"The Other Woman"

Written by Drew Goddard and Christina Kim
Directed by Eric Laneuville


In which Juliet receives orders to kill Daniel and Charlotte before they can take out everyone on the island, while Locke extracts some important information from Ben...

Status Report - Final Analysis




Status Report
Under normal circumstances, an episode centered on Juliet would be a welcome prospect. Even more so, an episode written by Drew Goddard. Goddard has a history of using flashbacks as a tool for connecting continuity dots, and Juliet rivals Ben in terms of sheer manipulative power. One could argue that Juliet was one of the few people with the ability to counter Ben at his own game.

Unfortunately, the premise of this episode detracts from the promise of a strong writer and a compelling focal character. In previous episodes, Juliet's history had been fairly straightforward. Juliet had been held on the island against her will by Ben, who was more than happy to apply any means to convince her that the island was her place in the world. Goodwin, her lover and source of comfort, had been killed in the attempt to monitor and control Ana Lucia. Creating a love polygon adds nothing to that.

Ben has never been particularly pleased with Juliet's stubborn independent streak, and he has done horrible things to keep her in line. Previous episodes have suggested Ben's possible attraction to her, but the context was always within his usual range of emotional control. It seems against his character to make blatant moves to romance Juliet or place one of his own in mortal peril for standing in his way.

Instead, Ben's sense of possession is about control. Ben brought Juliet to the island to resolve the reproductive problems. As long as she feels obligation or satisfaction outside of that goal, Ben is displeased. The emergence of his cancer is indicative of this; for a time, her skills were otherwise applied to manipulating Jack into saving Ben's life.

The question is: did Ben send Goodwin to the AnaLucia Tribe because he was the best man for the job, or because it would give him an opportunity to eliminate a distraction for Juliet? It may be both, though not in the extreme. Harper's warning may come down to simply this: Ben will do what is best for Ben. In other words, romantic notions aside, Ben needs Juliet in line more than he needs Goodwin.

So why would Juliet, knowing Ben as well as she does, think that he would make decisions based on romantic underpinnings? He wouldn't have sent Juliet to seduce and confound Jack and prepare Sun and Kate for abduction if he was that concerned about keeping her to himself. Instead, it seems far more likely that Juliet's interpretation of past events was altered by her encounter with "Harper", her new mission, and lingering doubts about her role in Jack's life.

"Harper" was most likely Jacob and/or the "smoke monster" (though there is reason to believe they are one and the same, or operate in tandem). By apparently appearing on Ben's behalf, with Ben "being where he wants to be", "Harper" triggers the thought in Juliet that it has been about Ben's desire to possess her personally. Her mind plays out the evidence that could support that possibility.

Far more likely, "Harper" is aware that Juliet has no concept of Jacob's ability to change appearance or Cerberus' ability to take on the form of familiar faces. So orders from on high would mean nothing to her. Orders from Ben, however, reinforced by a sudden rush of guilt and directed awareness, are all too familiar. The last thing "Harper" wants is the deactivation of the Tempest system, since it was already found useful in eliminating one threat to the island during the Purge of the Dharma Initiative.

Juliet's mindset is further influenced when Jack finds Kate. "Harper" forces Juliet to consider that Ben killed Goodwin to assert his control over her life. She was the "other woman" who stole Goodwin from Harper, and from a certain point of view, she has found herself in the role of "other woman" stealing Jack from Kate. It doesn't matter if it's true; what matters is that the thought triggered by this analogy is "Ben gets what he wants, by any means necessary".

Juliet's conversation with Jack at the end appears to be her bid for independence, moderating by fear of the consequences. Yet Juliet has always been willing to cross Ben to her own advantage, so that doesn't quite add up. Given Juliet's history, it's far more likely that she is taking firm control over her destiny, especially in the wake of seeing the truth behind Ben's supposed goal for killing Daniel and Charlotte. Jack has a track record when it comes to defying Ben. Why not make it seem like his choice?

It all seems rather unnecessarily complicated to interpret the episode in such a manner, but it feels more consistent than the idea that Juliet is Ben's weakness and object of obsession. It also feels more consistent with the portrayal of Ben with Locke in the "present". Ben has always been very good at getting what he wants, and he plays whatever role is necessary to ensure it. He gains freedom (and therefore the ability to regain control) by handing Locke the impression of control.

It's no surprise that the "rescue party" was sent by Charles Widmore. That writing has been on the wall for quite some time. Whether or not Ben's explanation for Widmore's interest in the island is entirely accurate is another question. Widmore would know about the aspects of the island available for exploitation from his connection to Hanso and, by extension, the Dharma Initiative data. So while Ben's explanation is generally reasonable, it's vague nature suggests a very specific hidden truth.

As far as the man on the boat is concerned, all the evidence is now pointing to Michael. Never mind that the conclusion is supported by endless press releases; it fits perfectly into Ben's form of manipulation. Ben would have known about the threat posed by Widmore for years, and if Michael and Walt had returned to the real world in any public manner, the news would have spread quickly. Since the world still believes Oceanic 815 went down with all passengers, Michael and Walt either never left the island (unlikely) or were sent to a location where Ben's people could pick them up and manipulate them further.

Ultimately, this episode appears to present a number of contradictions, even as it attempts to slide into the established continuity. Those contradictions can be resolved, but it relies on a level of manipulation from Ben, "Harper", and Juliet (within and without) to make sense. If future episodes fall in line with the manipulation theory, then this is simply a case of overselling a concept and falling short of storytelling goals. If not, and this is a shift in the characterization of Ben and Juliet's complicated history, then it would be a massive self-inflicted wound.


Final Analysis
Overall, this episode appears to be a mass of contradictions, and while it is possible to reconcile the apparent changes in characterization, it's also possible that this is an unfortunate and damaging writing choice. Considering how strong the season has been thus far, this potential misstep is all the more glaring and all the more concerning.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10




Next Episode

Back to Season 4

Back to the Island

Email: entil2001@yahoo.com