Lost Recap: Catch-22
This episode focuses on Desmond, which is interesting because it helps fill in a few blanks, but it's also a bit slow-moving, because there isn't really a lot of action. It's mostly there to help fill in the blanks.
Desmond starts having visions of Charlie and his next brush with death, and when he does it gets him into a bit of a situation. You might call it a Catch-22. He can help Charlie, as he has been doing, or he can let Charlie die, which might lead to an even greater reward. Desmond isn't sure what to do. He might have to let Charlie die.
It's well known that whatever has happened to Desmond since he turned the switch, he's now in some sort of time loop, and specifically that seems to tie him to Charlie - or at least to Charlie's death. What's more, it seems that these images where Desmond can see Charlie's death are becoming more vivid and perhaps even closer together.
This time, it seems that there is going to be a visitor to the island - because of what he's seeing of Charlie's death, it seems that the two are tied together, and Desmond is afraid that if he doesn't let Charlie die, he might not be able to find the visitor, who might be Penny. Perhaps more importantly, it seems that she may be hurt, and if he does find her, he might not find her in time. Does he sacrifice Charlie for Penny, or Penny for Charlie?
So off they go, hunting for the answer - or at least for something, since that's what they tell everyone. Along the way we get to see some more of Desmond's past as a monk. Yes, he really was a monk, but he wasn't a very good one. It seems that the monks made wine, and Desmond had issues with being a monk. But this led him to Penny, so it wasn't all a bad thing.
Back to the present, it seems the time is now. Perhaps because of his monk-ship, perhaps just because he's a nice guy, Desmond can't let Charlie die. So he saves him. And it so happens that they find the person who parachuted onto the island too, so it seems like it will all work out. There's just one problem. It's not Penny. So maybe it didn't.
