.gif)
Stranger in a Strange Land (Lost)
Encyclopedia
"Stranger in a Strange Land" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American drama
television series
Lost
, and the show's 58th 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 ABC
.
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.
where he meets a local woman named Achara (Bai Ling
); the two soon enter into a relationship. After finding out that she works in a tattoo parlor and claims to be able to see who people really are, Jack demands that she give him a tattoo. Achara is hesitant to give him a tattoo, 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.
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.
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 discusses Jack's tattoo with him, as she can read the Chinese. Isabel brings him to a room where Juliet is being held and asks 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, saying they are here to "watch", 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 (with a branded symbol at the base of her spine). 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. Just before leaving, Isabel translates Jacks tattoo, "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us". Jack replies, "That's what they say, that's not what they mean."
. Barclay had previously won two Emmy Award
s for directing episodes of NYPD Blue
. 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. According to Assistant Professor Xinping Zhu of Northeastern University, the tattoo is made up of four Chinese character
s from a poem written by Mao Zedong
in 1925. Fox's tattoo translates to "Eagles high up, cleaving the space". (In this episode however, one of "the Others" tells Jack that his tattoo translates as: "He walks among us, but he is not one of us." Jack replies, "That's what they say, that's not what they mean.") 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. 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". 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.
"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 were 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. 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 (she 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."
and CSI: NY
. 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.
"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". IGN later chose it as the worst episode of the series, describing it as "pointless and boring". 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. Mac Slocum of Filmfodder.com was upset about the "overblown marketing" which failed to deliver the answers that he wanted.
"Stranger in a Strange Land" is almost universally considered among Lost fans as the worst episode of the show, and was even recognized as such by show runner Damon Lindelof in an interview. It was part of the inspiration to set an end date for the series after season 6.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
, and the show's 58th episode overall. The episode was written by Elizabeth Sarnoff
Elizabeth Sarnoff
Elizabeth "Liz" Sarnoff is an American television writer and producer. She has written episodes of NYPD Blue, Crossing Jordan, Deadwood and Lost.-Career:...
and Christina M. Kim
Christina M. Kim
Christina M. Kim is an American television writer. In the 2005-06 television season, she joined the writing staff of Lost for the series second season. The staff won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2006 ceremony for their work on the second season. She...
, and directed by Paris Barclay
Paris Barclay
Paris K.C. Barclay is an American television director and producer. He has directed over 100 episodes of television to date, for series including NYPD Blue, ER, The West Wing, CSI, Lost, The Shield, House M.D., Law & Order, Monk, Numb3rs, City of Angels, Cold Case, and more recently The Mentalist,...
. It first aired in the United States on February 21, 2007 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
.
In the episode, Kate Austen
Kate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
(Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
), Karl (Blake Bashoff
Blake Bashoff
Blake Warren Bashoff is an American television and motion picture actor, known for his role as Moritz Stiefel in Spring Awakening. He has also appeared in a number of guest roles on television series, including the ABC series Lost as Karl Martin.- Life and career :Bashoff was born in Philadelphia,...
), and James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
) continue to journey back to the beach camp, while Jack Shephard
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
) and Alex
Alex (Lost)
Alexandra "Alex" Linus is a recurring fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Tania Raymonde. She was born 16 years prior to the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, but was taken from her mother, Danielle Rousseau by the Others. She was raised among them, believing her mother to...
(Tania Raymonde
Tania Raymonde
Tania Raymonde is an American actress. Raymonde's first prominent casting role was the recurring character of Cynthia Sanders in TV series Malcolm in the Middle between 2000–2003, followed by a popular role as Alex Rousseau in ABC's Lost from 2006 to 2010.She can currently be seen as UTF officer...
) must save Juliet Burke
Juliet Burke
Dr. Juliet Burke is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Elizabeth Mitchell. Her character was introduced in the third season premiere.- Prior to arrival on the island :...
(Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
) from execution. Flashbacks reveal the origin of Jack's tattoos.
Plot
In flashbacks, Jack is in Phuket, ThailandPhuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
where he meets a local woman named Achara (Bai Ling
Bai Ling
Bai Ling is a Chinese actress known for her work in films such as The Crow, Red Corner and Wild Wild West, and in TV series such as Entourage and Lost. In 2011 she appeared in the fifth season of the VH1 reality television series Celebrity Rehab with Dr...
); the two soon enter into a relationship. After finding out that she works in a tattoo parlor and claims to be able to see who people really are, Jack demands that she give him a tattoo. Achara is hesitant to give him a tattoo, 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
Diana Scarwid
Diana Scarwid is an American actress. Scarwid has done work in film, television and theater.-Personal life:Scarwid was born in Savannah, Georgia, and left Georgia at the age of 17, heading to New York to become an actress. She graduated from Pace University and The American Academy of Dramatic...
), the Others' "sheriff," arrives at the cage and discusses Jack's tattoo with him, as she can read the Chinese. Isabel brings him to a room where Juliet is being held and asks 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
Kimberley Joseph
Kimberley Joseph is a Canadian-Australian actress who is based in the United States. Joseph was born in Canada, raised on the Gold Coast in Australia, and educated in Switzerland. After returning to Australia, she began a degree at Bond University but dropped out at the age of 19 when she was cast...
) and the previously kidnapped members of the tail-section. Cindy starts to ask Jack questions, saying they are here to "watch", 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
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
), 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 (with a branded symbol at the base of her spine). 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. Just before leaving, Isabel translates Jacks tattoo, "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us". Jack replies, "That's what they say, that's not what they mean."
Production
"Stranger in a Strange Land" was the first episode of the series directed by Paris BarclayParis Barclay
Paris K.C. Barclay is an American television director and producer. He has directed over 100 episodes of television to date, for series including NYPD Blue, ER, The West Wing, CSI, Lost, The Shield, House M.D., Law & Order, Monk, Numb3rs, City of Angels, Cold Case, and more recently The Mentalist,...
. Barclay had previously won two Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s for directing episodes of NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
. The episode was written by Elizabeth Sarnoff
Elizabeth Sarnoff
Elizabeth "Liz" Sarnoff is an American television writer and producer. She has written episodes of NYPD Blue, Crossing Jordan, Deadwood and Lost.-Career:...
and Christina M. Kim
Christina M. Kim
Christina M. Kim is an American television writer. In the 2005-06 television season, she joined the writing staff of Lost for the series second season. The staff won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2006 ceremony for their work on the second season. She...
, the pair had previously worked together on the second season episodes "The Hunting Party
The Hunting Party (Lost)
"The Hunting Party" is the 36th episode of Lost. It is the 11th episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Stephen Williams, and written by Elizabeth Sarnoff, Kiel Jeffery, and Christina M. Kim. It first aired on January 18, 2006 on ABC...
", "The Whole Truth
The Whole Truth (Lost)
"The Whole Truth" is the 41st episode of Lost. It is the 16th episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Karen Gaviola, and written by Elizabeth Sarnoff and Christina M. Kim. It first aired on March 22, 2006 on ABC...
", and "Two for the Road
Two for the Road (Lost)
"Two for the Road" is the 20th episode of the second season of the American drama television series Lost, and the show's 45th episode overall. The episode was written by supervising producer Elizabeth Sarnoff and producer Christina M. Kim, and directed by Paul Edwards. It first aired in the United...
".
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. According to Assistant Professor Xinping Zhu of Northeastern University, the tattoo is made up of four Chinese character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s from a poem written by Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
in 1925. Fox's tattoo translates to "Eagles high up, cleaving the space". (In this episode however, one of "the Others" tells Jack that his tattoo translates as: "He walks among us, but he is not one of us." Jack replies, "That's what they say, that's not what they mean.") The number 5 can also be seen on Fox's forearm, he got that one while working on Party of Five
Party of Five
Party of Five is an American teen drama television series that aired on Fox for six seasons, from September 12, 1994, until May 3, 2000.Critically acclaimed, the show suffered from low ratings and after its first season was slated for cancellation...
, along with another cast member. 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". 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.
"Stranger in a Strange Land" was shot in various places on the island of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
. The scenes with Kate, Sawyer, and Karl on the canoe were shot in Kāne'ohe Bay
Kane'ohe Bay
Kāneohe Bay, at 45 km², is the largest sheltered body of water in the main Hawaiian Islands. This reef-dominated embayment constitutes a significant scenic and recreational feature along the windward coast of the Island of Oahu...
, while the flashback beach scenes were filmed on Waimanalo Beach
Waimanalo Beach, Hawaii
Waimānalo Beach is a census-designated place located in the City & County of Honolulu, in the District of Koolaupoko on the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. This small windward community is located near the eastern end of the island and the climate is dry. As of the 2000 Census, the...
. 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. Bai Ling
Bai Ling
Bai Ling is a Chinese actress known for her work in films such as The Crow, Red Corner and Wild Wild West, and in TV series such as Entourage and Lost. In 2011 she appeared in the fifth season of the VH1 reality television series Celebrity Rehab with Dr...
, 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 (she 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."
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. 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 MindsCriminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
and CSI: NY
CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
. The ratings, however, were a decrease compared to the same time the previous year, when the episode "One of Them
One of Them
"One of Them" is the 39th episode of Lost and the 14th episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Stephen Williams, and written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. It first aired on February 15, 2006 on ABC. The character of Sayid Jarrah is featured in the episode's flashbacks...
" garnered 18.20 million Americans.
"Stranger in a Strange Land" garnered many negative reviews from critics. Chris Carabott, a writer for IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, 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". IGN later chose it as the worst episode of the series, describing it as "pointless and boring". 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. Mac Slocum of Filmfodder.com was upset about the "overblown marketing" which failed to deliver the answers that he wanted.
"Stranger in a Strange Land" is almost universally considered among Lost fans as the worst episode of the show, and was even recognized as such by show runner Damon Lindelof in an interview. It was part of the inspiration to set an end date for the series after season 6.