Not in Portland

"Not in Portland"
Season	3
Episode number	7
Airdate(s)	February 7, 2007
Flashback	Juliet
Days	73
Writer	Carlton Cuse Jeff Pinkner
Director	Stephen Williams
Guests	Zeljko Ivanek - Edmund Burke M.C. Gainey - Tom Michael Bowen - Danny Pickett Blake Bashoff - Karl Nestor Carbonell - Richard Alpert William Mapother - Ethan Rom Tania Raymonde - Alex Robin Weigert - Rachel
Co-stars	Rob McElhenney - Aldo Kimberly Estrada - Sherry Ariston Green - Jason Steven Labrash - morgue employee Teddy Wells - Ivan
Transcript	Not in Portland transcript

Not in Portland was the seventh episode in Season 3 of Lost, and episode 54 of the series. It was the first episode that follows the season's opening "miniseason" and subsequent 13-week broadcasting hiatus. The broadcast of "Not in Portland" was preceded by a new recap episode titled "Lost Survivor Guide".

While Jack is in command as the fate of Ben's life rests in his hands, Kate and Sawyer help Alex in return for a boat, and Juliet makes a shocking decision that could endanger her standing with her people.

Synopsis

Flashback

The Miami skyline

Juliet sits on a beach, crying, as the sun sets over the water. Heading inside a bleakly lit corridor, she passes Ethan, who gives her a "hello". Inside a candle lit room, Juliet finds a woman sleeping. Using a zippered kit, she removes a syringe and fills it with a substance marked A4993-E3. The woman then awakes, and Juliet discusses treating her, not because she is her doctor, but because she is her sister. After injecting her sister whom she calls "Rachel", Juliet draws back the curtains, to reveal not the Island, but Miami.

In a series of flashback sequences, we are introduced to a younger, meeker Juliet. This younger Juliet is easily recognized by her curly hair. (The older Juliet we are familiar with on the Island has straight hair and a strong, self-confident personality.)

In the first sequence, the younger Juliet sneaks into the Miami Central University Medical Research Laboratory after hours. She gets a call from Diana, a secretary at Mittelos, and "Dr. Burke" as she is called confirms her appointment to see Dr. Alpert the following day. Inside the lab room, Juliet pockets several bottles of the medicine she previously used on her sister, but is interrupted by a man and woman entering the room, flirting and caressing each other. Juliet hides, but her cell phone once more rings, giving herself away instantly. The man moves over, and after Juliet makes up a story as to why she is there, he introduces Sherry to Juliet Burke, his ex-wife. He asks Juliet to leave, and to shut the lights off.

Juliet watching the slide of a womb CT sequence.

Some time later, returning to work, Juliet studies genetic data on her computer, but is interrupted by Sherry, who besides being involved with her ex is also an employee, and is asked to see Dr. Edmund Burke immediately. In his office, Edmund reveals that he is fully aware of what she has been doing and suspects that the patient is her sister. He wants to collaborate as her findings could change the face of medical science, making both of them rich. Juliet is given little option with the threat from Edmund that refusal could mean ethical and even legal scrutiny.

Juliet attends her meeting with Dr. Alpert from Mittelos Bioscience, who is presenting a slide show about their facilities in Portland, Oregon, in the hope of recruiting her as a head of department. His pitch of independent funding and research freedom intrigues Juliet, who asks why they are interested in her. Alpert talks about Juliet's research, managing to impregnate a male field mouse, clearly impressed with her work.

Rachel's positive pregnancy test.

He asks her to examine a slide of a womb CT sequence. Juliet assesses that it is a human womb, and judging by the scan, most likely of a barren patient in her 70s. However, she is told that the woman is in fact just 26 years old, and that she could find out why if she worked with them. However, Juliet begins to cry, stating that her ex-husband would never let her go, jokingly saying that short of getting hit by a bus, she was bound to him. Apologizing, she leaves, adding that she is no leader.

Back at home, Juliet tells her sister about the interview and her feelings of failure, but is shocked to learn that she has not failed, and that Rachel is pregnant. Rachel has the box and instructions for a Widmore Home Pregnancy Kit on the table. With the resolve that all she must do now is get healthy again, Rachel and Juliet embrace, and talk about confronting Edmund.

Edmund's last moment.

Juliet finds Edmund talking on his cell phone to his mother outside the lab. She tells him that Rachel is pregnant, but refuses to allow collaboration and testing on her own sibling. As Edmund argues, he steps out onto the street and is hit by a bus.

Ethan is introduced to Juliet.

Juliet goes to the morgue to identify Edmund's body and sign paperwork. The doctor leaves her alone and she starts to cry. She is interrupted by the appearance of Ethan and Dr. Alpert. She half recognizes Ethan, and then begins to think back to her interview where she had spoken about Edmund getting hit by a bus. Alpert brushes off the comment, saying he doesn't recall, and that Juliet must still be in shock, she cannot be blaming herself for that "tragic accident". He reveals knowing about her sister because of their "very thorough recruitment process" and asks once more for Juliet to come to Portland, just for six months. Juliet asks whether she can bring her sister, but Alpert admits it may be difficult for her to get her treatment at such a remote facility, as it is in fact "not quite in Portland".

At the Hydra

Kate and Sawyer escape the cages area.

In the Hydra surgery room, Jack uses the walkie to tell Kate to leave the island with Sawyer and contact him when she's safe with the story he told her when they first met. With the Others' attention drawn for the moment, they attack and knock out Pickett and Jason, not before Sawyer electrocutes Pickett with the food button. They escape the cages, locking the Others themselves inside. Back in surgery, Juliet calls Jack's bluff and instructs Ivan to get Danny and recapture Austen and Ford, authorizing them to kill if necessary. Juliet tells Jack that they can't escape because they are on a separate island. This only angers Jack, who reveals how Juliet had asked him to kill Ben. Though she denies it, Tom orders Juliet to leave the room.

Sawyer and Alex enter her hideout.

While Ivan releases Danny and Jason, Kate and Sawyer make it to the beach and call Jack to ask for help in getting a boat. Danny and the two Others catch up, however, chasing them into the woods and destroying the walkie in the crossfire. Sawyer runs out of ammo and Kate is about to get shot by Jason when Alex sling-shots him and motions for Kate and Sawyer to follow her. She brings them to a hole covered by a grass facade.

Ben wakes up and overhears Tom confronting Jack about Juliet's betrayal. Ben asks that Juliet be brought to him, and Tom fetches her.

Kate, Sawyer and Alex leave their hiding place. Alex says there is no tunnel to the main island but that she will take them to a boat if they help her rescue her boyfriend, Karl, who is being held prisoner somewhere on the island.

Ben talking to Jack after he woke up.

Ben congratulates Jack on his ploy and then asks to speak to Juliet alone. Jack and Tom watch from the observation room but cannot hear what Ben and Juliet discuss. Tom says that Ben and Juliet "have history". Juliet comes out, tears in her eyes, and asks Jack to finish the surgery. In return, Juliet will help his friends escape.

Juliet then goes to the TV room where she looks for Kate and Sawyer. She zooms in to find out that they are with Alex.

Alex brings Sawyer and Kate to another part of the Hydra compound in the jungle. An other named Aldo is sitting guard outside, reading Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time," and Alex approaches, claiming to have captured Kate and Sawyer. As they argue about "her dad" not wanting her to be there, Sawyer knocks him over and mocks him for falling for the "ol' Wookiee prisoner gag."

Karl in Room 23.

Kate threatens to shoot Aldo in the knee (she tells Sawyer later that she wasn't bluffing), so he reveals that Karl is at the end of the hall in Room 23. Kate knocks him out and they break into the room, where Karl is strapped to a chair with an IV in his arm and LED glasses on his face. He is being forced to watch a video with strange flashing images, text, and sounds. Sawyer is momentarily entranced by the video but Kate snaps him out of it. They remove Karl from his chair, and Sawyer carries him out over his shoulder.

Danny and company find Aldo, just as Juliet catches up with them after monitoring Kate and Sawyer's location from the Hydra video feeds. She tells Danny about her new orders to let them leave, but Danny counters that Ben would rather die than let them go.

Danny's dead body, after he was shot by Juliet.

Jack continues the surgery. He asks Tom why they didn't take Ben off the island for surgery. Tom starts to say something about when the "sky turned purple" but is interrupted when Jack accidentally snags an artery.

The fugitives load Karl onto Alex's small canoe. Sawyer comments on Alex being the "boss' daughter", and she acknowledges this. Danny arrives, ready to kill Sawyer, but before he can do so, Juliet appears, shooting him several times in the chest. Juliet tells them to leave on the boat, but that Alex must stay behind because that's the only way Ben will let Karl live. Alex agrees, saying goodbye to Karl. Juliet gives Kate her walkie-talkie.

Kate, Sawyer and Karl leave the Hydra Island.

The surgery is interrupted by Kate on the walkie-talkie informing Jack that they have a boat and are being let go by Juliet. Jack makes her tell him the story he told her when they first met, about how he conquered his fear when first surgery was in jeopardy, by counting to five. The story focuses Jack and he is able to stabilize Ben. He makes Kate promise never to come back for him, and Sawyer, Kate, and Karl reluctantly sail back to the main island in the canoe as Alex and Juliet watch on.

Juliet returns to the station, and meets Jack in the observation room. He asks what will happen now that he has removed the tumor for Ben, and Juliet says he'll go back to his cell until they figure out what to do with him. Jack demands to know what Ben said to make Juliet want to save his life, and she reveals that she has been on the island for 3 years, 2 months, and 28 days, and that Ben told her if she co-operated and he lived, he would let her go home. Juliet becomes emotional and leaves the room.

Trivia

General

• The medicine Juliet tests on her sister is labeled "TEST SAMPLE A4993-E3".
• When Juliet opens the curtains in Miami, a plane with the Oceanic logo flies by.
• Rachel's pregnancy test is from Widmore.
• On the table next to Rachel's pregnancy kit is a copy of Glass Patterns Quarterly, 1998 Vol. 14, No. 1 Spring-Magazine. [1]
• Juliet says she has been on the island for 3 years, 2 months, and 28 days, which would make her arrival time September 5th, 2001. This date is within a few months of Desmond's arrival.
• In Edmund Burke's office a sailing trophy can be clearly seen.
• The bus that hits Edmund has an ad for Apollo candy bars.
• This is the first episode to feature a flashback centered around an Other.

Production notes

• Charlie, Claire, Desmond, Hurley, Jin, Locke, Nikki, Paulo, Sayid, and Sun do not appear in this episode.
• In an interview, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse state that there are two easter eggs in the episode.
  • They fail to elaborate on the first. Possibilities include the page Aldo is looking at in his A Brief History of Time book, which refers to a theory on black holes, or the backwards speech in the room 23 video.
  • The latter easter egg they identify as an anagram, which may shed light on the Adam and Eve mystery and the wider Lost mythology. However, so far the only discovered anagram is Mittelos, which translates to "Lost Time". This was confirmed in the 02/12/07 Podcast.
  • In the Bible, Genisis 23 (perhaps a reference to Room 23) describes Abraham purchasing land for his wife Sarah to be buried, in the future family plot of the Tomb of Machpelah, also known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs. (Hebrew: מערת המכפלה)
    • Later, Abraham is buried there by Isaac and Ishmael. (Gen. 25: 7-10) Isaac is buried there (Gen. 35:27-29) as is Rebekah. (Gen. 49:31) Jacob is presumed to be buried there with Leah as a fufillment of Joseph's promise.(Gen. 49:31)

Notes

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/machpelah.html

Bloopers and continuity errors

• Contrary to the opening shot of Juliet's flashback - there are no sandy beaches across from the section of the Miami skyline shown from Rachel's room.
• In Juliet's flashback, presumably taking place several years before 2006, she carries a handbag from the 2006 J.Crew collection. This bag also appears in "One of Us".
• After Ben's Surgery when we see him lying on the operating table all patched up and Jack and Juliet are in the observation room, the rate of his pulse is audible which sounds normal, but on the screen of the monitor it shows his pulse still above normal at around 180+ bpm.

Room 23

• Karl is being subjected to some kind of psychological conditioning in room 23. (Psychology)
• In the Room 23 video, pictures of Alvar Hanso and Gerald DeGroot can be seen.
• In the Room 23 video, a 1921 US coin is seen, with the old US motto "E pluribus Unum" (From many, one). In 1956 it was changed to "In God We Trust". This coin is shown in the screen with the super imposed words "Everything Changes".
• When the scene in Room 23 is played backwards, a woman's voice can be heard clearly amongst the flashing images and sounds repeating "only fools are enslaved by time and space." [2] (Time)
• Many slides in room 23 show close-ups of dolls, fish and women's eyes. (Eyes)

• In the Room 23 video, there are close ups of a picnic table and swings - both featured in The Beginning of the End during Hurley's flashforward.

Recurring themes

• Juliet works in "Research Lab A-4" which requires an access card with "Security level 5". (The Numbers)
• Karl was held in Room 23. (The Numbers)
• Ben asks Jack for "3 minutes" since he has only "27 minutes to live". (Time)
• The book, A Brief History of Time. (Time)
• Dr. Alpert asks Juliet to work for him for six months. (Time)
• Diana confirms with Juliet that her appointment is at 2 o'clock. (Time)
• Karl is being held captive. (Imprisonment)  (Isolation)
• Alex and Karl are forcibly separated. (Pairings)
• Alex, Kate and Sawyer use a mock capture to find Karl. (Deceptions and cons)
• Juliet gives the exact length of her stay on the island: 3 years, 2 months and 28 days. (Time)
• Juliet impulsively says she wishes Edmund to be hit by a bus, and he actually dies that way soon after she says it. (Fate versus free will)
• Mittelos is an anagram for "lost time". (Time)
• Pickett is killed by Juliet. (Life and death)
• Edmund Burke is hit and killed by a bus. (Life and death) (Car accidents)
• Both Juliet's sister and the 26-year old woman are pregnant. (Pregnancy)
• The main object of Juliet's research involves promoting pregnancy in adverse conditions and the study of pre-natal abnormalities. (Life and death)
• Alex must stay behind, or her father (purportedly Ben) will have Karl killed. (Parent issues)
• Juliet injected Rachel with 4cl of the drug labeled "TEST SAMPLE A4993-E3". (The Numbers)
• Sawyer calls Alex "Sheena", "Lollipop", and "Underdog". (Nicknames)
• Ben’s heart monitor displays the number 108. (The Numbers)

Cultural references

• A Brief History of Time. Aldo is reading this book by Stephen Hawking. Published in 1988, it was a landmark volume in science writing and in world-wide acclaim and popularity. (Books)
• Star Wars. Sawyer tells Aldo that he's the victim of the "Wookiee Prisoner Gag". (Movies and TV)
• A Clockwork Orange. The Room 23 set up is reminiscent of the Ludovico technique in this film . (Movies and TV)
• The Prisoner. The Room 23 set up is also reminiscent of this cult 60's TV show episode A Change of Mind. (Movies and TV)
• Edmund Burke is yet another philosopher's name thrown in the universe of Lost. (Philosophy)
• The Bible.
  • Rachel (Juliet's sister) who is being treated for fertility problems shares her name with the Biblical character Rachel who also initially had fertility problems (Genesis 30:1). Rachel was also the favored wife of Jacob. (Religion)
  • One of the video clips in Room 23 showed a slide with the words "God loves you just as He loved Jacob". When these Jacob's frames are on the screen, the background shows a staircase - a clear reference to the biblic story of Jacob's Stairway To Heaven. (Religion)
• Yin and yang. A yin-yang symbol appears in Juliet and Rachel's apartment. (Religion)
• Buddhism.
  • One frame in the room 23 slides shows a black and white Buddha. (Religion)
  • A Room 23 video frame has the phrase "Plant a good seed and you will joyfully gather fruit", which is from the Buddhist text Dhammapada. Some of other sayings also appear to resemble Buddhist precepts such as the Four Noble Truths. (Religion)
• Windmills of the Gods. The way in which Juliet's ex-husband dies -- and she is swayed into taking the job offer -- is very similar to the plot in this book by Sidney Sheldon. (Books)
• Felicity Additionally, on the first season of this other J.J. Abrams show, a pivotal character was struck in exactly the same manner, from the same direction, though he miraculously survived. (Movies and TV)
• Carrie, the Stephen King novel that Juliet and the book club were reading in "A Tale of Two Cities", appears again on Rachel's bedside table. It features a young girl with secret telekinetic powers. (Books)
• Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. Sawyer calls Alex Sheena,. Sheena is a jungle-dwelling comic book character, able to communicate with the wild animals. She was fiercely proficient in fighting with knives, spears, and bows, and improvised with makeshift weapons. She appeared in her own TV-series (1955-1956). (Movies and TV)
  • In "The Long Con" it was Kate, who was called "Sheena" by Sawyer
• Underdog. Sawyer refers to Alex as "Underdog", the main character from this children’s cartoon TV show. The cute puppy Underdog could transform himself into a superhero every time someone was in trouble. The TV series aired from 1964 to 1973. (Movies and TV)
• Cheech & Chong. Karl is called "Cheech" by Sawyer. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong were a comedy duo who found a wide audience in the 1970s and 1980s for their stand-up routines, which were based upon the era's hippie, free love and especially drug culture movements. The duo released a number of successful comedy albums, and starred in a series of low-budget films. (Movies and TV)
  • Cheech Marin also plays David Reyes in Lost

Storyline analysis

• The rivalry between Pickett and Sawyer is resolved with Pickett's death. (Rivalries#Pickett vs. Sawyer)
• Juliet is offered a position to lead a group of scientists, but she says she "isn't a leader". (Leadership#Juliet)
• The A-Mission to escape Hydra Island has been accomplished. (A-Missions#Escaping Hydra Island)
• Alex is willing to let Sawyer and Kate use her boat if they help her find Karl. (Economics#Capitalism (Sawyer))

Literary techniques

• Juliet impulsively says she wishes Edmund to be hit by a bus, and he actually dies that way soon after she says it. (Irony)
• Both Juliet's sister and the 26-year old woman are pregnant. (Juxtaposition)

Medical plot devices

The actual medical terms and procedures used are not very accurate.[3]

• To diagnose a spinal tumour, an MRI or CT scan is needed, not an X-ray. And to even try and use an X-ray, two views are needed, AP and lateral (Jack only saw an AP chest film)
• If Ben were "one week" away from death, he would have had more noticeable symptoms: nerve problems arising from spinal cord compression, including paralysis, paraesthesia, loss of sympathetic tone, malaise, weight loss, loss of appetite, weakness, fatigue, etc.
• When Ben was on the operating table, he was ‘anaesthetised’ by Jack, who asked him to count to 20. Ben wasn’t even intubated. Without intubation Jack can’t monitor basic respiratory functions, such as CO2 build up - and has no method of ensuring prolonged sedation (gaseous agents are used continuously via secure airway). Further, Ben will not be able to breathe as the muscle relaxants effectively stop his diaphragm from moving - To survive the surgery, he would have needed to be on some sort of positive controlled ventilation
• The small incision in the "kidney sac" would not have had the effect that the show claimed. Kidneys are retro-peritoneal organs, and their containing sac is just an thin epithelial layer - there is no major blood supply to it - nor is it vital that it remains intact. A small incision will affect neither the kidney’s function nor cause any significant haemorrhage.
• The one-hour time limit was fictional. The kidney does have receptors and nervous mechanisms for detecting and controlling blood pressure via negative feedback loops, but making a ‘nick’ in the cortex of the kidney would not initiate any response in blood pressure.
• There was not enough blood loss to affect blood pressure. Humans can lose up to 15% of blood volume (about 750ml in a 70kg man) before blood pressure even begins to drop. Normal BP is 120/80. But on the show, Ben’s blood pressure drops to 60 systolic, which would be almost fatal. To maintain that low a level for an hour, would be virtually impossible. Someone actually reaching a blood pressure of less than 60 would normally enter Stage IV haemodynamic shock, losing over 40% of blood volume (about 2 litres). Jack would have needed at least 4 cross-matched units of blood to resuscitate Ben

Episode references

• Jack tells Juliet she has "three minutes" to speak with Ben on the operating table. She shortly thereafter kills one of her own people. This parallels the episode "Three Minutes", where Ms. Klugh tells Michael he has "three minutes" to talk to Walt, and shortly thereafter Michael kills Ana Lucia and Libby.

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Not in Portland/Theories

• What was Ethan doing in the building immediately before Juliet visits her sister for the first time?

External links

• Episode Press Release