What a difference a few years make when it comes to Juliet's story. In flashbacks she must be convinced that she belongs to a group. In the present she must convince the group that she belongs.
Flashbacks reveal Juliet's tumultuous journey to the island, starting with a tearful goodbye to her sister Rachel. A tranquilizer-laden glass of OJ later, Juliet awakens on a submarine and ascends the ladder. Voila. There's our Juliet/Island hero shot.
From there it's a constant dance between Ben and Juliet. Ben's the puppetmaster, Juliet's the cursed obstetrician who can't leave until her work is done, until she solves the mystery of why pregnant women are dying on the island.
At the beach camp, Juliet is pushed aside as the entire camp (minus John Locke) happily reunites. She's kept at arm's length, even by lovable Hurley, until the inevitable crisis hits. Claire's sick and Juliet knows how to help her. After she administers a vaccine and restores Claire to health, she scores a coveted tent in the camp. She's one of them, or one of us, depending on your perspective. The big reveal: this was all a coordinated plan between Ben and Juliet, going all the way back to the gassing of the Barracks.
The narrative is pretty smooth but there's one aspect I'm not crazy about. Ben mentions that he's "activated Claire's implant" to make her sick, which is something I'd expect from The X-Files. It also seems too convenient a device, especially considering we never heard about the implant before or since.
It's very appropriate that this episode focuses on Juliet struggling to become a member of two different groups, because it's also an obstacle that Elizabeth Mitchell had to face. Nikki and Paulo were summarily rejected by the LOST fan base, so when Juliet was introduced as late as Season 3 it was anyone's guess whether she could blend in.
Excuse the pun, but I think it's safe to say she became one of us. And all the credit goes to Mitchell, who in "One of Us" demonstrated all the different aspects of Juliet we've come to love. There was vulnerable Juliet tearfully hugging her sister, enraged Juliet fighting with Ben in his kitchen, desperate Juliet clinging to the monitor showing Rachel and Julian. And she saved the best (or worst) for last: deceptive Juliet infiltrating the camp.
Emerson was especially good this time around, particularly the scenes where Juliet confronts him. Even as he's told he has a tumor he manages to spin off some dry, witty humor. Even as Juliet's screaming just inches from his face he stands rigidly and awkwardly.
Robin Weigert gets bonus points for another wonderful portrayal of Rachel Carlson — points which are offset by another robotic performance by William Mapother (Ethan).
Probably the most notable visual is the external shots of the submarine — even if (as Lostpedia points out) the structure shakes a bit as people step on/off it.
The directing and choreography of the mini-reunion scene at the beach camp is also nicely done, showing our Losties embrace each other until the camera pulls back to show Juliet looking on from a distance.
Other than that it was a smoothly directed episode, but nothing really stands out as an "above and beyond" effort.
This one falls in the middle pack of terms of being memorable. It's nowhere near a classic or a failure, it's a standard (in a good way) episode.
It's somewhat significant that Juliet earned the trust of the beach camp, although that trust would be broken and re-established over the next few episodes. The significance of Claire's ailment and the implant seems to be scoped to only this episode.
The most emotional moment occurred at the Flame of all places, where Juliet got a glimpse of Rachel and Julian back at the States. This is all thanks to Mitchell's superb acting, since we had little investment in Rachel other than a few brief flashbacks.
The bad news is that my strongest emotion was frustration and it was directed toward Jack. It wasn't the fact that he rushed to Juliet's defense when his fellow Losties confronted her — it was the way he went about it. How could he possibly not understand why his friends wanted absolutely nothing to do with her? The Jack we once knew would've taken them aside and gently made his case. The Jack in "One of Us" was more of a pompous ass, not requesting leniency but demanding it.
