Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: B+ | 447 USERS: B+ YOU GRADE IT You Don't Know Jack
By Cindy McLennan | Season 6 | Episode 13 | Aired on 2010.04.20
Ilana makes the introductions. Jack is surprised that Ilana was able to find the mysterious Claire Littleton. Ilana says, "Actually, she found us." Actually, actually, your secret special snowflake arranged the whole thing, brothah. Jack isn't sure what to say. "Uh. You were in my father's will. Do you mind if I ask you how you knew him?" Claire: "I... he was my father too." Jack's all: "..." Before he can put on his gracious face, his phone rings. As he takes the call, he raises his free hand to his forehead, to keep his frontal lobe from busting out. Jack on the phone: "Yeah, this is Dr. Shephard..." His voice is strangled into a funny little laugh-cry. "No, no it's not a very good time... Yes, they can go ahead and prep him. I'm 20 minutes away." Once he's off the phone, he offers his apologies. There's been a Locke an emergency at the hospital and they'll have to reschedule. Wow, Jack. That must be the best timed emergency ever, at least from your Sideways point of view.
Sidebar: The Desmond-arranged meet-ups were, as I said earlier, a little too too for me, this week. That said, the parallels between Claire and Jack reuniting Islandways and meeting for the first time in the Sideways were elegant. Both encounters were emotionally unsatisfying -- as they should be. This is an awkward thing. Honestly, when I would imagine them finding one another, I assumed Island-Jack would be warmer toward Claire. He's known for three years that she's his sister, and because of her pregnancy, he and Claire got to know one another pretty well on the island. Even though the whole Claire/Aaron/Lie thing had a negative impact on his relationship with Kate during the Escape-away years, I expected a little more from them, once Faucke left the siblings to chat. But after seeing their Sideways introduction, it all made sense to me. It all felt right -- because to them, it felt so wrong. And in both cases, they can't yet truly bond, not while Faucke and Locke have dibs on the Jacks.