“I just need to show them something…”
WHAT HAPPENED
At the end of season 2 we witnessed the implosion of the Hatch/Swan. We saw Desmond's consciousness roll back in time, his first encounter with Ms. Hawking and learned he somehow could withstand a major elrctromagnetic event. Last night, Desmond made his triumphant return and was forced to survive (another) electromagnetic event at the hands of his father-in-law. Was it all for the right reasons? Unless Desmond helped him, Charles said, ''Penny, your son, and everyone else will be gone. Forever.''
FACTS CONFIRMED
- Desmond is the first (maybe only?) character to presumably merge both sideways (2004) and current (2007) personas.
- Season 6 Desmond time-flashing episode was another in a long series of really strong Desmond centered episodes (See: S4 The Constant and S3 Flashes Before Your Eyes)
- Great to see Charlie again... especially interacting with Desmond. I just wanted to hear "You All Everybody" one more time. Nice.
- Penny introduced herself as Penelope Milton, not Widmore. Daniel as Daniel Widmore, not Faraday.
- Great to see Daniel Faraday (er, Widmore) and his big haired ma (Eloise) again as well...most of our favorite time travelling doctors and subjects were present!
- On Widmore's office wall, there's a painting of a scale with a white rock and a black rock, remember the scale from Man In Black's cave?There's also a framed ship that looks like the Elizabeth — the ship that Desmond sailed to the island on.
- I believe that Charlie turned the car into the marina where Desmond was shot by Ben.
- Penny was running the stadium stairs that Jack and Desmond were both running when they first met in "Man of Science, Man of Faith."
BURNING QUESTIONS
- So is Charles Widmore = Arthur Slugworth from Willy Wonka? Good disguised as evil all this time?
- Is Eloise like Desmond? Can she see other worlds? Is she aware of what's happening? In the original world, Desmond really did want Widmore's approval more than anything. Now he's got it... but he doesn't have Penny. She points out that he got what he wanted, but he lost what he had.
- "I just need to show them something." Desmond says. If Desmond is the first character to presumably merge both sideways and current personas, do we assume that he now retains all of the memories of both men?
THEORIES TO DISCUSS
- The Losties might actually have a choice between their future "happily ever afters"? Discuss.
- Desmond's ''talent'' is to help each castaways open up a psychic channel for the crossing to occur. Sideways Desmond has to work his people and Island Desmond has to work his people - both iterations of the individual has to agree to create the channel. (e.g If Sideways Jack doesn't want to merge with Island Jack, is isn't going to happen). Discuss.
- Daniel tells Desmond that he and many others are not living the lives they're supposed to be leading — a consequence, he believed, of creating a new reality by detonating a nuclear bomb. ''I don't want to set off a nuclear bomb, Mr. Hume,'' Daniel said. ''I think I already did.'' Remember what Young Daniel Faraday told his mother in the episode entitled ''The Variable'' when she informed him that she wanted him to stop studying piano and start focusing his genius on physics. He could do both, he insisted. "I can make time." Discuss.
FAVORITE SCENES
- Anything with Desmond and Charlie.
- Desmond's lip quivering bash of Widmore's forehead when told he was back on the island.
- George Minkowski makes an appearance as Sideways-Desmond's Limo Driver last night. Minkowski, if you don't remember, was the communications officer aboard the freighter who eventually died nosebleed style. Hermann Minkowsi (1864-1909) was a German mathematician. The space which is named after him is a mathematical construct in which Einstein's equations for special relativity are perfectly solvable. Specifically, "Minkowski space" is a description of four-dimensional space-time.
[Thanks to Doc Jensen and Nikki Stafford as usual]
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8 comments
i agree, adam. the desmond episodes are always the best ones.
he went so willingly with sayid at the end… i wonder if he plans to begin his work or “showing them something” immediately? how does he plan to do this? is there another way besides near death experiences?
did charles widmore know that charlie had had one of these experiences… and did he therefore have desmond look after him for a reason? did he expect charlie to try to show him the “something?”
Elaine - I’ll have to do more research…I can’t recall any scenes with Desmond as a boy…as Gillian says here, Desmond episodes are the best so one more Desy episode to give us a little more background would be rad, but we may be running out of episodes. So you think Widmore is good? I kind of love that. Anyone else?
Gillian - really like your idea here that Charles Widmore (and Eloise?) knew Charlie would be able to show Desmond what he needed to see and intentionally set him up to chauffeur Charlie for this reason (not so Faraday could rawk out with him).
The thing is, since Eloise is so against Desmond looking for Penny, or “searching” for anything, it would seem unlikely that she’d recommend Charlie to Charles. At the same time, since she does seem to understand what’s going on, why didn’t she try to prevent Charlie and Desmond from talking?
Wouldn’t it be incredible if Charles and Eloise were actually controlling evertything, instead of Jacob and the Man in Black?
Tracy, I think you may be onto something with your last point. Widmore can come and go to the Island as he pleases, it would seem. Eloise can determine the exact time-space coordinates to reach the Island. Jacob and the Man in Black are confined to the Island. Looking at it from that perspective, it would make sense that Charles and Eloise are somehow in control of everything.
To take it further (and maybe this is too much of a stretch), why can’t the Man in Black leave the Island (at least without killing the candidates/bringing the candidates with him/whatever his true intentions may be) while Jacob was free to roam around L.A. speaking with the candidates in the final episode of season 5? Seems to me that if Widmore was REALLY in control, he would allow this to happen (through some kind of “divine” permission) and offer the means for it (his submarine). I am beginning to suspect, as Adam posited, that Widmore may not be all bad and, perhaps, has some sort of loose alliance with Jacob.
Theories aside, I suspect we may be on the verge of a very big revelation that will explain the relationship between Widmore-Eloise and Jacob-Man in Black.
Yes, Anthony! And Charles allowing Jacob to leave, while keeping the Man in Black trapped, would also explain why there’s such animosity between him and the Man in Black.
we’ve watched donnie darko a couple of times lately, and i’m seeing some parallels, espescially as they pertain to desmond. in the movie, at the beginning, an airplane engine crashes into donnie’s house, and at that moment, reality splits. um, i’m not sure how much i should talk about the plot here, because it is an excellent movie, and required viewing if you are a lost fan. i’ll leave it at that.
Tracy/Anthony - great string here on the potential relationship between Widmore/Hawking and Jacob/MIB…what will the island hierarchy ultimately look like? ...and we once thought Ben and Richard were at the top…never know…
Gillian - Donnie Darko is one of the few movies I still own. It is, as you posted, required viewing. There is almost as much analysis of DD as there are LOST theories…and some that even examine the two side-by-side. This would certainly be a good post-LOST discussion.
Tom A
Widmore was so adamant against Desmond being with Penny in the original reality. If he has some sort of control over the island (whether or not he’s a force for good), it must fit into his plan somehow. Any ideas how?
It does seem to meet the “happily ever after” theme. Desmond gets approval from Widmore (although without Penny). And for Widmore’s “happily ever after”, Desmond isn’t with Penny.
How does this tie in with Desmond in the hatch?
The “not penny’s boat” scene in the underwater car was fantastic.
Although Desmond is one of my favorite characters, I find it disappointing that he shows up before Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Google.
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