Lost (TV Series) Catch-22 (2007) User Reviews

So much more in the background

[i-jane · 8/10 · 23 April 2007]

This is the sort of episode that frustrates the life out of me but also makes me want to continue watching as I am certain the final pay off will be worth it (well it better be!) There is always so much goes on in the background that needs to be noticed. Now I may be wrong as the episode requires a second viewing but I believe that Desmonds flashes showed Charlie holding the parachute which meant although he had foreseen his death he had to save him.

Also at the monastery the chief monk who fired Desmond had a picture on his desk. That was a picture of the old woman from the jewellery shop where Desmond tried to buy his ring in a previous episode. There was only a fleeting glimpse of this but it held long enough for it to be noticed adding to the long list of unusual coincidences. It is this sort of thing that leads me to believe that everything has to tie together.

Also the foreign language catch 22 book surely has to be important, a further detail in the background to consider.

As far as I am concerned a truly great show that can make an hour go past with tantalisingly small pieces of information that promise greater delights in the future.

P.S Being Scottish its good to see a Scottish presence in a worldwide hit but Desmonds fiancée had the worst Scottish accent ever. Also why did Desmond have to be a Celtic supporter!!!

A Greater Sacrifice

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 21 April 2007]

Desmond has a premonition with the death of Charlie in the woods and Penny coming to the island in a helicopter. On the next day, he organizes an expedition with Hurley, Jin and Charlie, expecting to find Penny, but not disclosing the whole truth to the group. Meanwhile he recalls his period in a monastery, after leaving his fiancée Ruth a couple of days before their wedding, where he became a monk and later met Penny. Kate flirts with Jack, but he gives a cold treatment to her and has dinner with Juliet. Kate has one night stand with Sawyer.

The episode "Catch 22" is centered in Desmond, who recalls how he met his beloved Penny when he was fired from the monastery after getting drunk. Between his love for Penny and the life of Charlie, he acts like Abraham sacrificing his most precious love. A new character is introduced in the plot, probably related to the past of Desmond. The "square of love" between Jack, Juliet, Kate and Sawyer is the weak part of the story. I was intrigued with the Brazilian edition of "Catch 22" (called "Ardil 22" in Portuguese) that Desmond finds in the forest. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Note: On 11 April 2013, I saw this episode again on DVD.

"Someone's coming to the island"

[gridoon2024 · 8/10 · 20 March 2009]

Desmond is by far one of the most intriguing characters of LOST, and perhaps the one (along with Locke) who best represents the series' long-running questions about destiny vs. free will. In addition to that, his chemistry with his (at the time lost) love of his life Penny Widmore is perhaps the strongest of any couple in the series - these two click almost supernaturally from the first moment they share on the screen. "Catch-22" is not quite at the level of "Live Together, Die Alone" or "Flashes Before Your Eyes" (then again, what is?), but it remains a very interesting episode whose running time just flies by. The main on-island story centers on Desmond's visions and moral dilemmas (and on further character bonding between Hurley, Charlie and Jin), while the flashbacks reveal his story before he met Penny. The on-island subplot is mostly filler, but at least it gives us some funny Sawyer lines ("if we don't play every 108 minutes, the island is going to explode") and some sexy bikini shots of Kate! *** out of 4.

Catch-22

[ametaphysicalshark · 20 December 2008]

"Catch-22" potentially could have been an absolutely amazing episode but ends up being a very good one instead. The trouble with this episode, aside from the truly awful love rectangle/square rubbish, is that it coasts on its premise rather than taking full advantage of it. The flashbacks to Desmond's time in a monastery reveal how Desmond met Penny and the circumstances leading up to it, and why/how he started saying 'brother' all the time. There's one intolerably awful accent in the flashback (even worse than the Australian accent in "Numbers"), but it's mostly quite good, though again it doesn't go beyond the call of duty and do more than fill in the blanks. The main themes explored here with Desmond are ones we have seen in previous flashbacks, only done with less emotionality and verve. Similarly, the main on-island plot dealing with Desmond's fractured 'visions' which he believe will lead to a reunion with Penny is about as good as it sounds, but no better. The episode has an intriguing ending and doesn't interrupt the flow of the latter stages of season 3. The direction by Stephen Williams is disappointing.

Scotland's only vineyard

[ruthdeyermond · 7/10 · 9 November 2007]

Look, I know this is Lost - the programme where there are smoke monsters, characters have visions of the future, and Charlie is a rock god not some tone-deaf cross between a weasel and the less lyrically gifted members of Spinal Tap - but, seriously, a vineyard in Scotland? And not just any vineyard, but a vineyard that produces £100 ($200) bottles of wine. Who harvests the grapes - the Loch Ness Monster? Good episode otherwise.

Since apparently I'm not allowed to leave it at that but need to witter on for several more lines before this is long enough to be submittable, I'd also like to know why, if that flashback episode from series 2 is to be believed, was Charlie brought up in a model council house from the 1950s - were his parents squatting in Paul McCartney's childhood home? And why does every member of his family have a different accent?

Do not underestimate us

[massoto_youko · 6/10 · 21 April 2007]

I'm a huge fan of LOST, especially because I always realized that the writers and creators had an incredible ability of keeping some episodes interesting, even when there's no relevant information to the plot in them. But I believe these abilities are over. Every Lost fan knows that after a huge episode such as last week's "One of Us" we can't expect for a very 'heart-stopping' episode in the following week. But it was always good to get to know the characters, such as in last season's "S.O.S." and others like "Dave", "Collision". But, this season, the writers/creators are underestimating the fans. This week's "Catch-22" is live proof that they only stalled us to what it seems like it will be (I sincerely hope) a hardcore season finale.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time it happens this season. It happened in "Every Man For Himself" and again with "Stranger in a Strange Land". And, this week, the writers "owe" the fans, because after episodes like "Live Together, Die Alone" and "Flashes Before Your Eyes" they delivered one about Desmond that is anything but interesting. Where's the ability of telling thrilling and emotional stories? A whole episode to tell us why Desmond refers to everyone as "brothers"? C'mon, they can do better than that. There were good parts (Ms.Hawkins' easter egg and the girl in the end), but it could happen in any other episode. I know they're leading us to the 'cataclismic' end, but the taste of stalling definitely stood behind. Especially when fans are getting annoyed and crying for answers. I just hope the next four weeks are as thrilling as ABC's promising it will.

A worthwhile catch

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 7 May 2018]

When 'Lost' was in its prime, it was must-watch television. Remember first watching it, found it remarkably easy to get into, was hooked from the start and was on Season 3 by the end of one week. The general consensus is that the final season is a disappointment and cannot disagree.

"Catch-22" is not one of the best episodes of 'Lost'. It's not even one of the best episodes of Season 3. It's still a pretty good and very interesting episode however and is nowhere near one of the show's worst, as far as the previous episodes go it is significantly better than "Fire + Water" and especially "Stranger in a Strange Land" (a 'Lost' low-point), which were one of the few not good episodes of the early seasons to me.

It is not a perfect episode by all means. Count me in as another person who is critical of the romantic square subplot, that was rather cheesy and silly with enough moments to make one cringe. Didn't find that it advanced things much and that it was little more than filler.

Other than Desmond, none of the other characters really progress character-development-wise. There is some plot advancing and foreshadowing, but other episodes before and since do much better than this respect where there are things shown in them that are illuminating and shocking as well as advancing the more mystery-oriented aspects of the storytelling, not really enough of either.

Desmond however is very interestingly written with a different side to him that does induce some surprise. The flashback is also intriguing, as is the whole Desmond and Charlie angle that is the most surprising the episode gets, strange yes but not uncomfortably so.

All the acting is good to great, especially from Henry Ian Cusick, quite rightly too. There are some funny lines from Sawyer.

Visually, there is a lot of style and atmosphere, the music is chilling and understated, the script mostly intrigue and the direction is more than competent if not extraordinary.

To conclude, worthwhile but not a 'Lost' high-point. 7/10 Bethany Cox