Wednesday, February 07, 2007

"Not in Portland" Instant Reactions

Brian's One Word Review: Solid.

I wasn't totally blown away, and we didn't get as much reveal on the Others as I had hoped (which is because even though the episode was Juliet-centric, we were still viewing things from Jack / Kate / Sawyer's perspective most of the time, rather than Juliet's - like the scene in the Operating Room with Ben) - but it did answer some questions, and put things in motion for the rest of this season. Also, it's great to have Lost back. Say what you will about the slow moving plotlines or repeats, but no other show on TV feels as important as Lost does. When stuff happens on Lost, you take notice.

So what should you be talking about tomorrow with your friends and co-workers?

  1. The Others are a murderous, kidnapping, brainwashing cult... yet they still might be "good guys"!
  2. Female Others seem to have their baby-making areas age super-fast, resulting in them being unable to procreate new little cult-members!
  3. Juliet found a way to knock up male rats - no fair! But clearly she hasn't figured out how to transfer this knowledge to the Others (male or female), thus her continuing entrapment on the Island.
  4. Kate and Sawyer have Crazy Carl with them... and I'm betting with him comes a lot of knowledge about the Others! Finally an Other who is on their side and will be willing to divulge some information to them (we can assume).
  5. Jack and Juliet look to be in the same position - both want off the Island, both are on Alcatraz, and both are hated by the Others... sounds like a recipe for a romance to start brewing!
  6. The Hatch Implosion and Purple Sky seem to have the opposite effect as we originally thought. I always thought that the Hatch "broke the magnetic barrier", thus allowing people to come and go to the Island as they pleased (queue Penny's entrance). But apparently the Others used to be able to come and go as they please, but ever since the Hatch imploded, they've been "trapped"... which is why Ben needed Jack for the surgery. Puzzling... I need to consult some timelines, because this isn't adding up in my head...

Full analysis coming soon. Post your thoughts, emotions, and complaints below!

61 comments:

Anonymous said...

1) Juliette's husband's name was Edmund Burke, another 18th century philosopher.

2) Sawyer had a weird reaction to the brainwashing room like he had been there before or something.

3) Tom is a strange one.

Unknown said...

So Ben promised that Juliet can leave. Phhh... yeah right, I'd be surprised if that happens. Yeah they let Mike and Walt go but I guess they didn't need them as bad as Jack.

Seems like everyone wants to get of the island except like Ben and a few of his complaint cohorts. How many crazies want to live in a cult on a deserted island? Raise your hand!

Anonymous said...

No, it doesn't add up. Ben had Jack, Sawyer, and Kate kidnapped before the hatch implosion. Something else is at play...He wanted Jack before the sky went purple.

Anonymous said...

That room karl was in was mighty loony. Did you catch the one that said God loves you just like he loves Jacob?

Anonymous said...

And remember, Michaal and WALLLLLLT boated away after the purple sky scene. But "Tom" didn't really explain anything about the sky turning purple; he could have gone on to say that Ben didn't want to leave the vicinity after that happened (for reasons yet unknown).

Anonymous said...

That was a frustrating scene. It seemed like Tom was about to explain the properties of the island and getting off and whatnot. Then Jack goes and nips that artery....Damn you, Shephard!!

Anonymous said...

Finally a return to Lost, and to me it was worth the wait. It wasn't as revealing but was exciting to watch. I've bashed Lost in the past, and have been very frustrated, but I am optimistic that we are back on the right track and 15 new episodes in a row from here to cover a lot of ground. Brian's right, this show makes you take notice, and it's definitely going to get better. Next week looks to up the excitement based on the previews. I can't wait!

Rich said...

I really hope that we finally get some answers soon. I'm kind of tired of them dragging us along, not revealing anything. It was quite a strange episode.

Unknown said...

I'm right there with dan. Sawyer did have a really weird reaction to the room. He seemed to be hypnotized of some sort. Kate had to yell at him to get him conscious to what was going on. By the way, that room was REALLY weird...I like it though, reminds me of when LOST was all scifi-ish.

The guy from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" got a spot on LOST, cool.

So glad that LOST is back! And Now I can some good blogging to read Brian.

I'm really eager to see whats going to happen to Jack and Juliet.

What do ya'll think about the Sawyer Hypno-Room scene?

Anonymous said...

so first let me say this...the more you all can tell me about the hypno room the better. We only got to see spots of the show tonight due to the antenae not broadcasting properly! Been happening a lot here but to have it happen tonight, between 9 & 10 pm....UGH!

Anyway, a point or two...
1) having Carl MAY or MAY NOT be all that revealing. My thoughts are he has been in that room too long to help them as you may think. That room sure explains a lot about how Cindy was talking in lost moment.
2) not in portland, what a funny way to tie in the title. I loved it when he (recruiter) says, well not IN Portland.
3) Timeline not right for those thoughts on the purple sky thing...as said already. Ben found out about tumor, then three weeks later a "spinal surgeon falls out of the sky" they kidnap him to do surgery ONLY because he was not on Jacob's list. so it must just be that Ben does not leave. But why not bring one there like they did with Juliet...seems they have PERSUASIVE tactics to get one.


finally, I am very certain of two things now...one, Kate and Sawyer return to main isalnd and get losties to help...two, Claire is going to die next...no matter what Des does!

By the way, NEVER MORE EXCITED ABOUT A TV SHOW IN MY LIFE!!!!

Anonymous said...

oops, forgot to also mention this thought...
what if the island makes you age fast male or female? Here is why I ask. Juliet thinks she is looking at a 70 year old uterous...27 actually...what if Ben HAS been there all his life and isn't as old as he looks? Perhaps he was a kidnapped baby too or a test tube baby? Okay...reaching but it's something.

PHG said...

So I watch it in the good ol Pacific time zone so I thought someone might have mentioned this already, but I guess not. WHAT ABOUT THE F'ING DHARMA LOGO IN JULIET'S SISTER'S ROOM???????????????????????????????

What the hell?

Anyhoo, they had to do something to convince her to go away from her sister. I bet they threatened her sister or something.

I'm tired, so no great crazy ideas from me tonight. But seriously, that dharma logo, someone get a screenshot asap! I accidentally erased my recording so I can't go back and get it.

PHG said...

And another thing, what about that comment Juliet made about Benry letting Crazy Carl live? How could he kill him if he was on the other island? I am confused. And why did sugar tits let Crazy Carl go on the boat? They obviously had him captured and under brainwashing.

A side note, when I heard the music blaring, I really pictured him in there rocking out and playing video games or something. Don't know why, but I seriously suspected that.

Anonymous said...

The treatment of Carl - "A Clockwork Orange" anybody? Clearly a reference to me. A little more information on that special technique and pictures in the film shown to Carl can be found on lostpedia. com. Some articles are still under construction, but already interesting! Good to have Lost back!

Anonymous said...

OK... No one yet has mentioned the potential subliminal stuff. I haven't had time to review my tape yet (We all should have Thursdays off to ponder these things), but I would like to see a freeze frame of the sign on the wall during one of the first flash-backs with Juliette.

Then there's the name of the bioscience company (which slips my mind this morning). Last night, I entered it in as a web address and got nothing. So, I Googled it. I followed the first lead that came up, but the company there appeared legit. But that's not to say it is. I'd need more time to explore.

It's just that when the name of the company was mentioned, the Hanso Foundation stuff came back to mind. So I figured it was worth chasing. If anyone finds anything on this, I'd be interested in seeing it on the blog.

And finally, I hope to go back to the tape today to review every message that was playing on the screen in the hypno-room. Should make for some good reading.

So, best wishes for Brian as you continue to process all of this for your full report.

A reminder to Heather (who "lost" her signal during the show), you can watch it again at abc.com.

Anonymous said...

Firstly, a timeline would be in order. We need to understand if Ben captured Shepard to operate or not....and why Ben could not leave the island.

Secondly, it was surprising that Jack allowed Julliete and Ben to chat alone. Neither of them can be trusted. Juliette is an enigma given her "life propriating" profession while appearing to be a killer (remember Sawyer's assesement of her to Kate on the rock pile?). Hard to know what her motives really are especially after last night.

I doubt Karl will have much to offer given that he's been brainwashed. Sawyer's reaction to the room is not particuarly curious to me....who wouldn't be spooked by seeing that?

Finally, LOST is awesome show. Nothing in life may be perfect but this show is the most engaging and ingenious show on network TV ever. Also, the 9pm recap they aired was very well done!

Anonymous said...

The scene shown with Karl being brainwashed is revealing of the "others" tactics. Maybe other "others" were exposed to the same thing!? Sawyer's reaction, exposed to it for just minutes, is nothing more than to show how powerful and engaging the film is. Would be good if someone has freeze frame DVR can analyize the footage, frame-by-frame, for hidden meaning. BTW, did Juliette kill Picket (sp?) on the beach?? Also, does anyone think Ben will live up to his promise to Jack to offer for him to leave the island? How about his alleged offer to allow Juliette to leave??

Stef said...

What do people think about the significance of how long Juliet's been on the island? If it's roughly November/December 2004, and she's been there 3 years, 2 months, and 28 days.... that would put her arrival right around August/early September of 2001. That was certainly a significant time, to say the least. Any thoughts?

Andrew McMillen said...

Pat - that logo in Juliet's sister's room doesn't look to be the Dharma logo, it's just an octagonal shape with a yin-yang in the middle.

Ethan is one of the weirdest/scariest looking dudes I've ever seen. Freaks me out every time I see him.

Anonymous said...

Re: 'What Ben Said':
you might want to consider that Pickett's view of Ben's likely wishes are more accurate than Juliet's - he said that Ben would rather die than let K&S leave. Ben may've been saying the same to Juliet but she had other motives so gave Jack a line - maybe to get closer to him? Maybe she wants his 'hand skills' for her own purposes (for her sister? Or Juliet's own chance of pregnancy?).

Damn it - Damon et al would've been chuckling for ages at the state they know they now have us all in - things could go any which way!

Anonymous said...

What about Henry Gale being Alex's father? Isn't Rosseau her mother? If so, why didn't Rosseau know Who HG was when she captured him in the net? Or was she in on it?

Drudo said...

As for Ben being Alex's father, there's no proof so far that he's really her father. Everyone calls him that, but I think it's more likely that she was taken and made to believe that he's her father. That or she thinks she's adopted.

The only observation that I made that hasn't been mentioned here is that it seemed the creators very purposefully filmed Ben's face when he was talking to Juliette. Obviously we couldn't here him, but it seems like his lip movements were very pronounced. Could this be an invitation for lip-readers? Maybe I'm digging too deep, but it may be worth investigating. Can anyone lip read?

Anonymous said...

Niteshok..yep Ethan is freaky. Did you know he is Tom Cruise's first cousin? Hence, the freaky part!

Anonymous said...

About Rouseau not knowing who HG was in the net...

Rousseau's husband was named Robert and he was with the team of scientists that were killed because they came down with the illness. Then she had Alexandra who was subsequently kidnapped by the others.

So Rousseau probably did not know that Henry Gale was raising Alexandra as his daughter...just that he was one of the others.

Anonymous said...

david - good point, they probably kidnapped alex and told her that ben was her father.

Anonymous said...

First thoughts from me:

"ever since the sky turned purple". I assume this is a communication, because obviously they had their eyes on jack before the sky turned purple... this happened when Jack, Kate and Sawyer were on the docks". In the 6 episode mini-season, they said that the coms were down. This doesn't mean that they can't get off the island(michael did it afer the sky turned purple) but they don't have communication with whomever is in charge or funding them(Hanso?)


Juliet was recruited, and is being held there against her will. The others and/or the people in charge are recruiting people with lies. NOT IN PORTLAND. You're not kidding!

The others age quickly. A 27 year old woman's womb has the appearance of a 70 year old. Ben has always been on the island, so they age like dogs. (I still think this writing has something to do with the slow timeline of 90 days = 2 1/2 years but it also has something to do with the bigger picture.

Alex doesn't know that CLF is her mother, and thinks Ben is her father. if she is alex, she's just about the right age, so apparently, the aging didn't affect her like it did other children, and even Walt. Is this really CLF's girl?

Ben and Juliet have a 'history'. Lets not assume that this is a relationship, I'm thinking it may be a rivalry. No one appeared surprised when Julia said to let bed Die. It was immature on Jack to blurt out "you said I should kill him" and also for Juliet to not back Jack. In the preview for next week, we see Juliet handcuffed, so it doesn't look like she goes home. I'm leaning towards Jack and Juliet hooking up in some way. She did Kill another other!

Speaking of the preview, It looks like Kate, John and co.find what looks like a dairy farm? Does Karl tell them this now that he's with kate and Sawyer? Beware, he may be have been affected by the brainwashing procedure, but if he did, he didn't show it when he came to. These 'farms' are part of the reason that they didn't want the survivors to travel too far north.

We see a reference to Jacob again in the video. But also in reference to God.

There is something else going on with the island, why would they abandon 'the Staff' so quickly. It certainly degraded in the oh, 20 days since Clair was there. There is another entity, whether it be the island itself, for which Smokey may be the manifisestation of it's being. I think the island has come to life. The incident, either that or the cerberus system is being used by the enity of the island.

One last thing from season one. I was watching parts of the 9pm background program. CFL told Sayid that she has not seen the others, but hear them whispering. What happened to the whispers? Didn't we used to have these masked in regular dialog in season 2? Are the whispers a 3rd party? How could she be here for 16 years and not have seen the others or any of their buildings? I thought she mapped the island.

Anonymous said...

In the interview w/the writers they mentioned an anagram on the show leading to a clue...

Looking at Mittelos Bioscience, Mittleos = lost time.

Anonymous said...

A MUST SEE!...

Check the video out on this page:
http://one.revver.com/watch/165062/flv/affiliate/62101
Listen closely. It's hard to hear.

Anonymous said...

http://one.revver.com/watch/165062/flv/affiliate/62101

The first time I posted this, it didn't come through right. After affiliate/ the number should read: 62101

Anonymous said...

There was an episode a while back when Ben said he'd always been on the island.... I do think there is "lost time" and ageing experiments which have obviously caused infertility. I'm thinking that Ben is about 2x the age we are thinking he is... Perhaps it's the men who are podding the expiramental embyos... Wooosh this show makes me think craaaaaaaazy thoughts heh.

My bigger question is why would Juliet want to get her sister pregnant... she obviously is very ill, and wouldn't a pregnancy just stress the body further?

Unknown said...

okay, so after some sleep and a rewatch thanks to ABC.COM I am ready to fire off random thoughts.

FIRST...Mittelos Bioscience website. Ya, saw it, put in the passwrods and so on, saw video, got excited thinking the ARG was on again...did a bit of research...turns out it is FAKE! Go to Lostpedia to find out more on that.

SECOND...timeline...STEF I was counting back and the way I figure it she arrived on the island on Sept 25th 2001. What a strange thing...my thoughts are how does THAT match up with Desmond arriving????

It has been a little rough trying to remember all the details thanks to the WAY TOO LONG hiatis, thank god we are back.

My thoughts on conversation with Ben...I just don't buy it! I think it is another of her web of lies. She has learned on this island how these people work and has learned to work THEIR system...I feel she was told something, yes, but not what she told Jack. Why kill pickett? Just shoot his arm, or leg or whatever...THREE TO THE CHEST! Excessive!

Anyway, one last thought. Anyone see a guy with Juliet's sister Rachel? Did she figure out how to impregnate WITHOUT the opposite sex??? Seemed to me that impregnating a male rat would not require much sex, what about her sister being sick and all. Any thoughts?

Anonymous said...

The bottom line with all this is that they are cloning people. That was the experiment that Juliette was working on. She tested a mouse and then her sister. The clones need a gestation period and a body to host them.

Anonymous said...

First, I think Juliet's sister was ill from the meds. But at the same time the meds allowed her to get pregnet.

Second, it seems to me that Juliet is not an other anymore. As Sawyer said "other's don't shoot each other". She also has a checkered past.

I'm amazed that the others don't understand what happened when the sky went purple. To me that means they did not really understand the swan station. Ben's comments to Locke last season also makes me think that. I find it interesting that the others are a cult thats on a magical island and they don't understand its source.

Unknown said...

Rachel appeared to me to have cancer...not ill from meds. Her desire to have a baby and being unable to conceive is (in my opinion) WHY Juliet was trying. I just was curious if it is a medication that gets you prego without actually having all the pieces for reproduction. Basically, a 70 year old could still have a baby, or a male even without what is normally required to be prego.

Cloning is so out the door in my mind. I think the creators like to play with that theroy by getting actors that resemble other characters but otherwise I believe that is not at all happening!

By the way, notice anything really special about the hypno room? The video showed a few pics we have seen before. I will post a couple on my blog here in a sec to show you.

Anonymous said...

the side of the bus that hit Juliette's husband had an ad for Apollo. Any meaning to this?

Also, why was Ethan shown waling on the same floor in Juliette's (or her sisters') apartment building in Miami? Ethan is freaky looking dude.

Unknown said...

Ethan was "researching" for the recruiting process. Remember they said they knew about her sister and all that after he was hit by a bus? VERY THOROUGH RECRUTING PROCESS...this is why she asked if she had met Ethan before. He was on the same floor as Rachel's beachside apartment. Probably living across the hall to spy!

Anonymous said...

Randy, good find.

Anonymous said...

Stephanie and all: How do you know Michael got off the island? For all we know he and Walt are lost at sea!

Anonymous said...

What about the bus? Juliea said that she wished her ex-husband would be hit by a bus, and he was. Right in front of her!

Since he was the reason she wouldn't take the offer, they made it happen. But HOW?

Anonymous said...

"What about the bus? Juliea said that she wished her ex-husband would be hit by a bus, and he was. Right in front of her!

Since he was the reason she wouldn't take the offer, they made it happen. But HOW?"

I was thinking about it all day long. I wouldnt be surprised if Ethan or someone from Dharma would be driving that bus. Id definately would love to see who was driving it.

Unknown said...

Hey Brian, is it possible for you to take off Thursdays for the next 15 weeks? Just curious, and not really serious but it sure would help on DISCUSSION DAY!

:)

Anonymous said...

Thanks Hobbes

Anonymous said...

The therapy method resembles that of "A Clockwork Orange" a lot and also reminded me of a scene of the movie "The Island" (Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johanssen).

The same elements, these being loud distinct music/sounds, rapid images shown on a movie theater-like room and a human subject almost tied to a chair with his eyes pointed towards the screen with an IV or medicines in him were present in this episode of LOST and A Clockwork Orange. Any thoughts of what this means?

If someone could find screenshots of both ACO and that scene of Not In Portland, that would be great.

Anonymous said...

Hobbes and others (not THE others, but the others on this blog... never mind),

When you check out the page I gave previously, try clicking on Rachael's name at the right-hand side. Then, go to page 3 of her videos and watch the two Hanso videos. They are quite interesting. I don't know where this was shot, but it appears to be some sort of lost convention. Anyone know about this?

She makes reference to a web site: www.hansoexposed.com which is also interesting. It seems that there is an endless possibility of trails you can follow from the original page I referenced.

Fun times for the LOST community, indeed!

Anonymous said...

I think someone may have mentioned this already, but check out www.mittelosbioscience.org

When I first got there, I got a message that said "Service Unvailable." However, I started hitting the refresh button and eventually the site came up. Although the bar at the top of the page was white and I couldn't get anything further. So, I started hitting refresh again. Then, I got a title bar with a menu to go into other areas.

You can not look at projects without a user name and password. Anyone have a clue on this?

Anonymous said...

Brian - This episode had two movie references involving Sawyer... his Star Wars Wookie prisoner observation and his bewilderment of the Clock Work Orange type brainwashing station.

Earlier in Season 3, he was thrown back in his cage Planet of the Apes style and he was also injected with a syringe Pulp Fiction style.

Big movie references usually seem to involve Sawyer. My theory is that these are the island projecting his subconcious, a lot like Walt and the polar bear.

I just wanted to get yours and others' thoughts on that.

Anonymous said...

Randy, I believe the revver video is non-authentic i.e. it's fan made, not official Lost storyline.

Anonymous said...

A bit weird how some Lost Moments turn out to not be from this episode e.g. Cindy, Sawyer/Kate chatting in the boat.

BUT one very key theory of yours is confirmed - the Others' (probably because of the same magnetic properties that cure cancer) uterus' age very fast so they can't conceive children. Hence they send scouts (including Ethan) to go get a fertility specialist on the island. This obviously hasn't solved the problem yet so Juliette is kept against her will, the Others kidnap children (primarily) and they are obsessed with Claire's baby/medicine for Claire's baby.

singhy

Rebecca said...

I was blown away and will be watching this episode again tonight. I'm still confused about Juliet. I don't trust her. I'd hate to see Jack with her. Uck.

Unknown said...

I PROVE MY POINT AGAIN ABOUT IK A WALT


they can not leave just like the others can not leave ... cause they left after the implosion!!!!!!!! so they have to come back !!!!!! damn im good

Unknown said...

i dont know how mike and walt got mesed up in my sentence

Unknown said...

OMG I JUST GOT ANOTHER THEORY!!!!

the medicine that they were taking ... the shots .. that could be what help sun get pregnant and it could really be jins baby

Anonymous said...

Thanks Andi. I don't have the keen eye for what's authentic and what's not. So, that was helpful.

No Brian post yet on the main page. Hmmm.... This episode must have really made him think. : -) ...just kidding bro.

Rebecca said...

If the island has healing properties (Locke/walks Rose/cancer remission).. why doesn't the island heal Ben's tumor?

Chachi said...

I'm sure that all signs point to cloning.

1. why is it so "unethical" to impregnate her sister. That is because Juliet is impregnating her sister with an embryo of herself. Who better to test this on then someone who is dying, as a way of prolonging their legacy/life.

2. If you looked on the hanso foundation website it implies it is a "life extending program". What extends ones life longer than continually cloning themself.

3. I believe Lockes ability to walk sumhow ties in.

4. When Crazy Carl was watching the video it said "Planting a seed for a better you". Well impregnating yourself with you is certainly planting a seed, and you can see that Locke can now walk making a "better you".

So they are clones who have had their minds controlled and implanted memories of other "survivors". Which once again can relate to the rapid aging process

I'm not sure how this plays into the overall series, but I believe that it will be important at least to this season

Anonymous said...

Do you remember in Season 2, the episode with Michael finding Walt and Miss Klugh....? Miss Klugh asked Walt if he wanted to "go back in that room?" I'll bet walt was in the brainwashing room a time or two...

Anonymous said...

the 'reach' and power of DHARMA is fascinating. they arranged to have Juliet's husband (ex) killed by the bus....exactly as she suggested. They managed their way into the morgue while she was identifying the dead guy. Again, it is clearly indicated that they have vast power, money, influence beyond what anyone may easily understand.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like some backmasking was done on Carl's Scene. We will find out how time effects Sun and her pregnancy, looks like season 3 will end with the birth, if the timelines are what the are appearing to be. I will not be suprised if either Sawyer or Kate are pregnent as well. NIP was a very good episode.

Anonymous said...

http://losteastereggs.blogspot.com/2007/02/only-fools-are-enslaved-by-time-and.html

Anonymous said...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwWhM8Xb_oQ

only fools are enslaved by time and space

Anonymous said...

Carlton Cuse: And that was sort of… that, that was a signpost that the history of the island may be a lot of um… more extensive than we’ve already dealt with on the show… so I think, by the time the show is done, we’ll have covered a lot of time. And um… in terms of how many days on the island specifically, I dunno? 117?

Damon Lindelof: It’s interesting that you should ask about time because… you know… you’re making a basic assumption that they’ve been there, y’know, as long as they think they’ve been there. [Crowd murmurs, someone says “Oh, no.”] I would say by the end of Season 3… that very different idea…

http://lostpedia.com/wiki/Time