Desmond Hume, the runaway bride (Or is he?)‏

Two episodes in a row in which I have nothing to complain about. That
picture on the monk's desk (I'll get to that later) maybe even made this
episode more enjoyable than last week's for me.

Since I have nothing to complain about, I feel certain that Jess also should
have nothing to complain about, after all, Sawyer did confirm that Bernard
is still around. And your big complaint from last week is that you didn't
know what happened to Penny. Now we know that she is still looking for
Desmond. So the only problem you might have with this episode is the
Kate-Sawyer sex. Though knowing your obsession with couples on certain
shows, I guess that might be a problem for you.

Speaking of Kate, that scene between her and Jack was so super awkward and
so enjoyable, all I could think was that the only way he's gonna notice her
again is if she gets in some kinda trouble and he takes it upon himself to
fix her problem. Loved the spoon-licking. Awesome.

And Sawyer was really on his game this week. He had a bunch of great
moments: calling the Others perverts; "You two arguing over who's your
favorite Other?"; beating Jack at ping-pong and "We don't play every 108
minutes, the island's gonna explode." If nothing else, the abduction was
great for Jack and Sawyer's relationship. (At least for now.)

So, onto Desmond...

The opening if the episode was awesome. It is too bad it was a flash
forward, because that would have been such a ballsy way to kill off Charlie
- completely unexpected and shocking. And even after the reveal that it was
a flash, and even though I was 99% sure that Des wasn't going to let Charlie
die, I was still a little on edge. How cool would it have been if the arrow
got Jin or Hurley after Desmond pushed Charlie?

The obvious significance of "Catch-22" applying directly to Desmond's life
(lives?) is the circularity of it all and that was very nicely illustrated
in the flashbacks. Also it hearkens to the ongoing fate vs. free will motif
of the show. How much free will does anyone on the show have (Desmond
especially)? Did he actually change the future by saving Charlie? If Charlie
had died, would the parachutist have been Penny? If that's true, that's
certainly a strong argument for free will.

"Ardil-22" (the name of the book in the parachutist's bag) is Portuguese for
"Catch-22." In last season's finale, those guys who noticed the "event" were
speaking in Portuguese.

And not just Desmond's life, but the show as a whole is almost a catch-22 at
times. Not just the circularity and the deja vu of it all, but the "damned
if they do, damned if they don't" position that the producers and writers
always seem to be in.

So, onto my absolute favorite part of the episode, something so small and so
easily missed, but something I see as incredibly important in the grand
scheme of Lost: that picture on the monk's desk. In the picture was the monk
himself and Mrs. Hawking, the jewelry store salesperson. Whereas from
Desmond's last fantastic episode, she could be explained away as part of his
subconscious, I think last night's episode points to her as a very real part
of their world, regardless of her actions in "Flashes Before Your Eyes."
(Especially because the audience saw the picture, and not Desmond.) To me,
it means that for whatever reason, Desmond was pushed to the Island for
quite some time and it also places a great amount of question on Penelope.

So, this is how I see it: spineless Desmond with a massive case of cold feet
(just like Jack!), goes out for a night of drinking and passes out on the
street, the monk finds him and Desmond finds his "calling." (By the way,
Desmond's ex calling him out on his quick change of heart: "Good thing it
wasn't a shepherd who helped you up!" An allusion to Jack? Or Christian?)
Anyway, Desmond is just glad that he's managed to avoid making a commitment
that he thinks he belongs with the monks. He takes his vow of silence (just
like Locke when he wanted to 'reconnect' with the Island!) and the monk
calls him "one of us" (just like Juliet!). However, he soon realizes that he
cannot commit to them either and the Head Monk fires him, but not before he
tells him that he has to help load some wine into a truck driven by Penelope
Widmore. And we all know that it's because of Penny and her father (and
possibly Ms. Hawking) that Desmond eventually ends up on the Island, and is
thus stuck with the ultimate commitment that he cannot seem to escape.
That's really crappy karma.

Looking at it this way, isn't his life the ultimate catch-22? If he marries
the first girl, if he stays a monk, if he stays with Penny, he (presumably)
damns the world, himself included. He doesn't do any of that, but ends up
damned anyway, and is forced to relive all of these events ad nauseam.
(Whether in flashes or just in memories.)

But anyway, I loved Desmond and Penny's first meeting and like I mentioned,
it adds even more dimension to Penny's character. Of course, she could have
been an unwitting pawn too, but I can't help but assume sinister
motivations. Maybe halfway through her assigned part in Desmond's life, she
changed her mind and that's why she is hunting for him now. I personally
think that since Penny was left as the scorned woman, no matter how much she
loved him, why would she go to so much trouble (3 years!) to find someone
who left her and by that does not care for her as much as she cares for him?
I think that the guilt she feels in being complicit in his arrival on the
Island would be a great motivator.

I've written all this nonsense and still didn't comment on the very
Tarrantino-esque pop culture conversation of the Flash vs. Superman or the
hilarity that was Jin's ghost story.

There are only four episodes left until the finale, I think. It really seems
like it's building to something fantastic. I just hope it more like last
year's finale and not the cop-out that was the first season finale.

And I still hope Charlie dies. (I also think I'd be upset if they killed
Jack, so now is a good time to do it before I hate him again.)

And I hope we see Vincent again. (Maybe he is Jacob? Where exactly does that
dog go when we don't see him?)