Television Review: Catch-22 (Lost, S3X17, 2007)

Catch-22 (S03E17)

Airdate: 18 April 2007

Written by: Jeff Pinkner & Brian K. Vaughn
Directed by: Stephen Williams

Running Time: 41 minutes

One of the most compelling features of the television series Lost was the creators’ tendency to indulge in deep philosophical dives, even as they navigated the rigid constraints of the US broadcast television formula and a plot that was becoming increasingly convoluted. Amidst the mysteries of the island, the hatch, and the Dharma Initiative, the show frequently interrogated the nature of existence, specifically the debate between concepts of free will and predestination. This thematic dichotomy is explored with considerable intrigue, although far from perfection, in Season 3 episode Catch-22.

The character who is acutely aware of the concept of predestination is, of course, Desmond. Gifted with visions of the future that usually manifest as the various, often gruesome deaths of his friend Charlie, Desmond is tormented by his ability. He desperately wants to prevent these deaths, yet he is also acutely aware that he would only be prolonging the inevitable. This internal conflict drives the narrative, as his visions provide the impetus for a small expedition out of the beach settlement.

The narrative structure relies heavily on flashbacks, taking the audience back in time to Desmond’s past, going a little bit further back than previous instalments, roughly around 1995. In these memories, Desmond is a novice in a Catholic monastery near the northern English city of Carlisle. It turns out that Desmond joined the cloth partly because of a genuine religious calling, but also due to a deep-seated unease over the prospect of marrying his longtime girlfriend, Ruth (Joanna Bool). After an encounter with Ruth, when he tries to explain his decision to leave her before their wedding, Desmond gets drunk on the monastery’s wine. After catching him, Brother Campbell (Andew Conolly) informs him that he is simply not cut out to be a monk. Just as he leaves the monastery, however, he meets Penny, who would become the true love of his life. This backstory is crucial, as it establishes the stakes of his current predicament; his exile from the monastery was effectively his first "Catch-22," and his current struggle is a continuation of that theme.

Desmond’s latest vision of Charlie’s death is particularly specific: Charlie is shot by an arrow in the throat after stepping on Rousseau’s booby trap. This vision provides the necessary details that convince Desmond that, when it happens, Penny will somehow reunite with him on the Island. In a bid to match the exact details of this event, he recruits Charlie, Jin, and Hurley to join him in looking for an undersea cable. They discover the cable, and when they camp at night, they hear something like a helicopter and, later, someone or something dropping from the sky. Desmond is convinced that it is Penny who has used a parachute. The next morning, they start a trek into the jungle armed with specific artifacts—such as a satellite phone or a Portuguese edition of Joseph Heller’s book Catch-22 containing a picture with Penny—that match the details from his vision.

This leads to a crucial moment in the episode’s climax. When Charlie steps on a booby trap, Desmond tells him to duck, thus saving his life. However, this act of heroism comes at a terrible cost: in his mind, he has altered the predestined course of events and possibly prevented himself from ever reuniting with Penny. Soon afterwards, they discover the parachutist, apparently dead, hanging from a tree. Desmond is devastated, but the parachutist is at the end revealed to be alive and, crucially, not Penny. Instead, it is a different woman, played by Masha Thomason.

While Desmond grapples with this massive disappointment, the episode also weaves in a side storyline that deals with the emerging love square on the beach. Sawyer is very much interested in having sex with Kate, who, despite the precedent established at the Hydra Station, rejects his advances right until the moment she notices Jack being strangely close to Juliet. As a result, she goes to Sawyer’s tent to have sex again, a decision that feels driven by jealousy and insecurity rather than genuine desire. Later, Jack and Sawyer begin to discuss their respective situations during a game of ping pong.

The episode was co-written by Jeff Pinkner and Brian K. Vaughn, the esteemed comic book writer for whom Catch-22 represented a debut in television writing. Vaughn’s work would, in the minds of some critics, help lift the general quality of Season 3, bringing a visual flair and narrative complexity that the show had occasionally lacked. The episode toys with the audience’s perception and expectations throughout its runtime. Desmond is tortured with his gift, unaware how to interpret it or how to use it, seeing his latest vision as something of a test and a terrible dilemma. He is faced with the choice of whether to follow the script and sacrifice Charlie or risk being forever stranded on the Island without Penny. This dilemma is specifically referenced in religious terms, through the flashback discussion about Abraham being tested by being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. In the end, in typically Lost fashion, the dilemma is solved through a plot twist in which "Penny" is revealed to be someone else, subverting the audience's expectations just as thoroughly as Desmond’s.

More importantly, the episode uses the concept of the paradox—the main theme of Heller’s novel the episode took its title from—by having Desmond dread his own "Catch-22" in the form of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more he tries to change the future to save Charlie, the more he risks destroying the future he wants most. This thematic layering elevates the episode beyond a standard adventure serial, transforming it into a study of human agency against an indifferent universe.

It is worth noting that the actress playing the parachuting woman was played by Marsha Thomason, an English actress who is also a great friend of Dominic Monaghan. Being a great fan of the series, she passionately lobbied for the role, a fact that adds a charming layer of behind-the-scenes trivia to the viewing experience. Furthermore, the romantic side plot is also handled in a simple and unobtrusive way that doesn’t seem too "soapy," allowing it to coexist with the heavier philosophical themes without feeling disjointed.

However, the episode might not be that appreciated by true wine connoisseurs, since Carlisle, where the winemaking monastery is supposed to be, lies in a climate belt that prevents winegrowing. This detail, in many ways, shows narrative sloppiness that this, otherwise interesting episode, didn’t deserve. Despite this minor continuity error and the inherent frustration of the plot twist, Catch-22 remains a standout instalment, balancing philosophical weight with the show's signature blend of mystery and character drama.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

==

Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com
Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/
InLeo blog https://inleo.io/@drax.leo

LeoDex: https://leodex.io/?ref=drax
InLeo: https://inleo.io/signup?referral=drax.leo
Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax
Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax
1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e

BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG
ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7
BCH donations: qpvxw0jax79lhmvlgcldkzpqanf03r9cjv8y6gtmk9