Summary: In flashbacks, Juliet is a researches who is running a secret experiment on her sister in an attempt to get her pregnant. Juliet's horrible ex-husband Ed finds out and forces his way in to reap the rewards. Juliet gets a job opportunity from Mittelos Bioscience (the others) but refuses them because of Ed. Ed is hit by a bus and killed and Juliet takes the job offer. On the island, Juliet sends everyone to bring back Kate and Sawyer, revealing to Jack that they are on a different island. In turn, Jack reveals that Juliet plotted to kill Ben. Kate and Sawyer are attacked by Danny but Alex helps them escape. After a quick stop to save Karl, Alex takes them to a boat. Ben wakes up during surgery and tells Juliet to ensure that Kate and Sawyer escape, promising that she can leave the island in exchange. Jack works to complete the surgery. Kate contacts him and tells him the story from "Pilot Part 1". Jack completes the story and Sawyer, Kate and Karl escape.
The Good: This episode felt refreshing in a lot of ways. From the start, this proved to be a return to form as we were treated to a surprising opening scene that presented a twist similar to the season's opening twist. We see Juliet going about her life on the island (we even see Ethan!) and many questions are raised on what her purpose on the island is. But then we get the shock twist that we were watching Miami all along. It's an effective opening scene that gives us the pleasant reveal that we would be seeing what Juliet's life was before the island, promising a return to the mysterious storytelling that made this show so good. And that's exactly what we got. Juliet's flashbacks were great television. It's an effective surprise to see this cheerful and openly emotional Juliet in comparison to the cold, stoic and intimidating woman that we met on the island. It's clear that her time with the others has changed her completely and this episode lays the foundation for another episode down the line showcasing Juliet's transformation. But that's not to say that this was exclusively a set-up episode fro Juliet's character. She has been a complete mystery thus far, so learning more of her background is essential for the story. This episode builds up to the reveal that Juliet wants to leave the island just as badly as Jack and we can now see why that is. She left her sister behind to take on this job, so she has something back in the rest of the world that she needs to get back to. Furthermore, the flashbacks also serve to add more mystery to the others. We see Ethan off the island following and gathering information on Juliet. It's evident that they are far more resourceful and dangerous than what we have seen on the island which is refreshing to see. The portrayal of the others in the flashbacks is much more reminiscent of how they were portrayed back in season 2: intimidating, resourceful and scary. The plot point of Ed getting run over by a bus only for Mr. Alpert and Ethan to extend the offer to Juliet again conveyed all of these traits perfectly. On the island the story was pretty solid. As expected, this episode served to be a dramatic escape episode following last episode's sudden cliffhanger. There isn't too much to say about it other than the fact that there was some solid drama inserted into the episode. Some highlights included the mysterious brainwashing room (see: The Unknown), the tense chase sequences with Danny, and the emotional high point of Kate telling Jack the story from"Pilot Part 1" as he rushes to stitch up Ben and save his life. The Bad: The start of the episode continued exactly where we left off in terms of the incompetence of the others. Sawyer and Kate easily overpowered Danny, making me question if Jack's call was even necessary to initiate an escape anyways. Danny and the others come off as absurdly weak after this (though I can't deny that Sawyer giving Danny an electric shock was immensely satisfying). Most of my gripes come from individual moments that didn't work for me rather than problems with the story as a whole. Kate threatening to shoot Aldo's kneecaps was a weird moment because we hadn't seen this side of Kate ever before on the island. Had the show been more consistent at portraying Kate's role as a fugitive, this would have worked much better. Another weird moment is Ben waking up during the surgery. It's absurd to think that this would happen and it comes off as an unnecessary way to manufacture more drama. Juliet outright murdering Danny is another strange moment. Surely this should be a bigger deal than it was treated as. I mean, she just killed one of her own people for pretty much no reason (just shoot his leg or something!). Lastly, the writers went out of there way to go to unreasonable lengths to portray Ed as an asshole. Having him call his mother insufferable was a step too far for me. The Unknown: What's the history between Juliet and Ben that Tom alluded to? What is the brainwashing room? Why was Karl in there? Is this the same room that was referenced back in "Three Minutes"? Who is Jacob? We see his name come up again in the brainwashing room. Is he some sort of deity that the others worship? Did the others somehow organize Ed's death? How did they do that? How much power do they have off of the island? Ben has seemingly adopted Alex as his daughter. Does she know that he's not her real father? What is their relationship like? Best Moment: The opening scene was wonderful. Character of the Episode: Juliet. Conclusion: This was really good stuff. Juliet is an interesting new character, and centering an episode around her led to a compelling story in the flashbacks mixed with a dramatic on-island story. This isn't yet "Lost" at its best, but with Kate and Sawyer out of captivity, hopefully the story can move in an interesting new direction. Score: 69
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
February 2024
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