The character of Dr. Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell) is featured in the episode's flashbacks, which reveal how Juliet got on the Island and why she went to the island in the first place. While on the island, Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly), Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews) and Juliet trek back to the beach camp, and Claire Littleton (Emilie de Ravin) is struck by a mysterious illness. Andrew Divoff, William Mapother, Brett Cullen and Nestor Carbonell again reprise their recurring roles as Others; Mikhail Bakunin, Ethan Rom, Goodwin and Richard Alpert. The Island events in this episode take place between December 13 and December 15, 2004.