Stranger in a Strange Land (Lost)

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“Stranger in a Strange Land ”
Lost episode
Jack tries to assemble a kite
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 9
Guest stars	M.C. Gainey (Tom), Tania Raymonde (Alex Rousseau), Blake Bashoff (Karl), Kimberley Joseph (Cindy Chandler), Bai Ling (Achara), Diana Scarwid (Isabel), James Huang (Chet), Shannon Chanhthanam (Thai boy), Siwathep Sunapo (Thai man), Teddy Wells (Ivan), Kiersten Havelock (Emma), Mickey Graue (Zack)
Written by	Elizabeth Sarnoff & Christina M. Kim
Directed by	Paris Barclay
Production no.	309
Original airdate	February 21, 2007
Episode chronology
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"Flashes Before Your Eyes"	"Tricia Tanaka is Dead"
List of Lost episodes

"Stranger in a Strange Land" is the ninth episode of the third season of Lost. It aired on February 21, 2007, making it the 56th episode of the series. The character of Jack Shephard was featured in the episode's flashbacks.

1 Summary
2 Notes
3 Trivia
4 References

[edit] Summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Sawyer and Kate are seen on Alex's canoe with an unconscious Karl, paddling away from the Hydra island. Kate suggests returning for Jack; however, Sawyer refuses. Tom handcuffs Jack and moves him out of his room. In the hallway, Tom and Jack pass a handcuffed Juliet and an older woman, whom Tom reveals to be the 'sheriff' named Isabel. Tom also informs Jack that Juliet is in trouble.

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.

Jack is put into the bear cage (Sawyer's old cage). Juliet, while being overseen by guards, is released from the main building and walks up to Jack's cage. She shows Jack a picture of Ben's back, which is infected, and asks Jack to help Ben. Jack refuses.

After Juliet leaves, Isabel arrives at the cage and mutters in Chinese (in Cantonese dialect) with pronunciation that most native Chinese Cantonese would have problem understanding. It is believed that she probably said "佢地同我一齊行；但佢地唔係我地既一分子", meaning "He walks among us, but he is not one of us". She claims that is what written on Jack's tattoos and questions whether Jack knows what his tattoos mean, despite the fact that "Eagle Striking the Sky" (鹰击长空) is actually written on the tattoos.

Jack is brought into a room with Tom, Isabel and Juliet. Isabel asks Jack whether Juliet told Jack to kill Ben. Jack denies the accusation.

Back in his cage, Jack is visited by Cindy and the previously kidnapped members of the tail-section. Cindy tells Jack that they are going to watch something, and Jack angrily sends them away. One of the children, Zack, seen walking away is carrying the teddy bear that was used as a trap in a previous season.

Meanwhile on the main island, 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, to 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 on his own.

Alex notifies Jack that the other Others are planning to execute Juliet. Alex releases Jack from his cage and asks him why he saved Ben. Jack replies that he saved Ben because he said he would. Alex leads Jack to Ben in order for Ben to give the order to spare Juliet. Jack and Alex arrive at Ben, who is lying on a table. Jack lies about Juliet not wanting Jack to kill Ben. In exchange for Jack's promising to care for Ben (his seriously infected back needs treatment and expert supervision), Ben writes a note to spare Juliet.

Alex leads Jack to Juliet's hearing, and Alex hands Isabel Ben's note which says she is not to be executed as "the rules don't apply" but she is to be marked. Later, Jack is back in his cage, and Juliet visits him. She shows him that the Others branded her back. Jack insists that Juliet break off some aloe vera. She is reluctant but she does and he applies it to her brand. Juliet asks why he helped her and Jack replies it is because Ben said he would let them off the island and he wants to make sure this happens.

On the beach Isabel translates the tattoo as, "He walks among us, but he is not one of us." Jack replies that this is what it says but it is not what it means. Two of the Others, along with Jack who is supervising Ben on a stretcher, get on a boat and begin to travel back to their home.

In a series of flashbacks, the origins of Jack's tattoos are revealed. In Phuket, Thailand Jack met a local woman called Achara with whom he enters into a sexual relationship. On a date with Jack she receives a large envelope of money from a man. Despite their sexual relationship Jack does not know why she mysteriously arrives at odd times or what she does for a living. He later finds her in a lucurious tattoo parlour but Achara denies she is a tattoo artist. When pressed Achara claims she has a gift in which she reveals the true personality of a person which she then tattoos on him or her. Jack demands a reading and tattoo, even though he is an outsider and Achara accedes under duress. Her reading of Jack is that he is a leader, but that this makes him lonely; the tattoo however reads: "Eagle Striking the Sky" (鹰击长空), a sentence taken from Changsha, a poem by Mao Zedong.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Notes

Although credited, Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews), Desmond Humes (Henry Ian Cusick), Claire Littleton (Emilie de Ravin), Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia), Jin Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim), Sun Kwon (Yunjin Kim), Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan), John Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Nikki (Kiele Sanchez) and Paulo (Rodrigo Santoro) do not appear in this episode.

[edit] Trivia

The phrase "Stranger in a Strange Land" is originally from the Biblical Book of Exodus.^[1]
Sawyer sings "Show Me the Way to Go Home" while in the boat. In the film Jaws, the main characters sing this song just before their boat is attacked by a shark.
This is the first Jack-centric episode not to feature Christian Shephard in its flashbacks.
When Jack and Achara first have dinner, they are both using chopsticks. In Thailand chopsticks are rarely used when eating anything other than noodle soups. The fork and spoon are the ordinary eating utensils used by Thais.

[edit] References

^ Moses flees ancient Egypt, where he has lived all his life, because Pharaoh learns that he has killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew. He marries Zippo'rah. Exodus 2:22: "And she [Zippo'rah] bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land." KJV ^Wikisource

Lost
Production:	DVD releases \| Episode list \| Season 1 \| Season 2 \| Season 3 \| Soundtrack
Main characters:	Ana Lucia \| Ben \| Boone \| Charlie \| Claire \| Desmond \| Hurley \| Jack \| Jin \| Juliet \| Kate Libby \| Locke \| Michael \| Mr. Eko \| Nikki \| Paulo \| Sawyer \| Sayid \| Shannon \| Sun \| Walt
Supporting characters:	Alex \| Bernard \| Christian \| Cindy \| Ethan \| The Others \| Pickett \| Rose \| Rousseau \| Tom
Organizations:	DHARMA Initiative \| Hanso Foundation \| Oceanic Airlines
Elements:	Crossover list \| DHARMA Initiative stations \| Flight 815 \| Mythology \| Thematic motifs
Miscellaneous:	Gary Troup \| In popular culture \| Lost Experience \| Rachel Blake \| Video game

Season Two Episode list Lost Season Three
A Tale of Two Cities • The Glass Ballerina • Further Instructions • Every Man for Himself • The Cost of Living • I Do • Not in Portland • Flashes Before Your Eyes • Stranger in a Strange Land • Tricia Tanaka Is Dead • Enter 77 • Par Avion • The Man from Tallahassee • Exposé • Left Behind • One of Us • Catch-22 • D.O.C.