The season 3 premiere of LOST, entitled “A Tale of Two Cities,” may not have been as appetizing as last year’s premiere, especially for the mythology-based fans. Typical LOST episodes are ripe for a second or third review as picking up the smallest subtleties to the overarching plot of the series is half the fun.
But “A Tale of Two Cities” is a rather standard “exposition” episode that is often seen/read in the early stages of storytelling. And given the schedule of this season, with a pod of six episodes (serving as one story arc) before a long hiatus, it makes sense from a writer’s standpoint to establish new characters (the seemingly gentle but manipulative Juliet), new settings (the Others’ little suburban utopia and an abandoned animal sanctuary stamped with DHARMA insignias) as well as establishing Jack, Kate and Sawyer’s anomalous situation. We also learn that Ben a.k.a. “Henry Gale” is, in fact, the crown of the Others’ monarchy.
After this episode, we should now be heading to the “complication” or conflict component in the story (Sayid, the sailboat and possible rescue), and then move towards the “rising action” and so on.
Analysis:
Aside from one of the more ingenious LOST openings (taking a page out of last year’s season opener), the episode runs formulaically, which was both bad and good.
Bad because LOST has been anything but formulaic in its storytelling and, as a result, we felt like more was needed - another twist, another clue.
But it was also good because the most important element of the episode was not the mystery of the island or the Others as a whole, but the mystery of a single character – Juliet.
“A Tale of Two Cities” was as much a Jack-centric episode as it was Juliet-centric. There is an aura of complete uncertainty about her motivations. Yes, she follows Ben, rank and file, like a good little soldier. But there is tension, almost animosity, between her and Ben. It could very well be the Others' version of the Locke-Eko dynamic.
In the very opening scene, Juliet appears to be on the verge of tears while gazing in the mirror. She tries to put on her “happy face” as her “routine” day of muffin baking and book club meetings is set to begin. In retrospect, we don't know if she is simply upset over the end of a possible relationship with Ben, or if it is much deeper, i.e., is she becoming nauseous from their island utopia.
Also, her selection of Stephen King’s Carrie and the reaction from Adam, the uptight book club member, who classifies the book as “popcorn” and “by the numbers,” lacking metaphors and filled with religious fanaticism [as opposed to science?], seems to symbolize Juliet's own modest revolt against Ben, and maybe even to their society's ideology. Again, it all depends on how much you want to read into it. Either way, Juliet appears to be the weak link in the Others’ proverbial chain.
And that is a perfect segway to Jack.
There’s a reason why Jack, Kate and Sawyer are all being treated in very adverse ways; and more so, a motive as to why Jack, the de facto leader of the Flight 815 survivors, was the one that remained completely isolated.
The Others know Jack inside and out. And they have a dossier to prove it. While Juliet calls out Jack for being "stubborn," she/they also realize he is a more reasonable, persuadable and, well, weaker “subject.” We may not know exactly what is going on, but it is evident that they aim to extract something from him. And so this episode greatly serves as phase one of the Jack "breaking" – challenging him to “let go,” to give in, which he eventually does. Perhaps, in the end, taking Sawyer and especially Kate is more for leverage against Jack, i.e., Ben says, "we wouldn't want anything to happen to Kate." But either way, Jack is undoubtedly the main target of their mental mind-games, at least based on this episode.
As for his flashback, it was a better one than usual for Jack in terms of truly learning something about his darker side. The good doctor has a severe problem when not in control; when he should just let go, he labors to do so – it’s a flaw he has struggled to correct, or to simply recognize.
For the first time, we see this unusual, nearly psychotic side of Jack, as he can’t let go of his ex-wife, Sarah, or at least not until he finds out the name of the man who stole her from him. Jack stalks her at work and files through her cell phone number listings, desperately trying to find out the name of her new love interest, and, in the process, even accusing his father of being the man in question.
This unhealthy, obsessive trait within Jack is new to the viewer, though one could have expected such a weakness given his stubbornness (as Juliet accurately points out) as well as the numerous times Jack’s father, Christian, told him that he had trouble letting go. And that’s what this episode, at least from Jack’s psychological standpoint, was all about.
At the very end, when Jack finally has the chance to learn the name of Sarah’s new lover, he instead asks if she is happy. For Jack, this is a major change. He may still love Sarah but he realizes that if he does care for her this much, all that matters now is her happiness. Jack has finally liberated himself from his obsession. At the same time, he gives in to Juliet (this time for real) by sitting in the corner of the room so she can safely give him food, but Jack, for now, has seemingly been drained emotionally – good job, Juliet, indeed.
But the most interesting aspect of Jack’s flashback is once again his father. Guilt is a word that quickly comes to mind.
Christian turned out to be the weakest Shephard, but he was attempting to battle his alcohol addiction. Jack snapping at the AA meeting, essentially telling him how terrible a father he has been and then physically attacking him, sent Christian down a road of no return – operating on a pregnant patient while intoxicated (and killing her and the unborn), losing his job, and heading to Australia, where he ultimately drank himself to death.
This is not to say that Christian’s fate wouldn’t have led him down a similar path if Jack had acted differently, but it was the cause in this instance; Jack lives with this burden. Sarah's last line - "look at the bright side, at least you have something to fix" – was powerful and heartbreaking because we know that Jack could not fix his dad.
So Subtle It's Probably Meaningless:
Either Jack Bender is a fantastically detailed and virtuoso director, or I’m making nothing into something.
Check out these screen caps of Juliet (from the teaser) and Jack (from the final act) in “A Tale of Two Cities.”
The split/blurred/disjointed or whatever-you-want-to-call imagery here seems almost purposeful and telling. They are such similar shots that one wonders if this is foreshadowing a potential bond between Juliet and Jack.
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