A Tale of Two Cities (Lost)

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“A Tale of Two Cities”

Lost episode

Flight 815 as it crumbles out of the sky.

Episode no.

Season 3
Episode 1

Written by

Story by Damon Lindelof, Teleplay by J.J. Abrams & Damon Lindelof

Directed by

Jack Bender

Guest stars

Julie Adams
Blake Bashoff
Brett Cullen
M.C. Gainey
William Mapother
John Terry
Julie Bowen
Stephen Semel
Alexandra Morgan
Julie Ow
Sonya Seng

Production no.

301

Original airdate

October 4, 2006

Episode chronology
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"Live Together, Die Alone"	"The Glass Ballerina"

Lost (season 3)
List of Lost episodes

"A Tale of Two Cities" is the third season premiere, and forty-eighth episode overall, of the American Broadcasting Company's serial drama television series Lost. The episode was written by co-creators/executive producers J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, based on a story by Lindelof and directed by executive producer Jack Bender.^[1] When the episode first aired on October 4, 2006 in the United States, it was watched by an average of 19 million American viewers.^[2]

The episode begins with the introduction of Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell) and The Baracks.

The character of Jack Shephard is featured in the episode's flashbacks.^[3]

1 Plot summary
2 Production
3 Cast Notes
4 Reception
5 References

[edit] Plot summary

Jack, Kate and Sawyer begin to discover what they are up against as prisoners of "The Others."

A new character, Juliet, prepares for a book club meeting in a modern suburban home, but things are going wrong. She cries as she listens to a CD recording of Petula Clark's "Downtown," and burns her hand as she tries to grab burning muffins out of the oven, just as the doorbell rings. The club is in a heated discussion of Stephen King's Carrie^[4] when they are interrupted by what sounds like an earthquake. The group leaves Juliet's house and "Ben", previously known as "Henry Gale" to the survivors, appears along with Ethan, looking up to watch Oceanic Flight 815 break apart in mid-air. "Ben" quickly orders Goodwin and Ethan to join the survivors, stay undercover, and provide "lists in three days." The camera zooms out to reveal that the suburb is actually on the Island and is inhabited by The Others.

Kate wakes up on the floor of a locker room. Tom forces her to have a shower and change into a dress, after which she is led to an elegant breakfast on the beach with Ben, who tells her to put on handcuffs before she can eat. She asks him why he is doing this, and he tells her that he wanted to give her something pleasant to remember, as the next two weeks will be "very unpleasant." Kate is forced to put the handcuffs on very tightly.

Fish biscuit

Sawyer wakes up in a cage in the jungle near the Hydra station. A teenager, Karl, in a nearby cage initially ignores Sawyer but then later expresses interest in Sawyer's camp and unlocks his cage then Sawyer's. However, they are both caught and Tom makes Karl, who is now beaten and bloody, apologize to Sawyer before taking the teen away. Sawyer figures out the mechanical puzzle in his cage, though Tom says it "only took the bears two hours." Kate is then put in Karl’s (now empty) cage.

Jack wakes up in a cell in the Hydra Station, where Juliet gently interrogates him. At one point Jack attacks her and attempts to escape, holding an improvised weapon at her throat. He orders her to open a door, but she refuses to comply, claiming that doing so would kill them both. Jack throws Juliet away, and then opens the door. Water starts rushing into the hallway. Juliet helps Jack struggle into an adjoining room, tells him to push a button which she had previously mentioned was for emergencies. He does so and she knocks him unconscious. When he awakes, she shows Jack a file which she says contains documents about his entire life. Juliet asks Jack if he has any questions about Sarah. After a pause, he asks, "Is she happy?" Juliet replies yes, and walks outside, and Ben congratulates her on a job well done.

In Jack's flashbacks: Jack is going through a divorce from his wife Sarah Shephard. He demands to know who she has been dating, but she refuses to tell him, so he spies on her and steals her cellphone. He proceeds to call every number in her phone, and Christian's cell phone rings. After following Christian to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Jack accuses him of sleeping with his wife and physically attacks him. After Jack is arrested, Sarah pays his bail, and tells him Christian is no longer sober. She then leaves with an unidentified man, after telling Jack that "now he has something to fix."

[edit] Production

A cameo appearance was made in this episode by the elderly Julie Adams, who was the bathing beauty in the 1954 classic film Creature from the Black Lagoon.^[5]

[edit] Cast Notes

This episode marks the first appearance of Juliet played by Elizabeth Mitchell.
Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond), Michael Emerson (Ben), Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet), Kiele Sanchez (Nikki), and Rodrigo Santoro (Paulo) are now credited with the starring cast.
Malcolm David Kelley (Walt), Harold Perrineau (Michael), Michelle Rodriguez (Ana Lucia), and Cynthia Watros (Libby) are no longer credited with the starring cast.

[edit] Reception

The episode was watched by 1.972 million viewers in Canada on CTV, easily winning its timeslot.^[6]

Matthew Fox submitted this episode for consideration on his behalf in the category of "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" at the 2007 Emmy Awards. ^[7]

[edit] References

^ ABC Medianet (2006-09-18). "Lost Season Premiere Entertaiment Press Release". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
^ ABC Medianet (2006-10-10). "I. T. R. S. Ranking report 01 thru 91 (out of 91 programs) Daypart: Primetime Mon-Sun". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
^ TV Guide, October 2-8, 2006, Vol. 54 No. 40, p. 24
^ Screenshot composite linked from the Fuselage on October 4, 2006
^ Lost Season 2 DVD notes
^ CTVglobemedia, (January 2, 2008) "Lost (HD): About the Show." Retrieved on January 5, 2007.
^ 2007 Emmys CONFIRMED Episode Submissions. The Envelope Forum, Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.

v • d • e Lost
Production	DVD releases • Episode list • Music • Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Season 4
Main characters	Ana Lucia • Ben • Boone • Charlie • Charlotte • Claire • Daniel • Desmond • Hurley • Jack • Jin • Juliet Kate • Libby • Locke • Michael • Miles • Mr. Eko • Nikki • Paulo • Sawyer • Sayid • Shannon • Sun • Walt
Supporting characters	Alex • Bernard • Christian • Ethan • Rose • Rousseau • Tom
Groups	Dharma Initiative • Hanso Foundation • Oceanic Airlines • The Others
Miscellaneous	Awards • Find 815 • Lost Experience • Lost: Missing Pieces • Lost: Via Domus • Mythology