Smile Politely

“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

  1. Desmond is the first (maybe only?) character to presumably merge both sideways (2004) and current (2007) personas.
  2. 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)
  3. Great to see Charlie again… especially interacting with Desmond. I just wanted to hear “You All Everybody” one more time. Nice.
  4. Penny introduced herself as Penelope Milton, not Widmore. Daniel as Daniel Widmore, not Faraday.
  5. 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!
  6. 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.
  7. I believe that Charlie turned the car into the marina where Desmond was shot by Ben.
  8. 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

  1. So is Charles Widmore = Arthur Slugworth from Willy Wonka? Good disguised as evil all this time?
  2. 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.
  3. “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

  1. The Losties might actually have a choice between their future “happily ever afters”? Discuss.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

  1. Anything with Desmond and Charlie.
  2. Desmond’s lip quivering bash of Widmore’s forehead when told he was back on the island.
  3. 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]

Post Away Friends!

More Articles