"Lost" Diary -- One of Us

Last week I asked you guys about your favorite connection between two castaways. A lot of you went with Jack and Claire as siblings. That one is OK, but I have to go with Libby in the insane asylum with Hurley. I still want an answer to that one.

For all of you "Lost" Diary newbies, here's how it goes. I gather with a group of friends watching "Lost," writing what happens on the show as it happens, and throwing in my two cents along the way. This week I am with Ari, Lauren and April. Lauren had two glasses of wine beforehand, so I don't think she'll be contributing anything meaningful tonight. Let's roll:

10:00 -- Jack and Kate decide to go get firewood, leaving Sayid and Juliet behind. Do you think they'll exchange pleasantries or will Sayid just go straight into interrogation mode?

10:01 -- The correct answer was "interrogation mode." I'm glad Sayid doesn't believe in verbal foreplay.

10:02 -- Before Juliet's flashback starts, I have to say I am beyond excited for a Juliet backstory. She's a converted Other, who obviously isn't quite with the program. I am dying to see how she first got to the island, when she realized what was really going on, when she found out she wasn't allowed to leave, and what happened to turn her into a mega-bitch. If one or more of those things isn't answered, I can't see how this episode can get any better than a D from me. Alright, on with the flashback.

10:03 -- Not much time has passed since we last saw Juliet in her flashback, and it's our first glimpse at what is probably a Hanso Foundation building -- with security to the max. No shocker there. Juliet says she won't fit in there, and Lauren says it's because of her perm. Women.

10:04 -- "If I told you who I was, if I told you everything that I know, you'd kill me." -- Juliet.

10:04 -- "What do you think I'd do if you don't." -- Sayid. I got three words for you: IT IS ON!!!

10:05 -- Wow, ok, so Jack is immediately taking Juliet's side over Sayid's. To call Jack's loyalties "flexible" would be an understatement. He's the kind of guy in college who would completely ditch his friends once he started dating some hot sorority chick. Then when she cheated on him and broke up with him, he'd come to hang out and just say, "What's up?" -- like nothing ever happened. Hated those guys.

10:08 -- Claire is getting sick. Does this have anything to do with the mysterious "sickness" from last season?

10:09 -- So when Juliet described the things "her people" did to Sayid and Kate, she mentioned handcuffing Sayid to a swing-set and handcuffing herself to Kate. Hey sister, that's the LEAST of what YOUR PEOPLE have done.

10:10 -- "Time flies once you're there," "you're going to want to be asleep for the trip" and "it can be kind of intense." Those are some serious WTF? lines right there.

10:11 -- "You created life, where life wasn't supposed to be." -- Alpert. I hate to reveal my inner geek, but wasn't that a line from "Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan"?

10:13 -- "Lost" gives me chills during moments that would seem completely ordinary to people who have never seen the show before. Watching Juliet meet Henry Gale for the first time was one of them. Goosebumps.

10:16 -- How many times can people on this island reunite with other people on this island with cheesy music playing in the background? This show is averaging like a reunion a week right now. Debate in the room: whether or not Sawyer is happy to see Jack. I say yes; Sawyer wanted no part of being the leader. That's not his style.

10:17 -- "What the hell is she doing here?" -- Sawyer. To be expected.

10:21 -- "I had the day off." -- Juliet. Pretty funny. One of the subtle ways you can tell a good episode of "Lost" is how many great quotes (not including stupid Sawyerisms) the show gives us. This is one is on fire right now.

10:22 -- "Hey you're a doctor, right? So how come I've been on this island for almost three months and I haven't lost any weight?" -- Hurley. OK, I made that one up.

10:23 -- So the scene between Juliet and Henry Gale got real interesting, real fast. Apparently Juliet was brought to the island because the women there die when they get pregnant; no real shocker there. Henry Gale says that Jacob said he would take care of Rachel's cancer himself. Who is this guy? He can cure cancer? Oh, and remember this line of Henry Gale's from two weeks ago: "I find out what he's emotionally invested it and then I exploit it." Juliet is emotionally invested in her sister, wouldn't you say?

10:26 -- "I want to ask you why you're fighting every single one of us and sticking up for one of them." -- Sawyer. Good question, James.

10:28 -- Juliet knows what's wrong with Claire. Of course she does, how else is she supposed to earn everyone's trust?

10:29 -- "Because I did it to her." -- Juliet. Convenient.

10:32 -- Juliet tells the long and wordy story of why Claire is sick, which fills in a few of the Ethan gaps from the previous seasons. Maybe he wasn't as crazy as we thought. Random question: remember when we first learned about the Others, they seemed to have superhuman strength -- what ever happened with that?

10:35 -- So Juliet and Goodwin were knocking boots. Juliet is nearing her three-year anniversary on the island and I might learn the answers to all my questions. I am downright giddy.

10:36 -- Another top notch scene between Juliet and Henry Gale. Did he cure Rachel's cancer? And if he is the grand wizard of cancer, why did he get it? Even he doesn't know. Is it possible that, in some way, the island gave him cancer as some kind of punishment? I know, I'm reaching.

10:42 -- Sayid and Sawyer trailed Juliet to the marked tree with the medical supplies. They aren't exactly the trusting type, and who can blame them?

10:43 -- Juliet's speech to Sayid and Sawyer just blew my mind. She just absolutely silenced them. And when she just reached down and took the case from Sawyer, that took cajones. She may still be evil, evil, evil -- but I love her. Serious kudos for that scene.

10:45 -- YES! I was so waiting for them to revisit the opening scene of season three. I love when flashbacks get all "Back to the Future II" on us and start showing the same scenes again, but giving us new info.

10:46 -- Hey, Mikhail is back. I kinda missed the guy. Quite the setup he has there.

10:47 -- Henry Gale kept his word. Rachel is still alive and she had a son. Juliet wants to leave so she can see her sister, but Henry won't let her because it wasn't "their agreement."

10:48 -- "Who knows? Maybe there is even one on that plane." -- Henry Gale.

10:49 -- Juliet returns to give Claire the shot. Honestly, I don't love or hate Claire -- I don't care which way this goes.

10:53-- And Claire is fine, which makes Charlie happy, which makes me mad. If he isn't going to die, I prefer he be miserable.

10:54 -- "You want to get off this island more than anything in the world. Makes you one of us." -- Jack, to Juliet.

10:56 -- Oh ...

10:57 -- ... my ...

10:58 -- ... God!

10:59 -- EVIL! EVIL! EVIL! EVIL!

11:00 -- "See you in a week." Henry Gale, to Juliet.

I am going to come right out and say it: this was a top five all-time episode for me. I have three reasons why:

1) This episode actually delivered in the way that it should have. I mentioned in the beginning that I had four questions about Juliet I wanted answered, and they actually got answered. There is something to be said for an episode of "Lost" giving you what you're expecting.

2) I counted six scenes that left me completely amazed: The whole sequence that revolved around Juliet coming to the island and meeting Henry Gale, Juliet and Henry Gale at the beach, when Henry Gale found out he had a tumor, when Henry Gale showed Juliet her sister, when Juliet lectured Sayid and Sawyer, and when we saw Juliet and Henry Gale discuss their plan. I don't know if any other episode can say that.

3) Let's say, for argument's sake, that "Lost" has 10 categories you would grade an episode in -- things like writing, acting, shocking moments, etc. This episode probably wouldn't get an A+ in any one of them, but it definitely would get at least a B+ in all of them. To me, there were no weaknesses. Put that together, and this episode is an A+ for me.

So what is Juliet after on the beach? Sun? Aaron? Claire? Is it possible that Jack is in on it? One minute Juliet hates Henry Gale, the next she is doing whatever he asks. I don't get it, but I love it.