| LOST: Catch 22 Review |
| Wednesday, 07 July 2004 | |
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aka: "He ain't heavy, he's my brother... brutha"  But all is well because (everybody say it together now) "It was all just a bad dream"! Thank you for your participation. This was a little cliche for my taste, but it accomplished a very necessary task: to make Charlie's death seem real and to show us what Desmond's flashes are really like. A lot of fans, myself included, have become jaded over the season with Charlie's near misses and close calls. When that arrow plunged into Charlies throat I was suddenly struck with the reality of the situation: Charlie could die at any moment. From anything. Maybe it's an important plot point. Maybe he gets bitten by a spider. Maybe ol' Smokey gets him. As much as we are expecting it, it will be a major loss to the show when he finally kicks the bucket. Who else is going to argue with Hurley over who would win in a super-powered footrace with a "no wall smashing" rule? Wait, Desmond was a friggin' monk? And here I just thought that his whole "brutha" bit was just because he was stone cold cool. Like, he's the Scottish John Shaft or something. This is a smart plot move, though. It shows us a new side of Desmond in that we now know that his path is something he's struggled with long before he ever met Penny Widmore and began his whole Gilligans Isle routine. It also introduces the theme of the episode, which is why they use the "flashback" convention in the first place. This is a story of sacrifice, of faith, of temptation. Very biblical. Fitting then that his ex fiancee is named Ruth to offset the greek-inspired Penelope. Are we going to see some references to the tribe of Benjamin later? Hmm? Let's just wait and see. Another reason why I like the way BKV (Brian K. Vaughan) writes: he takes characters that we think are well defined, and tosses a sabot into their loom (ask me later if you don't get that).  We take for granted that Desmond has resolved to save Charlie's life. But would he sacrifice Charlie's life to save everyone elses? Would he let Charlie die if it meant that they would be rescued? Would he do it to see Penny again? Can he be tempted or will his resolve, his faith, stand firm? As the episode speedily pushes forward, I have to admit that I couldn't tell until the last moment. I trusted in the character and I knew what I wanted him to do, but I did not know if he would do it until the moment the bolt left the crossbow.Charlie, Hurley, and Jinn (or the Beach team, as I call them) continue to cement their roles as the best characters on the show. From Hurley's flippant aside of "everybody loves marshmallows", to the "Bridge on the River Kwai" moment on the beach, these guys are awesome. They are the everymen, the people you root for, the people you want to see truly succeed. Screw Jack and Sawyer, they're too pretty to be real heroes.  Which brings us to the the prettyboys. I both love and hate what's going on with Kate. I hate that she's being so indecisive, after showing for so long that she is a take charge kinda girl. At the same time, I love the tension that it brings to her relationships. By sleeping with Sawyer again when she obviously wants to be with Jack, it introduces a whole new aspect to the triangle. Jack and Sawyer continue their Flint & Duke dynamic over a game of ping pong (awesome! love that ping pong table) and Sawyer finally gets a clue about the previous nights rendezvous with Kate. And, after his previous "high school nerd" awkwardness around Kate, he finally regains the upper hand in the relationship. He knows she used him, and has put his defenses back up. And, even though he can act like an asshole again and pretend he's ok with it, you know that deep down, he's hurt by it. This should begin a greater story arc of Sawyer trying to become the man Kate wants. And, in an even greater sweep, Jack is oblivious, or at least he's trying to be. Sawyer is in a contest with someone who doesn't even know he's competing. Excellent set up, Lost.Back in the jungle, Desmond saves Charlie's life again, showing his true nature. Even tempted, even faced with possible rescue he just couldn't let an innocent man die. But, because he's a badass and understands his situation so well, he can't help but lord it over him a little afterward. He's an unwilling savior. He wants to be selfish, he wants to go home to Penny, but not like that. Not at that cost. Plus, I love how when they find the satellite phone in the pilot's bag it's dead, and no one bats an eye. "Shocker", Charlie says. At last we find Penny in the tree, apparently dead. What a beautiful moment when we see Desmond and Penny's first meeting against the backdrop of their final farewell... wait, who the hell is that? Oh, Lost. You magnificent beast. You caught me, damn you. You caught me. Favorite Scene of the Night: Definitely goes to the Ghost Story scene. It really shows how these people from all different walks of life have come together as friends. Plus, it's hilarious that it's in Chinese. Proof that you don't need subtitles to get a point across. (I'm looking at you, George Lucas). Peter Sorensen is a part time reviewer and also loves marshmallows. Comments (1)
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