It all comes down to this. This is it. The final piece has been returned to the island and everything will start to reach its final destination. The piece: Desmond Hume.
As Lost viewers know, Desmond wasn’t a main cast member on the series until we meet him in the hatch at the start of season two. Even then he’s only briefly shown before he takes off into the jungle, only to return drunk-off-his-ass via sailboat to the beach where the castaways were at the time. This was when he started to become a recurring and eventually a supporting character.
And now it appears that everything we know, don’t know, and think we know is dependent on him.
“Happily Ever After” delves into a flash-sideways that takes up the majority of the episode, much like the Richard Alpert flashback from “Ab Aeterno.” How we get to this particular flash-sideways is a much different method than the previous ones involving Claire, Jack, Sawyer, Locke, and the rest.
Drugged and returned to the Island by his nemesis Charles Widmore, Desmond is told that the Island isn’t done with him yet. To prove his point, even after having the crap beat out of him by Desmond, Widmore has his team, led by Tina Fey and the fat guy (still no names have been given), place Desmond in a shed where a large dose of electromagnetic energy will be concentrated on his person. As seen moments before, the accidental launch of the experiment led to the death and basically microwaving of one of Widmore’s men.
So, Desmond is tied up and locked inside. The experiment begins, and we’re off to the flash-sideways that has Desmond as a successful “fixer” who works for…Charles Widmore! Oh, and he doesn’t know Penny…yet. And he’s given an assignment that involves Charlie. And we get to see Eloise Hawking and Daniel Faraday in much different settings than we’re used to (a typical element of these flash-forwards).
Like the Richard Alpert ep, I highly recommend you take the time to watch the episode. There’s a lot that takes place that is important to what may happened during the remainder of the series, and since it is clear that Desmond is the key to what’s going on, this is a not-to-miss episode.
At first I wasn’t sure if Widmore returning Desmond to the Island was an act of revenge for Widmore being cut-off from his daughter and grandson. But Widmore is a powerful man who could easily have had Desmond killed if he wanted. So there is something much more powerful at play.
Also recall last week that “Locke” traveled to the Island on which Widmore had set up camp and ended up declaring war. And this week “Locke” got his first “prisoner of war” even if it was seemingly of his own free will. Sayid jumps Tina Fey and others of Widmore’s team and tells Desmond to come with him; he does. Remember that Desmond has no clue that Sayid is corrupted, and he certainly doesn’t know that “Locke” is no longer the man he knew previously.
Another interesting note is that Desmond is the only character who has actually “lived” his flash-sideways. He was consciously there, in the moment, experiencing all that he came in contact with. None of the others have had a visceral and emotional reaction based on the flash-sideways they were a part of. So why only Desmond?
So, if Desmond is the only person who can put a stop to the Man in Black’s quest to get off the Island, and his presence can alter everything, you can bet that Widmore will be on the attack and after Desmond sooner rather than later. It’s only a matter of time.
Will Desmond ever reunite with Penny and his son, Charlie? What do you believe Desmond will have to do in order to make things right? Is he the true “candidate”? And if so, since he’s not on the list, what would that mean for those who are? What is the real meaning behind the flash-sideways sequences? Are they just fun “let’s see what it would be like if…” exercises, or do that have a deeper meaning?
And will we ever see Rose, Bernard, and Vincent again?
With only five episodes before the two-hour series finale, some things will definitely start to unravel while others start to be tied-up and resolved. One can only wonder how the Lost team will conclude the series in a way that will satisfy both the hardcore fan and the casual viewer. Can there be an ending that will make everyone happy?
See you next week for a recap of Lost episode 611: “Everybody Loves Hugo.”
Comments? Theories? Thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know!