On Lost: "Something Nice Back Home"

Chalk one up for the Jaters... oh wait, maybe not. Last night's episode "Something Nice Back Home" was definitely a bridge episode -- but , oh what a bridge. Granted there wasn't a giant smoke monster tearing up a small militia (or did he even take out Keamy's crew?). It also didn't have Ben's vendetta against the rule-changing Charles Widmore. What made this episode great was the fact that it just contained so much story. Jack's flash-forward made this one of his most interesting "centric" episodes. We all remember what may be the worst episode of Lost ever: the Bai Ling tainted "Stranger in a Strange Land." Not only was Jack's story interesting for a change, but the inclusion of the other characters such as Rose, Bernard, Sun, Jin, Sawyer, Claire, Juliet, Miles, Faraday, and Charlotte and giving them great story and character development. If this were season 2, the most we would have gotten was Jack needing his appendix taken out, but even that dramatic scene took a back seat to all of the other stories going on.

Jack and Kate: Happily Ever After?

Well, that loud squealing that you heard when Kate came out of the shower? Yeah, that was the large mass of Jater (Jack and Kate) shippers (fans of the relationships on the shows) screaming with giddy joy. By the end of the episode, the same "Who is she going to choose?" came up and the Jaters hung their heads low. Are Jack and Kate going to have a happily ever after? Or like a lot of things post-island, will there really be a happy ending for them or anyone?

All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

Thanks to the alert of a trusty smoke detector, Jack had a visit from deceased father Christian. When Jack visited Hurley in the mental institution, his fellow Oceanic Six-er passed along Charlie's warning from beyond-the-grave that he was going to have a visitor. Looks like Charlie was right. Now that we have seen two dead people off the island, is it just Jacob trying to get the Oceanic Six back? Sure seems like it. This episode also explained why Jack seemed to believe that his father was alive in last season's finale.

Christian Shepherd Strikes Again

As if the appearance of Christian Shephard in Jack's flash-forward wasn't chill inducing enough! How about his pied piper lure of Claire? Of course, we assume that Christian Shephard is actually Jacob, but why does he want Claire and not Aaron? Now that Claire is "gone," will we not see her again until the end of the season like her disappearance in Season 1?

What was Kate Doing for Sawyer?

The event that set the paranoid Jack off was Kate keeping a promise to Sawyer. What was that promise? I think it was that Kate would meet up with Sawyer's old flame Cassidy and make sure that she and his daughter Clementine were ok and taken care of. Also, Jack's statement that, "He chose to stay behind," answers that there are more survivors who are still on the island. Of course, we'll have to get to the rest of that story later.

Extra Points of Thought

• Juliet, who finally showed kindness to Kate, seems as though she saw the writing on the wall. Jack wants and loves Kate.
• Miles seemed to have a bit of a crush on Claire, and we got to see into his "Claire"voyant abilities (haha). Why did he let her go off with Zombie Christian?
• Jin using whatever means necessary to get his wife and future child to safety off the island was a great touch. Jin may have changed his ways, but you better not mess with him when it comes to his wife and child. You go Jin!
• Why didn't Smokey kill Keamy and his militia? If he can bring down the big bad Mr. Eko, then some guys with guns shouldn't have been too much trouble, right?

Once again we had another season 4 episode of Lost that definitely satisfied. The entire episode did a great job of moving the story forward while helping us solves some mysteries or ideas from the past. I think may be even more excited to see what the team of Hurley, Ben and Locke hopefully run into next week!

What did you think? What are your thoughts, questions, comments, and/or theories? Let's open up the discussion in the comment section below.

Be sure to also check out my podcast "The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack" or on iTunes by searching "Jay and Jack" or "Lost Podcast"

Comments

[highburygoon]

Here's a thought...

The smoke detector goes off, and then Christian appears. If Christian = Jacob, then perhaps Jacob = Smokey?

[bigdgib]

I found it interesting that Jack had an appendectomy, yet during the flash forward he was walking around in a towel with no noticeable scar. Add to that Hurley's statement that they're all dead, living in a dreamlike perfect fantasy...what does all that imply?

[ChicagoPat]

He actually does have an appendectomy scar. You can only see it briefly during the towel scene when it is hit obliquely by the lighting, but it is there.

[Cathexis]

Great point! Have to admit, I didn't notice the lack of scar, but I was struck by Hurley's speculation and by the fact that this scenario did seem very idyllic -- too idyllic for being so early in the season. ;-)

I have always suspected an "island as metaphor" situation where all of this is not actually real. I know, I know, the writers have denied this. Still, it just seems to fit SO conveniently!

[LiberalBuzz]

Ya know I quit watching Lost sometime during the last part of the second season when it began to appear they had no idea of what they were doing or where the show was headed. It just got weirder and weirder without anything EVER being figured out.

THEN I started to watch the first of episode of a season, grab one somewhere in the middle and then the season (non) cliff hanger.

I try to occasionally find out what is going on but to be honest after reading your current report and this is NOT a dig at you, but it STILL doesn't make any sense. I get the feeling the show is being written literally as it is being shot, thus the loss of common sense and occasional WTF moments.

BUT I digress, what happened with the two people who got buried alive? That was the last show I watched when I realized this show just wasn't making any sense anymore. Did they die or did someone figure it out in time? Ya know the one, that rare poison that makes it appear you are dead minus the change in lividity, blood dispersal, and anything that anyone with half a lick of sense would have noticed particularly the change in skin tone.

Just curious.

[kidhill]

So you watch, what, maybe 3-4 episodes out of 20+ each season (or 14 for this season) and it doesn't make any sense to you? Hmm, imagine that.

As for the two people that got buried alive, it was a kind of joke to the audience that actually follows the show.

And yes, a lot of things are left a mystery, mainly because it's a MYSTERY show.

Just saying.

[LiberalBuzz]

I followed it religously the first two seasons, which is why I finally just started checking in occasionally because it stopped making any kind of sense.

You can only drag a mystery out for so long before you start losing viewers and that is exactly what happened and why they finally announced it was ending. The viewership was dropping like a rock. So they hoped with announced endings people would come back.

So the question still remains, what happened to the two buried alive? I realize the cult followers get all bent out of shape that ANYONE would dare to question what was going on in the show but I'm still curious.

[ChrisR]

Nope, sorry - your excuses are lame. Would you read the first 2 chapters of a book, skip to a page in chapter 3, another page in chapter 4, then complain the book makes no sense and the writer's a hack? This show is literally a book. Rent the DVDs to catch up.

I recommend going to Lostpedia (http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Main_Page) - great site with links everywhere to fill you in.

The producers have known from day 1 exactly where the show is going - the details have changed as circumstances come up but the overall story line has always been in place. In season 1 they said they saw it as a 5-year story.

The two buried alive were basically written out of the show as these new characters were not working (this was before the producers finally worked out the end date with the network - which is why the stories can now crank as they know exactly how many episodes they have left to tell the entire story); and it was a good story. They are dead and buried now, but on this island who knows what will happen?? Check Lostpedia and look up Nikki and Paulo.

Also, the "cult followers" CONSTANTLY question what's going on with the show - in fact their online comments that Nikki and Paulo were lame helped convince the producers to kill them off, and in a perfect "Twilight Zone" way. Know any other shows where the fans have input like that?

[hapkidokid]

Just wanted to say, love these posts, love the show, obviously. Keep up the good work!

[mikedee23]

As far as Smokey not killing Kemey's guys, maybe Ben needs to control him until he actually kills someone.

It was Ben controlling Smokey pulling Locke into that hole. It was Ben controlling Smokey when he chased Jack and he is the one who killed the pilot. It was Ben who killed Eko.