I'll Take the Others Over the Tailies Any Day of the Week

I don't know if it's really fair to say this after she's only been in seven
episodes, but I do believe that Juliet is my favorite character on Lost. I
used to love Sayid and Jin and Sun (and I do still like them), but I never
liked them as much as I love Juliet. And Elizabeth Mitchell is easily the
best actress ever to appear on the show. Although, I have to say, last
night's episode even got me liking Kate again. Kick ass Kate is way better
than overly conflicted Kate.

But then I just flipped over last night's episode.

I saw the bus thing coming miles away, but I still jumped a little when it
happened. I didn't see the shooting coming, I thought she was gonna talk him
down. And that was due, I think, to how well the episode was put together.
One sequence especially comes to mind, where in flashbacks Juliet is walking
down a hall looking broken and (excuse the pun) lost, then we cut to
'present' time and you can see this look of steely resolve in her eyes.

A few other interesting things I noticed:

Have you seen and/or read 'A Clockwork Orange'? The scene with Carl in Room
23 was very reminiscent of both and adds credence to the behavioral
psychology/conditioning angle of the Others/Dharma/Hanso. Are we to assume
that all of the Others (at least the more free thinking ones) went through
such an ordeal? (And I have to watch that video again in slo-mo on the DVR)

I had read that there would be a clue embedded in an anagram somewhere on
the show. Mittelos (the foundation that strong-armed Juliet in to coming to
'Portland') is an anagram for 'lost time.' Perhaps that is a reference to
the 26 year old pregnant woman with a 70 year old's body? Does time move
differently on these islands?

Also, from 'The Lost Experience' online thing over the summer, Mittelos may
be a reference to Dr. Thomas Mittlewerk, who was/is a higher-up in the Hanso
Foundation. In that case, is Mittelos still the anagram or is something
else?

However, now that I'm writing this, if time is different, then has Juliet
actually been on the island since September 11th (or thereabout)? Or has she
been there longer and she thinks it's only 3 years? Obviously Jack has other
things on his mind, but I wonder if he will ever come to the conclusion that
Juliet arrived around September 11th? Though you would think that she either
doesn't know the significance of that date (in relation to the rest of the
world) or is just trying to fuck with Jack's mind (again).

Why do you suppose the Others cannot procreate? Especially when coming to
the (original) island seemed to have cured Sun and Jin's pregnancy issues. I
wonder if it has to do with Other Island. Meaning, would Locke collapse and
Sun miscarry and Rose relapse if they all traveled over to Other Island? I'm
assuming that the Others cannot procreate and that's why they wanted Juliet.
That's also why they wanted Claire's baby and all the other kids. I'm also
assuming that she hasn't been able to help and that's why she is still
around.

Do you think that Alex thinks that Benry is actually her (biological) Dad?

Speaking of Benry, Michael Emerson is freaking awesome, too. That he can be
menacing while lying face down on an operating table is quite something. And
do you think that the similarities between Benry and Juliet's ex-husband
were intentional? And if she does have a romantic past with Benry, why does
she keep falling for authoritarians who are not nearly as good looking as
she is? Is she just attracted to smirky weasely men with power?

I feel like episodes like this are the show at its best. Tight storytelling,
an illuminating backstory, fantastic acting. They don't have to throw big
answers at the audience for the show to be satisfying. They can just give
you nuggets; smaller pieces of the puzzle. And how the audience puts them
together is up to the audience. I hate handheld storytelling; I would rather
come to my own conclusions, write them down and email them to you guys. Then
you get to read over my nonsense and shake your head at my obsessiveness.

That is why I would love the producers to come up with an endpoint - they
already know where they are headed, and if they know when they have to get
there, I think there would be less of the filler episodes that tend to drag
the story along and frustrate fans. I know there's another Jack episode
coming up and while I am curious as to why he got his tattoos, if it is
another story about how he has to fix EVERYTHING, I may yell at my TV. At
some point in the next few episodes, I hope Jack (at he very least) asks Tom
what he was going to say about the sky turning purple.

Anyway, sorry for the diatribe; it's easier to make people listen to me if
they can't respond right away.

_____________________

As far as Rose and Bernard go, honestly, I don't really care. I mean,
they're nice peripheral characters, but I hardly think of them as important.
And L. Scott Caldwell and Sam Anderson are working actors, so I'm sure they
aren't going to drop whatever they are doing for a couple of lines and
background shots.

As to Michael and Walt, I'm curious as to what happened to them, but it
doesn't bother me that they haven't been mentioned - it's not like the
castaways have any means of going after them, so what's the point of
bringing them up? To upset Hurley? And Harold Perrineau just signed on for a
pilot for CBS, so if that gets picked up, it'll probably be a while before
he's actually available to come back.

If Ethan is eliciting that response from you every time he's on the screen,
then the producers are right to keep him around. That's the idea. Same idea
with Juliet - I don't necessarily like Juliet as a fictional human being; I
like her as a character because she is complex and interesting and always
has me guessing. There's definitely stuff about her that I don't like and
that's exactly why I love her and Elizabeth Mitchell portrayal of her.

And I really don't think it is speculation as to the date on the island.
Maybe the specific date, but it is clear to me that Juliet came over on or
around September 11, 2001. That doesn't necessarily have to mean anything,
but at this point I think that that is fact.

I just read this theory by someone more intelligent that I that basically
speculated that the electromagnetic pulse exerted by not pushing the hatch
button could theoretically make time kinda wonky and slow things down. I
thought that was interesting.

My problem with the love triangle is my same problem with the quadrangle on
The Office - if they focus on it too much, I think it distracts from the
greatness of the show. I mean, I understand the need for island hookups, but
Jack and Kate and Sawyer have bigger problems that who Kate's gonna choose.
It is easily the least compelling part of the show to me. Why does she even
have to choose? It's not like they're gonna build a hut and start a family
together. Or even go out to dinner every weekend.