I think "One of Us" deserves a slightly higher reputation than it currently has. I cannot think of anything about the episode that is weak. The flashback shows us how Juliet got to the island and goes further in exploring her experiences on the island, particularly her relationship with Ben (which would be expanded on later in "The Other Woman", a far weaker episode in every way). The flashbacks also reveal some important aspects of how the Others lived before the plane crashed, what some of their experiments dealt with, how they gathered information, and Juliet's struggle with life on the island, her desire to leave.
On the island the drama starts on a low scale with Juliet arriving back at the camp and Claire falling ill, but slowly as we begin to see the bigger picture we begin to see the strength of the writing for this episode and the wonderful way it was structured. Ultimately it ends up a fascinating exploration of power and trust on the island, and the final revelation, technically part of a flashback, makes for an excellent ending. On-island flashbacks can either be terrific or underwhelming, but this episode is right up there with "The Brig" for me, though I prefer that episode for other reasons.
"One of Us" is a brilliant episode with a particularly neat narrative structure and some very good answers and plot advancement. The performances are also terrific as is Jack Bender's direction. A fine episode indeed, and part of the tremendous second half of season 3, possibly the best run of episodes the series has ever had.
On the island the drama starts on a low scale with Juliet arriving back at the camp and Claire falling ill, but slowly as we begin to see the bigger picture we begin to see the strength of the writing for this episode and the wonderful way it was structured. Ultimately it ends up a fascinating exploration of power and trust on the island, and the final revelation, technically part of a flashback, makes for an excellent ending. On-island flashbacks can either be terrific or underwhelming, but this episode is right up there with "The Brig" for me, though I prefer that episode for other reasons.
"One of Us" is a brilliant episode with a particularly neat narrative structure and some very good answers and plot advancement. The performances are also terrific as is Jack Bender's direction. A fine episode indeed, and part of the tremendous second half of season 3, possibly the best run of episodes the series has ever had.