Lost Redux: It's Charlie's Waterworld, We Just Live in It

With some shows, I check the TiVo timer every few minutes to see how much longer I have to endure; with Lost, I obsessively monitor the timer to reassure myself that there's more story to come, so I know that I have at least a few more minutes on the island before they cut me off and send me away for another week.

I really love this show, and tonight's episode was a perfect example of why.

Now, let's discuss the life (to date) and works of Mr. Charlie Pace...

How to Cowboy Up:  In "White Rabbit," back in season one, Charlie told us, "I don't swim." In this episode, despite that being the case, despite reliable predictions of his death, and despite another man volunteering to take the mission, Charlie dove into the Pacific Ocean so that Claire and Aaron could someday fly away from Four Toes Island. And that, my friends, is the definition of courage: being scared to pieces and pulling yourself together to do it anyway.

What is it that the Browncoats say about the characters on Firefly? I think it's that they're "big damn heroes," and I think that Charlie is hereby assured a spot in the Big Damn Hero Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He's Claire's Wonderwall! ("Maybe...you're gonna be the one that saves me...")

Oh, and the best part of all: To quote the man himself, "I'm alive! I'm alive!" He has two rather fierce-looking battle drones pointing guns at him right now, but still...flashes be damned, he made it!

Damn, Boy!  I cried like an onion-slicing chef during the scene when Charlie processed the meaning of Desmond's vision, as he realized that the cost of saving his girl and his baby would be his life. Good work, Monaghan.

"You All Everybody":  You know, the bad guys on this show are great, but the good guys are better. This week, special shout-outs go to:

• Karlex, who are not only adorable together but make quite a formidable couple: Underdog (Alex) hunts the wascally wabbits, and Chachi (Karl) takes care of the intra-island gun-running. I like the way these two operate!
• In other news, Naomi is a Mancunian, Jin knows how to shoot, Locke is still missing (dammit) and Danielle is suddenly a joiner!
• Oh yeah, and the woman who Charlie rescued outside of Covent Garden? That's Sayid's beloved Nadia (Andrea Gabriel)! If Charlie does ever pass from this world, and if the Losties are ever rescued, I hope he is credited with the reunion of two of our favorite couples: Des and Penny, and Sayid and Nadia.

Line of the Week:  "Here we go again." Kate Austen speaks the truth. Holy cow, that promo with the exploding camp, my boys taken prisoner (Bernard, Sayid and Jin) and a triangle "I love you." I am already vibrating with anticipation.

Until the big "game-changing" season finale next week, which will completely blow you away...which is all I'm gonna say, because what happens in the finale is one surprise I do not want to ruin. And hey, do yourself a favor and step away from the hard-core spoiler sites, okay? Trust me. This one is so much better if you are left unspoiled.

—Additional reporting by Jennifer Godwin