What can we say about Jack's swift return to Pine Valley? That it was way too long in coming, of course. But now that he's home, ALL MY CHILDREN smartly made his first move to see Erica — and find out why his ex was dallying with her daughter’s ex, Ryan. Both Jack and Erica were in fine form, and demonstrated that they, as a couple, even long-separated and obviously with issues, still have more chemistry than Erica and anyone else on the show.

The writers were on-target in their dialogue and true to the characters, and the actors (Walt Willey and Susan Lucci) made it clear that, even though they're not "together," there's still a keen connection — strong enough that, once Ryan and Erica are no longer a couple, it would be totally natural (not to mention absolutely right) for Jerica to heat up once more. This is, not so coincidentally, one of the very things fans have been begging for the entire time of Jack's absence from the AMC canvas.

When Erica asked, haughtily, "Did you drop everything to run back and protect me from Ryan?" Jack's response, "Now you're avoiding the issue," proved he still knows Erica best. She insisted that Jack's actions were not enough to get her to break up with Ryan. Jack countered that no way was Ryan over Greenlee, and Erica was going to get hurt once it came out.

Finally, he admitted one of the reasons he came back was Erica: "I’ve lost my heart. And, yes, I'm talking about you. You are hell to get over." When Erica still wouldn't budge, Jack got to her with a simple question, proving he knows Erica better than anyone: "Since when have you been so hard to convince that you deserve more?!" Erica's eyes conveyed that she knew exactly what Jack was talking about.

La Kane is famous for picking herself right back up after a romantic disaster, and isn't it, well, just fabulous that, if she wants, Jack is back to pick up the pieces? As he put it before sauntering out the door, "Well, maybe this wasn't a wasted trip, after all." Amen to that.