First a plug for my main source of Lost thought and reflection: Its Jay and Jack's Lost Podcast. You can find it at
http://jayandjack.com or subscribe through iTunes. If you have bandwidth restrictions like me, iTunes is a better option because you can download it a little at a time and even subscribe to the "Classic MP3" format which is a smaller file than the standard "AAC" format in iTunes (which does, admittedly, include cool extras like weblinks and pictures which will play on a colour iPod).
What a fun episode. I actually was beginning to think that Juliette was maybe not a liar... almost. Now we know better than to trust an "other." Here's what else I'm thinking:
1) The tension over Juliette's presence in the "Fusies" camp will likely be sustained for the rest of the season.
2) I'm going to agree with Podcast Jack (see above) that Jack will end up killing Juliette. I was thinking about it before I heard him say it in his podcast, but its nice to know that I'm not alone. There is another possibility that in the end she will betray and redeem herself to the Fusies just as they are finding out she remains an other.
3) The basic purpose of the others and probably the Dharma Initiative before them has to do with the unique properties of the island. Is the Dharma Initiative really "dead"? Mikhail sort of implied that, but lets remember that before the hatch imploded, they were able to trigger the parachute drop of food. That pretty clearly shows that in the outside world, Dharma is still active and has resources. One direction to go with this is the idea that the others, lets call them the "Un-Seattle Sub People" took over the imitative either willingly or not. Ben is in his early 40s- so the others have been there that long...? Or are his roots in Dharma?
4) Whatever the island is able to do, its reasonable to think that some people have known about the island and its mysterious properties for some time. Presumably, there was at some point a huge statue attached to the four-toed foot. If its hundreds (or more) years old, that implies an ancient settlement of great power. Atlantis anyone?
5) Sun and Jin's baby: going to be a big part of the plot, probably for the rest of the series!
B.