Episode 16 - One Of Us
2 January 2009
Review
Present: Sayid leads Kate, Jack and Juliet back to the beach where Claire is ill. Juliet says she can make Claire better because she is reacting badly to the injections Ethan gave her. When Claire recovers the survivors allow Juliet to live in their camp.
Flashback: Juliet says goodbye to her sister and joins Mittelos Bioscience for six months. Alpert offers her tranquiliser for the journey to the special place. She wakes up on the submarine and heads onto the island to meet Ben. She fails for six months to keep pregnant Others from dying. But Ben says she can’t leave and that her sister’s cancer has returned. He offers to cure her if Juliet will stay. After three years on the island Juliet finds a tumour on Ben’s spine and accuses him of lying about her sister. Ben takes her to the Flame station where she sees her healthy sister with her baby boy Julian. Finally Ben tells her to infiltrate the survivors camp and that he will see her in a week.
The Good: A really strong character episode carried on the back of an excellent performance from Juliet. We saw in her first flashback (307) that she was once timid and weak. Now we see how and why she became so cool or even cold.
Her flashbacks are excellent as they both paint a rich portrait of her struggles but also remind us that the Others are a mysterious and ruthless people to be feared. Richard Alpert’s speech to her about using her gift is well written and very persuasive, explaining why she was able to trust them. Once on the island we learn that the Others can’t get pregnant or, allegedly, cancer. Ben’s claims about her sister’s cancer are interesting because we don’t know whether her cancer actually came back or not. It is left deliberately ambiguous and leads to many interesting questions (see The Unknown).
Ben’s refusal to let her go is what ultimately toughens her up. It’s pretty subtle character development and the performance is excellent. At no point is it spelt out but clearly Juliet realises the only way she will get off the island is to knuckle down and try and help women give birth. Over those three years she has shed her vulnerable, nervous exterior because she was essentially a prisoner and giving in to those feelings wouldn’t help her escape. It makes both final flashbacks even better. First she gets to see her sister, now a healthy and happy mother and she breaks down crying (see Best Moment). But then the cliff hanger of whether or not she is working with Ben or betraying him is very intriguing. Now she is keeping her emotionless visage because she has to double cross either Ben or Jack. The question is whether she is “One of Us” as Ben claimed (309) or “One of Us” as Jack now says. With no submarine to offer her perhaps Juliet has finally realised Ben can’t take her home.
The episode is particularly focussed on Juliet’s story and the results are excellent. The behaviour of the other survivors for once is pretty much what you would expect and all relates to Juliet’s arrival. First we have Sayid listing all the questions we would desperately like answered and of course that he should logically ask. Then the survivors show their distrust and anger toward Juliet which makes perfect sense. As does the affectionate reunion between Jack and Kate and the rest of the survivors. They follow up on Juliet’s arrival by…discussing the situation as a group! It’s one of the few times we have ever seen this happen which is crazy but it makes perfect sense. Think what they could have achieved if they had had a similar meeting when they discovered Dharma hatches, smoke monsters or that certain people were being strangely healed by the island. Not only is the meeting good but Jack makes it clear that his priority in life is to get off the island. In the end that is why he trusts Juliet, because she like all the survivors (should) wants to go home.
Juliet turning on Sayid and Sawyer and pointing out their moral shortcomings is a nice touch. It demonstrates how tough she has become as well as making a case for the Others strange morality.
The Bad: When Ben shows Juliet Rachel’s medical records it says the patient is male. It’s the type of production error which you can often find on Lost if you are willing to look hard enough. I almost never mention these as criticism because I believe if you can’t notice it when the episode plays at normal speed, then it isn’t important. After all, a television show works in normal speed as a piece of art. It isn’t a puzzle which is meant to be paused and pulled apart afterwards to add to a viewers understanding. Having said that though, the producers of Lost have made a point of including little clues or “easter eggs” for hardcore fans to enjoy. If you are going to do that then you ought not to make silly production errors like this because you will get found out.
The Unknown: Why is it necessary to travel to the island by submarine? Why is it so bumpy upon arrival? Did Juliet’s sister really develop cancer or was Ben lying? How can he cure cancer? We had assumed the island itself healed people (219), is that not the whole picture? Who is Jacob? Why should Juliet have faith in him and does she? Why can women not give birth on the island?
Best Moment: Ben takes Juliet to see Mikhail. Alpert is in a park with a camera focussed on Rachel and her son Julian. That little homage to Juliet sets off her tears. Juliet holds the television screen and cries more. Mikhail turns off the screen and she squeals and whimpers like a child to try and get the picture back. The dropping of her tough exterior is very moving. And then it’s back to reality as Ben refuses to let her go until she completes her work. In such a small scene we bond with her more and are reminded of how serious an enemy the Others are. Great stuff.
The Bottom Line: The writers have done a terrific job of letting us see the Others through Juliet’s eyes. They also set up the rest of the season with this episode. Jack was gone for a week and that was sixteen episodes ago. So presumably the week that we have to wait for Ben and Juliet to be reunited will culminate in the season finale. It’s the first time this season that the show has felt like it had a definitive direction in the way that the hatch and Henry Gale provided for seasons one and two. It’s good to see and this excellent episode is a great start down that path.
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