Well that was worth the wait. “Lost” came back from vacation with “Not in Portland” and it was storytelling at its best.
So let me break this episode down, because I don’t have enough literary transitions in my bag to cover all of these points.
Best moment: In writing, they teach you to start strong, tell the story and then loop the ending back to the beginning. What a great loop, when Kate is retelling the story while Jack is sewing up Ben’s arteries left and right. That scene just unfolded beautifully. Jack realizes the irony as we do. He orders Kate to tell the story because he wants to make sure she’s safe. His eyes change as she tells the story. “So you counted to five and then you weren’t afraid any more. You fixed her. You saved her,” just as the heart monitor returns to normal. Bravo!
Key flashback: We finally get a flashback of an Other. We now have an idea of how The Others got on the island. When the episode started, I thought it was going to give us a glimpse into Juliet’s personality or explain behavior, like they usually do. Juliet’s flashback mostly gave us that giant puzzle piece. It did something else, but I’ll get to that later.
Two islands?: I’m still convinced they’re not on another island. My theory, though, seems to be dying with each episode. If they’re two islands, why didn’t Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Curley hear water or the boat ride? They were either unconscious during that ride, or there’s a tunnel that connects the two islands.
Best villain on TV: Ben continues to amaze. I loved the change in tone when Ben wakes up.
Jack: “Are you in pain? I can …”
Ben: “No, but thanks all the same.”
Jack uses Ben’s life for leverage, and then offers comfort. Funny stuff.
Great move by Ben to let Kate and Sawyer go. Jack and Ben are basically playing a game of chess. Ben sacrifices a bishop and a rook, so that the king can live. He does this because he knows he’s a better chess player than Jack, and can win with less pieces.
Whose baby?: I am totally confused by the teenage girl, Alex. I had already concluded that she was Rouso’s daughter. Now we learn that she is Ben’s daughter, too? This is huge because Rouso captured Ben in the second season. I don’t remember, but did they recognize each other? This is where things get fuzzy. Does she know Ben? Fellow “Lost” nut René A. Guzman had a theory that Juliet impregnated Rouso with Ben’s seed. But wasn’t Rouso pregnant before her expedition landed on the island? Is the whole expedition story a lie? Is Rouso really a spy for The Others? She did tell Jack to not let him go, or not trust him. We assume this only because we think all she thinks is that he is just some Other. In fact, were her suggestions were based on experience?
Most shocking moment: The flashback where the guy gets hit by the bus was as much a jolt as when the guy gets blown up by dynamite. Can you say Die-No-Might!
We appreciate it, Jack: I felt like, at the end, when Jack is talking to Juliet, that he was talking to the producers of “Lost” on our behalf.
Jack: “After everything I’ve been through, you owe me an answer. I want to know what he said.”
Juliet: “I’ve been on this island three years, two months and 28 days. He said, if I let him live and I help you, that he would finally let me go home.”
As two-faced as Juliet is, I believe her. And this was the second purpose of her flashbacks. I believe her because we’ve seen her home. We see her life right before the island, and how much the island has changed her, has hardened her.
— Benjamin Olivo