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(S04E10) The writers gave us a break after last week's action- and information-packed episode. While Jack struggled with appendicitis, we got another look at his future off the island. Three of the other members of the Oceanic Six turned up, and Jack learned that there's no escaping a love triangle. Back on the island, Claire had an unexpected visitor.

Gallery: Lost: Something Nice Back Home

The Beach

Jack awoke to the sound of Bernard and 815ers having it out with Charlotte and Daniel. It was fun watching Rose and Bernard team up on the freighties and demand answers. Jack kept the conflict from escalating by renewing his promise to get everyone off the island. Suddenly, he collapsed and was taken back to his tent. Juliet examined his abdomen and diagnosed him with appendicitis; it was time for surgery on the beach.

Since Sun knew the location of the Staff station, Juliet asked to her go and retrieve surgical instruments. Daniel offered to join her; he'd have more luck identifying the proper equipment. He was anxious to prove that he wasn't there to do anyone harm. Charlotte, Jin, and Jin's handgun joined them. When the group reached the station, Daniel gallantly volunteered to go in check that it was safe. Jin and Sun joked (in Korean) about Daniel's apparent crush on Charlotte. Jin eyed Charlotte suspiciously when she appeared to understand them.

Jack's illness raised an important question in Rose's mind. How did he get sick, when the island has healing powers? She also found the timing of his condition -- right before they had a chance of rescue -- very suspicious. Unfortunately, Bernard didn't have an answer for this and the question was never brought up again. Meanwhile, Juliet prepared Jack for his emergency surgery. Ever the control freak, Jack wanted to be awake for the procedure so he could talk Juliet through it. Bernard would numb his abdomen but not knock him out; Kate would hold a mirror up for him to see.

The medical supplies arrived later that evening, and everything was in place for Jack's appendectomy. Jin called Charlotte out for her ability to speak Korean. When she tried to deny it, Jin threatened to hurt Daniel. This approach worked, and Jin made Charlotte promise to take Sun back on the helicopter when they left. He didn't ask for himself or any of the other survivors to be rescued. I started to tear up.

Jack quickly learned that watching your own surgery is disgusting. When the pain became overwhelming, Juliet insisted on knocking him out. Jack resisted, Kate cried, Juliet threw Kate out of the makeshift OR -- it was a bloody, teary mess. The surgery went well, and Kate returned to the tent to see Jack and Juliet. Juliet confessed that Jack had kissed her at the Tempest station, but said that he did it to prove that he wasn't in love with Kate. After Kate thanked Juliet and left, Juliet busted Jack for pretending to be asleep.

The Jungle

As Miles, Claire, Aaron, and Sawyer made their way back to the beach, Claire mentioned that she had been seeing things. Miles had a vision of his own; a flash of Danielle and Karl's deaths. He had the vision at that particular moment because they were all standing on Karl and Danielle's shallow graves; there won't be a dramatic, last-minute resurrection for Danielle. The group stopped for water, and Sawyer gave Miles a restraining order after catching him looking strangely at Claire and Aaron. The ABC promos featuring Keamy turned out to be a big tease. Frank Lapidus ran into the group and told them to hide; Keamy and the mercenaries were close by. The Black Smoke Monster managed to hurt only one of them after all. There was a tense moment when Aaron made a noise, but Lapidus hurried Keamy and his men along to the helicopter.

The 815ers made camp in the jungle and went to sleep. Claire awoke in the middle of the night and saw Christian Shephard holding baby Aaron. She called out, "Dad?" That morning, Sawyer woke up and saw that Claire and Aaron were gone. Miles told him that Claire walked out in the middle of the night, and that she wasn't alone. He would have stopped her, but he didn't want to violate the restraining order. Sawyer heard Aaron's cries and found him in the jungle, alone. Claire was nowhere to be found.

Flash-Forward: Jack

Jack's second flash-forward took place before the events of "Through The Looking Glass." He woke up in a lovely home that he shared with an unseen woman and child. He walked into the bathroom and talked to his girlfriend, who was taking a shower. Kate emerged and gave Jack a morning kiss. I suppose they had to hook up sometime! After Kate's trial, Jack reconsidered her offer and accepted Aaron as part of her life. That night, he read to Aaron from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Kate and Jack had a tender moment when Jack mentioned that Christian read the same story to him as a child.

Claire wasn't the only one seeing Christian Shephard this week. Jack caught a glimpse of him at the hospital just before getting a message about Hurley at Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute. When he visited Hurley, Jack learned that his friend had stopped taking medication and wasn't sleeping. Therapy was pointless, since Hurley didn't believe his doctor existed. Hurley was convinced that the Oceanic Six were dead and hadn't made it off the island at all. Jack's storybook life with Kate and Aaron was a perfect example of heaven. Hurley had experienced that kind of happiness when he first left the island, but then Charlie paid him a visit. Charlie had a message for Jack, too: "You're not supposed to raise him." Jack was visibly upset, and looked even worse after Hurley told him to expect a visit from someone soon.

Hurley's warning only increased Jack's determination to be happy. He came home and proposed to Kate; Kate accepted. The mysterious visit came the following night, when Jack was working late at the hospital. Christian Shephard appeared again, but was interrupted by one of Jack's colleagues. This brief vision was enough to put Jack on the road to chemical dependency. Complaining of sleeping issues, Jack got his colleague to write him a prescription for Clonazepam. Paranoia soon followed. Jack came home to find Kate on the phone; she ended the call quickly and had a guilty look on her face.

The next day, Jack was waiting for Kate when she got home. He had been drinking heavily and started asking Kate where she had been. Kate begged Jack to trust her, but broke down and told him that she was doing a favor for Sawyer. She had promised to do something for him, but knew that Sawyer would want it kept secret. Hurt and angry, Jack said that Sawyer wasn't there; he was. Sawyer chose to stay behind, and Jack saved Kate. When Kate referred to Aaron as "her" son, Jack flipped out and yelled that she wasn't even related to him. When he turned around, he saw Aaron standing there clutching his stuffed whale. Jack walked away and presumably left the house.

Final remarks/questions:

• This episode gave us a chance to take a breath and process the deaths of Danielle and Karl. I can't believe that Danielle's really dead, and I'm surprised that she would be disposed of so quickly. With Alex dead, it doesn't make sense to keep her around -- but still. Doesn't a season one character deserve more of a sendoff?
• "Watch your tone, Red." Rose and Bernard were awesome this week. They asked all the right questions -- the kind of questions that fans have been asking. I love that Bernard has stepped up over the last few episodes and acted as Jack's deputy.
• I'm worried about Claire now that she's gone off into the jungle. Miles picked up on some vibe coming from Claire; I'm guessing that's why he kept looking at her and offering to take the baby. What if this version of Christian is like the Yemi apparition that turned into the Smoke Monster? Is Claire's father leading her to her death? On the other hand, the vision could be leading her to some truth or realization. That doesn't sound like something that would happen at the end of the season, though.
• Did the Smoke Monster kill any of the mercenaries? Only one of them looked injured; Keamy and the rest seemed perfectly fine. Not impressed, Smokey. Perhaps it wasn't Ben's intention to kill them. He might be saving that honor for himself.
• More Star Wars connections: Jack tripped over a Millennium Falcon toy in Kate's kitchen.
• I'm not sure what to do with the information about Daniel's crush on Charlotte. There's no room on the island for any more romantic tension.
• Did Jack have an appendectomy scar in his flash-forward?
• Who was Kate talking to in the flash-forward, and what favor was she doing for Sawyer? My best guess is that it has to do with Cassidy and Clementine.

Next week: Locke touches base with Horace Goodspeed and the DHARMA ghosts, and more of the goings-on back at the freighter. In the meantime, check out additional Lost coverage at AOL.