"Lost" Season 3 Episode 8 - Flashes Before Your Eyes

WOA!!! (yeah not just WOW this week, it's a WOA week!) Now that was one crazy episode! Where do we even begin talking about it? Well let's ease into it. Let's ask this question first. Is anyone still doubting the power of LOST? I'm sure there will be complainers that this episode dealt primarily with a season 2 addition and to top it off, it was mostly OFF the island (well...sorta!). But on the flipside, Desmond has been a fan favorite ever since we saw him riding his bike in the hatch to "Make Your Own Kind of Music." And his backstory seems to have some major relevance on the overarching mythology of LOST with Penny and Charles Widmore. Others may complain that we didn't see Jack or Kate and Sawyer.....well these were the same people complaining that we didn't see anyone else on back at the beach. I'd like to consider this the passing of time as Sawyer and Kate travel back to the beach, and time away from the OTHERS (while possibly meeting MORE others). Of course, the non-stop season of LOST should help lessen the complaints, until we run out of episodes in May again! But me? I LOVED the episode! It totally blew me away mentally, but in a good way! The wheels are turning again folks!

Well let's get into it! Watch the episode again or read recap if you want at lost.abc.com (I still don't know why I keep doing this! Just seems out of habit these days!)

Okay, well last night was definitely an episode that requires discussion, so I expect all of your feedback after this one. Obviously, I haven't got it all figured out but I will share with you my thoughts as I was watching the episode, and discussions I had after the episode that made me see the episode in a whole different way.

Plot Synopsis

Basically, Desmond has another vision on the island and rescues Claire from drowning, meanwhile pushing Charlie aside at every change he gets. We are reminded of him knowing about Locke's Speech before it happened and about him knowing about the lightning that struck Clarie and Charlie's tent. Charlie and Hurley go on a mission to get Desmond drunk and ultimately get him to spill the beans on his new found skill of premonitions. From here on out we get what seems to be a flashback of when Desmond turned the key in the hatch. We are taken off of the island and into Desmond's Past. Another flashback episode....hmmm but there's a twist! Desmond feels like he's been there before and has brief flashes of another life (ON THE ISLAND!!! woaaaaa!!!). By the end of the episode Desmond tells Charlie that he saw his life flash before his eyes, how the flashes never stopped when he caught up to the present day, and that he has been trying to save CHARLIE from certain doom (the lightning struck him originally and Charlie originally drowned by trying to save Claire). Hints of Groundhog Day, Quantum Leap and Final Destination (AGAIN!!) ensue! Now let's discuss some theories of what happened! Then we'll get into some crazy easter eggs.

Theories
Well there are a few different ways you could've looked at Desmond's "experience" (for lack of a better word). Let's try and make some sense of it:

• Desmond never left the island. It's all in his head and someone is meddling with his mind - I just assumed that this is what was going on. Based on all of the crazy visions everyone has been having on the Island. There is clearly something messing with all of their heads. We've seen dead people come to life on the island, many of the survivors have had very vivid dreams or visions. But never have we seen someone that traveled back into his own flashback. So it might just explain more of the island's power....especially with the introduction to MITTELOS (LOST TIME) last week.
  
• Desmond turning the key ACTUALLY made him travel through time and get to relive his life. - I just don't know if I can get onboard with this one, but it does suggest some intriguing possibilities. If Desmond actually DID go back, did he return to the island once Jimmy knocked him out? Was this the universe course correcting itself because he was going to tell Penny how he really felt? Why wouldn't he just wake up after being knocked out and then go tell Penny? Why wouldn't everything play out until he got back to the island again? How would the island bring him back if he actually traveled through time? Or what if he DIDN'T return to the island at that exact point; and the producers are just saving room for more flashbacks? Could this lead to why Desmond told Jack "See you in another Life" at the stadium in Jack's season 2 flashback? Maybe Desmond had a future flash of Jack on the island before he even met him?
  
  Drives the mind a little nuts doesn't it? Time Travel will do that! It's a risky subject in the movies and on tv because there are so many chances to screw it up! But the dork in me (which is a lot of me) loves the possibility!

Obviously Desmond is seeing flashes of the future for some reason. Is it because he already lived it? Or is it because someone/something or the island has already seen it? Or is someone causing these flashes to occur like the visions Locke, Eko and Charlie have seen? It might not even be the real future that Desmond is seeing, just what he THINKS the real future is. And maybe that is what's important for now.

But what's up with the Old Lady in his "flashback?" She seemed to have a lot of knowledge on what DESMOND did do in his original past, and what his destiny is. Her purpose seemed to be to drill into Desmond's head that he can't change his or anyone else's destiny as the universe will course correct itself until it gets his way (Predestination, good times). Desmond's destiny is to save the world by pushing the button and then being forced to turn the safekey. She also implied that this is the "GREATEST THING he will ever accomplish" and that "WE ALL" will die if he doesn't push the button. So was that the entire world? or just "WE ALL" on the island?

Desmond even refers to his subconscious and that she's really not there. Was she there in the original past? ARrrrgh my head is spinning! Anyway, the Old Lady had a very "ORACLE/Architect meets NEO in the MATRIX" type of discussion with Desmond. And she drilled into his head that he cannot change what he is destined to become. Just like she couldn't stop the man with the red shoes from dying (more on him in a second), Desmond cannot avoid is island destiny. So 2 weeks in a row we get the Final Destination shout outs. I really hope they aren't turning LOST into a lousy Teen Horror flick!

(Tons of Clocks in this store. TIME (tick) TIME (tock) TIME (tick) TIME (tock))

Alright, I think it seems like I'm all over the place. It's probably because I am! Fantastic episode, but too many questions and too many possibilities to make any sense of it!

Desmond's Flashback (What we learned happened in his past)
Thought it would be interesting to try and capture what ACTUALLY happened in Desmond's past

• Desmond tried to win over Penny's father in order to marry her. But with his lack of education and military background Charles Widmore found Desmond to be not worthy. This seems to have caused Desmond to join the military and then eventually be dishonorably discharged (for what we've yet to see)
• Desmond originally went ring shopping, but then did not buy a ring to give to Penny. In this alternate version, he TOOK the ring.....but STILL didn't propose (universe course correcting itself?)
• We learned how the infamous picture of Penny and Desmond was taken. We all tried to guess where that picture was taken, and it was just a backdrop of a marina that they chose for a quick picture.

Other Stuff:

In no particular order, I noticed the following things and thought I'd share:

• Clock in Desmond's "FLAT" said 1:08
• Sarah McLaughlin's "Building a Mystery" plays while Desmond looks around confused in his apartment. Touche' writers....touche'
• Delivery man said "Delivery for 815"
• Painting in Charles Widmore's office had Polar Bear, Buddha Statue (from the brainwashing film) and a message written semi-backwards (would be front ways in a mirror),"NAMASTE" (Dharma Guy loves saying it). From this can we conclude that Widmore is backing island activities? Or are we in a mirrored past that only RESEMBLES what Desmond actually went through?
  
• Old Lady points out Guy with Red Shoes - and then he gets smashed by a building....kinda like Dorothy's house came down on the Wicked Witch of the East and her red shoes. LOST loves its Wizard of Oz references. Apparently Kelvin wore the same Red Shoes as well. I can't confirm this right now. Heard it on the radio this morning.
• Hurley: Desmondo!
• Charlie was in the "flashback" - does that mean he was there the first time too? He sang a clip from Oasis's "Wonderwall" conveniently the lyrics say "Maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me" Nice foreshadowing! Also, Charlie's Middle name is Hieronymus.
  
  From Wikipedia:
  

  "Hieronymus Bosch, (latinized; also Jeroen
  Bosch or his real name Jeroen van Aken) (c. 1450 – August, 1516) was a prolific Dutch painter of the
  15th and 16th centuries. Many of his works
  depict sin and human moral failings.
  "

• "Make your own kind of music" plays 2 times in "flashback." This song will always remind you of Desmond any time you hear it, won't it? Any other relevance to them using the song again? Beats me.

• Desmond found his book after the hatch implosion. The one he wants to read before he dies. (and the name is escaping me right now. I'll fill it in later if I feel like it!)

• During the Soccer games if you take a closer look at the ads on the wall, you'll see OCEANIC, Hanso Foundation, Buddies Diapers (Charlie Commercial), Apollo Candy Bars, Mr. Cluck's chicken shack, Kronos (reference to time), etc... All LOST related corporations

• Hurley is found reading "Laughter in the Dark" by Vladimir Nabokov and John Banville.
  

Okay, so what's the bottom line? Do we think Charlie is destined to die now? Does this upset anyone? I think it'll be pretty hard to get rid of his character at this juncture. There is still that storyline hanging out there of him abducting Sun, plus he's CHARLIE! He's Merry from Lord of the Rings! You can't just kill him! He is bloody DRIVESHAFT! That is why I believe this whole Desmond thing is all a manifestation in his head and that their future is not predestined. (Except that they were all destined to be on that island). Of course, we don't know WHEN said death of Charlie would occur. It could be next episode, it could be next year, it could be 50 years from now.

Other bottom line? This Old Lady is probably a character we're going to get to know a bit better. Looks like we see her talking to Jack in next week's episode...ON THE ISLAND. Can it be a coincidence that Desmond had some kind of crazy vision with her in it too? Just a lot of uncertainties.....but this is when LOST works best. When people CARE about the confusion that the show causes! This episode stands up to some of the greatest from season 1 that simply just boggled the mind at the time.

I'm going to keep racking my brain on this one and may come up with a totally new theory, but this is where I stand for now. Anyone else want to share their thoughts? Please do! I'm going crazy over here!

I also apologize at the lateness of this blog, but I did give you advanced warning last week. This is probably a more realistic time to expect them in the future. Until you readers start coughing up some money, I'm going to have to put my day job first! Hope you enjoyed the read and see you next week!