Homecoming 

After Claire returns with no memory since the flight, Jack and Locke form a plan against her kidnapper, who threatens to kill the other survivors.

Director:

Kevin Hooks

Writers:

Jeffrey Lieber (created by), J.J. Abrams (created by)

Stars:

Naveen Andrews, Emilie de Ravin, Matthew Fox

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Naveen Andrews	...	Sayid Jarrah
Emilie de Ravin	...	Claire Littleton
Matthew Fox	...	Dr. Jack Shephard
Jorge Garcia	...	Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes
Maggie Grace	...	Shannon Rutherford
Josh Holloway	...	James 'Sawyer' Ford
Malcolm David Kelley	...	Walt Lloyd
Daniel Dae Kim	...	Jin-Soo Kwon
Yunjin Kim	...	Sun-Hwa Kwon
Evangeline Lilly	...	Kate Austen
Dominic Monaghan	...	Charlie Pace
Terry O'Quinn	...	John Locke
Harold Perrineau	...	Michael Dawson
Ian Somerhalder	...	Boone Carlyle
William Mapother	...	Dr. Ethan Rom

Storyline

After the missing Claire returns with no recollection of what has happened since before the doomed flight of Oceanic 815, Jack and Locke formulate a plan of defense against her kidnapper, the mysterious Ethan Rom, who threatens to kill off the other survivors unless Claire is returned to him. Meanwhile, the disappointment Charlie feels when Claire does not remember him triggers recollections of Lucy, a woman he had let down in the past back in England where Charlie ruined their engagement so he could steal money from her to fuel his escalating heroin addition.

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Plot Keywords:

pregnancy | kidnapping | beach | tattoo | band | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

9 February 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bad Robot, Touchstone Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

41 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Throughout this episode, Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) wears a Bucket brand t-shirt. This is a popular brand of clothes marketed to surfers, but is uncommon in England. This indicates that Charlie is probably wearing a shirt scavenged from the plane, carried by a surfer from either Sydney or Los Angeles.

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Goofs

During Jack and Ethan's fight, Jack's tattoo switches from his left arm (where it is supposed to be) to the right, and then back to the left arm.

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Quotes

Charlie: So, where's the old man?
Lucy: I don't know. I think he's buying some paper company up in Slough.

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Connections

References The Office (2001)

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Soundtracks

End Title
(uncredited)
Written by Michael Giacchino
Performed by The Hollywood Studio Symphony

User Reviews

Ethan returns

With Homecoming, the mystery arc of Lost plays a very important role, returning for a predominant spot alongside co-creator Damon Lindelof, who wrote the script and has subsequently admitted that he too, like some fans and critics, considers the episode a disappointment. While refreshingly candid, that remark is actually erroneous, as Homecoming is a masterpiece of tension, pathos and light comedy - all in one 40-minute package.

The teaser picks up with Locke finding Claire in the jungle and bringing her back to the camp. Unfortunately, the girl suffers from amnesia and doesn't remember what the Others did to her during her captivity period. As the mystery thickens, Ethan also returns and threatens Charlie, stating he will kill a survivor each day until Claire is returned to the Others. When he manages to do so during the night, Jack decides to set a trap for him, and enlists Kate, Sayid, Sawyer and Locke for help.

Charlie is left out of the group, but is the focus of the episode's flashbacks, which reveal more of his darker side: at the height of his drug-using days, he plans to steal a valuable object from a woman named Lucy Heatherton (Sally Strecker), and sell said item so he can buy heroin. The situation changes when he meets Lucy and develops feelings for her, leading to an attempt to become a more respectable man. Needless to say, it doesn't work out as planned.

Much of the criticism aimed at this episode had to do with the flashbacks which, according to some, fail to add anything of substance to the character involved. That is not the case, as the final scene with Lucy has repercussions on Charlie's relationship with Claire (besides, kudos to De Ravin for making the amnesia subplot more than a simple gimmick); also, the real purpose of those scenes, aside from showcasing Dominic Monaghan's more comedic side (and put in a cute reference to British sitcom The Office, whose American remake features an episode directed by J.J. Abrams), is to act as a lighter counterweight to the bleaker Island moments, with William Mapother pulling off a genuinely unsettling performance as Ethan and thus partly justifying the violent - and, to some extent, frustrating - climax. And he's just one of the Others: what will the rest be like?