Charlie Wasn’t Killed Off Leaving “Lost” Fans More Confused Than Ever

I don’t know why I haven’t thought of doing a “Lost” play-by-play before for this site. I used to dissect reality TV to the point I wrote a book on it, so why not do the same with a show I actually enjoy watching?

Well, perhaps I feared that by breaking down my favorite show into tiny little critical bits of dusty particle-like matter, I wouldn’t enjoy watching anymore. But then I realized that it’s not passion that fuels me to write, it’s compulsion and since the latter is the very thing that also compels me to give up my Wednesday nights for the sake of a 10-11 ABC timeslot, it’s all pretty much the same anyways.

So as mentioned previously, last night’s “Lost” was Charliecentric. And as most “Lost” fans have grown to love the flawed bugger, we didn’t want to see him endure the same careless whisper of a fate as John Locke. We learn in the first five minutes of last night’s episode that Charlie knows new girl Naomi (and no, not from Las Vegas, her old stomping grounds) but from Manchester, England. They’re Mancunians. Naomi informs Charlie that he’s famous posthumously, in that everyone in the rest of the world thinks he’s that rockstar that died on that airplane.

Ouch!

This makes Charlie sad because later on when Desmond tells Charlie he must die so that Claire and her baby can live (A little Jesus, anyone?), all is not forgotten. Like the martyr/hero he is, Charlie volunteers himself for the life-sacrificing role of going underwater to work some magic on the hatch. In Desmond’s premonition, Charlie drowns for our sins. Ok, so the latter half of that sentence isn’t entirely accurate and in real life, he doesn’t actually die, but more on that later…

While Charlie is battling his childhood demons (in flashbacks), we’re also getting propelled forward with the Jack/Juliet/Sayid storyline as they prepare the island and wire it with explosives in preparation for the invasion of The Others/Hostiles. Unfortunately, they learn through Rousseau’s daughter’s boyfriend that Ben’s cult of crazy, gun-happy, baby stealers will not be coming in three days as Juliet anticipated, but that very night.

The remaining episode features more Charlie. We learn that he was afraid of the water as a lad, that his brother considered him the more mature, responsible one and gave him some sort of family heirloom for keep safing. There is also a tender moment between baby Aaron, Claire, and Charlie in which Charlie shares a platonic kiss with Claire, but more protective emotion is conveyed through expression.

The final scene has Charlie and Desmond on a boat in the middle of the ocean. Charlie is wrestling with going down, and Desmond senses his hesitation so he once again steps in on Charlie’s behalf and offers to save him. Charlie whacks Desmond over the head unconscious to show his disapproval of this and to prevent Desmond from risking his life once more on his behalf.

Charlies jumps, but does he die?

I will say that he makes it to the surface and that the hatch is actually more of an indoor pool, not unlike the one in Charlie’s childhood flashback with his dad and the pool. Charlie climbs up the ladder only to be met with two machete-happy “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” lookalike women. We want to feel sorry for him, but he looks so positively happy to be alive and in the presence of such girls, it’s hard to feel too bad for the chap.

Next week’s “Lost” season finale features the conflict we’ve all been waiting for between the clash of The Others & The People We Care About. Stay tuned throughout the week for updates on this episode.