I can't stand Juliet, but I'm fascinated by her (as opposed to Kate, who is both insufferable and boring) so I kind of liked last night's eppy. I was super-excited because I thought we got a whole lotta answers, but by the end of the episode, I wasn't sure what was true and what wasn't.
Anyway, here goes:
ON THE ISLAND:
Jack, Kate, Sayid, and Juliet make their way back to the beach. They stop and make camp for the night and Jack and Kate go to collect firewood. While they're alone, Kate asks Jack what happened for the week while he was with the Others. He said that he'd made a deal that he could go home if he helped Ben, so for that week he kept his head down and didn't ask any questions. Kate (and I) don't quite buy it.
Meanwhile, Sayid asks Juliet what we've all been wondering: who the f*ck IS she, and how did she get there. She answers that she won't tell him anything because if she does, he'll kill her. Sayid looks pissed but Jack returns and tells him to lay off.
On the beach Charlie hears Aaron crying and tends to him. He wakes up Claire, who doesn't feel well and who was sleeping so soundly that she didn't even hear the baby. Charlie offers to take care of Aaron so that Claire can relax. She wakes up later, looking even worse, and asks for some aspirin. Sawyer cheerfully offers to get some for her when Jack, Kate, and Sayid return. There are hugs all around (Sawyer even hugs Jack, and then he and Kate have one of those really tender hugs where he strokes her hair and shizz) and then Sawyer notices Juliet. The whole camp gives her a nasty, nasty glare.
Later on, Juliet is sitting alone on the beach. Hurley comes over to make conversation and be be all Hurley-esque. Juliet asks if he was sent over to keep an eye on her and he says that he was.
Most of the people on the beach are arguing with Jack about Juliet staying with them. Jack has resumed leadership VERY quickly, though, and tries to convince them that Juliet is one of them now and is staying. Claire joins the conversation but quickly passes out, blood seeping from her mouth. Charlie goes apesh*t (of course) and Juliet tells Kate that she knows what's wrong with Claire because she did it to her.
Juliet tells Jack that pregnant women always die on the island (he sneaks a worrisome glance at Sun) because their bodies attack the fetus like it was a foreign object. She says that Ethan was sent to infiltrate their camp to take secret blood samples from Claire and to administer a serum that Juliet had developed. The serum was the reason that Claire survived. But, when Hurley discovered that Ethan wasn't on the plane, the plan backfired and Ethan had to kidnap Claire. Juliet says that Ethan did so on his own, without the approval of the other Others. And she says that Claire is sick now because she is going through withdrawal of the serum. She says that Ethan kept some meds hidden by the caves, and that she'll go get the serum to inject into Claire. He lets her go.
But she's followed by Sayid and Sawyer, who hold her at gunpoint and demand she drops the medical case. She tells them that, as a torturer and murderer, they have no right to play moral police with her, and that if they don't let her get back to the beach, Claire will die.
Back at the beach, Juliet injects Claire. Jack tells her that, if it doesn't work, he won't be able to protect her anymore. But, soon afterwards, Claire wakes up and it's obvious that she's doing much better.
Jack brings Juliet some tarps and blankets and shizz. She asks her why he trusts her, and he says that he saw the look on her face when Locke blew up the sub. She wanted off the island as much as the rest of them do, and that makes her one of them.
Later, Juliet sets up her tarp, alone, with a shady-ass look on her face, which will be explained when I talk about her flashback.
[0]You shady b*tch!
THE FLASHBACK:
Juliet and her sister Rachel arrive at a secret airport and are greeted by Richard Alpert and Ethan. They help her with her bags and tell her that she has to say goodbye to Rachel now, because they have to accompany her inside. Juliet and Rachel say goodbye, and we learn that Rachel is in remission from her cancer and is definitely pregnant.
Inside the airport terminal, Juliet signs papers while Ethan takes her vitals. Alpert hands her a glass and tells her that it's orange juice with tranquilizer in it. She asks why and he tells her that she won't want to be awake for the trip because it's rough. She balks at first, but Alpert tells her how special the place is where she's going. She chugs the juice. Ethan comically says, "Uh... you probably shouldn't have drank that so fast" and then Juliet passes out (hilariously, the closed-captioning on my TV said "thud.")
She wakes up strapped to a cot on the submarine. She wakes up and Alpert unstraps her. She gets out of the sub and beholds the island in all its glory. Ben approaches, introduces himself, and welcomes her.
Some time later, Juliet in the OR of the Staff Station. The woman Ethan is working on table flatlines and dies. Juliet looks heartbroken and Goodwin, also in the OR, comforts her. She goes to the beach and sits, alone. Ben approaches her and says that the woman, Sabine, knew the risks she was taking when she became pregnant. Juliet declares her theory that the problems occur when the baby is conceived. She continues by pointing out that she can only be certain of her theory if she is allowed to take one of the women from the Island. Ben won't allow her to leave. Juliet argues that six months have passed and it's time for her to go home and be with Rachel when she gives birth. Ben tells her that Rachel's cancer has returned and that by the time Juliet gets home, she'll be dead. But, Ben says that if Juliet will stay on the island, then "Jacob" will cure Rachel's cancer. Juliet agrees.
Later on again, Juliet eats ice cream in bed, after boinking Goodwin. She tells him that she's been on the island for three years. Shortly afterwards, she's looking at x-rays that Karl delivered. She takes them to Ben, explaining that the back pain he was having was caused by a tumor. He's surprised and she asks why. He says it's because he has cancer, and she retorts, "I said a tumor, not cancer." She gets SUPER pissed and accuses Ben of lying to her about her sister. She sobs and asks to go home again, and he says it's not possible.
[0]Juliet hearts Goodwin
We see a familiar flashback - Juliet puts on "Downtown" by Petula Clark and cries in the mirror. Book club, blah blah blah, the ground shakes, blah blah blah, they run outside, and see 815 crash. Ben sends Ethan and Goodwin to their respective camps and says he wants lists, blah blah blah, and then he tells Juliet to come with him.
He takes her to Mikhail's (hilariously yelling, "MIKHAIL, IT'S BEN. WE ARE APPROACHING THE HOUSE. PLEASE DON'T SHOOT US") and shows her a wall of TV monitors. One shows a close-up of that day's newspaper to prove the date, and then they see footage of a healthy looking Rachel (with hair) playing with a little boy on the playground. Ben says that she named her son Julian. Juliet sobs with happiness but Ben tells Mikhail to shut down the feed. Juliet begs for a few more moments. She asks again to return home, but Ben says she cannot leave until she finishes her research, and suggests that there might be more pregnant women on the plane that just crashed.
Later, we see Juliet talking to Ben (in his wheelchair). He tells her to go over the plan again. She says that she is to take Kate into the jungle, and handcuff herself to Kate. That she is to act as if she were left behind as well. She is to return with them to the camp at the beach and try to gain their trust. Ben says that that they set-off "the implant" inside Claire and that within 48 hours she will need medical attention. He says that he'll have supplies placed at Ethan's old drop-off point. He gives her a gas mask and leaves stating, "I'll see you in a week."
Duh duh DUM!
Okay, a few questions:
1. What happened between the day of the plane crash and now, that turned Juliet into a fairly normal-type person, into a cold, calculating person? Do we think she was very affected by the death of her lover?
2. If pregnant women die on the island, how did Rousseau give birth? And Ben says he was born on the island. Whuh the fuh?
3 So did Ben have cancer or didn't he? It could very well have been a benign (but still dangerous) tumor, but I couldn't figure out what they were trying to tell us there.
Discuss.