Person of the Day: Dominic Monaghan

So, I finally got around to watching the finale of Lost this past weekend, and I was blown away. The quality of the show had definitely picked up in the back half of the season, and I had heard rumblings that the season finale was a real game-changer, but I wasn't prepared to be as moved, shocked, or invested as I was in the finale. The twists and turns of the episode kept me on the edge of my seat (It's Walt! Jack kissed Juliet, and then told Kate he loved her! Kate is in Jack's flashback! It's not a flashback, it's a flash-forward!), and the performances were universally excellent (Matthew Fox was particularly impressive in the "flash-forward" scenes), but much of the reason I was so affected by the finale was because of today's Idol Thoughts Person of the Day -- Dominic Monaghan.

When Lost began three seasons ago, Dominic was just "that guy from Lord of the Rings," but the impression he made as Charlie, the drug-addicted rock star who had just one hit under his belt (I found myself humming "You are Everybody" all weekend long), was so indelible and immediate that any thoughts of Dom's former life as a hobbit was instantly forgotten. He was funny, charming, a bit of a mess, self-doubting, in-over-his-head and completely and totally lovable. Watching him work through his addiction with the help of Terry O'Quinn's John Locke was great television, and seeing him fall in love with Emilie de Ravin's Claire and her son Aaron warmed the heart.

Based on articles I have read since the finale, it seems the decision to kill of Charlie was made as a story decision, and as such, it was probably a good one. Watching Monaghan deal with Desmond's visions that Charlie's death was inevitable was fascinating, and seeing the process of acceptance of his fate was incredibly moving. Charlie was the beautifully reluctant hero -- he didn't want to leave his life, but he knew what he had to do, and he did it. The look on his face in the final moments as water filled the hatch, and Charlie discovered that there was literally no time left, that his death was happening now, was some of the most gripping stuff on any television show this season.

So, for everything he brought to Lost, and the ways in which he was able to leave his hobbit past behind and create yet another totally memorable character, I salute Dominic Monaghan, today's Idol Thoughts Person of the Day.

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