First a few words about Desmond. While he is a secondary character, it hard to imagine anyone who is more central to the mythology of the show. Every one of his episodes has provided seismic shifts in how people view the show. Let’s review them:
“Live Together-Die Alone”: Provided Desmond’s background, but also revealed that when he failed to push the button in the Swan Station, it caused Oceanic 815 to crash.
“Flashes Before Your Eyes”: After turning the failsafe key in the Swan Station, Desmond’s mind is transported to what appears to be his past. There he interacts with Eloise Hawking, who lets Desmond know that “the universe has a way of course correcting”, meaning that regardless of the choices we make, we cannot change our destiny.
“Catch-22”: Desmond has visions of Charlie’s death in the future and learns the implications of trying to change the future.
“The Constant” (many believe this to be LOST’s finest episode....I don’t agree....but it is a cool episode, regardless): Desmond’s mind jumps back and forth between his past and present, and he must contact his “constant”, Penny, before it kills him.
“Jughead”: Desmond finds connections between Widmore, Hawking and Faraday.
Three of these episodes deal with jumping through time, or perhaps alternate realities. This second possibility, of course, is clearly connected to the themes of Season 6. And lets not forget Desmond’s catch phrase: “See you in another life, brotha.” After this week’s episode, it is abundantly apparent that Desmond’s role in the series has been plotted from the moment he stepped on the exercise bike inside the Swan Station (the opening scene from Season 2) and he is one of the keys to how it will all end.
So, with this background, let’s jump into this week’s episode.
The episode opens with a close-up of Desmond’s eye (as a point of interest, this is the 20th episode to start with an “eye opening”). He wakes up and asks for Penny. Instead, he gets his nemesis and father-in-law, Charles Widmore.
WIDMORE: She's not here. But I assure you both she and your son are perfectly safe. I'm really sorry for taking you away from them but...I didn't have a chance to explain. And...if I had, you never would've come with me.
DESMOND: Come with you? Come with you where?
WIDMORE: I brought you back to the Island.
As Charles is delivering the bad news, Desmond’s his upper lip begins to twitch until the rage can’t be contained and Desmond pounds him with his IV pole.
Never mess with a Scot. Didn’t you see “Braveheart”? FREEDOM!!!!!!!
DESMOND: You take me back! You take me back right now, you hear!
WIDMORE: I can't take you back. The Island isn't done with you yet.
This last sentence is the exact statement Eloise Hawking said to Desmond last season, in “316”, as he stormed out of the Lamp Post Station.
Charles tells his people to get ready for “the test”.....a day earlier than planned. The team begins scrambling around to ready the equipment. When the power doesn’t seem to be working, some poor bastard named Simmons heads out to the solenoid chamber (a giant box that looks like the velociraptor enclosure from Jurassic Park)....that is probably also a Faraday (nice) cage, meant to contain electromagnetism. Some other Widmore flunky inadvertently flips the power on while Simmons is in the chamber and fries him to a crisp.
From Widmore’s perspective, the Simmons’ “test” went just fine and they are ready for the real deal.....which involves Desmond.
WIDMORE: I know how this looks, Desmond. But if everything I've been told about you is true, you'll be perfectly fine.
So one question that comes to mind is who did Widmore hear this from? I’m guessing that it was Eloise Hawking (I’ll talk more about the Eloise connection a little later).
WIDMORE: I hate to resort to forcing this upon you, Desmond. But once it's over I'm going to ask you to make a sacrifice. And I hope for all our sakes you'll help me.
DESMOND: Sacrifice? What the bloody Hell do you know about sacrifice?
WIDMORE: My son died here...for the sake of this island. Your wife - my own daughter - hates me. And I've never even met my grandson. But if you won't help me, Desmond, all of it will be for nothing. Penny, your son, and everyone else, will be gone forever.
Compare this discussion of sacrifice to the exchange between Widmore and Hawking from last season’s “The Variable”, after Desmond is shot by Ben:
WIDMORE: Is he all right?
MS. HAWKING: Yes, Charles. He's fine.
WIDMORE: Good.
MS. HAWKING: Your daughter's in there. Why don't you go in and say hello?
WIDMORE: Unfortunately, Eloise, my relationship with Penelope is one of the things I had to sacrifice.
MS. HAWKING: Sacrifice? Don't you talk to me about sacrifice, Charles. I had to send my son back to the Island, knowing full well that--
WIDMORE: He was my son, too, Eloise.
First, note that Charles, who up to this point has shown nothing for disdain for Desmond, seems concerned about his well being (now we know why). Second, note that both Widmore and Hawking have sacrificed matters of great personal importance for the sake of the island and what it represents. So what, then, is the sacrifice Widmore will ask of Desmond? Does he expect Desmond to give up his relationship with Penny and his son, Charlie? Or does Desmond need to sacrifice his life for the island and to save his family? I’ll come back to this later.
So, Widmore’s men strap Desmond into a chair inside the solenoid chamber. When Jin objects to what is going on, Widmore replies. “That man is the only person I'm aware of, in the world, who has survived a catastrophic electromagnetic event, I need to know that he can do it again, or we all die. Turn it on!” Widmore even throws the switch himself. When he does so, Desmond is seemingly consumed by electromagnetic radiation. And then....
Where....are.....my......sunglasses?
We see a cloud scene reminiscent of the view from Jack’s window seat on-board Oceanic 815 in this season’s premiere, “LA X”. This image fades into Desmond’s reflection (note the ever present Season 6 mirror-imaging) in the arrival monitor at LAX. Desmond appears to be caught-up in the reflection, as we have seen many of the Losties do in the flash-sideways. He snaps out of it when Hurley tells him that the bags are at carousel number 4 (note this is one of the “numbers”).
George Clooney....heart your heart out, brotha.
At the baggage carousel, he has a pleasant conversation with a pregnant Claire that concludes with him saying, “Bet it's a boy.” I believe this exchange serves two purposes. First, it sets up a connection with Claire, surely the women Charlie later references. Second, his prediction of it being a boy is likely subconsciously coming from a memory from his original-timeline mind.
No....it is not OK for you to rub my belly!
After getting his bag, Desmond finds his driver.....who turns out to be George Minkowski. This was another of the many character connections between the main timeline and sideways timeline, as Minkowski was the communications officer on-board Charles Widmore’s freighter. Before dying, Minkowski played a crucial part in helping Desmond contact his constant, Penny.
On the way to the car, George lets Desmond know that if he ever needs anything he can get it for him. Then he makes note of Desmond not wearing a wedding ring and offers to get him some “company”. Now this is very interesting....recall that during his brief appearance in the season premiere, Desmond WAS wearing a wedding ring on the plane. Now, you may just think this is a continuity error, but I say no way. George would not have pointed out the absence of the ring if it wasn’t important.....but what does it mean? The one idea that works for me is that elements of the original timeline flicker into the sideways timeline, but fade away (like Desmond’s recollection of Aaron and the brief instances of recognition we see with the characters in the sideways).
So, George takes Des to work, where things really get interesting. He greeted by a secretary who tells him to go into the boss’ office (who turns out to be Charles Widmore), as he is expected (contrast this with “Jughead”, where Desmond bursts into Widmore’s office despite the protests of his secretary). Charles warmly welcomes Desmond and treats him with much affection (even hugs!) and respect (we’ve never seen Widmore show any warmth to Des in the original timeline). Widmore gives Desmond a special assignment....to get the bassist from Drive Shaft, Charlie Pace (who was arrested for having drugs on Oceanic 815), to a special concert Mrs. Widmore is putting on, in which their son will perform. Widmore gives Desmond some of his MacCutcheon Scotch Whiskey, because “nothing is too good for you.” Recall this great monologue from “Flashes Before Your Eyes”:
WIDMORE: This is a 60-year MacCutcheon, named after Anderson MacCutcheon, esteemed Admiral from the Royal Navy. He retired with more medals than any man before or since -- moved to the highlands to see out his remaining years. Admiral MacCutcheon was a great man, Hume. This was his crowning achievement. This swallow is worth more than you could make in a month. To share it with you would be a waste, and a disgrace to the great man who made it -- because you, Hume, will never be a great man.
It couldn’t be more clear, how different things are for Desmond in the two timelines.
First he hugs me, then he tries to get me drunk....I hope he isn’t trying to get to second base.
Before leaving Widmore’s office, note that one of the paintings on his wall is of a balance scale.....one side with black stones, the other with white. This is clearly a reference to the scale we saw in the seaside cave in “The Substitute”, and more importantly, symbolic of the conflict between Jacob and the Man-in-Black. Recall that in visits to Widmore’s office in the original timeline, he had a painting that included a polar bear and the word “NAMASTE” on it. Regardless of how Widmore acts towards Desmond in the sideways timeline, the painting represents a reminder of Widmore’s history with the island. I have to wonder, though, if Widmore’s cheerier disposition is due to the island being at the bottom of the ocean in the sideways timeline.
Eh...I prefer Dogs Playing Poker.
So, Desmond heads off on his quest to deliver Charlie Pace. As Desmond approaches the courthouse, we again see Desmond’s reflection in the door. After Charlie exits with his lawyer, he makes a bee-line for the bar across the street....ignoring traffic, seemingly unconcerned about being hit. Desmond follows him and joins him at the bar. The conversation quickly turns to love, but Charlie isn’t referring to sex or infatuation, “I'm talking about spectacular, consciousness-altering love.” Curious choice of words.....”consciousness-altering”....for this episode (or any Desmond episode for that matter). Charlie goes on to explain further:
CHARLIE: There was this woman, two rows in front of me, in handcuffs, sitting with a cop. He looked at me, knew I was holding. If I didn't take action I'd be caught. So I got up, went to the lav, proceeded to eliminate the evidence by swallowing my stash. And at that exact moment we hit turbulence. I choked. The entire bag of heroin is stuck in my throat. It's over, everything starts to go dark, I'm slipping into the abyss and then I see her.
DESMOND: Her?
CHARLIE: A woman. Blonde, rapturously beautiful, and I know her, we're together, it's like we've always been and always will be, this feeling, this love, and just as I'm about to be engulfed by...I open my eyes and this sodding idiot is standing there asking me if I'm okay. But I saw it....just for a moment I saw what it looked like.
This is a pretty interesting piece of dialogue. First off, we find out that Charlie was NOT trying to kill himself on the plane....it was an accident. The woman Charlie is referring to obviously is Claire (which is why I think it was important for Desmond to interact with her earlier). But why would Charlie see Claire as he is dying? One thought is that his consciousness is being transported to the island, where he met and fell in love with Claire. But in the main timeline, Charlie has already died....so how could he have consciousness there? Another idea I had returns to the notion that the Losties in the main timeline are already dead....where the island (or the entire world as I suggested a couple of weeks ago) IS THE AFTERLIFE and when Charlie dies, he is transported back there. Yet another idea is that perhaps Charlie’s death in the sideways universe would unify his soul with the one that died in the main universe (since they were split when the bomb was detonated. The Claire connection here could be that the departed Charlie watches over Claire (we’ve seen his “ghost” appear to Hurley...so he may be roaming around the island). I’ll come back to this again when we get to Desmond’s visions.
Desmond doesn’t buy what Charlie is saying about love and decides to get to the heart of the matter:
DESMOND: Right now you have a choice - you can keep on drinking, or you can come with me. Now before you make your choice, realize that if you stay here, it will very likely result in the extermination of your musical career.
CHARLIE: And if I go with you?
DESMOND: In twenty minutes you'll be luxuriating in a five star hotel, right on the harbor-front, and Charles Widmore - one of the most powerful men in this town, will owe you a favor.
CHARLIE: Doesn't really seem like a choice.
DESMOND: There's always a choice, brotha.
Here we get back to one of the central themes of the show that has been of heavy emphasis in recent weeks: choice. Now I am not going to overanalyze this exchange, because I think I’ve made my case in the last several blog editions about what choice means in relation to the series. I do want to emphasize that it is Desmond who makes the statement about choice. Remember this when we get to Desmond’s choice later.
Charlie heads out with Desmond in a rental car (you would think he would be using the limo). As they are driving past a marina (note – this is the very same marina in the background of the photo of Desmond and Penny that he carried around with him in Seasons 2 and 3), more interesting dialogue occurs:
CHARLIE: I feel sorry for you, mate. You think you're happy. You think you've got it all--this, your life. But, you don't.
DESMOND: Why, because none of it's real?
Now, we have heard the phrase “none of it’s real” before on LOST. First in Season 2’s “Orientation”, Jack said this to Locke when explaining why they didn’t need to push the button in the Swan Station. Later that same season in “Dave”, Hurley’s imaginary (or probably not so imaginary, based on what we now know about Hurley) friend tries to convince him that the island is all in his head. Both of these quotes fueled fan speculation about what is really going on. Although, in Jack’s case, he was likely wrong and Hurley’s case, he was probably being lied to. However, this time out, I suspect it is probably the truth.....the entire sideways world is not real. Just a phantom world created by someone who interceded with destiny. And I have to wonder if the course correcting universe is getting ready to fix this anomaly....with the help of one Desmond David Hume.
Charlie then decides to show Desmond what is real and what isn’t:
CHARLIE: All right, Mr. Hume. How about I offer you a choice?
DESMOND: What's that?
CHARLIE: I can either show you what I'm talking about, or you can get out of the car.
DESMOND: Why in God's name would I want to get out of the car?
And with that, Charlie grabs the wheel of the car and crashes it into the water of the marina. As the car sinks to the bottom, Desmond is able to free himself, but must go up for air before he can save the passed out Charlie. When he goes back down, Charlie appears to awaken and places his left palm on the passenger side window. (At that very moment, how many of you excitedly yelled “NOT PENNY’S BOAT”? I know I did.) And then Desmond sees that infamous phrase on Charlie’s hand as he did in Season 3’s “Through the Looking Glass” just before Charlie died. Charlie eerily returns to his seated, passed out position and Desmond is able to save him.
What’s that supposed to mean....”NOT PENNYS BUTT”?
A few thoughts on this utterly fantastic moment. To begin with, this is the first time we have actually seen a vision of the main timeline by character in the sideways timeline. And given the way Charlie acts while under water, I have to think that this was not a conscious action by Charlie, but, more likely, just part of Desmond’s vision. Also, keep in mind that in “Through the Looking Glass”, Desmond was unable to save Charlie, but here he does. In that regard it is similar to “Catch-22” and it’s preceding episodes, where Desmond attempts to change the course of destiny by saving Charlie’s life. Also, recall that in the Season 6 premiere, Charlie says to Jack, “Should'a let that happen man, I was supposed to die.” And I agree. Charlie was supposed to die in the main timeline and he is supposed to die in the sideways as well.
At the hospital, after a quick interview with a nurse, Desmond goes for an MRI. As this will subject him to electromagnetic radiation the MRI tech asks similar questions (“Are you wearing any metal? Carrying keys or change? Any metal inside your body--pacemakers, pins, bullets, steel plate inside of your head?”) to those asked by Widmore’s men (“You don't have any metal on you do you? Keys? Change?”) before they strapped him into the solenoid box. The MRI tech straps down Desmond and then tells him about the button:
DESMOND: The button?
TECHNICIAN: The panic button. You need to stop, press it. Try not to 'cause we'll have to start all over again from the beginning.
Think about how this compares to the button in the Swan Hatch....whenever Desmond pressed the button, the sequence started all over again. Hard not to like that!
A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti. SPSPSPSP.
As the MRI begins, Desmond experiences the following:
- Charlie showing him the “NOT PENNYS BOAT” hand in the “Looking Glass” station
- Penny smiling on the day he day met her
- Desmond kissing Penny
- The birth of their son, Charlie
- Charlie as a toddler on their sailboat
- More Penny kissing
This was a great moment (complete with the Desmond/Penny theme music) and clearly drives Desmond’s motivation to find Penny. But, I’d also like to throw out one more thing that struck me while watching this. I’ve never been a supporter of the Charlie Pace (Drive Shaft bassist) is Charlie Hume (Des’ son) theory....primarily because I don’t like the time-traveling kids concept. However, notice in this MRI scene that the only other people Desmond sees are his family members. Could it be possible that Charlie is Charlie? While it is more likely that Charlie Pace appears in this sequence due to the Penny note, I’d don’t want to completely dismiss the ties between the two Charlies.
Now, Desmond panics, hits the button and bolts out of there in search of Charlie Pace. After no luck at the reception desk, Desmond notices Jack....who remembers Desmond from the plane. (notice how these characters continue to run into each other....don’t mistake coincidence for fate). But before Jack can help out, Desmond, Charlie comes running down the hall trying to escape the hospital. Desmond gives chase and is able to corner him.
DESMOND: Why'd you trying to kill me?
CHARLIE: I didn't try and kill you. I was trying to show you something.
Remember the phrase “show you something”, as it is echoed later.
DESMOND: Who's Penny?
CHARLIE: I don't know. Ah. You felt it, didn't you?
DESMOND: I didn't feel anything.
Desmond is becoming a desperate man....because he did experience something....something amazing. He just hasn’t realized yet that it was the main timeline.
CHARLIE: This doesn't matter. None of this matters. All that matters is that we felt it. You wanna try and stop me, good luck.
DESMOND: Hey, where you going?
CHARLIE: If I were you I'd stop worrying about me and start looking for Penny.
Look at Charlie’s words. “This doesn’t matter. None of this matters.” This is clearly a reference to the sideways timeline. His advice is to find Penny. While Charlie may not realize it, he is advising Desmond to find his “constant”. The one person that may be able to connect sideways Desmond and island Desmond.
Desmond contacts Widmore to tell him that he was unable to get Charlie for the concert. Charles is not pleased and directs Desmond to tell Mrs. Widmore himself. So, Des takes the limo to the location of the concert (on a museum’s grounds), where preparations are underway for the festivities. There he finds, Mrs. Widmore, who turns out to be Eloise Hawking (although in the sideways she introduces herself as Eloise Widmore).
Now before I get into the meat of this very important scene, I want to pause to discuss a theory I’ve been touting for most of this season....the island DID NOT SINK when the bomb went off. We’ve seen some evidence that the island survived when Ben appeared in the sideways and when Miles referenced his father working at the museum (it was a safe assumption that this was Pierre Chang). However, Widmore and Hawking were both definitely on the island at the time of the incident, because the sub had already left the island. So, again, I wonder if the bomb didn’t sink the island, what caused it be at the bottom of the Pacific and when did this happen?
OK, back to the Desmond/Eloise scene. Note that as soon as Eloise sees Desmond, there is an instant of recognition and horror. Before Desmond even introduces himself she know EXACTLY who he is, even though she says they have never met before. (I’ll come back to this in just a moment.) Desmond explains that Drive Shaft won’t make it to the concert, but Mrs. Widmore does not seem to be troubled by this in the least and thanks Desmond for telling her in person. Desmond is baffled, but pleased and begins to exit.
On his way out, he overhears some of the party coordinators reading off the guest list, including, “Milton, Penny solo”. Desmond asks to see the list, but Eloise steps and says that he can’t and dismisses the staff so she can speak to Desmond alone.
ELOISE: Someone has clearly affected the way you see things. This is a serious problem. It is, in fact, a violation. So, whatever you’re doing, whatever it is you think you’re looking for...You need to stop looking for it.
DESMOND: Do you, do you know what I'm looking for, Mrs. Widmore?
ELOISE: I don't know why you're looking for anything? You have the perfect life. On top of it, you’ve managed to attain the thing you wanted more than anything--my husband's approval.
DESMOND: How do you know what I want?
ELOISE: Because I bloody do.
This is a hugely import exchange. We’ve seen Eloise act as a “time cop” before in “Flashes Before Your Eyes”, but perhaps her knowledge of the future is not as omniscient as it appears. Remember that she had access to Daniel Faraday’s journal before the incident. Written in that journal was information on Desmond....including Daniel’s note to himself: “If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be MY constant.” This is likely why Eloise is aware of Desmond. It could also explain why Eloise tried to convince Desmond in “Flashes Before Your Eyes” that he was not meant to marry Penny and his destiny was to push the button....because Daniel needed to come to the island to initiate the events that lead to the incident and saved Daniel in the sideways timeline (confusing, I know). Now here in this timeline, it appears she is afraid that Desmond could upset the utopia (a life with Charles and Daniel) that has been created in the sideways. Also, note the reference to a “violation”. This seems to be related to “the rules” that we often hear referred to. One of the things we will need to know before the series is done is exactly what these rules are.
If I make a scary face, maybe he will go away.
Notice as well, that we will later see Daniel and he is a musician, not a physicist. In Season 5’s “The Variable” Eloise pushed a young Daniel away from music and into physics. In the sideways, it seems that she has done the opposite. The difference is that in the main timeline Eloise believed she must preserve the course of destiny. In the sideways, she is doing whatever she can to change the course of destiny. It will be interesting to know how much, if anything sideways-Charles knows about this, or if this is Eloise pulling all the strings herself.
The one thing I find puzzling about her exchange with Desmond is how it ends:
DESMOND: I need to see that list...or you need to tell me why I can't.
ELOISE: You can't because you're not ready yet, Desmond.
DESMOND: Ready? Ready, for what?
I’m with Des....ready for what? It is obviously a very important line, but I can’t come up with a theory as to what it means yet.....so store it away until next week and we’ll see where things are going.
After his frustrating discussion with Mrs. Widmore, Desmond get in the limo and is about to leave when there is a knock at his window. Daniel is there and introduces himself as Daniel Widmore (not Faraday).
Hey Des, I wanted you to check out my new hat. Kinda goes with the skinny tie....don’t you think?
The two of them have a discussion, like Desmond’s bar discussion with Charlie, that quickly turns to love:
DANIEL: Do you believe in love at first sight, Mr. Hume?
DESMOND: Excuse me?
DANIEL: The first time I saw her, I was walking through this museum, a few weeks ago. She, she works here. She was on her lunch break. She was eating a chocolate bar. She has these incredible blue, blue eyes, red hair. And, as soon as I saw her, right, right in that moment, it was like, it was like I already loved her.
Clearly Daniel is talking about Charlotte, who we know from earlier this season, in “Recon”, works at the museum and we know from last season’s “This Place is Death”, she like’s her chocolate. Daniel’s experience is much like Charlie’s except Daniel got something more:
DANIEL: And that's when things got weird. That same night after I saw that woman, I woke up and I wrote this.
DESMOND: So what is it?
DANIEL: I'm a musician. I have no idea. So I took it to a friend of mine at Caltech. He's a math whiz. He said this is quantum mechanics. He said these equations are so advanced that only someone who'd been studying physics their entire life could have come up with them.
DESMOND: So what do they mean?
DANIEL: Okay. Imagine something, something terrible is about to happen. Something catastrophic, and the only way to stop it from happening is by releasing a huge amount of energy. Like setting off a nuclear bomb.
DESMOND: You wanna set off a nuclear bomb.
DANIEL: Just listen, what if, this, all this, what if this wasn't supposed to be our life? What if we had some other life and for some reason, we changed things? I don't want to set off a nuclear bomb, Mr. Hume. I think I already did.
Information from the main timeline is bleeding through to the sideways timeline. Notice that we are NOT seeing the reverse happening, where information from the sideways bleeds through to the main timeline. This seems to support Daniel’s suggestion that “this wasn't supposed to be our life”. Daniel changed things with the bomb and now the universe is finally course correcting.
Daniel, then proceeds to tell Desmond where he can find his half-sister Penny. Des is sent to the same stadium where he met Jack in the Season 2 premiere, “Man of Science, Man of Faith”. He finds Penny running the stadium stairs and introduces himself. When he shakes her hand....
Des is transported back to the island and the solenoid box, where he is informed that he was only out for a few seconds. Desmond has returned to the island and appears to be a transformed man.
DESMOND: You told me, you brought me here to the island to do something very important.
WIDMORE: Yeah.
DESMOND: When do we start?
It seems pretty obvious to me that Desmond will somehow be used in relation to the third pocket of energy on the map Zoe showed to Jin (see last week’s write-up). As Desmond is led away from the test site by Widmore’s people, Sayid appears takes out two of the escorts and tells Zoe to run.
SAYID: Desmond, I don’t have time to explain, but these people are extremely dangerous. We need to go, now.
DESMOND: Aye, of course. Lead the way.
Desmond....I have something important to ask you.....will you be my constant?
So it appears now that Desmond has become the crucial weapon in the Jacob/MIB/Widmore war. Perhaps whomever possesses this weapon will win. Interesting, though, that Desmond does not question Sayid. A moment earlier, he was on Team Widmore and now he willingly will go with Sayid? I’m really looking forward to seeing where Desmond’s head is.....but maybe it is in two places at once, as....
We are flashed back to the sideways universe where Desmond is told by Penny that he fainted. This is a truly beautiful scene....it is no wonder the fans love Desmond and Penny. They are the one couple that seems to project genuine love in the series. They make a date to have coffee in an hour.
Are you serious? You really don’t wear underwear with a kilt?
Desmond returns to his limo and his driver, George:
GEORGE: So, did you find what you were looking for?
DESMOND: Yes, George, I did. Corner of Melrose and Sweetzer, please.
GEORGE: You got it. And if there is anything else I can do for you, Mr. Hume, you just name it.
DESMOND: Actually, there is one thing, George. Can you get me the manifest from my fight from Sydney, Oceanic 815, just the names of the passengers?
GEORGE: Sure I can. Do you mind if I ask you what you need it for?
DESMOND: I just need to show them something.
Remember that just as Charlie needed to show Desmond something....now Desmond is the prophet who must spread the gospel according to Daniel to the Oceanic 815 passengers.
Before finishing up, let me return to a topic I touched on earlier: the sacrifice that Desmond must make. Given how the rest of the episode played out, I am wondering if perhaps one of these two possibilities is the sacrifice:
1) When Desmond interacts with the remaining pocket of energy on the island, it will perhaps transport him from the main timeline to the sideways timeline, permanently. The sacrifice here is that he would have to give up the life he has made in the main timeline and have to start over with Penny in the sideways.
2) Desmond must somehow destroy the sideways universe. How he can do this I don’t know, but it would be quite the sacrifice if it means sideways-Penny must die.
In any case, I think it is highly unlikely that Desmond himself will die (at least in both timelines). I can’t imagine the writers creating such a strong emotional bond between Desmond and the audience, just to kill him. I think most others are fair game, but I can’t see them killing Des.
Whatever the sacrifice is that Desmond must make, it will be his most important choice. As he himself said in this episode: "There's always a choice, brotha."
Here are a few misc items:
- Best line of the week goes to Desmond and Penny (not funny....just perfect):
PENNY: Have we met before?
DESMOND: I-I think we'd remembered it, if we had.
- The rabbit they were going to perform the test on is named Angstrom (a unit for wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation). Harold C. "Rabbit" Angstrom is the main character John Updike's Rabbit Series, including the well-known, “Rabbit, Run”.
- Desmond stares at the model sailboat in Widmore’s office. A sailboat is how Desmond arrived on the island.
- A sign in the back of the bar appears to say “...exceptional island colors”.
- Penny’s last name in the sideways timeline is Milton. This is likely a reference to John Milton, author of “Paradise Lost” which you can read more about in my entry on “Ab Aeterno”.
- I have a few other ideas rolling around in my brain relating the main timeline/sideways timeline connection to Heaven and Hell (or even Purgatory). I like the idea, but every time I start formulating a theory I find too many holes. I’ll keep working on it and see if anything comes up next week that helps that concept.
That is it for this week. I hope you enjoyed this week’s amazing episode.
If you are reading this on facebook, darkufo, or theganggreen, be sure check out my blog site: http://deathbyjets.blogspot.com/ and sign up to be a facebook fan or google follower.
See you next week!
No comments:
Post a Comment