Charlie in 'Looking Glass'

So, Desmond's vision wasn't wrong, it just took a bit to fully come together ... poor Charlie, his heroic effort was quite touching, especially when he used his last moments to scribble a warning to Desmond. I also enjoyed his attitude, humor and scheming when he was being held captive.

Official word from important players seems to be that Charlie is Eko-Boone-Shannon dead, not merely Patchy dead. EW.com has an interview with Dominic Monaghan and the producers talking about the decision that Charlie would die.

The reaction to Charlie's death seems to fall into three camps:

1)C'mon Charlie, you didn't even try! You could have made it out with some effort! Aaarggh, stupid druggie rock star.

2) Practical, believable reasons mean that Charlie couldn't have gotten out safely (insert long discussions of air pockets, how moon pools function, here). Doing what he did allowed Desmond to live despite Patchy's sabotage.

3) Charlie could have made it out with some effort, but didn't even try because he was commited to the idea that carrying out Desmond's vision completely was necessary for rescue to occur.

I have read pages of discussion on this issue, and here's what all this hullabaloo reminds me of: Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars. Think about it. Obi-Wan Kenobi sacrifices himself for reasons that seem to have little logical connection to his actual circumstances. I still remember the first time I went nuts over the fact that everyone was already getting away, the mission was accomplished and Obi-Wan just stands there and let's Vader take him out without even putting up a fight.

Does this mean that now that the station's killed him, Charlie will become even more powerful than we can imagine? Hmmm, probably not. But Charlie made the ultimate sacrifice to save those he loved, so that's bound to confer a certain level of immortality. Not bad for a one-hit wonder, in the end.