Introducing the Desmond-centric that hardly anyone ever talks about! And it's a bit of a shame because other than some slow-ish moments in the flashbacks it's a pretty solid episode.
Flashbacks show Desmond on the tail end of his vow of silence, moments before Brother Campbell officially makes him a monk. That's right, "Brother" Campbell, as in this is how Desmond adopted his signature "brotha".
After a short and unsuccessful stint in the monastery Desmond agrees to help out a Ms. Penny Widmore. Ahhh... the rest is history.
The good stuff happens on the island, where Desmond has visions of a trek through the jungle with Hurley, Jin, and Charlie (who takes an arrow to the throat). The last vision is of his iconic photograph with Penny, so he's convinced she's coming to rescue them all. Cue the underlying conflict: is it right for Desmond to risk Charlie's fate while pursuing what he thinks is their imminent rescue? That gets to the heart of — wait for it — the catch-22.
Desmond's visions all come to pass except Charlie's violent death, which he helps to avert by tackling Charlie in the nick of time. His final vision of someone parachuting to the island DOES come to fruition, but his assumptions about that person's identity were wrong.
The storylines are fairly independent and linear, but I commend Jeff Pinkner and Brian K. Vaughan for including several memorable scenes to keep things fresh and interesting. Bringing Jin along for the "camping trip" was a stroke of genius, mostly because the language barrier between Jin and Hurley is always good for a laugh.
The opening scene (where Charlie dies a horrible death by arrow) is especially effective since it's not initially obvious that we're viewing an extended Desmond-flash.
Henry Ian Cusick once again carries a centric on his back with predictable precision. He's quite convincing as a man torn between the visions he's seen and what he wants to happen. In terms of pure acting, his highlight in Catch-22 may be his extended monologue with Ruth in which he explains how he got involved with the monastery.
Dominic Monaghan gets runner-up honors, nailing the scenes in the jungle and sprinkling in his trademark humor every step of the way.
Andrew Connolly (Brother Campbell) gets a few bonus points for playing the eternally calm, humble gentleman who helps Desmond find his way (twice). More points for Joanna Bool (Ruth), who only had one scene in the entire series but managed to dole out a convincing verbal smackdown on Desmond. I don't get hung up on accents like other critics might, so don't expect deductions for her Scottish accent.
No other performances warranted deductions but Sonya Walger, normally a terrific actress, came close with that super-fake laugh in the final flashback. Luckily I wouldn't have to hear it again.
It's a safe bet that you're going to see some ultra-cool effects in a Desmond-centric, Catch-22 being no exception. The flash sequences are wonderfully executed with the extreme contrasts and backmasked audio.
The directing and choreography of the jungle trek was top notch, even though we've seen a bazillion treks in the rainy jungle before. Charlie's throat wound from the arrow definitely had me cringing and rubbing my own throat. Nasty.
My favorite visual is something most people probably didn't even think twice about — the splash from the chopper in the distant ocean. I thought this was a really chilling moment, but then I've always thought looking at the distant ocean was an almost spiritual experience. It's very difficult to describe, but having a moment focus on the water's horizon in the dead of night was a real treat for me.
As much as I'm a fan of Desmond I'm not going to pretend the flashbacks in Catch-22 are all that intriguing on a rewatch. I guess you could say the pacing is severely uneven, since the camping trip and jungle trek are always a blast to revisit.
The arrival of Naomi is extremely significant, setting things in motion for the eventual freighter arc. If I were the type to be overly dramatic I'd argue that Desmond meeting Penny was the most significant moment of the entire series. If he doesn't meet Penny he doesn't get rejected by Charles Widmore, which means he doesn't go on a boat race, which means he doesn't wash up on the island, which means he doesn't take over button-pushing duties in the Swan, which means he doesn't neglect those duties long enough for the magnetic anomaly to take down Oceanic 815, which means we don't have a series to watch!
... nah. It's a significant moment but I won't indulge in the what-ifs. :)
I don't know many LOST fans who dislike Desmond. He's just plain fun to watch whether it's physical acting or emotional moments with Penny. Therefore there's always a certain level of emotional investment when I watch his centrics, but this is probably the only Desmond-centric that doesn't really tug at the heartstrings.
Atmosphere's a strong point. I love the ocean, I love camping, and I love LOST — give me all three and that's the ultimate trifecta in atmosphere, punctuated by the helicopter approaching in the night sky and crashing into the sea. Chills every time.
