Who would’ve thought Juliet was a homewrecker? Not me, but after a trip back to her past this week, we now have a better understanding of Juliet’s relationship with Ben. Unfortunately, with the exception of the revealing flashback, and a couple other treats for the fans, tonight’s show didn’t even come close to the quality of previous episodes.
Juliet’s flashback originally had me believing it was actually a flash-forward. As she’s speaking with a therapist named Harper (an almost unrecognizable Andrea Roth), the two discuss her status as a celebrity. Could Juliet be the final member of the Oceanic Six? Nope. Instead, she’s referring to her arrival on the island, and before long, her popularity level has plummeted when she begins having an affair with Harper’s husband, Goodwin. Surprisingly, Harper couldn’t care less, but she does offer a warning to keep their relationship a secret from Ben.
As it turns out, Ben has a massive crush on the good doctor, and when Oceanic Flight 815 crash lands on their island, it gives him the perfect excuse to split the pair apart. Ben sends Goodwin away to spy on the Tailies, and as we already know, that didn’t end very well. When Ben hears the news, he escorts Juliet to Goodwin’s body, and reclaims her as his own. It was pretty creepy stuff, but, well, that’s Ben for you.
Back on the island, Juliet has a completely new set of problems. It seems Faraday and Charlotte have managed to slip away into the jungle, and when Juliet and Jack split up to go looking for them, Juliet is greeted by Harper. Warning her that the freighter duo is on their way to the Tempest (the island’s electrical station) to release the toxin gas, Harper gives instructions from Ben to stop them by any means necessary. Oh yeah, and then she just sort of disappears. Was it Juliet’s imagination? Not possible, since Jack saw her too, but aside from that simple observation, I have no idea what else it could be.
Regardless of the specifics, Juliet and Jack continue their search, coming across a semi-conscious Kate in the process. After explaining her disastrous run-in with Faraday and Charlotte (which included spying a bag of gas masks before getting a knock to the back of the head), Kate joins the duo on their search. When they arrive at the Tempest, Faraday is already hard at work at a computer terminal, but claims that he’s trying to disable the gas so Ben can’t use it against his people. Confident that Faraday and Charlotte are probably correct in their assessment of Ben, Juliet lets them go.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Locke has just struck a deal with Ben. In exchange for his freedom, Ben has promised Locke the answers he so desperately wants. He even goes one step further by showing him the identity of the freighter crew’s boss via a VHS tape hidden in a safe. The video shows Charles Widmore, and though I’m not exactly sure Ben is telling the truth, he seems to believe that Mr. Widmore is trying to exploit the island as a sort of miracle-giving tourist spot. Could that really be true, or does Ben still have a few aces up his sleeve? If history has taught us anything, it’s probably the latter.
