Preview: Something Nice Back Home

Doesn’t it feel great to be back in the swing of things with Lost? After an electrifying and intriguing Ben-centric start to this mini-season, I am so ready for episode 2…and Jack.

Tonight’s show, “Something Nice Back Home,” has been given the following ABC promo sentence: “Kate and Juliet must learn to work together when Jack's health is seriously compromised, and something goes wrong as Sawyer, Claire, Aaron and Miles continue their trek away from Locke's camp and back to the beach.” From the preview clips we have seen, it looks like Baby Aaron (God bless that child) lets out a cry while hiding from the evil Martin Keamy (the former Marine hitman from the freighter)…which, in my humble opinion, is probably the something that goes wrong. The clips also show a collapsing Jack, a crying Kate, and an authoritative “Dr. Juliet” on the beach. Yes, friends, we have the return of the Jack Shepherd Love Triangle (it is actually a Love Square if you include me…and a Love Pentagon if you include Charlie…).

Some of you are likely disappointed in this return to character arcs from mythology arcs. However, I, for one, am excited for an episode that 1) returns to the beach dwellers (it has been awhile); 2) gives Jack more than 3 lines in an episode; 3) gives Juliet ANY lines (is it just me, or has she not talked for awhile?); and 4) begins to set up the relationship between Jack and Kate that leads to the courtroom scene where Kate’s wide-eyed response to Jack’s entrance led us to believe that there is definitely something between them. To quote an excellent Lost review on EW.com this week, “even as Lost barrels along to its fourth-season finale, it's still possible to watch this thing without a map, a Bible concordance, and a headache.” Rather than complain about what this episode may not bring to the mythology, I’m going to take it at face value and appreciate the return of the characters, story lines, and relationships that made me fall in love with the show (and Jack?) so many, many years ago (okay, so it was only 3 years ago, but you get what I mean).

Let’s take a look at the characters we will see tonight, review where they have been, and talk about where this story line could go.

Something Nice Back Home

Unlike last week’s episode, we don’t have any known literary references to this evening’s episode of Lost. I know what you are thinking: “Maggie, have you lost your marbles? This is Lost! Titles don’t just fall out of the sky! You can’t just say it is a title and nothing else…come on! FIND THE ANSWER SO I CAN GET BACK TO WORK!” Listen up, Dharma Blog readers. I need to get back to work, too. That’s right…Charlie and I don’t get paid to write this blog (we wait anxiously by our phones every day, hoping Doc Jensen will call and ask for some advice…but it still hasn’t happened). All this rambling aside, I think the mythology is going to take a bit of a break and we’re going to get some hard-core character stories.

Maggie says: “Something Nice Back Home” likely refers to just that: something nice back home that our survivors are missing.

So let’s dive into this a little bit. What are the characters missing? They’ve had conversations about this multiple times over the last four seasons. The first conversation that comes to mind is Charlie and Claire back in season 1. Claire tells Charlie that the first thing she will eat when she gets off the island is peanut butter. In a beautiful display of friendship, Charlie creates imaginary peanut butter for the oh-so-pregnant Claire to eat…and she loves it. At one point, Kate mentions to Jack that she can’t wait to take a warm shower (which she gets for a bit in The Swan).

Material things aside, an interesting thing to note is that most of our characters (I am talking about the original survivors) are escaping a past that they want to leave behind…meaning there isn’t much that they truly are missing back home. Go with me on this…

Jack: Doctor living in the professional and personal shadow of a father who cares more about his job than his son. Learned what marriage should be like from his parents…which led to the downfall of his own marriage to Sarah. Mixes the professional and the personal too much – always living as Dr. Shepherd, not Jack. This all changes when he comes to the island, however, as he shows vulnerability and “Jack” to Kate during the first few episodes. His something nice back home? All I can think of is a likely high-paying job with great health insurance.

Kate: Fugitive on the run living in the shadow of a past that she will never be able to change: she killed her father. Learned what marriage should be like from her parents…which led to a constant distrust of all men, all the time. Showed vulnerability and “Kate” to Jack during the first few episodes, but is clinging to the familiar with Sawyer (“he understands me”). Her something nice back home? Well, Island Kate believes that the only nice thing back home is a guaranteed prison sentence for murder.

Locke: A disabled man living who has been denied by his father more times than you can count on one hand. Living in the shadow of a wheelchair, holding grudges against most people. All he ever wanted was to belong somewhere, to be someone. His something nice back home? A really sweet VW bug and the fact that his mom is the amazing Swoozie Kurtz (anyone else miss the show Sisters like I do??).

Hurley: Millionaire cursed by a set of numbers that he received from a man in a mental institution. Everywhere he turns, the numbers cause disaster – death by asteroid, house fires, men falling from high story buildings, plane crashes, etc. His something nice back home? All that money…even though it is cursed.

Claire: A single mother who was left by her jerk boyfriend during her pregnancy and convinced by a psychic that her baby must be raised by her or some random couple in LA that she had never met. Regrets the way she treated her mother as a teenager, learned about relationships from her mother (who was left by her own jerk boyfriend, Christian Shepherd, back in the day). Her something nice back home? Pottery Barn Kids catalogs and a cute nursery for her baby.

Sawyer: A reformed con-man living in the shadow of his mistakes. A sucker for the chase, he also is one of the most trusting people on the island. Has definitely been screwed over in the past by many people…all the while, he was also screwing them over. Seems on the verge of possible reform when he gets on Oceanic 815. His something nice back home? A change in the way he lives his life…and his daughter, Clementine.

Jin and Sun: A couple who didn’t listen to the “Listen to your Spouse” section of Catholic Marriage Prep. Living a life of lies and deceit, Jin and Sun’s marriage is on the verge of collapse when Oceanic 815 went down. The island has brought them closer together, despite some ongoing secrecy. Their something nice back home? A new start to their marriage.

As you can see, it will be interesting to find the connection between our episode title and our story line.

Quick Review of the Love Triangle/Square/Etc
Season 1: Jack <--> Kate <--> Sawyer
Season 2: Jack <--> Kate <--> Sawyer <--> Ana Lucia
Season 3: Juliet <--> Jack <--> Kate <--> Sawyer
Season 4: Maggie <--> Jack <--> Kate <--> Charlie Stephan

And that's all she wrote. Come on back tomorrow for an excellent review by Mr. Stephan!

Namaste,
Maggie