3x07 Not in Portland

[MM0602]

Lost Rewatch - Not in Portland

http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Not_in_portland

Ethan's blank stares in the flashbacks are super creepy. Even creepier thinking he might be looking at Juliet so intently because he may be aware she is the person that delivered him when he was born.

Watched this a while ago so I've forgotten much of what I would have said but overall it is a good episode, and good to finally get a glimpse at Juliet since she's such a confusing character in season 3. I know her current state is questionable but I really want her to see Rachel again.

[TheEyeOfTheIsland]

I really liked that episode, it was very well-written IMO.

Several things I want to point out and discuss.

1.One question came to me at the beginning of the episode when Juliet and Tom discuss about what should be done with Kate and Sawyer.
Who's leading the Natives when Ben is not available? Or in other words: Who is the number 2 of the Natives, if there is any?
I couldn't see a clear hierarchy: First Tom asks Juliet for advice and it seems that she is in charge. But later, Tom gives her the order to leave the room.

2. I found it quite remarkable how life on the island among the Natives changed Juliet. In her flashbacks, she seems weak and unconfident. On the island, however she is a strong determined woman. Or, in other words - Juliet has become quite "badass".

3. Let's not forget that this episode introduced Richard Alpert.

JULIET: [upset] No, he doesn't want me to have anything. He would never give the okay. It's...
ALPERT: Maybe we could reach out to him on your behalf?

This actually made me chuckle, now that we know how the Natives sometimes solve their problems ...

[MM0602]

Well Juliet tells Jack that they make decisions "together." I think this is probably true, excluding Ben of course.

[neznarf]

My favourite scene: Juliet's ex gets hit by the bus.
I also love the introduction of Richard and his "The place is not quite in Portland".

[hailey]

i love this intro...the confusion they make by showing juliet on a beach, the flickering lights, and ethan walking by...then the curtains open and we see...miami!!

when juliet got all nasty and started talking about killing kate and sawyer, i hated it! i know juliet is a questionable character at this point, but i really dont think this goes with what we DO know about her...i also cant stand the thought of HER talking about killing sawyer....

juliets ex is ugly and a total a-hole...he must be rich...hes even mean to his mommy! nice to see him get hit by a bus.

i think the timing of this episode within the season was excellent. we already know that not much is going on down at the beach...so were not insanely worrying about them... plus, even though really were only 7 episodes in, it seems like jack/sawyer/kate have been with the others forever, and its nice to see at least the two getting away..

we see richard for the first time...very exciting...also we see room 23 and the creepy video...which im still totally confused by...

kate replaying the 5 second story back to jack was really emotional for me (lost is always emotional for me...haha)...and while she tells him, he actually fixes ben (thank god!)

finally, i must say, i really love tom in this episode...i never really appreciated him before. but this rewatch so far, especially because im compairing him to pickett, totally makes me see him differently. hes so calm and level headed. he seems like a normal person, doing his job, as opposed to pickett and most others, who are just crazy savages...

[twenty-three]

This was one of my favorite episodes from Season 3... mainly because it told the story of how Juliet (one of my favorite Lost characters!) ended up on the Island. The first thing I noticed was a similarity between John Locke and Juliet... both had somewhat weak or wimpy personalities off-island... and both evolved into very strong personalities on-island.

However... two things things were a stretch for me: 1. If Rachel's cancer was so recent that her hair hadn't even grown back yet (from chemo)... would a responsible physician be trying to get her pregnant so soon? 2. And, after everything they had been through together, I found it hard to believe that Juliet would leave her sister just after finally helping her conceive. Yes, Juliet assumed she would only be gone for three months (which was totally unrealistic.... who does research for 3 months?), but Rachel's pregnancy would be considered high-risk, wouldn't it? Why leave her to face it alone?

It's this kind of loose writing that drives me crazy on LOST. They didn't HAVE to make Rachel's cancer so recent. I'm not really sure how else they could have handled Juliet leaving her sister at such a critical time... but, I'm not a professional writer.. it just seemed like no one put much thought into it. Also... after reading about all the mistakes and errors that were made with Ben's back surgery... it seems that the writing and research departments were a little weak there, too.

But, with all that said.... I loved the episode anyway!!

[twenty-three]

Oh.. and one more thing I wanted to mention. I'm very intrigued by the choice of Portland, Oregon as the location for Mittelos Bioscience. We will, of course, eventually learn in The Man Behind The Curtain, that Portland was Ben's birthplace... and that it was also used to recruit people to the DHARMA Initiative (Horace, Olivia, Roger). So... was Mittelos Bioscience always a Hostiles/Others facility? Or did it once belong to the DHARMA Initiative... and if so, did The Purge not just occur on the island, but also in Portland?

[What'sDoneIsDone]

As a teenager, prior to the events of 1977, Locke was contacted by Mittelos. I think that this implies that it was never part of Dharma and was always a front of the Hostiles/Others. I do wonder, however, what they used to travel prior to the aquisition of the Galaga with the Purge.

[Just Thinking]

Thought it was interesting how Jack finally got Kate to take off- "Kate- run!!"

[beccabee]

I also thought that Mittelos was always the others... I've never seen a Mittelos/Dharma connectio

I started watching between the 3rd and 4th seasons, and I COULD. NOT. WAIT. to watch this episode, since I'm from Portland. I want to be an other.