TVSquad

(Spoiler alert for those who have not seen the "Not in Portland episode).

While the "Not in Portland" episode of Lost featured several memorable moments, the bus accident is close to the top of the list. Since last week there has been considerable debate about that scene, most of which brings the accidental nature of Edmund's demise into question.

Was the cause of Edmund's death a coincidence, or was there foul play? Could Mittelos Bioscience have played a role? What did we learn about Juliet from this episode? Continue below if you wish to examine the bus accident a bit further.

The Case For Coincidence: The writers of Lost have made a habit of sneaking coincidental details into each episode for the viewers' benefit. This has come in the form of the numbers, of characters' lives intersecting, and of characters' loved ones popping up in other people's flashbacks. It would be easy to add Juliet's offhand comment about her ex-husband getting hit by a bus, as well as said ex-husband's death, to the pile of bizarre Lost coincidences.

Conspiracy theorists would love to assume that Dr. Alpert and Ethan Rom of Mittelos Bioscience engineered the bus accident, but there were tons of variables that were beyond their control. They would had to have known when Juliet and Edmund were exiting the building; they would have had to find a way to get Edmund to step into the street; and, they would have had to time the bus' presence perfectly. All of this planning for a weak-willed fertility researcher? Given Edmund's ethics deficiency, it is likely that he could have been bribed to release Juliet from employment. There were also easier ways to coerce Juliet than by killing her former spouse in precisely the way that she had mentioned. The most reasonable explanation? Dr. Alpert took advantage of a fortunate coincidence and of Juliet's fragile mental state in order to persuade her to accept Mittelos Bioscience's offer.

It is also doubtful that Juliet had any part in Edmund's death. She appeared to be genuinely distraught both at the scene of the accident and at the morgue. There has been speculation that Juliet has powers similar to those of Walt, and made the crash happen with her mind. Given her role in the Others' community, this is difficult to believe. The Others treated Walt as a prisoner, and examined him like a lab rat. Juliet, on the other hand, is part of the Others' chain of command. At the present time, she is regarded by the Others as one of their own and has not employed any supernatural powers on the island.

The Case Against Coincidence: While it is true that the writers love coincidences, they are normally on the level of Easter eggs, not significant events in a character's storyline. The fact that neither Juliet's remark nor Edmund's death were remotely subtle or hidden within the episode makes the "coincidence" angle less plausible.

If the recruiters from Mittelos Bioscience were not involved in the accident, they were suspiciously eager to look the other way (to the point of forgetting Juliet's comment altogether). Remember the X-rays of the 26-year-old who appeared to be in her seventies? Mittelos could be connected to strange phenomena beyond fertility issues. The writers definitely wanted viewers to see Ethan skulking around Juliet's sister's apartment. One has to wonder the degree to which Juliet was being followed by Mittelos. Moreover, Alpert and Ethan knew enough about Juliet's whereabouts to show up at the morgue at the perfect time.

Juliet's role in Edmund's death makes the most sense in light of the episode's Easter eggs. Viewers will recall that, in the flashback, Juliet's sister was reading Carrie, which Juliet called her favorite book in "A Tale of Two Cities." What is Carrie about? A young woman with special powers (telekinesis and telepathy) who is bullied relentlessly. Juliet has had more than her share of bullies in life; first Edmund, then Ben. And what happens to these bullies? Edmund gets hit by a bus after Juliet voices the possibility, and Ben nearly gets killed by Jack during his surgery (on Juliet's orders). Juliet may not have telekinesis, but she is eerily capable of getting people or things to get rid of the men in her life.

"Not in Portland" was deliberately ambiguous, as always, but I believe that viewers should keep an eye on Juliet. She continues to demonstrate that she is more than she appears to be. Perhaps the next few episodes will reveal more of her true nature. Feel free to offer your theories in the comments below.