Lost 3.16 "One of Us"

Written by Carlton Cuse and Drew Goddard
Directed by Jack Bender

In which Jack returns to the beach camp with Juliet and a great deal of distrust in tow, and a health crisis for Claire makes the situation that much worse…

Status Report

As anticipated, this episode is full of revelations and confirmations, something that typically marks the beginning of the resolution phase of a season arc. The introductory phase of the season ended with a Juliet flashback, Jack’s migration to the main island with the Others, and the return of Kate and Sawyer. This transition is a nice callback to that earlier moment in the season, as more information is revealed about Juliet and her motivations.

Some consider Juliet to be a “Mary Sue” character, but that is not entirely accurate. Instead, Juliet serves a very specific purpose. The audience gets to see the inner workings of the Others, from recruitment to “present day”, from the perspective of someone who has gone through that ordeal. It’s an example of “show, don’t tell”, and it works tremendously well. Juliet’s particular mindset is a product of being in a kind of survival mode; to get out of the trap, she must become the very thing she hates the most.

Juliet’s flashbacks are essentially her reflections, the path that has led her to yet another bargain with the devil in the hopes of escape. She must realize, on some level, that Ben is contriving to keep her on the island forever, especially given the reproductive problems among the Others. Having been ostracized by the Others themselves, she must have concluded that the JackLocke tribe doesn’t have the information necessary to escape the island. Juliet’s only option, to achieve her goal, is further cooperation with Ben.

That doesn’t preclude the possibility that Juliet is playing both sides in the hopes of finding a way out on her own. As she says to Jack, she’s always been on her own. It’s more a question of enlightened self-interest. Juliet all but told Jack that she was chosen as his handler because of her general resemblance to his former wife. She explained that it was a psychological tactic to undermine his defenses and gain his trust on a subconscious level. That being the case, it’s not at all surprising for her to continue using that methodology to her own ends.

This does not make Juliet evil, but rather, a complex character with complex motivations. She’s no longer one of the Others, and cannot be one of the JackLocke tribe, not if she wants to succeed in her goal to leave the island. As such, her motivations cannot align with one side or the other. Expecting her to adhere to a concept of allegiance is an oversimplification of the dynamic on the island. (And it is something that pertains, quite directly, to Desmond as well.)

In exploring the evolution of her choices, Juliet reveals some interesting information, especially taken in context with her explanation for Claire’s illness. As usual, it’s hard to know what is truth and what is fabrication, but the lines are relatively easy to draw in this case. Juliet may have been foolish to take the plunge into the world of the Others, but there was a great deal of deception involved. Clearly, whoever the Others are, they have powerful friends (led, perhaps, by the mysterious “Jacob”, who could have taken control of former Dharma assets).

As long suspected by many fans, the interest in Claire and the children is tied to a peculiar by-product of the island itself: the inability to reproduce. The description of the problem suggests that the fetus is treated as a parasite by whatever agency (biological, electromagnetic, etc.) that prevents and heals biological damage. Any attempt to reproduce results in the death of the child, and quite often, the mother.

The days leading up to Oceanic 815 are quite revealing. For one, it appears that one suspicion is now debunked: the passengers of the flight were not chosen over a long period of time, despite evidence to the contrary. It is possible, however, that Ben saw an opportunity and had the resources (through “Jacob”, most likely) to ensure that the crash took place. Rather than happening over the course of weeks or months, it would simply have happened over the course of 24 hours, after Ben discovered he had cancer.

Ben might have seen two opportunities. First, to bring a spinal surgeon to the island to save his life, since the medical personnel on the island were devoted largely to reproductive research. Second, to bring a woman already pregnant to the island to give Juliet something she didn’t have: a fresh direction for her research. This would serve to save his life and keep Juliet in line.

This line of speculation has the benefit of fitting Ben’s dialogue rather well. It also explains why Oceanic 815 was so far off course and seemed to break apart in just the right way to allow passengers to survive. It also fits into the suspicion that Kelvin was assigned to manipulate Desmond into letting the countdown lapse at just the right time to bring down the plane. Just in terms of what has been said by the writers and producers, this explains why Aaron and Claire are, as they say, key to the mythology of the series.

If this speculation holds water, then Ethan and Goodwin would have been chosen by Ben to ensure that someone with medical experience was on hand to find Claire and determine if Jack had survived. Children would have been rounded up, and Claire would have been experimented upon to determine whether or not the island’s effects were beginning to show. The writers tie these experiments into the events of “Raised by Another” and place the revelations of “Maternity Leave” in context.

This opens the door to other questions, of course. Was the serum in the vials (seen in “Man of Science, Man of Faith” and “Maternity Leave”) always a placebo, or does it actually serve a purpose? How much did Ethan actually do to Claire? It’s a reasonable assumption that Juliet was lying when she said Ethan kidnapped Claire on his own, but were the Others going to kill Claire, as seemed to be the case in “Maternity Leave”? Or were they anticipating that she would die like so many potential mothers before her?

Whatever the case, Ben has designs on the JackLocke tribe, and it’s doubtful that it will go well for the survivors of Oceanic 815. Jack has already served his purpose, Juliet may or may not have a solid deal in place, and beyond Aaron, the rest were considered to be extraneous. It’s possible that they would take Sun if she were discovered to have conceived after coming to the island (this is now a very important question), but the rest can be taken out without remorse, from the Others’ point of view.

Beyond Juliet’s scheme and her manipulation of Jack and the rest of the tribe, there are some important character moments. Sawyer and Sayid finally get to work together again, and it is a joy to behold. Sawyer was very comfortable in the new leadership role, and it should be interesting to see if he’s willing to exert authority now that Jack has returned. In fact, Sawyer and Sayid would be the least likely allies when it comes to approaching Jack with concerns, which would throw weight behind those concerns. Needless to say, Juliet’s goal would be to undercut those efforts.

With Claire out of commission for much of the episode, Charlie takes a lot of responsibility without getting much resistance. This implies that Claire has followed through on her reevaluation of Charlie after “Par Avion”, and that the rest of the tribe has respected that decision. With the situation gathering towards something deadly, and Aaron being a likely target when the Others come calling, the stage is set for a heroic sacrifice.

This episode begins the process of pulling the pieces together, something that has been requested for a very long time. A number of questions are answered in this episode, and as things currently stand, more should be forthcoming as the season draws to a close. Just in terms of how well the story comes together, both internally and within the framework of the series as a whole, this is a solid effort and easily one of the best of the season.

Final Analysis

Overall, this episode was one of the best of the season, delivering some answers to long-standing questions and setting the stage for a massive season finale. The central character provides a unique perspective, linking several events over the course of the series and placing a number of plot threads into context. Questions still abound, but this is a great step in the right direction.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10

(Season Average: 7.6)