S4E10 - "Something Nice Back Home"

Let me first start by saying that I'm hesitant to define these flash-forwards as centric to one character. In this week's episode, we saw Jack, Kate, and Hurley. I don't know about you guys, but I LOVE this new format of flash-forwards this season. I can't wait to see what they've got in store for next season. But the producers have hinted that this season's finale episode will leave us with that same "I wonder how the show's gonna be next year" feeling that we had after last year's finale. Anyway... let's get into this episode.

Dirt Nap
While walking back to the beach with Sawyer and Kate, Miles stopped dead in his tracks as he could hear the sounds of Rousseau and Karl being shot. He quickly moved to the ground and began wiping away the dirt, revealing the corpses of Danielle Rousseau and Karl. DAMMIT! I really liked both of these characters! The interesting thing here, though, is that we HAVE TO have a Rousseau flashback.... and they can't necessarily do that if she's dead. The only way to show her past now is through the eyes of someone else, which suggests that someone on the show plays a part in her past. Based on the preview for next week, we know that the purge happened about 12 years go (which is when Ben officially joined the "others"). And if Rousseau has been on the island for 16 years, the only person I can think of that would've interacted with her is Richard..... unless Rousseau was a member of the Dharma Initiative.

I can't help but wonder, though..... who buried Danielle and Karl? Would Martin (the "leader" of the freighter folk) have really taken the time aside to bury the bodies? Or did someone else find them?

A Quick Timeline Note
One thing that has really got the LOST internet community buzzing about all of these flashforwards is how far into the future these are taking place. And finally, the show is starting to deliver "answers". Keep in mind that the current on-island date is end of December 2004. Two episodes ago ("The Shape of Things to Come"), the Ben/Sayid flashback took place in October 2005. And now in this past episode, Jack read an article in a newspaper on the Yankees and Red Sox, which took place around the end of August 2007. This is all leading up to the finale of last year, when we saw a very drunk Jack, not really on speaking terms with Kate. It seems to me that last years finale probably took place around now (early-mid 2008).... which means that they've been off the island for over 3 years.

A Message from Charlie
We learned in this episode that Hurley's visit with Charlie that we saw in this season's premiere wasn't a one-time occurrence. In the first episode, we saw Hurley begin to believe that maybe leaving the island wasn't the best choice after being visited by "Charlie". And now (a couple years later?), we see a completely new Hurley. He's convinced that they made the wrong decision. He is visited by Charlie frequently, and passes on a message to Jack: "You aren't supposed to raise him." Woah. Back in season one, when Claire was pregnant, she met with a psychic that told her that danger surrounds the baby if it is raised by anyone other than her. Essentially, after being warned of Charlie's message, Jack got drunk and drove Kate and Aaron out of his life.

Does Jack Know?
We are still up in the air about whether or not Jack knows that Aaron is his half-nephew. In a fit of anger, he told Kate "You're not even related to him!" But does this imply that Jack knows that HE actually IS related to Aaron? Not really. But they worded it in such a way that it makes you wonder.

Jack's Visitor
After being warned by Charlie (via Hurley) that Jack would be getting a visit, it wasn't long until he began seeing his father. So, Hurley is visited by Charlie (who died on the island).... Jack is being visited by his father (who's body was on the island)..... We also saw Libby visit Michael. Should we expect to see our other Oceanic 6 being lured back to the island via castaway ghosts? Shannon could visit Sayid. The US Marshall could visit Kate. And if Jin is actually dead, maybe he would visit Sun.

Claire's Visitor
After weeks of speculating that Claire would be killed, thus separating her from Aaron, I stand corrected. She was separated from Aaron, but not killed (that we know of). She woke up in the middle of the night and Aaron was gone. And when she looked up, there he was..... being held by CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD! WHAT???!!!! Not having played a major part in Claire's life, I am even more convinced that he is a manifestation of the smoke monster / Jacob, which can only take the form of someone whose body is on the island (Christian Shephard, Yemi, etc.). And now that Locke's dad was brought to the island and killed, I would absolutely LOVE if Locke went to Jacobs cabin and saw his dad sitting inside it. HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE?

But back to Claire? What does this mean? Where was she taken? It's gonna suck if her fate is left up in the air until next season. But, I guess that's what she gets for not mourning Charlie's death for more than an episode.

Sawyer's Favor
Kate revealed to Jack during this episode that she was doing a favor for Sawyer.... something she promised him. But what? Why? The initial instinct is to think that it has something to do with his daughter. I wonder, though, if it had something to do with the man that Sawyer killed (Frank Duckett) on the night before Flight 815.

Sick Jack
When Jack was diagnosed with appendicitis, the question arises, "How did Jack get sick if the island heals people?" Remember though... Ben also got sick. It appears that the island is somehow controlling the situations here. It wanted Locke to walk... BOOM-Locke walks. Jack tries to get everyone rescued....BOOM-Jack gets sick. So my question is not Why did Jack get sick. My question is, what did Ben do to piss off the island?

Smokey Detector
Did you notice how right before Jack's encounter with his father at the hospital, the smoke detector was going off? Is this a nod to Smokey's connection with these apparitions? I think so!

A Coffin Prediction
As the season nears an end, we are merely weeks away from figuring out who is in the coffin. This week, I will make a prediction that the person in the coffin is... Hurley. I think that he will tell someone the truth about the island, thus angering the rest of the Oceanic 6, and will either kill himself or be killed by Abaddon's people.

Sawyer's Choice
One of the answers we got this week was Jack mentioning to Kate that Sawyer CHOSE to stay on the island. So we know that it wasn't a matter of certain people not being allowed to be rescued. We also saw Jin tell Charlotte to make sure to get Sun (and their unborn child) on the helicopter. He didn't seem concerned about himself. So, if he didn't die, why did he choose to stay?

Saved by Jack
Another little tidbit from Jack's argument with Kate was when Jack said that he is the one that saved Kate. Does this mean that she'll face a life-threatening situation before leaving the island? Or is he referring to the overall island rescue? My theory.... Sayid, Desmond, and Michael will kill all of the people on the freighter. Sayid will then fill the chopper with fuel and fly back to the island to save the Losties, leaving the rest of the freighter folk on the island. And now back on the mainland, they vow to keep the story a secret, to prevent Widmore from ever finding out that his freighter actually did find the island. Abaddon is then hired to find the truth.

Survivors
After having the smoke monster sicked on them two episodes ago, it was shocking to see multiple members of the freighter army walking away with scrapes and scratches. How the hell do you survive something like that? If Rousseau was right, that smokey is a security system used to protect the island.... why didn't it kill them? They're obviously a threat, right?

Not All Freighter Folk are Bad
It appears that there are 3 kinds of Freighter folk. The first kind (Faraday, Charlotte, etc.) are scientists that are on the island to study its mystical properties. The second kind (the Army) were sent to take over control of the island from Ben and the Others. The third kind is just Frank Lapidus... who was sent to the island in connection to Flight 815. It's unclear if there was any other purpose (other than being the pilot) to have Frank on the freighter (I mean, why not bring a different pilot?). There's another layer here that we're not seeing. I would've loved to see the selection process of people to bring on the freighter. I'll keep my fingers crossed that we see it in a future episode. One things for sure though... I think we can certainly trust Frank, especially after he saved Sawyer and Kate.

Well, that's it for me today. If you've got any theories, I'd love to hear them. You can either email me, or leave me a comment below. Thanks for reading!-drew.