From Lostpedia

Lost Season 3 << S1 • << S2 (centric character in parentheses) S4 >> • S5 >> • S6 >> --- "Lost: A Tale of Survival" (recap) #01 "A Tale of Two Cities" (Jack) #02 "The Glass Ballerina" (Jin & Sun) #03 "Further Instructions" (Locke) #04 "Every Man for Himself" (Sawyer) #05 "The Cost of Living" (Eko) #06 "I Do" (Kate) --- "Lost Moments" (preview) --- "Lost Survivor Guide" (recap) #07 "Not in Portland" (Juliet) #08 "Flashes Before Your Eyes" (Desmond) #09 "Stranger in a Strange Land" (Jack) #10 "Tricia Tanaka Is Dead" (Hurley) #11 "Enter 77" (Sayid) #12 "Par Avion" (Claire) #13 "The Man from Tallahassee" (Locke) #14 "Exposé" (Nikki & Paulo) #15 "Left Behind" (Kate) #16 "One of Us" (Juliet) #17 "Catch-22" (Desmond) #18 "D.O.C." (Sun) #19 "The Brig" (Locke) #20 "The Man Behind the Curtain" (Ben) #21 "Greatest Hits" (Charlie) --- "Lost: The Answers" (recap) #22 "Through the Looking Glass" (Jack)

"One of Us" is the sixteenth episode of Season 3 and the sixty-fifth produced hour of the series as a whole. It was originally broadcast on April 11, 2007. Jack, Kate and Sayid return along with Juliet, who faces distrust and fear from the other survivors. At the survivors' camp, Claire is struck with a sickness.

Contents 1 Synopsis 1.1 Flashback 1.2 On the Island 2 Trivia 2.1 General 2.2 Production notes 2.3 Bloopers and continuity errors 2.4 Recurring themes 2.5 Cultural references 2.6 Literary techniques 3 Episode references 4 Unanswered questions 5 External links

Synopsis

Flashback

As Juliet and Rachel pull in to the gate of Mittelos Bioscience center, Juliet turns off "Downtown" on the radio. Ethan Rom and Richard Alpert come out to welcome Juliet, and inform her that for security purposes, her sister cannot accompany her past the entrance gates. Juliet says goodbye to Rachel under the premise that she will be gone for only six months. Juliet has a brief moment of doubt but Rachel reassures her, pointing out that her cancer is completely gone and that she's finally going to have a baby. Juliet promises to return before the birth. After signing papers in a sitting area of Herarat Aviation, Ethan and Richard ask Juliet if they can record her vitals. Richard empties a packet of powder into a glass of orange juice, and when Juliet warily asks what it is, he calmly states it's a tranquilizer. Ethan says it's for the best because the journey ahead will be 'pretty intense', and, seeing that Juliet is balking, Richard reminds her that if she works for them, she can accomplish great things to help many people. Juliet then gulps the orange juice down in one go, and as Ethan comments that she shouldn't have drunk it so fast, Juliet slumps unconscious. She awakes in the Galaga. Her hands, waist, and bare feet are restrained tightly on a bunk.Juliet tries to speak but has lost her voice, and Ethan says she'll just be a little hoarse for a few hours. He apologizes for strapping her in as the "last leg is always a little bumpy" and tells her that they've arrived. She makes her way up through the exit hatch on her own, still clearly feeling the effects of the tranquilizer. As she steps out, she finds herself in a tropical climate. On the dock, Ben Linus introduces himself to Juliet and welcomes her to the Island.

In The Staff operating room, a heart monitor shows flat lines. A pregnant woman on the table, Sabine, is being operated on by Ethan, Juliet, and Goodwin. Ethan puts down his tools and turns to Juliet, declaring that the woman is dead. Goodwin attempts to comfort the distraught Juliet, telling her to leave and that he will speak to Ben. Juliet sits on the rocky coastline as Ben approaches. Ben says that Sabine knew the risks she was taking when she became pregnant. Juliet declares her theory that the problems occur when the baby is conceived. She continues by saying that she can only be certain of her theory if she is allowed to take one of the women from the Island back to Miami. Ben flatly refuses this request, leading Juliet to declare that there is nothing more she can do there. She apologizes and acknowledges that Ben put a lot of faith in her, but it's time for her to go home to her sister, who is only three months away from having her baby. Ben informs Juliet that her sister won't be giving birth in three months because Rachel's cancer has returned and that she will be dead before Juliet can return. He takes a set of medical papers from his bag, supposedly documenting the cancer, and shows them to Juliet. Juliet becomes angry and distressed that Ben didn't inform her sooner. She asks where he got the information, and Ben says he got it from Mikhail. Ben offers a deal to Juliet: if she stays on the Island and continues her research, then he will make sure that Rachel's cancer is cured. He points out that none of the people on the Island have ever had cancer. Juliet retorts "that's here" and that Ben won't let Juliet bring Rachel to the Island. He says that "Jacob" will take care of it personally, unless Juliet doesn't even have faith in him. Juliet doesn't reply.

The day before the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, Juliet eats ice cream while in bed with Goodwin. She states that the next day will mark her third year on the Island. There is a knock at the door and Juliet tells Goodwin to wait in the bedroom. Karl has developed some X-rays for her, and she looks at them with concern then marches over to Ben's house. Ben welcomes her, and comments that the book she recommended, Carrie, is depressing. She shows the X-rays to Ben, explaining that what she assumed was a small fracture or herniated disk, is actually a large tumor surrounding his L4 vertebrae. Ben is taken aback in shock and Juliet asks why he is surprised. He says it is because he has cancer, and she retorts that she said it was a tumor, not cancer. She asks him why he is scared, but he denies that he is as he goes to the kitchen for a glass of water. Juliet angrily challenges Ben's claim that nobody on the Island ever had cancer and calls him a liar. If Ben can cure cancer, he shouldn't have it (though Ben seems as confused as she); meaning Ben might never have saved Rachel's life after all. She demands to see her sister, furiously knocking the glass out of Ben's hand. He refuses, and Juliet screams that he has lied to her all this time. Ben insists that Rachel is fine, and Juliet bursts into tears, begging him to let her go home. He coldly replies "No," and leaves Juliet sobbing at the kitchen counter.

A familiar scene, from "A Tale of Two Cities" and continued in "The Envelope," opens with Juliet wiping tears from her eyes as she plays the song "Downtown" and prepares for her book club meeting. Oceanic Flight 815 breaks apart in the air and Ben calls out instructions to Goodwin and Ethan. He then calls after Juliet, asking if he can have a moment to speak with her.

Juliet and Ben approach the Flame, and he comments that Mikhail never has his walkie switched on and calls out to him so he doesn't open fire. Inside, a stack of TV monitors show Oceanic Flight 815 leaving, and news reports from numerous networks reporting that the flight is missing somewhere in the Pacific. Mikhail gives Ben the basic facts about Oceanic 815, such as that 324 people were onboard. Ben asks for detailed files on every passenger, and Mikhail says that he's already on it. Ben asks Mikhail to uplink to Richard in Acadia Park. Juliet looks on, clutching the Stephen King novel, Carrie. Ben puts on a pair of headphones, saying that he was hurt when she called him a liar. The screen suddenly shows an image of the Miami Journal. Ben, seemingly communicating with the person who is operating the camera, asks if Richard can hear him. As Richard's camera zooms in to the newspaper, Ben tells Juliet to notice today's date at the top. He tells Juliet this is live and gives Richard the OK. The camera moves to show Rachel in a park playing with a toddler. Ben says that a little over two years ago, to everyone's surprise, Rachel's cancer went into complete remission. Juliet is overjoyed and grips the screen while crying. Ben says that shortly after Rachel recovered, she gave birth to a boy whom she named Julian. Ben thanks Richard and tells him to 'get back here' as soon as he can because they may have some visitors. He coldly closes the connection with Richard, and Mikhail shuts down the video feed. Juliet frantically begs for a few more moments. Ben points out again that this proves he wasn't lying. She asks again to return home, but Ben tells her she cannot leave because "that's not our agreement"--she must stay on the Island until her work is finished. Juliet pleads that it's impossible because the mothers keep dying. Ben says they will find more mothers and suggests that there might even be one on the plane.

Months later, Juliet and wheelchair-bound Ben sit at his kitchen table at night. He tells her to go over the plan again. Juliet recites the agreement: she will take Kate into the jungle and handcuff them together, pretending that she has been left behind as well. If she's discovered, she'll pretend she did it to simply gain Kate's trust. After that they'll go back to the beach camp, though Juliet comments that there may be a trust issue surrounding her from Kate's group. Ben replies that they have already set-off the implant in Claire, making her symptomatic in the next 48 hours. By the time Juliet arrives, there will be a perfect opportunity to gain trust by her ability to save Claire. Ben has already sent Pryce to put the serum at Ethan's "old drop-off point" for her to use. They exchange cold, blank stares as Ben gives Juliet a gas mask and leaves, stating, "I'll see you in a week."

On the Island

Kate, Sayid, Jack and Juliet make their way back to the beach. While making camp, Kate volunteers to collect firewood with Jack, and she confronts him about the week he spent with the Others. Jack explains that he cut a deal with them by helping Ben saying, "I did what they told me and didn't ask any questions." Kate seems skeptical that it was that simple, but leaves it alone. Meanwhile, Sayid questions Juliet about who she is but she refuses to tell him anything. She says he will kill her if she tells him everything he wants to know. He bluntly implies that he will kill her if she doesn't. Jack returns, and tells Sayid to leave Juliet alone, and that she is under his protection.

On the beach, Charlie hears baby Aaron crying, but Claire is asleep and seems unfazed. Charlie comforts Aaron and wakens Claire to find that she isn't feeling well. Charlie takes the baby and leaves Claire to sleep.

Kate follows as Sayid violently plows his way through the jungle, seemingly annoyed as Jack siding with the enemy, while Jack and Juliet struggle to keep up. It is apparent that neither Kate nor Sayid trust Jack's opinion of Juliet, and she expresses concern over how the other survivors will react to her presence. Jack tries to joke about the situation a little bit, but Juliet admits to being nervous.

Claire awakens and looks worse than ever. Sawyer offers to get her some aspirin, but suddenly the camp notices Jack returning to the beach with Kate and Sayid. Everyone shares welcoming hugs with the returning castaways, and Sawyer seems particularly relieved to see that Kate is safe. Then, Sawyer notices Juliet and the entire camp turn a piercing stare at the unwelcome visitor, demanding to know why she is there.

Soon after her arrival, Hurley joins Juliet on the beach and asks her who she is and why she wasn't on the dock when they captured Kate, Sawyer, Jack and Hurley. She comically says that she had the day off, and then bluntly remarks that she knows he's only speaking to her because he was told to keep an eye on her. Hurley proceeds to tell the story of the last Other who was with them, Ethan, and he coldly points to where they buried him.

Jack has resumed command and it is clear that the key members of the camp do not approve of Juliet staying on the beach. Jack attempts to convince them that she was left behind as well, and that she can be trusted. He also informs everyone that while Juliet is now "one of us", Locke has joined the Others as "one of them", highlighting the significance of the situation. Claire then stumbles into the "camp meeting" and Charlie catches her as she begins to cough up blood. Jack helps Charlie carry Claire to her tent and Juliet calls to Kate. She explains that she needs to talk to Jack immediately, saying "I know what's wrong with Claire because I did it to her."

Juliet reveals to Jack and Kate that pregnant women always die on the Island because the woman's body begins to attack the fetus as if it is a foreign object. She explains that Ethan was placed in the camp to take blood samples from Claire and administer Juliet's medication. The medication was the reason that Claire became the first mother Juliet had ever seen on the Island, and that the baby was born without any problems. She explains that things went wrong when Hurley realized that Ethan was not one of the survivors. Ethan kidnapped Claire on his own initiative, and continued to administer the drugs without telling the rest of the "Others" his plans. She explains that Claire is suffering withdrawal symptoms from the medication and that she must administer them or Claire will die. She gains Jack's approval to run to a hiding place where Ethan used to store the medication. Meanwhile, Sawyer and Sayid bond over their uneasiness about Juliet.

Juliet reaches a tree with a marking, resembling the brand on her back, and looks in the weeds for a black case.

As she is unlocking the case, Sawyer and Sayid appear. Sawyer opens the black case and confirms that it only contains medical supplies. They tell her she will not be returning to camp until they get some answers about who she is. She remarks about how strange it is that Sayid and Sawyer have begun to cast moral judgment, given the crimes they have committed in the past. She mentions an unknown incident in Basra involving Sayid, and reveals that she knows about Sawyer killing a man in cold blood the night before his flight. She bluntly informs the two men that she is taking the case back to camp now because, if she doesn't, Claire will die, and the last thing that either of them needs, "is more blood on your hands." Despite her bravado in facing Sawyer and Sayid, she seems quite relieved when they let her walk away from them without further conflict.

Back on the beach, Juliet arrives with the medication. Charlie is initially reluctant to let her near Claire, but Jack implores Charlie to trust his judgment, and asks Charlie to leave them with Claire for a couple minutes. Juliet states that the medication should go into effect within a few hours, and Jack warns Juliet that he will be unable to protect her from the rest of the camp if Claire doesn't recover, that she will be "on her own." Juliet responds that she is already on her own, and administers the medication.

Charlie is shown sleeping next to Claire's bed with one finger in baby Aaron's grasp and the other hand holding Claire's. Claire awakens and asks what happened. Charlie is relieved to see she is better and they smile lovingly at each other. Jack brings a tarp, blankets, and a few airline pillows to Juliet saying that the camp has agreed to allow her to use one of the lean-tos as a temporary shelter until she can set up her own. He tells her that eventually they will want answers. She asks why Jack never needs answers, and he replies that she was next to him when the submarine was blown-up, and he saw in her eyes that the one thing she wanted more than anything was to get off the Island. "That makes you one of us," he says.

As Juliet ties up a knot on her shelter, she recalls her conversation with Ben about their plan. She has now completely infiltrated the beach camp, and watches the survivors of Flight 815 closely as they laugh and chat. Though she smiles cutely to Jack, her private expression is a cold stare as she turns away, tightening the reef knot in a figure eight.

Trivia

General

• Anagrams:
  • Mittelos is an anagram for "Lost Time".
  • Herarat is an anagram for: "Earhart". Amelia Earhart was a famous pilot who disappeared under mysterious circumstances over the Pacific.
• Basra was the site of a major revolt against Saddam Hussein in 1991, which was put down with heavy force. There was another revolt in 1999. Sayid may have been involved in the first one, but not the second, as he had left Iraq in 1997.
• The symbol shown on the side of the submarine is the I Ching trigram K`an, or "water." When combined into its hexagram, it denotes hexagram 29, 'Repeated Entrapment'
  • Also, as used in cryptology, the 'broken, solid, broken' pattern relates to a binary 010, or decimal 2.
• The danger of pregnancy appears so far to be limited to humans only, as the wild boars (like humans a placental mammal) on the island seems to be able to reproduce without any problems.
• Mittelos Bioscience uses two hexagons in its logo.
• The logo for Herarat Aviation is a triple Nike wing. In Greek mythology, Nike was a winged goddess who personified triumph. The name "Nike" means "Victory".
  • Winged Victory is mentioned by Autumn in the TV show "Exposé". ("The Man from Tallahassee")

Production notes

• Locke does not appear in this episode.
• This episode was originally to be called "The Truth about Lying" and was to be Charlie-Centric. This also happened with the Season 2 episode "Collision" which was promoted as being called "Old Habits" and was also Charlie-Centric but this was done on purpose to hide the possibility of Shannon's death.
• A podcast rehash for the episode was released on April 16th, 2007. (Official Lost Podcast/April 16, 2007)
• This is the second and last Juliet-centric episode to come before a Desmond-centric episode, as "The Other Woman" in season 4 follows after the Desmond-centric "The Constant". Also, Juliet's flashback at the start of "A Tale of Two Cities" follows Desmond's flashbacks in the season 2 finale "Live Together, Die Alone".

Bloopers and continuity errors

• A continuity error regarding the date Ben learned of his tumor occurs in this episode. In "The Cost of Living" Ben says that he discovered the tumor two days before the crash (September 20), but in this episode, Ben learns of the tumor one day before the crash (September 21).
  • The tumor is said to be in the L4 vertebra, but on the radiograph the tumor is located in the second lumbar vertebra
• The information at the top of the report (EKG chart) Ben gives to Juliet to prove that Rachel's cancer has returned, seems to indicate that the data actually refers to a 187 pound, 5'11" male patient with heart trouble, not cancer.
• In "Not in Portland," Juliet's arrival on the Island is determined to be September 5, 2001. However, in this episode, she tells Goodwin the day before the crash that the next day would be her third anniversary on the Island, September 22, 2004.
• In Juliet's 2001 flashback, she carries a handbag from the 2006 J.Crew collection. This bag also appears in "Not in Portland."
• Juliet is not wearing shoes when she first wakes up in the submarine and the camera focuses on this. She is lead straight to the ladder and you can notice she is no longer barefoot. Once she comes out of the top the camera again focuses on her feet, which now have shoes on them.
• Ben's hairstyle changes between shots in the scene where the Others see flight 815 crash. (The earlier shots in the sequence were taken from "A Tale of Two Cities" but the dialogue between Juliet and Ben was shot for this episode.) In addition, as Juliet starts to walk away from Ben in "A Tale of Two Cities," Ben turns away from her, but he appears to continue looking at her as he calls her name in "One of Us."
  

  

  Operating Theater being prepared for Claire ("Maternity Leave")
• At Mittelos Bioscience, while Richard Alpert explains to Juliet that she "has a gift" (at 10:00 on the DVD), the boom microphone shadow is clearly visible on Alpert's left shoulder, moving to and fro.
• When we see Claire just before she escapes from the Staff the doctors in the medical room are wearing all white surgical scrubs. ("Maternity Leave") In this episode and also in "I Do" we see that all the Dharma scrubs are blue.
• Hurley refers to Ethan as the last other to come to the beach camp, though it was really Ben masquerading as Henry Gale.("One of Them")

Recurring themes

Recurring themes in Lost
Black and white • Car accidents • Character connections • Deceptions and cons • Dreams • Eyes • Fate versus free will • Good and bad people • Imprisonment • Isolation • Life and death • Missing body parts • Nicknames • The Numbers • Parent issues • Pregnancies • Rain • Rebirth • Redemption • Relationships • Revenge • Sacrifice • Secrets • Time

• Richard Alpert says that time "really flies" on the Island. (Time)
• Jack refers to the other castaways as "good people." (Good and bad people)
• Ben's tumor is said to be in the L4 vertebra. (The Numbers)
• Ben and Juliet conspire to have Juliet infiltrate the castaways by giving her "a crisis to solve" upon her arrival. (Deceptions and cons)
• When confronting Sayid and Sawyer, Juliet alludes to secrets from each of their pasts. (Secrets)
• Juliet apparently saves Claire's life. (Life and death)
• Juliet says Claire is the first mother she has seen on the island. (Pregnancies)
• Sabine dies during childbirth. (Life and Death)
• When Juliet ties a knot to make her tent, the number 8 appears in the rope. (The Numbers)
• Juliet's being kept on the Island against her manifested will. (Fate versus free will)
• Ben says that Claire will become symptomatic in the next 48 hours. (The Numbers)

Cultural references

Cultural references in Lost (direct references only)
Art • Books • Cars • Games • Movies and TV • Music • Philosophy • Religion and ideologies • Science

• "Downtown": When Juliet approaches Mittelos Bioscience in her car with Rachel, the song "Downtown" by Petula Clark plays on the radio.(Music)
  • The same song she plays when preparing for the book club meeting in the first episode of the third season.
• Georgia O'Keeffe: Two paintings in the Staff in the fertility surgery flashback are by artist Georgia O'Keeffe, who is known for paintings of flowers as yonic (female genitalia) symbols. One painting is O'Keeffe's 1923 "Grey Line with Black, Blue and Yellow". [1], and the other is the 1919 "Music: Pink and Blue II"[2] The paintings were originally visible in "Maternity Leave." (Art)
• La Traviata: In flashback, when Juliet and Goodwin are on the bed and she is eating yogurt, the aria "Addio del passato" from Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata can be heard. The lyrics are:

“

"Addio, del passato bei sogni ridenti, Le rose del volto già son pallenti" (In English) "Farewell, past, happy dreams of days gone by, The roses in my cheeks already are faded"

”

• Three Men and a Baby: Sawyer calls Hurley, Charlie, and Aaron, "Three Men and a Baby". He added that Hurley counted for two of the men. (Movies)
• Carrie: The novel by Stephen King. Ben is seen reading it and mentions that it’s depressing. Juliet is seen with the book as well as the book club members who visit her home to discuss it. (Books)

Literary techniques

Literary techniques in Lost
Comparative: Irony • Juxtaposition • Foreshadowing Plotting: Cliffhanger • Plot twist Stock Characters:  Archetype • Redshirt • Unseen character Story:  Flashbacks • Flash-forwards • Flash-sideways • Regularly spoken phrases • Symbolism • Unreliable narrator

• Jack told Juliet "You wanna get off this Island more than anything else in the world. That makes you one of us." In the next scene, in flashback, Ben and Juliet were plotting how to infiltrate Jack's camp. (Juxtaposition)
• In an earlier episode, the Others had sentenced Juliet to death. After a negotiated reprieve, Juliet is apparently abandoned at the barracks. She joins the survivors on the beach, and they begrudgingly allow her to stay with them. At the end of the episode, a flashback shows that the abandonment was just part of an elaborate deception hatched by Ben to infiltrate the survivors camp. (Flashback)  (Plot twist)
• Juliet says to Jack, "I can fix this". (Regularly spoken phrases)

Episode references

• Juliet explains Ethan's actions when he kidnapped Claire. ("Raised by Another")
• Hurley tells Juliet about Charlie killing Ethan. ("Homecoming")
• Juliet mentions Sawyer shooting a man in Sydney. ("Outlaws")
• This episode's title contrasts with Season 2's fourteenth episode, "One of Them."
• A montage of the book club meeting and Oceanic 815 crashing is shown. ("A Tale of Two Cities")
• In "Stranger in a Strange Land," Ben warns Jack that no matter what he thinks of Juliet, she is still "one of us".
• Flashbacks in this episode follow the events of Juliet's previous flashback. ("Not in Portland")

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: One of Us/Theories

• Why do pregnant women die on the island?

External links

• Promotional Photos
• Primetime grid

Juliet Burke Portrayed by Elizabeth Mitchell and Rylee Fansler Centric episodes "Not in Portland" • "One of Us" • "The Other Woman" • "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2" Non-centric flashbacks "A Tale of Two Cities" (Jack centric) Mobisodes The Deal" • "Operation: Sleeper" • "Room 23" • "The Envelope" Flashback characters 26-year-old woman • Adam • Airport guard • Richard Alpert • Amelia • Mikhail Bakunin • Edmund Burke • Julian Carlson • Mr. Carlson • Mrs. Carlson • Rachel Carlson • Diana • Tom Friendly • Henrietta • Benjamin Linus • Morgue employee • Ethan Rom • Sabine • Sherry • Goodwin Stanhope • Harper Stanhope Items Tape • Tape recorder • Test Drug • Carrie