Lost/The Other Woman

The Other Woman
Season 4, Episode 6
Airdate	March 6, 2008
Production Number	406
Written by	Drew Goddard Christina M. Kim
Directed by	Eric Laneuville
← 4x05 The Constant	4x07 → Ji Yeon
Lost — Season Four

The Other Woman is the sixth episode of the fourth season of Lost, and the seventy-eight episode overall.

Juliet receives an unwelcome visit from someone from her past and is given orders to track down Charlotte and Faraday in order to stop them from completing their mission — by any means necessary. Meanwhile, Ben offers Locke an enticing deal.

Starring: Naveen Andrews (Sayid), Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond), Jeremy Davies (Daniel), Emilie de Ravin (Claire), Michael Emerson (Ben), Matthew Fox (Jack), Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Yunjin Kim (Sun), Ken Leung (Miles), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Rebecca Mader (Charlotte), Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet), Terry O'Quinn (Locke), Harold Perrineau (Michael).

Guest Starring: M.C. Gainey (Tom), Brett Cullen (Goodwin), Alan Dale (Charles Widmore), Andrea Roth (Harper).

Plot Overview

The Island

• At night at the beach camp, Juliet receives help from Sun in setting up a shelter. Jack asks her if she's seen either Charlotte or Daniel as their stuff is gone and they left without telling anyone. Jin saw them head out into the jungle but didn't say anything as he believed they were friends. The four gear up to find the two: Jack and Juliet head off in one direction while Sun and Jin take Vincent and head off in another direction.

  As Juliet tries to follow their trail in the rain, she hears whispering all around her. Harper, one of the Others she knows, appears. Harper is there to deliver a message from Ben: Lewis and Faraday are on their way to The Tempest, one of the DHARMA Initiative stations, to deploy its gas and kill everyone on the island. Ben wants Juliet to stop them by killing them. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Jack. Before Jack can question Harper, he and Juliet are startled by whispering all around them and, with their attention turned towards discerning the location of the whispering, discover Harper has disappeared. Juliet and Jack continue on. She tells him that they're heading to the Tempest, an electrical station which powers the island, but doesn't want to explain to Jack why they would be going there.

  At daybreak, Daniel and Charlotte stop by a stream to check their bearings on a map. Daniel expresses doubts in his ability to complete the mission, but Charlotte reassures him that he can do it. Before they can continue, Kate stumbles upon them. She tells them that Miles is OK, but wonders why they're out in the jungle and away from Jack. Charlotte tells her their satellite phone ran out of the power and they're trying to recover the packs they tossed from the helicopter as they contain extra batteries, but Kate notices an active satellite phone sticking out of one of their packs. Kate asks to take a look inside the pack Daniel is carrying, discovering gas masks inside, and is knocked unconscious by Charlotte. Juliet and Jack eventually find Kate as she wakes up, still groggy from the blow. Juliet offers to get some water, but disappears as she continues on to the Tempest.

  Juliet eventually reached the Tempest and heads inside. An audio warning declares the computer has been switched to unauthorized manual operation. She finds Daniel, dressed in a biohazard suit, hunched over a computer terminal. The audio warning declares manual entry override is denied and repeated attempts to access storage tanks will result in contamination. Despite Juliet pulling a gun on him, Daniel continues his work on the computer and has less than a minute before contamination. Juliet pulls his gas mask off, warning him he'll die if he releases the gas. Daniel tells her he's trying to render the gas inert, but she's blindsided by Charlotte. Juliet and Charlotte struggle as Daniel continues to work on the computer and the audio warning tells them to evacuate the station. Regaining her gun, Juliet tries to get Daniel to stop but is told they're trying to disable the system to prevent Ben from deploying the gas. Before the tanks reach critical, Daniel is successful and the catastrophe is averted.

  Juliet leaves the Tempest with Charlotte in tow. They're greeted by Kate, at gunpoint, and Jack. Charlotte apologizes for knocking her unconscious as she had no other choice. Daniel is inside the station securing it and she would be more than happy to tell them how they just saved their lives. Kate takes her up on her offer and heads inside with Charlotte, leaving Juliet alone with Jack. Juliet tells Jack that Ben wanted her to kill them; he knew how to get to her, knew where they were and what they were doing. The people from the freighter came to the island to wage war against Ben and Ben will win. Jack can't be near her when that happens as Ben believes she belongs to him and knows how she feels about Jack. Jack kisses Juliet and tells her that Ben knows where to find him.

• At the barracks, Claire asks Locke if she can speak with Miles. She wants to find out where the people on the freighter came from and why they're on the island, as it's not to rescue them. She points out that he killed one and Ben shot another, so perhaps she would fare a little better getting information out of them. Locke turns down Claire's offer and brings lunch to Ben. Ben asks him if the revolution has started yet, that all those people following him will second guess him and, after a while, there will be a full-blown insurrection. Ben offers to help Locke, that they have a common enemy in the man the people on the freighter work for. He'll tell Locke everything about that man in exchange for being freed.

  Locke brings Ben up into the ground level of the house. Before Ben continues, he asks Locke for assurance he'll follow-through on his end of the deal - freedom. Locke wants to know what's stopping him from running away to the Others, but Ben tells him his people would've stormed the barracks long ago if they still wanted him. Ben gives him the combination to a hidden safe and a video tape is retrieved from inside. Locke plays the tape and Ben tells him the man on it is Charles Widmore, the man who's freighter is just off-shore and the man who's been trying to find the island. The video shows Widmore severely beating a man, one of Ben's operatives, who got caught. Ben doesn't know how Widmore found out about the island, but he knows why he wants the island. Three months ago in Gainesville, Florida, the Virgin Mary seemed to appear in a patch of mold on the side of a building and over 5,000 people came to see it. Ben points out that Locke survived a plane crash and could walk again, so how many people would come to see that? Widmore wants the island to exploit it. Ben gives Locke a dossier with all the information he has on Widmore, but Locke still wants to know one thing: the identity of the spy on the freighter.

  Outside, Hurley and Sawyer play a game of horseshoes and Hurley wins. Sawyer can't believe how good Hurley got at the game. The two are witness a free Ben walking to one of the houses with an armful of clean linens. Sawyer can't believe what he's seeing, and Ben nonchalantly tells them he'll see them at dinner.

The Flashback

• Flashback: Juliet

At the barracks, Juliet meets with Harper, a psychologist, for a "meet-and-greet." Juliet has only been on the island for a week and doesn't believe she needs therapy, but is willing to talk with Harper. She doesn't like being treated like a celebrity, but Harper points out she's big news at the moment. Tom interrupts their talk as Ben would like to see Juliet, and takes Juliet to see him. Ben greets Juliet and shows her her very own house. Juliet can't believe Ben went through all the trouble when she's only going to be working on the island for six months, but Ben tells her he wants her to feel welcome.

Later, Juliet is crying to herself in her laboratory when she hears something. Gathering herself, she finds Goodwin rifling through storage containers as he looks for some gauze. Juliet notices a burn on his forearm and is told he works at the power station and pressed up against a power transformer. Goodwin asks if she's the baby doctor and tells her he heard they lost Henrietta that day. He notices Juliet tearing up at what he said and tries to comfort her by telling her it's not her fault. Juliet disagrees, pointing out that she was brought to the island to find a solution to their pregnancy problem on the island. Goodwin suggests she talk to Harper if she doesn't have any friends on the island yet, but Juliet believes Harper hates her and they only talk because she has to. Goodwin informs Juliet that Harper is his wife. Juliet finishes patching up Goodwin and tells him that, if he promises not to tell his wife what she said, she won't anyone that he lied about his arm; she knows a chemical burn when she sees one. Goodwin lightheartedly agrees to her deal.

Juliet goes over her current findings with Ben. She believes the problem occurs sometime during the second trimester when the mother's immune system is triggered, the white blood cell count plummets and the immune system seems to turn on the fetus. It's too early to discern a cause for it, but it only happens to women who conceive on the island. The two are interrupted by Goodwin who has brought an extra lunch for Juliet. Juliet declines as she already ate and has an appointment with his wife. Ben also declines. At her appointment with Harper, Juliet is asked for her opinion on Ben. She thinks he's smart, intense, challenging and very good to her. Harper dismisses the last comment out of hand, that of course he's good to her as she looks just like "her". Harper then turns the conversation to her husband, asking Juliet when she started sleeping with him. She knows what's been going on between them as she saw them sleeping together. Harper warns Juliet that, if she continues to have a relationship with Goodwin, there will be consequences and Goodwin will be hurt by Ben.

About a year later, Juliet and Goodwin have a secret picnic on the beach. Goodwin hates having to be so private together and that he's been sleeping on the couch in his house with Harper for a year now. He thinks it's time to tell Harper, but Juliet disagrees as Ben wouldn't like it. Goodwin is dismissive of her concerns; he knows Ben has a crush on her, just like everyone else on the island, as he follows her around like a puppy. Ben has him working with chemicals that could kill every living person on the island if he flips the wrong switch, so he believes Ben more to worry about than his relationship with her. Juliet still believes Ben would be upset, but Goodwin asks her what Ben could do about it. Sometime later, Oceanic flight 815 breaks up over the island. Ben sends Ethan Rom to the mid-section crash site and Goodwin to the tail-section.

Juliet meets Ben for dinner at his place and discovers it's not a dinner party but a private dinner for just the two of them. The two sit down for dinner and Ben thanks Juliet for being so good with Zack and Emma. They've been asking about their mother in Los Angeles, but Ben tells her the children will stop asking in time. They were on the list and who are they to question who is on it. Now they have everyone on the list, Juliet asks about bringing Goodwin back. Ben informs her that Goodwin is making a case for Ana Lucia, that she would be a valuable member of their society. Ben doesn't agree and that Goodwin seems to be very passionate about her. Juliet believes keeping Goodwin out there is a risk, especially after Ethan's death. However, Ben tells her Goodwin is going to stay out there, but promises his assignment will end shortly.

Ben approaches Juliet who's going over Jack's file that Mikahil dropped off. She tells him that Jack is a spinal surgeon and can help him, but notices something is wrong. Ben takes Juliet out into the jungle. After their last raid on the tail-section camp, they left and he had Tom and Pickett follow them. They came across Goodwin's body. Ben doesn't know what happened as they didn't have any witnesses, but assumes the tail-section survivors discovered Goodwin's true identity. Juliet believes Ben knew Goodwin would die and wanted it to happen. She wants to know why, but Ben is angered by her question. He doesn't know how she couldn't understand after everything he's done to bring her to the island and keep her there. She belongs to him.

Notes

Mysteries

• Why was Cindy taken if they had everyone from the list?
• Why does Charles Widmore want to find the island?

Answers

• The poison gas used by Ben and the Hostiles in the Purge was from the Tempest station. (3x20 - The Man Behind the Curtain)
• Naomi was working for Charles Widmore. (3x22 - Through the Looking Glass)
• Charles Widmore bought the Black Rock journal because he is looking for clues on how to find the island. (4x05 - The Constant)

The Cursed Numbers

• The map Daniel references contains a notation for 8 degrees north.
• The combination to the safe is 36, 15, 28.
• One of the commands Daniel sends to the computer is: telnet tmpst4

Scrutiny

• The List: Juliet says they've taken all the tail-section survivors on the list, yet the Others later take Cindy.
• Losing Ethan: While dining with Ben, Juliet says that keeping Goodwin out in the field is a risk after losing Ethan. However, Ethan wasn't killed until after Goodwin was killed by Ana Lucia. This could be a discrepancy between The TV IV timeline and the producers' timeline as there are several off screen days for the fuselage survivors during this time that may be incorrectly located on The TV IV timeline. Another possible explanation for the discrepancy may be that Tom and Pickett had not yet found Goodwin's body and thus news of Goodwin's death had not yet reached the Others, leading Juliet to believe Goodwin was still alive.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Charlotte and Daniel render the toxic gas inert at the Tempest.
• Ben is freed by Locke after telling him about Charles Widmore.

Characters

• Jack and Juliet share their affections for one another.

Referbacks

• 1x15 - Homecoming: Juliet believes keeping Goodwin out in the field is a risk after what happened to Ethan. In "Homecoming", Ethan was shot and killed by Charlie.
• 3x02 - The Glass Ballerina: The video of Charles Widmore was taped over a Red Sox game. In "The Glass Ballerina", Ben showed Jack a recording of the Red Sox winning the World Series to prove he could contact the outside world.
• 3x04 - Every Man for Himself: Locke gives Ben some rabbit for lunch. Ben asks him if the rabbit had a number on it. In "Every Man for Himself", Ben had a rabbit with a number on it.
• 4x03 - The Economist: Locke reveals to Ben that he knows about the $3.2 million Miles wants from him and gives him a dollar to start the fund raising. In "The Economist", Ben tells Sayid he lost a dollar bet to Locke over if Sayid would fall for Hurley as bait.
• 4x04 - Eggtown: Locke asks Ben if his plan involves raising $3.2 million. In "Eggtown", Miles demanded $3.2 million from Ben in exchange for telling his employers Ben was dead.

Trivia

The Show

• Diploma: One of Harper's diplomas has the Hanso Foundation logo.
• Chemistry: The Containment Pressure Monitor screen inside the Tempest lists several chemical compounds: O-ethyl 2-diisopropylaminoethyl methylphosphonite, triethyl phosphite, arsenic trichloride, benzilic acid, N,N-Diisopropylaminoethane-2-thiol and thionyl chloride. O-ethyl-S-[2(diisopropylamino)ethyl] methylphosphonothiolate is VX nerve agent, an extremely toxic substance which was classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations in 1991 and its production and stockpiling outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993. Triethyl phosphite, arsenic trichloride, benzilic acid and N,N-Diisopropylaminoethane-2-thiol are precursor chemicals used in the production of chemical weapons. Thionyl chloride, however, is used inside lithium-thionyl chloride batteries.
• Farday's Map: The map Daniel references appears to only be directions to the Tempest. It contains the bearing 8 degrees north, 55 degrees east; and several notations of "unknown."

Behind the Scenes

• Location, Location, Location: The exterior of the Tempest was filmed at Cooper Battery, a World War II-era coastal gun battery, at Kualoa Ranch on O'ahu. The interior of the Tempest was filmed at a dairy farm on O'ahu. The barracks is YMCA Camp Erdman in Waialua, HI.
• Missing in Action: Ken Leung, Harold Perrineau, Jr., Naveen Andrews and Henry Ian Cusick are credited but do not appear.

Allusions and References

• Episode Title: "The Other Woman" is a reference to Juliet being Goodwin's mistress. The other woman is a common euphemism for a mistress. The title may also be a reference to Jack choosing between Juliet and Kate, or Harper's passing comment on how Juliet bears a striking resemblance to another woman in Ben's life.
• VALIS: Ben is seen reading VALIS, a 1981 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. The title is an acronym for Vast Active Living Intelligence System, which is Dick's gnostic vision of one aspect of God. It was given to him days before by Locke, who suggested that if he read the novel again he might come across something that he didn't catch before.

Memorable Moments

• A free Ben walks by Sawyer and Hurley telling them he'll see them at dinner.

Quotes

• Jack: That woman, what was her name?
  Juliet: Harper.
  Jack: The two of you friends?
  Juliet: Not exactly. She was my therapist.
  Jack: You people have therapists?
  Juliet: It's very stressful being an Other, Jack.