Episode 307 - Not In Portland

Written by six from the blog The Lost Chronicles on 26 Apr 2007
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Episode 307
Not in Portland

“I've been on this island for 3 years, Jack. 3 years, 2 months, and 28 days. He said that if I let him live and I helped you... that he would finally let me go home”

Of all the things that I expected Juliet to say, that was not on the list. What an excellent twist to this already confusing story! I’m constantly amazed at the writers of the show throwing out things that we really ought to have considered, but never have.

So Juliet is pretty much a prisoner too. And furthermore, we actually see that she had been recruited by a man to participate in what they claim was medical research. I’m sure I am not the only one here who believes that they really did kill Juliet’s ex-husband, proving again just how dangerous they are.

By killing Pickett in order to let Sawyer, Kate and Karl escape, Juliet herself proves just how dangerous she is and to what degrees she’s willing to go to get what she wants. In this case, it’s a trip back home. How does this differ from what Michael did? Do we feel differently because she’s killed one of the Others, even though he was one of her own people??

Quite frankly, I can’t say that I am upset that Pickett is dead, but it places Juliet in a new light. Sawyer read her right in an earlier episode when he told Kate that she (Juliet) would not hesitate to shoot. It also makes you wonder what Juliet has been subjected to since she arrived on the island. In her flashback, Juliet appears to be a rather timidish woman, clearly not the woman she is on the island. I’ll be keeping an eye out on her in future. I’m still not sure that she’s trustworthy however; she turned on Pickett, who’s to say that she won’t turn on Jack.

I must say I was pleasantly err… not surprised, but happy with Jack in this episode. Jack generally grinds my nerves so badly, that sometimes it’s hard for me to watch the episode because of all the eye-rolling I do. Last week, I said that I would not believe that Jack could use this for this own benefit, and I am happy to say that he really did come through for Kate and Sawyer. And you’ll notice that I am not calling him Jackass today – it’s my little tribute to him for not being the over-bearing, irrational jerk he can very often be.

I actually felt really sorry for him, and that is what surprised me. I don’t dislike Jack, but I think I just find it very hard to believe how an intelligent guy like him can be so irrational at times. Well, I guess intelligence and emotion are not necessarily a couple then. Anyway, as I was saying, I felt sorry for him. Considering that throughout all his flashbacks, I’ve never really been able to empathise with the guy; this was what made me sympathise with him. It was a bit sad when he insists that Kate not go back to the island for him.

But before I go on to the Adventures of Kate & Sawyer, I must say this about Benry. Is he superhuman or what?? How in the hell can he awake from the anaesthetic and not only carry out conversations, but also have the presence of mind to be devious enough to ensure that his life is saved. Wow, man! Just Wow.

Kate and Sawyer finally escape when Sawyer finally gets his chance at beating up Pickett. Alex, at least, was genuine in her attempts to help them escape. Sawyer, however, seemed to have been a bit affected by what can only be described as brainwashing material that was being repeatedly shown to Karl. I don’t know if it was just curiosity, but he seemed to be a bit mesmerised by it. Let’s hope it was just curiousity.

So the Others are not above brainwashing either. That was an interesting montage of things being shown to Karl. I managed to get a few screencaps.

The one that I couldn’t get a screen cap of was the one image that said “God loves you as he loved Jacob”. Jacob again. Do we take this literally or literally? Jacob from the Bible, or Jacob the unknown Other?? I’m not sure what to make of the images as yet, but I’m sure it can’t be good.

We also learn that Alex refers to Benry as her father. I wonder if she knows that she was kidnapped. It’s all very interesting, especially since Benry says that he has been on the island all his life. If Alex is indeed Danielle’s Alex, then Benry has been on the island for at least 16 years.

Kate, Sawyer and Karl escape to the Losties Island, with Jack insisting that they not go back for him – something I am sure they will pay no heed to. I foresee a rescue mission in future. Something else that troubles me is why do the Losties think that they are any safer on their island than in OtherIsle? Not only do they have monsters and polar bears to contend with, but the Others can get to them at any time they wish.

We got some really excellent answers yesterday. Mind-blowing, theory-altering answers. But we have a few more questions as well.

• Mittelos Bioscience – the name of the company that recruited Juliet – are they the financial backers of the Others? How do they fit it? Who are they?
• The brainwashing attempt on Karl. Why?
• What happened to Juliet’s sister and the baby she was carrying?

And this is what we learnt this week

• Juliet is also a prisoner on the island.
• Ethan was part of the team that recruited Juliet to the island

Interesting Trivia

• The company which interviews Juliet is called Mittelos Bioscience. Mittelos is an anagram for "lost time".
• The book the guard was reading was Stephen Hawkins "A Brief History of Time" which is about Big Bang, black holes, light cones and superstring theories to the non-specialist reader. Its main goal is to give an overview of the subject but, unusually for a popular science book, it also attempts to explain some complex mathematics.
• If the audio of the brainwashing scene is played backwards, you can hear a woman repeating: "Only fools are enslaved by time and space."

Interesting screen captures