Lost: Season 2, Episode 12 "Fire + Water" Review

"I'm not hittin' that."

-Jack Shephard

The 12th episode of season 2 of Lost picks up with Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) having recurring nightmares about Aaron being in mortal danger.  After one of them, he walks up to discover that he slept-walked and took Aaron out of his crib, which gets most of the group against him.  After speaking about his dreams with Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Charlie becomes convinced that they need to baptize Aaron.  He tries to tell Claire (Emilie de Ravin), but is ignored.

Later, Locke (Terry O'Quinn) follows Charlie to his stash of heroin and confiscates it, but does not tell Claire about what he found.  Charlie creates a diversion by setting a fire near the camp and takes Aaron to baptize him, but is quickly spotted.  Claire, Locke, and Mr. Eko convince Charlie to stop and he gives Aaron back.  Locke punches him several times and the group shuns Charlie.  However, Charlie's plan ultimately paid off.  Claire and Aaron are both baptized by Mr. Eko.

With a little prodding from Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Hurley (Jorge Garcia) does laundry with Libby (Cynthia Watros) and they hit it off.

In flashbacks, we see Charlie and his brother, Liam (Neil Hopkins), deep in their addiction.  They have resorted to being in a humiliating diaper commercial, but Liam can't even pull that off.  Liam has a daughter, but ends up dropping her.  Faced with losing his daughter and girlfriend, Liam sells Charlie's piano to get himself to Sydney to get clean and abandons Charlie.

What Works:

I know this is an immensely unpopular episode of Lost, and it's definitely not great, but I don't mind it as much as most people.  At least it's not boring.  One thing I really like about "Fire + Water" is the insane dream sequences.  It's like a less subtle version of a David Lynch film.  The dreams are really weird, but memorable and I've always enjoyed them.

The flashbacks are the strongest part of the episode.  The diaper commercial is one of the funniest and saddest moments in the show's history.  It's Charlie's rock bottom before the island, which works for me because we also get Charlie's rock bottom on the island in this episode.  I also love Charlie's song that he sings with Liam.  It's a nice moment and a brief ray of hope before Liam breaks everything down.

Finally, Sawyer has a really good moment when he is a wingman for Hurley.  It's a quick scene, but it's nice to see Sawyer do something so kind for another person.

What Sucks:

This episode really only has one problem, but it's a massive problem.  Charlie sucks.  He's so whiny and annoying.  All he has to do is take a chill pill and his problems would be over, but no.  He's gotta be an absolute lunatic.  Claire should never speak to him again and Locke was totally justified to kick Charlie's ass.  Seriously, the guy put the entire camp in danger just to baptize a baby.  It's a dumb storyline and I don't love that the writers took him this direction.  It's frustrating and not fun to watch.  I totally understand why people don't like this episode, that's how problematic this story is.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most useful character in an episode.  For "Fire + Water" the award goes to John Locke for seeing through Charlie's crap, confiscating Charlie's heroin, comforting Claire, and beating up Charlie.  He deserved it.  This is Locke's 6th time winning this award, which puts him in first place!

Verdict:

I don't dislike "Fire + Water" to the same level as most Lost fans.  I agree that Charlie's story is just the worst and I don't like the direction they take the character, but I like the flashbacks and the dream sequences quite a bit.  It's definitely a lesser episode of an amazing show, but I won't go so far as to call it bad.

 6/10: Okay