Watching Lost

The reference to the episode title came late in the episode, and I’d say it was an understatement. Their research facilities are “not quite in Portland,” huh? More like on a remote island thousands of miles in the middle of nowhere! Here we go!

The flashback was all about Juliet. She was a fertility researcher of sorts (They called her Dr. Burke) in Miami working with her slimy ex-husband Ed. She was doing some secret research with her sister, and she was successful in helping her sister get pregnant. Juliet’s contacted by Mr. Alpert from a research company, Mittelos Bioscience, presumably the Others or the Dharma Initiative, who wants her to come work for them. She claims that her ex-husband would never allow her to leave unless maybe he was hit by a bus. Well, what do you know? Ed was flattened by a big bus. Coincidence? I think not because who shows up in the morgue? Mr. Alpert and Ethan, the Other who kidnapped Claire. They tell her that they need her to come work for them, but their facilities are “not quite in Portland.” Their facilities are, of course, on the island where she tells Jack she’s been for “three years, two months, and twenty-eight days.” Several questions: Why is Juliet so upset over the death of the loser Ed? Did Juliet’s sister have cancer? (She had no hair, and she said that she now needed to get well to take care of the baby. Is that why she couldn’t get pregnant? The cancer would also tie Juliet to Ben’s cancer…) Why was Ethan in the building where her sister was? Juliet saw him in the hallway. Was her sister working with Ethan and Mr. Alpert??

In the operating room, Jack tells Tom how Juliet asked him to let Ben die on the table. Tom tells Juliet to leave the room. Before she leaves, she tells Tom not to believe Jack because “he will never let a patient just die.” Later, Ben wakes up on the operating table! He asks for Juliet. So, did he hear everything that was said?? He heard some of it because he tells Juliet to help Kate and Sawyer get off the island. He supposedly tells her that he’ll let her leave the island if she’ll do this. Juliet asks Jack to finish the surgery while she goes to help Kate and Sawyer escape.

Meanwhile, Kate and Sawyer have been running through the jungle trying to escape. They get a little help from Alex who has a boat (She’s Rousseau’s daughter, right? Did we ever get confirmation on that?) We also find out that Alex is Ben’s daughter, and Alex doesn’t know that Ben’s life is in danger. In exchange for helping them escape, Alex asks them to help her find her boyfriend. Sawyer guesses correctly that her boyfriend is Carl, the young guy who was being kept in the cage opposite Sawyer’s. They find Carl in this really creepy brainwashing room (#23—Why is that number so important in this show??). He’s strapped to a chair, loud music is playing, and he’s watching crazy images flash across a big screen with phrases like “We are the cause of our own suffering,” “God loves you as you are,” and “Think about your life.” What are these people trying to do??

They get Carl out of there, and they make it to Alex’s boat. Suddenly, Danny (Pickett) shows up and is about to shoot Sawyer when Juliet shoots him. So, Juliet did keep that promise, to help Sawyer and Kate escape. Juliet won’t let Alex leave, though. Before Kate and Sawyer leave, Kate has to radio Jack and tell him the story he asked for, about how he made a mistake in surgery once and he was afraid, but he fixed it and saved the patient’s life. When Jack hears that story, he tells Kate to promise to never come back for him, and then he finishes “fixing” Ben. Then, Kate, Sawyer, and Carl are off to their original island. (But probably not for long as previews for next week suggested.)

As Ben’s in recovery on the table, Jack tells Juliet that he removed Ben’s tumor, but they need to see if it’s malignant. Jack asks what he’s supposed to do now, and Juliet said that he’ll return to his cell until Ben decides what to do with him. Jack asked what Ben told her in the operating room, and that’s when we find out that Ben promised Juliet she could leave if he lived. We also find out how long she’s been on the island, and we assume that she’s never seen her niece or nephew. And that was it!

So, what did you think? I thought it was a good episode, and I was happy to learn a little more about Juliet. I’m concerned about why she was so afraid of her ex-husband, and I’m wondering if that’s a pattern in her life. Maybe it could explain why Ben has such a strong influence over her. Any thoughts? I have some lingering questions that are interspersed throughout the recap, so if any of you can shed some light, please speak up! Talk to me.

Lost, Not in Portland, recap, Juliet, Jack, Ben, Kate, Sawyer