3x15, "Left Behind" & 3x16, "One of Us"

I'm gonna bang these out for reasons I'll get to in a bit. Unfortunately I'm a bit too hazy on "Left Behind" to give a full accounting of it, but I'll do my best.

3x15, Left Behind

While officially this was a Kate episode, it was really all about Sawyer: on the Beach, Hurley conned him into softening up, while in the flashback we saw one woman he already left behind and another he would eventually leave behind come together.

The connection among the three is deceptively rich. Ignore the linear order of events and look toward the meaning the future can give the past. In a roundabout way, Kate not getting over her mother issue redeemed Sawyer's leaving Cassidy. Not able to get the apology she needed from her mother, Kate told Cassidy she'd never forgive her for turning her in. That gave Cassidy solace that even if Sawyer would never forgive her she could still live with it, the way Kate's mother does. But by doing so, Cassidy placed Sawyer in the position he would eventually use to win the reward he would leave for her child. So while in Island time, Kate and Sawyer were on the outs, she unknowingly ended up helping him in the past. It's one of the finest examples of a "LOST Connection" -- one that has more to do with the meaning of live together, die alone than any conspiracy theory.

*The Monster: Have we finally seen how the monster can be beat? Might someone activate the sonic fence just as the Monster crosses it, disrupting it into pieces? Notice also three separate strands of smoke came together to form Smokey this time around, further backing up the theory that the Cerberus mentioned on the Blast Door Map is indeed the name of the Monster since in Greek mythology Cerberus has three heads.

And I'm finally all caught up....

3x16, One of Us

*I usually hate the episodes dedicated toward giving answers, but this one was great:
-How do they know so much about the Losties?
They watch TV (and probably use The Google.)

-How did Juliet or anyone for that matter get to the Island?
The sub.

-Why do they kidnap the children?
They can't have any of their own.

-Why did they kidnap Claire?
To continue Juliet's experiments.

-Is Juliet a spy for The Others?
Yes... but she probably has her own agenda and will end up betraying both Ben and Jack to get off the Island.

*The story itself was also pretty straight-forward but elevated by Michael Emmerson and Elizabeth Mitchell's superb acting -- restrained when it needed to be, just about to boil when it was appropriate. I really hope Mitchell's character doesn't die anytime soon.

We got to see the tipping point in Ben and Juliet's relationship when she finally had enough of him after he tantalized her with footage of her sister and nephew, only to take it away and force her to continue the experiments. A great moment, just like the three minutes Michael has with Walt, that communicates exactly what's at stake for Juliet -- and prepares us that she'll do anything to get it.

*"I'm not a liar!" Ah, so we've finally found Ben's weakness: call him a liar and he'll do everything he can to prove you wrong. I wonder if his "archetype" is the liar and he'll only resolve his own issues once he truly realizes what a monster he is.

Next week: I HAVE NO IDEA! (I'm on a spoiler fast.) I'll be out of the country starting Friday night and not coming back till the following Saturday morning so I will be totally missing out on next week's episode. Brian K. Vaugahn's is either the next one or the one after that. Go Team Comix!