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Homecoming (Lost)
Encyclopedia
"Homecoming" is the 15th episode of the first season of the ABC
's serial
drama
television series
Lost
. It was aired on ABC in the United States and on CTV
in Canada on February 9, 2005. The episode was written by executive producer Damon Lindelof
and directed by Kevin Hooks
. It was seen by nineteen and a half million American viewers, and received mixed to positive reviews, where Charlie's backstory received general praise.
The episode sees the return of Claire Littleton
(Emilie de Ravin
), who escaped after she was kidnapped by Ethan Rom (William Mapother
). However, her return meant that all the survivors' lives are in danger, and the team have to figure out a way to stop Ethan. Charlie Pace
(Dominic Monaghan
) is featured in the episode's flashbacks.
(Dominic Monaghan
) in the height of his drug addiction. To make money for more heroin, Tommy (Darren Richardson) tells him about Lucy Heatherton (Sally Strecker), whose father is rich. He plans for Charlie to steal something of value from her, and then sell it. Once invited to her house, Charlie has an interest in stealing a cigarette case that had belonged to Winston Churchill
. However, he develops feelings for Lucy, and takes a job selling photocopiers so he can become respectable, which Tommy opposes. Eventually, Charlie's withdrawal
gets to him and he takes the cigarette case before taking the job. His plan to become respectable backfires as he passes out after throwing up under the lid of the photocopier he is demonstrating, and the prospective clients, who work for one of Lucy's father's companies, find the valuable antique in his jacket. When he goes to see Lucy to explain, she refuses to hear his explanation and tells Charlie that he will never take care of anyone.
On the island, Locke
(Terry O'Quinn
) finds Claire
(Emilie de Ravin
), but after she wakes up, she has no recollection of the crash, nor the other castaways, including Charlie himself. Later, Ethan (William Mapother
) confronts Charlie, and threatens to kill one survivor each day until Claire is brought back to him. Taking the threat seriously, several of the castaways set up security measures and traps around the settlement to avoid Ethan carrying out his threat. Unfortunately, Ethan manages to slip through from the ocean and kills Scott (Dustin Watchman
) during the night. Though hesitant at first, Jack
(Matthew Fox
) plans on using the guns from the Marshal's briefcase to set up a trap to capture Ethan, using Claire as bait. Charlie wishes to join him, but is turned down. Sayid
(Naveen Andrews
), Kate
(Evangeline Lilly
), Sawyer (Josh Holloway
), Jack and Locke await in ambush for Ethan show himself and grab Claire. When he arrives, Jack manages to stop and eventually subdue Ethan. However, before they can interrogate him, Charlie takes Jack's gun and shoots Ethan dead. When questioned about why he killed Ethan, Charlie tells Jack that he "deserved to die." In the end, Claire remembers Charlie's imaginary peanut butter
, visits him and tells him that she wants to trust him.
. This a reference to former British television mockumentary The Office
, of which Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams is a fan, and later producer (for the American version). The mockumentary followed a group of employees at the Slough branch of paper company Wernham Hogg.
"Homecoming" received a total figure of 19.48 million viewers, and a rating of 7.0 in the United States. This placed Lost number six on the most viewed series for the week. In Canada
, the episode was viewed by 1.849 million people, placing Lost the ninth most viewed series in the country.
In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 3.33 million people, placing Lost the third most viewed series on Channel 4
for the week.
Reviews of the episode were generally mixed to positive. Chris Carabott of IGN
rated the episode an "impressive" 8.2 out of 10. He praised the episode for Charlie's role in it, stating that the backstory was a "straightforward flashback with no hidden message or deeper meaning, it simply does a great job of contrasting the Charlie we now know on the island". Charlie's jealousy, anger and fear of feeling like he is underused in regards to helping Claire develops well into the scene where he kills Ethan. Carabott also stated Ethan's death was to be expected, but didn't want it to happen. IGN ranked Ethan's death as number three in the Top 10 'Lost' deaths, stating that his death was the most frustrating on Lost because Ethan could have provided many answers to the island's mysteries.
Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly
was overly critical of the episode, including how the writers wrote Claire to have amnesia
during the episode, stating the series could do better with writing the episode, as well as being critical of Jack's success in subduing Ethan, since he lost to fighting Ethan previously on "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues
". Jenson did however, like Charlie's "little anecdote" from his past, and the scene where his plan to be respectable backfired gave Monaghan a chance to demonstrate his gift for light comedy. Mac Slucom of Film Fodder dubbed the episode a "real treat", and though the Lost crew deserves praise for Ethan's capture and death, but described Charlie's flashbacks as a "big time distraction" from the developments on the island.
In 2009, episode writer and show creator Damon Lindelof quoted this episode as one of his least favorite, saying that it "was flawed on almost every single level that an episode of Lost could be."
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's serial
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
drama
Dramatic programming
Dramatic programming in the UK, or television drama and television drama series in the US, is television program content that is scripted and fictional along the lines of √a traditional drama. This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
. It was aired on ABC in the United States and on CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
in Canada on February 9, 2005. The episode was written by executive producer Damon Lindelof
Damon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
and directed by Kevin Hooks
Kevin Hooks
Kevin Hooks is an American actor, and a television and film director; he is notable from his roles in Aaron Loves Angela and Sounder, but may be best known as Morris Thorpe from TV's The White Shadow....
. It was seen by nineteen and a half million American viewers, and received mixed to positive reviews, where Charlie's backstory received general praise.
The episode sees the return of Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her...
(Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin born 27 December 1981)is an Australian actress. She is commonly associated with her roles as Tess Harding on Roswell and Claire Littleton on the ABC drama Lost....
), who escaped after she was kidnapped by Ethan Rom (William Mapother
William Mapother
William Reibert Mapother, Jr. is an American actor and former teacher, perhaps best known for his role as Ethan Rom on the television series Lost.-Personal life:...
). However, her return meant that all the survivors' lives are in danger, and the team have to figure out a way to stop Ethan. Charlie Pace
Charlie Pace
Charlie Hieronymus Pace is a fictional character on ABC's Lost, a television series chronicling the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island...
(Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
) is featured in the episode's flashbacks.
Plot
The flashbacks show CharlieCharlie Pace
Charlie Hieronymus Pace is a fictional character on ABC's Lost, a television series chronicling the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island...
(Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
) in the height of his drug addiction. To make money for more heroin, Tommy (Darren Richardson) tells him about Lucy Heatherton (Sally Strecker), whose father is rich. He plans for Charlie to steal something of value from her, and then sell it. Once invited to her house, Charlie has an interest in stealing a cigarette case that had belonged to Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
. However, he develops feelings for Lucy, and takes a job selling photocopiers so he can become respectable, which Tommy opposes. Eventually, Charlie's withdrawal
Withdrawal
Withdrawal can refer to any sort of separation, but is most commonly used to describe the group of symptoms that occurs upon the abrupt discontinuation/separation or a decrease in dosage of the intake of medications, recreational drugs, and alcohol...
gets to him and he takes the cigarette case before taking the job. His plan to become respectable backfires as he passes out after throwing up under the lid of the photocopier he is demonstrating, and the prospective clients, who work for one of Lucy's father's companies, find the valuable antique in his jacket. When he goes to see Lucy to explain, she refuses to hear his explanation and tells Charlie that he will never take care of anyone.
On the island, Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) finds Claire
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her...
(Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin born 27 December 1981)is an Australian actress. She is commonly associated with her roles as Tess Harding on Roswell and Claire Littleton on the ABC drama Lost....
), but after she wakes up, she has no recollection of the crash, nor the other castaways, including Charlie himself. Later, Ethan (William Mapother
William Mapother
William Reibert Mapother, Jr. is an American actor and former teacher, perhaps best known for his role as Ethan Rom on the television series Lost.-Personal life:...
) confronts Charlie, and threatens to kill one survivor each day until Claire is brought back to him. Taking the threat seriously, several of the castaways set up security measures and traps around the settlement to avoid Ethan carrying out his threat. Unfortunately, Ethan manages to slip through from the ocean and kills Scott (Dustin Watchman
Dustin Watchman
Dustin Watchman is an American actor. He has a recurring role on the television series Lost, portraying "Scott", one of the crash survivors whose name the other survivors continually mix up with the deceased "Steve"...
) during the night. Though hesitant at first, Jack
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
) plans on using the guns from the Marshal's briefcase to set up a trap to capture Ethan, using Claire as bait. Charlie wishes to join him, but is turned down. Sayid
Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Hassan Jarrah is a character from the ABC show Lost portrayed by Naveen Andrews.-Season 1:Sayid fixes the transceiver recovered from the cockpit, and leads a group into the jungle in order to send out a distress signal. Instead, he picks up a looping message . He tries to locate the...
(Naveen Andrews
Naveen Andrews
Naveen William Sidney Andrews is a British American actor. He is best known for portraying Kip in the movie The English Patient and Sayid Jarrah on the American television series Lost.-Early life:...
), Kate
Kate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
(Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
), Sawyer (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
), Jack and Locke await in ambush for Ethan show himself and grab Claire. When he arrives, Jack manages to stop and eventually subdue Ethan. However, before they can interrogate him, Charlie takes Jack's gun and shoots Ethan dead. When questioned about why he killed Ethan, Charlie tells Jack that he "deserved to die." In the end, Claire remembers Charlie's imaginary peanut butter
Peanut butter
Peanut butter is a food paste made primarily from ground dry roasted peanuts, popular in North America, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and parts of Asia, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia. It is mainly used as a sandwich spread, sometimes in combination as in the peanut butter and jelly...
, visits him and tells him that she wants to trust him.
Production
In one of the flashback scenes, Lucy tells Charlie that her father is out of town buying a paper company in SloughSlough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
. This a reference to former British television mockumentary The Office
The Office
The Office is a popular mockumentary/situation comedy TV show that was first made in the UK and has now been re-made in many other countries, with overall viewership in the hundreds of millions worldwide. The original version of The Office was created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. It...
, of which Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams is a fan, and later producer (for the American version). The mockumentary followed a group of employees at the Slough branch of paper company Wernham Hogg.
Reception
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the episode was viewed by 1.849 million people, placing Lost the ninth most viewed series in the country.
In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 3.33 million people, placing Lost the third most viewed series on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
for the week.
Reviews of the episode were generally mixed to positive. Chris Carabott of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
rated the episode an "impressive" 8.2 out of 10. He praised the episode for Charlie's role in it, stating that the backstory was a "straightforward flashback with no hidden message or deeper meaning, it simply does a great job of contrasting the Charlie we now know on the island". Charlie's jealousy, anger and fear of feeling like he is underused in regards to helping Claire develops well into the scene where he kills Ethan. Carabott also stated Ethan's death was to be expected, but didn't want it to happen. IGN ranked Ethan's death as number three in the Top 10 'Lost' deaths, stating that his death was the most frustrating on Lost because Ethan could have provided many answers to the island's mysteries.
Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
was overly critical of the episode, including how the writers wrote Claire to have amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
during the episode, stating the series could do better with writing the episode, as well as being critical of Jack's success in subduing Ethan, since he lost to fighting Ethan previously on "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues
All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues
"All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" is the eleventh episode of the first season of Lost. The episode was directed by Stephen Williams and written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach. It first aired on December 8, 2004, on the American Broadcasting Company...
". Jenson did however, like Charlie's "little anecdote" from his past, and the scene where his plan to be respectable backfired gave Monaghan a chance to demonstrate his gift for light comedy. Mac Slucom of Film Fodder dubbed the episode a "real treat", and though the Lost crew deserves praise for Ethan's capture and death, but described Charlie's flashbacks as a "big time distraction" from the developments on the island.
In 2009, episode writer and show creator Damon Lindelof quoted this episode as one of his least favorite, saying that it "was flawed on almost every single level that an episode of Lost could be."
External links
- "Homecoming" at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- "Homecoming" at LostpediaLostpediaLostpedia is a wiki-powered online encyclopedia of information regarding the American television drama Lost. Launched on September 22, 2005 by Kevin Croy, the site uses MediaWiki software to maintain a user-created database of information...