3x17 Catch-22

[Lost Fan 4815162342]

The one thing I noticed this time on the rewatch was how often Desmond got the details of his flashes wrong. Three things in particular come to mind.

• He told Hurley that he was the one who found the wire, when it was actually Jin.
• He determined that Charlies was going to die, when he didn't. Actually the flash served as a warning to Desmond to watch for the arrow.
• He decided it was about Penny coming to the island and it wasn't. Although having been holed up for 3 years in an underground bunker is bound to make you go daft and you might jump to conclusions.

That he got those details wrong doesn't mean that his flashes were totally off, but it does sort of put them in the realm of Iffy. He can misread them, change the events. It also might suggest how free will can co-exist with fate.

The other thing I noticed is that in matters of love, Des has got all the finesse of a crazed hippo. He didn't have time to call on Ruth when he realizes he can't go through with the wedding? Cripes, that would have given her a week to let everyone know it's off. Sure it's embarrassing and regardless what you did, you would end up hurting someone. But doing the right thing lets you come out looking less an a$$ than if you just ran away. He sort of handled things with Penny in the same way. He's lucky he got a woman who's willing to put up with such bozo tactics.

[What'sDoneIsDone]

I forgot to bring this up before, but anyone else notice how Desmond's logic in this episoode goes completely against the "course correction" theory?

[Jacob'sWiseOldMother]

Not my most favorite Desmond episode but mostly because of the fact that we had to see Charlie hit with that arrow over and over!! I did love the ending though as Desmond and Penny meet for the very first time.

I love the fact that Desmond was almost a monk. There is some sort of connection between the church, Brother Campbell, Eloise, Charles and the Others. Desmond does seem to have been "selected" for a greater calling. The best line was from Brother Campbell to Desmond. "You've just spent to much time running away to realize what you may be running towards."

This episode was about sacrifice and if Desmond was willing to sacrifice Charlie's life so that Des may be reunited with supposedly Penny. I don't think that Desmond failed the test though because of what Brother Campbell told Desmond. "And yet, God spared Issac." In the end, I think that this was a test for Desmond and that he did pass with flying colors...he chose to spare Charlie in the end.

The great thing about this episode was the way Desmond sees the bits and pieces of his flashes. He gathered up the right people, Hurley, Jin and Charlie then he set out to make it all happen. It did happen just as he saw it up until that point when Charlie is hit by the arrow. This was the test for Desmond and whether or not he realized it, he did pass the test. Desmond only asked Hurley about the cable in the sand, "Do you know where it is?" Then Hurley helped out by getting Jin to come along. They showed it exactly how it happened. Jin runs over and finds the cable and then Hurley runs over and shouts, "Here it is." The parts that filled in the rest were great as Desmond tries to get them all to go into the jungle at night but Charlie refuses which is exactly what was suppose to happen. Otherwise, things would have been changed by them and not Desmond. Desmond then had to make that choice of whether to let Charlie die this time or save him once more. Remember that Desmond has kept on saving Charlie each time and I believe it is for the right purpose in the end.

I loved the line by Ruth as she tells Desmond that "It's a good thing a "shepard" didn't help you up." Is this a hint at Christian Shepard and that he is bad/evil?

I also like when Desmond is so excited that he climbs right up on Hurley's back to retrieve the back pack!!

What a super ending when Des pulls off the helmet and we see a stranger....Naomi!

[Jacob'sWiseOldMother]

Originally Posted by What'sDoneIsDone

I forgot to bring this up before, but anyone else notice how Desmond's logic in this episoode goes completely against the "course correction" theory?

Remember what Faraday said though, "The rules don't apply to Desmond."

[Richard Was Here]

^ Well, my personal view on that is that he wanted to see Penny so badly that he didn't want to make any 'mistakes' that could cause that not to happen - and happen as soon as possible.

[Hayley_Pace]

Originally Posted by Lost Fan 4815162342

The one thing I noticed this time on the rewatch was how often Desmond got the details of his flashes wrong. Three things in particular come to mind.

• He told Hurley that he was the one who found the wire, when it was actually Jin.
• He determined that Charlies was going to die, when he didn't. Actually the flash served as a warning to Desmond to watch for the arrow.
• He decided it was about Penny coming to the island and it wasn't. Although having been holed up for 3 years in an underground bunker is bound to make you go daft and you might jump to conclusions.

That he got those details wrong doesn't mean that his flashes were totally off, but it does sort of put them in the realm of Iffy. He can misread them, change the events. It also might suggest how free will can co-exist with fate.

So desmond's flashes definitely are sometimes wrong. I guess that could explain why desmond saw Claire and Aaron leave on the helicopter when obviously they didn't. Or desmond is just a liar and wanted to see penny so badly that he misleadingly sent charlie to his demise
but i never noticed the hurley/jin thing so possibly his flash about claire and aaron was just wrong.

[What'sDoneIsDone]

The thing about the Hurley/Jin/cable thing is not that Desmond's flash was wrong, it's that Desmond misinterpreted the flash; Desmond thought it was a flash of the future when it was actually from the past.

[Black_Rock]

One thing I found myself consider is how much Charles Widmore may be pulling all Desmond's strings behind the scenes. We know that his refusal of Desmond as a suitor for Penny is what causes Des to enter the sailing race and crash on the island. Does it not also seem that he (with or without help from Eliose) is also responsible for the two love-birds actually meeting?

- Its CW's donation to the monestary that is used for the purchase of the wine.
- Its Penny who is sent to pick up.
- Desmond is fired the day before by the man with a picture of Eliose on his desk.

I would suggest that Widmore already knew that Desmond and Penny had to meet, fully knowing he would insult Desmond enough later to get him in position to push the button.

[CameraOne]

I too didn't enjoy watching Charlie die so many times, but I can understand Desmond's dilemma here. The scene where he meets Penny is cute, kind of like how Sun and Jin bumped into one another on the street.

I hated the triangle subplot, though. I do like Jack, Kate and Sawyer individually but I didn't like how Kate immediately went to Sawyer when she became jealous of Jack and Juliet having dinner.

[Wightpants]

Love this episode. Well, it IS a Desmond episode!

I have to give a mention to Jin though. How good is his ghost story on the beach! God knows what it's about, but Charlie and Hurley look totally hooked!