I returned to my note-taking ways last night. After all, it was a Desmond-centric episode, which meant it would be full of riches, yes? Well, indeed it was. Speaking of Desmond, can you believe I actually coveted a rookie shortstop in my fantasy baseball league this season simply because his name was Ian Desmond? Stupid, I know, but that’s how much I love Des on LOST. His episodes are always fantastic, and even though “Happily Ever After” was somewhat confusing (or was it all that beer I drank?), it certainly didn’t disappoint. And much like Richard’s episode, “Happily Ever After” was nearly entirely flashback. Er, flash-sideways. You get it. So, let’s get right into it, beginning with…
1. The Eye of the Storm. Well, the eye of Desmond Hume, anyway. We open with, well, Desmond’s open eye. (This technique, incidentally, never gets old, and I think it’s more relevant to all of LOST than simply being a recurring motif. The eye not only hints to us, the audience, as to whose story is being told, but it says something about perception. To think of it in a literary fashion, the opening eye is akin to the narrator. In a literal and figurative sense, the eye is the window into how the story will be told. In other words, it’s a rather heady and well-utilized technique on the show, as it also promises us that what we’re seeing might not be what’s happening, but how the character – the narrator – perceives it.) He finds himself in a sick bay of sorts where he’s being monitored by Zoe. Widmore appears in the room and asks if Des recalls being shot by Ben, which he does. He promises Des that both Penny and his son (who he never calls by name, even though we know it’s “Charlie”) are safe. Widmore tells Des he brought him back to the island, prompting Des to attack Widmore, resulting in a gash on Charles’ head (not unlike the ones on both Sun’s and Jin’s heads). Widmore apologizes, but reminds him that “the island isn’t done with you.” Jin has been watching from outside the room and wants to know why Desmond is there. Widmore wants Desmond ready for “the test” immediately, even though it is ahead of schedule, according to Zoe. The Kate and Allie kid throws the switch, but it’s a no-go. Some of Widmore’s men try to assess the problem, while we see the caged bunny Angstrom waiting for his turn in the machine. (A couple things to note: Angstrom is the name of the main character in several John Updike books, including Rabbit, Run and Rabbit Redux. Also, the rabbit is another recurring motif on LOST, as I’ve pointed out on numerous occasions. Not only has the rabbit popped up in a variety of forms, but the caged rabbit in particular has been the testing subject of both the Dharma Initiative and Ben Linus and company.) One of the goons is checking out some type of electromagnetic “machine” inside a small room when another goon figures out the problem and flips the switch, resulting in the first goon being fried and killed by the release of energy. Oops. Good henchmen are so hard to find. From there we go to…
2. Back to the Future.
The body of the fried goon is pulled from the test room on a stretcher. Widmore examines him quickly, though I’m unsure as to what he was looking for. Des is dragged inside the room and strapped to a chair. (And was it just me or did the room, particularly with the single chair inside, somehow resemble the inside of Jacob’s cabin? I couldn’t go over that, but maybe it was simply my misguided perception.) They make sure Desmond is free of any metal (a la the below-ground testing area for time travel explored by Ben and Locke back in season 4, I believe). Widmore tells Des that his son (Farraday) died for the sake of this island. If Widmore isn’t able to test and confirm his theory about Des, everyone Des cares about “will be gone…forever.” Again, notice like last week that Widmore doesn’t say everyone will be killed; rather, he uses expressions like “cease to be” and “gone forever.” It’s got a total Back to the Future ring to it, no? The whole bit with Marty and his siblings disappearing from the photograph? Widmore points out that he desperately wants Des to survive this electromagnetic event, or they’ll all die. Okay, I suppose that was more direct. Widmore and company exit the room. The machine is activated, and Desmond seems to almost disappear, as if he was molecularly disassembled, only to find himself in…
3. LAX. A very dapper Desmond is looking over an Oceanic board of incoming flight information for baggage claim (and I might have been mistaken, but I think several of the numbers were visible on the board). [UPDATE: I can’t believe I forgot this, but I must have been too busy looking at the numbers on the board. Desmond sees his reflection in the Oceanic flight board. Duh! This means he saw his reflection twice in this episode.] Hurley, who recognizes Desmond from the flight, tells them their luggage is coming in on carousel 4 (number). Desmond finds himself helping none other than pregnant Claire with her luggage, telling her be “bets it’s a boy.” Oh, how right you are, Desmond. He is met by his driver, George Minkowski, who is holding a sign reading, “HUME.” We haven’t seen George since – naturally – “The Constant,” perhaps my favorite LOST episode ever and also a Desmond episode. In that episode, we finally met George Minkowski, only to see him die. In the limo, Desmond tells George he was in Sydney closing a deal for his boss, who I rightly assumed was none other than Charles Widmore. Des is brought to Widmore’s office, where the two are not only business associates but friends. In the background is a painting of a scale, which not only calls back to “The Substitute,” but is itself a recurring theme on the show (balance). We don’t cut away, but the next sequence is rather long, so post-commercial we return to…
4. Charles in Charge.
Des is in Widmore’s office admiring his model of a boat (of course). Widmore makes reference to his son who’s a musician (we recall Daniel Farraday plays piano), and says that he’s incorporating a rock band’s music into the piece he’s working on for Widmore’s wife’s gala. Widmore asks if Des is familiar with Driveshaft, as their bass player was arrested. Widmore needs Des to get Charlie out of police custody and to the event. He tells Des he envies him, as he’s got “no family, no commitment.” In other words, Des isn’t married to Penny here, nor does he have a son, obviously. The two share a glass of MacCutcheon, the beverage so associated with Des and Charles. (Let’s realize, too, that we’re watching, in a way, three generations of “Charles” in this scene, as we’re seeing Charles Widmore referencing Charlie Pace to Desmond, whose son in the actual storyline is Charlie Hume. Again, this is not accidental; not a chance.) Actually, let’s break this up further, where we then find…
5. The Man in the Mirror.
Des pulls up to the courthouse and as he approaches the entrance, he catches his reflection in the building itself. Charlie is led out by an officer and freed into Des’ custody. Rather than stopping, Charlie crosses the street, oblivious to the traffic, and makes his way into a bar. (What do we make of this? That is, did Charlie know he wouldn’t be hit by a car? Did Charlie know he wouldn’t die? Is this a callback to season 3, when Des kept reminding that no matter what Charlie did to avoid it, he was going to die?) Des sits next to Charlie in the bar and has a drink with him. Charlie asks if he’s in love, and points out that he just “doesn’t see it.” He tells Des of what happened on the plane, of how he tried to hide his stash in his mouth when the plane hit turbulence. The bag stuck in his throat and that’s when he saw her – a blonde – and it was like they’d always been together. “I knew her,” he says, still describing Claire (at least, we know he’s describing Claire), and then he opened his eyes. In other words, in his moment closest to death, it was as though Charlie not only found his “purpose,” but was someplace else. It begs the question as to what is real: this place, where a person can walk through oncoming traffic without being hit by a car/killed, or that place in his “dream,” where he saw and knew the love of his life, the person he’d always been with? Des tells Charlie he has a choice (again, choices): keep drinking or come with him. He goes on to say, “There’s always a choice, brutha.” The two get in Desmond’s car and Driveshaft is on the radio. Charlie points out that none of this is real, before grabbing the wheel and steering the car into the harbor (same harbor where Des was shot by Ben?). Des frees himself beneath the water but can’t free Charlie. He goes back down and looks into Charlie’s window, when Charlie suddenly places the palm of his hand against it, calling back to the season 3 finale “Through the Looking Glass” not only for us, but for Desmond. Des is suddenly jostled into a memory he doesn’t quite recognize, of seeing “Not Penny’s Boat” written on Charlie’s hand. He manages to free Charlie and pulls him to safety. We then move to…
6. A Penny for Your Thoughts.
Sure, it’s a really bad pun, but it was also the name of a Twilight Zone episode starring Dick York, so my cred’s intact. Des is being examined by a doctor (do we know her?) and asked if there are any hallucinations. He says he’s fine, but she orders an MRI nonetheless. Before getting into the machine, he’s asked if he’s got any metal on him. Hmmm. So Des is getting into an electromagnetic machine and must first be freed of metal, just like we saw at the beginning of the episode? The nurse points out that Desmond has no family or friends listed on his contact sheet. He straps Desmond down and hands him a panic button to push should he freak out, and there’s no getting around the association of Desmond and buttons. That is never coincidental. Once in the MRI, his “memories” come flashing back. He suddenly recalls Penny, Charlie Pace, and his son. He pushes the button and frantically searches for Charlie. Reaching the desk, he bumps into Dr. Jack Shephard, and the two recognize each other from the flight. Suddenly, Charlie goes running down the hall in a hospital gown. Des catches up to him and Charlie says, “I was trying to show you something.” Des wants to see Charlie’s hands, but they are “blank,” so to speak. Desmond asks who Penny is, and Charlie responds, “You felt it.” He tells Desmond that “none of this matters,” and now that he’s felt it he needs to start looking for Penny. From there we continue sideways to…
7. Paradise Lost.
Charles Widmore is on the phone, less than happy to hear that Desmond lost Charlie. Des arrives at the gala of Widmore’s wife, none other than Eloise Hawking, who is in the midst of chastising her staff over the flatware layout for her guests. (Two things: we can see Faraday in the background at the piano and Eloise’s hair looks absolutely ridiculous.) Des delivers the bad news about Charlie and Driveshaft, to which Eloise merely brushes it off and speaks to the unpredictability of things, going so far as to utter, “Whatever happened, happened.” Des is on his way out when he overhears the staff discussing the guest list, specifically one “Milton, Penny.” Here Penny does not share Widmore’s last name. Furthermore, I can’t help but think this is an allusion to none other than John Milton, author of the epic, book-length poem Paradise Lost, which is rampant with Genesis, Satan, and all kinds of LOST themes and motifs. Desmond wants to see the guest list, but Eloise tells him to stop, that it’s a violation. She points out that he has already attained what he wanted more than anything: Charles Widmore’s approval. Interesting, in that this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Eloise alter Desmond’s perception of what is real, nor is it the first time she seemed to have information on Desmond that he didn’t have himself. Again, this all calls back to their conversation in the pawn shop, when she told Desmond that he wouldn’t buy the ring for Penny. Frustrated and confused, Desmond makes his way to leave and gets in his limo when there is a knock at the window. The knocking hand belongs to Faraday, who introduces himself as Daniel Widmore. [UPDATE: I totally missed this and have to credit the folks over at The Transmission for pointing this out, but we see Daniel’s reflection in the limo window. Duh! Granted, it’s not a case of him really looking at himself.] Interesting, then, that in this timeline it is Faraday who is recognized as a Widmore, not Penny. We continue then to…
8. The Notebook.
Daniel asks Des if he believes in love at first sight. Daniel references a chocolate bar-eating redhead (Charlotte) he is in love with, yet doesn’t really know. (Again, if you recall in “This Place Is Death,” the last thing out of Charlotte’s mouth was that she wasn’t allowed to eat chocolate. Nice.) Faraday shows Des his notebook, specifically several formulas he wrote down yet doesn’t understand. He had to have the formulas explained, which translated to “blowing up reality” with a nuclear bomb, more or less. And then Daniel asked a very telling question: “What if this wasn’t supposed to be our life?” (The ramifications are endless. That is, what is “this”? What is the life he’s referring to? The sideways “reality”? The island “reality”? Any of it? What’s real? I mean, here we have Desmond in the sideways reality, yet it was generated by the on-island machine. It wouldn’t be all that odd, save for the fact that the other folks from the island are in this reality, and they remember Desmond (Jack and Hurley) from the plane. So, does this once again speak to perception? That is, is Desmond merely an unreliable narrator creating his own sideways reality, or this sideways reality the same one the other people have been experiencing all season long?) Daniel points out that Des asked about Penny because he felt love. Daniels says she’s his half-sister, and he can tell Desmond where to find her. We then go to…
9. The Stadium. Des arrives at the stadium, the same stadium where he met Jack way back in season 2. Penny is running the steps at night, just as he and Jack were. He introduces himself to Penny, and just as the two reach out and their hands touch (which, by the way, is interesting, the whole hand-touching thing. If you recall, the idea of holding hands has occurred a couple times this season, only it typically “failed.” That is, FLocke offered his hand to both Kate and Sun, yet both refused. However, last week Jack offered his hand to Sun, and she took it. Here we have hands being connected, and what should happen but)…
10. The Return of the Prodigal Son.
Desmond awakes back in the test chamber. Widmore is happy to see that he’s alive, and points out he was only “gone” a few seconds. Widmore points out how important Desmond is to their mission, only to have Desmond interrupt and point out that he is willing to cooperate in any way necessary. Zoe and a couple goons escort Des away, unable to understand why Des is now so cooperative. Desmond has kind of a stupid grin on his face, suggesting that he is fully aware of what just happened to him, and realizing, perhaps, that he has figured out how to “be” with Penny. Just then, Sayid appears out of the bushes and dispatches of the goons rather quickly. He tells Zoe to go and informs Desmond he must come with him. Rather than being panicked, Desmond simply tells Sayid to “lead the way.” With that, we return to…
11. The Second Revival. Desmond awakes (again) and finds that he’s still in the stadium with Penny. She tells him he fainted and asks if they’ve met before. They get to talking and Desmond asks if she’ll meet him for – what else? – coffee. She is hesitant to do so, as she’s been running, but he convinces her based on the fact that he looks foolish in having just passed out. Desmond returns to the limo where Minkowski asks him whether he found what he was looking for. Des says he did, and asks if George can get him a copy of the passenger list from Oceanic 815. George says he can. A pleased Desmond tells him, “I need to show them something.” With that, we finish up with…
12. Happily Ever After.
Okay, let the confusion begin. That is, what has Desmond finally come to realize? What is the suggestion with “Happily Ever After”? I mean, those three words are the quintessential end to any fairy tale, yes? But here we haven’t seen the ending. Or have we? Does Desmond’s sudden realization of what just took place make him realize that he has, in fact, discovered that the ending is one of his own choosing? Let me explain further. After touching Penny’s hand, we see Desmond “awake” in the main storyline, where he is, as I pointed above, almost happy and ready to do whatever is asked of him. Why? Perhaps because he realizes that he now has a choice, just as he told Charlie that everyone has a choice. Perhaps he suddenly realizes that he can control his leaping consciousness, and that his mind can remain in the “sideways” storyline. In other words, what we’re seeing in the sideways reality may very well become the reality. Why? Because we ended with it. That is, the episode could have ended on Desmond being led away by Sayid, and yet it returned to the stadium, where Desmond awoke again and seemed fully lucid. What’s more, he had a plan in that “reality”: to find the flight manifest. And why, pray tell, would he want the passenger list of Oceanic 815? My guess is “wake them” as he was woken. Desmond might be Faraday’s constant, but it seems pretty clear, in more ways than one, that Penny is Desmond’s constant. No, not just in the scientific, time-traveling sense, but in the sense that she is the one thing that never changes for Des. His life and all its meaning is tied to the love of this woman, and in the end, as promised, LOST is a show about people, and it is, perhaps, one long love story.
I’m sure many of you have thoughts and comments on this episode, so by all means let’s hear them. Hit me up here on the blog and let me know where I’ve gone astray. Furthermore, after writing about this episode, I realize just how much more I liked it.
Until next time, have at it, you vultures!
BD
Cousin Brandon's Mr. Hipster Blog 
my thoughts:
1. I guess my first response is how can you say that you didn’t really enjoy last week’s episode because it didn’t move the island plot story along at all and yet this episode you enjoyed when the island storyline was once again not really moved along at all as well? Just curious there. I enjoyed the episode but I didn’t think it was a good one.
2. The goon thing was just stupid (here, i’ll just flip the switch before someone tells me i’m allowed to) but I guess Lost was just trying to show us that if you’re not equipped to handle EMP you’re going to die.
3. My initial instinct when Widmore told Desmond that Penny would cease to be was that the sideways flash is if Smokey got off the island. But then thinking later, the people against Smokey keep saying that if Smokey gets off, things will be worse and yet in the sideways flash, the world doesn’t seem to be filled with evil and oru characters seem relatively happy, so I’m not sure anymore.
3. Widmore also mentioned that he lost a son to the island. Is he referring to when Faraday dies on the island? Or did he have another child as well?
4. It seems to me that Charlie has a death wish now just so he can be reuinted with his dream girl (Claire obviously). So I figured that’s why he just walked blindly into traffic and crashed the car into the water. One thought though was that Charlie said the agent with Kate knew that Charlie was holding. I don’t remember that at all from the 1st episode this season.
5. I’m not really sure how to interpret Desmond’s mind powers. Obviously, he can transcend time/space. I think the bottom line is that Desmond discovers that no matter what, he’ll find a way to find Penny.
6. What I can’t really figure out is how Elouise knows so much in the sideways flash. She seems to still be conscious of everything that’s going on. I need more explanation here. At least with Faraday he’s still trying to figure things out and how he knows stuff that he shouldn’t.
7. Can’t really think of anything about why Desmond wants the flight manifesto other than maybe he now has memories from the island timeline implanted into his head in the sideways flash and now he’s going to be the key to either ending on the other timelines or converging them into one.
That’s it for now.
By: dochielomn on April 7, 2010
at 9:52 am
1. Because this episode dealt with the overriding story arc of the ENTIRE SERIES!!! Watching another Jin/Sun episode was fine, but nothing really happened in terms of story advancement. “Happily Ever After” will be key to LOST as a whole, mark my words.
2. Totally agree. These are “scientists” brought to the island. The guy who flipped the switch wasn’t just a goon, as he pointed out he figured out the problem. He was in the know, and yet casually flipped it nonetheless. Stupid. Why I get the reason for doing so, still ridiculous.
3. Yes, he’s referring to Faraday.
4. That could have been Charlie’s paranoia talking. And, yeah, he may have a deathwish to be with Claire. Any chance he drove the car into the harbor to trigger Des’ memory?
6. Perhaps Eloise is special, too. Perhaps she has discovered “consciousness” in this sideways reality, which is essentially what’s happening to Des.
7. I think he wants it to “wake” the others and prove that they have a choice. Something like that.
Great comments as always, Sir.
By: cousinbrandon on April 7, 2010
at 10:02 am
I’m sure this episode is going to be more important especially if you’re right and Desmond is going to contact the other Losties in the sideways flash to try to “wake them up”. But in terms of the island story line, nothing really happened. They zapped Desmond with a massive dose of EMP, he survived and said he would help Widmore (which we don’t know how) and then Sayid shows up and “steals” Desmond. That’s the island portion recapped in this episode.
I would argue that the story advancement in the previous episode was showing us how the island is getting ready for a war- Widmore vs. FLocke and Richard and company vs. FLocke. The sideways flash just reinforced that Jin and Sun are in love and connected the dots with the Sayid episode as well as the 1st episode of the season. But not trying to really start a discussion on which episode was better because it’s all a matter of opinion adn personal taste anyways, :).
As for Charlie driving the car into the water on purpose to trigger something in Desmond, doesn’t he admit that he basically did do that for partially that purpose as well? I’m not really sure if we’re gonna see Charlie anymore but his I guess if we did, it would be curious to see his behavior and if he went down a destructive path. Personally, I think it’s better if now Charlie does have a death wish because it then goes back to the island story about how no matter what, Charlie was suppose to die.
And, I don’t think I’m gonna get it, but I still need more explanation on Eloise and what her exact role is in the grand scheme of things. Is she just like the Delphi Oracle in the greek mythologies?
By: dochielomn on April 7, 2010
at 10:36 am
Right, but who cares? That is, the whole island story takes place in the span of 20 minutes or so of their time. How much “forward action” were we going to get? What matters is what happened to Desmond, and diffuse his story with bits and pieces of the island story interspersed would have sucked. The more Desmond the better, I always say.
As far as the last episode, all I can say is, “So?” I mean, we knew this war was coming, and we knew Jin and Sun were in love. Okay. Thanks for coming.
See my comments to a. regarding Eloise.
By: cousinbrandon on April 7, 2010
at 11:18 am
I love love love this episode. It has so many things going for it. I also noticed the picture of the scales in Widmore’s office immediately. And something that Matt pointed out was the fact that this was the first episode that suggested that the two story lines are happening SIMULTANEOUSLY, as opposed to two completely separate time lines. This is the first time, other than confused looks in reflected images, where characters come in contact with elements from their Island lives and recognize them as what they are.
Eloise’s scenes in particular hint at a look at the larger picture. She seems to be fully aware that there are two time lines here. She knows that Desmond and Penny were together, and now they shouldn’t be in this particular reality, or rather, “he’s not ready for it yet,” whatever that means. Her comment was also really interesting, about Des finally achieving what he always wanted, Widmore’s approval. He only wanted it because of Penny – without Penny, Widmore’s approval is empty.
One thing that bothered me, however. It seems that only the people who were deeply in love seemed to receive this wake-up call. Sometimes it involved a near death experience, but in Daniel’s situation, all it took was a glance across the way. It really makes you wonder if Jack and Kate, or even Sawyer and Kate, love each other. None of them experience the time-shifting-everything-has-changed moment that Charlie, Des and Daniel did. What about all of those Oceanic-ers (Oceanians? Oceanic-peoples?) who had no great loves?
And you’re right. Eloise’s hair was ridiculous. It could have doubled as some albino-flavored cotton candy. That’s how the richie-riches roll.
By: a. on April 7, 2010
at 9:53 am
Some great comments, a., but there’s one thing you’re overlooking in terms of the “time-shifting-everything-has-changed moment” you reference: Faraday and Charlie are dead. And Desmond? Well, it’s already been established that he’s special. The rules don’t apply to him.
I really think it’s Eloise who requires further examination, as to why she knows what she knows. Also, she has some explaining to do regarding her hair.
By: cousinbrandon on April 7, 2010
at 11:15 am
Perhaps Jack and Kate’s love was shown by them seeming to recognize each other and catch each other’s eye in the alternate timeline. And then also Sawyer and Kate when Sawyer caught her running from the police.
By: matt on April 7, 2010
at 10:01 pm
I just started reading JOpinionated’s blog a week or so ago, and she posted something fantastic in regards to “Happily Ever After” that I had to re-post here:
“That Faraday and Charlie know one another in the flash sideways further fuels one of my longstanding and favorite theories….Faraday programmed the Looking Glass station security code with a song specifically for Charlie.”
Seriously, I love this.
By: cousinbrandon on April 7, 2010
at 11:39 am
Has Hurley been in every flash-sideways? It seems he is always helping someone too. I think you have discussed Hurley being Jacob (which Im not sold on) but I do see some parallells. Anywho. Suck it.
By: crotch on April 7, 2010
at 11:58 am
Actually, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t in Sawyer’s. And, yeah, I still think he makes a solid replacement for Jacob. Well, not physically, but emotionally. He’s huge.
By: cousinbrandon on April 7, 2010
at 12:07 pm
Okay, so, I think Desmond wants the flight manifest so they can all take a look in the mirror.
The same way Charlie, in the sideways reality, believes that his existence doesn’t matter, Des in the original timeline believes the island life isn’t real. And they both may be right. Dying in one reality may shutter you to the other, which is why the near death experience brought back flashes of “consciousness.” Here’s the catch: only Desmond can go back and forth. The others only have a one way trip. Die in the LA X, you’re stuck in the island reality, death or no death. Die on the island reality…. go to the LA X reality. But, “once you leave, you can never come back.” This is why Juliet says that it worked. She was being shuttled to the other reality. Desmond will offer them the choice by showing them flashes of both. It’s sad and ironic that Charlie doesn’t realize his death wish in the LA X reality will also result in his death on the island, and thus, he’ll never get Claire. But hey, some people just weren’t meant to be together.
The biggest hint yet that the island is the mirror and not the other way around… when Charlie drowns, he does that whole making a cross thing with his hands backwards! Or, a mirror parallel of the correct version.
Oh, and “you, all, everybody” has the lyrics, “acting like stupid people/ wearing your expensive clothes.” Well, to Charlie, all these people in the LA world are ignorant to what he knows (stupid) and wearing some dapper duds. Just sayin’.
By: Major Minority on April 7, 2010
at 12:02 pm
I’ve got to say, MM, that this is pretty damn great. Did you come up with this on your own? (And I honestly don’t mean that to sound offensive in the least, incidentally.) Does this suggest, then, that Sun, should she die from the gunshot wound, will be cast out to the island reality?
One “hole” in your logic, though: why would any of them “choose” the island existence? I mean, even Desmond for that matter. Even though he is now courting Penny in the LA X timeline, what about his son? What about the fact that he is actually married in the island timeline? Same thing for Sun and Jin. They’re already married and already have Ji Yeon. Would they give up the existence of her to reinvent her, so to speak?
I really love your idea, but I’m still not sure I fully buy it. Still, really impressive thought process.
By: cousinbrandon on April 7, 2010
at 12:12 pm
Why would any of them choose? Seriously? Locke immediately jumps to mind. He can walk. He can dance. He can do whatever the hell he wants, and then eat a freshly killed boar to celebrate. Jack – he’s no longer a doctor drunkie/druggie daddy killer. On the island he’s got a HIGHER PURPOSE, a reason for existing. Ben Linus (I’m throwing him in here because he got a full sideways ep even though he’s not a plane guy.) He’s a respected individual with power on the island. He knew more secrets and was in touch with The Man Jacob (well, before he killed him, but bygones.) In LA X he’s a nobody. A nothing. A sad little history HIGH-SCHOOL teacher, fer cryin’ out loud. If that doesn’t make you want to kill yourself, then I don’t know what would.
By: a. on April 7, 2010
at 2:35 pm
Right, but what Locke DOESN’T have is Helen. What Jack DOESN’T have is David. What Ben DOESN’T have is his father or Alex. In other words, why NOT choose the island? Because choosing the island means giving up love. And as I said above, LOST is a love story.
By: cousinbrandon on April 7, 2010
at 2:56 pm
Anyone think Penny may be Jack’s ex-wife (and mother to David)? Could be possible since she’s running the same stadium he did. Not sure how I’d feel about that. However, I remember way back in Season 2, when Desmond is escaping the hatch Jack stops and stares at the picture of Des and Penny. It stood out because his long look made many people on the internet theorize that he may have known Penny. Perhaps it was a sideways-timeline memory?
By: Jonathan on April 7, 2010
at 12:34 pm
Interesting theory, Jonathan, but I’m going to stick with the idea that Penny is NOT the mother of David. If anything, I’m convinced David’s mother is Juliet, or at the very least Jack’s ex-wife (whose name is currently eluding me). The show has been precipitated on the “true love” that exists between Des and Penny. I can’t possibly accept that, even in the sideways reality, she had anything to do with Jack.
By: cousinbrandon on April 7, 2010
at 1:10 pm
Of course I came up with that by myself! What a racist!
But, that’s why its a choice… it’s not as cut and dry as it may appear. Jin and Sun might not choose the LA X reality, but Sawyer probably would. And again, they wouldn’t see the whole picture, just glimpses, like Charlie and Daniel saw. Dan Widmore may think he wants the other reality, but he doesn’t realize both he and Charlotte die.
And what plans do we think Eloise has? That guest list… do you think it also includes the other 815ers? Charlie was supposed to be there. Does Eloise also need you, all everbody, just like Smokey does, to be in a centralized location?
By: Major Minority on April 7, 2010
at 12:44 pm
Are you suggesting that Eloise is Smokey? You’re not the first to propose this notion. I do think that all (or most) of our Losties will get together in a single spot in the sideways reality, which could be the hospital (since we’ve already seen Jack, Des, Charlie, Sayid, Claire and Kate there, and it would appear Jin and Sun are on their way, not to mention the possible consult with Locke).
Dan Widmore is already dead in the “real” timeline, so what choice does he have? Same with Charlie? They can already continue to “live” as a misplaced consciousness of sorts, or they can have nothing at all. That is, they no longer exist in the actual timeline. That is, they’re dead in the actual timeline.
By: cousinbrandon on April 7, 2010
at 1:16 pm
I guess my question is how are such characters as Claire, Kate, Jin and Sun suppose to show up at this concert thing. Kate was headed to jail and last we saw, got caught by Sawyer so she’s probably out or at least not invited. Claire just had a baby so chances are she’s not exactly ready to go to a concert. Jin and Sun aren’t married and Jin was suppose to be executed if not for a lucky break and now Sun is shot and is headed to the hospital, so I doubt they would attend or be invited as well.
Also, can we assume that that the sideways flash there is free choice and that the island timeline there isn’t free choice for the Losties (as this has been debated repeatedly on this blog)?
By: dochielomn on April 7, 2010
at 2:43 pm
Wait, who said they were all going to meet at the concert? I suggested they’d meet at the hospital.
It would appear that there is free choice, unless we assume all of their choices have already been made.
By: cousinbrandon on April 7, 2010
at 2:58 pm
I was responding more to Major Minority’s theory about the guest list that Eloise didn’t want Desmond to see. I don’t see how the people I listed could have been on it or would have been invited to it. I would agree with you CB that the most likely scenario has them all at the hospital or unless Desmond can round them all up somewhere else.
By: dochielomn on April 7, 2010
at 3:05 pm
Good to see Fischer Stevens (Minkowski) back. I think it was in season 4, where his name would show up in the opening credits every week, but it seemed to take forever before he actually had a scene, and then he only ended up in a few episodes. I was surprised when he died, because I expected him to become an important character.
The same thing happened with Michelle Rodriguez in season 2. She was in lots of credits before ever being in an episode.
By: Richie on April 7, 2010
at 1:39 pm
Agreed on Minkowski. I was really bummed to see him come and go so quickly back in season 2. I always hated Ana Lucia, so seeing Michelle Rodriguez go bye-bye was fine by me.
By: cousinbrandon on April 7, 2010
at 2:58 pm
interesting content, thanks
By: Tom on April 7, 2010
at 3:59 pm
Man Brandon, this is a great blog. I finally got caught up on this season so I figured I would give it a read. Unfortunately, my Lost knowledge is limited to vague memories of the first two seasons and now the current season which on it’s own is a bit of a blur because half the time I’m thinking that I missed some really crazy shit.
At any rate, I just wanted to pop in and let you know how much I enjoyed reading this all of the discussion in the comments that followed. With the way you guys talk about it I’m even more excited to go back and fill in the gaps on what I’ve missed.
Also, I think the only thing that I would comment on is that I do believe that we will be seeing Charlie again. Maybe I’m wrong, and like I said it feels like I’m looking at one of those logic puzzles where you’ve got a flashlight that shows only a small portion of a big picture, but I don’t think this reality is done with Charlie and Claire’s story yet. Maybe (and I know from that clip show) somehow Charlie will be rewarded for his sacrifice on the island (at least I was led to believe he sacrificed himself) and Claire will find a way to salvage her current state (probagbly through some great sacrifice) and will ultimately find her reward on the other side. Maybe this train of thought will extend to other characters that I don’t know about as well. I may have something fundimentally wrong, something that I don’t know that spoils everything here, but given what I know it’s just a feeling I have.
Thanks again for the really great read and to the commenters as well. Hope you’re doing great.
By: WUWRobots on April 8, 2010
at 12:04 pm
Hey there, WUWRobots. Great to hear from you.
The reason you could be dead-on with your thoughts on Charlie is this: LOST, as I commented above, is a love story. At least, this is what we’ve learned via the flash-sideways, in which love has factored in to the redeemed souls. Charlie, although dead in the island timeline, redeemed himself by signaling Penny in the Looking Glass station. And if, as we’ve learned on LOST, dead really is dead, there will be no crossing over from the sideways reality back to the island reality, as Major Minority seemed to suggest. This might also suggest why Charlie was able to walk through traffic and drive a car into the marina unscathed.
Keep reading, Sir, and by all means keep commenting.
By: cousinbrandon on April 8, 2010
at 12:16 pm
Thanks man.
Seeing Claire in the flash sideways kind of makes me think about who she was in the beginning and how kind of sympathetic her current insanity is. I just think, and maybe this is either obvious or impossible (see my past disclaimer about being out of the loop), but I have a feeling that she is going to get hit with some big revelation and do something important and redeeming. She’s in close enough with FLocke and with the possibility of being awakened from her manipulation… I don’t know, now I’m just riffing. Anyways, incredibly interesting episode indeed.
By: WUWRobots on April 8, 2010
at 6:07 pm
I still have “concerns” about Claire, mainly because I was always convinced she’d died on the island, only to have her come back this season as Rouseau redux. Again, not sure if she was dipped in the temple spring or what, but I thought it was pretty much suggested that she died after her house in New Otherton was blown the fuck up.
By: cousinbrandon on April 8, 2010
at 8:07 pm
I’m thinking the onyl way Claire comes back from his current state, bonkers and manipulated, is if somehow Jacob or Jacob’s replacement comes forward and talks some sense into her.
By: dochielomn on April 9, 2010
at 8:39 am
I’m thinking she’s strutting around with the zombie-stink that’s washed over Sayid. On the other hand, she clearly has emotions, unlike our Iraqui pal.
By: cousinbrandon on April 9, 2010
at 8:41 am
Oh yeah, Rouseau. I forgot all about Rouseau. Truth be told, I don’t think I ever found out how everything ended with her (maye I just don’t remember). Once again. I can’t wait to go back and fill in the gaps.
I’ve thought about the sort of zombie-thing-y factor on her like Sayid, and with them mentioning as much a few episodes back, but that’s the thing, like you said. Sayid seems cold and unfeeling and to a point where something supernatural is obviously happeneing with him where Claire seems to have just gone crazy, and could be serving FLocke by the strength of his character.
I’m tempted to ask what happened with Rouseau, but I’m not sure that I should. Maybe I’ll save that for the dvds.
By: WUWRobots on April 9, 2010
at 10:01 am
That’s the thing, we saw what happened with Sayid and the temple folk. We didn’t get a chance to see them with Claire and I’m pretty sure Claire mentioned this season that in the past, they had captured her and done something to her. I’m guessing if she was “infected” like Sayid, then, they would have killed her like they wanted to do with Sayid. As pointed out, Sayid says how he feels no emotions and Claire is obviously driven by her search for Aaron, so there is a difference there. It will be curious to see if Claire has some sort of salvation that comes into play at the end.
By: dochielomn on April 9, 2010
at 1:23 pm
The only thing I can think of to answer that is if she is their way of knowing about what is happening to Sayid, their first experience with someone being (what to call it?)… I like Brandon’s getting the zombie stink all over them, but that’s pretty much where my head’s at too.
By: WUWRobots on April 9, 2010
at 4:16 pm
Another love story that gets forgotten is Rose and Bernard. Given a choice they would obviously choose to remain on their “vacation”.
By: notverygood on April 10, 2010
at 1:17 am
[…] weeks, so you’ll have to forgive my absence. If nothing else, I still managed to get my LOST blog up, so there’s that. It’s hard to believe that we’re only three days shy of […]
By: Three O’Clock Hai(ku): The Week in Twitter Haiku « Cousin Brandon's Mr. Hipster Blog on April 12, 2010
at 8:32 am