Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Lost - "Catch - 22"

Episode Title: “Catch - 22”

Greetings to all. Drudo here filling in for Brian while he’s hopefully blissfully drunk somewhere in Europe. Thanks to all for the chance to do this. I’m not Brian, but I’ll give you my best… And so… on with the show…


Drudo’s Deeper Meaning Guess: I have to admit, after last week’s trailer for this episode, I was scared. It really left me grasping at straws. Mostly because the trailer wasn’t for this episode, it was for the next five. So, with little to go on from that, I turned to Brian’s method… Google!

My very first thought’s regarding the title were of the phrase “Catch – 22” in conversational dialogue. In my experience, catch – 22 essentially means “Damned if you do. Damned if you don’t.” From this and the fact that we know this is a Desmond centric episode, I thought maybe Desmond would see one of his flashes and find that he couldn’t stop something from happening.

I haven’t totally given up on that line, but after watching the trailers released later in the week, we see that this round is slightly different. Desmond wants something to happen. The trailer leads us to believe that maybe this involves rescue or more importantly to Desmond, maybe Penny.

The last lead I followed was that I saw a flash of a book cover in the trailer with the title “Ardil – 22”. After a little research, I found that “Ardil - 22” is Portuguese for “Catch – 22”. This is exciting, because at the end of last season, we were introduced to Penny’s research team which was… you guessed it… Portuguese! Will we be seeing them again? Several rumors on the net suggest we’ll be introduced to a “Pivotal new character”. All we know is that it’s a female and a parachutist. Could this be a member of the research team? I guess we’ll find out soon.

The last point I want to make is from the book “Catch – 22”. I haven’t ever read the book. However, I took my responsibility seriously and read a summary and theme analysis on the book. I will tell you what. Brian puts a lot of work into this blog. I have a new respect for that. “Catch – 22” is a novel set during World War II in the summer of 1944. The main characters are all in the same squadron in the U.S. Air Force. While the story seems like a good one, I found only a few items that really screamed “LOST!” at me.

The first of the items that I found very lost like was the time-line of the book. It may have nothing to do with plot, but the story has a very similar pattern of jumping from present to flashbacks to present again to keep you guessing. It uses the device in the same way as Lost to reveal a key component in a character’s past at a moment when it will mean the most in the present.

The second and most important theme I found was toward the end of the book. The book’s main character: Captain John Yossarian is called into a conference with his superior’s. He’s offered a “deal”: He can return home if only he will speak well of the commanding officers and turn his back on the men of the squadron. Yossarian accepts. Can you say “Jack”? However, Yossarian reflects on all his friends who have died or disappeared during the year. He decides to renege on the agreement even though he is thus eligible for court-martial. He instead forms a plan to rescue the kid sister of a squadron buddy who died and flee to Sweden. This is a bit of a stretch on the guess work, but what if The Other’s come back and take baby Aaron. Claire and/or Charlie may die somehow. (This wouldn’t upset most lost fans.) Then, Jack, like Yossarian turn’s on the Others, rescue’s Aaron, and lead’s the survivor’s to safety. Okay, I’m pushing the line a bit, but it’s possible.

Okay, I’ve probably done most of my analysis here rather than in the Episode breakdown, but we’ll step through it anyway.

Episode Description: Desmond coaxes Charlie, Hurley and Jin on a trek across the jungle after experiencing one of his future-prophesizing “flashes” -- but is he purposely placing Charlie’s life in harm’s way? Meanwhile, Kate turns to an unwitting Sawyer after seeing Jack alone with Juliet. Guest starring are Sonia Walger as Penny Widmore, Jack Maxwell as Derek, Joanna Bool as Ruth, Andrew Connolly as Brother Campbell, Andrew Trask as older monk and Marsha Thomason as Naomi the parachutist.

Episode Breakdown: Okay, the big questions for me are as follows:

- What does Desmond see in the future that he wants to happen?” We can make educated guesses. It could be rescue. It could be Penny. Most likely it’s both. If it is rescue, one of several things would have to be true. Either they fail, or the pieces of Desmond’s “puzzle” are going to take some time. We’re in season 3 of a predicted 5 or 6 season show. I don’t believe they are going to be rescued this soon. Also, what other pieces of the puzzle are there? We see Hurley lifting the cable from the sand while looking up. Why is he looking up? Does he hear the helicopter? We may as well assume that it’s going to be infuriating. Desmond says he can’t tell Hurley what he’s trying to achieve or it won’t happen. So I’m sure the producers aren’t going to be telling us either.

- If we assume rescue is still at least a season or 2 away, then who’s in the helicopter that we see in the preview? Also, if there’s a helicopter, why isn’t there a rescue unless they are others or some other party not interested in helping the survivors. Maybe the helicopters belong to the Others and this confirms the rumor that the sub was just a prop to confuse those who come to the island.

- How in the world does Desmond end up looking like a monk? Is he a monk or is he pretending? Other than his romance with Penny and his boat race, we know very little about Desmond. Is the monastery in his life pre – Penny or is this maybe a layover during his boat race?

- Who is Naomi the parachutist? How is she pivotal? We can only assume she’s from the helicopter. Is she from Dharma? From Penny? One new character can only be “pivotal” as the producers claim if she has some knowledge or ability to share. What might she know and who’s side will she be on?

- Last, what is Jack thinking? Yeah, Kate made a mistake, but she is way hotter than Juliet and now he’s gone and made her turn back to Sawyer.

Okay, I think that’s all I’ve got. I’ve probably asked more question’s than made guesses like Brian does. It’s been fun taking a shot at this though. Let me know how I did.

- Drudo

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice Job!

Renee' said...

Great job Drudo!
Very insightful and thought provoking. I can't wait for Wednesday night!!!!!

Anonymous said...

nice work on the catch 22 book analysis...good connection.

i really hope its penny on that helicopter..but i have a feeling it's going to be something bad by the look on desmonds face on the preview.

good job!

Alec said...

good work!

Anonymous said...

DRUDO - EXCELLENT WORK-

ONE POINT ON THE JACK/KATE SITUATION- I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND THE HOTTEST LOOKING WOMAN TO BE THE ONE WILLING TO ...

Anonymous said...

Nice job, Substitute Teacher Drudo!

Any coincidence that Kurt Vonnegut (author of Catch 22) just made headlines by dying? I think it was from coplications from a fall he took. Hmm....

There's a reason that Jack picked Juliet over Kate (although, I agree Kate is much hotter and has a lot less mileage). Juliet know's about Kate's past and we saw how Locke reacted when the others told him about Kate's past. I'd imagine that Jack wouldn't want anything to do with an on-the-run murderer in post-island life. Besides, aren't blondes more fun anyway? Also, it's a well known fact that the uglier/older woman are gamers...up for ANYTHING! Kate knows she's hot and would lay there like a dead fish expecting Jack to do all the work. Juliet would take initiative! Jack's a smart guy!

Anonymous said...

Drudo, you fill in very well! Hope to read an analysis or thoughts from you on Catch-22 here as well!

smacky said...

Catch 22 wasn't written by Vonnegut. It was written by Joseph Heller.

Vonnegut did write an antiwar novel, however: Slaughterhouse Five.

Drudo said...

Thanks for the good feedback. Someone else is assigned the analysis, but I'll be sure to post some comments here or in the forums.

Anonymous said...

For those of you who have read and, gave thought to Catch 22, it is often described as an anti-war novel. But in truth, the sentiment of the book extends beyond the absurdities of war and address capitalism and other social issues. All in all, Catch 22 stands as a protest of the conditions of modern society. Would seem like many, deep LOST parallels, huh?

Anonymous said...

...The substitute teacher did a great job!

Oooh I'm to the point of I don't even really care WHAT is in the next episode, just keep'em coming!

Good job Drudo!

Anonymous said...

Would "catch 22" refer to actually Ben (or the others) (or someone else) ordering Juliet (or someone else) to get 22 people? 22 survivors maybe? just a thought you know...

Anonymous said...

hey anonymous - could we not talk about what female characters would be better in the sack? it is very offensive to some of us.

Anonymous said...

Good point....maybe Catch 22 does not refer to the name of Heller's book and is to be interpreted literally. Aren't there 22 remaining survivors from flight 815?

Anonymous said...

Well I think this episode ultimately has to do with Desmond saving one life while being in a catch 22 to let another die. I've been calling for a Charlie death for a long time now so I'm probably wrong again. The writers really seem to like the hobbit man; so possibly Hurley. But everybody loves Hurley.

I like the fact the Sun brings in to question Jack's motives. Is Kate the only one that knows Sun is pregnant? Does Jin even know?

Ok my Lost Hot list goes:
Penny - honest/loyal
Juliet - tall/intelligent
Cindy - pretty hot so far
Rose - hey don't laugh, if I was an older guy I'd be all over it.
Kate/Nikki - well not that this fantasy wouldn't be great. But it's one snake den you might not come out alive.

Sodfather and Drudo: Nice work btw,

Anonymous said...

sorry anon, didn't mean to objectify. Although the other anon's dead fish comments were probably crossing the line a little. I wouldn't give much concern.

Anonymous said...

drudo, great work digging up info on the book catch 22 and very good analysis! it was a good read. should be a great final 5 episodes!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Uh-oh, looks like we have a troll. Do any of our guest hosts have the ability to delete the offensive comments and block this person's IP? Other than that, I suggest we all ignore him (I feel safe in assuming it's a him!) and maybe he'll go away ...

Unknown said...

Doesn't telling Hurley about what he is going to do influence the future? Or would it have happened without him saying anything? Confusing!

Anonymous said...

Jin & Sayid know Sun is pregnant, because she had morning sickness on the boat. Sawyer knows she is pregnant because he gave her the pregnancy test.

Drudo said...

I deleted the anonymous post. It took me a bit to figure out how. I'll try to keep an eye on them while they are gone. I can't block IPs that I know of though. I'll try to check the comments frequently.

Stef said...

Good job! I always think the previews must be the hardest ones to write, but you did well! :-)

Anonymous said...

Good job on the preview! The Portuguese bit is very interesting, and questions are alway good to get us thinking.

I actually did read Catch-22 many years ago. It's a circular thing, no matter what you do, you can’t get what you want.

In the book, a character wants to stop flying bombing missions. If he’s crazy, he can get discharged and stop flying. But if he tells the doctor he’s crazy and wants to stop flying, he can’t stop. Because there’s a catch: it’s sane to want to stop flying--only a crazy person would want to continue. So basically he can never stop.

The way I see this could relate is maybe a time paradox: Maybe Desmond tries to stop something from happening. But if it never happened, then he’d never try to stop it. Or maybe--there's something he wants to happen, but if he wants it, it won't happen. Maybe something to do with Penny? Ouch, my head is starting to hurt.

Di

brett said...

Um, that's not what a Catch-22 is. In the book, the main character wants to get out of the war and go home, but can only do so if he's declared insane. problem is, because he wants to go home, he's sane. So there's no way out: a Catch-22 is two mutually exclusive conditions.

You really should read the book -- it's a classic and a good read as well.

Anonymous said...

`Drudo, you're an ace. Well done. It's smart, concise and to the point. Fun to read. Thank you.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

If Penny and the Portugese sailors are back, I'm psyched!! Can't wait. To me, would be great storytelling if Desmond's presumed time travel tipped Donnovan (his physicist buddy in the bar) off to what is now happending with Donovan in turn, gaining Penny's support to use her resources to 'save the day'.

Anonymous said...

Ahh.. time travel... this is why I hate time travel stories... they're so hard to manage. The whole "I saw Charlie die so I saved him" would only make sense if he didn't save him. If he is saved then it never happened to have a vision of, unless.. there are multiple timelines.. and I doubt that.

I mention this because someone mentioned his visit to his friend tipping off Penny. I don't know about that.. Penny was looking for him before he went back in time... right? So she must have been looking anyway, however, I do believe that his friend may join up with Penny.. eventually, to help with the rescue.

Now, more thought. I just watched LEFT ALONE again, and I'm not sold that Jack was asleep. I think he may.... be in on all of this to some degree. Oh, Juliet may not know he's involved, and I don't know how much he knows about Juliet and her plan, but being asleep for that long? And waking up without any groggyness, like Juliet... he may have a separate deal with Ben. Perhaps at another chance to get off the island. I don't know if he knows about the baby problem, but I think it's possible that Jack does have a mission from Ben. My latest theory? Jack and Juliet may be working seperately for Ben, but it's possible that they don't know, so Ben may be 'using' them both, which could eventually lead to some really pissed off people.. both Jack and Juliet, and possibly the survivors at Jack. Can't say it's this epsiode... but I do think that Jack and Juliet may very well both be part of the snake in the mailbox. Hey, i've heard worse theories.

Anonymous said...

LEFT BEHIND. Sorry, I feel the the mISfIT. Opinions and theories still valid...

Renee' said...

I think someone is posting spoilers. Some may not know that this is a spoiler-free blog.

Drudo said...

renee, which post do you think is a spoiler? I don't see any here. If there is one, we'll clean it off.

Anonymous said...

hey anonymous...i hear ya with time travel stories. If Desmond did go back in time, and in effect changed the present momement occurrance as a result, there would be two time-lines....a concept that is impossible to fathom. Nonetheless, it may make for interesting story telling if one doesn't give yourself a headache overthinking it.

Renee' said...

drudo, Mr. Anon at 8:43 has info not found from previews or speculation. The websites he refers to have spoiler info I'm trying to avoid.
I feel like such a tattle-tale.

Anonymous said...

Lets see.. maybe.. just maybe.. time on the island actually stands still.. maybe they can exit the island in a certain frame of time... perhaps they're outside of time, or as Hobbes put it.. a loaf of bread. Perhaps they can jump to September 22, 2204 when in actuality, the island time itself is still.. oh... the same day it was when whomever it was that came... so the timeline of each person that comes continues from the point when that particular person enters the island?

Just throwing stuff at the wall to see if anything sticks.... the whole date/time deal on the hatch computer kind of kills all of that. I'm just trying to grasp at straws(hey, how many cliches can I throw in here?.. hey, can't I have my cake and eat it too?)

Can't wait for tonight! Should be interesting.. and did I see CFL on the cast listing? Or was that for DOC... or Brig... shoot, I'm all mixed up.

Anonymous said...

The only think I can see that would remotely be a spoiler is the comment about the cathedral. BUT...We see Desmond in what looks like a monk robe in the previews.. and the the episode description mentions a "brother campbell". The only think i see as a possible spoiler is the comment about a cathedral, and is that a spoiler? Really? Knowing that we have a brother campbell?

fearlessweaver said...

Time travel works in storytelling if there's only one time line. For instance, if I built a time machine and went back to witness my birth, I would have always been present at my own birth, a la "Twelve Monkies." Desmond didn't "change" the past, he was just a part of it due to his subsequent time travel. "Back to the Future" rules of time travel require multiple time lines, but that isn't necessarily the case.

On the other hand, mabe it is the case that every possible time line co-exists, and the island allows you to choose the time line in which you currently exist. In this case, Desmond didn't "time travel," but instead chose a particular reality in which Penny can save him, etc.

Anonymous said...

Just a note, I want to get first in line, but can't wait up for the instant reactions.

They made it obvious, but did we all see the picture on Brother Camdens desk? Did you see the woman in the photo? It looked poorly photoshoped, but it was.. without a doubt, the woman from the jewelry store in the last desmond flashback.

singhy said...

Brilliant analysis - really, honestly, well done. And thanks for looking up Catch-22 so we don't have to! Plus it seems you were mostly right, having just seen the ep ;-).

Elliott and Family said...
This comment has been removed by the author.