# Lost 3.16:  "One of Us"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 11, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652 "2007-04-11T15:52:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 12

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**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/221 "2007-04-18T14:46:11Z")

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[QUOTE=Oslo Ostragoth]  
[These](http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1272-246.html)?  
[/QUOTE]  
OK, never mind.

(In my defense, I’m watching the show off TiVo on a giant projection screen. The screen looks great with DVD and other digital sources, but TiVo’s image quality is pretty degraded by comparison. The combination of large screen plus crappy resolution creates some, uh, interesting artifacts.)

(Or maybe it’s the crack.)

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**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/222 "2007-04-18T14:57:27Z")

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[QUOTE=Peter Morris]  
Eh, why do you say ‘no’? They look the same to me.  
[/QUOTE]

Similar but not the same. Juliet is like -\>|\<- the super position of an X and a +  
the tree is like -)-|-(- the super position of a + and two seperated parentheses

Maybe they are supposed to be the same and Juliet’s just got squished and made more anguluar, but they don’t look like the same symbol as presented.

[QUOTE=Peter Morris]  
Why wear DHARMA clothes if they aren’t DHARMA?  
[/QUOTE]

Why does Hurley eat DHARMA food if he isn’t DHARMA?

Why does Locke push the button if he isn’t DHARMA?

Why does the DHARMA video call the Others “Hostiles” if they are part of DHARMA?

[QUOTE=rainy]  
Uh…I still don’t see any ruins. Is it just me?  
[/QUOTE]

I can see how they might sort of look like ruins, but that’s the actual geography of Oahu, it’s not CGI. Juliet is just amazed to be on an island, she’s not gawking at the particular mountain.

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**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/223 "2007-04-18T15:32:53Z")

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\<snip\>  
[QUOTE=jackdavinci]  
Similar but not the same. Juliet is like -\>|\<- the super position of an X and a +  
the tree is like -)-|-(- the super position of a + and two seperated parentheses

Maybe they are supposed to be the same and Juliet’s just got squished and made more anguluar, but they don’t look like the same symbol as presented.  
[/QUOTE]  
\<snip\>

I definitely think that they’re the same. Juliet’s just looks more crude.

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/224 "2007-04-18T15:44:16Z")

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[QUOTE=jackdavinci]  
Similar but not the same. Juliet is like -\>|\<- the super position of an X and a +  
the tree is like -)-|-(- the super position of a + and two seperated parentheses

Maybe they are supposed to be the same and Juliet’s just got squished and made more anguluar, but they don’t look like the same symbol as presented.  
[/quote]

I think they are the same, but Juliete’s is burned into flesh, and that makes it more fuzzy.

> [@](#):
>
> Why does the DHARMA video call the Others “Hostiles” if they are part of DHARMA?

I’m not convinced that ‘hostiles’ refers to the Others. I thought it meant the Losties, or anyone else that threatens The Others.

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**Author:** ![wasson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4da419/32.png) [@wasson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wasson)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/225 "2007-04-18T15:58:59Z")

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[QUOTE=Peter Morris]  
I’m not convinced that ‘hostiles’ refers to the Others. I thought it meant the Losties, or anyone else that threatens The Others.  
[/QUOTE]  
All due respect, but that doesn’t really make any sense.

Marvin Candle, in a film sponsored by DHARMA, mentioned “The Hostiles”. This film was the same interactive movie that contacted the outside world, scheduled the DHARMA food drops, and implemented the explosion when the compound was taken over by the aforementioned Hostiles.

We know from Mikhail that The Hostiles were on the island before DHARMA got there. There was some type of war that eventually The Hostiles won. It’s also pretty clear that the group DHARMA called Hostiles is the same group the Losties call Others.

And I guess you could say that we can’t believe what Mikhail said and yadda yadda, but everything the show has presented supports the Hostiles/DHARMA war. The only thing that doesn’t make sense is why DHARMA is still supplying food to the island. I’m sure we’ll find out why in due time.

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**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/226 "2007-04-18T16:13:04Z")

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What if when Juliet said that “If I told you, you’d kill me”, she didn’t mean “You’re such a badass and wouldn’t like me afterwards so you’d kill me”, but instead, “You’re a fundamentaly decent person so you’d do me a favor and kill me”?

Recall that when Mikhail was pushed through the fence he said, “Thank you”.

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**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/227 "2007-04-18T16:18:21Z")

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[QUOTE=Peter Morris]  
I’m not convinced that ‘hostiles’ refers to the Others. I thought it meant the Losties, or anyone else that threatens The Others.  
[/QUOTE]

It wouldn’t make sense to mean the Losties. There are mentions of “Hostiles” (in the Marvin Candle video behind the chess game, Kelvin in the hatch with Desmond) that pre-date the plane crash. The term “Hostiles” was in use on the island before our Losties were even there.

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**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/228 "2007-04-18T16:19:44Z")

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[QUOTE=BlackKnight]  
What if when Juliet said that “If I told you, you’d kill me”, she didn’t mean “You’re such a badass and wouldn’t like me afterwards so you’d kill me”, but instead, “You’re a fundamentaly decent person so you’d do me a favor and kill me”?

Recall that when Mikhail was pushed through the fence he said, “Thank you”.  
[/QUOTE]

I took Juliet’s statement to mean two things:

1.) She’s been lead to believe that the losties are so bad that they will kill the others without thought.  
2.) That the only reason she hadn’t been killed yet is that she had information to share.

Her knowledge of Sayid (his torturous ways) would also be reason for this… once he had the information he wanted/needed from the “enemy”, he has no reason to let them live… and based on thier treatment of him, and earlier events related to the others, she could certainly see him thinking of them as the enemy.

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**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/229 "2007-04-18T16:25:16Z")

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[QUOTE=Peter Morris]  
I think they are the same, but Juliete’s is burned into flesh, and that makes it more fuzzy.  
[/QUOTE]

If I was shown the symbols in some other context I would say they are similar yet distinct, but given that they are both symbols related to the Others on a fictional show, it seems more likely that they are supposed to be the same and the makeup was just done poorly. For comparison:

[Juliet mark](http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:Julietmark.jpg)

[Tree mark](http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:Tree_mark.jpg)

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**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/230 "2007-04-18T16:47:00Z")

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[QUOTE=jackdavinci]

[Juliet mark](http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:Julietmark.jpg)

[Tree mark](http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:Tree_mark.jpg)  
[/QUOTE]

Juliet’s looks like a crude attempt to replicate the mark on the tree by scarification.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/231 "2007-04-18T16:53:29Z")

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[QUOTE=Gfactor]  
Juliet’s looks like a crude attempt to replicate the mark on the tree by scarification.  
[/QUOTE]

I completely disagree… I don’t know ‘what’ Juliets is supposed to be (maybe a dead TCM? hanging all upside down?) but it does not look like the tree mark. (not that I know what that represents either)

Main reason I say this is the distinct difference in lengths between the two center items… Juliet’s is clearly ‘longer’ …

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**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/232 "2007-04-18T16:55:23Z")

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[QUOTE=Monstre]  
It wouldn’t make sense to mean the Losties. There are mentions of “Hostiles” (in the Marvin Candle video behind the chess game, Kelvin in the hatch with Desmond) that pre-date the plane crash. The term “Hostiles” was in use on the island before our Losties were even there.  
[/QUOTE]

But “Hostiles” == “Losties H.”

-FrL-

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**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/233 "2007-04-18T18:39:13Z")

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[QUOTE=Frylock]  
But “Hostiles” == “Losties H.”-FrL-  
[/QUOTE]

_Strongly_ disagree.

“Hostiles” = “H Losties.”

😛

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**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/234 "2007-04-18T20:00:55Z")

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[QUOTE=wasson]

Mikhail, while wearing a DHARMA suit, admitted that he lied and was never DHARMA. Every single person on the island eats DHARMA food.

[/QUOTE]

Mikhail lied about being part of DHARMA? _checks up on [Lostpedia](http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Mikhail#On_the_Island)_ Well, crud, there goes part of my Thomas-Mittlewerk-is-Him theory. :smack:

(Edited to add: Although if Mikhail told the truth about [the purge](http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/The_purge), it could still fit in…)

I think the symbol on Juliet’s back looks similiar enough to the tree symbol to be the same–it looks about as accurate as you can get with scarrification (it’d be easier if they’d tattooed it on, those stupid Others ;)).

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/235 "2007-04-18T20:24:47Z")

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[QUOTE=Monstre]  
It wouldn’t make sense to mean the Losties. There are mentions of “Hostiles” (in the Marvin Candle video behind the chess game, Kelvin in the hatch with Desmond) that pre-date the plane crash. The term “Hostiles” was in use on the island before our Losties were even there.  
[/QUOTE]

You misunderstand me.

I think the term Hostiles means “anyone that comes to the Island and tries to invade DHARMA bases.” The losties currently fall into that category. It doesn’t mean them, specifically, but generally anyone like them.

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**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/236 "2007-04-18T20:29:08Z")

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[QUOTE=brianmelendez]  
_Strongly_ disagree.

“Hostiles” = “H Losties.”

😛  
[/QUOTE]

Uh oh.

_There must be two groups of Hostiles!_

-FrL-

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/237 "2007-04-18T22:38:38Z")

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Maybe if we stick them in a jar they’ll fight each other.

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**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/238 "2007-04-18T22:45:33Z")

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[QUOTE=rainy]  
Uh…I still don’t see any ruins. Is it just me?

-rainy  
[/QUOTE]

No, but then I was just trying to figure out where they put the baking soda in.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/239 "2007-04-18T22:55:48Z")

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[QUOTE=Cervaise]  
Maybe if we stick them in a jar they’ll fight each other.  
[/QUOTE]

The Island = A Jar. :eek:

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-3-16-one-of-us/399652/240 "2007-04-18T23:58:45Z")

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[QUOTE=brianmelendez]  
_Strongly_ disagree.

“Hostiles” = “H Losties.”

[/QUOTE]

Actually, its:

“Hostiles” == “Loshties”

So clearly the hostiles are drunk Losties.  
Also of interest:

Dharma Initiative == INITIATE AVID HARM

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