Episode Blog - Not in Portland

How nice it is to be backing and blogging about episodes of Lost again, and doesn't Not in Portland deliver. I was a little gutted at the start though to be honest, as I found the initial "its Miami not the island" lacked a punch considering so many spoilers around on the web. But hey, that's my own fault for looking, right?

The first thing I've got to look at in this episode is right at the start with Juliet crying on the beach. Now normally I'd skip past this to the first point of real interest to a Lost theorist, but I have to give a shout-out to a Lostpedia member who beautifully stated that, in Miami, there are no sandy beaches next to apartments which have a view of the skyline. Major geeky kudos there I must say - how many other people noticed that one?! Anyway, so back on track, Juliet heads back into the apartment building, which I think was a good attempt by the writers to make it look as though it was a DHARMA station. Of course we instantly knew it was flashback when we saw Ethan, but for a time you could be excused in thinking it was an on-island flashback. Of course we then see the Miami skyline though, not to mention an Oceanic Airline plane flying past for nice continuity.

Then its back to Hydra Island for some serious action - since when could Kate fight like that? I did enjoy, like many fans, Sawyer throwing Pickett into the shock button - very good - as well as Kate and Sawyer's teamwork - they make quite the pair of fugitives. What I wished most about their whole escape was when they got to the shore and didn't follow it round to find the Others' boat. I wish they had, maybe we might have seen this Galaga so many think exists. This was one of three "what if" moments in this episode, the other two I'll discuss shortly. Firstly though, gotta appreciate the return of ALEX! We all knew she'd be a key player in learning about the division amongst the Others, and it seems like she's pretty much their enemy if it weren't for who her father is...

Next thing of interest was the Mittelos Bioscience thing and Dr Alpert (or as I like to call him, Dr. All Eyeliner). Is Mittelos a connection to Mittelwerk, former chief of the Hanso Foundation? Probably not, but then why choose Mittelos as what is effectively a cover for "DHARMA Initiative". Other than the Austrian thing, I can't find anything significant in the name, unless its yet another Other anagram?

Now we move onto the weirdest thing I've ever seen on Lost - Room 23. I actually have very little to say about this, as it was so confusing my mind draws a blank. More mention of Jacob, images of Turkish Nazars, bees, the Buddha, everything you can shake a stick at (I think there actually was a stick in there too). The only thing I can say though other than I saw Alvar and Gerald DeGroot amongst the images, is that I can't help thinking "what if" over the images. The video began when they broke in discussing how mankind was messing itself up, and just before they all left it discussed "ANOTHER WAY" and showed fireworks and DeGroot. If only they had stayed longer, it might have shown what the DHARMA Initiative does, and how they are "another way". Typically though they leave just at the moment it gets interesting.

The next thing interesting was the bus incident - now we all saw that one coming the moment it enterred the background in the street scene. One thing ya might not have noticed was that it had an Apollo Candy advertisement on the side of the vehicle. However, the only pics I've seen are production photos, so I'm not sure if you can actually see it in the episode.

Now for the final "what if" moment - Tom explaining to Jack why they never took Ben to the mainland for surgery - "cause every since the sky turned purple..." - what was the rest of that sentence? We can't contact our friends? The Hanso Foundation?

And then there's Ben and Alex. He obviously raised Alex, making it interesting Lost irony I tink that in Season 2 he was caught and shot by Danielle.

Finally, Juliet's big scene. She was taken to the Island for the job, and couldn't leave thereafter. I thought this whole thing could have influenced quite a lot. For instance, did Ben allow her the authority to kill Danny, or did she do it to ensure Kate and Sawyer got away, otherwise their death would have meant Ben's death - meaning she'd never leave the Island. So will she now face punishment for killing Danny? Also, is this why she was not at the Pala Ferry in Season 2 (other than obviously cast reasons)? If she had, she would have heard Ben's "325" speech, and learnt how to escape the Island. We know she knew about the tides going in circles, and possibly is unaware that going by that degree will let you escape.

Apologies for the big rant - I think the excitement of Lost being back has caused major rambling. I look forward to reading theories on Room 23 though. Later!