You have to approach Lost like a blind date: expect nothing and you’ll be pleasantly surprised when the guy has all of his teeth. There’s probably still a boil on his butt, but you won’t see that until the second date, and it might clear up by then.
Last night’s episode, “Not in Portland”, was significantly different than what we’ve seen since about halfway through season two. People took action instead of arguing about it. People shared information. The story finally moved forward.
Kate and Sawyer immediately burst into action at the cages and later made a near instant choice to trust Alex as their best hope of getting back to their island. Normally, there would have been a commercial break just as Alex showed up, then they would have stood around discussing whether she could be trusted or not.
In the operating room, Jack ratted out Juliet’s plot to kill Ben, and again, action was taken immediately. Very little time was wasted in this episode. That’s called good pacing.
Juliet’s flashbacks were minimal, appearing in short bursts, and were directly related to the island. The most striking aspect of “Not in Portland” was the drastic change in Juliet’s character from who she was in Miami and who she is on the island. How does someone go from being a weeping mass, incapable of standing up for herself, to a cold, calculating killer, completely in charge of her emotions?
At the end, when Jack asks what was said between her and Ben in the operating room, she says “I’ve been here for three years, two months and twenty-eight days. If I do what he asks, he’ll let me go home.” In that moment, Juliet showed a little of that weeping mass she used to be, and that alone is what makes me believe her.
The only real problem I have is the addition of Alex and Karl to the cast, which is already huge. Sure, Alex is pretty, like all the women on the island are pretty, and Karl could potentially do some damage after going through his Clockwork Orange behavior modification therapy, which could be interesting. But, I miss Hurley and Locke and want to see more Desmond. Naked Desmond.
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Lisa Fary's earliest influences are Princess Leia, Rainbow Bright, Astronaut Barbie, and her 6th grade teacher, Ms. Palmer. She's angry that it's 2011 and she still doesn't have a hovercraft, but will accept a jetpack as consolation. That jetpack had better be pink with a rhinestone monogram. 
Finaly a good Lost!