The Kellehers

May 1, 2008
10:00 pm	to	11:00 pm

“Something Nice Back Home” is the tenth episode of Season 4 of Lost, and was first broadcast on May 1, 2008.

When Jack’s health is seriously compromised, Kate and Juliet must learn to work together in order to save him; and something goes wrong as Sawyer, Claire, Aaron and Miles continue their trek away from Locke’s camp and back to the beach.

Synopsis

At the beach

Jack wakes up disoriented in his tent on the beach after Juliet’s repeated attempts to wake him. After becoming conscious enough to stand, he exits the tent with her to find a group including Rose, Bernard, Sun, and, Jin arguing with Daniel and Charlotte. Bernard is confronting Daniel about his claim the satellite phone no longer gets a signal, which Bernard points out worked fine the night before, when they were contacting the freighter. Jack intervenes and acknowledges that Daniel and Charlotte have been lying to everyone. Jack reassures them all, saying eventually the freighter people will come for Daniel and Charlotte and when they do the survivors will be ready. Jack tells everyone to just be patient and he will keep his promise to get them off the island. Then Jack faints in the sand.

Jack comes to on the beach as Kate rushes towards him. She worries, feeling his forehead and commenting he has a temperature, but he brushes it off as need for rest.

Later, Jack is in a tent taking more antibiotics when Juliet enters. He dismisses the stomach pain as food poisoning and dehydration, but she disagrees. After feeling his abdomen, she tells him that the pain he is feeling is from his appendix. He tells her it hasn’t ruptured yet, but Juliet says their only option is to take it out before it does rupture.

Juliet speaks to Sun and gives her a list of medical supplies for the appendectomy and tells her and Jin to go to the Medical station to retrieve them. Sun tells Juliet that she doesn’t know what these instruments look like. In response to this, Daniel offers help. He states that he has performed animal autopsies in the past and has experience with the tools needed. Sun immediately distrusts his offer. Charlotte tells Daniel the survivors expect they are there to kill them, so they “should just play the part.” He argues with Charlotte about offering assistance, and says he wants the survivors to trust them (they are only scientists). Juliet accepts their help, but also gives Jin a gun and tells him to shoot either of them in the leg if they try to run. Juliet tells a group to prep a sterile environment for the surgery.

While washing down a table for the surgery, Bernard sees that Rose looks unsettled. Rose asks him why Jack got sick. Bernard chalks up Jack’s illness to bad luck, but Rose thinks that it isn’t a coincidence that Jack is ill because people do not get sick on the island. “Not here,” she replies when Bernard tells her that people simply get sick. “Here, they get better.”

Jack and Juliet are in a tent where she is preparing him for surgery by shaving his stomach. Jack looks extremely apprehensive. He asks her if shes done this before and she informs him that this is not her first time performing an appendectomy, but it does not seem to calm him. He asks her if she is sure, because she is shaving two-inches above where she needs to be making the incision, but she assures him yet again. He tells her that he doesn’t want to be unconscious during the procedure. He wants to use local anaesthesia and have Kate hold a mirror so he can see what is happening and help walk Juliet through it. She seems uneasy about the idea but agrees nonetheless.

Jin, Sun, Daniel, and Charlotte arrive at the Medical Station to retrieve the medical supplies for the appendectomy. As they go in Daniel offers to go first in front of Charlotte to “Make sure it’s safe” they exchange a grin and a nod while Jin asks Sun in Korean if Charlotte realizes Daniel likes her. Sun replies “She’s a woman. Of course she knows.” Charlotte coyly looks back at them and smiles as they all walk into the station.

While entering into the vault Daniel looks around and asks aloud where all the power for the station is coming from. Charlotte replies “add that one to the list, Dan.” Sun goes over to the bed where she received the ultrasound and Jin asks whats wrong. They share a conversation in Korean about how this was where Juliet brought Sun and where she saw their baby for the first time. Sun expresses her concern for wanting to get off the island, realizing that Charlotte and Dan and their people are not here to rescue them after all. Jin promises her that he will do everything to get her and their baby off the island. Throughout this entire conversation Charlotte keeps glancing back at the two of them and then away.

Back at the beach Kate and Juliet are discussing the surgery, and Jack’s stubbornness, when Jack stumbles out of the tent, claiming he can walk the 50 feet to where the surgery will be performed. Kate walks Jack over to the surgery tent, saying she will be his nurse. Jack tells her, “it isn’t the first time.” Jack then starts to tell Kate, “If something should happen to me during surgery….” Kate cuts him off with a “shut-up” to which Jack replies, “fair enough.”

Later that night when the group returns from the medical station, Jin calls Charlotte over. He says to her in Korean, “I know you understand me.” He tells her that he knows she speaks Korean because he saw her smile when Sun was speaking to him about her at the medical station. Charlotte acts as if she doesn’t understand until Jin says that if she does not stop lying he will break Daniel’s fingers one at a time. In Korean, Charlotte asks what he wants and Jin tells her that he wants Sun on the helicopter when it leaves the island. Charlotte asks, “What about the others?” but Jin cuts her off, saying his only concern is for Sun and the baby. She nods and Jin leaves.

In the surgical tent, Juliet, Kate, and Bernard prepare to operate. Bernard suggests that he knock Jack out with chloroform that was brought back from the medical station but Jack refuses. Bernard locally numbs the area on his abdomen and Juliet makes the first incision while Kate holds a hand held mirror for Jack to see. Jack grunts and yells as Juliet begins to spread the incision and she sees that he is in too much pain to stay awake. Juliet orders Kate out of the tent and Bernard to knock him out. Bernard places a chloroform rag over Jack’s mouth and he passes out.

Outside the tent after the surgery is finished, Bernard tells Kate that everything went fine. She enters the tent where Juliet is stitching Jack up and she reassures Kate that he will be fine. She tells Kate that Jack kissed her the other day. She tells her that it wasn’t for her, however, but for himself, and that he was trying to prove that he “doesn’t love someone else.” Kate thanks her for saving Jack’s life and she walks out. Juliet tells Jack that she knows he’s awake and he opens his eyes.

In the Jungle

Sawyer, Claire, and Miles are walking through the jungle when they come to a clearing. Claire tells Sawyer she’s feeling much better, but she still has a headache. “At least I’m not seeing things anymore,” she says. Miles asks her what she used to see, but Sawyer puts a stop to that conversation. Suddenly, Miles looks uneasy as whispers swirl about. He stops walking, listens, and asks, “Who’s Danielle and Karl?” He starts digging in the dirt to find both of their bodies in shallow graves. Sawyer asks Miles how he knew about the two but Miles gives no reply. Sawyer accuses Miles’ team of killing them, but he denies that he is on the same team with Keamy and his men. Miles seems upset to find the bodies and says, “I didn’t sign up for this.” Claire just wants to leave and Sawyer escorts her away, promising that everything will be fine once they make it back to the beach.

Later, Claire is caring for Aaron as Miles watches down on them. Sawyer approaches and tells Miles he isn’t to talk to Claire, look at Claire or even think about Claire, and that he officially has a 20-foot restraining order. Miles cracks a joke and asks Sawyer if he’s Claire’s “big brother,” to which Sawyer replies, “No I’m just the guy who is going to put a boot in your face if you don’t say “yeah, I getcha”". To which Miles replies “Yeah, I getcha,” and he walks away.

Later, while walking through the jungle, Miles tries to persuade Claire to let him help out with Aaron, because he is “good with kids.” Sawyer comes over and asks him “What part of restraining order don’t you understand?” Suddenly there is a rustling in the brush and Sawyer goes to investigate as Frank Lapidus comes running out carrying his satellite phone and a first aid kit. He’s very startled and addresses Miles first, while Sawyer asks “You two know each other?” Frank, still in a hurry tells them there is no time because Keamy and his men are on the way and if he finds them there he will kill them all so they need to hide immediately. They all go hide in the nearby brush and watch as Keamy and four of his men come through. They all seem in good shape except for Omar, who is seriously hurt. Lapidus looks at him and asks Keamy what happened. Keamy is evasive and says to him “You do your job, and I’ll worry about mine.” His only concern is the location of the helicopter which he asks Lapidus about. Frank is telling him it’s not far, but they have to get going when suddenly Aaron lets out a little cry. Keamy seems to hear it, and looks around, suspicious. In an attempt to protect the people hiding, Frank starts urging Keamy and his men to get to the helicopter because it is starting to get dark and he refuses to fly out on Faraday’s coordinates in the dark. After a heavy pause, Keamy agrees and they head off into the jungle again.

That night Claire awakens to find Aaron isn’t beside her. She looks across the campfire to see her father, Christian Shephard holding him. Claire recognizes him and asks, “Dad?”.

The next morning, Sawyer wakes up and glances over to Claire’s sleeping area to notice it empty. He asked Miles where she is and Miles says he saw her take off into the jungle. Sawyer doesn’t believe that Claire would wander off alone but Miles says she wasn’t alone, she was walking with someone she called ‘Dad’. Sawyer demands to know why Miles didn’t try to stop her and Miles mentions his restraining order. As Sawyer is about to rough Miles up, he hears Aaron crying in the jungle. He leaves Miles and runs off to find Aaron on his blanket at the base of a tree by himself. He picks him up and looks around screaming for Claire who is nowhere to be found.

Flashforward

Jack is in bed when the phone rings. It is his receptionist, Jane, reminding him of an 11 a.m. consult with Ms. Berenberg which was moved up the previous day. She feels it necessary to remind him because he’s not good with his calendar. He thanks her and gets out of bed, putting on a towel. A pair of orange panties is lying on the floor beside the bed. Jack pick these up, smiles coyly, and then tosses them into the clothes hamper. Still in his towel, Jack proceeds downstairs to the kitchen where he steps on a Millennium Falcon toy. He reels back in pain, curses, and puts it on the counter. Jack places two leftover wine glasses in the sink, and begins making coffee. He then picks up the newspaper sports page which features a story about the Yankees sweeping the Red Sox, causing him to scoff, “A-Rod”.

Jack then enters the bathroom to find someone showering. Looking in the mirror, Jack’s appendectomy scar is faintly visible. He greets her, they talk, and she tells him that she bought him a new razor. He replies “Oh, you don’t like the scruff?” The shower turns off, Kate steps out into the towel Jack is holding for her. With her smiling brightly, Jack says, “Good morning” and they kiss.

Later, Jack is reading Aaron a story from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as Kate looks on. With Aaron asleep, Jack turns out the light. In the hall Kate tells Jack he “is a natural.” Jack tells Kate that his father used to read him that story. Kate smiles and mentions it’s nice to hear Jack say good things about his father. Jack asks, “I don’t say good things about my father?” He then says his father was a good storyteller. Kate softly tells Jack that she loves seeing him with Aaron, that she is glad he changed his mind and glad he’s there. Jack replies, “me too” and picks Kate up and presses her against the wall to make out. He carries her from the hall while she laughs.

The next day, Jack is finishing the consult with Ms. Berenberg, giving her instructions for her surgery the following day as he walks her to the hospital lobby. Jack catches a glimpse of a familiar face, and does a double-take to see Christian Shepard, wearing the same blue suit Jack repeatedly saw him wearing on the island, walking through the lobby. Jack’s co-worker, Dr Erika Stevens, calls his name twice to get his attention, wanting his opinion on a spinal x-ray, an L-4. The receptionist then tells Jack a Dr. Stillman from Santa Rosa Hospital is calling about “a friend of yours”.

Jack goes to the hospital to meet with Dr Stillman, who says Hurley has been refusing his medication and has stopped sleeping. Jack asks about therapy, but Dr. Stillman says therapy is now out of the question because Hurley believes Dr Stillman isn’t real. Jack goes to see Hurley, who tells him that he isn’t taking his medication because he believes that he and the rest of the Oceanic 6 died without ever escaping the island and are now stuck in the afterlife. Hurley asks Jack about his day, which Jack describes, talking about Kate and Aaron. Hurley questions that Jack didn’t want to be with Kate and Aaron, but Jack replies he changed his mind after Kate’s trial. Hurley compares Jack’s life with Kate and Aaron to heaven. Hurley tells Jack he continues to receive visits from Charlie, regularly talking to him on a bench on the lawn outside the hospital. He tells Jack that Charlie visited him the day before and had predicted Jack’s visit. Charlie had a message for Jack which he made Hurley write down so he would get it exactly, stating “You’re not supposed to raise him, Jack”. Hurley asks if “him” means Aaron. Jack says he doesn’t know and tells Hurley to just take his meds. Hurley tells Jack that he will soon be getting a visitor of his own.

Later that night Jack comes home to a sleeping Kate and wakes her up. She asks if he was working late, but he says he was out doing errands. He asks her about the previous night with Aaron when she said he was a natural. Jack asks her if she really thinks he is “good at this?” She tells him she does and after a long pause, Jack asks Kate to marry him. He pulls a diamond ring from his pocket and places it on a tearful Kate’s finger, who replies “Of course I will, yes!”

Jack is reviewing Ryan Laker’s x-ray, stating into a tape recorder that there is an osteoblastoma on the posterior area of the lumbar and he is recommending a biopsy. He is interrupted by the persistent beeping of a low-battery warning on a smoke detector. He goes to the reception area, climbs onto a desk, and pulls out the battery. After climbing down, Jack is startled to hear his name called out by his father. He turns to see Christian Shepard sitting in the lobby, again in the blue suit with white shoes he is seen wearing around the Island. As he is still trying to take it in, Dr. Stevens approaches him from behind and calls his name. He turns to respond to her and when he turns back toward the chairs, his father has disappeared. Jack is distracted and Erica asks if he is okay. Jack asks Erica to write him a prescription for clonazepam, stating he has a lot going on right now, including a heavy caseload and his new engagement. She reminds him an engagement is supposed to reduce stress, not create more, and suggests he “talk to somebody”. He replies he’ll do that and happily takes the prescription. When Jack gets home, he hears Kate talking on the phone. She is saying that “Jack’s not home before eight” and “stay for at least an hour”. She quickly gets off the phone when she realizes Jack is home. He asks her who was on the phone, and Kate tells him it was Noreen, another mom from the park. Jack says Kate has neer mentioned her before. Kate blows this off and kisses Jack, then heads upstairs. An obviously stressed Jack gets out his new prescription, and washes two pills down with a bottle of beer.

Sometime a week after that, Kate comes home to find a drunk Jack. He confronts her about where she was and why Veronica, the nanny, was at the house when Kate should be home. Kate replies she was running errands, and when pressed, asks for Jack’s trust. Jack tells her about his visit with Hurley, calling him crazy, and then again presses Kate for where she really was. Kate begs Jack to leave it alone, but Jack persists. She finally admits she was doing a favor for Sawyer. When Jack asks why she would keep this secret from him, Kate tells him, because “he wouldn’t want her to”. Jack reminds her that he is the one who is there for her and who saved her, that Sawyer made his choice to stay while Jack came back. Kate becomes upset and says she can’t have Jack drunk and acting like this around her son. Jack becomes angry and yells at her that she isn’t even related to Aaron, just as Aaron walks in. Kate comforts Aaron, looking sadly at Jack, as he turns and walks away.

Trivia

General

• By virtue of the Yankees/Red Sox and Indians/Mariners scores in the newspaper article, only one date is viable for the publication of the paper: August 31, 2007. Article states Yankees finish their sweep of the Red Sox with winning pitcher Chien-Ming Wang beating Curt Schilling 5-0. The only occurrence of this game is the date above. However, the newspaper also lists “Angels 8 - Astros 4″ but the Astros were playing the St. Louis Cardinals over these dates. As such, the newspaper most likely isn’t able to indicate the correct date.
  • The Angels-Astros result is from June 20, 2007. The Angels are in the American league, and the Astros play in the National. This was an inter-league game, and the first time these two teams had played against each other since 2004. The box-score is accurate [1]
• This is the first time in the series that, while the mysterious whispers are heard, the listener doesn’t get startled — Miles is a psychic and consciously tries to extract information from what he hears. It is implied that his approach might have its merits, since he gets Danielle’s and Karl’s names and burial sites from the whispers.

Production notes

• The Yankees/Red Sox newspaper article is by “Gregg Bilson, Staff Writer”. Gregg Bilson is the founder of Independent Studio Services, a company that produces props for the film and television industry (Bilson brand cigarette props appear in Lost). The email address marvin.mancia@studiographics.us also appears in the article. The address studiographics.us is used by Independent Studio Services. Much of the text seen in the article appears in a real New York Times article here.
• Ben, Desmond, Locke, Michael, and Sayid do not appear in this episode.
• John Terry appears as Christian Shepard but was not listed ahead of time in the official ABC press release.

Bloopers and continuity errors

• In Juliet’s list of medical supplies, “forceps” is incorrectly spelled “forcepts.” “Gauze pads” also appears to be incorrectly spelled as “gause pads.”
• “Hard-wired” smoke detectors (as used in a hospital) do not have an on board battery. They are attached to a central electrical supply and linked together. Any malfunctioning of a commercial smoke alarm would be indicated at a central control panel, not by a beeping in the unit itself.
  • Battery-powered smoke detectors (as used in this episode) have another backup battery and do not stop beeping immediately when their primary battery is removed.
• As Jack,a Boston fan, reads about the Yankee-Red Sox game he curses Alex Rodriguez. However, Rodriguez was hitless in the game - going 0-for-3 with an intentional walk, stranding three baserunners. Robinson Cano was the star of the game for the Yanks, hitting two homeruns.

Recurring themes

Recurring themes in Lost
Black and white • Car accidents • Character connections • Deceptions and cons • Dreams • Eyes • Fate versus free will • Good and bad people • Imprisonment • Isolation • Life and death • Missing body parts • Nicknames • The Numbers • Parent issues • Pregnancies • Rain • Rebirth • Redemption • Relationships • Sacrifice • Secrets • Time

• The episode starts with a close up of Jack’s closed eye. (Eyes)
• Rose calls Charlotte “Red”. (Nicknames)
• Sawyer calls Miles “Donger”. (Nicknames)
• Kate says that Jack never says anything good about his father. (Parent issues)
• Jack proposes to Kate. (Relationships)
• Jin figures out that Charlotte speaks Korean. (Character secrets)
• Miles finds Karl and Danielle’s dead bodies (Life and death)
• Aaron has a black and white whale doll. (Animals)  (Black and white)
• Jack’s life is threatened if his appendix ruptures. (Life and death)
• Jin pledges to do everything to get Sun of the Island. (Sacrifice)
• Jack has his appendix removed. (Missing body parts)
• Rose questions if Jack’s infected appendix is caused by the Island. (Fate)  (Healing properties)  (Faith versus science)
• Claire and Jack both see their supposedly deceased father. (Visions)
• Claire seemingly leaves Aaron in the jungle. (Parent issues)
• Jack is sedated for the operation against his will. (Fate versus free will)
• Frank alerts Sawyer and his pack to hide so they won’t be seen and killed by Keamy and the other mercenaries. (Deceptions and cons)
• Jack pretends to be unconscious while Juliet and Kate talk about love. (Deceptions and cons)
• Jack is awaken by his assistant calling him up, saying she has to do so because Jack has problems with dates. (Time)

Cultural references

Cultural references in Lost (direct references only)
Art • Books • Cars • Games • Movies and TV • Music • Philosophy • Religion and ideologies • Science

• Star Wars: Jack steps on a Millennium Falcon toy. Luke Skywalker was raised by his uncle, as Aaron has started to be raised by his uncle in this episode. Star Wars also contained a brother and sister that did not know they were related. (Movies and TV)
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Jack reads a section from the beginning of this book to Aaron. (Books)
• Boston Red Sox/Yankees rivalry: Jack scoffs at the headline, “Yankees bludgeon Red Sox in Series Sweep”, exclaiming “A-Rod”, a reference to the Yankees’ successful and controversial third-baseman, Alex Rodriguez. (Games)
• Sixteen Candles: Sawyer calls Miles “Donger”, referring to a weird foreign exchange student in this 1984 coming-of-age movie. (Movies and TV)
• Nineteen Eighty-Four: When Miles asks Sawyer “What are you, her big brother?”, Sawyer replies “No. I’m the guy who’s gonna put a boot in your face unless you say, “Yeah. I getcha.” This is a reference to a famous quote in “1984″ in which the main character is told life under enigmatic dictator “Big Brother” would be to “imagine a boot stamping on a human face - for ever.”

Literary techniques

Literary techniques in Lost
Comparative: Irony • Juxtaposition • Plotting: Cliffhanger • Plot twist • Stock Characters:  Archetype • Redshirt • Unseen character• Story:  Flashbacks • Flashforwards • Foreshadowing • Regularly spoken phrases • Symbolism • Unreliable narrator

• Hurley mentions more visits from Charlie than the ones seen in previous episodes. (Unseen character)
• Even after the events portrayed in previous episodes, Jack and Kate eventually develop an unexpected off-Island romantic relationship. (Plot twist)
• Claire is mysteriously missing, apparently having abandoned Aaron at the end of the episode. (Cliffhanger)
• Jack, the surgeon, comes out as a stubborn patient in an operation performed on him by someone else. (Irony)
• Jack is seen taking self-prescribed pills both on the Island and in his flash-forward. (Juxtaposition)
• In the beginning of the episode, Jack has a bare torso and a previously nonexistent scar is visible, though mostly unnoticed in the scene. Later in the episode, it’s clearly revealed how he got that same scar. (Juxtaposition)
• When Sawyer is being protective of Claire, Miles asks “What are you, her big brother,” unaware that she actually does have a big brother on the island. (Irony)

Storyline analysis

Storyline analysis in Lost
A-Missions • Crimes • Economics • Leadership • O-Missions • Relationships • F-Missions • Rivalries

• Juliet tells Kate that Jack kissed Juliet to try to prove to himself that he wasn’t in love with someone else. (Rivalries)
• Jack is incapacitated and Juliet and Bernard must perform surgery on him. (Leadership)
• Juliet and Bernard knock Jack unconscious during the surgery against his wishes. (Leadership)
• Sawyer imposes himself as the leader of his pack by imposing a restraining order against Miles. (Leadership)

Episode references

• Early in the episode Claire mentions her relief at not “seeing things anymore”. After her house exploded in “The Shape of Things to Come“, she half-consciously mistook Sawyer for Charlie.
• Kate tells Jack to “let it go”. (”A Tale of Two Cities“)
• Kate and Jack are caring for Aaron together. Richard Malkin once convinced Claire to give up her child for adoption to a couple in Los Angeles, who he said were “good people“. (”Raised by Another“)
• Jack gets the same medication (Clonazepam) as Hurley does/did. (”Dave“)
• A doctor shows Jack X-rays of someone’s L4 vertebra. Ben’s tumor was on his L4 vertebra. (”Every Man for Himself“)
• There are paper ladybug, butterfly, and flower cutouts on Jack and Kate’s refrigerator, just like in Santa Rosa hospital. (”The Beginning of the End“)
• After informed by Juliet that she should assist with the surgery, Kate tells Jack that “it looks like I’m gonna be your nurse.” Jack responds that it “wouldn’t be the first time.” In the Pilot, Part 1 Kate sews Jack’s wound for him.(”Pilot, Part 1“)
• Jack has developed a scruff. In “The Beginning of the End” he told Hurley that he was thinking about growing a beard. In “Through the Looking Glass” it was fully fledged.
• Juliet tells Kate that Jack kissed her (Juliet) more to convince himself that he “wasn’t in love with someone else.” (”The Other Woman“)
• Jack reads to Aaron from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, also referenced in the episodes “White Rabbit“, “The Man Behind the Curtain“, and “Through the Looking Glass“.

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details…

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Something Nice Back Home/Theories

Flashforward

• What was Kate doing for Sawyer?
• Why did Sawyer decide to stay on the Island?
• How is Christian appearing to Jack?
• Why did the smoke alarm go off?
• What is meant by, “You’re not supposed to raise him, Jack”?
  • Who is “him”?

On the Island

• Where did Christian go with Claire?
  • Why did she (or Christian) leave Aaron behind?
• Did Miles know if Christian was alive or dead?
• How did Keamy and his team survive the Smoke Monster attack?
• Why does Frank say that Keamy is going to kill Miles “and all”?
• Why did Jack get sick if the Island has healing properties?
• Who buried Danielle and Karl?