'Lost' - "Catch-22"

Another good episode, although this one created more questions than answering them. Just what we need... new mysteries when I would like to know more about the giant polar bear!

The episode was Desmond-centric, a character whom we get in occasional bursts, but one of the more mysterious characters on the island. The flashback sequences showed us a bit more of his psyche and, more importantly, explained why he calls all men "my brother." I had thought it an affectation, but there is indeed a reason.

In Flashbacks:
Desmond is a monk just completing his vows of silence. There's your "my brother" reasoning! At the monastery, they produce wine (and imbibe a bit, too). The Head Monk told Desmond that he underestimates the power of sacrifice. He spoke of the story where Abraham was asked to kill Isaac and Isaac was spared by God. Desmond mentioned that Isaac was saved anyway, but the Head Monk said the importance of the story was that Abraham was willing to make the sacrifice.

Then a man arrived at the monastery and punched Desmond in the nose. No, not a random man. It was Ruth's brother (I think). Remember, Ruth was Desmond's fiance that he unexpectedly deserted shortly before the wedding. Desmond then went to talk to Ruth. He thought he owed her an explanation. He said he woke up on the street at one point and heard a voice ask, "Can I help you, brother?" He knew he was supposed to go with him... sacrifice all answering a greater calling.

After the confession, what does Desmond do? He went and got wasted on the expensive and rather rare wine they produced at the monastery. He thought he wasn't cut out to be a monk. But the Head Monk left him no choice; he fired him. "God has different plans for you, bigger plans." Head Monk told him that he spent to much time running away to realize what he was running toward.

It was then that Desmond met wealthy Penny. She arrived at the monastery to take a shipment of wine for her father. Desmond helped her load the shipment and told her he was a fired monk.

On the Island:
The show opened with Charlie and Hurley in an animated debate of Superman versus the Flash walking through the woods with Jin and Desmond. Then something impales Charlie in the upper chest/low neck area. Whap! Scenes of dark clouds with a red beacon light in them. Oh, so confusing, but they meant something to Desmond.

Ah, but it was a vision of Desmond's, not actually happening. Not right at that time, anyway. Cut to Desmond telling Hurley he needed him to find the cable wire, something also in the vision. When Hurley asked why, all Desmond said was a cryptic, "Someone's coming."

Desmond asked Jack for the first aid kit, explaining that he had to tape up his twisted ankle. Hurley demanded more of an explanation, so Desmond told him it was indeed a vision, but one like a jigsaw puzzle with no accompanying picture. He didn't know how the pieces fit. But he saw Hurley pulling the cable out of the sand, so he needed him to do that. This was a vision he wanted to happen, not to stop or change.

They needed both Jin and Charlie to complete the vision troop. He told Charlie that someone was coming to the island and denied that his life was in danger. (But.. but... the WHAP arrow!)

They whistled "Bridge Over the River Kwai" as they headed to the area where the cable was buried. They set up camp after Charlie and Hurley balked at going into the dark jungle. While Jin told ghost stories in Korean to Hurley and Charlie, Desmond sat a distance away looking at the photo of Penny and himself.

The sounds of a helicopter came from the distance, but they soon sounded a bit wrong. The men were at the beach as the helicopter crashed into the ocean. Then they saw a red beacon in the sky which indicated someone had ejected. (Do people really eject from helicopters? Maybe they jumped.)

Desmond wanted to immediately go to where the beacon seemed to go down, but the others refused. Since he knew they had to be with him according to his vision, he agreed they would go at first light. Now, in his vision, Charlie dies. Desmond wanted the vision to go according to plan so that he could have Penny, his love who ejected from the helicopter.

But, when the time came, he couldn't sacrifice Charlie to obtain Penny. The Superman versus the Flash argument was ongoing and Desmond spotted the trap with the arrow. He yelled "Duck!" before the trap-arrow hit Charlie. He was sure that he would lose Penny, but couldn't do it to Charlie. Charlie realized that Desmond had to know about the arrow. Desmond told Charlie he was supposed to let him die. He reminded him it was pointless. It would happen again and again until Charlie died.

"I'm so sorry, Penny."

They first found a pack, apparently from the ejectee. In it was a copy of Catch-22 in Polish, a cellphone which died the second they turned it on, and the photo of Penny and Desmond which was tucked in the pages of the book.

Jin spotted the ejectee hanging from a tree and Desmond climbed to cut her down. The others were ready to catch the body in a blanket. Yes, they were pretty sure it was a body, not a live Penny.

Ah, but it wasn't Penny at all. When Desmond removed the mask from the ejectee, it was an unfamiliar face. And, she was alive, just barely. According to the credits, the character is Naomi.

She knows Desmond and utters his name before passing out. He doesn't seem to know her.

LOST [thunk]

Wait! Wait! How could I forget the thrilling love triangle now square betwixt Sawyer, Jack, Kate, and Juliet? Kate doesn't seem to know what (or whom) she wants. She appears upset that Jack is paying attention to Juliet, so she jumps Sawyer's bones. She told Sawyer that Jack knew about them, he saw it on the monitor at the Others. And so forth and so on.