Lostwatch: Thoughts for Your Penny

It was a fairly good episode. My problem with last night's episode as with many other shows is being able to hear the dialogue. I totally missed the mix tape comment, so I didn't quite understand when he brought her a mix tape. I really like Desmond, but damn if I can understand half the words he says. I have to keep rewinding and playing it back to understand him. It must be the Okie in me.

One question. Did anyone else notice when Desmond was in the Monk's office after getting fired how the camera lingered on a desk photo of the Monk with a white headed woman? Is she anybody? Will she be somebody?

She's the jewelry store owner from Desmond's previous flashback.

James,
I can't believe you didn't talk about the picture on the monk's desk, of the monk with the jewelry store lady - has ALL of Desmond's life been manipulated/preordained?

I'm sticking with my theory from last week - that Charlie is evil. The parable of Abraham and Isaac only adds to it - Desmond (a man who admittedly lacks the faith of Abraham) believes that by saving Charlie over and over, he's doing good. However, if Charlie is evil (or, in the Island's mythos, an Other), than saving him repeatedly is defying the will of God/the good. Thus by doing what appears to be good (saving a man's life), Desmond is actually doing evil (the man is truly evil). Catch-22 indeed.

Further, this theory links very well with another Lost literary reference: Brothers Karamazov, and specifically the Grand Inquisitor chapter of that book. In that chapter, the question asked is basically this: if by killing an innocent child brutally you could rid the entire world of sin and evil, would you do it, and would this be right? Doestoevsky comes down resolutely on the side of saying no - the means matter and committing an evil act in order to achieve a good end is not ethical.

Look back on Lost - more and more Charlie is linked to evil/the Others' agenda, basically since he and Claire were kidnapped by Ethan. Charlie kills Ethan before they can question him (shades of Bakunin shooting Ms. Klu). Charlie is the one who becomes so close to the pregnant Claire (pursuing the Others' agenda). Charlie is the one who goes off with Sayid to reclaim Aaron from Rousseau. Charlie convincingly fakes Sun's kidnapping. Charlie walks into the water with Aaron. Charlie helps Sawyer get the guns (swinging the balance of power on the beach). Charlie never goes to the hatch while Ben/Henry is captured, despite having (as Sayid says) the greatest reason of anyone on the island to want the Others dead. Charlie is near Claire on the beach when she gets sick. Charlie helps Eko with his church/spiritual journey, eventually leading to Eko's death at the hands of the island.

I think Charlie is secretly an Other (at least since being kidnapped by Ethan - maybe before, since it was always hard to believe Ethan could somehow kidnap BOTH Charlie AND pregnant Claire), and by "saving" his life repeatedly in defiance of fate/destiny/the Island's will, Desmond is actually aiding evil, despite his good intentions.

Don't forget about Sawyer's other bon mot to Juliet and Jack: "Were you talking about who was your favorite other?"

And yes, the flashbacks were awful.

And now I have that damn "Bridge Over the River Kwai" song in my head...

Chaddogg, the picture of the jewelry store lady didn't especially freak me out because it's not like outlandish synchronicities and coincidences are rare in Lost. That is, it would be entirely in character with the show even if Desmond had never become unstuck in time.

But the Karamazov link--very good point. I always thought the main reason for the allusion was to set up the Ivan/Alyosha parallel with Jack and Locke. However--now I have to go and reread it--wasn't the Grand Inquisitor parable told by Ivan (the man of reason) to Alyosha (the man of faith)? And if so, does that affect your read on it? Go research it and write me a ten-page paper.

As for your Charlie theory, it's a cool one that I've not seen elsewhere in the Lostosphere, not that I'm that up to speed with all the theories. My favorite part is that it would account for Charlie's not having been killed by the Others in season one, which otherwise just seemed like a massive chickening out by the producers.

Glad to know my theory is somewhat original, at least by Tuned-In standards.

The other reason I like this theory is that it fits in with spoilers I've heard over on Michael Ausiello's column at TV guide that the May 2nd episode is, according to the producers, a "game-changing" episode that completely changes how we think of the show/island, etc. May 2nd is also allegedly "flashback" free. And their are rumors (SPOILER ALERT) that Charlie's leaving the show.

I doubt ANYTHING could match the shock of Charlie being evil - you'd re-evaluate everything he has done since pretty early in the first season, and every relationship he had. No flashback would be necessary, too - all you'd need is a quick "Usual Suspects"-esque montage of looks back at specific things Charlie said or did viewed not as benign but as "Others"-ish behavior. It would require the killing of Charlie (traitor and Other), and reveal the Island to be as "evil" as the Others, since the imploding Hatch gave Desmond his precognitive abilities in an effort to "trick" Desmond into saving the life of Charlie (an evil Other).

This is almost TOO perfect a plot twist....in plain view ever since season 1 (where people wondered how Ethan managed to kidnap BOTH Charlie and Claire, then wrote it off to Ethan having some type of "super strength"), fitting with the "spy in our midst" modus operandi of the Others, connected intimately to the Others' main problem (having children, connected by Charlie's close presence to Aaron and need to keep in Claire's good graces), and dramatically consistent with the themes of the show (betrayal, loss of trust, manipulation by those closest to us, etc.).

Charlie being evil would be the ultimate "Who Shot J.R.?" moment for Lost.

Interesting therory about Charlie! Remember the strange look on his face after the hatch imploded, when he joined Clair on the beach? Hmmm....

Desmond tackled Charlie to rescue him from the dart. Charlie's guitar, hanging behind him, survived. Clearly something supernatural is going on.

I wondered if the photo on the abbot's desk with the jewelry shop owner (Fionnula Flanagan) was *supposed* to look as faked as it did. Presumably, the production company could do a much better job with Photoshop if it wanted (or just take an actual photo of the actor playing the abbot with Flanagan (unless she was unavailable)), so was jewelry store owner so obviously superimposed in the photo in order to suggest, within the reality of the show, some precognition-related intervention? (i.e., did the script say, "We see a photo on the abbot's desk in which the image of Jewelry Shop Owner is mysteriously superimposed," or did it say, "We see a photo on the abbot's desk of him with Jewelry Shop Owner," and someone just did a lazy job with Photoshop?)

p.s. to Keith from OK--if you have a problem understanding the dialog audially, try turning on your TV's closed captioning.

lawyerKeith,

I noticed how fake the picture looked to, but failed to mention it.

I've thought of using the closed captioning, but you tend to end up reading the dialogue instead of watching the show and it is vital to "watch" Lost. I guess I could TIVO it and watch it twice.