From Your Subculture Soundtrack, the music encyclopedia

Artist: Iron Maiden

Date Released: November 22, 1986

Label: EMI

Produced By: Martin Birch

Tracklisting:

1. Stranger In A Strange Land (5:45)
2. That Girl (5:04)
3. Juanita (3:47)

Reviews:

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)

"Stranger in a Strange Land" is the ninth episode of Season 3 and the fifty-eighth produced hour of the series as a whole. It was originally broadcast on February 21, 2007. Jack bargains with Ben to save Juliet while Kate and Sawyer struggle with the consequences of their escape.

Contents 1 Synopsis 1.1 Flashback 1.2 On the Hydra Island 1.3 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 2.7 Story analysis 3 Episode references 4 Unanswered questions

Synopsis

Flashback

Jack exits a hut on the beach in Phuket, Thailand, admires the scenery, and is greeted by a Thai boy whose only English seems to be, "Doctor Jack want soda?" Jack buys two sodas and gives him a tip. He sets down a kite kit but struggles to put it together. A Thai woman on the beach is amused by his predicament and helps him put together and fly the kite. She introduces herself as Achara.

Later, Jack and Achara eat together at a restaurant where her brother Chet serves them food, calling Jack "very brave" for trying the local delicacies. She asks Jack why he doesn't know how to fly a kite and he starts to tell her about his childhood and his father but she stops him, saying some things are personal. She asks if he is in Phuket to find himself. They are interrupted by a Thai man who gives Achara a thick envelope which she puts in her purse after exchanging the Thai Wai greeting (similar to the "namaste" salutation), and explains only by saying she has "a gift."

While Jack is sleeping, Achara sneaks into his room, undresses, and slips into his bed as he wakes up. She asks if he has a question for her and he says it might be nice to know something about her after a month of her coming and going. She says, "There are things that happened here that he would never understand," possibly referring to her powers. They roll onto the floor kissing and she suggests he stop asking questions and try to have fun.

Jack later decides to follow Achara, and discovers her in what appears to be a private tattoo parlor. She says this is where she works and he shouldn't be there. She says she is not a tattoo artist, that her gift is her ability to see who people are, and the tattoo defines and marks her customers with her vision. Jack demands to know what she sees about him but she protests that she is not allowed to use her gift on an outsider. He insists and she reveals that he is a leader and a great man, but this makes him lonely, frightened, and angry. Jack makes her tattoo him, even though she claims there will be "consequences."

The next day, Jack exits his hut but this time the Thai boy, who usually gives him soda, runs away from him. Chet and a group of Thai men approach Jack, uncover his tattoo, and mercilessly beat him to the ground. Chet orders him to leave the beach and the country. He spits on Jack and the group of men walks away with Achara as she is moved to tears.

On the Hydra Island

Tom enters the aquarium in order to move Jack, but Jack accuses him of using it as a euphemism for execution. Tom asks him what kind of people he thinks the Others are and Jack rattles off a list of their crimes. Tom asks if Jack wants some stones for his glass house, and suggests he cooperate. Jack acquiesces and is escorted out by Tom and two Others. As he is led out, he passes Juliet being led into the aquarium with her hands and bare feet restrained by a group of Others. As they pass, Juliet says to Jack, "Hey." Juliet stares at Jack from her cell as Tom confers with a female Other.

Tom brings Jack lunch in the bear cage, and is asked who the mysterious Other woman was; with Tom referring to her as the figurative sheriff. Jack asks why they moved Juliet and Tom tell him she's in trouble. Jack is told not to start any trouble and, Jack says he knows about the cameras. During this scene, a number of animals are heard. First, a very strange bird call that Tom stops and listens to, and then a sound that is distinctly a chicken.

Juliet is escorted to Jack's cage so that she can request that Jack help Ben with an infection around his stitches. He asks if she wants to help Ben to get off the Island, and she reveals that she is doing it to get out of trouble for killing someone. Jack refuses to help Ben or her.

At night, the mysterious female Other approaches Jack and speaks Chinese, explaining that she is reading the characters (鹰击长空) in Jack's tattoo. She comments that the meaning is ironic and then asks Jack if he knows what it means, since it can be hard to translate. Jack insists that he does. Introducing herself as Isabel, she brings him to a room in the Hydra so she can ask him some questions. They pass Alex, whom Isabel sweetly but firmly suggests should visit her father. Isabel faces Jack as Tom and Juliet watch on. Juliet is sitting on a chair with her hands and bare feet bound. She asks if Juliet asked Jack to kill Ben. Jack denies it, saying he made it up to gain an advantage. Isabel asks him why he is lying, and he requests to be returned to his cage.

Jack wakes in the morning to a group of people watching him. A woman approaches, and he recognizes her as Cindy, the flight attendant from Flight 815. He asks her why she is with them. At first she starts replying, "They're not … uhm," pauses for a moment, and says, "It's not that simple," and they are here "to watch." A young girl unknown to Jack, Emma from the tail section, approaches and has Cindy ask Jack how Ana Lucia is doing, which angers Jack, and he yells at Cindy to go. She and the Others leave, including a young boy, Zack, who hands his teddy bear to his sister Emma.

After the crowd disperses, Alex breaks the camera outside Jack's cage so they won't be watched, and asks Jack why he would help Ben after what he did to them. Jack demands to know what is going on with Juliet. Alex explains that they are reading Juliet's verdict. They are strict about killing their own, demanding an "eye for an eye." She reveals that Juliet killed Danny to help Kate and Sawyer escape. In return, Jack shares the knowledge that he helped Ben simply because he said that he would. He asks if Ben is still in charge. Alex says he is, and Jack tells her to get him out of the cage.

Jack storms into the operating room and warns the Others in the room that they aren't treating Ben properly. Ben's wounds are seriously infected and it's possible he might not walk again. Jack says he'd be more impressed if they had a proper surgeon, and Ben says they used to have one—Ethan. Jack bargains with Ben, offering him proper treatment in return for him commuting Juliet's death sentence. Ben warns him that whatever Jack thinks Juliet did to help him, she's still "one of us." But Jack presses on, and Ben prepares to write down his orders.

Jack and Alex storm over to the deliberation room where a group of Others are readying to give Juliet's verdict as she watches on. Tom grabs Jack but Isabel stops him and takes Ben's orders from Alex. Ben has commuted Juliet's sentence as 'the rules don't apply,' but also ordered her to be "marked."

Juliet brings Jack a grilled sandwich with toothpicks in his bear cage. He asks to see her mark, and she reveals a brand with a small circle and eight radiating lines on her lower back. He requests that she bring him an aloe plant, and he applies the aloe to her back. She asks why Jack helped her. He says he did it so that Ben would keep his word to let both of them leave the Island. She asks how, and Jack says "together." Juliet informs him that they have to go back to where they live because Jack's friends will come to the Island to look for him. Jack asks where, and she says that Ben calls it "home."

The Others are gathered around a boat on the beach, and Isabel tells Jack his tattoo says, "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us." Jack says the Chinese letters may say that, but, "that isn't what they mean". Jack, Ben, and two others row out to a larger boat.

Later, Alex looks up sadly at the same night sky as Karl as he sits in his camp on the Island. Juliet looks at Jack as they and the Others travel through the night on the larger boat.

On the Island

Sawyer sings to himself while he and Kate row back to the main island in the canoe with an unconscious Karl. Kate tries to convince Sawyer to turn around so they can rescue Jack but Sawyer, incredulous, says it's too dangerous and a semi lucid Karl agrees that the Others would kill them. Karl mutters a phrase from the room 23 video and falls back asleep.

Sawyer and Kate continue to bicker on the canoe, Sawyer is rowing towards the nearest part of the shoreline but Kate wants to row all the way to the main camp to get help from Locke and Sayid. Sawyer becomes angry and points out that they have no food, no water, and no map, and that he can't steer in the dark. He tells her if she wants to contribute, she can gather firewood, and without waiting for her reply, snaps "Glad we agree." Kate gives him an angry look as they continue to shore.

Over a camp fire while it's still light out, Sawyer offers Kate fruit, which she refuses. Karl tells them they shouldn't fight, because they are lucky to be alive. Kate asks Karl about the Others. He reveals that they live on the main island and only work on "projects" on the smaller island. As for the children that were kidnapped, they "give them a better life." Kate asks "better than what?" "Better than yours," Karl tells her pointedly. He predicts that there won't be a moon that night, and says that when he and Alex were younger they used to lie out at night in their backyards and make up their own names for constellations.

Kate wakes up and sees that Karl has disappeared. She shakes Sawyer awake, and they begin to search for him. But they hear Karl nearby crying and Sawyer tells her he will deal with him: "Boys only." Sawyer punches Karl in the shoulder and tells him to "cowboy up". Sawyer comforts him and suggests he go back for Alex, though Karl says they would kill him this time. Sawyer suggests that for a girl he would "name dumb stars with," it might be worth it.

Kate argues with Sawyer about him letting Karl go. She complains about him ordering her around. Sawyer says she is just angry because she feels guilty, not about leaving Jack, but for having sex with Sawyer. He attributes that she only did it because she thought he was going to die. A speechless and hurt Kate simply tries to brush off the comment, and the two move on.

Later that night, Sawyer looks sadly after Kate as she leads the way as they head back towards their camp; elsewhere, Karl sits by a fire and looks up at the stars.

Trivia

General

• Jack's tattoo does not literally translate to "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us." as Isabel explains. It translates correctly in Chinese to "Eagles high, cleaving sky."
  • The tattoo is a real one, owned by the actor Matthew Fox, in addition to one on his forearm.
  • In the flashback, just as Achara is about to tattoo him and he is shirtless, the tattoo appears to be either covered or perhaps for the scene the film was horizontally flipped in editing.
• There are several references to the stars, with Karl and Alex's constellations, Juliet's star brand, and the stars on Jack's tattoo.
• This is the first Jack flashback episode where his father, Christian Shephard, does not appear.

Production notes

• Sayid, Charlie, Claire, Desmond, Hurley, Jin, Locke, Nikki, Paulo, and Sun do not appear in this episode.
• Jack's kite was designed by Buteo Huang and is known as the Starbird.
• Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse confirmed in 2009 that this episode, having been poorly received by both fans and critics, was the turning point for the studio and they were thus allowed to establish an end date for the show. [1]
• Damon Lindelof later stated of the episode that "everything that could go wrong did", noting bad casting, a bad flashback, and a bad general premise-but that it was not as flawed as "Homecoming". [2]

Bloopers and continuity errors

• When Jack is at the beach with Achara preparing and flying his kite, the shorts he is wearing switch from being wet to dry and back again many times.
• During the final montage, when the Others are traveling by boat back to the main island, Juliet is seen leaning back onto the forward bulkhead of the boat's bridge. Given that she was given a large branding on the small of her back less than a day before, it's highly unlikely that this would have been at all comfortable for her.

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

• Achara called Jack a great man. (Good and bad people)
• Jack asked Tom why the Others are "good" if they kidnapped kids and pregnant women as well terrorized the survivors. (Good and bad people)
• In flashbacks Jack wears a pendant in the shape of the number 8. (The Numbers)
• Karl points to an area of the sky and says that's where "Ursa Theodorus" will appear, "The Teddy bear." (Animals)

Cultural references

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

• The title of the episode, "Stranger in a Strange Land" may refer to:
  • The Bible, Exodus 2:22. The verse is "And she bears him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land." "He" is Moses (recently departed from Egypt), "she" is his wife Zipporah, and Gershom is their son. (Religion and ideologies)
  • Stranger in a Strange Land, the name of the book written by Robert Heinlein. (Literary works)
  • Stranger in a Strange Land. Any of four songs by that title: one by Iron Maiden, one by U2, one by Barbra Streisand, and one by Leon Russell. (Pop culture misc. references)
  • Oedipus at Colonus. A line this play by the Athenian tragedian Sophocles, written before 406 BC.(Literary works) Oedipus, blind and exiled from Thebes, approaches a town to which he is foreign, and the line reads:

Chorus:

Patience, stranger--

here in a strange land, poor man,

hate with a will

whatever the city holds in rooted hatred,

honor what the city holds in love.

• The Bible. Other biblical references include:
  • Jacob. "God loves you like He loved Jacob", said by Karl
  • An eye for an eye. Exodus 21:24. said by Alex.
    • Even earlier, this law formed part of the ancient Mesopotamian Hammurabi's Code
  • Curse and mark of Cain. Genesis 4:15. Juliet's Mark may refer to the mark of Cain: "And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him." (Religion and ideologies)
• Hinduism. Thai boy's T-shirt features the Om, a symbol often used to identify this religion. (Religion and ideologies)
• Show Me the Way to Go Home. Sawyer sings this folk song and drinking tune on the outrigger canoe. It was made famous with its 1925 adaptation by the pseudonymous "Irving King". It tells the story of an intoxicated bar patron trying to go home after a night of drinking. (Music)
  • Jaws. The same song was sung by the crew of the fishing trawler Orca in this 1975 thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg. (Movies)  (Music)
• The Brady Bunch. Sawyer calls Karl "Bobby" as in Bobby Brady, the youngest Brady son in this American television sit-com (1969-1974) (Television)
• Mao Zedong. The text of Jack's tattoo is taken from a poem by this Chinese Marxist military and political leader and philosopher (Philosophy)
• Ferdinand Magellan. When sailing from the Hydra island, Sawyer refers to Kate sarcastically as Magellan, after this Portuguese-born maritime explorer (1480-1521).
• Western (genre). Tom refers to Isabel as The Sheriff, Ben tells Jack that "The cavalry has arrived at last" and Karl is called "The Kid" by Sawyer, who also tells Karl that the punch he gives to his arm is to make him "cowboy up." (Movies)

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

• Achara states that Chet likes Jack in the restaurant, but Jack is later beaten badly by Chet. (Irony)

Story analysis

Storyline analysis in Lost
A-Missions • Crimes • Economics • Leadership • O-Missions • Relationships • F-Missions • Rivalries

• Jack bargains for Juliet's life. (Economics)
• Ben commuted Juliet's sentence, saying the "rules do not apply". (Leadership)
• Achara defined Jack as a leader and a great man. (Leadership)

Episode references

• On day 61, Jack told Sawyer he learned to play poker in Phuket. ("Lockdown")
• Karl repeats the phrase from the room 23 video: "God loves you as he loved Jacob" ("Not in Portland")
• Juliet is punished for killing Danny Pickett. ("Not in Portland")
• Isabel asks Jack if Juliet really asked him to kill Ben. ("The Cost of Living")  ("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: Stranger in a Strange Land/Theories

• How and why have Cindy and the kids been "converted" by the Others?
  • What are they there to "watch?"
• What does Juliet's mark mean?
• Why does Jack's tattoo "have consequences"?

Jack Shephard (X) Portrayed by Matthew Fox and John O'Hara Centric episodes "Pilot, Part 1" • "White Rabbit" • "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" • "Do No Harm" • "Exodus, Part 1" • "Man of Science, Man of Faith" • "The Hunting Party" • "A Tale of Two Cities" • "Stranger in a Strange Land" • "Through the Looking Glass, Part 1" • "Through the Looking Glass, Part 2" • "Something Nice Back Home" • "There's No Place Like Home, Part 1" • "There's No Place Like Home, Part 2" • "There's No Place Like Home, Part 3" • "316" • "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2" • "LA X, Part 1" • "LA X, Part 2" Mobisodes "The Watch" • "King of the Castle" • "Operation: Sleeper" • "Jack, Meet Ethan. Ethan? Jack" • "So It Begins" Flashback characters Achara • Andrea • Anesthesiologist No. 1 • Anesthesiologist No. 2 • Anesthesiologist No. 3 • Beth • Beth's husband • Buchanan • Angelo Busoni • Gabriela Busoni • Cindy Chandler • Chet • Chrissy • Ray Shephard • Ana Lucia Cortez • EMT • Desmond Hume • JD • Kevin • Jacob • Jin-Soo Kwon • Meathead • Michelle • Minister • Moderator • Morgue doctor • Rose Nadler • Nurse • Locke's nurse • Charlie Pace • Adam Rutherford • Christian Shephard • Margo Shephard • Sarah Shephard • Sarah Shephard's lover • Marc Silverman• Taylor • Teacher • Thai boy • Tux shop owner Flash-forward characters Mrs. Arlen • Mrs. Arlen's son • Kate Austen • Ms. Berenberg • Customer • Doctor • Funeral director • Dr. Thomas Gardez • Rob Hamill • Jane • Sayid Jarrah • Noor "Nadia" Abed Jazeem • Jeff • Ryan Laker • Benjamin Linus • Aaron Littleton • Carole Littleton • John Locke • Gary Nadler • Newsreader • Noreen • Pharmacist • Reporter No. 1 • Hugo "Hurley" Reyes • Christian Shephard • Margo Shephard • Sarah Shephard • Dr. Smith Sira • Dr. Erika Stevenson • Dr. Stillman Flash-sideways characters Cindy Chandler X • Desmond Hume X • Rose Nadler X • Charlie Pace X • Kate Austen X • John Locke X • Sayid Jarrah X Items Christian's coffin • Golden pass • Halliburton case • Jack's watch • Locke's coffin • Newspaper clipping • Oxycodone