Season 1, Episode 15:
Homecoming
Charlie awakens to see Locke carrying the unconscious Claire to Jack. Claire wakes up and panics, not recognizing Jack, Charlie or any of the other survivors. The last thing Claire claims to remember is the flight from Sydney, and she's shocked when the others tell her that that was a month ago. Jack fills her in on the events since the crash. Sun and Jin watch from the sidelines, and Jin wonders if Claire and the baby are OK. Sun says she's sure they are fine. Boone and Locke wonder where Claire could have come from and how she escaped. Charlie hands Claire her diary and points her to where she sleeps. Charlie tells her about how they were taken by Ethan together. Claire asks if they are friends. Charlie responds that they are.
Charlie and a friend, Tommy, do heroin together. Tommy puts Charlie up to the task of getting them money for their next fix. At a bar, he points him to a girl, Lucy, and tells him that she has a rich father. Charlie starts up a conversation with Lucy and her friends, playing up his rock star cred.
Jack, Locke, Sayid, and Charlie discuss the chances of Claire's memory returning. Sayid is skeptical about the possibility of Claire escaping from Ethan against his will and contracting amnesia, but Jack is more open to her story. In the jungle, Charlie meets Jin and they walk together. Charlie rambles to the uncomprehending Jin how lucky he is not to speak English, because it means he does not have to be involved in anyone else's problems. Just then, Jin is knocked out by a slingshot thrown by Ethan. Ethan holds Charlie up by the neck, and threatens to kill a survivor every day until Claire is returned to him. He promises that he will kill Charlie last.
Charlie tells Jack and Locke about Ethan's threat, and suggests they all go after him and kill him. Jack agrees with Charlie, but Locke says they should start thinking about defense. Jack and Locke argue about whether or not to tell the rest of the survivors. At the caves, Sun takes care of Jin's wounds and asks him if everything is all right. Sun wants to ask the survivors for help, but Jin blames them for his injuries. Claire is uncomfortable about what is going on around her, and feels like the other survivors are avoiding her. Charlie lies and assures her there isn't anything going on.
Charlie wanders around Lucy's home, looking at the valuable objects she owns, including a cigarette case that was owned by Winston Churchill. Charlie agrees to meet Lucy's father over dinner.
Kate suggests using the guns in the Marshal's case to defend the camp, but Jack thinks that it is too dangerous, as the untrained survivors are more likely to hit each other than their targets. Locke makes four booby traps around the perimeter and puts some of the survivors on guard during the night. Boone volunteers to take a shift. Sayid seems uneasy with this, but Locke trusts Boone. Charlie suggests moving Claire somewhere safer to Jack. He admits he feels guilty for Claire being taken the first time. Jack assures him nothing is going to happen to her.
Charlie bonds with Lucy's father, who is also a musician, over dinner. He admits that Drive Shaft have taken a break over the last year, since the birth of his brother Liam's daughter, Megan, and that the band is probably dead. At the bar, Charlie tells Tommy that he's taken a job selling copiers from Lucy's father. Tommy angrily reminds Charlie that he's supposed to steal something valuable to get heroin money, but Charlie has grown to like Lucy and is uneasy with the idea. Tommy asks him how he's going to be able to work on Monday if he doesn't get a fix that weekend.
That night, Locke, Sayid, and other survivors stand on guard. Boone falls asleep during his shift. The next day he wakes up after he hears a sprung booby trap. He rushes to see who triggered the alarm, but discovers it was only Vincent. Then Boone, Sayid, and Locke hear screaming and return to the beach to find that Scott (of "Scott and Steve" fame) has been murdered. Kate says his neck, both arms, and all the bones in his fingers had been broken. According to Locke, Ethan had probably come in from the ocean. Hurley holds a memorial service for Scott. Claire finds out from Shannon why everybody is avoiding her. She yells at Charlie for lying to her, who says he only wanted to take care of her. She responds that she takes care of herself.
A bedraggled-looking Charlie prepares for his first day of work. Lucy notices his behaviour, but thinks his withdrawal is just nerves. Charlie steals Churchill's case. Lucy insists on driving Charlie to work, much to his dismay.
Jack decides it's time to reveal he has guns. He first shares them with Locke. He only wants trained hands using the guns, and assumes that Locke is capable. He also recruits Sayid. The three want to use Claire as bait for Ethan, against Charlie's objections. Claire tells Charlie that she can talk for herself, and agrees to their plan. Charlie wants to take part in their trap, but when John asks Charlie if he has ever fired a weapon, Charlie does not respond.
Charlie fumbles around at work, and throws up on one of the copiers.
At Locke's suggestion, Jack recruits Sawyer for their mission. Kate also wants to come, but Jack explains they are out of guns and he doesn't want anyone taking on Ethan unarmed. Sawyer gives her the gun he found on the Marshal's body, "back in the old days," and says five guns are better than four. Sayid instructs everyone, and says they want to capture Ethan alive to interrogate him and possibly get some information. In the jungle, the five of them hide in the trees, while Claire stands on the path, waiting for Ethan to arrive. Ethan finally shows up and starts to chase Claire. Jack tackles Ethan and they fight. Jack drops his gun, but gains the upper hand and holds Ethan to the ground, while Sayid, Locke and Sawyer point their guns in his face. Suddenly, a vengeful Charlie shoots Ethan in the chest six times and kills him, using the gun Jack had dropped. The next day, when Jack asks Charlie why he did it, Charlie tells him that Ethan deserved to die, and he was not going to let that animal anywhere near Claire again.
Charlie tries to explain himself to Lucy, but she doesn't want to hear from him. She says the EMTs pulled the cigarette case from his pocket at the hospital. She calls him a liar. She says she understands why he pretended to look her and stole from her, but asks him why he took the job.
Claire comes to Charlie and tells him she remembers peanut butter. Charlie corrects her, saying that it was actually imaginary peanut butter. She tells Charlie that she doesn't know what happened to her, and she's scared, but she wants to trust him. They wish each other good night.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Battle in the Rain: Jack and Ethan's rematch takes place in as heavy a rain as their first fight. This time, Jack wins, beating Ethan into submission.
- Becoming the Mask: In flashbacks, Charlie gets involved with Lucy for the purpose of stealing from her, but grows to genuinely like her. Unfortunately, his addiction overrules his heart and he ends up stealing from her anyway.
- Bilingual Bonus: Charlie greets Jin by saying "annyeong", Korean for "hello".
- Call-Back:
- Sawyer claims his suitability for the mission to capture Ethan by referencing the polar bear he shot in "Pilot, Part 2". Jack counters by reminding him that his attempted Mercy Kill on the Marshal in "Tabula Rasa" was an Epic Fail.
- Jack and Ethan once again have a fistfight during a downpour.
- Claire manages to remember her and Charlie sharing imaginary peanut butter.
- Chekhov's Gun: Literal example. The four guns in the Marshal's case from "Whatever the Case May Be" and the gun Sawyer stole from his ankle holster in "Pilot, Part 2" come in handy for the survivors' battle with Ethan.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Ethan killed Scott by breaking his neck, but also broke both of his arms and all of his fingers.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Jack vs Ethan, in stark contrast to their first fight, is a curb stomp in Jack's favor.
- Curb Stomp Cushion: Although he's defeated without managing to do much damage, Ethan does land several blows while fighting Jack.
- Due to the Dead: After finding Scott dead, the survivors lay him to rest and Hurley delivers a brief eulogy.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Charlie tells Lucy and her dad about his band, and the longer he goes on speaking, the more he realizes that Drive Shaft is dead and he needs a new career.
- Failed a Spot Check: No one manages to notice Charlie sneaking up on the group and picking up Jack's dropped gun until after he has shot Ethan dead.
- Foreshadowing: Jack and Locke's disagreement over whether to take an offensive or defensive strategy against Ethan foreshadows their upcoming ideological rivalry.
- Godzilla Threshold: Jack considers using the guns dangerous, as most of the survivors are untrained with firearms and are more likely to hit each other than Ethan. He relents after Ethan kills Scott, and makes clear that sentries alone can't stop him.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Tommy accurately points out that Charlie's attempt at an honest job would suffer after a weekend of heroin withdrawal; Charlie barely gets a few minutes into his first presentation before he throws up (on the copier he's trying to sell, no less).
- Karmic Death: Ethan is shot by Charlie, who he tried to kill by hanging a few episodes earlier. Charlie even says that he killed Ethan because he deserved it.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Claire's memory of everything after getting on Flight 815 has been erased since she was taken by Ethan. Lampshaded by Sayid, who finds this implausible, but Jack insists that it's possible.
- Mood Whiplash: After a tripwire is triggered by Vincent, who starts licking an embarrassed Boone, everyone relaxes for a moment... until they hear a woman scream as she discovers Scott's dead body.
- Nothing Is Scarier: After bringing Claire to the caves, Locke and Boone keep watch for Ethan.Boone: You think he's around?
Locke: I sure hope not. - Offscreen Moment of Awesome: A villainous example; despite the survivors posting sentries to keep him out of the camp, Ethan manages to slip in via the ocean, kill Scott, and escape totally unnoticed.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Charlie outright states that he killed Ethan because he deserved to die.Charlie: I wasn't gonna let that animal anywhere near her again. Ever.
- Pet the Dog: Jin, who has generally insisted on himself and Sun keeping to themselves and ignoring the problems of the other survivors, is concerned for Claire and her baby and wonders if they are OK when she returns. Sun clearly takes note of this and seems happy to see him show his more caring side.
- Red Shirt: Ethan's only victim is Scott, a character who only existed for the purpose of a Running Gag where people confuse him with another survivor called Steve, which continues even after his death.
- Revenge Before Reason: Charlie kills Ethan rather than sparing him to be questioned; he expresses doubt that Ethan would have given up any information, but it's clear he was more motivated by his desire to protect Claire than any pragmatic concern.
- Shout-Out: Lucy's father is mentioned to be "buying some paper company in Slough." Interestingly, this would eventually lead to a Celebrity Paradox. In the American version, Dwight is a fan of Lost and mentions it by name several times. But the UK version takes place in the same universe as the American counterpart.
- Tempting Fate: Charlie joins Jin as he walks to the caves, remarking "safety in numbers". A few minutes later, an attack from the jungle knocks Jin out cold and Charlie is confronted by Ethan.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Charlie's friend Tommy encourages his heroin addiction and tells him to steal from his girlfriend.
- You Will Be Spared: As he demands that Claire be handed over to him, Ethan tells Charlie that he'll kill someone in the survivors' camp, one every day, and that he'll save Charlie for last.
