Things I Noticed - "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Vozzek69

Stranger in a strange land was NOT one of my favorite episodes. Judging from the message board reaction, I'm pretty sure I'm not alone. The story was a bit weak and as a stand-alone episode it was boring, but at least we had one BIG revelation this week. More on that in a minute. Things I noticed:


Let Me Get You Some Stones

Funny line, coming from Mr. Friendly. Throwing aside the glass houses reference, we can see the irony of Zeke telling Jack he needs some balls. At this point however, Jack has finally exhibited some stones, while Friendly fades further back each week into the role of a clueless underling.


You're Not From Around Here, Are You?

This struck me immediately as a strange thing for a Thai woman to say to an obviously out-of-place caucasian man. The line is too obvious. I think it's more of a reference to Jack not exactly being from 'around here'- meaning he's special. Achara senses this, as per her gift, which is why she's drawn to him. I also remember something about a 'go fly a kite' reference in a previous episode, but I can't pin it down. The way Jack said 'Achara' sounded a lot like 'Other', by the way. He also seems to be wearing some sort of an infinity symbol around his neck, but I could be wrong.

Sawyer Has the Best Lines
Hands down. From the cool JAWS reference to 'You got a map you ain't showin' me Magellan?' And my favorite one so far: 'Like the steal a kid off the raft project?'. Hehehe...

Dragonfly, This is Wolf Den Six...

Did anyone else notice the interrogation room Jack was led into by Isabelle looked straight out of Rambo First Blood part II? Military style footlockers. Computer gadgetry the size of an engine block. And that microphone??? Oh man. RIGHT out of Rambo. Yet I think the most important aspect of that scene was the row of 3-ring binders behind Isabelle. They were all black and white... except for the bright red one - the one you saw just as Jack was lying (badly) through his teeth. Which leads me to:

Sixth Sense Red
It's more and more obvious that certain episodes have colors. Eko's last episode was 99% green. This one was red, and there was a lot of it. Maybe red is Jack's color? Maybe that binder behind Isabelle represented Jack's binder - the one where they knew everything about him? When Jack followed Bai Ling through the reddish-hued streets, she wore a bright red dress. And one of the guys who beat the snot out of him at the end of the episode wore a very red shirt. Not sure of the total significance, but it seems intentional.

Bad Choice of Cage
I'm pretty sure Jack wasn't too happy about getting put into the cage where Sawyer nailed Kate. Ouch. Notice how Jack pushes the food button twice, but then stops short before he shocks himself. This is to show us how different Jack is from Sawyer. He thinks things through. Jack's all about finesse; Sawyer's brute force. Jack rocks the candy machine gently back and forth; Sawyer knocks it over.

Okay, Then I Get To Ask One Question...
Where's Juliet? Jack gets to ask a free question, and the BEST he can come up with is where's Juliet?!?!? I think anyone watching that scene wanted to punch him in the sternum as hard as possible.

Say it. Go on... Say it...
Watching Jack shake the crap out of Bai Ling just because he didn't know where she worked seemed very out of place. He's been on a beautiful relaxing island for at least a month and getting no-strings midnight sex on a regular basis without even having to shave. What's he got to be so pissed about?



"Do you see who I am? Who AM I?" This seemed pretty important. During this scene Jack didn't seem like Jack at all, but rather someone else entirely. He himself wasn't even sure who he was. It was a little bit Fight Club to me. A leader? A great man? Is Jack Tyler Durden? Is Jack HIM???

When Achara told him there would be consequences for marking him, Jack seemed almost ready for her answer. I don't think she was referring to the beating he took later on, either... I think the consequences she saw were a lot more far-reaching than that. After tattooing him, Jack was marked on a non-visual level. The drink-selling kid ran from him without Jack even rolling up his sleeve. Maybe the Others didn't realize they needed Jack (i.e. him not being on Jacob's original list) until they saw his tattoo? Is this why Jack's been sleeveless for two and a half seasons (a lucky accident)?



"He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us" - Jack's an outsider. This is why he never fits in. This is why his marriage didn't work, his relationship with his father blew up, and why he can't close the deal with Kate. There's something not quite right about Jack that no one can put their finger on. Inwardly, he will constantly be at war with himself.

Juliet's Brand

Maybe we'll eventually find out the meaning of the mark the Others burned into Juliet's back, but the point of it was simple: she's been excommunicated from her people. Knowing she's now alone she actually shed a tear, but Jack's whole 'live together die alone' attitude seemed to give her some hope. The aloe scene was her transition from Other character to possible induction into the 815'ers camp. Putting the mark on her back was a way of showing that it doesn't matter if it's visible or not - everyone will still somehow know she's marked.

Sawyer/Kate/Jack
The show's obligatory love triangle is back on. Not sure many of us care at this point, but it was pretty predictable that Sawyer would 'mess it up'. It was painfully intentional too - the way he did it, pushing Kate away (even though he loves her) like everyone else in his life. I still think Kate's going to end up with Jack. It just might take until the end of the series.

Well, Ben Calls It Home
When Juliet says this, we already know she doesn't consider the perfect little book-club community to be her home. But the way she says it, it's almost like she's speaking for the other Others too. I'm thinking that all of Mr. Roger's neighborhood was by Ben's design - whether you believe it was built by Dharma or whether (like me) you think it was manifested from the memories/imagination of those on the island. Ben's idea of home is everyone's home.



Looks like the dirty boat is back, too (was that the same boat?) which would explain why Ben so willingly let Michael and Walt drive off with such a useful piece of hardware.

Okay, on to the good stuff.

"We Give Them a Better Life. Better Than Yours."

Cindy and the kids are back. They come strolling right up to the edge of Jack's cage like they're out for a casual walk in the jungle. It's no coincidence they show up just as Jack's 'waking up' in his cage, leaving the producers that eternal LOST escape hatch that hints to the fact Jack could be dreaming. But in this case, I don't think he is. He may still be unconscious, but he's definitely not dreaming.



Cindy and the kids aren't what's important. Look at the people behind Cindy. These are not the Others... they're the 815 survivors that were dragged into the jungle. They're dressed for a air-conditioned plane ride, not for a walk in the sweltering heat. They're placid and curious, yet silent and observant. They "came to watch".

As Jack asks Cindy "What are you doing here with THEM?" (meaning the Others) Cindy responds with "They're not... ummm..." and then stops herself. She can't explain to Jack that these people are not the Others. "It's complicated". Yeah Cindy, it sure is.

These are the WATCHERS. We're going to see a lot more of them. I'm pretty sure we may have seen some of them already. I don't think they're really on the island, but I don't think they're NOT on the island either. These people are disconnected from everyone else. They're in a better place - another place (another life?). And I think they're probably responsible for the whispers, too.

Needless to say, this is a BIG revelation. Want some proof? Check out the two photos below:



I noticed the creepy guy in the yellow shirt staring through that window and thought it was pretty strange, the way he seemed to be ignored. Yet he shows up with Cindy and company. He's not an Other... he's not really there. He's a watcher, and he's doing what the watchers do: he's watching. I'm reminded of an early whisper from season one: "Should we help them"? No help. Just a bunch of watching.

Another really cool possible 'watcher' sighting was pointed out on DarkUFO's site this week:

http://losteastereggs.blogspot.com/2007/02/poster-blink-girl.html

And hey, remember the deleted ABC photo of the little girl standing in the room during one of the earlier episodes this season? Was she a set accident or a watcher? Did the producers choose not to reveal her yet, and cut that scene intentionally?



While we're looking at photos, here's something else I noticed: Emma's dress seems very similar to Bai Ling's shirt just as she turns away from Jack for the last time. I grabbed some screencaps of that too:



I know they're not exactly the same pattern, but they're very close. I'm pretty sure it's related to my idea that the island is just recycling (and limited to) everyone's memories over and over to paint certain things within the 'flashbacks'. And I'll tell you right now I put the word flashbacks in quotation marks intentionally.

Here's hoping next week we're back to Locke and Sayid kicking some ass.