The Isabel Rant

Stranger In A Strange Land was, to all intents and purposes, a woeful episode of Lost. It even knocked The Moth off the top of the ‘Worst Lost Episode Ever’ rankings, in my book. (For all The Moth’s rubbish Charlie flashback and overstated moth metaphor, it did have some good stuff going on elsewhere, like Sayid being hit by a then-unknown Locke when he was trying to triangulate a signal, for example.) And Stranger In A Strange Land’s awfulness can be part-blamed on one woman.

Isabel.



Can anyone spell the word ‘MISTAKE’?

Isabel, for those lucky souls so blissfully unaware, made her one and only appearance in Stranger In A Strange Land as, ostensibly, the sheriff of The Others. Yeah. You read that right. She was that crone that popped up to question Jack and Juliet about Juliet’s potential involvement in a plot against Ben, and the killing of Pickett. She was the one that was apparently able to pass a death sentence on to Juliet, only for Jack to save Juliet’s skin and let her off with just a branding of a weird symbol on her back.



Uh-huh. Can anyone spell the word ‘PROBLEMATIC’?

Let’s take this business with Isabel being a sheriff. With The Others having a sheriff. Firstly, if Ben hadn’t been laid up recovering from spinal surgery then can you really see him ever giving someone else the power to step in and pass judgement? Yeah, sure, he’s a major, bug-eyed control freak over his people but, you know, he’s pretty relaxed about giving one of them power to pass death and judgement over the rest. As if. Isabel even complained about being brought over to the Hydra Island, which suggests she spends all her time living at The Barracks. You’ve got to wonder: What does a sheriff of The Others over at happy Otherville do all day? It doesn’t strike me as a full-time job.

Besides, didn’t Alex say The Others have a pretty strict code when it came to law and order? An eye for an eye? With that kind of doctrine in place then being the sheriff of The Others must be a pretty tough gig, eh? I mean, if the group can’t work out a suitable punishment, and if Ben can’t manage to pass judgement himself, thank God that good old Isabel is on the scene to sort stuff out!



Isabel - “Ben has commuted Juliet’s sentence. Execution is off the table. He says the rules don’t apply. He has, however, ordered her to be marked.”

Brilliant! “The rules don’t apply.” Some sheriff! Can anyone spell the phrase ‘AS USEFUL AS A CHOCOLATE FIREGUARD’?

But wait. Hang around. I’m just getting started. Let’s take a moment to consider what may have happened had Ben not intervened. I mean, if Jack hadn’t got to Ben to change Juliet’s sentence, theoretically Isabel could have had Juliet executed, right? That would have been that. Juliet dead. I mean, it’s not as if we were shown in the episode The Other Woman that Ben is absolutely besotted with Juliet, and that The Others looked to her like she was a possible celebrity saviour!

So what? Kill her! Yeah, sure thing. Can anyone spell the word ‘HORSESHIT’?



But here’s the twist. And ordinarily, I’m a big fan of twists. I think something rubbish can be made into something good if it has a head-turning twist - but in this case I’m making an exception. See, the possible twist suggests that Isabel the sheriff and the trial of Juliet and the threat of execution was all just an elaborate con. A scheme that Ben devised to get Jack to nurse him back to health after his operation.

If there had been a scene at the very end of Stranger In A Strange Land between Ben and Isabel, with Ben congratulating Isabel for a fine performance, then the whole thing would have been improved immeasurably. An ending like that, The Moth would have still been taking pride of place as ‘Worst Lost Episode Ever’. Except that ending never materialised, and there has never been an inclination towards any such trickery being afoot. As far as we are to understand it: Isabel was a sheriff, she could have had Juliet killed, and that’s that. But hey, maybe it’ll all be revealed later on. . .

But I wouldn’t bank on it.

”There was a lot of house cleaning going on. There’s still a group that’s moving towards the temple, but Friendly is dead, and Isabel is dead, and Pryce is dead. Pickett obviously died earlier, Klugh is gone, Mikhail is dead. . .” - Damon Lindelof, August 2nd Podcast



Can anyone spell the phrase ‘PAPERING OVER THE CRACKS’?

For those that missed it, Isabel is dead. Yeah. She was part of that crack unit of Others that went to the Oceanic beach-camp to take pregnant women during Through The Looking Glass. You know, the group of Ryan’s ten best Others. The group that found themselves opening tents filled with dynamite that Sayid, Jin and Bernard shot sniper bullets at to detonate. Isabel was one of them. That’s right. No kidding.



You’re forgiven if you missed it, because they didn’t show it. Can anyone spell the word ‘AFTERTHOUGHT’?

I mean, pardon me if I sound at all cynical, but doesn’t it just seem that after season 3 was finished, Lindelof and Cuse and other high-ranking Lost creators all got together and reviewed what had gone on, and they thought about Isabel and figured, She was a crap idea. What are we going to do with her next season? And so they thought about it for a little while longer and then figured, Screw it. Make her one of those faceless Others that got killed at the end of season 3. That ties that stupid loose end up.

Like the way they shoot racehorses that have a broken leg. It’s the humane thing to do. Got a crap character? Kill ‘em off. It worked for Paulo and Nikki!

Oh right so shes dead then? I did not know that. Yeah sounds like an afterthought to me, I think in some cases they've made the story a bit unmanagable, more than they can comfortablely explain. Speaking of explanations I want to know when we are getting back to what Jacks tattoos are all about.

JR dont think we'll go back to Jack's tatoo's as such, 'He walks among us......' may be revisted though

I think all the Others are a bit problematic, we have seen them get dressed up in dirty clothes and attempt to intimidate the Losties, we have seen that they have a desire to kidnap pregnant women and that they enjoy a nice freshly cooked muffin while participating in a book club discussion.

However we have not seen what they do on a everyday basis. No matter how pleasant Otherville was, one would have assumed that it would have been basically way too boring. As for Isabel, well I agree that Sherrif position must have been a very part time job, maybe she was also the mail delivery person, although I have a feeling that would also be a very very part time position.

I think that some of the characters on Lost have been perfect examples of short term trickery, introduce a character to add some sense of danger and dramatic tension for one episode and then hope that no one ever remembers them for the rest of the series!


Stitch

according to Lostpedia, Mr. Tom Friendly is dead too... http://lostpedia.com/wiki/Tom_Friendly

Kahana. . . well. . . Tom's death is less of a surprise. . . Given we saw Sawyer shoot him in the face.

Unless this was dry humour you were employing in your response!

(That photo is very Blair Witch creepy.)

love the isabel rant. i totally agree, and you made me laugh. if there was a +1 here, i'd give you 3.

I might not always agree with you but you absolutely nailed this one. I liked the actor's portrayal of Isabel but the character struck me as an inserted and artificial contrivance to create dramatic tension.

I do, however, think that the Jack-gets-a-tattoo episode is as absoluletly unbearable for me to watch as "The Moth" is...personal opinion.

+1

Great observe as always!

.

Woo I got them all. I am such a good speller. Ten points to me!!

I love these rants, thats what you are best at. You could make money out of this. You could do a Mikhail rank if you wanted. What a waste. There were so many good theories on my he couldnt die. Then he died. I guess the pylons really werent set to a lethal level.

No, nothing sucks worse than "expose" IMHO.

But Expose has an explaination SunnyP. It was meant to introduce Paulo and Nikki, its just that no-one liked them. And what was so bad about the moth. I quite liked it.

THS - Probably one of my next rants will be all about The Moth. Once I am done, then you'll understand.

After that rant, SBP, you'll consider Expose to be on a par with Through The Looking Glass!

AC I would like to collaborate on a Moth rant.

AngeloComet wrote:Stranger In A Strange Land was, to all intents and purposes, a woeful episode of Lost.

I think SiaSL bears at least one important overall theme, as it shifts the views emotions away from Jack as the loveable hero. We may not all recognize the transition, but there was important points -- and significant writing -- that shifted our collective love of Jack over to near hatred. Remember, any realization we had as views that 'know what, Jack's kind of a scumbag', had to be written into the story. This is one of the episodes the writers do that in.

AngeloComet wrote:And Stranger In A Strange Land’s awfulness can be part-blamed on one woman.

Isabel.



Can anyone spell the word ‘MISTAKE’?

I have to disagree. Now as much as she's not one of my favourite characters, she's not a mistake. She illustrates both the tenuous hold Ben Linus has over his people, and part of the vehicle he uses to maintain his hold.

AngeloComet wrote:Isabel [is] the sheriff of The Others. Yeah. You read that right.

Tom: That'd be... the sheriff.
Jack: You have a sheriff?
Tom: Not literally, Jack.

I think Isabel is better described as Ben's chief henchman.

AngeloComet wrote:...and let her off with just a branding of a weird symbol on her back.

Branding has been a common punishment throughout Europe, up until the 19th century. The symbol would most likely be a letter -- this one looks similar to a K in certain Germanic runes -- but this 8-pointed star symbol could have other significance among the Others. Nonetheless, it's a mark of shame that means near banishment (should Juliette have not left the Others anyway.

AngeloComet wrote:Uh-huh. Can anyone spell the word ‘PROBLEMATIC’?

Let’s take this business with Isabel being a sheriff. With The Others having a sheriff. Firstly, if Ben hadn’t been laid up recovering from spinal surgery then can you really see him ever giving someone else the power to step in and pass judgment? Yeah, sure, he’s a major, bug-eyed control freak over his people but, you know, he’s pretty relaxed about giving one of them power to pass death and judgment over the rest. As if. Isabel even complained about being brought over to the Hydra Island, which suggests she spends all her time living at The Barracks. You’ve got to wonder: What does a sheriff of The Others over at happy Otherville do all day? It doesn’t strike me as a full-time job.

Ben is not super-charismatic. Nor does it seem he was elected leader of the island. It is assumed Ben rules by fear. With those creepy eyes, one would thing fear is one of Ben's strong suits.

Now, if Ben is ruling the others as some sort of dictator, being outnumbered 35 or more to 1, Ben needs to have loyal lieutenants. Isabel is an important one of those. Isabel has no great knowledge of Ben's big plan. What she has is autonimous right to enforce Ben's laws and dole out the punishments. She seems a sadistic type, so this level of autonimy and authority plays very well to her. And as long as she has her authority, she remains loyal, and Ben has a heavy in his midst to keep his people in line and loyal.

AngeloComet wrote:Besides, didn’t Alex say The Others have a pretty strict code when it came to law and order? An eye for an eye? With that kind of doctrine in place then being the sheriff of The Others must be a pretty tough gig, eh? I mean, if the group can’t work out a suitable punishment, and if Ben can’t manage to pass judgement himself, thank God that good old Isabel is on the scene to sort stuff out!

Actually, yes. One of the most important factors of law enforcement is presence. Cops don't walk the beat because they hope they might be lucky enough to catch a crime in progress, or a criminal mid-flight. A beat is there to ensure presence. no one is going to commit a crime in front of a cop. And as long as Isabel is roaming around, and strengthened by the fact that she seems to be more of a Magistrate -- an officer of both enforcement, prosecution, and judiciary -- her presence is even stronger. Who's going to break one of Ben's laws knowing that if Isabel catches them they can be caught, found guilty, and punished by the same person.

AngeloComet wrote:Isabel - “Ben has commuted Juliet’s sentence. Execution is off the table. He says the rules don’t apply. He has, however, ordered her to be marked.”

Truly brilliant. Read Machiavelli. Ben puppets Isabel as the heavy, then gains additional respect from the Others when he appears to grant lenience.

AngeloComet wrote:Brilliant! “The rules don’t apply.” Some sheriff! Can anyone spell the phrase ‘AS USEFUL AS A CHOCOLATE FIREGUARD’?

But wait. Hang around. I’m just getting started. Let’s take a moment to consider what may have happened had Ben not intervened. I mean, if Jack hadn’t got to Ben to change Juliet’s sentence, theoretically Isabel could have had Juliet executed, right? That would have been that. Juliet dead. I mean, it’s not as if we were shown in the episode The Other Woman that Ben is absolutely besotted with Juliet, and that The Others looked to her like she was a possible celebrity saviour!

So what? Kill her! Yeah, sure thing. Can anyone spell the word ‘HORSESHIT’?

It is quite possible the whole thing was an act. That in this case, the death penalty, and the corresponding "dissent" following its commuting, was all merely a show for Jack. The Others have gone to bigger trouble to present a charade.

AngeloComet wrote:But here’s the twist. And ordinarily, I’m a big fan of twists. I think something rubbish can be made into something good if it has a head-turning twist - but in this case I’m making an exception. See, the possible twist suggests that Isabel the sheriff and the trial of Juliet and the threat of execution was all just an elaborate con. A scheme that Ben devised to get Jack to nurse him back to health after his operation.

Agreed.

AngeloComet wrote:If there had been a scene at the very end of Stranger In A Strange Land between Ben and Isabel, with Ben congratulating Isabel for a fine performance, then the whole thing would have been improved immeasurably. An ending like that, The Moth would have still been taking pride of place as ‘Worst Lost Episode Ever’. Except that ending never materialised, and there has never been an inclination towards any such trickery being afoot. As far as we are to understand it: Isabel was a sheriff, she could have had Juliet killed, and that’s that. But hey, maybe it’ll all be revealed later on. . .

But I wouldn’t bank on it.

I have to say Isabel was a sheriff, she could have had Juliet killed, but in this case, the execution was most likely a rouse.

AngeloComet wrote:There was a lot of house cleaning going on. There’s still a group that’s moving towards the temple, but Friendly is dead, and Isabel is dead, and Pryce is dead. Pickett obviously died earlier, Klugh is gone, Mikhail is dead. . .” - Damon Lindelof, August 2nd Podcast

Can anyone spell the phrase ‘PAPERING OVER THE CRACKS’?

For those that missed it, Isabel is dead. Yeah. She was part of that crack unit of Others that went to the Oceanic beach-camp to take pregnant women during Through The Looking Glass. You know, the group of Ryan’s ten best Others. The group that found themselves opening tents filled with dynamite that Sayid, Jin and Bernard shot sniper bullets at to detonate. Isabel was one of them. That’s right. No kidding.

I say "why not?" If Isabel was Ben's #1 heavy, why wouldn't she be part of the team sent to kidnap the pregnant women?

AngeloComet wrote:You’re forgiven if you missed it, because they didn’t show it. Can anyone spell the word ‘AFTERTHOUGHT’?

I mean, pardon me if I sound at all cynical, but doesn’t it just seem that after season 3 was finished, Lindelof and Cuse and other high-ranking Lost creators all got together and reviewed what had gone on, and they thought about Isabel and figured, She was a crap idea. What are we going to do with her next season? And so they thought about it for a little while longer and then figured, Screw it. Make her one of those faceless Others that got killed at the end of season 3. That ties that stupid loose end up.

Like the way they shoot racehorses that have a broken leg. It’s the humane thing to do. Got a crap character? Kill ‘em off. It worked for Paulo and Nikki!

Alas, you can only ever see six of the crack baby-extraction team. It's quite possible the decision to kill her off was made before they even filmed that episode, and they decided not to bring back the actress, since she'd be replaced with a stunt-double 98% of the time anyway.

Either way, dying in TtLG or as a mid-season afterthought, I still contend her character, and the episode Stranger in a Strange Land, while neither are my favourites by any means, had merit.

Lojozz - Fair enough. Mail me over your rant material and I'll piece it together, sprinkle where needed with my own spite, and deliver unto the masses in due course.

CF - Thanks for taking the time to get involved. It's a valiant effort, but I think the fact they killed this character off without even bothering to show it or acknowledge it on the show (only fans that pay attention to interview material know she's dead!) suggests she was written off, flat out, as a bad idea.

All the merits - that it was a ruse, that Ben played her to save face - are not borne out by any facts we have witnessed nor seen validated since. You have to superimpose potential conclusions.

Not good enough, in my book.

My only fear on this is I might have to re-watch it. I guess I can have it ready for when i'm stressed and need to vent.

AngeloComet wrote:CF - Thanks for taking the time to get involved. It's a valiant effort, but I think the fact they killed this character off without even bothering to show it or acknowledge it on the show (only fans that pay attention to interview material know she's dead!) suggests she was written off, flat out, as a bad idea.

Just because she was written out (intentionally, or as an afterthought) does not mean that as an element of the story, she didn't have value.

AngeloComet wrote:All the merits - that it was a ruse, that Ben played her to save face - are not borne out by any facts we have witnessed nor seen validated since. You have to superimpose potential conclusions.

I don't think potential conclusions are invalid as a means to agrue against was can only be defined as an opinion to begin with.

Unless you're stating fact that "Stranger In A Strange Land was, to all intents and purposes, a woeful episode of Lost", I am only challenging your opinion with mine.

AngeloComet wrote:Not good enough, in my book.

Not good enough for what, AC? Was there some challenge laid I was unaware of?