s3e07: Not in Portland

After the lame episode that was "I Do," and the massive hiatus that followed, it's about time we got a pretty good episode that didn't rely on jerk-you-around twists to be interesting. I'm not even sure when the last one of those was, frankly; mid-first season?

The flashback centers on Juliet, who it turns out has not been on the island that long. She used to work as a medical researcher in Miami, and then Dharma (I would assume) got wind of what she was doing (Ethan apparently was in town checking her out) and invited her to Portland. And then they were all, "Well, not quite Portland. More like, Mysterious Island Somewhere in the Pacific." This episode's title is one of the most accurate ever, since nothing in it takes place within 3,000 miles of Portland.

Jack continues to huff and puff around the operating room. Juliet calls his bluff about letting Benry Gale die - Jack, these people have reams of research on you! You don't think they know how much you hate when your patients die? - then orders Pickett to chase down the escaped Kate and Sawyer. And then Benry talks to her and she does the opposite - just as we hit the inevitable Pickett/Sawyer showdown, Juliet shows up and blows Pickett away. Which was utterly predictable because you knew one of those two had to die and it wasn't going to be Sawyer. In other Others news, Alex is all rebellious again and Kate and Sawyer help her pull her gomer boyfriend out of some weird torture device out of A Clockwork Orange. Also, Tom reveals himself to be kind of a puss.

Questions:

1) Why is Benry suddenly cool with letting Kate and Sawyer go? Is he worried that Jack really would let him die if he didn't? For that matter, why is he suddenly cool with letting Juliet go? (Assuming that he's actually cool with it, of course.) And why does letting her go depend on her letting other people go? Has Benry had a change of heart and suddenly thinks everyone should fly the coop? Too many episodes left for that, methinks.

2) So Benry is Alex's dad. Do we think this is literal Dad? As in, getting it on with Rousseau? I'm unconvinced. If Benry has lived on the island his whole life, as he told Jack, then either (a) Rousseau has told a whole bunch of lies about her past or (b) Alex was brainwashed as a youth into thinking Benry was her father. If (b) is the case, why is she so rebellious now? I had thought that much of her behavior was predicated on knowing that she was kidnapped as a child, but now I'm not sure.

If he's her literal dad, this opens up many many cans of worms. For example, recall from s2e14 that Rousseau captured Benry and brought him to Jack and co. Well, if Rousseau and Benry know each other... sort of a problem, yes? And that doesn't really reconcile with Rousseau saving Claire from the Others. I don't think this is the way they'll go, but who ever knows with this show?

Jack stitching Benry up thanks to Kate's tearful recollection of his story from the pilot was probably the best moment of the season so far. There, I said it. Let's hope for more of those in the remaining 15 weeks.