Lost Review from TVGuide.com

April 18, 2007: She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain
Or not. Poor Desmond. He looks so weary. Weary of doing the same things over and over, of hearing the same conversations, of wishing to get off that darn island, of saving Charlie's life.... It's as if he's still in the hatch pushing that button, only saving Charlie's life takes a bit more effort, and not saving his life takes even more.

On the whole, this was a pretty good episode — good balance of characters, interesting plot development — but did it have to be so heavy-handed with the metaphors and allusions? I felt like I was in high-school English class. There were all of Desmond's (super-meaningful-listen-closely-don't-you-dare-miss-them) conversations with the other monk about being put through a test and about Isaac's sacrifice on Mount Moriah. And then a girl dropped out of the sky carrying her copy of Catch-22 (I believe in Portuguese). And that, my friends, is what Desmond found himself in when trying to decide if he could save Charlie's life, even though he knew Charlie's death was part of what brought him to the place where Not-Penny fell from the sky. Or perhaps it was all God asking him to sacrifice Charlie in order to achieve salvation for the rest of the survivors. Those flashes have a convenient way of leaving out helpful details, don't they? Why couldn't he just remember where he went the first time and then leave Charlie at home?

So back to the backstory: I'm with Desmond's ex-fiancée, Ruth, on the ridiculousness of Desmond's "calling." It was just because a monk helped him up on the street? "Good thing it wasn't a shepherd who helped you up!" (Huh, like a Jack Shephard? Never mind.) Aside from the burlap-sack clothing, those monks didn't seem to have it so bad. At least they didn't have to teach school, like nuns. But running a vineyard without being able to down a bottle or two once in a while sounds like a supreme test of will to me. Though it's clear that Desmond wasn't just fired for that. Thanks to the Lost Easter Eggs site, I see that Fionnula Flanagan (the creepy lady from the antique store who knew all about his flashes) was in a picture with the monk, so maybe this was all part of a big plan. Maybe Penny's in on the plan, too. I did enjoy seeing Penny and Desmond's supercharged first meeting. That Penny's not a shy one. I bet she and Kate would get along.

That's my semismooth segue into what I'm sure was the favorite part of the evening for many a 'shipper in the audience: Sawyer asking for a booty call. "Do I need to make you a mixed tape?" I was really rooting for him tonight, even thought Kate's longing for Jack is beyond transparent. Her half-hearted attempt at flirting with Jack over oatmeal made me sad. Give up, Kate. Or get in some kind of trouble that Jack needs to save you from, 'cause we all know that's the only way to his heart. By the end of the episode, I think everyone felt a little more heartbroken and ready to put up their protective walls. Just as well, I suppose. It doesn't seem like there are many options for contraception on the island these days, so they might as well remain emotionally stunted and sexually frustrated.

Now before I leave you guys to ponder the identity and purpose of Not-Penny, I just want to point out the funny stuff:
— Hurley trying to convince Charlie that the Flash and Superman might compete in a foot race for charity.
— Hurley to Desmond: "This is future crap, isn't it?"
— Sawyer to Jack and Juliet: "You two arguing over who's your favorite Other?"
— Sawyer to Jack about ping-pong: "We don't play every 108 minutes, the island's gonna explode."
— Sawyer's reaction when Kate told him about the Others' working cameras: "Perverts."