Thursday, February 8. 2007
LOST: "Not In Portland" [SPOILERS]
Well, time to get "back in the game" with respect to writing these recaps and what it all means... so we'll see how it goes. As usual this is a bit lengthy.
"Not In Portland" (which we'll learn the meaning of in a bit) gave us a bit of insight into the true purpose and nature of "The Others," and let us delve a bit into the past of the "Other" we know as Juliet.
And in true LOST fashion, we get thrown a few new bones and get to put none to rest. This time.
"Not In Portland" (which we'll learn the meaning of in a bit) gave us a bit of insight into the true purpose and nature of "The Others," and let us delve a bit into the past of the "Other" we know as Juliet.
And in true LOST fashion, we get thrown a few new bones and get to put none to rest. This time.
LOST: Miami
The show opens with Juliet sitting on a beach. Is it on the island? Hm! She gets up and heads into a building with a big iron-clad door, bland concrete walls, and flickering flourescents, pretty familiar... until she passes a familiar face in the hall. It's Ethan! We must be in a flashback! But is it on the island or somewhere else?
She enters a room where an obviously ill woman is lying in bed, and proceeds to give her a painful abdominal injection of something. Turns out this woman is her sister...
...and they're most definitely not on the island. This is Miami! Apparently we're going to her previous life off the island!
She works at a research hospital, and also for her ex-husband, a Dr. Edmund Burke (I know this name, maybe from the Experience game last year?) Who is apparently a controlling bastard, and overly (and ironically) interested in the ethics of J's research.
We're introduced to him as she's trying to "acquire" more experimental drugs for her sister, and he walks into the lab with his squeeze-du-jour. And we learn the above tidbits.
He wants in on her "research" and knows he can control her because of it... (Actually I must've skipped this little segment in my notes and I can't recall any of it! Bad me, BAD!)
After the break, Juliet is paid a visits by a Dr. Alpert, a representative of "Mittelos Bioscience" (More "Experience" references? Dr. Mittelwerk?) He is highly interested in recruiting Juliet because of her experimental fertility research, and wants to get her to his facility in Portland. Or so he says.
She is shown a series of cat scan images from a patient (any idea who this patient might be?) and told that if she works for MB, she can find out what's wrong with her.
It's at this point we get a rather abrupt and scary look into Juliet's character. She starts going on about how her ex "wouldn't let her" and "he wouldn't like it" and the only way would be if he were "hit by a bus."
Now there's two ways you could read that. One, she's just saying that to come up with an excuse in order to cover for her sister and what she's been doing. Or two, she has some serious issues with control and submission. The first understandable, the second, not so much.
We learn that her out-of-the-office experiments on her sister, Rachel (Jacob theory?) have been successful, and she's become pregnant. Although the cancer may have something to say about that. No mention is made about who's baby it might be, though.
Juliet catches Edmund outside the hospital, where she proceeds to tell him about her success. More words are exchanged (sorry didn't write details!) and he continues talking as he walks into the street...
...where he's promptly flattened by an oncoming bus. Nice.
The next time we see J she's in the morgue signing (presumably) Edmund's death certificate and/or other papers, obviously (and curiously) distraught with Edmund's death. Does our girl have some attachment issues as well? Why are the good looking ones always messed up!?
Dr. Alpert walks in, accompanied by our good Dr. Rom. She makes the "bus connection" and it's pretty obvious she's considering his offer.
Oh, and the facilities he was talking about, they're "Not exactly in Portland", hence the title of the show. We can only assume that the facility he's speaking of is actually the island.
The Wookiee Prisoner Gag
At the Hydra cages, Kate and Sawyer lock Pickett and his pal up in one of them and run off into the jungle. It doesn't take long for them to be freed, and the chase is on.
Bullets are exchanged, and nobody's hit save for a few trees (Aim next time!) Sawyer runs out of Ammo, and as Kate locks eyes and stares down the barrel of his pistol.
Whammo! A slingshot wielding Alex to the rescue! The trio runs off and eventually hides in a rathole Alex has built previously. Pickett's squad continues on in search of them.
Turns out Alex has a boat of her own (like she'd be able to hide that?) and will help Kate and Sawyer get to the main island... but only if they get Carl first.
With that, Alex leads them to yet another building, still with the Hydra Station markings on the door. They use the "Wookiee Prisoner Gag" (as Sawyer puts it) to overcome the guard and get inside, where they find Carl in cell number 23. (As in the numbers 23.)
(Side Note: The 23 is probably also a reference to the actual Wookiee Prisoner gag from Star Wars, where Princess Leia was being held in detention block AA23... Carl's room is even on the same side of the hall!)
They find Carl connected to a "Clockwork Orange"-like contraption being forced to watch a film of, well of some kind. I will have to go back and watch that part closer, but it entranced Sawyer to the point where Kate had to snap him out of it.
There were a few parts I did catch on that film, a slide that read (at least in part) "As God Loved Jacob" and a few with what seemed to be speech played in reverse. (seen "The Exorcist" lately?) I'll touch on the "Jacob" bit later in another post, as I think it might be relevant (theory construction time!) And if I'm able to figure it out (or someone else does first) I want to know what the reverse speech was saying!!!
(Side Note 2: Was the techno-music in this segment on the film? If not it was very out of character for the show.)
The four of them escape the building and find Alex's boat, a catamaran sailboat. As they're loading up Carl, he starts mumbling "Danny," confusing Sawyer for a second. Then the lightbulb goes off and he turns around, staring at Pickett who's got them at gunpoint....
Thanks All The Same
Meanwhile, back in the (Hydra) hatch...
Jack has (if you recall) punctured Ben's kidney sac, and is using that as the means to allow Kate and Sawyer to escape. He still doesn't know he's on a separate island, and doesn't know what all is about to happen.
Jack's little diversion has obviously created a kink in Juliet's plans for Ben. She orders Pickett to go after them (see above.) Jack is starting to wonder who to trust. Is Juliet going back on her word? What is the deal?!
She explains to Jack that this little plan isn't going to work, because they're on the second island. Jack apparently panics and spills the beans on Juliet's plan to off Ben, right in front of Tom, who doesn't approve. Not one bit.
Juliet says not to worry, as Jack would "never let a patient just die." OK, so was the whole "kill Ben" thing just a ruse on Juliet's part? Part of a bigger plan with Ben? Argh, this doesn't make any sense.
Well, it also turns out that someone miscalculated Ben's anesthesia dosage, and he's been somewhat awake and lucid for a while now. Yes, he's heard the whole thing. He "should have seen it coming" and congratulates Jack on his cleverness.
Jack asks if he's in pain, and Ben replies, "No, but thanks all the same." Has this given a newfound respect for Jack by Ben? I almost think so.
Ben asks to speak to Juliet in private, and Jack grudgingly allows it. Of course we can watch them speak, but we're not privy to the actual conversation. Although it's clear that Juliet has been given some sort of ultimatum or otherwise problematic quandary....
She must go, to help Kate and Sawyer escape the island. This on the orders of Ben.
So Jack proceeds with the operation as planned. Funny how Tom is becoming quite the wuss, isn't it. Getting all queasy at the sight of blood. Then Jack accidentally nicks an artery and requires Tom to help him.
Wait Til Your Father Gets Home
Right about then, at Alex's boat, Pickett is shot dead by none other than Juliet, who is going to allow them to leave.
All of them except for Alex. "Your father would never allow this." (Or something similar) For whatever reason Alex unwillingly agrees.
Kate radios back to Jack, and relays the story about his screwup on the table, and that all he had to do was count to five and fix the problem. He does just that with Ben, and it looks like all is well there.
And with that, Kate, Sawyer, and a still-incapacitated Carl head across to the main island.
When Juliet returns to Jack, it's revealed that she's been there 3 years, 2 months, and 28 days. If we track that back from say, late November/early December 2004, that would put it roughly in the neighborhood of...(does the math)...
September 11, 2001. Yikes. Wonder what sort of relevance that has on Juliet being there.
She explains her conversation with Ben, that if she let Ben live, and helped Jack to save him, that Ben would allow her to go home. And she gets up and leaves the room.
Now what does that mean for Jack? Ben had already promised that Jack would be the one to leave if he could be saved. This little story's not over yet.
Final Analysis
So, what did we learn today? Lots!
Comments, observations, opinions, additions, and corrections are of course welcome in the comments!
(Another question for anyone reading this: Are these things too long? Do I give too much away? Should I be keeping it shorter and more to the point instead of re-iterating the plot? Just wondering what the opinion is.)
Technorati Tags: LOST, Not In Portland, episodes, reviews, theories, spoilers, jack, kate, sawyer, juliet, ben, alex, mittelos, others, hydra
The show opens with Juliet sitting on a beach. Is it on the island? Hm! She gets up and heads into a building with a big iron-clad door, bland concrete walls, and flickering flourescents, pretty familiar... until she passes a familiar face in the hall. It's Ethan! We must be in a flashback! But is it on the island or somewhere else?
She enters a room where an obviously ill woman is lying in bed, and proceeds to give her a painful abdominal injection of something. Turns out this woman is her sister...
...and they're most definitely not on the island. This is Miami! Apparently we're going to her previous life off the island!
She works at a research hospital, and also for her ex-husband, a Dr. Edmund Burke (I know this name, maybe from the Experience game last year?) Who is apparently a controlling bastard, and overly (and ironically) interested in the ethics of J's research.
We're introduced to him as she's trying to "acquire" more experimental drugs for her sister, and he walks into the lab with his squeeze-du-jour. And we learn the above tidbits.
He wants in on her "research" and knows he can control her because of it... (Actually I must've skipped this little segment in my notes and I can't recall any of it! Bad me, BAD!)
After the break, Juliet is paid a visits by a Dr. Alpert, a representative of "Mittelos Bioscience" (More "Experience" references? Dr. Mittelwerk?) He is highly interested in recruiting Juliet because of her experimental fertility research, and wants to get her to his facility in Portland. Or so he says.
She is shown a series of cat scan images from a patient (any idea who this patient might be?) and told that if she works for MB, she can find out what's wrong with her.
It's at this point we get a rather abrupt and scary look into Juliet's character. She starts going on about how her ex "wouldn't let her" and "he wouldn't like it" and the only way would be if he were "hit by a bus."
Now there's two ways you could read that. One, she's just saying that to come up with an excuse in order to cover for her sister and what she's been doing. Or two, she has some serious issues with control and submission. The first understandable, the second, not so much.
We learn that her out-of-the-office experiments on her sister, Rachel (Jacob theory?) have been successful, and she's become pregnant. Although the cancer may have something to say about that. No mention is made about who's baby it might be, though.
Juliet catches Edmund outside the hospital, where she proceeds to tell him about her success. More words are exchanged (sorry didn't write details!) and he continues talking as he walks into the street...
...where he's promptly flattened by an oncoming bus. Nice.
The next time we see J she's in the morgue signing (presumably) Edmund's death certificate and/or other papers, obviously (and curiously) distraught with Edmund's death. Does our girl have some attachment issues as well? Why are the good looking ones always messed up!?
Dr. Alpert walks in, accompanied by our good Dr. Rom. She makes the "bus connection" and it's pretty obvious she's considering his offer.
Oh, and the facilities he was talking about, they're "Not exactly in Portland", hence the title of the show. We can only assume that the facility he's speaking of is actually the island.
The Wookiee Prisoner Gag
At the Hydra cages, Kate and Sawyer lock Pickett and his pal up in one of them and run off into the jungle. It doesn't take long for them to be freed, and the chase is on.
Bullets are exchanged, and nobody's hit save for a few trees (Aim next time!) Sawyer runs out of Ammo, and as Kate locks eyes and stares down the barrel of his pistol.
Whammo! A slingshot wielding Alex to the rescue! The trio runs off and eventually hides in a rathole Alex has built previously. Pickett's squad continues on in search of them.
Turns out Alex has a boat of her own (like she'd be able to hide that?) and will help Kate and Sawyer get to the main island... but only if they get Carl first.
With that, Alex leads them to yet another building, still with the Hydra Station markings on the door. They use the "Wookiee Prisoner Gag" (as Sawyer puts it) to overcome the guard and get inside, where they find Carl in cell number 23. (As in the numbers 23.)
(Side Note: The 23 is probably also a reference to the actual Wookiee Prisoner gag from Star Wars, where Princess Leia was being held in detention block AA23... Carl's room is even on the same side of the hall!)
They find Carl connected to a "Clockwork Orange"-like contraption being forced to watch a film of, well of some kind. I will have to go back and watch that part closer, but it entranced Sawyer to the point where Kate had to snap him out of it.
There were a few parts I did catch on that film, a slide that read (at least in part) "As God Loved Jacob" and a few with what seemed to be speech played in reverse. (seen "The Exorcist" lately?) I'll touch on the "Jacob" bit later in another post, as I think it might be relevant (theory construction time!) And if I'm able to figure it out (or someone else does first) I want to know what the reverse speech was saying!!!
(Side Note 2: Was the techno-music in this segment on the film? If not it was very out of character for the show.)
The four of them escape the building and find Alex's boat, a catamaran sailboat. As they're loading up Carl, he starts mumbling "Danny," confusing Sawyer for a second. Then the lightbulb goes off and he turns around, staring at Pickett who's got them at gunpoint....
Thanks All The Same
Meanwhile, back in the (Hydra) hatch...
Jack has (if you recall) punctured Ben's kidney sac, and is using that as the means to allow Kate and Sawyer to escape. He still doesn't know he's on a separate island, and doesn't know what all is about to happen.
Jack's little diversion has obviously created a kink in Juliet's plans for Ben. She orders Pickett to go after them (see above.) Jack is starting to wonder who to trust. Is Juliet going back on her word? What is the deal?!
She explains to Jack that this little plan isn't going to work, because they're on the second island. Jack apparently panics and spills the beans on Juliet's plan to off Ben, right in front of Tom, who doesn't approve. Not one bit.
Juliet says not to worry, as Jack would "never let a patient just die." OK, so was the whole "kill Ben" thing just a ruse on Juliet's part? Part of a bigger plan with Ben? Argh, this doesn't make any sense.
Well, it also turns out that someone miscalculated Ben's anesthesia dosage, and he's been somewhat awake and lucid for a while now. Yes, he's heard the whole thing. He "should have seen it coming" and congratulates Jack on his cleverness.
Jack asks if he's in pain, and Ben replies, "No, but thanks all the same." Has this given a newfound respect for Jack by Ben? I almost think so.
Ben asks to speak to Juliet in private, and Jack grudgingly allows it. Of course we can watch them speak, but we're not privy to the actual conversation. Although it's clear that Juliet has been given some sort of ultimatum or otherwise problematic quandary....
She must go, to help Kate and Sawyer escape the island. This on the orders of Ben.
So Jack proceeds with the operation as planned. Funny how Tom is becoming quite the wuss, isn't it. Getting all queasy at the sight of blood. Then Jack accidentally nicks an artery and requires Tom to help him.
Wait Til Your Father Gets Home
Right about then, at Alex's boat, Pickett is shot dead by none other than Juliet, who is going to allow them to leave.
All of them except for Alex. "Your father would never allow this." (Or something similar) For whatever reason Alex unwillingly agrees.
Kate radios back to Jack, and relays the story about his screwup on the table, and that all he had to do was count to five and fix the problem. He does just that with Ben, and it looks like all is well there.
And with that, Kate, Sawyer, and a still-incapacitated Carl head across to the main island.
When Juliet returns to Jack, it's revealed that she's been there 3 years, 2 months, and 28 days. If we track that back from say, late November/early December 2004, that would put it roughly in the neighborhood of...(does the math)...
September 11, 2001. Yikes. Wonder what sort of relevance that has on Juliet being there.
She explains her conversation with Ben, that if she let Ben live, and helped Jack to save him, that Ben would allow her to go home. And she gets up and leaves the room.
Now what does that mean for Jack? Ben had already promised that Jack would be the one to leave if he could be saved. This little story's not over yet.
Final Analysis
So, what did we learn today? Lots!
- The Others, at least the ones seemingly "in charge" are (probably) not in "prison" or confinement. If Dr. Alpert is to be believed, the ones like Juliet came there, at least at first, willingly, if maybe under false pretenses.
- They appear to be a part of this "Mittelos Bioscience" operation, which is involved in some cutting edge medical research. And obviously has no qualms about splattering people on the front of Greyhounds.
- We still can't trust either Ben or Juliet. Duh!
- Alex's loyalties are, well, can we say "torn?"
- Elements of "The LOST Experience" of last year seem to be finding their way into the show.
- Who is Alex's father? I know from reading some spoilerific posts who its supposed to be and why. But I'm not telling. Is he really her father, though? And what light does that throw on Rousseau?
- What is up with the "Clockwork Orange" film bit? There's a lot of good stuff in there, and it merits a closer look. Especially the Jacob/religious references, and an examination of the backwards speech.
- And just who the h*ll is Carl anyway? Why does he seem to be a "target" for the rest of the others?
- What happens to Juliet's sister? Is the name Rachel relevant (especially to the Jacob reference on the film?) And who's baby is it?
- Who's cat scans were shown to Juliet by Dr. Alpert? Anyone we know?
Comments, observations, opinions, additions, and corrections are of course welcome in the comments!
(Another question for anyone reading this: Are these things too long? Do I give too much away? Should I be keeping it shorter and more to the point instead of re-iterating the plot? Just wondering what the opinion is.)
Technorati Tags: LOST, Not In Portland, episodes, reviews, theories, spoilers, jack, kate, sawyer, juliet, ben, alex, mittelos, others, hydra
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The PlanetLOST Season Three Recaps
Now that the fun is over (for a while it seems!) Here's a quick reference to the season three recaps and analysis threads.... Man, some of these feel like soooo long ago!A Tale of Two CitiesThe Glass BallerinaFurther InstructionsEvery Man for Himsel
Now that the fun is over (for a while it seems!) Here's a quick reference to the season three recaps and analysis threads.... Man, some of these feel like soooo long ago!A Tale of Two CitiesThe Glass BallerinaFurther InstructionsEvery Man for Himsel
Weblog: Planet LOST
Tracked: May 30, 20:10
Tracked: May 30, 20:10
I read that the number of people watching this episode was 14.5 million as opposed to about 17 million at the beginning of the season.
BTW, has anyone ever done a diagram of all the people with all their connections to each other?
The Cards won last year...
Just writing this doesn't make sense, but it did in my head last night....I luv this new season, and I can't wait for the next 13 episodes!!!