Stranger in a Strange Land (Lost)

Infobox Television episode | Title = Stranger in a Strange Land
Series = Lost


Caption = Jack looking at the tail section survivors
Season = 3
Episode = 9
Airdate = February 21, 2007
Production = 309
Writer = Elizabeth Sarnoff &
Christina M. Kim
Director = Paris Barclay
Guests = Bai Ling
M.C. Gainey
Tania Raymonde
Blake Bashoff
Diana Scarwid
Kimberley Joseph
James Huang
Siwathep Sunapo
Shannon Chanhthanam
Episode list = "Lost" (season 3)
List of "Lost" episodes
Prev = Flashes Before Your Eyes
Next = Tricia Tanaka is Dead"Stranger in a Strange Land" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American drama television series "Lost", and the show's fifty-sixth episode overall. The episode was written by Elizabeth Sarnoff and Christina M. Kim, and directed by Paris Barclay. It first aired in the United States on February 21, 2007 on the American Broadcasting Company.

In the episode, Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly), Karl (Blake Bashoff), and James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway) continue to journey back to the beach camp, while Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) and Alex (Tania Raymonde) must save Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell) from execution. Flashbacks reveal the origin of Jack's tattoos. "Stranger in a Strange Land" garnered many negative reviews from critics, with many saying that it failed to answer any questions.

Plot

In flashbacks, Jack is in Phuket, Thailand where he meets a local woman named Achara (Bai Ling); the two soon enter into a sexual relationship. After finding out that she owns a tattoo parlor, Jack demands that she give him a tattoo. Achara is hesitant to give him a tattoo because he is not a member of her religion, but she does so anyway and tells him there will be consequences. The next morning, he is beaten up by her brother and other locals and told to leave.

Jack is put into the bear cage, and notices a handcuffed Juliet being led to his old prison. She visits him later and asks Jack to treat Ben's back, which has become infected following the surgery, but Jack refuses. She also explains that she is in trouble with the Others for killing Pickett. Later, Isabel (Diana Scarwid), the Others' "sheriff," arrives at the cage and reads Jack's tattoo. She brings him to a room where Juliet is being held and questions him whether Juliet told him to kill Ben or not. Jack lies and says she did not and is brought back to his cage. Once back, he is visited by Cindy Chandler (Kimberley Joseph) and the previously kidnapped members of the tail-section. Cindy starts to ask Jack questions, but he angrily sends her away. Alex visits Jack later and tells him that the Others are planning to execute Juliet. Alex helps him escape from his cage, and they go to Ben Linus (Michael Emerson), who writes a note, sparing Juliet, in return for Jack's continuing to be Ben's doctor. The two then go to a trial the Others are holding for Juliet, and Alex gives Isabel Ben's note, which says Juliet is not to be executed, but is to be marked, instead. When Juliet later asks Jack why he helped her, he replies that it is because Ben said he would let both of them off the island and he wants to make that happen by working together. At the end of the episode, Jack and the Others travel back to the main island on a boat.

Sawyer and Kate begin the episode on Alex's canoe with an unconscious Karl, paddling away from the Hydra island. Kate suggests returning for Jack, however, Sawyer refuses. Kate and Sawyer land on the main island and question Karl about the Others. Karl reveals that the Others work on the Hydra island, but live on the main island. The next morning, Sawyer finds Karl crying in the jungle. Karl says that he is crying because he misses Alex. Sawyer asks Karl if he is in love, which Karl affirms to be true. Sawyer tells him that love is worth the risks of getting caught by the Others and lets Karl go into the jungle to find Alex.

Production

"Flashes Before Your Eyes" was the first episode of the series directed by Paris Barclay. Barclay had previously won two Emmy Awards for directing episodes of "NYPD Blue".cite web |url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=4875 |title=MEDIA: Producer Paris Barclay: |accessdate=2008-07-24 |last=Proulx |first=Marie-Jo |coauthors= |date=2004-05-01 |work= |publisher=Windy City Media Group] The episode was written by Elizabeth Sarnoff and Christina M. Kim, the pair had previously worked together on the second season episodes "The Hunting Party", "The Whole Truth", and "Two for the Road".

Although Jack had tattoos on his arm the entire series, their origin had never been explained. Matthew Fox received the tattoos before "Lost" was even created. The producers considered putting make-up over them, but instead, decided just to keep them and fit it in with the plot. ["", Buena Vista Home Entertainment. September 5, 2006. [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-images/B000FIMG68/sr=1-1/qid=1190945707/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_1/102-5896377-5056168?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&index=1&qid=1190945707&sr=1-1 Back cover] .] According to Assistant Professor Xinping Zhu of Northeastern University, the tattoo is made up of four Chinese characters from a poem written by Mao Zedong in 1925, and the Lebanese Phalangist symbol. Fox's tattoo translates to "Eagles high up, cleaving the space".cite web |url=http://www.ece.neu.edu/~xzhu/lost_tatoo.html |title=Meaning of Tattoos on Jack Shepard (Matthew Fox) 's Left Arm in ABC Show "LOST" |accessdate=2008-07-24 |last=Zhu |first=Xinping |coauthors= |date= |work= |publisher=Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of Northeastern University] The number 5 can also be seen on Fox's forearm, he got that one while working on "Party of Five", along with another cast member.cite web |url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2005/09/24/watercooler-talk-jacks-tattoos/ |title=Watercooler Talk: Jack's Tattoos |accessdate=2008-07-24 |last=Segrest |first=Jen |coauthors= |date= |work= |publisher=TV Squad] In an interview, Fox said that for him, getting a tattoo was a "pretty intense experience", and something he would not do in the "spur of the moment". He thought Jack having tattoos was a "really cool idea".cite web |url=http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Official_Lost_Podcast_transcript/February_27%2C_2007 |title=Official "Lost" Podcast transcript/February 27, 2007 |accessdate=2008-07-24 |date=2007-02-27 |publisher=Lostpedia] Since Fox used tattoos to represent memories or meaningful events in his life, the writers took a similar approach when dealing with Jack's tattoos.cite web |url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/02/28/lost-audio-podcast-recap-february-26-2007/ |title="Lost" Audio Podcast Rec
author=Martell, Erin|accessdate=2008-08-14 |date=2007-02-28 |publisher=TV Squad]

"Stranger in a Strange Land" was shot in various places on the island of Oahu. The scenes with Kate, Sawyer, and Karl on the canoe where shot in Kāne'ohe Bay, while the flashback beach scenes were filmed on Waimanalo Beach. The shots of Jack in a cage were done in Oahu's Paradise Park. The Other's tank and operating room are located in a film studio on the island.cite web |url=http://www.lostvirtualtour.com/lost/episode/3x09.html |title=Episode 3x09 "Stranger in a Strange Land" |accessdate=2008-07-24 |last= |first= |coauthors= |date= |work= |publisher=Lost Virtual Tour] Bai Ling, who played Achara, recalled that when shooting the sex scene between her character and Jack, she was "kind of nervous" because she did not know Fox very well. Ling recalls that "we (her and Fox) both had a mutual understanding to just go for it. Sometimes I'm on top of him, sometimes he's on top of me."cite web |url=http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/blog/index.jsp?uuid=09ae57b0-0617-49a3-9029-24a8c5cd043f |title=Q&A: Bai Ling Dishes About Her Lost Love! (Spoilers) |accessdate=2008-07-24 |last=Veitch |first=Kristin |date=2006-12-12 |publisher=E!]

Reception

"Stranger in a Strange Land" was watched by 12.95 million Americans, ranking "Lost" as the twenty-first most watched program of the week. [cite web|publisher=ABC Medianet|date=February 27, 2007|url=http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=022707_06|title= Weekly Program Rankings|accessdate=2008-07-23] This was an increase in viewers from the previous episode, making "Lost" the number one scripted television series in the adults 18-49 category for the third consecutive week. The episode garnered more viewers than other television series' showing at the same time on other networks, including "Criminal Minds" and "". [ABC Medianet, (February 27, 2007) " [http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=022707_05 Weekly Primetime Rankings] ". Retrieved on August 14, 2008.] The ratings, however, were a decrease compared to the same time the previous year, when the episode "One of Them" garnered 18.20 million Americans. [cite web|publisher=ABC Medianet|date=February 22, 2006|url=http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=022206_05|title= Weekly Program Rankings|accessdate=2008-07-29]

"Stranger in a Strange Land" garnered many negative reviews from critics. Chris Carabott, a writer for IGN, wrote that "the episode was "nothing more than a transition episode". Carabott felt that although it was "a necessary evil in episodic television like "Lost", it did not "excuse the poor execution and uninteresting story".cite web |url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/766/766682p1.html |title=Lost: "Stranger in a Strange Land" Review |accessdate=2008-07-24 |last=Carabott |first=Chris |coauthors= |date=2007-02-22 |work= |publisher=IGN] Cinemablend.com's Josh Spiegel claimed that the episode "was the first rough patch of an otherwise very good third season." Spiegel went on to write that although previews for "Stranger in a Strange Land" promised that three questions would be answered, they were not the mysteries he had been worried about.cite web |url=http://www.cinemablend.com/television/TV-Recap-Lost-Stranger-In-A-Strange-Land-2965.html |title=TV Rec
] Mac Slocum of Filmfodder.com was upset about the "overblown marketing" which failed to deliver the answers that he wanted.cite web |url=http://www.filmfodder.com/tv/lost/archives/003623.shtml |title=Key Points from "Stranger in a Strange Land" |accessdate=2008-07-24 |last=Slocum |first=Mac |coauthors= |date=2007-02-22 |work= |publisher=Filmfodder.com]

References