Things I Noticed – "Not in Portland" by Vozzek69

LOST is back!!! And not only is it back, but the first episode had action, tension, AND answers (probably more than we've ever been given before). Here are the Things I Noticed:

Weeding out the Non-Fans
I want to start by saying that last night's episode will really separate the men from the boys; i.e. the fans from the non-fans. The people who really want answers will be separated from the people who just want 'rational' explainations for everything, which in my opinion would strip away the show's awesome mystique. Somehow these people can't see that this is the very thing that makes LOST great. They're too used to CSI, where everything gets rationalized and categorized and answered at the end of 60 minutes. They still don't realize that LOST is great because of the escapism and mystery.

To that, I say let these people be pissed. I'm still enjoying the show.


Juliet is Special

Biggest revelation last night: Juliet is special. She exhibited the same type of fundamental manifestation powers that Walt showed us in season one. This is why she's on the island: her powers are akin to the way the island works. Many people have written me fiercely opposing my manifestation theory, but last night there was even more evidence toward it. Juliet's husband getting hit by the bus? Come on. You can't POSSIBLY believe the Mittelos organization 'set that up'. And her sister getting pregnant... not sure if she'd previously had Chemo or if she just liked to wear headgear, but the fact was the girl was barren. Yet even sterile, Juliet was able to impregnate her.


Do you think Juliet's magical forumla of stolen lab juice accomplished this? Is she a brilliant scientist who stumbled across the secrets of fertility? Crap no. Juliet's sister became pregnant because Juliet wanted her to become pregnant. She could've been injecting her with green apple fun dip for all it mattered: the important thing was Juliet believing her research would work. Juliet manifested her sister's pregnancy just as she unwillingly (important distinction) manifested her ex-husband's bus accident... or maybe she was watching Final Destination the night before. Either way, Juliet is special.


Ethan - Working for The Man

Another big revelation last night: Ethan had real-world ties to whatever organization (Mittelos, Dharma, Hanso, doesn't really matter what we call it at this point) that's been associated with the island. That dude from Suddenly Susan wanted Juliet real bad - way too bad, actually. His recruitment ran deeper than an extended job offer, it was more of a stalking obsession to 'have' her. And yes, while you might think he offed Juliet's ex-husband/boss in order to sever her ties there and make her run away with him to Alderaan, the fact that it happened through a bus accident was way more Juliet's fault than his own.


In any case, Luis from Suddenly Susan wanted Juliet because he knew of her powers - much the same way the Others wanted Walt. Whether he intended to apply those powers toward a fertilization-type industry or for some other purpose is irrevelant. Either way Juliet was herded to the island much the same way everyone on flight 815 was... the way Desmond was... the way just about everyone else got there. And Ethan was an important part of the recon of Juliet, which puts him in cohoots with The Man. Other Others could've been assimilated into their little village through various ways, but last night we learned that Ethan was at least there for a purpose.


"The Room" - (as seen in Clockwork Orange)


I'm pretty sure we saw 'The Room' last night - the one they threatened Walt with at the end of last season. Ignoring the various images on the screen for a minute, we can apply simple logic to come to a conclusion: Carl has powers.
Walt was powerful, so powerful that the Others feared him enough to allow him to leave the island despite the fact they'd wanted him because of those very powers. Left unchecked, Walt mentally 'spoke' to his father (through the computer) and Shannon (through projecting himself). Hence the need for Room 23, where the Others probably stuck him to eliminate or at least reduce his ability to do these things.
In Clockwork Orange, the room served a rehabilitation-type purpose. Although it might be the same thing here, I think it was more of a distraction and a way to keep the subject from sleeping. I find it hard to believe Carl was here simply to be punished. It seemed designed to keep Carl awake, and to keep his thoughts scattered and disjointed. In the past I've pointed out that the strangest of happenings and visions have occured when one of the characters has been asleep or near-unconscious, which may be why the Others wanted Carl (and Walt) awake and unfocused. Note that although Carl had a beautiful girlfriend with the most awesome lips on the planet who just broke him out of jail... the first thing he wanted to do was go to sleep.


Ever since the sky turned purple...

Jack finally asked one of the most important questions we've all been asking, which of course is why Ben just didn't leave the island and get his spine fixed in a hospital. And in typical LOST style, Mr. Friendly gives us a half-answer: "Because, ever since the sky turned purple..."
I think we're meant to believe the rest of the sentence would be "we can't leave the island". But that makes no sense at all, because right after the sky turned purple both Michael and Walt were allowed to leave. In my opinion, I think the reverse is true. I think the sentence would've been something like: "Ever since the sky turned purple, we could leave the island... but before that, we were LOST". Kinda makes more sense. And if you ask "Why didn't Ben just leave in the boat with Michael and Walt"... you can make the argument that his tumor was too far gone by then. As Jack put it, he should've been operated on 'last week'. Ben would have to find rescue, find a good hospital, and then find a spinal surgeon good enough and crazy enough to take on such a risky operation. By then it was way too late.
Personally, I don't think Ben can leave the island anyway, having something to do with him being born there.


No Boatride for Alex

Juliet points out that Alex can't leave the island, using her father to indirectly threaten Carl's life. I'm not sure if she knows of Alex's origins, having only been on the island for three years, but we know one thing: Ben does. And the last thing Ben needs is for Alex to find out she's got a filth-smeared mom living full-blown Rambo commando in the middle of the jungle just a boat-ride away.

The fact that Juliet keeps Alex back tells us one thing: at this point, she believes Ben will live. I still think her whole cue-card speech to Jack about letting Ben die on the table was just a crock: if she really knew Jack at all she'd know that he'd never let a patient die on the operating table. I find a hard time believing this relevation just suddenly occurred to her this episode.


Later Pickett

Danny Pickett was a lame punk - his character was so one-dimensional and totally predictable I'm glad he's gone. I think he was meaningless in the grand scheme of things, nothing more than a disgruntled henchman for Ben & co. I'm also thinking Mr. Friendly is a lot less "in" on things as well, although his character is showing more depth and a little more compassion as of late.

Kate Finally Doesn't Get a Gun Put to Her Head!

Well it's about time! Not one, but TWO scenes where Sawyer sucker punches and expertly disarms someone without turning around to find out someone's got a gun to Kate's head. That act was getting pretty stale. The Wookie reference was amazing. The writers kick ass.

What Ben Said to Juliet

Here's where things get gray... I'm really not sure exactly what Ben said to Juliet. Mr. Friendly underscores his simplicity with his "they've got history" theory, but you can tell by looking at Jack's face he knows there's a lot more to it. It's hard to believe Ben really did tell Juliet he'd simply let her go - just for the fact that LOST is never that simple.
Escaping the island is definitely something Juliet desires, but wouldn't that be something Ben could say in front of Jack? Why the secrecy? In fact, didn't Ben just promise Jack the same thing a few episodes ago? Suddenly the strategy of actually letting Walt and Michael go seems to have paid off, because now Ben's promise becomes believable. Still, I'm not sure if Juliet's given Jack the whole answer here.


Ben's Master Plan

Looking back over this season so far, I'm pretty sure just about everything has gone according to Ben's plan. The reason why is simple: "The next two weeks are going to be very unpleasant".

All these episodes later, Kate/Sawyer finally escape. Were they on the island for (a very unpleasant) two weeks? If so, isn't that pretty damned prophetic? The only explanation is that Ben let them go. And not only that, he did it in the exact timeline he predicted he would. Either Ben's very lucky or he knew exactly how things would go down.

There are still a lot of questions regarding Ben's surgery that need to be answered. Why didn't he just take Jack the first time he had them surrounded by torch-wielding Others? Why wait, especially if he knew his tumor was growing bigger each day? Why not go out and ASK Jack to help him, which he most certainly would've, rather than go through the whole kidnapping/hostage/convincing routine? Totally unknown. The only gut feeling I have is that there are certain 'rules' to the island - rules that even Ben must follow. Remember Ms. Klugh saying "We can't do that Michael". Remember Ben telling Jack "I need you to want to do the surgery". For some reason, those rules can't be broken, not without incurring the wrath of the island. Just ask Eko.