Lost/Stranger in a Strange Land

Stranger in a Strange Land
Season 3, Episode 9
Airdate	February 21, 2007
Production Number	309
Written by	Elizabeth Sarnoff, Christina M. Kim
Directed by	Paris Barclay
← 3x08 Flashes Before Your Eyes	3x10 → Tricia Tanaka Is Dead
Lost — Season Three

Stranger in a Strange Land is the ninth episode of the third season of Lost, and the fifty-eight episode overall.

A power play ensues between Jack and "The Others" as Juliet's future hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, Kate, Sawyer and Karl continue on their journey away from "Alcatraz."

Starring: Naveen Andrews (Sayid), Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond), Emilie de Ravin (Claire), Michael Emerson (Ben), Matthew Fox (Jack), Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Yunjin Kim (Sun), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet), Dominic Monaghan (Charlie), Terry O'Quinn (Locke), Kiele Sanchez (Nikki), Rodrigo Santoro (Paulo).

Guest Starring: Bai Ling (Achara), M.C. Gainey (Tom), Tania Raymonde (Alex), Blake Bashoff (Karl), Diana Scarwid (Isabel).

Co-Starring: Kimberly Joseph (Cindy), James Huang (Chet), Siwathep Sunapo (Thai Man), Shannon Chanhthanam (Thai Boy).

Uncredited: Kiersten Havelock (Emma), Mickey Graue (Zack).

Plot Overview

The Island

• As they sail away from the Hydra, Sawyer and Kate argue about going back to rescue Jack. Kate wants to go back, but Sawyer believes Ben would kill them if they went back and Karl agrees with Sawyer's assessment. The disagreement continues on how to get back to camp as Kate wants to continue sailing around the island until they reach the camp, but Sawyer believes they don't have enough food or water and need to make camp. Sawyer goes with his own idea and they make camp in the jungle. Karl tells them that the Hydra island is only where the Others work on projects. Further prodded by Kate, Karl reveals that the Others live on the same island as the survivors and that the people taken from the tail section have been "given a better life"; a life better than the mid-section survivors'. The next morning, Sawyer has a talk with Karl about Alex and lets him go to get her back. While Kate argues with him about letting Karl go and leaving Jack behind, Sawyer tells her not to take it out on him that she feels guilty about sleeping with him. He knows she did it because she thought he was going to die.
• Inside the Hydra, Tom removes Jack from his cell in order to place Juliet inside. Finding himself inside the polar bear cage, Jack is brought some food by Tom and then asks him who the woman was he saw overseeing Juliet. Tom tells him the woman is "the Sheriff" and that Juliet is in trouble. That night, Juliet, under armed guard, sees Jack and tells him Ben is running a fever and has an infection. She asks Jack, as a personal favor to her, to help Ben because she's killed someone, but Jack refuses and Juliet is escorted away. Later that night, the Sheriff comes to see Jack and reads out his tattoos; finding the five and stars cute, but the Chinese text a bit ironic. The woman introduces herself as Isabel and asks Jack to accompany her so she can ask him a few questions. Taking him to her office of sorts, Isabel asks Jack to take a seat and tells him how he must realize they don't live on this small island, that some of them don't even like coming to it. She asks Tom to confirm his statement on how, during the surgical procedure on Ben, he heard comments by Jack of how Juliet wanted him to kill Ben. Jack refutes Tom's claim, telling Isabel that he lied in order to sow confusion amongst them. Isabel asks Jack why he's lying for Juliet, but Jack asks to be taken back to his cage.

  The next morning, Jack wakes up to find a group of people standing outside his cage. Jack remembers one of the people from Oceanic flight 815 - Cindy, the stewardess. Jack tells her how he thought they were captured, but Cindy tells him it's not that simple and right now there at the Hydra to "watch." A small girl whispers something in Cindy's ear and Cindy tells Jack that the girl wants to know how Ana-Lucia is doing. Upset, Jack yells at her to go watch whatever they're supposed to watch, and the group leaves. Alex appears, breaking the surveillance camera with a rock so she can talk to Jack in private. She tells Jack that Juliet is being put on trial for killing the man who was going to murder his friends. Jack asks Alex if Isabel has to do what Ben tells her and, after he's told she would, has Alex bring him to see Ben. In the operating room, Jack informs Ben that the infection is very serious, he'll need to be closely monitored and there's a chance he may never walk again. Realizing Jack wants something in return for his help, Ben finds out that Juliet is about to be executed and Jack wants him to stop it. Ben gives Jack and Alex a handwritten note, and Alex delivers it to Isabel at the trial. Isabel reads the note and reveals that Ben has commuted Juliet's sentence, but has ordered her to be marked.

  Later, Juliet visits Jack in his cage and brings him a grilled cheese sandwich. Jack asks to see her mark, and Juliet shows him the mark burned into the flesh of her back. He has her bring him a branch from a nearby aloe plant and uses it to treat the wound. Asked why he helped her, Jack tells her that Ben promised to send her home and he's going to make sure Ben keeps his word. Juliet tells Jack that they're leaving the island for their home, since his friends know where they are. At sunset, Jack is brought to the beach as the Others prepare to move Ben to a boat offshore and leave Hydra island. Isabel tells Jack that his tattoo's read: "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us." But Jack tells her it may be what they say, but it's not what they mean.

The Flashback

• Flashback: Jack

In Phuket, Thailand, Jack leaves his beach hut for a short walk down the beach. He gets out a kite from his backpack, but has trouble figuring out how to put it together. A young Thai woman sees him having trouble and helps him put it together. With the kite completed, she helps him launch it into the sky. The woman introduces herself as Achara.

Later the two share a meal at a Thai restaurant. A man brings out a special dish for Jack to try and, after giving it a taste, Achara tells him her brother likes him. She asks him why he doesn't know how to fly a kite and Jack tells her his father was always busy and wasn't the kite-flying type of guy. Achara stops him, telling him that she doesn't care about his father, and Jack tells her he's relieved as he's getting sick of talking about him. A Thai man comes up to Achara and hands her an envelope which she puts in her purse. Noticing Jack's quizzical look, she tells him that she has a gift.

Late at night, Achara enters Jack's beach hut and slips into bed with him. Seeing a look in Jack's eyes, she asks him if there was anything he wanted to ask her. Jack tells her that, after a month of her coming in whenever she wanted, it'd be nice to find something out about her. She tells him that there are things he wouldn't understand, like her gift, and that he should stop asking questions and have fun.

Later, at night, Jack secretly follows Achara through the streets of Phuket while drinking. Finally finding her place of work, Jack sees that she is a tattoo artist. However, Achara tells him that she is not a tattoo artist, rather she can see who people are — her work is not decoration, but definition — and that is her gift. Jack demands she tell him who he is, but Achara tells him he's an outsider and she's not allowed. Forcing himself on her, Achara finally tells Jack that he's a leader and a great man, but this makes him lonely, frightened and angry. Jack orders her to mark him, but Achara warns him there will be consequences.

The next day, Jack leaves his beach hut for a walk when Achara's brother and a group of Thai men assault him. The man warns Jack to leave the country. As he tries to get up from the beating, Jack sees Achara in the distance, crying.

Notes

Mysteries

• What is Isabel's role and position amongst the Others?
• What were Cindy and the others supposed to watch?

Answers

• Cindy was taken by the Others. (2x06 - Abandoned)
• The Others kidnapped the tail section survivors to give them a better life than the mid-section survivors. (2x07 - The Other 48 Days)
• The Others took the kidnapped people to live with them in their community. (2x07 - The Other 48 Days)
• The Others possess another large boat to get from Hydra island to the main island. (3x04 - Every Man for Himself)

The Cursed Numbers

• There are 4 toothpicks in the grilled cheese sandwich that Juliet brings to Jack.
• The mark burned into Juliet's flesh has 8 spokes or arms.

Scrutiny

• Jack's Tattoo: Isabel claims that Jack's tattoo reads: "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us." This is incorrect. The four characters of his tattoo are part of a couplet taken from Changsha, a famous poem written in 1925 by Chairman Mao Zedong, a Chinese revolutionary leader. The couplet can be translated into "Eagles high up, cleaving the space." The discrepancy is due to the fact that the tattoo is a real tattoo on actor Matthew Fox's arm.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Jack agrees to stay with Ben and help him fully recover in exchange for saving Juliet's life, but she is left marked for her crime.
• Sawyer and Kate make it back to the main island, but free Karl.
• Karl heads back to the Others to get Alex.

Characters

• Jack agrees to stay with the Others, for the time being, instead of going home.

Referbacks

• 1x10 - Raised by Another: While talking to Tom, Jack refers back to their kidnapping of a pregnant woman, Claire.
• 1x11 - All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues: While talking to Tom, Jack refers back to their hanging of Charlie from a tree.
• 1x24 - Exodus, Part 2: Karl tells Kate and Sawyer that the Others work on "projects." This elicits a response from Sawyer, rhetorically asking Karl if that includes the "Steal-the-kid-off-the-raft" project.
• 2x07 - The Other 48 Days: While talking to Tom, Jack refers back to their kidnapping of the tail section survivors, including children.
• 3x01 - A Tale of Two Cities: After being moved to a new cage, Tom brings Jack a sandwich and Jack tells him he could have at least grilled it. In "A Tale of Two Cities", Jack wakes up in a cage and Juliet brings him a grilled cheese sandwich.
• 3x06 - I Do: After Jack points out the cameras watching him, Tom mentions how Ben told him Jack got into the surveillance room.
• 3x07 - Not in Portland: Isabel references Tom's account of Jack telling him how Juliet wanted Ben dead. Alex tells Jack how Juliet killed Pickett to save his friends.

Trivia

The Show

• Missing in Action: Sayid, Desmond, Claire, Hurley, Jin, Sun, Charlie, Locke, Nikki, and Paulo do not appear in this episode. (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Ben, and Juliet are the only regulars who appear in this episode.)
• Bedside Manner: Jack gives a grim diagnosis of Ben's condition, culminating in the news that he might not walk again. Ben simply tells Jack that his bedside manner leaves much to be desired. This parallels events in season two's "Man of Science, Man of Faith." On the island, Hurley tells Jack that his bedside manner sucks. In Jack's flashback, his father comments on his bedside manner by asking him to give the patient some hope after Jack gives a grim diagnosis of Sarah's condition, culminating in the news that she will very likely not walk again.

Behind the Scenes

• Location, Location, Location: The Thai beach Jack vacationed at is Waimanalo Beach Park in the Waimanalo Bay Recreation Area, Waimanalo, HI. The Thai restaurant Jack and Achara ate at is Indigo, a Eurasian cuisine restaurant in Honolulu, HI. The street Jack followed Achara along is Fort Street in Honolulu, HI. The launching point for the Others leaving Hydra island is Pua'ena Point at the Hale'iwa Beach Park in Hale'iwa, HI.

Allusions and References

• Jaws: As Sawyer is steering the boat he sings to himself: I had a little drink about an hour ago,/And it's gone straight to my head. These are two lines from "Show Me the Way to Go Home", a folk song and drinking song written in 1925 by L. James Campbell and Reginald Connelly, working under the pseudonym of "Irving King". In the 1975 horror film Jaws, the three shark hunters sing this song on the first night of their hunt. The last time Sawyer went out on the ocean in "Adrift", he ran into a shark.
• Captain Bunny Killer: Sawyer refers to Ben as "Captain Bunny Killer", a reference to Ben's staging of a bunny's death to con Sawyer in "Every Man for Himself."
• Magellan: Kate believes they should keeping sailing around the island and they'll eventually find their camp, but Sawyer nixes the idea and refers to her as "Magellan". Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese born maritime explorer who, in service of Spain, led the first successful circumnavigation of the world. On August 10, 1519, five ships (Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepcion, Victoria, and Santiago) under Magellan's command left Seville, Spain and sailed westward. Of these five ships, only the Victoria completed the voyage and returned to Spain on September 6, 1522; roughly three years after departing. Magellan himself was killed while engaging indigenous forces in the Philippines on April 27, 1521.
• Ursa Theodorus: Karl tells Kate and Sawyer how he and Alex named constellations, including Ursa Theodorus or the "Teddy Bear." Theodorus is the Latin equivalent of the Greek name Theodoros, which means "gift of god." In Latin, Ursa means "bear."
• Karl Brady: Sawyer refers to Karl as "Bobby" of The Brady Bunch, but Karl doesn't know what he's talking about. Bobby Brady was the youngest of the Brady family on The Brady Bunch, a sitcom that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974.

Quotes

• Tom: Time to get up. We're moving you.
  Jack: Moving me where?
  Tom: Some place else, Jack.
  Jack: Why? [Tom doesn't answer] So this is it, huh?
  Tom: "It"?
  Jack: You just helped me save his life. If you're going to kill me, please at least show me the respect of not calling it "moving".
  Tom: Now why would we kill you?
  Jack: Because you're done with me.
  Tom: What kind of people do you think we are, Jack?
  Jack: Oh, I don't know, Tom. The kind of people that would take a pregnant woman? Would hang Charlie from a tree? Would drag our people out of the jungle? Would kidnap children? That's the kind of people I think you are.
  Tom: [taps on the glass partition] You see this glass house you're living in, Jack? How 'bout I get you some stones?
• Jack: [enters as an Other is about to inject something into Ben's infection] I wouldn't do that. [pushes the Other away from Ben]
  Ben: The cavalry has arrived at last.
  Jack: I'd be much more impressed with you people if you had a good surgeon.
  Ben: We had an excellent surgeon, Jack. His name was Ethan.
  Jack: You have a very serious infection, Ben. That infected tissue needs to be reincised, debrided and you need to be very closely monitored from here on out. Might be nerve damage or any number of other complications. You might not walk again.
  Ben: Your bedside manner leaves something to be desired, Jack.
  Jack: [smiles] Well then, it's too bad you're stuck with me.