Television Review: There's No Place Like Home, Part I (Lost, S4X12, 2008)

There’s No Place Like Home, Part I (S4X12)

Airdate: 15 May 2008

Written by: Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof
Directed by: Stephen Williams

Running Time: 42 minutes

Lost in Season 4 once again succumbs to the heavy hand of broadcast network conventions and commercial imperatives when it comes to its season finale. The sheer volume of loose ends that needed to be tied and the closure required by the audience necessitated an epic format that stretched the narrative across multiple parts. Consequently, There's No Place Like Home was originally structured as a two-part episode broadcast over two weeks for the US audience. However, for the rest of the world, the second part was split further, resulting in a three-part event that fractured the pacing significantly. This structural fragmentation highlights the commercial pressures inherent in network television, where a single episode cannot contain the sprawling complexity of the show’s mythology, requiring a "finale" that is really just the first act of a much larger operation.

The first episode kicks off with what purports to be the end for our survivors. A US Coast Guard transport plane is shown carrying Jack, Kate, Aaron, Sun, Sayid, and Hurley—the only known survivors of Oceanic Flight 815—back to the United States. They are being taken to a US military airbase at Honolulu, where they are to be reunited with their families. They are under the care of Karen Decker (Michelle Forbes), an Oceanic Airlines PR representative who informs them that they are all being dubbed the "Oceanic Six." The sequence is a montage of emotional reunions, followed by a press conference where the survivors deliver a rehearsed, false story about their plane crashing into the sea near Indonesia. They claim only eight people managed to leave the wreckage, find uninhabited island. The discovery of the remains of an Indonesian fishing boat and the raft allows them to manufacture this convenient lie, cementing their return to civilisation on 7 January 2005.

The flashforwards continue to reveal the characters' lives in exile from the Island. We see pregnant Sun using her Oceanic settlement money to buy stocks and take control of her father’s company in South Korea. Hurley is celebrating his birthday at a massive Hawaiian-based party, attended by Kate and Sayid, who is now married to Nadia. In Summer 2005, Jack delivers a speech at a memorial service for his late father. Afterward, he is approached by Carole Littleton, played by Susan Duerden (replacing Arlene Newman-Van Asperen, who played the character in a coma). Carole reveals that she had a baby named Claire with Christian Shephard. Jack realises that Claire was his sister, and, unbeknownst to Carole, that Aaron is actually her grandson and Jack’s nephew. This plot point feels like a melodramatic soap opera twist, especially given the awkward casting change.

The plot that actually takes place in late December 2004 is considerably more complicated. It shows different groups of survivors on the Island and on the freighter Kahana, all trying to organise an evacuation and prevent a catastrophe triggered by a mysterious "second protocol." Keamy and his mercenary team, brought back to the Island by Frank’s helicopter, proceed towards the Orchid Station. They are followed by Jack and Sawyer. Sayid arrives with a Zodiac boat to bring survivors to the Kahana but changes his mind when he realises his skills are needed to help Jack in the jungle. The evacuation is taken over by Faraday, who brings Sun, Jin, and Aaron to the Kahana, where they have an awkward encounter with Michael. Meanwhile, Desmond discovers that the Kahana has been rigged with explosives.

Back on the Island, Ben leads Hurley and Locke towards the Orchid Station. He signals the Others, led by Richard Alpert, who surround and capture Sayid and Kate. At the Orchid Station, Ben, Locke and Hurley find that Keamy’s mercenaries are already there. Ben gives instructions to Locke on how to use the station's elevator and then approaches the station and surrenders to Keamy, effectively ending Part I.

Written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof and directed by Stephen Williams, Part I is serviceable but uninspired. It follows the pattern of previous season finales, serving as a bridge that sets the stage for the big event that should occur in Parts II and III. The flashforwards themselves are uninspired and, in many ways, anticlimactic. The audience already knows who the survivors are and what their ultimate fate will be after leaving the Island, rendering these glimpses into the future somewhat redundant. Furthermore, Michelle Forbes is entirely wasted in her cameo as the PR agent, a role that could have been played by anyone with very little impact on the overall narrative.

The melodramatic reveal that Carole Littleton woke from a coma only to confront Jack with his father’s secret history looks very much like a soap opera. The effect is underlined by the casting of Susan Duerden in the same role. Her predecessor, Arlene Newman-Van Asperen, had a non-speaking part and, presumably, didn’t have to struggle with an Australian accent, whereas Duerden’s performance feels strained and highlights the franchise's tendency to recast characters for convenience rather than necessity.

However, the scenes on the Island are much more interesting and exciting than the sterile flashforwards. Part I nears its end by upping the ante with a montage accompanied by incredibly strong and emotional music score by Michael Giacchino, which provides a brief respite from the show's structural flaws and reminds viewers why they tuned in to begin with.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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