"Left Behind" Additional Commentary and "One of Us" Spoilers

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If you haven't yet checked out last week's Wednesday night post-LOST podcast, my wife and I shared a lot of insights and initial thoughts about "Left Behind." Some show notes are now available on the blog. Following is some additional commentary regarding "Left Behind," plus some spoilers for this week's episode, "One of Us."

The first time the smoke monster chased Kate and Juliet, we saw several bright flashes of light after it approached them. It looked a bit like flash photography or lightning in a storm cloud. What exactly was the smoke monster doing? Was it taking pictures of Juliet, perhaps checking in on her to make sure she was doing her job? I'm not so sure I believe that; after all, we don't have any evidence to indicate whether the monster acts on its own or whether it's controlled by or subservient to someone. The flashes were also reminiscent of those that could be seen when Eko looked into the smoke cloud. Was the monster trying to show Juliet or Kate her past, or trying to read it from one or the other's memories?

The remainder of this post contains spoilers.

Following are some notes from this week's Official LOST Podcast.

Damon said of Juliet, "I wouldn't exactly take her at her word" that she doesn't know anything about the smoke monster other than how to repel it.

In response to the question of why Ben left Juliet behind, Carlton said, "I think maybe there's kind of two possible explanations. One is: he was tired of Juliet, didn't want her around anymore or maybe there's... some other reason why he left her behind." Damon said, "I think maybe there's something personal between them..." Carlton responded, "Clearly there's some unresolved tension there. Maybe we'll find out about that sometime."

Damon said of Libby, "She did make a reference in the fact that her husband had died, though, and maybe there is some sort of story to kind of tell there. I would say that you certainly haven't seen the last of Libby. We miss her, too."

Damon: "Yes, Rousseau will eventually have a flashback."

Finally, it was revealed that we will learn more about the DeGroots (who were seen in the Swan hatch orientation film) in the third or fourth season.

ABC's official synopsis for this week's Juliet-centric episode is as follows:

"Jack's joyous reunion with his fellow survivors is cut short when they realize that accompanying him is one of 'The Others,' and Claire is stricken by a mysterious, life-threatening illness."

Guest appearances will include Juliet's sister Rachel, Ethan Rom, tail section infiltrator Goodwin, Mikhail (aka Patchy), and "Mittelos Bioscience" recruiter Richard Alpert.

Is Claire's "mysterious, life-threatening illness" the "sickness" to which Danielle Rousseau referred in Season 1? Did she catch it from Aaron when he got sick? Did she get infected when Ethan captured her and injected her with a mysterious substance? Has Claire been using the vaccine from the resupply drop that Charlie gave her in the episode "Three Minutes"? If so, did that cause her to get sick?

Juliet's flashback will pick up where her last one left off. We'll see how she came to the island and learn more about her motivations.

Carlton Cuse reportedly said recently that the Charlie "problem" would get resolved in this week's episode. However, rumor has it that the question of whether Charlie dies will not be revealed until the last two episodes of this season, so perhaps Carlton meant that Charlie and Sun will make amends.