EPISODE 304: EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF

S3E4 (304) Every Man For Himself

Air Date: October 25, 2006
Production Code: 304

Official ABC pre-air summary:
“The Others prevent Sawyer and Kate from escaping, leaving Sawyer perplexed by the extent of the measures taken to keep them imprisoned. Jack is asked to use his medical training to save the life of one of the Others. At the beach, Desmond's strange behavior attracts attention. He begins to construct a mysterious device.”

Episode Re-cap:

This episode begins with Desmond as he sits on the beach in contemplation and then, as if a decision had been made, extends a request to repair the roof of Claire’s hut. Claire and Charlie refuse his offer of help.

Jack is still held captive in a cage at the Hydra Station and Juliet continues to bring him his food. Jack questions her authority and their hierarchy. Juliet tells Jack that the Others rule by committee and discuss matters before making any decisions. Ben interrupts this discussion and tells Juliet that she is needed and disrupts her entire explanation and its validity.

Sawyer formulates and engineers an elaborate plan to electrocute the next Other that ventures near his cage. When Ben appears Sawyer gives us his best “another sucker” smile but the plan miscarries when Ben reports that the electricity to the cage has been cut. Ben proceeds to beat Sawyer with a baton but not before he gets Sawyer’s weight and age.

Flashback -Sawyer is in prison when a new prisoner is brought in. The new convict has been imprisoned for the theft of 10 million dollars from the government.

Sawyer is dragged to the Hydra Station and tied to an examination table. A wooden dowel is placed in his mouth and a large needle is inserted into his chest. In Jack’s cell he can hear Sawyer screaming through the com-link that Juliet told him does not work.

Tom brings in a small cage with a white rabbit that has the number 8 spray-painted on its fur. Ben puts the cage on Sawyers chest and shakes the cage violently and yells at the rabbit loudly until the rabbit rolls over and dies. Ben tells Sawyer that they have inserted a pacemaker and that should he get over-excited, over-exerted or tries to escape his heart will explode like the bunny.

Flashback - Sawyer finds out from a visiting Cassidy that he is a father and continues to keep an eye on Munson the government thief.

Juliet bursts into Jack’s cage covered in blood and asks him for his help. Jack thinks the blood belongs to Sawyer but Juliet explains that it belongs to someone else. Jack is escorted through the compound amidst blaring music and cannot hear Sawyer and Kate as they yell out his name. During the operation Colleen’s heart stops. When Jack calls for the crash cart Juliet tells him that it’s not working. Jack administers CPR but Colleen dies despite his best efforts.

Danny Picket, we learn, was married to Colleen and he is enraged. Down at the compound he removes Sawyer from his cage and beats him in front of Kate. During each punch Pickett asks Kate if she loves Sawyer. Under duress and to save him from additional harm Kate confesses her love.

Flashback - Sawyer is sitting in his cell reading John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” when Munson comes and asks him if he will help him move the stolen money to a safer place. Munson fears the warden and his woman are after the 10 million dollars.

Meanwhile, Kate escapes from her cage by climbing up through the bars at the top of the cell. When she tries to release Sawyer he tells her to leave him and run away. When he says, “If you love me you’ll go” Kate responds by saying, “I only said that so they’d stop hitting you!” She then climbs back into her cage. During this scene Sawyer says to Kate twice, “every man for himself” and Kate counters with, “live together, die alone.”

Jack is handcuffed to Colleen’s gurney and Ben tells Tom that he wants Jack to sit with her a while longer. Earlier Jack noticed x-rays and asks Juliet about them. He now thinks he was brought to the Hydra Station for the purpose of performing spinal surgery on someone.

Desmond erects a lightning rod, which saves Claire and Aaron. Charlie has a suspicion that Desmond saw this event happen before it actually occurred.
Flashback - Sawyer reveals the location of the stolen 10 million dollars to the warden and a treasury agent and by doing so ensures his own release from prison. Sawyer is also offered a “commission” which he reassigns to his daughter.

In the final scene, Ben takes Sawyer on a “walk” and proves to him that they are not on THE island at all and that he has utterly no chance of escape. He also tells Sawyer that they did not implant a pacemaker inside him. When asked why they were doing this Ben tells Sawyer that they are not killers and that the only way to convince a con man is to con him.

Observations:

* In a very peculiar way this episode concerned a subject that was almost the reversal of the title. While Sawyer makes the statement, “Every man for himself” at least three times in this episode no one is actually doing that (except perhaps Ben.) Desmond, who is now the island’s resident shaman and fortuneteller, builds a lightning rod to protect Clair and Aaron. Sawyer overtly protects Kate when he decides not to tell her about what was done to him in the Hydra Station. Jack and Juliet come together to try and save Colleen. Sawyer gives up his “commission” to his young newly discovered daughter. And Kate climbs back into her cage because she will not leave Sawyer and Jack. In each of theses cases the islanders committed acts of selflessness and in no way were these instances of “every man for himself.” On the other hand, Sawyer turns in Munson to be released from prison. Ben allows Jack to see the x-ray of the spinal tumor. Danny is enraged by Colleen’s death and beats Sawyer. And Jack pits Juliet against Ben.

* Jack is being shown cartoons on television in his cage. I believe that it was from an old Heckyl and Jeckyl cartoon. I’ll confirm that later if I can. In my best William Shatner imitation… Old… man… memory… fading… Correction 11/01/06: The cartoon is "A Corny Concerto" Merrie Melody (more on this next week and thanks to Lobster Johnson for pointing this out.)

* Juliet explains the politics of the Others camp. She tells Jack that she doesn’t work for Ben and that he’s not in charge and that a committee makes the decisions. Why don’t I believe her?

* Ben tells Juliet that, “the sub is back. We have a situation.” This connects a theory that has been rumbled about. That the Others have a submarine has been bantered around since the Others boarded Desmond’s boat. The thinking was that the Others boarded the boat from the sea side and they were not wet. Since Ben gave the boat to Michael the Others must have had some other type of sea vessel. Ben confirmed that tonight.

* Sawyer has a field trip with nicknames in this episode: He calls Pickett “Chinatown” and “broken nose man.” This reference is from the Jack Nicolson character, Jake Gittes, in the 1974 Roman Polanski film Chinatown that spends most of the movie with a bandage on his nose. In prison he calls Munson, the thief, “Costanza”, a Seinfeld reference which probably comes from the episode where they all end up in jail and “Murgatroyd” from the saying “Heavens to Mergatroyd” by the cartoon character Snagglepuss (Quick Draw McDraw) whenever trouble looms.

* As Sawyer regains consciousness on the examination table he hears Tom tells Ben that, “it has been two days since the sky turned purple. We’re blind. The “comms” are down and we can’t get them back up and Colleen is in critical condition…”

* When Sawyer is injected with the large needle it is a reference to a scene from the movie “Pulp Fiction” where John Travolta injects Uma Thurman with adrenaline. Jason is told by Matthew, "Remember, do it like in the movie."

* Sawyer, while in prison, is reading Steinbeck’s, “Of Mice and Men.” So, it would seem that the book club and Jack’s bookcase are still important. I am not sure if this book is on Jack’s bookcase but I’d venture to guess that it is probably one of the unidentified books.

* It is revealed that Sawyer is in prison because of the long con and that Cassidy turned him in.

* The number 8 white bunny is probably another Stephen King reference. In his non-fiction book “On Writing” King describes a caged white rabbit with the number 8 painted on it as an illustration of the significance of the written word to communicate images and ideas. The white rabbit may also be a veiled reference to the white rabbit from “Alice in Wonderland.” – By the way, if the white rabbit had a car his personalized license plate would read: IM L8.

* Sawyer’s daughter’s name is Clementine Phillips. (Cassidy Phillips is the mother and first appeared in Episode 213 “The Long Con”) If, as Sawyer suggests, “I’ve got no kid!” is true then perhaps Cassidy was aware of the 10 million dollars and the possible ruse of a non-existent child was to con Sawyer out of his commission.

* Munson's 10 million dollars was hidden in a store quick facility off 441 in unit 23c inside a red Ford pickup in Sawgrass.

* Sawyer's prisoner number was 840 and Munson’s 248.

* When Kate and Sawyer argue whether or not to escape, Sawyer employs the title of the episode, “Every Man for Himself.” Kate responds with “Live Together, Die Alone.” (Episodes 223 and 224) Both are quotes from Jack's speech in Episode 105 “White Rabbit.”

* During the operation in which Jack is trying to save Colleen’s life Jack learns that the crash cart is not working. This may be from the electromagnetic anomaly, which also rendered the Other’s “comms” unusable.

* Juliet admits to being a fertility doctor.
* Jack tells Juliet that when he looked at the x-rays he could tell that it was a man in 40’s and that he had a tumor on his spine. We are led to believe that his is Ben but it could also be Tom or Danny Pickett.

* Desmond foretells (or at least knows) the future again tonight. It is obvious that he knew lightning would strike Claire’s hut if he didn’t do something. So, he erects an intricate lightning rod made of a golf club borrowed from Raul and some wiring from the plane and saves Claire and the baby. Desmond's ability to see (and seemingly change) the future may be critical in changing the variables of the Valenzetti Equation later on.

* In the ending scene Ben quotes heavily from “Of Mice and Men.” He is obviously well read and has even memorized passages of the book. Ben’s reference is the third reference to the book in the movie. The first is Jack reading the paperback version in his prison cell and the second when they are climbing the hill to see THE island. Jack tells Ben that Ben would like the book because they kill puppies.

The Questions:

1) This is the second time that Desmond has foretold (or at the very least foresaw) the future. Is he stuck in some time warp? Did the electromagnetic anomaly cause some strange time dilation? Did the implosion of the Swan Hatch cause some type of power transference? At least Desmond is using his new power for good. He could be using it for evil, say, like to uncover winning lottery numbers?

2) Did Juliet curl her hair and put on makeup for Jack? If so, this could be the start of the love interest rumored to be happening this year.

3) When Jack questions Juliet about the politics and hierarchy of the Others her entire premise is shot down when Ben orders her to help take care of the situation. Why did Juliet tell Jack that the Others were ruled by committee if it were not true? Is it because she wishes it were not true? Or is Ben overstepping his authority?

4) Why is Ben going through so much trouble to convince Sawyer that he cannot escape? It seems like an elaborate way of going about things. For instance, he could have taken him to the top of the cliff first and done without the theatrics. On the other hand, if Ben is going to all this trouble does he know that there truly is a way off the second island and he just wants to convince Sawyer to quit trying? The whole scenario seemed a bit far-fetched to me. There was too much elaboration to prove a simple point.

5) Why was it so important that Jack not hear that Sawyer and Kate were nearby? This is another thing that makes no sense to me. Jack is aware that Kate and Sawyer are being held nearby. Why go through the trouble of blasting noise when Jack already knows they are near?

6) Why does Kate return back to her cage? Is it because she believes that all of them must escape together? She did repeat Jack’s mantra… Live together, die alone!

7) Do the Others really have a submarine or was I hearing things? Please someone (or all of you) confirm that I heard Ben say that the “sub” had returned.

8) Was Ben, as Henry Gale, lying to Locke? It appears that Ben really was looking for someone “good.” A good spinal surgeon, that is. Could Ben have been looking for Jack when Rousseau captured him? In light of the fact that the x-ray shows a tumor of the spine Jack is definitely going to be needed sometime in the near future. Who is ill? Well, that is up for debate and I refuse to make a call on this one. This tees up as a classic bait and switch television moment. Images of Ben, when Jack talks about the tumor, are shown in the preview but I think the powers that be may be trying to set us up. There are a number of men around 40 that could be suffering from cancer. Tom and Danny Picket both come to mind.

9) Why did Ben feel it necessary for Jack to be handcuffed to Colleen’s gurney and left there? I didn’t quite understand the logic behind this. Jack cares little for the Others. This has been proven time and time again. He even tells Juliet in this episode that he doesn’t care about them at all. What does leaving him handcuffed to the gurney accomplish?

10) Why would the Dharma Initiative need a fertility doctor? And where are the women all of a sudden? It seems that all the factions on the island are under-populated by women. Is the need for a fertility doctor setting us up a future event? Clearly, during episode 215 “Maternity Leave” Claire’s pregnancy is being manipulated (Ethan’s injections, the nursery, etc.) But why would they need a fertility doctor? Is there a problem on the island with women conceiving and bearing children that we are unaware of?

11) Was the large needle actually inserted into Sawyers chest? I got the impression that they forced him into unconsciousness and only pretended to insert the needle. Anyone else see it that way?

12) It seems that the electromagnetic anomaly, which turned the sky purple, also took out the Others communication equipment. With whom were they communicating? This also puts to rest the theory that the island is isolated (which we glimpsed when Ben showed Jack the World Series.)

13) Ben shows Sawyer that there are actually TWO islands. This assures at least another three seasons of Lost. What is the second island? Should we be referring to the “Hydra Island” rather than the “Hydra Station”? And why did Ben really show the other island to Sawyer? What are his motives?

14) And last but not least, during the preview of next week’s episode we see Locke, Desmond and Sayid in the Pearl Hatch and one of the screens shows another computer filled room and a man with an eye-patch! What is this other station (similar to the Swan?) and who is the person with the eye-patch?

Quotes:

* Ben: Guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. (Quoting from “Of Mice and Men.”)

* Charlie: If there’s a problem, I’ll fix it. I’m quite handy. I was building a church before Eko exploded.

* Kate: I only said that so he’d stop hitting you.

* Ben: The only way to gain a con man’s respect is to con him. You’re pretty good, Sawyer. But we’re better.

Bonus Section 1:

Juliet

* Juliet is a member of the Others and was first introduced in the season premiere episode “A Tale of Two Cities.” It appears that she is, on some level, quite unhappy with her current allegiance and/or status, particularly with Ben's authoritative position.

* Juliet lives in the antiseptic solar-powered village of the Others.

* Juliet is a principal figure in most of the actions committed by the Others, but appears forlorn with her current station in life and entirely alone. Juliet hints to Jack that she was once a doctor (“I’m a repo-man too!”) and in this episode admits to being a fertility doctor.

*Ben was the original moderator of the book club but now that duty falls to Juliet. Discussion in the book club seems to indicate an earlier animosity or argument between members. This sounds like a falling out between Ben and Juliet. I believe that Juliet became the book club moderator by choice rather than by default. A power struggle, it seems, may also be brewing in the Others’ camp.

* Ben may have been married to or involved with Juliet. She's playing “Downtown” (a song of loneliness) on the CD player when we first meet her, absentmindedly baking muffins, and asserting her own book choices. Ben's comment “I guess I'm out of the book club” has the tone of a recent intimacy broken. This is supported by Ben’s comment to Juliet, “you never made soup for me,” after she made soup for Jack.

* Juliet, along with others, witnesses the crash of flight 815 as it breaks up over the island. She is one of the Others who takes a lead role in interacting with the captured Flight 815 survivors thus establishing her as a leader or manager amongst the others.

* Juliet is in charge of “interviewing” Jack at the Hydra Station. Her approach is more interview than interrogation but Jack is indifferent to both. Juliet asks Jack a series of questions that she already knows the answer to and entices him with a grilled cheese sandwich. Jack attacks her at the first opportunity but we find rather quickly that Juliet can take care of herself when she knocks Jack out.

* A quick reacting Juliet saves Jack’s life when she rushes him back into his cell after he has opened the hatch after the hall begins to fill with water. She then knocks him out with one punch! Later, Juliet confirms that the Hydra Station is an underwater aquarium and that it was once part of the Dharma Initiative and used for Sharks and Dolphins.

* Colleen appeared to be annoyed to find Ben and Juliet talking together when she came to report about the sailboat. This indicates that Juliet may have been in a relationship with Ben.

* When Juliet hears that the survivors have a sailboat she is not surprised. She tells Ben that sailing around in circles will keep them occupied, which may indicate that sailing is not a feasible way to escape the island. This is verified by Desmond's attempt to escape with the sail boat and his subsequent return two weeks later.

* Juliet calls Sawyer “James” and Colleen calls Sun, “Sun-Hwa Kwon.” They obviously know more about the survivors then first realized. Juliet also has a file on Jack and seems to have information that comes from the outside world. However, this information may be from discussions, etc. that have previously occurred on the island and overheard by Ben or the Others from the monitoring station.

* Juliet, it seems, has trouble playing well with others. Her relationship with Ben seems strained at best and there were harsh words between her and Adam at the book club meeting. She also appears to have a disliking for Colleen. Why is Juliet so disliked? And why is she so unhappy?

* There is a recurring theme concerning eating and drinking that is initiated by Juliet. She tells Jack that the drugs they gave him can cause hallucinations if he does not eat and drink. However, Kate had the same bandage on her arm and they did not give her this same message. Either it is a lie or they want Kate to hallucinate. Also, Juliet tries to give water to Sawyer who pours it out. It seems to me that if the Others wanted to drug Sawyer they could have put something in his water in the cage. Why would they give Jack and/or Kate hallucinogens? What purpose would this serve?

* Juliet may be as caged as any of the survivors now in captivity. I believe that Juliet’s cage is much more emotional than the others. While we have little to go on we do know that she has a sadness about her that begs for an explanation. She listens to Pet Clark’s anthem to loneliness and forgets that she has muffins in the oven. These are all obvious signs of someone preoccupied with extremely hefty thoughts. But why is Juliet so melancholy?

* Juliet seems to be a composed, self-confident and intelligent woman and we now know that she is a fertility doctor. She is a principal figure in the actions of the Others, but appears quite unhappy with her current station in life.

* Juliet hints to Jack that she was once a doctor. (“I’m a repo-man too!”)

* After Jack's escape attempt Juliet claims she knows everything about his life: she mentions Sarah, Jack’s schooling and claims to be in possession of his father, Christian's autopsy-report.

* Juliet also gains Jack's trust and Ben congratulates her for her work. This is most likely important for whatever Ben has in mind for Jack and will become more apparent later on in the season.

* Juliet also recaptures Sawyer with a taser zap after he escapes from his cage with help from Carl.

* Juliet held a gun to Kate in the episode “The Glass Ballerina” to stop Sawyer from attacking The Others and Sawyer was certain later on that she would use it.

Theories concerning Juliet:

1) Juliet may become Jack's love interest on the island in later episodes. Could Jack be a victim of The Stockholm Syndrome? The Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage exhibits loyalty and sometimes feelings for the hostage-taker. The syndrome is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg, Stockholm, Sweden, in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage from August 23 to August 28, 1973. In this case, the victims became emotionally attached to their victimizers, and even defended their captors after they were freed from their six-day ordeal.

2) Juliet may have worked in the Staff Hatch in some capacity. She has already told Jack that she is a fertility doctor. As the Staff Hatch was primarily used for Medical treatment, especially for the treatment of a pregnant Claire, it’s only logical then that as an Other Juliet worked there.

3) Juliet tells Adam that “Carrie” was her favorite book. There are two schools of thought concerning this statement. Some feel that it is figurative and that Juliet may be depicting herself as Carrie and that a retribution for past wrongs may be in the future. Some feel that the likeness is literal and that Juliet calls this book her favorite because like Carrie she has some unique ability or power.

The Lost Experience Connection:

There is a possibility that there are two split factions among the Others. This stems from the Lost Experience Alternate Reality Game that took place this past summer. During the Experience we found that The Hanso Foundation had a change of leadership and many were none to happy that this occurred. Since the
Others continue to receive food, medicine, and supplies they may still have contact with the outside world and the Foundation. It is thought that Juliet may be leading a fifth-column revolt backed by many original Hanso loyalists and alternately that Ben is supported by Thomas Werner Mittelwerk and his new regime.

The Romeo and Juliet Connection:

Obviously Juliet was a character from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. With this in mind we find a number of common connections, which may give us additional information in later episodes. For instance, Juliet fell in love with a man from the enemy’s camp, which is probably reference to Jack. Rather than the Monatgue’s and the Capulet’s we have the Others and the Survivors. Based on names alone, a conflict between Juliet and Rose may occur later on in the season. In the play Rosaline was the lover whom Romeo cast aside in favor of Juliet. Rosaline may also be referring to Sarah, Jack’s ex-wife. It is possible that Ben's name refers to Benvolio in the same play. “Benvolio” means “good will,” though so I doubt that this correlates to this character. The Shakespearian references may also simply be a shout out by the writers to Harold Perrineau's role as Mercutio in Baz Luhrmann's movie adaptation of the play.

Juliet, The KLF and Mu:

Doc Jenson recently published the following strange theory on his Lost EW page (see below for link.) Some of you may remember Doc from the Lost Experience Game this past summer and others from his Entertainment Weekly reports. The reason that I am presenting his theory here is that my co-collaborator at our Lost Theories blog, “Amelia Crater”, who I call Deb (because that’s her name), and I have traded e-mails concerning this very subject. Can you say déjà vu goose bumps? This theory is eerily familiar, as we had discussed portions of it together before Doc Jenson published his article. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the KLF here is a little history. Now defunct, the KLF was an 80’s performance art/electronica band from England that was fascinated by, among other esoteric subjects, the lost continent of Mu. When the KLF was popular I was a fan (this is where the Alternative part of my name “The Alternative One” comes from - music and literature not lifestyle) and collected a few of their albums. At any rate, their work was filled with references to Atlantis, the lost continent of Mu, free masonry, and other arcane topics. They were also known as the “The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu” (the JAMs) and the Timelords, among other names. From the beginning they adopted mysterious novels like “The Illuminatus! Trilogy,” (from which they took their name and which I have read twice), Charles Fort’s “Lo!” and other works on pyramids and lost civilizations. They destroyed their entire back catalog of music in 1992 and began the K Foundation which sought to subvert the art world, even staging an alternative art award for the worst artist of the year. In one escapade they destroyed by fire one million pounds sterling. They have since released new music under the names The K Foundation, The One World Orchestra and 2K. Their music was intelligent and quite fun to listen to. Jenson connects the song that Juliet was listening to (“Downtown”) to the KLF (who recorded a heavily sampled version called “Down Town”) and then to MU (see theory below). I wonder now if the ancient lost continent of Mu might be the new LOST continent of Dharma? I’ll let him explain…

Here then is Doc Jenson’s Theory:

“THEORY: Actually, I don't really have a theory about Juliet's comment specifically, but it did remind me of something I didn't share with you last week about that Petula Clark song ''Downtown,'' which Juliet seems to like so much. Back in the late '80s, a British band by the name of the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (or the JAMs) sampled Clark's tune in their hit song ''Down Town.'' Now, in case you aren't up on your pseudoscience or fantasy literature, ''Mu'' is the name given to a speculative place that some believe is the true cradle of civilization, an ancient civilization that colonized the world, which would then explain the curious similarities (hieroglyphics, astrology/zodiac blah blah blah) that exist among several other far-flung ancient civilizations. According to the Mu lore, the reason why archaeologists haven't been able to dig up Mu is because Mu is located on the floor of the Pacific Ocean — a sunken continent, not unlike the mythic Atlantis.

Now: Remember those hieroglyphics in the Hatch? According to the Lost producers, they spell the word “Underworld.”

”Downtown” = “Down Town” = “Underworld” = Mu?

Friends... could the island actually be the lost continent of Mu?”

Doc’s entire article can be found here:Entertainment Weekly Article

Bonus Section 2:

And a new article concerning Stephen King and his influence on Lost can be found on Lostpedia at this URL

The Alternative One
Kenosha, Wisconsin
October 26th, 2006

P.S. I am looking for suggestions on what to include in next weeks Bonus Section. If anyone has any ideas or subjects you’d like me to discuss please feel free to e-mail me.