Lost: Season 1 Episode 15 "Homecoming" Review

"Why do I remember peanut butter?"

-Claire Littleton

The 15th episode of Lost picks up with Locke (Terry O'Quinn) and Boone (Ian Somerhalder) bringing an unconscious Claire (Emilie de Ravin) back to the caves.  When she wakes up, the castaways learn she has no memory of any of them or where she has been.  The last thing she remembers was being on the plane.  While the rest of the survivors try to figure out what their next move is, Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) spends time with her and comforts her the best he can.

Charlie and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) are attacked by Ethan (William Mapother), who threatens to murder a castaway every day until Claire is given back to him.  Locke and Sayid (Naveen Andrews) set up guards for the night and build an alarm system, but Ethan outsmarts them by coming in from the water and kills Scott (Christian Bowman).

Charlie lies to Claire and says there is nothing unusual happening, but Claire eventually gets Shannon (Maggie Grace) to tell her about the Ethan situation.  She decides to do what she can to help stop Ethan.  Jack (Matthew Fox) comes up with a plan to use Claire as bait while he, Locke, Sayid, Kate (Evangeline Lilly), and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) hide nearby to protect her.  They all arm up with the guns the marshal brought on the plane.  Charlie demands to go with, but is rejected due to his lack of experience with firearms.

The plan works perfectly and Ethan falls for the trap.  Jack manages to beat Ethan into submission without the use of firearms.  Before they can question Ethan, Charlie appears with a gun that Jack dropped during the fight and shoots Ethan several times killing him.  Charlie tells Jack that he doesn't think Ethan would have answered any questions and wasn't going to risk letting him near Claire again.  That night, Claire tells Charlie she wants to trust him.

In flashbacks, we see Charlie charm his way into a relationship with the wealthy Lucy Heatherton (Sally Strecker) with the intention of stealing something valuable from her to pay for more heroin.  Charlie discovers he actually really likes Lucy and finally is honest with himself, Drive Shaft is probably never getting back together.  Lucy's father, Francis (Jim Piddock), offers him a job, but the withdrawal gets to Charlie and he steals a cigarette case that belonged to Winston Churchill.  He gets violently ill at his first sales meeting and the case is found on him.  Charlie tries to patch things up with Lucy, but she angrily dismisses him.

What Works:

As I've mentioned before, the Ethan-arc might be my favorite storyline in the entirety of Lost.  This is the episode that really concludes that storyline and, while some people don't love it, I'm a big fan.  Ethan's attack on Charlie and Jin is terrifying, the threat he poses to the other survivors is palpable, and the fight between Jack and Ethan is great.  This is the scariest storyline in the entire show and "Homecoming" gives us a solid conclusion.

A lot of people don't like that Charlie kills Ethan before he can spill the beans.  I never really minded this.  Charlie's rational makes enough sense to me.  The guy did hang him from a tree.  I think Charlie's actions are justified here.  It leaves us in the dark and lets our imaginations run wild, which is one thing I love about the show.  Eventually we do get the answers about where Claire was, but I don't mind that we didn't get them in "Homecoming".

I really enjoyed watching the survivors come together to take on the threat.  Whether it was building alarm traps, standing guard all night, or being part of the confrontation with Ethan, this group worked together and that's something we don't get to see all the time on this show.

I have some issues with Charlie's flashbacks, but the one thing I really loved was the dinner scene with Charlie, Lucy, and Francis.  Watching Charlie finally be honest with himself about the fate of Drive Shaft was great and Dominic Monaghan gave a strong performance.

What Sucks:

My only complaint with this episode comes from the rest of the Charlie flashbacks.  I found them distracting from the island plot and just wanted to get back to the island.  Also, the scene with Charlie getting sick in the sales meeting didn't jive tonally with the other events from this episode. 

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most useful character in a given episode.  There are a few options for "Homecoming" and there are arguments for Locke, Charlie, and Claire to receive the award, but I'm going to give it to Jack.  His plan to stop Ethan is the one that worked, his use of the guns was a smart idea, and he physically bested Ethan.  This is Jack's 4th time winning the award, which puts him solely in 1st place.

Verdict:

Not everybody loves "Homecoming" and I understand why, but I really enjoy it.  The flashbacks aren't the best, but Ethan's return is terrifying on every level, I really liked watching the survivors band together to defeat Ethan, and I have no issues with Charlie's decision to kill him.  "Homecoming" has absolutely got it going on.

 9/10: Great