I’ve been waiting for a Desmond episode, so I’m happy with tonight’s installment: Catch-22.

A shout out before the bullet points. I love the fact that comic scribe Brian K. Vaughan penned this episode. He’s always been a favorite of mine and I dig the Superman versus The Flash point/counterpoint.

Here we go:

  • Catch-22/Abraham

    • I’m no biblical scholar nor have I read Joseph Heller’s novel but I was an English minor and I did go to Sunday School as a child.

    I really think Desmond is truly damned if he does or damned if he doesn’t. Maybe God’s plan is for him to be a wanderer. Abraham was led by God to Canaan and Abraham followed God’s path to the mountain to sacrifice Isaac despite his misgivings.

    Maybe I’m being too literal. Maybe the point the monk made is valid. Maybe Desmond doesn’t know the value of sacrifice. Maybe, like Kate, he shows his selfishness by running away, by being scared, instead of facing life.

    Repeatedly God (through the visions) has placed Charlie on an express train to Heaven and Desmond won’t let his ticket be punched. In this case, Charlie is Isaac. Maybe the first aid kid could have saved him; maybe that was God’s plan all along.

    Whatever the case, the echoes of God and deja vu (from Catch-22) seem to point out the futility of free will in the face of some greater divine (divining?) force. Let Charlie die (or be nearly mortally wounded) as the true test. Don’t get scared about that next phase, just do what the monk said: “Whatever comes next.” (Especially if the monk’s own mother also points him down that path.)

    Also, Jenn got the whole parachute of rescuer falling in the jungle right about the time that Desmond made the jigsaw puzzle metaphor, so point to her.

    Additional goofy connection: Moriah in the bible (and wine) as mountain of God’s plan and Moria in Lord of the Rings as mountain of plans gone awry.

    Truly scatological follow-up: didn’t Charlie look like Gollum when he got shot with the arrow (a scene which, am I remembering this right, might have happened in those movies in somewhat the same way?)

  • The Breakfast Club

    • I love the fact that the beach whistling scene was like two scenes from that film rolled into one. Just tickled me.

    Perhaps another sly pop culture reference from BKV?

  • Change

    • I touched upon this in my very broad first bullet point, but I think Desmond is some kind of agent of change on the island.

    It’s semi-clear that the visions aren’t fully clear (sorry, that’s confusing) and that they can change just as much as he can change them, since the full picture (or the puzzle box, to use his terms) isn’t known.

    What if Desmond’s purpose, his higher calling, is to do nothing? To listen to God and believe his promise (re: Isaac).

    I’m re-hashing here, but I think the final message is that on this island, Desmond can’t run. He’s going to have to face something serious - in this case death - just as strongly as he ran from marriage, responsibility, adulthood, etc. back in the real world.

    I mentioned this a few Lost recap posts previous, but I think that Kate and Desmond have similar stories and paths. The difference being that Desmond didn’t kill anyone yet (that we know) but may have to on the island and Kate might have to learn to stop killing.

    Still, they’re both selfish cowards who like to run.

  • Charity & Service

    • Hurley mentions it in the superhero debate.

    The monk mentions it in the monastery.

    Desmond seems addicted to it.

    Taking the job with Penny’s dad to make their relationship work (and sailing around the world).
    Joining the armed services.
    Becoming a monk.

    He does these seemingly selfless things in order to escape true responsibility. It’s like passive-aggressive civil service.

  • Romance

    • While some of the sex that happened this week certainly wasn’t romantic, we did get some romance, or at the very least relationships.

    Jack making sweet with Juliet like some old married couple.
    Kate flirting with Jack but using Sawyer (not that he minded, he just wants to call a spade a spade [and no, that's not a putdown of Kate]).
    Mention of Bernard (and Rose, by proxy) - good to know they’re not dead.

    I think this is the real growth area for this show. It’s been long enough. Force some folks to confront their emotions to grow towards one of two things:

    1. What the Island wants of them
    2. What they want for themselves (like they selfishly did before) in defiance of the island

    All of the lovey-dovey will inevitably lead to drama/fireworks and Locke/Moses bringing Hellfire. I’ll stop the religiosity now.

  • Penny’s epitaph

    • “With enough money and determination you can find anybody.”

    Just as those two Portuguese dudes were searching for Desmond (and notified Penny at the end of Season 2), so to does our helicopter ejectee. Not a stretch, I know, but Ardil-22 isn’t Portuguese, as far as I know.

    So, where is she from and how long has she been searching for Desmond? Will there be a rescue? Are there others coming for her and Desmond? What nationality is she and whom does she work for, besides Penny? Dharma? Hanso?

    And yes, given the bullet point, I do feel as though Penny is either deceased or must/will die in order for Desmond to come full circle, whatever the Hell any of that means.

    ;-)

Nothing else. Go to sleep!