"Fire + Water" is, by some distance, the lowest-rated episode of LOST on IMDb, and I dare say that this time the ratings may actually be accurate. There is nothing inherently wrong with being surreal - after all, some of the best episodes of this series have been extremely surreal and out-there (Flashes Before Your Eyes). However, there is good surreal and there is bad surreal - and "Fire + Water" has a little of the former (Charlie playing the piano on the beach) and a lot more of the latter (Charlie and his band performing a musical number in diapers(!), or Hurley dressed in a biblical robe(!!!), one of the funniest scenes in the history of LOST, though I'm not sure that's what it was aiming at). What's more, the story turns Charlie into a severely dislikable character (it's hard to believe that the same writers are responsible for the episode that made him one of the most beloved characters in the series, "Greatest Hits"), and also cheapens Locke's character by having him deal with trivial (for him) matters, not to mention the creepy suggestion that Charlie and Locke are now "rivals" for Claire's affections. The only likable scenes of this clumsy episode are those involving Hurley trying to flirt with Libby. **1/2 out of 4.
17 Reviews
Perhaps the weirdest episode of LOST....but not in a good way
gridoon202416 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Saving Aaron and Claire
claudio_carvalho29 May 2006
Charlie has surreal daydreams with Aaron, and he believes that the baby is in danger. However, Locke believes he is using heroine again. Charlie clumsily advises Claire to baptize Aaron with Mr. Eko, while he recalls his past with his addicted brother. Hurley is attracted by Libby, who seems to correspond his affection and attention.
"Fire + Water" was a quite deceptive episode of "Lost". I felt sorry for Charlie, who is full of good intentions with Claire and her baby, but is absolutely misunderstood. The disappointment of John Locke with him is understandable, but his coward aggression is totally unnecessary. I do not understand why John Locke has not destroyed the heroine he took from Charlie. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): Not Available.
Note: On 29 March 2013, I saw this episode again.
"Fire + Water" was a quite deceptive episode of "Lost". I felt sorry for Charlie, who is full of good intentions with Claire and her baby, but is absolutely misunderstood. The disappointment of John Locke with him is understandable, but his coward aggression is totally unnecessary. I do not understand why John Locke has not destroyed the heroine he took from Charlie. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): Not Available.
Note: On 29 March 2013, I saw this episode again.
Charlie Isn't Perfect
aliensprez18 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
It seems this episode isn't well liked, and for good reasons. It was hard to watch as someone who likes Charlie. I love the family dynamic between him and Claire, and how he takes care of Aaron. It hurts to watch that go up in smoke in this episode. However, I think Charlie deserves some repercussions for his actions. He's a liar. I am sympathetic to him though. I do wish someone would give him a break because he is a recovering addict, but Locke seems to be more worried about the baby's safety. Neither Charlie or Locke are perfect. The baptism also seemed to be an anti-climactic ending. I thought Charlie's dreams would have a further meaning. I liked the flash backs, and the surreal dreams.
Not the best episode, but maybe not as out-of-character as everyone thinks
annaily13 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
While I agree with many of the reviews who say this is a mediocre episode, I believe it's not TOTALLY out of character.
By this point, we know John Locke was given up to foster care as a baby. Thrown around to many foster homes. Never knew his birth parents until they scammed him out of a kidney and abandoned him again.
That kind of trauma would make him very protective of Claire's baby. He built the crib for her. Claire told Locke in a previous episode that she doesn't have a baby name planned because she was gonna put him up for adoption. Locke's facial reaction is very sad when she says this.
Then when he sees Charlie acting reckless with the baby and catches him with the heroin again, it triggers him. We know Locke has anger issues because he was in an anger management group after he lost the kidney, where he met Helen. So it's not totally absurd that he hit Charlie when he caught him kidnapping the baby to be baptized.
Charlie does make impulsive but well-meaning decisions that get him caught up in trouble. That's kind of his personality. Obviously being newly sober and the stress of everything on the island would lead him to make worse decisions like kidnapping the baby.
However, I do agree that Locke would be at least slightly more interested in charlies dreams. Locke believes in the island sending messages through dreams, so if Locke wanted to protect the baby, he would at least be curious about Charlie's dreams instead of totally disregarding them as lies.
Overall, it's also just not that exciting of an episode. I don't think first time watchers should skip it, but if you HAD to skip one, this would be a fine one to skip.
By this point, we know John Locke was given up to foster care as a baby. Thrown around to many foster homes. Never knew his birth parents until they scammed him out of a kidney and abandoned him again.
That kind of trauma would make him very protective of Claire's baby. He built the crib for her. Claire told Locke in a previous episode that she doesn't have a baby name planned because she was gonna put him up for adoption. Locke's facial reaction is very sad when she says this.
Then when he sees Charlie acting reckless with the baby and catches him with the heroin again, it triggers him. We know Locke has anger issues because he was in an anger management group after he lost the kidney, where he met Helen. So it's not totally absurd that he hit Charlie when he caught him kidnapping the baby to be baptized.
Charlie does make impulsive but well-meaning decisions that get him caught up in trouble. That's kind of his personality. Obviously being newly sober and the stress of everything on the island would lead him to make worse decisions like kidnapping the baby.
However, I do agree that Locke would be at least slightly more interested in charlies dreams. Locke believes in the island sending messages through dreams, so if Locke wanted to protect the baby, he would at least be curious about Charlie's dreams instead of totally disregarding them as lies.
Overall, it's also just not that exciting of an episode. I don't think first time watchers should skip it, but if you HAD to skip one, this would be a fine one to skip.
Underrated episode
MinieC1 May 2007
Probably the most underrated episode of Lost. Great imagery, quite disturbing and it's quite amazing that they made us sympathize with Charlie despite his actions in this episode. The flashback tied in perfectly with what was happening on the island.
Seeing Charlie trying to save Aaron on the beach and then Locke hitting him and everybody else turning their back on him was gut-wrenching. We can really understand his actions in 'The Long Con' after this scene.
I don't watch Lost for the mythology or the action, I watch for the characters. And this was a great character based episode. We learned a lot about Charlie, why he's so attached to Claire and Aaron and how he desperately wants a family to take care of.
Seeing Charlie trying to save Aaron on the beach and then Locke hitting him and everybody else turning their back on him was gut-wrenching. We can really understand his actions in 'The Long Con' after this scene.
I don't watch Lost for the mythology or the action, I watch for the characters. And this was a great character based episode. We learned a lot about Charlie, why he's so attached to Claire and Aaron and how he desperately wants a family to take care of.
Misguided attempt at doing something new
ametaphysicalshark16 November 2007
I appreciate what Fire + Water is trying to do, but it fails in every way possible narratively. Other than that the show is well-scored, well-shot, well-acted, and all, and particularly well-directed by Jack Bender here, who does about as much with the show's haphazard attempts at surrealism as possible here.
"Fire + Water" is almost universally regarded as the worst "Lost" episode. Many factors have lead to this, not just the lacking quality of the episode itself, but coming after numerous similarly useless flashback episodes, and coming after the big cliffhanger the week before. It's simply not a good episode of "Lost".
It's not really the worst episode of "Lost". It's definitely more interesting than "Whatever the Case May Be", simply due to the focus being on Charlie and not Kate. "Stranger in a Strange Land" is possibly marginally better, but I'd still probably rather watch this than that. Undoubtedly one of the worst episodes on the series though, simply because it fails to be either a good character episode (the characterization here is terrible, really, and inconsistent) or a reasonably entertaining action-packed ride.
4/10
"Fire + Water" is almost universally regarded as the worst "Lost" episode. Many factors have lead to this, not just the lacking quality of the episode itself, but coming after numerous similarly useless flashback episodes, and coming after the big cliffhanger the week before. It's simply not a good episode of "Lost".
It's not really the worst episode of "Lost". It's definitely more interesting than "Whatever the Case May Be", simply due to the focus being on Charlie and not Kate. "Stranger in a Strange Land" is possibly marginally better, but I'd still probably rather watch this than that. Undoubtedly one of the worst episodes on the series though, simply because it fails to be either a good character episode (the characterization here is terrible, really, and inconsistent) or a reasonably entertaining action-packed ride.
4/10
Series seems like a farce at times
GLArm20 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I enjoyed Season One of Lost but as Season Two started and moves on, I have been struck at times with the feeling that I am watching some bad actors putting on a farce. Most of the acting has been good, but there are a number of characters who just seem to be acting; and I am just trying to enjoy a tv show, not be a critic! But the characters of Claire, Charlie, Michael, Shannon and Ana Lucia have just seemed like parodies of real people. Some of them seem too stupid and cringeworthy to be believable. The worst is Ana Lucia playing the badass, tough woman set to be the next Rambo.
I want to like this show and continue watching but I am finding too many episodes more cringeworthy than enjoyable....... I hope it gets better and not worse because I would enjoy the diversion of being "lost" on such a beautiful island.
I want to like this show and continue watching but I am finding too many episodes more cringeworthy than enjoyable....... I hope it gets better and not worse because I would enjoy the diversion of being "lost" on such a beautiful island.
Either 30 years too late or 15 years too early.
thunderfun6525 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Let's address the elephant in the room. This is a story about opioid addiction. What most people don't understand is that once you're an addict then you are always an addict. Heroin was a destructive force in the 60's and 70's. It wouldn't rear its ugly head again until the the 20-teens.
The episode begins with Charlie having vivid dreams about Aaron being in mortal danger. The flash backs begin with on Christmas Day when Charlie gets his first piano. It's followed by the family saying "now you are going to save us all". Enter Charlie's need to save his family. On the Island Clair and Aaron are his family. Now we are about to enter into 2023, almost everyone has a loved one that suffers from this affliction. The second a recovering addict starts lying and acting erratically the first thought is that they are using again.
The writers did a great job with the family/user dynamic. They were able to alienate the audience buy using heroin to turn one of the most beloved characters into a heel. This would set up the next few episodes.
The flashbacks continue with Charlie writing a great song and trying to convince Liam there was a comeback only to find out Liam was kicked out his home because he dropped his daughter and was a danger to her. Enter Charlie with Aaron in this episode. The flashbacks end with Liam moving to Australia to be with his family and enter a recovery clinic. He wants to take Charlie but he won't go. The episode ends with Locke physically knocking his block off. But Clair eventually believed him and both Clair and Aaron were baptized. It's a brilliant misunderstood episode that had it come out in 2020 it would have had a better reception. There's no conformation but analyzing the subtext I do believe Charlie had a back slide. Over the next few few episodes he is sweating with a hoodie looking like he's going through withdrawal.
The episode begins with Charlie having vivid dreams about Aaron being in mortal danger. The flash backs begin with on Christmas Day when Charlie gets his first piano. It's followed by the family saying "now you are going to save us all". Enter Charlie's need to save his family. On the Island Clair and Aaron are his family. Now we are about to enter into 2023, almost everyone has a loved one that suffers from this affliction. The second a recovering addict starts lying and acting erratically the first thought is that they are using again.
The writers did a great job with the family/user dynamic. They were able to alienate the audience buy using heroin to turn one of the most beloved characters into a heel. This would set up the next few episodes.
The flashbacks continue with Charlie writing a great song and trying to convince Liam there was a comeback only to find out Liam was kicked out his home because he dropped his daughter and was a danger to her. Enter Charlie with Aaron in this episode. The flashbacks end with Liam moving to Australia to be with his family and enter a recovery clinic. He wants to take Charlie but he won't go. The episode ends with Locke physically knocking his block off. But Clair eventually believed him and both Clair and Aaron were baptized. It's a brilliant misunderstood episode that had it come out in 2020 it would have had a better reception. There's no conformation but analyzing the subtext I do believe Charlie had a back slide. Over the next few few episodes he is sweating with a hoodie looking like he's going through withdrawal.
Dont Understand the Hate
illogicalxeno4 October 2021
Badly Handled, But Not Terrible
Furious_Fenner24 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Fire + Water, as it is well known, is one of the least popular LOST episodes. There are a number of reasons for this, the main one being that of course it is hideously uncomfortable viewing for Charlie fans, of whom there are many. However, it is the material and not the plot of the episode that is it's downfall.
One of the reasons I was frustrated with the episode can be summed up in two words: John Locke. One of the most centred characters on the show, with a passive, peaceful approaches, suddenly goes from acting as Charlie's mentor/guardian angel to, in this episode, being a belligerent and over aggressive bully. Where Locke listens to the island intently, and follows the vivid dreams he experiences, he instantly dismisses Charlie's similar visions as just being him using again, despite spending so my time guiding I'm to sobriety in Season 1. In fact, it is shown that not a single character (with the exception of Eko)has any belief in Charlie and are all happy to turn their back on him (quite literally, as it turns out).
The second would be the writing and general flow of the story. At no point does the viewer feel anything other than sympathy for Charlie, and as a direct result it vilifies the other characters for being so dismissive towards him. This is a man who journeyed to the fuselage in the first days, who regularly risked his life to save others, who rescued Jack despite his heroine withdrawal, who was injured recovering Aaron as he promised. And all he has done wrong has suffered the same dreams often experienced by other losties who were listened to. And as a result of that, and some actions he was instantly remorseful of, he was ostracised by the group, beaten by the 'man of peace' John Locke, and made the most hated man in the camp.
Surrealism aside, the episode simply suffers because it has no balance and the characters act totally out of character, a sign of very bad writing. In fact it's only real purpose to the series was to add a plot point to the following episode, 'The Long Con'.
One of the reasons I was frustrated with the episode can be summed up in two words: John Locke. One of the most centred characters on the show, with a passive, peaceful approaches, suddenly goes from acting as Charlie's mentor/guardian angel to, in this episode, being a belligerent and over aggressive bully. Where Locke listens to the island intently, and follows the vivid dreams he experiences, he instantly dismisses Charlie's similar visions as just being him using again, despite spending so my time guiding I'm to sobriety in Season 1. In fact, it is shown that not a single character (with the exception of Eko)has any belief in Charlie and are all happy to turn their back on him (quite literally, as it turns out).
The second would be the writing and general flow of the story. At no point does the viewer feel anything other than sympathy for Charlie, and as a direct result it vilifies the other characters for being so dismissive towards him. This is a man who journeyed to the fuselage in the first days, who regularly risked his life to save others, who rescued Jack despite his heroine withdrawal, who was injured recovering Aaron as he promised. And all he has done wrong has suffered the same dreams often experienced by other losties who were listened to. And as a result of that, and some actions he was instantly remorseful of, he was ostracised by the group, beaten by the 'man of peace' John Locke, and made the most hated man in the camp.
Surrealism aside, the episode simply suffers because it has no balance and the characters act totally out of character, a sign of very bad writing. In fact it's only real purpose to the series was to add a plot point to the following episode, 'The Long Con'.
Not the Best Lost Ep
the_sporty_womble8 May 2006
Lost is a great show, we all know it. However it shocked me to find John Lock stepping so far out of character to beat the living **** out of poor ol' Charlie, who was quite honestly just have a bad week. Other than that i found this ep rather random and found myself pitying Charlie, and questioning Locks motives..
Ah well
Hopefully in the weeks to come Locks intentions will prove the wiser, but for now, picking on a recovering drug addict just didn't seem so genuine, Even If Charlie was stealing babies left right and center throughout the show...
Ah well
Hopefully in the weeks to come Locks intentions will prove the wiser, but for now, picking on a recovering drug addict just didn't seem so genuine, Even If Charlie was stealing babies left right and center throughout the show...
Horrible episode
Jinx-to-Ennien18 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I am not sure what the writers were thinking when they wrote this episode. What was the purpose of having Charlie act like he did? There dreams about Claire and Charlie's mom dressed as angels, Aaron floating away in the piano, and having Charlie kidnap Aaron were absurd to say the least. Why did they decide to treat Charlie like this?
Very odd and far from fiery surrealism
TheLittleSongbird15 February 2018
When 'Lost' was in its prime, it was must-watch television. Remember first watching it, found it remarkably easy to get into, was hooked from the start and was on Season 3 by the end of one week. The general consensus is that the final season is a disappointment and cannot disagree.
Am not sure as to whether to call "Fire + Water" the worst ever 'Lost' episode. To me, and many others, it is down there and easily one of the weaker episodes of the earlier seasons. Wouldn't go as far as to call it terrible or a waste of time, at the same time it tries to do something different and fails to execute it very well.
There are things that work in "Fire + Water's" favour. It is beautifully and stylishly photographed with a good deal of atmosphere and the surrealistic/symbolic images being quite striking visually. The beautiful and mysterious island setting is made the most of and like its own character.
Music is still chilling and understated. Although the characterisation is severely wanting here, the acting is without complaint, Dominic Monaghan carries the episode very well. Hurley is pretty fun and the episode's stronger moments are actually with him. Some of the direction is neat, if more visually and in the direction of the actors than in how the story is told.
"Fire + Water" sadly is not particularly compelling on a story level, and says very little illuminating or interesting about Charlie and does very little with advancing the island events, making one question the point of it.
It is further hampered by dull pacing and pretty much all the characters being out of character and inconsistent, especially Locke (Charlie also goes from being one of 'Lost's' most likeable characters to a character one is very frustrated with well before the episode is over). The writing has been tighter and smarter elsewhere, little stands out here. What really hurts "Fire + Water" is the surrealism, as visually striking as it is it features far too much, is very heavy-handed and with the subtlety of an axe and just gives the episode an unintentional weirdness that fails to ignite any intrigue or fire.
Overall, very odd and not very fiery. One of the few early season major disappointments. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Am not sure as to whether to call "Fire + Water" the worst ever 'Lost' episode. To me, and many others, it is down there and easily one of the weaker episodes of the earlier seasons. Wouldn't go as far as to call it terrible or a waste of time, at the same time it tries to do something different and fails to execute it very well.
There are things that work in "Fire + Water's" favour. It is beautifully and stylishly photographed with a good deal of atmosphere and the surrealistic/symbolic images being quite striking visually. The beautiful and mysterious island setting is made the most of and like its own character.
Music is still chilling and understated. Although the characterisation is severely wanting here, the acting is without complaint, Dominic Monaghan carries the episode very well. Hurley is pretty fun and the episode's stronger moments are actually with him. Some of the direction is neat, if more visually and in the direction of the actors than in how the story is told.
"Fire + Water" sadly is not particularly compelling on a story level, and says very little illuminating or interesting about Charlie and does very little with advancing the island events, making one question the point of it.
It is further hampered by dull pacing and pretty much all the characters being out of character and inconsistent, especially Locke (Charlie also goes from being one of 'Lost's' most likeable characters to a character one is very frustrated with well before the episode is over). The writing has been tighter and smarter elsewhere, little stands out here. What really hurts "Fire + Water" is the surrealism, as visually striking as it is it features far too much, is very heavy-handed and with the subtlety of an axe and just gives the episode an unintentional weirdness that fails to ignite any intrigue or fire.
Overall, very odd and not very fiery. One of the few early season major disappointments. 5/10 Bethany Cox
God Is Not Dead: Lost Edition
sinikirain14 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Lost has very few bad episodes. The other two considered bad are kind of lame and boring at worst. To me, Fire + Water is by far the worst episode of Lost.
Up until that point, none of the visions and dreams have involved anything so obviously religious. All of the sudden we have an episode that has a very heavy handed christian message about baptizing children?? It didn't feel like the story fit Lost at all.
I'm not at all religious, but I don't mind religious themes in media. This whole episode however read like one of those awful christian propaganda movies where in the end they find salvation in God while cheesy music plays. Mr. Eko episodes are a great example of good use of religious themes, but this is the worst example there could be.
The episode makes Charlie very unlikable and downright creepy. That itself wouldn't be a problem if in the end he wasn't implied to be in the right, just with bad methods. The whole sequence of Claire asking Mr. Eko to baptize both Aaron (and her) followed with it alongside happy music in the background was cringe. Combine that scene with Charlie's visions and it makes it seem like in Lost universe you have to be baptized to get into heaven. In a character driven drama with a large cast of characters of varying religious beliefs/non-beliefs, the implications are bad.
Like how do they justify it with characters who clearly aren't baptized. Sorry Sayid, guess you never had a chance?
The episode tries to make a point that Charlie kidnapping the baby twice is not as bad as the characters think because he's not actually on drugs. But if anything him being on drugs would have made the whole thing more forgivable.
There's also the weird Claire/Locke thing. I'm not sure if they ever planned to go anywhere with that or if it was just Locke being helpful and Charlie being paranoid. Glad they dropped it.
Not to mention the diaper ad thing and Hurley in the biblical robe but those were at least so so dumb they were kind of funny.
Thankfully they seemed to learn from this episode. Either way this was very embarrassing and uncomfortable watch with my partner (who was watching for the first time.)
If you just saw this episode and you're considering dropping Lost, don't. Use the next episode The Long Con as a palette cleanser and forget the implications of this episode. The writers thankfully did.
Up until that point, none of the visions and dreams have involved anything so obviously religious. All of the sudden we have an episode that has a very heavy handed christian message about baptizing children?? It didn't feel like the story fit Lost at all.
I'm not at all religious, but I don't mind religious themes in media. This whole episode however read like one of those awful christian propaganda movies where in the end they find salvation in God while cheesy music plays. Mr. Eko episodes are a great example of good use of religious themes, but this is the worst example there could be.
The episode makes Charlie very unlikable and downright creepy. That itself wouldn't be a problem if in the end he wasn't implied to be in the right, just with bad methods. The whole sequence of Claire asking Mr. Eko to baptize both Aaron (and her) followed with it alongside happy music in the background was cringe. Combine that scene with Charlie's visions and it makes it seem like in Lost universe you have to be baptized to get into heaven. In a character driven drama with a large cast of characters of varying religious beliefs/non-beliefs, the implications are bad.
Like how do they justify it with characters who clearly aren't baptized. Sorry Sayid, guess you never had a chance?
The episode tries to make a point that Charlie kidnapping the baby twice is not as bad as the characters think because he's not actually on drugs. But if anything him being on drugs would have made the whole thing more forgivable.
There's also the weird Claire/Locke thing. I'm not sure if they ever planned to go anywhere with that or if it was just Locke being helpful and Charlie being paranoid. Glad they dropped it.
Not to mention the diaper ad thing and Hurley in the biblical robe but those were at least so so dumb they were kind of funny.
Thankfully they seemed to learn from this episode. Either way this was very embarrassing and uncomfortable watch with my partner (who was watching for the first time.)
If you just saw this episode and you're considering dropping Lost, don't. Use the next episode The Long Con as a palette cleanser and forget the implications of this episode. The writers thankfully did.
Cut that poor Charlie some slack
matt-7706913 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Let me get this straight, we've all been witnesses to Locke's fanaticism and to his believing he's on the island because of destiny, to his revering the island as this giant deus ex machina guiding its inhabitants and having a plan laid out for them, to his acting crazy according to his beliefs, based on the fact that he miraculously regained feeling in his legs, but when Charlie does the exact same thing, acting upon his beliefs deriving from the same hallucinations Locke is guided by, he's considered a lunatic because of the drug problem he had in the past. I understand the right one has to doubt a possibly still using drug addict, but everyone has been driven by madness in a way or another (Hurley believing he's invincible), so how about we cut that poor Charlie some slack.
Totally off
skay_baltimore15 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This isn't the greatest series in the world to begin with, but this episode was just trash. Bizarre religious overtones delivered by a criminal phony "priest". WTH? This episode really jumped the shark and blew. Badly.
What about action
popnikos2 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I don't know about you, but I think this is the worst episode of the show...there is no action, the story don't go forward, it was pretty boring... but on the other side i've seen the best shot of the show when Charlie see his mum (i think it was her) and Claire in a "catholic vision" was really great, the dresses and ambient colors really show US a catholic vision,besides the bird really accentuate the idea of heaven.We walk thru Charly's mind and that was really great. I hope that the baptism of Aaron and Claire will be significant in a few episodes because the whole episode have the aim of the baptism and i can't imagine that scenarists make this just for fun or something like that.
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