LOST Discussion for Episode 3.15: Left Behind

This week's contributors: Ally, Claire, Laila, David, and Starr

Benedict Locke?

Something is going on with Locke right now, and it's not clear what it is. Some people think that he really is joining the Others, but I tend to doubt it. It seems to me like Locke is actually in command of his situation. I still don't think that be blew up the sub, but made the appearance of it, which Ben thought he orchestrated. Now the Others are probably under the impression that he is joining them, but Locke is totally playing them. Remember about what Locke said about Jack when he was seen catching the football? The same can be said about Locke.

Ally tends to disagree because of all of his recent blunders, like making the hatch implode, blowing up the Flame facility, killing Mikhail, and "blowing up" the sub. She thinks this is another one of his supposed ill-fated courses of action. I actually don't think that blowing up the Flame or killing Mikhail was a mistake, nor do I think that the sub is blown up. Plus -- we are still asking questions about the circumstances around the implosion of the hatch. The ramifications of these decisions hasn't been fully realized, and I think it's leading somewhere pretty significant. Let's not call them blunders just yet.

What is Gained?

So everybody is trying to figure out whether or not Juliet was designated as a spy or not. There are a few things to note about why she might be a spy. First, and most obvious, she had a key to the cuffs. Second, she would have had to be gassed at about the same time as Kate, both of whom came out of their hazes long before Jack. The thing to note, though, is that Juliet knew where Jack was passed out, so she likely didn't get gassed herself. She might have even partaken in the gassing.

The big nagging question in my head, though, is why? What could the Others possibly gain from Juliet being in the survivors' camp? They know where the survivors stay, they know everything about the survivors, and the survivors don't really have any more secrets to keep from the Others. Plus, they all know who Juliet is and her former stature in the Others' camp. It's not like they would ever trust her enough to give her compromising information. It just makes no sense, and I therefore think that she's not a spy.

Laila has an interesting theory about where this is all headed. She thinks that Kate is pregnant with Sawyer's baby. She says it would tie together because Juliet is a fertility doctor. Ally raises a good point about this, which is that if Kate becomes pregnant, it takes a TON away from her character. Plus, if she were pregnant the Juliet as a fertility doctor thing isn't a great tie in, because Sawyer did a fine job fertilizing her himself.

Other Stuff

I was pretty perplexed by the smoke monster in this episode. One of the leading theories I always hear is that the smoke monster kills those who don't repent. Kate has repented to the horse on the island and also said she was sorry to her mom when her mom was in the hospital. Why would it want to kill her now? Was it only Juliet that it wanted? Also, any idea what the little flash was all about? Maybe the smoke monster is just a way to work in product placement for a new Nikon camera.

Looks like Nikki and Paulo are really dead ... (crickets chirping)

A couple of people noted the reappearance of the Mouse Trap board game. Interesting.

Hurley's "con" against Sawyer was pretty cute. I actually really enjoyed this small subplot because Sawyer, who represents staunch capitalism, was shown that the social services that the community provides are very valuable.

Laila thinks the "con" pushed Hurley's level of innocence down a notch because he manipulated Sawyer. I disagree. The lie was so insignificant and only served to better the survivors' community. Besides, I can't think of a better way to get Sawyer to step up to the plate.