Getting Lost: “The Other Woman” Review

Posted by Mike and johnnysweeptheleg

Lost_The Other Woman

Ben’s in love … with the other woman. (No, that’s not the last reference we’ll make to our second favorite Ray Parker Jr. song.) But does the title of last night’s episode really refer to Juliet? Sure, she’s the other woman to that Other woman Harper. But isn’t Ben really obsessed with another other woman — Annie? If you believe Harper, he is. And why shouldn’t we believe someone whose appearance is ushered in by creepy whispers? (We realize it could be Ben’s mom whom Juliet resembles, but that would just be too creepy so we’re going to ignore it for now.) Either way, this episode seems to indicate that Jack might want to stay away from Juliet, lest he end up like Goodwin. Oh, wait, we already know he makes it off the island safely. Let’s just move on.

johnnysweeptheleg’s Lost In A Moment:

Now that they know we’re looking for flash-forwards, the Lost writers like to trick us into thinking flashbacks are actually flash-forwards. Case in point, the self-proclaimed “celebrity” Juliet seeing her therapist, Harper. But Juliet isn’t one of the Oceanic 6 celebrities. She’s a celebrity for being the new doctor on the island. Obviously, they don’t get Dr. Phil on the island, otherwise Juliet wouldn’t be such a big deal.

Back on present island time, Faraday and Charlotte have gone AWOL. Jack, Juliet and crew take to the jungle after them, where instead, Juliet finds Harper, who’s adamant about collecting those unpaid session fees. Oh, and somehow on Ben’s behalf, she’s relaying intelligence on Faraday and Charlotte’s whereabouts. Considering Harper appeared after all of those jungle whispers and then vanished, I’m thinking she’s less a living, breathing island dweller and more an unsettled island spirit. Why unsettled? Well, as we remember from a past flashback, Juliet has fallen for Goodwin. Turns out Goodwin is married to Harper. Yet he’s in love with the other woman, which gives the producers an excuse to play the Ray Parker Jr. song. Or at least, that’s how it would go if I sweded this episode. Harper busts Juliet for sleeping with her husband, and also warns her that Ben is not only crushing on her, but may even ask her to the Winter Formal. Oh, and more importantly, that Juliet should fear Ben finding out about this affair, not her.

Meanwhile, presently on the island, Locke has begun to go all Fatal Attraction, boiling Ben’s rabbit and serving it to him for dinner. Instead of creeping Ben out, this wins him over, and he promises to tell Locke who’s really behind the freighter. The answer is on a tape labeled “Red Sox” in his safe, and we’re shocked to realize Bill Buckner is behind everything. Oh, wait, he taped over the game. It’s actually Charles Widmore on the tape. He’s out to find and exploit the island. And avenge Buckner’s folly at first in ’86.

Up at The Tempest, Juliet has finally found Faraday and Charlotte. Her therapist has told her they’re going to gas the island. Faraday and Charlotte say they’re actually trying to deactivate the gas. Should Juliet trust the two creepy new people or the wife of the guy she’s been sleeping with, who knows she’s been getting horizontal with said hubby? I guess it isn’t much of a decision, after all. Creepy wins over scorned wife of cheating husband every time. And we aren’t fully sure if we should be happy with Juliet’s decision.

What we do know is that Ben has told Flashback Juliet that she’s “his.” And Present Juliet tells Jack that she’s into him. Oh, and the guy-love between Hurley and Sawyer continues to grow over a game of horseshoes. But the love fest is interrupted by a downright giddy Ben who has given Locke the name of his guy on the boat and is now unshackled, carrying clean sheets to his own house.

Questions Answered:

Who is Elsa’s boss (the economist)? It might be too early to draw this conclusion, but it would certainly seem to be Charles Widmore. Besides, we want to knock some questions off our list. While we’re on the subject of Elsa …

Was Elsa wearing the same bracelet? What’s the connection? This has nothing to do with this particular episode, but the writers have said that it was not the same bracelet and the only connection was that it made a nice touchstone for Sayid, who had seen Naomi’s bracelet.

Is Abaddon calling the shots or is he working for someone? See above. He clearly seems to be working for Widmore.

Why did Abaddon choose the members of the freighter team? We don’t necessarily have a clear answer for each member, but it would appear that they all have certain abilities that lend themselves to completing specific missions on the island. By the way, so far Daniel Faraday is the MVP of this team.

Who is Ben’s man on the freighter? Only Ben — and now Locke — know for sure, but we’re pretty sure it’s Michael, based on the reference to “a face we won’t expect to see” in the teaser for next week’s episode.

New Questions To Be Added:

(Actually an oldie but goodie) What happened to Annie?

Was that really Harper talking to Juliet, and if so, how is she communicating with Ben?

If you’ve got questions of your own, send them in and we’ll add them to the list. Check back early next week for a preview of the next episode, “Ji Yeon.”



Photo: Copyright 2008 ABC, Inc./Mario Perez

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