Ep 317 - Rescuing Charlie is Desmond's "Catch-22."

Death averted! Future History Changed!! SKaters get a little sum'n sum'n!!! All this in more in "Catch-22"

FORETHOUGHTS
Ok, so normally my "big thought" observations come at the end of my recaps, or interspersed throughout. But the fun of a Desmond episode is its ability to mess with the order of things (or perhaps I should say, the "Order of Things"). So here are some preliminary observations:

New Writer
Check out my previous post on this blog for my gushing over first time (co-)writer Brian K. Vaughn. The script for "Catch-22" was solid, and it's always good to get some decent new blood.

Biblical References Abound
In a show that has already made overt references to biblical names like "Benjamin" and "Jacob," last night brought us "Ruth" and (though not so-named in the episode) "Naomi." And of course, the story of Abraham's binding of Isaac hung in both the foreground and the background. I'll say this for Lost's writers - they know their philsophers (Locke, Hume, Burke, Bakunin...), and they seem to know their Old Testament, as well.

Best "Easter Egg" Ever
A clever device used by Lost's producers frequently is the inclusion of little hints of things to come or hidden answers in the background of scenes. Some of these have included Hurley's Tricia Tanaka interview on a Korean TV in a Jin/Sun flashback, and video of Sayid being hauled off to detention playing in Sgt. Austen's office in a Kate flashback. As you'll see soon enough, a much more meaningful clue appeared in blink-and-miss-it fashion in "Catch-22."

More Questions than Answers
It stands to reason, that in the episode following "One of Us," Lost would again try to boggle the mind more than satisfy our curiosities. The few answers we got were to questions few of us thought too long and hard about. In short:

• Bernard (and presumably Rose)? Still around (and looking for his missing 80s music).


• Under what conditions Sawyer can move his relationship with Kate forward? Sloppy seconds.


• What was Desmond up to before he met Penny?


• How did Desmond meet Penny?


• Why does Desmond cals most men he meets "brother?" Because he was a monk!

So, with those thoughts in mind...

FLASHBACK- DESMOND

In 1995 (or shortly thereafter), Desmond joined a monastery. As he emerged from his vow of silence, he joined Brother Campbell's Order, making and bottling Moriah wine. This prompted a discussion of the biblical Mt. Moriah, where Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac, only to have God intervene at the last possible moment and call off the demanded sacrifice (anyone who wants more deep thoughts on this need only show up in a synagogue for the sermon on the second day of Rosh Hashannah in any given year). Desmond found the tale too depressing to name a wine after, but, as Brother Campbell pointed out, God spared Isaac...

It turns out that Desmond joined the Order when he received his "calling" in the form of Brother Campbell standing over him as Desmond awakened from a blackout in the street. (Aside - was this blackout a result of Desmond's frequent drinking binges, or a re-written history blackout like the ones he has been experiencing since turning the key in the Swan hatch? Second aside - the name, Brother Campbell, suggests Joseph Campbell, the late great professor of myth who wrote and lectured extensively on the monomyth, or the concept that all civilizations' myths are essentially the same, with certain recurring archetypes. Consider, in Desmond's example, the parallels between his own story and that of Odysseus, both questing to be worthy of returning to lost loves named Penelope...)

But what was Desmond doing before his calling? He was but one week away from marrying his six-year girlfriend, Ruth. Ruth's brother, Derek, tracked Desmond down to the monastery and clocked him in the nose. Repentant, Desmond sought out Ruth to apologize, but she was none too charitable. “Next time you want to break up with somebody, Des, don’t join a monastery. Just tell the bloody girl.” This prompted another drinking binge, in which Desmond downed about 200 Pounds Sterling worth of Moriah. Brother Campbell felt this showed that Desmond was not meant to be a monk, but rather, his contribution to the world would lie along another path. Hence, he "fired" formerly "Brother" Desmond, and set him on his way. “I have little doubt that God has different plans than you being a monk…you’ve just spent too much time running away to realize what you’ve been running towards.” Des asked for guidance, but was only told he was to do "whatever comes next."

Perhaps this send-off was more overt than Desmond realized. On his way out the door, Desmond was asked by Brother Campbell for one final favor - to help him load some cases of Moriah into the Range Rover driven by the daughter of one of the monastery's biggest supporters. That daughter, of course, turned out to be Penny Widmore, who flirtatiously requested that Desmond hop in and help her unload the crates back at her father's country estate...

And Now...The Easter Egg!!
In one quick shot during Desmond's final good-bye with Brother Campbell, we saw the Brother's desk, complete with a very intriguing photo. It seems Brother Campbell has some sort of connection with Ms. Hawking, the antiquities dealer who would later confront Desmond about his time-hopping and his destiny to turn that darn key. What larger implications does this photo have (for some suggestions, click the title of this post to see Ew.com's Doc Jensen's Cliff Notes style recap)? Was Desmond's path set this early in his life? Was he brought to the monastery just to meet Penny, to find the path that would lead him to turn the key in his quest to be worthy of Penny, both in his own eyes, and in her father's? Was Charles Widmore, whose links to the Hanso Foundation have been suggested many times over, trying to get Desmond on his ultimate path? More on Desmond's various moral dilemmas, and what it means to be "worthy" in his own eyes, in terms of abstract morality, and in the eyes of God, to follow...

"Real" Time - The Island
"Catch-22" gives the viewer an excellent sense of the visions Desmond has experienced since the hatch imploded.

To the viewer, the image of Penny in the jungle is the least apparent aspect of this disorganzied puzzle Desmond gets via flash-forward. But to Des, that's the whole point. He believes if the rest of his vision happens as he sees it, he will finally be reuinted with Pen...The problem is, in addition to flashes of Hurley and Jin holding up the cable on the beach (the one that led Sayid to Rousseau's bunker, and the one we now know connected the Flame station to the sonar beacon), and Hurly and Charlie debating whether the Flash or Superman could win a race, Desmond's vision very clearly depicted Charlie setting off one of Rousseau's booby traps, and getting a fatal arrow through the throat for his troubles.

Herein lies Desmond's "Catch-22", as well as the tie-in to the story of Abraham on Mt. Moriah. Desmond, both before he joined the monastery and ever since, has constantly tried to prove himself "worthy." He has been willing to sacrifice almost anything for this noble quest, including joining the perilous Widmore Cup solo sailing race, and even being willing to sacrifice himself when he turned the fail-safe key. Tellingly, his final act before the hatch imploded was to reaffirm his love for Penny, as though this act may finally make him worthy of her.

Ever since the implosion, Desmond has taken on the role of Charlie's guardian angel, saving his life three times already, despite his belief in the inherent futility of it all. And now, along comes a vision, one that tells him that, to finally reunite with Penny, he must allow Charlie to die. Is this the sacrifice Abraham was willing to make for God? On the other hand, if Des now allows Charlie to die for personal reward, is he worthy of Penny? Hence, the "Catch-22" (taken from the Joseph Heller book of the same title, in which the military would only discharge a non-wounded soldier if he were crazy, but any attempt to show craziness would be a sign of sufficient self-awareness to prove the soldier was not crazy). As Desmond's discussion with Brother Campbell years before reminded him, the story of Abraham and Isaac could also be looked at as the story of not sacrificing another's life, and thereby pleasing God. So what was Desmond to do?

Well, one thing is certain - Des has to set these events in motion so that he can even have such a choice. Ham-handedly, he recruits the cast of characters. Hurley, sensing this is a "future crap thing," warily assists, and recruits Jin and Charlie for a "camping trip," complete with whistling the march from Bridge on the River Kwai and, in a really cute sequence, Jin telling a familiar campfire ghost story...in Korean.

As Jin scares Hurley with his (to Hurley) incomprensible tale, other items from Desmond's vision start to occur - the sound of a helicopter (!?) on the horizon, the apparent crash of the copter in the ocean, a red beacon in the sky, and a parachute falling into the jungle. Jin thinks pilot, Hurley thinks food drop. Charlie points out you can’t eject from a helicopter. Charlie, keenly aware of his constantly impending doom, refuses to go into the jungle in the dead of night, and Desmond, aware that he can't see Penny unless Charlie at least approaches death, reluctantly agrees to wait for morning.

The party continues onward at first light, and finds a backpack stuck in a tree. Inside is, not surprisingly given the title of the episode, a copy of Catch-22, only it's in Portuguese. Of course, unbeknownst to Desmond (but knownst to us), the Arctic researchers working with Penny in the Season 2 finale spoke Portuguese. Connection?

Desmond also finds a satellite phone, the battery of which, of course, instantly dies. I don't pretend to know a lot about sat phones, but look at the display on this model. It very closely resembles the newly-released iPhone from Apple. Yet, on the island, it's still late Fall, 2004. Is this another time-hopping/bending clue about what's happening on the island, and how time passes, or just an over-exuberant prop hand thinking this model looks "cool?"

But it's within the book that Des finds the most startling discovery of all...a copy of his treasured photo with Penny. This of course begs the question, how on Earth is this possible? First of all, this suggests the crashed helicopter was piloted by somebody who knows who Desmond is, and was perhaps looking for him. But unlike flight 815, there is no particular reason (that we know of) to assume anyone would think to look for Des on this island. Moreover, as we saw in "Flashes Before Your Eyes," the photo was taken and handed to Desmond by a random photographer moments before he broke up with Penny. How could there be another copy of it (a question already posed, as we've seen it on Penny's nightstand, when the freezing Portuguese guys called her).

Charlie deduces that Desmond believes the parachutist is Penny. Desmond tells Charlie he didn’t tell them because he didn’t want anything to change. Then the rain starts, the rain that, to Desmond, signals Charlie’s death. The Flash/ Superman debate begins, and Desmond knows what to expect. Can he do it, can he let Charlie die for the chance to Penny? With the picture in his hand, is it too late now to make a difference, either way? Desmond sees the arrow, and makes his decision. He tackles Charlie, and the arrow misses! Cue Hurley: “Dude.”

They split up to search two separate directions. Charlie confronts Desmond about why he was brought along. Des thinks it’s pointless – he thinks this is a test, his continually saving Charlie. Jin shouts, and they find a parachute, and the jumper’s beacon flashing. She is unconscious and not moving. Des clearly blames himself, for not sacrificing Charlie. Desmond cuts down the chute, intercut with his first meeting scene with Penny. Can this be her? Desmond removes the helmet…and that is not Penny.

But it is someone who recognizes him – the stranger, in a daze, says, “Desmond," before fading into unconsciousness. (Press notes indicate this mysterious visitor is named "Naomi," the referenced alluded to above. Next week, she purportedly will awaken and will bring all sorts of shocking news to our Lostaways...)

So what is the lesson of Desmond's tale? Did he change the picture of the puzzle by preventing Charlie's death? Did Desmond prove himself worthy of Penny by saving Charlie's life, or did he fail the test Abraham passed, by being unwilling to go through the sacrifice demanded of him?

Real Real Time - Beach Group

The "C" story in "Catch-22" involves Kate, Jack and Sawyer trying to determine their respective relationships now that life is back to what passes for "normal."

Sawyer accidentally walks in on Kate getting dressed, and wants to know if Kate told Jack about their tryst (for bragging rights? to see if he should watch his back for an attack from Jilted Jack?) She says no, but he knows, because the Others had a camera on them. “Perverts.” Sawyer requests a little afternoon delight (Ew). Kate rolls her eyes, and Sawyer, mock-hurt, asks, “do you need me to make you a mix tape?”

But Kate is not so over Jack, yet. She doesn’t know what to do with herself while having a quiet evening chat with Jack. She’s trying to establish a connection. Jack borrows a spoon from her, ignoring her flirtatious licking of said spoon, then takes some eats over to Juliet. D’oh! "Look at them smiling and laughing together," Kate's expression seems to say. Enough’s enough – she goes to Sawyer’s tent and jumps him. He sees her crying, but she shuts him up and they enjoy some lovely sex on the beach. That oughtta show Jack.

In the morning, wanting to claim his victory, Sawyer swaggers on over to Jack. He asks what Jack and Juliet were up to, “arguing over your favorite Other?” Swayer challenges Jack to ping pong. In a cute exchange about the origin of the beach's table, Sawyer explains to Jack that it’s from the hatch, and if they don’t play every 108 minutes, the island will explode. As they discuss the previous night, Sawyer realizes what happened with Kate - he was just her sloppy seconds after she felt jilted. For a moment, Sawyer seems able to bounce back. He pulls off a mildly romantic gesture - a mix tape. Ok, so it’s the Best of Phil Collins, courtesy of Bernard. But then Sawyer, shmo that he is, asks Kate why she jumped him, and if it was because of Jack and Juliet? She denies it, but, ugh, that is no question to ask at the start of a relationship.

So that's it for "Catch-22." With five episodes to go, I want to point out that my earlier-reported rest-of-season episode schedule appears to have been corrected. The last remaining episodes of Season 3 appear to be as follows:

Episode 318 - "D.O.C." (Jin/ Sun)
Episode 319 - "The Brig" (John Locke)
Episode 320 - "The Man Behind the Curtain" (Ben Linus (yay!))
Episode 321 - "The Truth About Lying / Greatest Hits" (Charlie (oh, no!))
Episodes 322-323 - "Through the Looking Glass" (Jack)