"Lost" Season 3 Episode 7 - Not in Portland

Welcome back LOSTIES! My my it has been too long, hasn't it? Well, I for one am glad that the show is back. I was starting to get to that point that I forgot what I was missing. Last night's episode erased that feeling from existence. And all I can say about the episode is...........WOW!!! Now, I can see where people may say it may not have lived up the hype that the episode received. But what was there not to like? There was suspense, action, more LOST mythology that will drive your mind crazy (well some people may not like that!), and (for the first time since maybe last season) an engaging Flashback! And the best part is, we know that we're heading onward to 15 more episodes quickly, so there's no sense in getting too frustrated! And, we know we're heading back to the BEACH to revisit some of our favorite characters! For the most part, the captivity is over. Only poor self-sacrificing Jack remains with the others. Though I'm sure this will lead to even bigger reveals, and of course the big RESCUE mission being planned by non-compliant Kate (a la the previews for next week).

No sense in delaying. Let's get to the goodies! As always, you should be able to rewatch the episode online or check out the abc recaps (plus tons of other great stuff) at lost.abc.com


Juliet Flashback

The flashback was a little slow to get going, but by the end of the episode, we were all itching for more! Turns out that Juliet was RECRUITED for experimental studies on LOST Island. The whole concept of recruiting brings on a whole realm of topics to discuss. But the WAY she was recruited makes for some even more interesting discussion. Let's dive in to the flashback

• Okay, so Juliet was living in Miami and doing some experimental studies in the Fertility field. Her sister, Rachel, was a Guinea pig for her studies who apparently had issues with getting pregnant. (Or was it that she wanted to be impregnated without the assistance of a male counterpart?) So, we're not really sure what Rachel's illness was. Was she a cancer patient? Or did the side effects of the experimental drugs cause her to become fragile and very ill? Well, if we get another Juliet Flashback from even further back, we might eventually find out.
• By The Way, Rachel's pregnancy test was another one from WIDMORE LABS (As in Charles Widmore and Penny Widmore and Good ol' Desmond!). Not sure if there's any way to tie this back to Sun yet, but there is a possibility that we may not know the father of Sun's unborn child yet (aka not Jin and not Baldy#2).....maybe SHE took part in some experimental drugs. It's a stretch, but with this show, even stretches are worth noting!



• Juliet's studies did not go unnoticed as her ex-husband wanted in on the profits and the mysterious Dr. Alpert (Not to be confused with the Office's Jim Halpert. Did anyone notice if this guy is Angelo from J.J. Abram's "What About Brian?) was trying to recruit her for studies in Portland. But when pressed, we found out that the experimentation was not being done in Portland but at some "off-site location." And just to confirm that we know it's the island, they put Ethan in Miami to help with the recruitment. So what is the significance of Dr. Alpert? Are we going to see him again? I'm guessing so.
• As for Ethan in Miami, this confirms that SOME people can get on and off the island (well that is they could until something we'll discuss in the Jack section) as long as they know how.
• Apparently Edmund Burke, Juliet's Ex-Husband, is the same name as an 18th Centry British Politician that was sympathetic to the American Revolution. Draw your own conclusions from that one. I'm LOST!
• Dr. Alpert shows Juliet a x-ray/ultrasound of a womb of what appears to be a 70 year old woman but it's confirmed that the woman is 26! Since this was 3 years ago, do we know any 29 year old females roaming around the island? Possibly Sun, but I figured she was older. Kate is around 26. Claire is probably a bit younger. Or it could be just some random woman. I'd say it's interesting enough to remember for future episodes though!
• Oceanic Plane was spotted landing in Miami. This obviously holds no significance and they just throw this type of stuff in to please fans.
  
• LOST producers, in their Q&A promised us an anagram in last night's episode that would shed light on the ADAM AND EVE skeletons Jack and Kate found in season 1 and possibly shed light on the overall mythology of the show. The anagram came as in the name of the "Company" that was trying to recruit Juliet:
  
  
  Mittelos is apparently an anagram for LOST TIME. What that means? Oh I dunno. But people, including myself, have theorized that somehow time is progressing more slowly on LOST Island than in the real world. I'm sure it's just some tongue and cheek phrase for the people "IN THE KNOW" of what's going on on LOST aka...the producers and apparently (confirmed on Kimmel Tuesday night) a few select Cast members. Stay tuned for 5 more years of LOST to figure out what this anagram means!
• So, let's look more at the OTHERS that recruited Juliet. Alpert suggested that the operations on LOST island are privately funded. This ties into possibly the Hanso Foundation or even the Widmore Corporation or both. Was DHARMA experimentation still going on 3 years prior to the crash? It would seem that way from Juliet's comments to Jack a few episodes back that they were when she said "It doesn't matter what we were, it matters what we are." But obviously, there are some missing pieces to the puzzle here. And I'm thinking episode 11 this season may clear some of that up (which is supposedly OTHERS centric)
• And obviously the big reveal and mystery was Juliet suggesting that she could not leave for "Portland" because of her Ex-husband, jokingly suggesting that Alpert's organization could have him run over by a bus. And then, in a scene that looks like a homage to the movie FINAL DESTINATION, Burke was indeed run over by a bus. So this begs the question, can Juliet make things happen just by thinking about them (a la Walt) or did somehow the "COMPANY" arrange for this mysterious death to happen? I'm intrigued! Aren't you?
• And as an added Easter Egg, apparently there was an Apollo Candy Bar ad on the side of the bus (if anyone recalls the infamous candy from the original Hatch) (As always click on images to enlarge!)
  

Jack and the Surgery

So last we left Jack he was holding all the cards and running the show in the operating room. Demanding the release of Kate and Sawyer (well, just Kate....he really didn't say much about Sawyer) Some interesting tidbits from this storyline:

• Loved this exchange: Tom to Jack "I'm Tom by the way" Fantastic!!! Definitely seemed out of place. What's even funnier is continuing to see the devaluing of Tom's character. he started off as the BIG CHIEF of the others at the end of season 1, and now he just stands around looking unimportant most of the time! But he did feel important enough to let Jack know his real name! Ahh good times.
• Juliet was shown in opposite lights between her flashback and her island life. In the flashback she claimed not to be a leader. Where on the island, she was taking control and calling Jack's Bluff. What happened in her 3 years that would change her to this? Maybe she watched that crazy Dharma Film that Karl was watching (more on that in a bit!)
• Anyway, she showed that she could be ruthless in ordering the deaths of Kate and Sawyer if necessary. And even further by killing Danny (aka Pickett). Looks like she plays hard for whatever side benefits her the most at the time.
• Which reminds me, how can she be so ready to have Ben killed and then order him to be saved at the off-chance that Ben lets her go home? Seemed like there is a bit more to that muted conversation Ben and Juliet had together. (that's right, the AWAKE BEN with a hole cut open in his back. Nice work Jack!) And that's what Lost has created for us fans. DOUBT that anything is as it seems!
• While Juliet was helping to free Kate and Sawyer, Jack asks Tom why they didn't take Ben to facility off island. Tom began to say "Ever since the sky turned purple" and the Jack messed up in the surgery. So we're left thinking that the Hatch Blowing up has caused a problem with the others freely leaving the island. I'm not sure I'm buying it. They kidnapped Jack BEFORE the sky turned purple and KNEW he was a spinal surgeon! Of course, maybe Tom is just an idiot!
• Okay, so let's do some math folks. Juliet says she's been on the island for 3 years 2 months and 28 days. Last we heard from Ben, it's late November of 2004 (possibly December). Let's go with December. Subtract 3 years from 2004 and you're in 2001, 2 months and 28 days from December and you're in early September of 2001. This coincidentally is right near 9/11. What does this mean exactly? I have no idea. But there has been some crazy dude (I can't find his blog right now) that thinks that the entire mythology of LOST is based on the events that took place on 9/11 and the events that have taken place SINCE 9/11. Now, mind you, when I read his theory.....I found it completely comical (not that the tragedy of 9/11 was comical...but this guy's theory was ridiculous! I mean he was calling Jack or Locke George W. Bush!) But it is interesting to note how CLOSE to 9/11 that Juliet's timestamp gets us. Other tragedies such as Chernobyl have been referenced with the original Hatch too. I'd say just stay tuned on this one as well. For now, I'm thinking it's just a coincidence!
• So what's up for Jack next? Well, "They" have figure to figure out what to do with him. Who on earth is THEY? Ben and crew? Or a higher power? I LOVE QUESTIONS!
• BTW, in case you were wondering, when Ben was stabilized at the end his blood pressure was 108 (aka 4+8+15+16+23+42 or aka the HATCH clock)

The Saga of Kate, Sawyer, Alex and Karl

So Kate and Sawyer have to get off the island, they recruit the help of Alex who recruits their help in rescuing Karl. Juliet kills Pickett, makes Alex stay. Kate, Sawyer and their new friend Karl leave for the vacation resort that we have come to know and love! But what crazy stuff did we see on their journey?

• Well, we met Aldo for one thing. And some of you out there were probably saying "Where do I know this guy from?" It's none other than Philadelphia's own native born "Rob McElhenney." You may also know him from the increasingly hilarious "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" which airs in the summer on FX. Aldo was guarding some crazy Dharma building (I'm guessing still part of the whole Hydra station). He was reading Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" (more on the whole TIME concept again. I'm not going to pretend that I actually remember the tidbits I read from the cliffnotes of that book for my freshman year high school GEO science class!)
• I will admit that once Kate had the brilliant plan to get past Aldo and rescue Karl, I was instantly reminded of the infamous Han and Luke dressed as Stormtroopers holding Chewbacca prisoner in an attempt to rescue Princess Leia. I was almost ashamed of myself when Sawyer gave a shout out seconds later to the "Wookie Prisoner Gag" But I LOVED IT!
• So anyway, Princess Karl (errr just karl) was located in Room 23. Whoopie! More numbers!
• What were they doing to crazy Karl? Were they brainwashing him? He was tied down, possibly being drugged, had crazy goggles on and was watching one crazy film with subliminal messaging. (I believe you can click on this image and examine each screen that showed if you really want to. This link will take to a larger version)
  
  Notable images from the film. Hanso and Degroot make appearances. We see the name JACOB again and indeed has religious ties. We have yet to meet Jacob on the island (or so we think. He could be Eyepatch guy).
  
  The messages"
  - "Plant a Good Seed and you will joyfully gather fruit" - Planting Seeds, Fertility Doctors, Pregnancy tests.....this all has to lead somewhere right?
  - "Everything Changes" - Ok. Thanks for that one!
  - "We are the causes of our own suffering" - More Purgatory? Enough!
  - "God Loves you as he loved Jacob" - There's Jacob!
  - "Think about your life" -What about it?
  
  It all seems very Clockwork Orange'ish to me. But I don't really remember the movie too well. But I would guess that this scene, with the freaky music and the messages was an homage to the scene from that movie. What it all means? I'm as confused as you. But I love it!
• And of course, it was confirmed that Ben has a parental attachment to Alex. So, immediately we think of Rousseau (or as Hurley calls her "French Chick"). Is there some linking between Ben and Rousseau? Or when Alex was taken from her, did Ben become Alex's adoptive father? Did Rousseau know about Ben when she captured him in the net for Sayid? Or was this pre-arranged between Ben and Rousseau? So many ways they can go with this!
• And as a final bullet point, you have to love the touching scene when Kate told Jack the Nervous Surgeon story (that Jack had asked her to tell him). It just happened to be when Jack messed up in the surgery and he just may have been nervous again. Anyway, Kate's emotional retelling helped Jack complete the surgery. Sawyer looked on with a sense of sadness that Kate will never feel for him what she feels for Jack. But at the same time, seemed like he understood Kate's pain. Jack insisted Kate not come back for him, but we know her better than that!

Wow, that's a lot to take in, isn't it? I'm sure not every episode will be this packed with details. I found myself pausing the TiVo every 30 seconds or less to capture stuff. And my friends, this is no way to enjoy one of the best shows on TV! So, don't be scared. I won't overload you with details in every blog. But, as I'm sure you can tell, I'm just excited that it's back! Hope you enjoyed the show and if you have any thoughts to share, please do!

Next week and the 14 weeks following, the timing of the blog posting will probably vary. So don't get used to it being this early! See you next week!