Episode 309Stranger in a Strange LandApparently it had been advertised that there would be answers to 3 major questions in this week’s episode. The first would be Jack’s tattoos.
Jack’s tattoos. Ooooh. How exciting!!!
I mean, of all the things that we want to know about Jackass, his tattoos must top the list. Not. And of all the flashbacks we’ve had (And we’ve had real snoozers) this has got to be the snooziest of them all.
Unless that particular flashback is going to lead us to a wow moment, I don’t understand why it was so important for us to know how Jackass got his tattoos.
Anyway, to be perfectly honest, I thought that Achara was a prostitute. What intrigues me is the fact that she seemed really scared to tattoo Jackass. Her brother and his goon friends did beat Jackass up over it, but why?? That wasn’t very nice, was it? I felt really badly for him. This is now the second time this season I feel for Jackass. This has got to stop!
We all know that Jackass is a leader. I know I’m not the biggest Jackass fan out here, but I’ve always maintained that he is a good leader, and that he always has the interests of the losties at heart. Maybe this is what Jackass needed at this time – to be reminded why he is the way he is?
Anyway, happenings on the islands were much more interesting. Jackass’s interference saves Juliet’s life. Oooh Jack, found someone else to save now, have you? He’s in his element here. Jackass loves saving people. And what’s even better is that he’s got two people to save – Benry and Juliet.
I know that Juliet seems to be cold and distant, but I like her. I would really like to know more about her and her back story. She’s quite the enigma, and Jackass seems to think he’s found an ally in her. I’m not sure how much he should trust her though. Even though she’s told him that she’s something of a prisoner on the island, Benry seems convinced that she is one of them (the Others).
Speaking of Benry, he really is the man in charge. I’ve had some doubts as just how much power he has on the island, but it seems that even that “the Sheriff” obeys him. She’s quite creepy, and that hairstyle leaves much to be desired. She ends up “marking” Juliet. Ouch!
The second answer we received was about the missing Losties who had been kidnapped. They finally make an appearance looking all rosy cheeked and well-fed. I thought it was a bit freaky though, the way they were all just standing around staring at Jack. The look that the little boy gave Jack makes me wonder if they have been brainwashed too.
The other revelation is about the Other’s home. Otherisle is not their home after all, and they all make preparations to leave as soon as possible. Hmm. Very interesting. The reasoning behind that is that Kate and Sawyer will lead a party of losties on a rescue mission. The Others have never feared the losties before, what’s so different this time?
And just where do they live anyway? I’m beginning to think that they really do live on the losties’ island after all. Doesn’t Karl tell Sawyer that the island is his home? There
surely can’t be another island around??
The adventures of Kate and Sawyer continue as they, together with Karl, make their way back to the island. Kate takes every opportunity to nag Sawyer into trying to go back to save Jackass. But Sawyer is having none of it, and they head for shore. I really liked Sawyer’s man-to-man talk with Karl. It was very sweet, but I think that maybe it drove a few points home.
He’s now questioning Kate’s supposed love for him, and she doesn’t do anything to pacify him or reassure him that it’s him that she loves. Sawyer may be many things, but unintelligent guy he is not. I think he realizes that Kate cares for Jack, and it doesn’t make him happy at all. Mingled with the realization is jealousy.
But not for the first time since this show started, I really wanted to climb in through my TV and slap Kate so badly. One of the reason’s I’ve disliked Kate is that I believed that she was toying with both Sawyer and Jackass’s emotions… stringing them both along until she’s decided which one she wanted. Well, hopefully, it’ll be out of her hands soon… I think that Jack and Juliet are so heading down the road to romance.
So, now the Others plus Jackass are heading to an unknown location – their home. Sawyer and Kate are heading for their camp, and who knows where Karl’s headed off to.
All in all, it was not a bad episode. The pace certainly differs to the heart-stopping excitement we’ve had over the last few weeks. And we got some answers as well. This just gets more intriguing with each passing episode.
We’ve had many
questions answered • The kidnapped losties are fine, and healthy
• The Others do not live on Alcatraz
• Sawyer and Kate make it safely to their island
• Jack’s tattoos read “He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us”. For the second time Jackass finds himself walking amongst people, but is not one of them.
• The is a sheriff who apparently sees that the rules that govern the Others are upheld.
• Kate and Sawyer let Karl go without questioning him, but Karl offers a few revelations about the Others. He claims they live on the castaways' island (I'm not sure if that's true or not). He says they have homes with backyards, and he doesn’t know who the Brady Bunch is.
But we also have
new questions• Where do the Others live, and why do they work on Alcatraz? What kind of “work” are they doing there?
• Has Jack really found a friend in Juliet? If so, things could get very interesting, and for once, the losties could actually get the upper hand. I’m all for a Jackass-Juliet alliance!
• Who is this sheriff and where did she come from?
Interesting Trivia • Jack's tattoo does not literally translate as: "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us". This was created by the writers. It translates correctly in Chinese as: "Eagles high up, cleaving the space" - a verse taken from a famous poem called Ch'ang-sha by former Chinese Chairman Mao Tse-tung (Zhedong).
Nevertheless, the poem itself has a much deeper meaning as we can see in the end of the second stanza when the poet asks: "Who masters fate's rise and descent?" - which might have influenced the writers' translation.
• The mark that Juliet receives is a simplified and inverted form of the Rose-Cross, the symbol of the Rosicrucian Order, an hermetic society documented in the 17th century, which aimed to help humanity's spiritual development.
Some modern societies are believed to have been influenced by the Rosicrucianism (including the Freemasonry and the Church of Scientology).
Nevertheless, the inversion of the symbol normally means opposition to its precepts or disrespect for them.
Interesting Screen CapturesWell, I decided against flooding this with screencaps of Sawyer, and opted for this one, which I found the most interesting.
Apart the whole Jackass-Juliet thing, I just find Jackass's fingernails so clean and shiny for someone who probably hasn't bathed in a while :)