It was a genuine, tender moment that all but made up for the somewhat silly "Stop the nerve gas!" antics that preceded it. Lost's Juliet, haunted by Ben's obsession, shared a rain-soaked lip-lock with Jack. Luckily for "Jacket" fans, more of the same seems to be on the horizon. Elizabeth Mitchell shares with us what's ahead, names the episode she deems "perfect" and talks about returning to work after the strike. (Lost airs Thursdays at 9 pm/ET on ABC.)

TVGuide.com: What was with that bait-and-switch you did for the TV Guide cover shoot? I saw you and Naveen [Andrews] and thought, "Oh, Sayid is going to pop up in Juliet's flashback or flash-forward" and... no such thing.Elizabeth Mitchell: You know, it was more wishful thinking, wasn't it? I called it "a little fantasy episode."

TVGuide.com: It was a hot photo shoot, though.Mitchell: It really was! Naveen and I have known each other for a long time, so we're comfortable together and we were able to play. It was very film noir-ish, and we both enjoyed that tremendously.

TVGuide.com: Let me pull out this quote you gave me a year and a half ago: "I don't know what kind of past Juliet and Ben have, but it definitely is complicated and intricate."Mitchell: Yeah! [Laughs] I guess so!

TVGuide.com: And you were probably just pulling that out of your bum!Mitchell: Well, I knew it was something really, really bad. But I didn't anticipate standing over the body of my dead lover with a stake sticking out of his heart, and having Ben claim responsibility. That wasn't in my imagination. I thought it was an interesting twist.

TVGuide.com: Can we talk about the ill-advised decision to engage in an extramarital affair on a small, isolated island? I mean, people are going to talk.Mitchell: It's the same thing as, "You should never have an affair with anyone you work with," and of course that never happens. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: I get this weird feeling that at the end of the day, it's going to come down to Juliet sacrificing herself to save Jack.Mitchell: Well, I think that Juliet loves Jack. I've always said that. If she did do that... It certainly seems very likely to me, something along those lines. She's also tied up with [pregnant] Sun, so who knows, but it's a possibility. She's very rabid about the people she cares about. My mom said that this morning: "You know what I like about Juliet? I like that she likes the people she cares about so much." I said, "Well, that is lovely. It is good."

TVGuide.com: Let's talk about Juliet's kiss with Jack. Are we going to get any more of that?Mitchell: I think we are, actually. I don't know when, but they're setting something up. I knew that was coming because there was all this stuff with Jack and Kate. That's the fun for them, creating these "triangles." And when they went back into the Jack and Kate connection, I thought, "It seems like they're going to pump up the stuff between Jack and Juliet," and that's what happened. [Pauses] I was very happy that Jack kissed her. I thought that was a particularly good scene for Matthew [Fox], in that he came across as a very strong and very leading man. I really enjoyed how he played that. His whole face changed when she said that she cared about him, and I thought that was fascinating. I've always liked them together, but I also liked Jack and Kate together, in the first season. But in watching Jack and Juliet, I hate to say the word, but there's such a maturity to them in the way they complement each other. So we'll see where that goes.

TVGuide.com: Are you able to still watch the show as a fan?Mitchell: Yeah, I am! It's kind of fun to watch it now. The making of the episode was such a struggle because there was so much emotion, that to sit back and watch it as a fan was much nicer. I didn't realize what a build there would be to the kiss. I didn't realize how we are so sucked into our romantic archetypes that when Jack steps forward and takes care of Juliet, something in me went, "Ohhh!" My sweet husband was in Washington, and he said he stood up and started clapping: "He did it! He did it!" [Laughs] He was really excited.

TVGuide.com: Lost really gives you two different kinds of episodes: the "real" episodes, like last night, and ones like the week before, which are a whole different kind of entertainment.Mitchell: I have to say, that Desmond episode was as perfect an episode as you can get. I freakin' loved it. I don't think he had a bad moment as an actor, the writing was A-plus.... It was fantastic in every way. And the speed! It was like a roller-coaster. I felt like ours was more of a "Sit back and take a deep breath" episode.

TVGuide.com: Are you able to shed any light on what Juliet's therapist meant when she said, "Of course [Ben likes you]. You look just like her." There are theories that it's a childhood crush, or perhaps his late mother (glimpsed in the May 2007 episode "The Man Behind the Curtain").Mitchell: No, I'm not [able to shed light]. It could be a love-of-his-life kind of thing, or it could be his mother. You never know with Ben. It could be someone we haven't even met yet. Luckily, this season we're going to get to know a lot more about Ben.

TVGuide.com: We actually did a reader poll at the start of the season, asking which character people want to learn more about. Ben and Juliet placed Nos. 1 and 2.Mitchell: Oh, that's so nice. They created an amazing and complicated woman, and they made her very much a woman. I was very proud — proud is an odd word to use — but I was proud of the creation of her and the way they did it. It was very brave, I thought.

TVGuide.com: Is there a sort of "letdown" for a Lost actor after you get "your" episode for the season?Mitchell: [Laughs] I'm so flipping hard on myself that for me it's a relief! Other people's episodes are a heck of a lot easier to watch. This is like pulling nails. I suppose there is [a letdown], but at the same time I'm a story dork. I'm a book reader, a comic-book reader, so I'm always interested in what happens next. I actually just got the script for [Episode] 409, and I was sitting here reading it just completely entranced, and it had very little to do with me. That's the kind of show it is. I was already a fan, so to be on the "inside" of it is kind of crazy.

TVGuide.com: Are you excited to be back at work?Mitchell: Yeah.... Aren't you excited the strike's over?

TVGuide.com: Um, yeah!Mitchell: It's nice, isn't it? It's exciting that people are watching Lost and getting intrigued with it. That makes me happy.

TVGuide.com: The TV Guide cover story featured "Burning Questions from the Cast Members." Did you have any that didn't make the cut?Mitchell: I don't! Do you have any?

TVGuide.com: Well....Mitchell: I'm always curious what people are curious about. Me, I'm just going to sit back and see what happens next!

Check out full episodes and clips of Lost in our Online Video Guide.

For more features, news and inside scoop, check out the latest issue of TV Guide, with our exclusive story on the secrets of the American Idol top 12! Plus: A preview of Dancing with the Stars' new season. Try four risk-free issues of TV Guide now!

Who would have imagined that Survi­vor could still surprise us? Yet its 16th edition, Micronesia: Fans vs. Favorites (Thursdays at 8 pm/ET, CBS; see programming note below) — which finds notable former players alongside a group of ardent devotees — has proven refreshingly unpredictable. According to host Jeff Probst, the twists just keep on comin': "Mark my words. There's so much crazy stuff to come — the kind that producers pray to the real­ity gods for." Here's an exclusive peek at the whiplash headed your way. (Lots of spoilers ahead!)

Jonathan Penner is forced to leave the game — and he's not alone! A nasty gash on his right leg that Jonathan sustained during a chal­lenge in the March 6 episode grows increasingly infected, ultimately forc­ing the prickly player out of the game on March 13. Says Probst: "There was a certain point when our doctor said, 'You're done. If the infection's not treated, it will spread to your lymph nodes and kill you.'" (Jonathan was rushed to the nearest hospital for treat­ment and has since fully recovered.)

Perhaps the bigger shock is that he won't be the only player to leave this season without having his torch snuffed. While Probst won't specify whether the second exit is the result of an injury, he will reveal that it happens in this week's episode, airing Wednesday, March 19 (due to the NCAA tournament). "It's a testament," the host says, "to the wear and tear, not only physically but emo­tionally, that this game can take."

Unfortunately for the remaining players, the two premature exits don't preclude trips to tribal council — meaning viewers will see a total of four Survivors leave within two episodes. "Thank god," Probst says with a laugh, "we started with 20 people."

The favorites face betrayal! After the teams were switched up in the March 6 episode, loyalty to original tribes remained for most — but not all. "Somebody's gonna jump ship," Probst teases. "The big question is, who's gonna flip?" The most obvious answer would seem to be Ami Cusack and/or Eliza Orlins, whose alliance took a seri­ous hit with Jonathan's premature exit. "The aftermath of Jonathan leaving is how many other people it affects," Probst concedes. "Ami seriously starts to question her loyalty to the favorites and wonders if maybe there's a better opportunity across the street."

Ozzy and Amanda's romance is legit (not so much James and Parvati's)! One alliance that seems stronger than ever is jungle wonderboy Ozzy Lusth and tribe mate Amanda Kimmel, who have quickly become Survivor's hottest couple since All-Stars' Rob and Amber. (Their recent nighttime make-out session just might pale in comparison to their "really sexy shower scene" after they win a reward challenge in the March 19 episode.)

Probst believes the connection between the favorites twosome is real. "Ozzy fell in love right away," he says, "and Amanda is falling in love as it goes." (Word is that the two, who both live in Los Angeles, have remained an item since filming in Micronesia wrapped in December.)

In contrast, Probst characterizes the season's other flirtation, between Parvati Shallow and chiseled James Clement, as "equal opportunity. Parvati's playing James, and I'm not sure James cares one way or the other. He's getting what he wants, and she's getting what she needs — to get further in the game."

Probst cautions that for both pairs, such open alliances could backfire: "I don't think it's in their best interests. It can make them vulnerable." But with Ozzy a dominant force in challenges and in possession of the immunity idol, he and Amanda have the potential to make like Rob and Amber in another way and win the million.

The fake idol is found! In the March 13 episode, one player discov­ers the false idol Ozzy left on Exile Island and believes, as the heartthrob hoped, that it's the real deal. And you just know somebody's gonna play it. But it's the real idol that may cause the biggest drama of the season. "The hidden idol has never played a bigger role than it does this time," Probst says. "Your jaw is gonna drop at least twice, and maybe more, when you see how it's played."

James passes on the title of "dumbest move in Survivor history"! By the end of this season, the hard-bodied gravedigger might not feel so ashamed about failing to use either of his two immunity idols in China. In Micronesia, says Probst, "there are three or four people lining up to hold that crown." Like James, some are on the re­ceiving end of what the host claims are more blindsides at tribal council than ever before. "We have four or five," he says, "in a row." Play on, players!

Check out clips of Survivor: Micronesia in our Online Video Guide.

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Having spent his formative years teenybopping around with The Mickey Mouse Club and 'N Sync, you'd think J.C. Chasez would be over the whole kids-getting-their-groove-on scene. But as the most encouraging judge on Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew (tonight at 10 pm/ET, MTV), he's proof-positive that growing up doesn't always mean saying bye, bye, bye to the past.

TV Guide: As a judge, you really know your stuff.J.C. Chasez: I try. I've been in the business for 15 years or so and I've been dancing for at least that long. So I feel like I [add to] the show by bringing my experience and telling these young people what I think.

TV Guide: So what's your advice to the Dance Crew hopefuls?Chasez: I think they should be very proud of what they can offer. They're not professional dancers, but viewers [love] what these kids are doing every week.

TV Guide: Didn't you hit the studio with Justin Timberlake recently?Chasez: Yeah, we've worked on a few songs... for me, actually. And those were a bit out of both our comfort zones, so none of them sound like, "Oh, Justin did that," because he put on a producer hat rather than an artist hat.

TV Guide: Does it terrify you that folks can YouTube your old Mickey Mouse Club numbers?Chasez: You know, I have no control over that, but I'm not ashamed of it in any way, shape or form. I'm not going to be embarrassed by something I did when I was 14. Those are like my high school years, and I'm proud of that.

TV Guide: Have you or any of your former Club costars reached out to Britney?Chasez: I think everybody who's had the opportunity to appeal to her has, but this world isn't perfect and not everybody who has crossed her path has done right by her. I just know that she's been nothing but kind to me and... I hope that she comes out of this in a positive way.

Check out clips of J.C. Chasez in our Online Video Guide.

For more features, news and inside scoop, check out the latest issue of TV Guide, with our exclusive story on the secrets of the American Idol top 12! Plus: A preview of Dancing with the Stars' new season. Try four risk-free issues of TV Guide now!