(Sawyer cowboy's up) This is the Contender’s Lost Spoilers blog for Lost season 3, episode 9, “Strangers in a Strange Land”. For this episode, I’m summarizing what we learned, some clues and some spoilers theories on the future.
Episode 9 was all about relationships coming together or falling apart. Season 3, Episode 10 will be back to the beach, following up on Desmond's stunning revelation. In this Lost episode:
- Jack and Juliet are together - sailing like Titanic, bonded through adversity in the goal of keeping Ben faithful to his promise to grant their freedom.
- Karl and Alex are apart longing for one another like Romeo & Juliet, star-crossed lovers gazing at the the galaxy to the end.
- Sawyer and Kate are on the rocks.
The Tailies: Finally we found the surviving Tailies, Cindy the stewardess, and Emma and Zach, the kidnapped children from “The Other 48 Days”. So they are there watching… watching what? On the surface they were there to watch the trial of Juliet for killing Pickett. Delving deeper, the Lost spoilers are they are claiming to be watching, as opposed to participating in the evil deeds of the evil Others. Stockholm syndrome at play.
Others Cult Spoilers: Yet again the Others look like a cult. The symbology at the trial, the bizarre "sheriff" Isabel with the Toronto accent, and Ben's decree of “marking” Juliet with a brand recalling the discredited Salem witch trials.
Ben’s infection Lost spoilers – it happened, as everyone reading our blogs here knew. With the operating room conditions unsanitary it was immense spoilers insight (not) to know that Ben would have a serious back infection.
The marking Lost spoilers clues: Ben is bed ridden, riddled with infection. To save his own life, he knows that he must save is ex-girlfriend Juliet. Ever - vindictive, Ben commutes her death sentence, but brands her as a witch instead. Anybody now doubt Ben's true feelings about Juliet? After that, you can be sure the feeling is mutual.
The meaning of Jack’s tattoos spoilers: “He walks among us but he is not one of us". If that really is what they mean in Chinese characters, it means Jack is a leader, since one who leads does not walk with the masses, but is apart. … Jack says, that is what they say, but not what they mean. The real meaning spoilers are in the eternal bond with Achara, his sexy Thai girlfriend, and the ordeal of near death on Phuket, Thailand beach he paid to seal the bond in eternity.
Jack’s character was being tested in this episode and he passed. Achara can see who people really are, and her tattoo work is "not decoration ... it is definition". So she defines Jack as a leader.
Uh, Achara, you have not been watching Lost Seasons 2 and 3. Lol. Jack is portrayed as impetuous and mis-leading the Losties. But then again, he has taken the “lead” and she was not assessing his talent. So, she marks him as a leader. The real Lost Lost spoilers are buried deep: one purpose of the Island is for its captives to realize their potential and Jack is growing pretty fast into his. In a nice juxtaposition, Juliet is marked after Jack, and they now are bound together.
Best quote: Tom (Mr.) Friendly saying: "What kind of people do you think we are?” Jack could have replied, some kind of weird brainwashing cult. Instead he trots out the evidence – kidnapping a pregnant woman, hang Charlie, kidnapping children.
Karl Reveals: The Others work on "projects" on the small island, but live on the big Lost island.
Kate-Sawyer: Skate fight, of course. As the thousands of readers of this Lost Spoilers blog already knew with 100% accuracy weeks ago, Kate and Sawyer were destined to move apart and now they did. No neat linear relationship with white picket fence … uh unless they decide to go into Room 23 and join the Others.
Sawyer does dispose of some excess baggage, namely Karl. He tells Karl to cowboy up and go back to Alex.
Now to the big Lost spoilers question: Are the Others really evil? We have been led to believe they are kidnappers and brainwashers. Evil. But what if there really are another group of Others, who did those bad deeds, and who are controlling Ben’s group of Others? That would make Ben’s group “the good guys” as Ben has claimed all along.
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... ok Not really. They use Kate to beg. Jack - having become a savvy negotiator this season - figures out they have done something to Kate. She lets on they threatened to kill Sawyer if Jack fails to cooperate. Chuck Norris Jack sees the Others have gotten to her and boots her out. This is not to disrespect her, but to demonstrate his own personal power to the mean Others.
