Dead is Dead, Initial Reaction

Awesome. Desmond, Penny and little Charlie aren't dead. By the time Ben told Sun, "Tell Desmond Hume I'm sorry," I was sure that at the very least, Penny was as good as dead. But, nope, they pulled the old switcheroo on us. What a relief, and hopefully they're all alive for good. I honestly think that it would be a huge mistake on the writers part to kill off one of the best character stories on the show. Not only that, but I think that it's imperative that Ben has a human side to him, that his one weakness is women and their children because of his own story. Moving on from that, I enjoyed this episode and really got into it for the first time in a few weeks.

Questions:

• If Charles Widmore didn't leave the island via frozen donkey wheel, then how did he know that the exit point was in the desert in Tunisia?
• Did Richard edge Widmore out in favor of trying to make Ben the new leader?
• What is the significance of what lies in the shadow of the statue? Is it some kind of code? Like what did one snowman say to the other snowman?
• Do Ilana and the other survivors of Ajira Flight 316 have the sickness?
• Does Ilana work for Charles Widmore or someone else?
• If Charles Widmore is the one in charge, then why does Richard Alpert speak to Jacob?
• Why did Jacob stop speaking to Richard and move on to Ben when he took over?
• How and why exactly does one take over as the leader?
• What is in that crate that Ilana and the survivors seem to be protecting?
• If Ben can summon the smoke monster, then can it come out by itself or does it have to be summoned? If so, has Ben been calling it every time it has attacked someone?
• So, the whispers are the others? Did the others control them?
• Why did Widmore want Ben to kill Rousseau?
• Why did Ethan get to join the others?
• How are Ben and Ethan with the hostiles before the purge?
• Why does Danielle Rousseau remember the story of Alex getting taken incorrectly? Why does she say that she's never seen other people on the island when she's clearly seen Jin and Ben? Is she just crazy or was she the one with the sickness?
• Did Ben really know that Locke would be resurrected when he came to the island?
• Why doesn't Ben remember that Hurley, Jack and Kate were in the Dharma Initiative in 1977? Why and how was his memory from that time erased?
• Why is the Processing Center sign still hanging in the barracks in present day?
• Does Ben know who Christian Shephard is? Was he on the island once?
• What are Locke's ideas to find Jin and the rest of them?
• So, basically you flush a toilet to summon the smoke monster? Why is Ben's house on top of it? When was it built there and why is it underneath a Dharma house?
• Who is Penelope Widmore's mother?
• Why can't Charles Widmore go back to the island but Ben can?
• Is John Locke really alive? Or is he undead like Christian Shephard?
• What is the significance of the hieroglyphics?
• Why did the smoke monster let Ben live?

Notes:

• Dead is dead, except it really isn't when you're John Locke.
• Ben has a weakness for mothers because his mother died, which is why he couldn't kill Danielle Rousseau after he realized she had a child and why he couldn't kill Penny when he discovered little Charlie on the boat.
• So, Charles Widmore as banished from the island for making regular trips off the island and mating with outsiders. Ben also made trips off the island, so he was possibly rejected by the island partly for that reason, but was too powerful to be banished.
• Ben seemed to be genuinely surprised that Locke was alive.
• It was nice to see Alex again, even if it was smokey.
• Speaking of Alex, she totally dominated Ben and scared the crap out of him.
• Desmond beat the crap out of Ben!
• Ben knows what the whispers are.
• Locke outwitting Ben is pretty fun and it's interesting that Locke finally knows more about what's happening on the island than Ben does. Who's the man now, dog?
• Also, Locke calling Ben out on being judged for Alex's death, questioning why Ben and the hostiles would move into the barracks because it doesn't seem like something the island would want, and that he didn't imagine Ben leading his people from behind a desk because it seemed a little too corporate.
• Desmond and Penny's boat was called Our Mutual Friend.
• Good bye, Caesar. It was nice not knowing anything about you.
• It was cool to see what Ben really did when he went into his secret room to summon the smoke monster and came out all dirty.
• So, Charles built Widmore Industries when he left the island, which is how he got so rich.
• If Locke is undead, that could possibly be why he knows so much about the island so suddenly, also appearing to people like Christian Shephard. Now, only to figure out what the hell is going on with Christian so it will all actually make sense.
• I loved how Ben says that he can't control what comes out of the jungle, and then John Locke appears.
• The Temple apparently has a wall around it, built by the island natives.
• Apparently Ben was planning to kill Locke again. Dude, maybe you should chill out on the killing for a while. Just listen to Alex and follow John Locke.

This episode was probably one of my favorites of this season.

3.08 Flashes Before Your Eyes

1. Desmond watches by, as Charlie and Hurley go through Sawyer's tent, Desmond wants them to come with him, to tell him about Eko's death, bring him to his grave, where Locke says they buried him yesterday, the island killed him.
2. Desmond runs to the beach out of nowhere, saves Claire, Charlie asks him how he knew.
3. "That guy sees the future, dude." Hurley
4. Desmond, looking at the photograph of him and Penny, Claire comes by to say thank you, she says Penny's beautiful.
5. Charlie plots to get Desmond drunk to find out what's going on with him, he steals a bottle of whiskey from Sawyer's stash.
6. Charlie says thank you to Desmond, that he has a peace offering, MacCuthcheon's whiskey, Desmond sees the bottle and starts laughing, agrees, says let's drink, they sing. From Lostpedia
7. They get bloody drunk, Charlie asks Desmond how he knew Claire was drowning, he says that he could hear her calling for help, Hurley says he was a mile away, Desmond says he has good hearing, Charlie asks if he hears the lightning as well, by chance he pitched his rod outside Claire's tent, then lighting strikes, Desmond doesn't want to talk about it and leaves, Charlie called him a coward, then Desmond attacks him.
8. "Hey, I don't know what you're doing--you best tell us. Oy! You think because you turned some key that makes you a hero? You're no hero, brother. I don't know how you're doing what it is you're doing, but I know a coward when I see one." Charlie
9. "You don't want to know what happened to me when I turned that key!" Desmond
10. Desmond has a flashback of what happened in the hatch, the clock, alarm going off, hieroglyphs, telling Locke see you in another life, Desmond turning to failsafe key, saying he loves Penny, he has flashes of his life, then it turns to a close-up of his eye, covered in red, paint, Penny, apartment, ice, ladders and drinking. From Lostpedia
11. Desmond's apartment, the clock is 1:08, Desmond getting dressed in a suit and tie, job from Penny's father, she says it's not the end of the world if he's too daft to see how brilliant Desmond is, he hears beeping like the computer from the hatch, but it's the microwave, Desmond tells Penny he had deja vu. From Lostpedia
12. Desmond goes to the job interview at Widmore Industries, asks for Mr. Widmore and there is a man delivering a parcel for 815, Desmond has a flash of the numbers, computer, clock. From Lostpedia
13. In Mr. Widmore's office, painting on the wall with a polar bear, a Buddha, Namaste written backwards, Mr. Widmore looks at Desmond's resume, he worked in set design at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Desmond says he looked after his 3 brothers, after his father, but then gets cutoff by Mr. Widmore, didn't graduate from University, no military experience, Desmond sees a model boat, Mr. Widmore's foundation sponsoring solo race around the world, Desmond has a flash of the sailboat, Elizabeth, the storm, dead Kelvin, Widmore says he'll give Desmond a position in the administrative department, Desmond says that he's really there to ask for his daughter hand in marriage, they've been together 2 years, she moved in, that he loves her, wants his permission, that it would mean everything to him, Mr. Widmore says he's impressed, noble gesture, he takes out a 60 year MacCutcheon, named after Anderson MacCutcheon, an esteemed Admiral from the Royal Navy, retired with more medals than any man before or since, moved to the Highlands, a great man, whiskey was his crowning achievement, pours one glass, says the swallow is worth more than Desmond can make in a month, to share it would be a waste and disgrace to the man who made it, because Desmond will never be a great man, not worthy of drinking his whiskey, certainly not worthy of his daughter. From Lostpedia
14. When Desmond leaves Widmore Industries, takes off his tie, hears music, he sees Charlie outside, playing guitar, Wonderwall.
15. "I said maybe; You're gonna be the one who saves me; Maybe; And after all; You're my wonderwall." Charlie
16. Desmond asks where he knows him from, remembers, says he's Charlie, but Charlie says it's because of his sign that says his name, Charlie Hieronymus Pace, Charlie says he'll remember if he could get some help, some money.
17. Desmond has a flash, the hatch, the button, bookshelf, getting the failsafe key, Charlie saying "Can I get some help?"
18. "Who--they--they. It--it was in the hatch. I remember seeing you. There was a--there was a computer. There was a button. We--we were on an island. No this--I remember this. This all happened before. Today--th--th--this happened today. This--I remember that he said I wasn't worthy--and then I--and then I--and then I came down and I--and I took off my tie and I--and then I lost my tie and Penny said where was it and then it started to rain and... [It starts to rain.]" Desmond is confused. From Lostpedia
19. "Your thesis is a bit neat. The wild card part which is unpredictability--run the same test 10 times, you'll get 10 different outcomes. It's what makes life so wonderfully..." Donovan
20. Desmond goes to see his friend, Donovan, they go to a pub, he asks him about time travel, tells him story about the island, Donovan is a physicist, Desmond says he's gone back in time, living his life over again, Donovan questions if the events with Mr. Widmore are influencing Desmond, he hears the Mama Cass song on the radio, Make Your Own Kind of Music, Desmond says he remember that night, Gray Bridge came from 2 goals down, Jimmy Lennon hits the bartender with a cricket bat, owes him money, but he's wrong, it doesn't happen, Donovan says no such things a time travel, to just marry Penny.
21. Desmond goes home, tells Penny he didn't get the job, that her father was lovely, Penny says they should celebrate, fate has spare him a miserable existence at Widmore Industries, lobsters at the pier, her treat, because she loves him, Desmond asks why she loves him, she says that he's a good man, and they're hard to come by.
22. Desmond goes to pick out a ring at a second hand shop, tells the woman that he's not a man of means, but he hopes someday, she picks one out, he says that he'll take it, but the ring lady says that he doesn't buy the ring, that he has second thoughts, she calls him Desmond, he wants to know how she knows his name, she says he doesn't ask Penny to marry him, that he enter a sailing race to prove her father wrong, that it brings him to the island, where he spends the next 3 years pushing the button, he sees the failsafe key. From Lostpedia
23. "This is wrong. You don't buy the ring. You have second thoughts; you walk right out that door. So, come on, let's have it." Ms. Hawking "I don't know what you're on about." Desmond "You don't buy the ring, Desmond." Ms. Hawking "How do you know my name?" Desmond "Well, I know your name as well as I know that you that don't ask Penny to marry you. In fact, you break her heart. Well, breaking her heart is, of course, what drives you in a few short years from now to enter that sailing race, to prove her father wrong, which brings you to the island where you spend the next 3 years of your life entering numbers into the computer until you are forced to turn that failsafe key. And if you don't do those things, Desmond David Hume, every single one of us is dead. So give me that sodding ring." Ms. Hawking
24. Across from the London Underground, Ms. Hawking and Desmond talk over chestnuts, there is a man in red shoes that she points out, Desmond says she's part of his subconscious, that there is no island, no button, a building nearby collapses on the man in the red shoes, Desmond says she knew it would happen.
25. "Because it wouldn't matter. Had I warned him about the scaffolding tomorrow he'd be hit by a taxi. If I warned him about the taxi, he'd fall in the shower and break his neck. The universe, unfortunately, has a way of course correcting. That man was supposed to die. That was his path just as it's your path to go to the island. You don't do it because you choose to, Desmond. You do it because you're supposed to." Ms. Hawking "I'm going to meet Penny in an hour. I've got the ring, she'll say yes. I can choose whatever I want." Desmond "You may not like your path, Desmond, but pushing that button is the only truly great thing that you will ever do." Ms. Hawking
26. On his way to meet Penny, Desmond passes an advertisement for the Royal Scots Army. From Lostpedia
27. Desmond meets Penny on the Thames, they pass a man taking photographs, says it's something to show the grand kids, they take a photograph in front backdrop of a marina scene, Desmond has no money to pay for the photograph, 5 quid, but Penny does, which causes Desmond to have an epiphany. From Lostpedia
28. "I can't do this." Desmond
29. Desmond says that Penny deserves someone better, that loves isn't enough. Penny is very upset and tells him to admit that he's a coward.
30. "It's all happening too soon -- you moving in. You're painting rooms; you're changing things. I don't even like red. Why would you leave your flat, your expensive flat..." Desmond "[slapping Desmond's face] Don't do that. Don't you pretend you don't care. And don't you dare rewrite history. I left my expensive flat because you were too proud to live there, remember? If you want me to go, if you want me to leave, then don't make this about what I do or don't deserve. And have the decency to admit that you're doing this because you're a coward." Penny "I'm sorry, Pen, but this--we're not supposed to be together." Desmond
31. Penny leaves, and Desmond throws the ring in the water. From Lostpedia
32. Desmond goes back to the pub, he sees the MacCutcheon's whiskey behind the bar, but asks for a pint of the cheapest they have, he tells the bartender that he made the biggest mistake of his life, the worst part is that he thinks he's made it before, the bartender tells him that it's deja vu, he hears the song again, Make Your Own Kind of Music, Gray Bridge comes from 2 goals down, Desmond realizes that he had the wrong night, Jimmy Lennon comes in with cricket a bat.
33. "I had the wrong night. I was right. I was off by a night. I heard the song and then--I remember this. I'm not crazy. I can still change things. I can still change it." Desmond
34. "Duck, brotha." Desmond says, then he gets cracked with the cricket bat.
35. Desmond wakes up in the jungle after the hatch implosion, he sees the photograph of him and Penny on the ground.
36. "Please, let me go back. Let me go back one more time. I'll do it right. I'll do it right this time. I'm sorry, Penny. I'll change it. I'll change it." Desmond
37. Desmond flashes back to when he attached Charlie, Hurley pulls him off, Desmond tells Charlie he's a good man, tells him what happened, that he was saving him, not Claire, that he's going to die, that he drowned trying to save Claire. From Lostpedia
38. "When I turned that key my life flashed before my eyes. And then I was back in the jungle and still on this bloody island. But those flashes, Charlie--those flashes--they didn't stop." Desmond "So, you're telling me you saw a flash of Claire drowning this morning--that's how you knew how to save her?" Charlie "I wasn't saving Claire, Charlie, I was saving you. This morning you dove in after Claire. You tried to save her but you drowned." Desmond "What are you talking about? I didn't drown." Charlie "When I saw the lightening hit the roof you were electrocuted. And when you heard Claire was in the water you--you drowned trying to save her. I dove in myself so you never went in. I've tried, brother. I've tried twice to save you, but the universe has a way of course correcting and--and I can't stop it forever. I'm sorry. I'm sorry because no matter what I try to do you're going to die, Charlie." Desmond

Questions:

1. Did Desmond time travel?
2. Did Desmond really meet Charlie in the past? If so, why didn't either of them remember?
3. Did Thomas paint the painting in Mr. Widmore's office?
4. Has Desmond met Ms. Hawking before? How does she know about him?
5. Why does Desmond have to push the button? Why would everyone die?
6. How did Penny get a copy of the photograph?
7. Why did Desmond go back to the island when the cricket bat hit him?
8. Why did the failsafe key and the hatch implosion make Desmond have flashes?
9. Could Desmond have changed what happened?
10. What happened to Desmond's brothers? His father? Are they okay?

Favorites:

1. "He would want us to ransack his tent and take his stash? Yeah, that sounds exactly like Sawyer." Hurley "Well, he stole all this in the first place. I mean, people need food. They need medical supplies. They need--[Charlie looks down and sees a stack of magazines] shocking amounts of pornography."
2. "Dude, you okay? Hey guys, what's wrong with Desmond?" Hurley
3. "I don't buy this precognitive insanity rubbish. Look, if the bearded wonder could predict the future he wouldn't have ended up here, would he?" Charlie
4. "You do realize he's going to know your plan before you even come up with it, dude." Hurley "In that case, we're going to have to get him really bloody drunk." Charlie
5. "Alright then, let's have it. No, the bottle, brother. I mean, if you've come to drink, let's drink." Desmond
6. "Hey, do you know any songs about drinking and fighting and girls with one leg?" Hurley "Well, girls with one leg and a heart of gold." Charlie and Desmond
7. "Well, what's happening is the result of combining ladders, painting a ceiling, and alcohol. Are you okay? You nauseous?" Penny "This is my flat?" Desmond "Mmm-hmm, although, if you want me to feel at home you might start calling it our flat. How many fingers, Des? [he looks around, awestruck] Love, look at me. What's wrong?" Penny
8. "We are on an island, mate. This is England." Charlie
9. "That's why we don't do drugs." Charlie
10. "Case in point, who could have known that a drenched Scotsman would appear in this rotunda?" Donovan
11. "Which part? The island full of mysterious hatches? Or the computer which keeps the world from ending?" Donovan
12. "Alright, then--what happens next?" Donovan "It doesn't work like that. I don't remember everything, just--just bits and pieces." Desmond "How wonderfully convenient." Donovan
13. "You smell like a pub." Penny "That's because I was at the pub." Desmond
14. "Do you like chestnuts?" Ms. Hawking "What?" Desmond
15. "Just thought it was a bold fashion choice worth noting." Ms. Hawking
16. " Oh, come on, Des, let's do it--for all those grandkids." Penny
17. "Ah, I love the Alps." Desmond "Oh, I hate the Alps." Penny

Notes:

1. Guitar in case, Charlie, not sign.
2. Ms. Hawking is a reference to Stephen Hawking.
3. The man wearing red shoes who has a building fall on top of him is a reference to The Wizard of Oz.
4. Flashes Before Your Eyes aired on Valentine's Day 2007. How appropriate.
5. How Henry Ian Cusick has not won an Emmy, I really don't know.
6. Desmond and Penny's storyline often makes me unable to distinguish the difference between the show, fantasy and the real world, because I get so caught up in it. This episode still makes me head hurt, even after watching about a billion times, and I love it nonetheless.