracted to a woman who imprisoned him in a big fish tank. :)

I know in the overall scheme of things it doesn't seem as bad, but it changes how I view her character. Oh, and Jason, I totally agree about the comment..when I heard it, I thought--WOW, that is going to be the most important thing here.

[ForeverBlowingBubbles]

In the context of the Lostiverse, I'd say no, but insofar as how personal values affect my feelings about a character, then yes. It drives me bananas when adultery is portrayed as this noble escape hatch, that it's o.k. because the wife/husband doesn't really love this person, or that the two cheaters are each other's "true loves." If the person you're married to is not your true love then why did you marry them in the first place?

I think a lot of Juliet's sympathy came from the fact that she is an obviously smart, caring woman caught up in a situation too big for her. Yet the writers have done a great job at not making her helpless - she's adapted to life as an Other. She's still (at least presumably) working on her own plan to get back home. She never abandoned hope.

It seems like they tried to make the affair an outgrowth of Juliet's loneliness and despair (recall that she and Goodwin first met as she was crying about another patient's death), but I just don't think it was convincing. The guy who played Goodwin is incredibly uncharismatic and while we didn't need a melodramatic I-want-to-but-it's-so-wrong! scene, there needed to be some portrayal of emotional conflict or remorse. I mean, for God's sake would you have an affair with a man whose idea of romantic affection is to bring you an egg salad sandwich?

Anyway, just my 2 cents... but then I've always had difficulty with the idea that Jack could be attracted to a woman who imprisoned him in a big fish tank. :)

Sometimes people get... lost

[MarineTwinsDad]

Flipping through the channels, I came across the movie Solaris, and there was Faraday. He was exhibiting all the same quirky movements, acting like the same egghead. But if you know the plot, you know that he wasn't really there, at least not in the normal way. Wouldn't that be interesting if LOST went in that direction? I'm leaving out details for those who may some day desire to see a movie with one of my least favorite actors.

Does anyone remember the Juliette who first appeared on Lost? Didn't she seem far more in control of things back then? From the first, it seemed that she was co-equal with Ben, and often made decisions that seemed to indicate a greater role in command. Now, she seems to be cast as someone who was a prisoner from the beginning. This goes along in part with the change in the story line about Ben, who was originally only supposed to be a minor character.

Wouldn't Michael be the one in the casket, since he is the least liked of the survivors? And I really don't think that Juliette looks at all like Ben's mom.