We really don't know enough about the healing properties of the island to make that assumption. Ben seemed as surprised as anyone that he had a tumor.

If the island (or Smokie or whatever is healing people) happens to have some form of sentience, then there may be a real purpose for the tumor. Keep in mind also, that Locke lost he ability to walk momentarily in Season One. The healing may be contingent on the mental state of the person.

Just guessing.

Great episode...but I still find it hard to believe they would all choose to stay on the beach rather than in the air conditioned Other's houses with fridges, toilets, etc. I would think that taking over their camp would be first order of business now that the Others have left (as far as they know). :)

Come ON!!! The producers have out and out said that we won't be seeing Locke or his father until episode 19. How can people still be going into these episodes expecting to see them and then be disappointed when they don't? It came from the fucking HORSE'S MOUTH, PEOPLE!

Besides ... it's not as if they have simply forgotten the storyline, a la Logan in 24 ... these characters have actually been written out of the show momentarily and Ben said they would return in a week's island time, or roughly the time between now and episode 19.

One other thing to consider regarding Ben's tumor. Apparantly this 'Jacob' has some pretty impressive abilities (supernatural or otherwise) since he was apparantly able to cure Julliete's sister's cancer, away from the island. If he has that ability, perhaps he can cause cancer, as well.

Ben didn't really seem totally surprised he had a tumor. He appeared to be considering the possibilities when he heard the news. He might have realized that Jacob caused it for whatever reason.

There's still so much we don't know about what's going on, the possibilites are endless. Fun show (again).

Just out of curiosity, what episode number was this one?

Someboby's cranky today. :sad:

I never see what they say.

Season 3, Episode 16.

Thought this was very entertaining. Sawyer = MORAL? What a switch.

I still don't trust Juliet, I believe she is playing both sides. Her loyalty seems so questionable. Not sure just what her motive is.

Looking forward to the rest of the season.

Juliet might still be holding a grudge against Jack for not going along with her original plan (kill Ben on the operating table) and outing her.

Mikhail - I forget what he told Locke, Sayid, and Kate about Dharma/the Others...but he seems like he WAS with Dharma initially, doesn't he? He must've actually been restricted to that building and the area around it. Because Ben sure seemed a bit afraid that he would shoot him. Maybe the Others needed that communications equipment, but Dharma were the ones who rigged it with C4, in case they lost the "battle?"

I think she's definitely playing both sides. Now that she's seen her sister and nephew doing so well, I think she'll do everything she can to get off the island.

I hope this is the case because as a poster mentioned last week or the week before, it really is too obvious if they use this mole plot line over again.

If you really want to know:

I've got some flashback updates for all:

Any Other-centric episode is a :down: for me. Boring characters, bad actors. Trying too hard to be "mysterious".

Great episode.

I thought that the Mittleos guy's reference to Juliet's time on the island passing fast would be another allusion to the island being on a different timeframe than the real world (like island time is 5 times as fast or something), but time seemed to be in sync when Ben showed Juliet her sister.

I agree with those that think Juliet has to be playing Ben as well. If her flashbacks are accurate, she obviously wants nothing more than to get off the island and isn't thrilled with Ben denying her so many times. This would make her then-secret pact with Jack to kill Ben authentic, rather than a ploy by her and Ben which was suggested as a possibility at the time.

It's probable that she realizes the only way Ben is going to let her leave is if she figures out the fertility issue with Sun.

Also, I'm fuzzy on Alex's origin. How do she and Danielle fit into the fertility issue, if she was born on the island and taken by the Others?

I really liked the big exhale by Juliet after her conversation with Sayid and Sawyer over the briefcase. Now, I still would have kicked her ass into submission until she told me what the hell was going on, but I liked that they do make her character not just robotic in what she's doing. She knew that was risky and seemed actually surprised that it worked. I'm really pissed that they're letting her slide without these answers though, especially Sayid.

I thought he was going to break Jack's neck when he said that she was "under his protection." And then in the town meeting, he basically said that he can wait for answers. WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY WAITING FOR? On one hand, I liked that they're at least mentioning that everybody should be pissed and ready to kill her, but to then go soft and not do anything is just a cop out.

Real good episode though. Jack is just getting out of hand, I miss Locke to serve as his counterpoint when he's being idiotic.

:lol: Yeah, I do my best to stay away from Lost spoilers. I only happened upon the one I mentioned earlier because I could stop reading AA fast enough (don't ask :lol: ).

Anyways, this episode, like most, seemed to fly by way too quick. I liked it, but then I came here :). However, after reading some of the comments and speculation here, my thoughts about Jack have changed.

Then again, it was you guys that made me think that way about Jack in the first place, so...;)

My take on the events:

Juliet's sister's cancer NEVER came back while Juliet was on the island. All Ben did is show Juliet some charts. There was no confirmation the cancer came back.

When Ben decided to show Juliet her sister and child happily playing, she was "cured" of a cancer she never had (again).

Now, Ben holds sway over Juliet and Juliet thinks these islanders really got something going on here.

Agreed.

I have to agree also as Ben is the master manipulator. Everything he says has an endgame attached to it and is said to better benefit him and his surroundings.

Can we believe any of what Juliet told Jack & Kate about Claire & Ethan? Is there some truth sprinkled in?

Since they implanted her with something to make Juliet look like a hero, do we believe the injections they were giving her was keeping her alive, or that Ethan kidnapped her on his own? If not was Juliet just doing research on Claire or something else?

Yeah. I have the same questions. I think most of what she said is suspect at this point. Which is kinda frustrating since it felt like we were getting answers for a while. Now anything that Juliet said has to be taken with a grain of salt.

I think some of what she said jives with her flashback. Obviously there are fertility issues on the island and their interest in Claire makes more sense now. But did they take her to help save her life or to conduct experiemnts on her for their own benefit? Hard to say at this point.

But the islanders really do have something there. We know there's some healing aspect involved somewhere with the island (Locke, maybe Rose), whether its Jacob or the island itself. The Others also seem to have superior strength. Based on Juliette's flashback, I find it hard to believe she'd be capable of beating down Kate like she did last week if she wasn't on the island.

So do you think Ben is lying just about Juliette's sister to manipulate her, even though all of this other stuff is going on? I think he's on the level with that. But then, I thought Juliette was on the level, too.

I wonder who the hell was the guy in the states (Richard) supposedly shooting live video of Juliet's sister and child at the park. Ben then asks Richard to get back there as soon as he can. Makes me think there is (or was) an established method to leaving the island and getting back to it when needed.

Richard is the Mittelos Bio guy that recruited Juliet and was with Ben when they showed Locke his dad.